[Free Gold!]
I think I can say, in my own opinion, that Indian Jewelry is the most productive band so far this year. Yea, a couple releases are rereleases due to recent resignage but still 2 new full length LPs, a singles compilation, and a split all in one first half of a year is damn impressive. As previously posted, India Jewelry already rerealsed their LP We Are The Wild Beast from 2003 this year and have just now released an all new full length entitled Free Gold! that is even better and as I said more along the lines of Rattling Death Train. Hallelujah! Also released, is their second all new album of this year, Fake and Cheap, followed by Sangles Redux.
[Freak Folk, Finnish, Experimental, Lo-Fi, Electronic]
Paavoharju is an experimental band from Finland, and like most Finnish collectives they are above and beyond brilliance in their noise composition, yet still filled with mindbogglingly hookish melodies. Signed to a the freak folk label vision of Fonal, Paavoharju's soon-to-be 2008 release, Laulu Laakson Kukista, is one huge extraordinary ball of entertainment thats consistently bending back and forth between freak folk and lo-fi electronic magic, keeping all its listeners enlightened even if you can't speak the Finnish language.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Islaja, Quiet Village, Yellow Swans, ES, Lau Nau
[Post- Rock, Shoegaze, Ambient]
Gregor Samsa are back with their sophomore record, Rest, on Kora Records, as a lofty follow up to their previous LP, 55:12. They're music is lull-ishly suspenseful, yet juxtaposed by beautiful harmonies. Their instrumentals are refreshingly hypnotic and forever morphing, taking the listeners' emotions on a near cinematic, yet never cheesy, roller coaster of intensity at still a mere lull.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Grails, Caspian, High Skies, Slowdive, Mojave 3
[Freak Folk, Psych Desert Gypsy Blues, New Weird America]
Alela is from Nevada City, California and is not-so-surprisingly friends with Joanna Newsom, having opened for her several times. Alela plays dark, yet beautifully haunting music that sounds much like its been served up right off the side of a deserted western highway, rather than a smoky Appalachian highway. She incorporates a strikingly sorrowful, yet wonderfully right Native American aesthetic that adds an appropriately comforting depth to her collections. In 2003 she self-release Forest Parade, and then The Pirate's Gospel the year following. Since then she was signed by Holocene Music in the US but then transfered to Names Records (UK) upon which she released her 2006 EP Songs Whistled Through White Teeth along with a remastered version of The Pirate's Gospel in 2007.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Joanna Newsom, Marie Sioux, Jana Hunter, Vashti Bunyan, White Magic
Here are several bands that I have been stalking recently who have yet to put out debut EPs and who have therefore made me uncharacteristically skiddish in the sense that I cannot download more than one track by them at this time. I am now unusually forced to wait for their releases of which have no set/announced date for release, and some aren't even of rumored possibility/production. We can only assume these LPs will exist soon, if not soon, I might gain an unfortunate 2nd...or third personality.
Effi Briest
Seven girls, one band, and a whole lot of magic makes for an outstanding freak-folk/rock septet known as Effi Briest, coming straight out of Brooklyn, NY. Their brilliant clatter screams hauntingly loud on a debut 7" entitled, Mirror Rim, say it backwards with now. Mirror Rim. Here is their single accompanied by its B-side, The Newly-weds, a cover of an old 1970s jazz tune, and their 2nd 7" Long Shadow.
Effi Briest - Newly-weds Song.mp3
Effi Briest - Long Shadow.mp3
Effi Briest - Pheonix.mp3
Ipso Facto
Words can not describe the love I have for these four girls. They are all such amazing artists! Hailing from London, and in no way related to their typical comparison, The Horrors, Ipso Facto is a steadily rising, post-rock modern goth soon-to-be phenomenon. Finally a female band that produces music which screams intellectual vision and specific style thats not overly accessible to the mainstream listener, much like Effi Briest above. Here is Ipso Facto's 7" Harmonise/Balderdash, along with a few other unreleased tracks.
Ipso Facto - Harmonize.mp3Ipso Facto - Balderdash.mp3Ipso Facto - Introducing.mp3Ipso Facto - Little Puppet.mp3Ipso Facto - Girl.mp3The Hawds
These five guys, also from the UK, are hard to find, still locally oriented, only have a couple demo releases, and frustrate me more now than I was with White Denim and their seemingly long period of scarcity. Some might say they are your typical guitar rock band, but there is something else that lingers on your ears and somehow convinces you that they are awesome. I might carelessly relate them to the Black Lips in regards to their rawness, but these guys are a lot less focused on a scene to belong to and rather they devote their time to just being an honest band.
Oh woa. Ok, if you have or had any interest at all, even a superficial pull, towards Tigercity or MGMT or any other seductive new wave jams then you will absolutely adore these guys. They are so incredibly right-on it is not even a question of whether they will be huge. They're from Essex, England and still continue to tour rather locally, but were just signed to XL Records which alone reveals their fate. I can hardly take their simmering success; they are my calm before the storm.
Magistrates - The Inbetweens.mp3Magistrates - Colour Co Ordination.mp3Magistrates - Make This Work.mp3
[Here's their third full length]
[Downtempo, Trip-Hop, Chill, Instrumental Dub]If you're a fan of music that induces extreme nostalgia, then check this guy out. His album leaked a while back as a demo of sorts without lyrics, but now the real deal is here. If you're like me and constantly searching for quality trip-hop or ambient sensory overloads that are rare to come by, then you'll definitely dig this guy. He plays and mixes all his tracks live and much like Morcheeba, his lyric dubs are brilliant and moving. With intelligent riffs and fluid down-tempo beats, Emcipator reminds me a more ambient sounding RJD2 or dare I say Ratatat; and is definitely recommended for fans of Dubstep artists such as Burial or Distance.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Bonobo, Hood, Telefon Tel Aviv, Psapp, Metaform, Portishead, Massive Attack, Royksopp
[Ambient, Art/Rock, Trip-Hop, Chill, Dream Pop]Here is a long existing band who came together in the late 80s, and gained back a great deal of momentum in 2006 after releasing a canon of sorts entitled, All the Blue Changes. They've still managed to hang on to their mysterious progressive yet electronic/ambient sound with their 2008 release of Schoolyard Ghosts; a follow up to their misleading 2007 album The Break-Up For Real, again off of Hidden Art Records.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Blackfield, Frost, Magic Pie, Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree
I'm not a huge fan of cheesy new wave or smooth electro bands, but these guys are an exception. I saw them open for VHS or Beta, who are in fact another exception to that rule, and they definitely relieved me of my simmering excitement. They're they epitome of smooth and sexy. Here's their independently released EP, Pretend Not To Love. Try "Powerstripe" or "Dark Water" all the way through for a sufficient example of their awesomeness.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: VHS or Beta, Cut Copy, The Cure, David Bowie, Glass Candy.
Looking though they’ve been sent directly from central casting, the psych-folk octet Feathers originate from the same fertile New England climates that generated the wayfaring likes of Tower Recordings and the MV & EE Medicine Show. The arrival of their debut album on
Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic’s Gnomonsong label has not gone unheralded, since the group have built a promising reputation through their guest appearances on Banhart’s Cripple Crow and opening for such acts as Sufjan Stevens, Dinosaur Jr.
, and Smog. Home recorded and originally self-released on vinyl, the music on Feathers exists largely in the bucolic countryside previously occupied by the Incredible String Band, Comus and their progressive brethren. This might lead skeptics to dismiss this spirited collective as just another escapist hippie revival, yet throughout the album the casual sophistication of Feathers’ arrangements—as well as their firm grasp of dissolute, post-Siltbreeze dynamics—helps these performances achieve a distinct emotive depth and a gauzy, out-of-time luster.
slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Devendra Banhart, White Magic, Jana Hunter, Espers, Six Organs of Admittance, Matteah Baim, Metallic Falcons, Effi Briest
Truly Amazing!
65daysofstatic began as Iain Armstrong, Paul Wolinski and Joe Fro. Their name is derived from the 1954 Guatemalan CIA white book operation. The three make untypical, yet amazing IDM. Here is there 2008 release, The Distant And Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties, due out this summer as follow up to their last album, The Destrtuction of Small Ideas (2007).
Slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: Mono, Mogwai, Explosions in The Sky, Grails, Russian Circles
65daysofstatic - The Distant... (08).rar
[lo-fi, noise, experimental, garage rock]
The art/rock duo has put out yet another quality LP with their 2008 release of Nouns on the infamous Sub Pop Records. The album is brilliant and compiled along the likes of other rising art/rock garage bands such as Black Lips and Japanther. Definitely an album to hear live.
No Age - Nouns (2008).rar
Here it is, Indian Jewelry's follow up to Invasive Exotics off We Are Free records along side their co-bands Yeasayer and Ponytail! It is incredible and just as deviant yet similar to IE as that was to Rattling Death Train. I personally miss the darkness that was Rattling Death Train, but nonetheless We Are The Wild Beast is still smothered with quality.
[Finnish, Psyche, Freak/Acid-Folk]
God bless Finland and their musical brilliance, beyond the comprehension of the masses. Like Sigur Ros, and of course Bjork, Finland brought us another master, Islaja. She's just as mysterious as expected and wonderfully haunting through and through. She's been called an acid-folk version of Bjork, Nico, and Syd Barrett combined. Check out her latest album, Blaze Mountain Recordings due out soon.
Slightly similar to these crazies or vise versa: White Magic, Bjork, Nico, Kuupuu, Amiina
I'm going back to the old spiel instead of link lists because...well just because, and I'm mainly sticking to lovable carni eccentricities.
o0oo Wizardry and Folklore...brings us an album from a band known as Fantastic Magic, which is an incredibly accurate name, off Abandon Ship records. If you're into freak folk or...idk...Witch Choirs? Then check these guys out, but don't blame them if you happen to trip yourself into your friendly neighborhood psyche ward.
Slightly similar to these crazies or vice-versa: Emeralds,Vodka Soap, Indian Jewelry, White Magic, Headdress, Espers, Metallic Falcons, Islaja
Fantastic Magic-Witch Choir (07).rar
Contact
All upload requests or questions message aim sn: Blannche
[Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual 08]
[These Are Powers - Terrific Sessions 07]
[Holy Shit - Stranded at Two Harbors 06]
[Geneva Jacuzzi - Kooze Control 08]
[Sewn Leather - Danse is Dead 08]
[Peepholes - Teen Hero 07]
[These Are Powers - Terrific Sessions 07]
[Geneva Jacuzzi - Kooze Control 08]
[Sewn Leather - Danse is Dead 08]
[Peepholes - Teen Hero 07]
[Night of Pleasure - Godard vs. Truffaut 7" 07]
[Bubonic Plague - Instant Coma 08]
