ISLANDS
A Sleep & A Forgetting
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as heard on radiospin on February 23rd, 2012
under acoustic, album, folk, indie, pop, preview, songwriting
It’s said that Phil Collins would never have left Genesis and ventured out on his own if his relationship with his first wife hadn’t crumbled. If Adele’s boyfriend hadn’t smashed her heart, her hit 21 may have never have made its way to the top of the charts. And Beck’s tear-jerking and game-changing Sea Change was recorded after he split with his girlfriend of nine years. For Islands frontman Nick Thorburn, the band’s latest album, A Sleep & A Forgetting, is about more than a breakup: it’s about completely losing a way of life and having to start all over again. He started writing it on Valentine’s Day last year after breaking up with his longtime partner, leaving his New York home and moving to Los Angeles: he started messing around and writing songs on a piano he found in his new abode, and a year later came Islands’ fourth record. But though the subject of A Sleep & A Forgetting is one of the most common human experiences, the album is not a generic tribute to a breakup: it’s an inspired look at the grieving human heart. And one of the best Islands records so far, to boot.
ARTIST: Islands
TITLE: A Sleep & A Forgetting
LABEL: ANTI / Epitaph
RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2012
TIME: 37:43 min.
WEB: http://islandsareforever.com/
01. In a Dream It Seemed Real [03:21]
02. This Is Not a Song [03:56]
03. Never Go Solo [04:45]
04. No Crying [03:05]
05. Hallways [02:54]
06. Can’t Feel My Face [02:46]
07. Lonely Love [03:40]
08. Oh Maria [04:08]
09. Cold Again [03:19]
10. Don’t Love You [03:20]
11. Same Thing [02:32]
get it here.
SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
Ghostory
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as heard on radiospin on February 22nd, 2012
under album, indie, pop, preview, recommended
Recorded in-between tours, Ghostory exemplifies a fervent progression of School of Seven Bells‘s growth as artists, preserving the common themes found on their last two releases but exposing them in different fashions: the familiar ethereal and enigmatic tones are omnipresent, surrounded by layers of influences from `80s pop, shoegaze and ambient electronic sounds. However, Ghostory comes with a story in mind: the tale of a young girl named Lafaye and the ghosts that surround her life. This album is truly School of Seven Bells‘ defining work, beautifully crafted and haunting, with the story of Lafaye permeating the psyche long after the music stops.
ARTIST: School of Seven Bells
TITLE: Ghostory
LABEL: Vagrant / Ghostly International
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 45:13 min.
WEB: http://sviib.com/
01. The Night [03:47]
02. Love Play [04:11]
03. Lafaye [04:14]
04. Low Times [06:32]
05. Reappear [04:10]
06. Show Me Love [04:44]
07. Scavenger [04:26]
08. White Wind [04:42]
09. When You Sing [08:34]
School of Seven Bells – Lafaye
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SHEARWATER
Animal Joy
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as heard on radiospin on February 21st, 2012
under album, folk, indie, preview, recommended, rock
Shearwater‘s Animal Joy is the first band’s album for Sub Pop. Led by Jonathan Meiburg, and featuring drummer Thor Harris, and bassist Kimberly Burke, Shearwater ditch the expansive approach of their recent records (particularly the epic trilogy of Palo Santo, Rook and The Golden Archipelago) to create a record that seems shockingly direct, immediate and intensely personal. Meiburg is no stranger to lush, crafted recordings, but this one sounds like no prior Shearwater incarnation.
ARTIST: Shearwater
TITLE: Animal Joy
LABEL: Sub Pop
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2012
TIME: 43:10 min.
WEB: http://shearwatermusic.com/
01. Animal Life [03:38]
02. Breaking the Yearlings [03:08]
03. Dread Sovereign [03:51]
04. You As You Were [03:43]
05. Insolence [06:25]
06. Immaculate [02:26]
07. Open Your Houses (basilisk) [03:25]
08. Run the Banner Down [02:50]
09. Pushing the River [04:32]
10. Believing Makes It Easy [04:11]
11. Star of the Age [05:01]
Shearwater – Breaking the Yearlings
get it here.
RS HOT SPOT – #04
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as heard on radiospin on February 20th, 2012
under electronic, experimental, hot spot, remix, single, video
A mysterious SBTRKT‘s remix hit the ground during these days: Hold On comes from heretofore unheard of artist Sisi BakBak. And here’s the strange thing: how can exist an artist that no ones ever heard of, in the internet age? Something smells fishy here and actually it seems to smell like Radiohead! In fact everyone has decided that Thom Yorke is behind this (very good) remix, and it definitely has his spasmodic lilt to it. So check out this super secret one (and its robotic-looped video, directed by Sam Pilling) and let’s hope it’s really him or we’ll all look foolish.
verified source.
SLOVE
Le Danse
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as heard on radiospin on February 20th, 2012
under album, dance, electronic, indie, preview, recommended, Uncategorized
Welcome to the addictive sound of Slove where the guitars purr and the synths glisten. Slove are a French band bridging the between addictive indie pop and electronica, and doing it successfully, may we add. They bring with them a talented gang of vocalists including Olivier Rocabois, Maik and Anne Laures and it makes for a pretty formidable mix. You may think you’d know what to find when you see the label “French dance music” but Slove take a sidestep away from what you’d expect.
ARTIST: Slove
TITLE: Le Danse
LABEL: Pschent
RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2011
TIME: 47:08 min.
WEB: http://plaisirdefrance.net/artistes/slove
01. Le Danse [04:58]
02. Do We Need [05:46]
03. The Brightest [06:10]
04. Flash [04:49]
05. Noisy Neige [04:28]
06. DMGM [01:24]
07. My Pop [04:50]
08. Carte Postale [06:14]
09. Find Out [03:29]
10. If Only I Had [05:00]
get it here.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #95
as seen on radioSpin
ARTIST: Modeselektor (feat. otto von schirach)
TITLE: Evil Twin
ALBUM: Monkeytown
WEB: YouTube
production by Dent.De.Cuir
DREW SMITH
The Secret Languages
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as heard on radiospin on February 18th, 2012
under album, folk, preview, RBR, songwriting, submitted
After the release of two wonderful videos such as Love Teeth and Smoke and Mirrors that hit the YouTube community with thousands of views, Canadian singer-songwriter Drew Smith release his full-length. The Secret Languages is an interesting collection of classic americana pop songs and a dynamic projection of Drew’s simple, efficient songwriting and a genuine depth of artistic delivery. A mix of heartfelt, visually descriptive lyrics and masterful compositions to fall in love with.
ARTIST: Drew Smith
TITLE: The Secret Languages
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: January 20, 2012
TIME: 36:46 min.
WEB: http://www.drewsmith.ca/
01. Frozen Still [03:07]
02. Bang Bang [03:34]
03. Kachina [03:39]
04. Smoke and Mirrors [03:10]
05. Love Teeth [03:52]
06. Box Me Up [05:53]
07. Mute [03:33]
08. River So Deep [03:18]
09. Old Souls [03:23]
10. Grotesque [03:17]
removed by request
SOAP & SKIN
Narrow
21 year old Anja Plaschg, better known as Soap & Skin releases her new mini-album, Narrow: the follow-up to her 2009 debut Lovetune for Vacuum contains eight new entirely self-produced and played tracks from Anja herself.
ARTIST: Soap & Skin
TITLE: Narrow
LABEL: PIAS
RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2012
TIME: 29:06 min.
WEB: http://soapandskin.com/
01. Vater [05:38]
02. Voyage Voyage [05:16]
03. Deathmental [04:47]
04. Cradlesong [02:14]
05. Wonder [03:14]
06. Lost [01:58]
07. Boat Turns Toward the Port [03:03]
08. Big Hand Nails Down [02:56]
get it here.
SLEIGH BELLS
Reign of Terror
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as heard on radiospin on February 16th, 2012
under album, experimental, indie, pop, preview, rock
Brand new release from the Brooklyn duo consisting of Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocals). Sleigh Bells‘ unique sound is likely the result of Miller and Krauss’s contrasting musical backgrounds: Miller was formerly the guitarist for the post-hardcore band Poison The Well and Krauss was a member of the teen pop group RubyBlue as a teenager. Guess what it could come out, then listen to Reign of Terror.
ARTIST: Sleigh Bells
TITLE: Reign of Terror
LABEL: Mom & Pop
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2012
TIME: 36:30 min.
WEB: http://reignofterror.tv/
01. True Shred Guitar [02:20]
02. Born to Lose [03:53]
03. Crush [03:20]
04. End of the Line [03:38]
05. Leader of the Pack [02:43]
06. Comeback Kid [03:01]
07. Demons [03:04]
08. Road to Hell [03:22]
09. You Lost Me [04:31]
10. Never Say Die [03:40]
11. D.O.A. [02:58]
get it here.
THE CRANBERRIES
Roses
The Cranberries are back, with their first studio album in over ten years! The original Irish four-piece fronted by Dolores O’Riordan, who lit up the charts for over a decade with classics such as Linger, Dreams and Zombie is now releasing Roses: eleven brand new songs, produced by the band’s old friend and collaborator Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur and more recently Kaiser Chiefs).
ARTIST: The Cranberries
TITLE: Roses
LABEL: Downtown
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 44:24 min.
WEB: http://www.cranberries.com/
01. Conduct [05:10]
02. Tomorrow [03:55]
03. Fire & Soul [04:32]
04. Raining in My Heart [03:27]
05. Losing My Mind [03:39]
06. Schizophrenic Playboy [03:39]
07. Waiting in Walthamstow [04:18]
08. Show Me [03:26]
09. Astral Projections [04:44]
10. So Good [03:53]
11. Roses [03:41]
get it here.
THE TWILIGHT SAD
No One Can Ever Know
As made clear already by widely-spread preview track Kill It In The Morning and first single Sick, The Twilight Sad‘s third full-length, No One Can Ever Know, marks a sonic shift for the band: freshly inspired by a listening diet of Cabaret Voltaire, Can, Liars, Magazine, Autechre, and Public Image Limited, the band turn to a dark, synth-heavy sound for No One Can Ever Know. The resulting LP shares thematic and sonic space with the most innovative offerings from Depeche Mode, The Cure, or even Nine Inch Nails.
ARTIST: The Twilight Sad
TITLE: No One Can Ever Know
LABEL: Fat Cat
RELEASE DATE: February 7, 2012
TIME: 44:18 min.
WEB: http://www.thetwilightsad.com/
01. Alphabet [04:27]
02. Dead City [06:26]
03. Sick [04:24]
04. Don’t Move [04:20]
05. Nil [05:19]
06. Don’t Look At Me [04:09]
07. Not Sleeping [05:11]
08. Another Bed [04:39]
09. Kill It in the Morning [05:53]
The Twilight Sad – Another Bed
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WE HAVE BAND
Ternion
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as heard on radiospin on February 13th, 2012
under acoustic, album, bonus, electronic, indie, pop, preview, recommended, remix, rock
If prizes could be awarded for sheer variety of sonic scope, We Have Band would nab every one going. For the dynamic two lads ‘n’ a lass trio, their sophomore effort Ternion plays out as a mish-mash of clever indie ingenuity, electronica and synth-pop. But even that doesn’t do them justice, because, frankly speaking, just so much is going on in every track: like a zoo of assorted instruments let loose, Ternion’s disparate elements are free to play to their own devices.
ARTIST: We Have Band
TITLE: Ternion
LABEL: Naïve
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 84:35 min.
WEB: http://www.wehaveband.com/
01. Shift [04:38]
02. After All [04:13]
03. Where Are You People? [03:50]
04. Visionary [04:59]
05. What’s Mine, What’s Yours [04:11]
06. Steel in the Groove [05:00]
07. Tired of Running [04:38]
08. Watertight [04:00]
09. Rivers of Blood [03:12]
10. Pressure On [04:57]
11. Ternion Aside [26:57]
12. Shift (acoustic) [03:56]
13. After All (acoustic) [03:19]
14. What’s Mine, What’s Yours (acoustic) [03:35]
15. Watertight (acoustic) [03:10]
We Have Band – Where Are You People? (walls remix)
get it here.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #94
as seen on radioSpin
ARTIST: OK GO
TITLE: Needing/Getting
ALBUM: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
WEB: YouTube
directed by Brian L. Perkins & Damian Kulash Jr.
