A bunch of 2¢: Rolling Indie Thread 2010

Keep it in here, boys.

― The Reverend, Monday, December 31, 2007 9:16 PM (2 years ago)

I'd really love it if this band sold 1M records this year, but it probably won't happen. They've been a minor obsession of mine for a couple years now, though, and they've finally got a full LP coming in a few months. Here's the first single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCHuNpkGvSo

The Naked and Famous, "All of This"

I really like this song. I bought the single and the other song on there is not nearly as good (or all that similar). If I go delving into their back catalogue will I be :) or :(?

The two eps are more like this, and not like the other song.

dig the wild nothing 7" on captured tracks, nice disco inferno-esque gazey pop

on the highly derivative shoegaze tip, i have also been enjoying the sky drops and depreciation guild albums quite a bit.. not an original idea between them but i dig the sound regardless

"dig the wild nothing 7" on captured tracks, nice disco inferno-esque gazey pop"

Sounded interesting, but 6 Britisher pounds for a 7"? I guess the days of me buying a handful of 7"s I'd barely heard of every week because they were 99p each are long gone. oldmanshoutsatcloud.jpg

(yeah, I guess starving indies probably did lose money on that, and presumably nobody buys anything these days without already having downloaded it so you have no obligation to make things cheap for the mildly interested)

whoops, sorry.. i had no idea they were charging that much, i got it from emusic..

Aha, I will check it out on emusic if I have downloads left. Thanks.

There was some griping on the indiepop list about the cost of Captured Tracks records last week.

Despite the fact that the website appears to be down I would suggest http://sncl.collective-zine.co.uk/ for slightly cheaper Captured Tracks 7"s - even on there it's like £10 for 12" EPs tho so yeah they're not especially VFM as labels go to say the least

didn't they say, once upon a time, that their records were going to "stay in print"? because hey, guess what, that bitters record is suddenly out of print. and now I'M bitters. bitter.

i should have posted this here instead of on that dumb 'sounds like animal collective' thread.

fiveng, 'summer nights', cool song.

the lucky soul record is great. i'd never given them a thought before now.

the new one? i like the first album, though the best tracks were all mined for singles

I've been sitting on it for a couple weeks. Guess it's time to hit play.

xpost--yeah, the new one, it's actually a bit, you know, 'soulful'. the first one seemed like they meant themselves to be posh but they seemed just dull.

the northern portrait album is the best smiths album released in the last 10 years

not totally in love with the production but the songs are v good

"the munchausen in me" and "crazy" are great

love his falsetto at the end of "that's when my headaches begin"

First time listening to these guys, and I'm feeling 'em. I agree with electricsound that the production detract a bit—the singer should be in front more, he's good—but the songs are indeed pretty swell.

glad you guys are digging it. it's definitely also worth seeking out their two earlier eps - the three non-lp tracks on the first one are particularly strong..

Listening to the Naked & Famous single youtube - - - very pretty and toe-tapping sound they've got, the lyrics are kind of distractingly lame though. Just kind of a blizzard of attempts to suggest a messed-up situation but it kind of doesn't add up to much. "Passive me, aggressive you"? Ugh. But a great toe-tapper with nice solos.

(Having not followed indie stuff very closely in several years I feel really short on vocabulary and comparisons to discuss stuff. Like, does everybody have this MGMT-type vocal harmony sound these days, or is that atypical? Etc.)

There's a lot of MGMT-type bands making the rounds these days, but MGMT has always reminded me of a Flaming Lips/Weezer hybrid anyway. Nothing new under the sun.

I buy that depiction of MGMT - - - I'm just referring specifically to the way the warbly vocals are overlaid for added weirdy-wistfulness. If that makes any sense.

MGMT write real good songs but that record is so overproduced. All the fx they dump on there just gets in the way.

the two songs that have been previewed from the upcoming sambassadeur album 'days' and 'i'll try' are each lovely. more of their digital pocket symphonies.

the new seabear album has leaked and it is beautiful. they are like my new gorky's zygotic mynci. they don't sound similar at all but they give me that same folksy, rustic feeling.

i quite like that leading single

veronica falls 45 on cap trax has me thinking that this sort of band is finally moving on from the shop assistants to the cannanes instead

new burning hearts 45 is nothing mindblowing but still good

i wish burning hearts girl would make a new le futur pompiste record instead.

New Radio Dept album details (finally): http://theradiodept.com/

the Gigi album 'maintenant' is really great. gives the soon coming School album something to shoot for. Especially love the Rose Melberg track. also reminds of Saturday Looks Good to Me.

Sambassadeur album is also excellent. Loads of things I like already this year. Most of it is unoriginal and derivative but I don't mind.

title tracks, who i discovered via the '09 thread and who put out one of my favourite singles of last year, finally have an album out. top shelf power pop..

fans of the manhattan love suicides will surely enjoy the medusa snare and blanche hudson weekend records, because they sound exactly like MLS. in a good way though.

new Ruby Suns sounds a lot like the Discovery lp.

Really? That's disappointing. Loved the last Ruby Suns, but wasn't a fan of Discovery.

i think it does. he's definitely working with the same set of world music effects. doesn't remind of the previous record at all. it's better than the discovery lp. i really like it.

I'll still give it a chance. I didn't hate the Discovery record, but I didn't really return to it much either.

so dope

http://scramblerseequill.bandcamp.com/

frightened rabbit's new one brings it. some gigantic moments. definitely a step up imo

On a side note, the sooner every band in the world abandons Myspace and moves to Bandcamp, the better. xp

wow, that Scrambler Seequill band is terrible

Just gave a listen to the Standard Fare album. Someone brought them up in the 2009 thread for their "Dancing" single, which is an absolutely phenomenal song. Glad they decided to include it on the album as well, but the whole thing is really, really nice.

Also, I've been completely under the spell of this song by The Jezabels for about a week now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INaPSKmImbQ

wow, that Scrambler Seequill band is terrible

realized i'm not really into the singer or the songs so much, but the dude who plays most of the instruments is amazing and i got overexcited to find him doing interesting non-jazz stuff

Saw Standard Fare last weekend, they were OK, worth investigating further at least.

Are any of these records P4k's been dropping BNM on worth a shit?

Fang Island - Fang Island
Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
The Morning Benders - Big Echo
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Really, better question: is there any indie worth listening to right now? I've been out of the loop

By out of the loop I mean I barely care anymore

but but but you are kshighway, if you aren't listening to indie what are you listening to? did ilm break you? ;_;

I've heard several of the Gonjasufi tracks on WFMU and liked what I've heard, but that is quite different from the other three records and not at all indie.

I dig the Tits Andronicus. We have a thread on it and everything: titus andronicus - the monitor

yeah great record

but but but you are kshighway, if you aren't listening to indie what are you listening to? did ilm break you? ;_;

― he might have even have gone in. (a hoy hoy)

hahahaha. i've been listening to the same indie stuff i've been digging for the past five years, but also listening to a lot of metal

thanks for the Titus Andronicus tip! hopping over to that thread now

things have been slow for me musically this year, plus i've been real busy with school, but my favorite indies are the titus, northern portrait, and owen pallett

love the Pallett record too! i guess i'll really have to try out the TA record.

Are any of these records P4k's been dropping BNM on worth a shit?

Fang Island - Fang Island
Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
The Morning Benders - Big Echo
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Like the Gonjasufi and the Titus albums quite a bit. Morning Benders didn't grab me at all on first listen. Haven't heard Fang Island at all.

fang island = eeeesh
morning benders = likeable but "Excuses" is the killer song
local natives = less-good born ruffians take-off

people are sleepin on
White Hinterland = loopin' bluebird bassy dirty proj r&b pop
clogs = actually the new one's pretty great, esp sufjan/national dude tracks

really excited about twin sister, but a bit too prolific.

people are really sleeping on the Prudence Teacup LP, "Where All The Little Songs Go When They Die."

I like the White Hinterland a lot. And the new Tallest Man On Earth if that counts.

listening to some tunes off of Real Estate's MySpace page, and i'm not liking it at all

i like this band ok they are chillwavey

inspired by some of the chatter on the Titus Andronicus thread (titus andronicus - the monitor) . . .

what does everyone think the best indie records of the year so far are?

Nina Nastasia - Outlaster
The Mynabirds - What We Lose blah blah
Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
Quasi - American Gong
Anais Mitchell - Hadestown
Gigi - Maintenant

lucky soul 'a coming of age'
jj 'no 3'
sambassadeur 'european'
moto boy 'lost in the call'
i like the gigi album a lot but had to cleave three of the tracks that were pretty annoying.
oh and electric pop group's record isn't probably great but i still like it a bunch since it sounds like a brighter album.

'icarus' is this year's 'tunnelvision'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ4fYlsf-Es

I think that White Hinterland album is pretty great but I guess the boat has already sailed wrt their chances of breaking out this year a la The XX

reserving judgment of the rest of the album til i'm done crushing so hard on this song.

So far, pretty smitten with these, in descending order:

Spoon - Transference
Nina Nastasia - Outlaster
White Hinterland - Kairos
Caribou - Swim
Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb/A Triumph
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Owen Pallett - Heartland

The new Pat Jordache and Land of Talk albums deserve to be listed too, but I will wait to evangelize until they are closer to release.

cinema verite 'postcards' is very good, really very pretty.

samosa OTM. i've now heard that WH song once, via the YouTube embed in this thread, and it's great -- that repeating vocal melody is insane

Who's Pat Jordache? Not familiar with the name at all. (Guess I'll go to the googles.)

Pat Jordache = solo Patrick Gregoire = of the late Sister Suvi, and a former side-man in Islands, and also a member of Tune-Yards' touring band.

this Caribou isn't doing much for me -_-

u crazy

i turn on "Odessa" and zzzzzzzzzzz

she can say
she can say
she can say
she can say
she can say

Kinda strange definition of "indie" tbh -- I'd classify Caribou under some weird dance/pop/psych umbrella of loveliness, and the jj album isn't really "indie" -- more Saint Etienne-influenced breezy pop music than anything else. Spoon I guess are borderline "indie" but they've been doing their thing since the mid-'90s, so I classify them more as a damn good rock band, less as an "indie" band, in the sense that "indie" means "reviewed on Pfork/related sites," which seems to be the definition thus far.

That said, here are the albums I've bought this year that are sorta "indie"-ish:

Beach House - Teen Dream (zzzzzzzzzzz... selling this soon)
Liars - Sisterworld (I guess to some this is "indie rock"? I'd say it's more a continuation, these days, of Jesus Lizard-style noise-rock... haven't had enough time with this album to cast judgment, but their live show is still great!)
MGMT - Congratulations (a mixed bag... kinda cool in parts, though)
Mount Eerie - Black Wooden (haven't listened closely)
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme (this one's really ace!)
Spoon - Transference (again, borderline indie... this is growing on me, though, regardless)
Yeasayer - Odd Blood (MPP-influenced indie psych-pop, I like it well enough)

in the sense that "indie" means "reviewed on Pfork/related sites"

^ more or less what i was going for by saying indie

i kinda thought this thread was for discussing indie that didn't already have one or more threads about it on ilm, but w/e

Oh man that I'd been kinda "meh" on the Beach House but it recently clicked for me in a big way. Still pretty disappointed by the Liars record - it isn't bad, really, but so doesn't live up to the rest of their catalog.

That kinda went out the window when ksh asked for year's best indie albums, didn't it?

xp

I've bought tons of other stuff that's likely been reviewed on "indie" sites, but it's either hip-hop (Wu-Tang, Madlib, Strong Arm Steady, Lil Wayne), noise/noisy rock (Sightings, These New Puritans, Skullflower, Growing), folky stuff (Jack Rose), metal-y stuff (High on Fire), ambient (Eluvium), dance/house/techno/electronic/etc. related stuff (Pantha du Prince, Lindstrom, Juan Maclean, Four Tet, Caribou, Flying Lotus), or else a totally weird hodgepodge of Lord knows what influences (The Knife, Gonjasufi). Nothing I'd really throw under the "indie" umbrella, regardless of where the reviews are being published.

Point being, perhaps, that if you consider any of the above "indie," then you'd do well to listen because I've been enjoying all.

i refuse to post in this thread, .02 means less than good or albums that aren't talked about much.

No, 2¢ means it is (or is supposed to be) populated with opinionated people.

fair enough, though these thread never seem to go anywhere so...

maybe i'm the one who needs to be less jaded , my top ten (no order) so far this year:

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor by far the best thing released this year
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The National - High Violet
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Miles Kurosky - The Desert of Shallow Effects
The Soft Pack - s/t
Four Tet - There is Love in You
The Morning Benders - Big Echo
Spoon - Transference by far Spoon's worst album but still pretty good

i'm sure i'm missing a few.

Four Tet's my #1 on the year thus far.

my top 10 for this year, no specific order

northern portrait - criminal art lovers
title tracks - it was easy
air formation - nothing to wish for (nothing to lose)
the art museums - rough frame
depreciation guild - spirit youth
jerusalem & the starbaskets - battle of the orchids
malory - pearl diver
sambassadeur - european (though i *hate* the tobin sprout cover, spoils the record a bit)
standard fare - the noyelle beat
jonas reinhardt - powers of audition

really looking forward to the beach fossils and wild nothing albums based on their 45s so far

I dated the sister of the Beach Fossils guy for a hot minute, so I'm happy he's getting some recognition (even if I think he kind of sucks as a songwriter).

Standard Fare album is GREAT, though!

the radio dept album gets an hon mention but i'm starting to find his voice a bit annoying

and the school album is still ok despite being my biggest disappointment of the year by far.

'lux' by disappears seems pretty good but i've only heard it through the once so far

depreciation guild is much better than they probably get credit for being a "side" project and all though apparently they predate pains of being pure at heart. their own eternal, but then eternal were never very good.

that is true

I've bought tons of other stuff that's likely been reviewed on "indie" sites, but it's either hip-hop (Wu-Tang, Madlib, Strong Arm Steady, Lil Wayne), noise/noisy rock (Sightings, These New Puritans, Skullflower, Growing), folky stuff (Jack Rose), metal-y stuff (High on Fire), ambient (Eluvium), dance/house/techno/electronic/etc. related stuff (Pantha du Prince, Lindstrom, Juan Maclean, Four Tet, Caribou, Flying Lotus), or else a totally weird hodgepodge of Lord knows what influences (The Knife, Gonjasufi). Nothing I'd really throw under the "indie" umbrella, regardless of where the reviews are being published.

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Wednesday, 5 May 2010 03:07 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wait... wait... someone actually bought Rebirth? why?

Gemini by Wild Nothing just leaked, and it's way fabulous.

woo!

my top 10 for this year, no specific order

northern portrait - criminal art lovers

checking it out on emusic. interesting. these guys must be big fans of the smiths, i think.

haha you don't say

i think once they find their feet a bit more and dude dials back the morrisseyisms they could have a great career

wait... wait... someone actually bought Rebirth? why?

Because I like to follow artists through their "lows" as well as their acclaimed albums. Makes the good stuff sound even better!

Also helps that I found it for, like, $3 in a used bin... already.

openning track on the radio dept album was so miserable, had no intention to ever listen to the rest of the album tbh

feeling really burnt out w/r/t indie recently, but Owen's record is definitely one of my favorite indie records of the year so far

i listened to Contra a lot too

i'll look into some of the stuff everybody listed here though

Follow up to my original post about The Naked and Famous: next single "Young Blood" is streaming on their Facebook page, and it is massively great. http://www.facebook.com/tnafofficial

yea that's really good

i try not to make too many big calls, but i'd say the standard fare album is the 'if you're feeling sinister' of the '10s

the new album by the bank holidays is pretty nice.. floating somewhere between the shins first album and solo kendra smith

so, those new pfrk darlings - Male Bonding - any good?

Artists You've Written Off/Pointedly Ignored because of their name

metal already took all the good band names

indie gets stuck w/ Fang Island, Vampire Weekend, and Male Bonding

LOL @ Fang Island, how had I missed that one until now??

dunno dude, shit got a BNM bomb dropped on it & everything

indie gets stuck w/ Fang Island, Vampire Weekend, and Male Bonding

OTOH, indie has "we were promised jetpacks."

good name.

Male Bonding is a great band name!

They sound a lot like Abe Vigoda to me, though this might just be the short-delay guitar sound. I guess they're a little rockier.

Abe Vidoga is a great band name!

ha ha

Fang Island, Vampire Weekend, and Male Bonding

I guess I get a "one of these things is not like other" vibe here - first two are nonsense combinations of one "scary" word and one "cute/happy" word, whereas Male Bonding is a real thing/term. It could be a hardcore band from 1983.

those two second Male Bonding clips i listened to on iTunes sure sound appealing

the soundscans on emusic sound furious and catchy.

can't even bother w/ most of this stuff these days

just clicked on a National clip & dude sang "EAT YOUR CAKE"

can't even bother w/ most of this stuff these days

now only listening to techno versions of gregorian chants, eh?

i understand.

field recordings of pole vaulters crashing into brick walls

ha!

I'm instantly way into Super Wild Horses: http://www.deliciouscopitone.com/2010/05/super-wild-horses-golden-town/

Just drums and guitar like about 6,000 other bands, but gooder.

first off, I love Enigma.
Second of all, can you YSI pole vaulter found sound?
third of all, posts very much in character.

I'm instantly way into Super Wild Horses

they provided the soundtrack for this underwear ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ihQtSKGgBc

(and our own moley provided the korg!)

Second of all, can you YSI pole vaulter found sound?

sounds something like this, vaguely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ7d4JVB2Uc

That Bonds ad is now my favorite commercial ever.

Most things on Captured Tracks, In the Red, and Florida's Dying labels [in case I haven't mentioned them before] are very good. There's some Cure-gone-garage, synthgarage, and just plain ol' garage. Lo-to-mid fi. I'm impressed.

Fang Island, Vampire Weekend, and Male Bonding

I guess I get a "one of these things is not like other" vibe here - first two are nonsense combinations of one "scary" word and one "cute/happy" word, whereas Male Bonding is a real thing/term. It could be a hardcore band from 1983.

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, May 13, 2010 1:32 PM (Yesterday)

yeah, i wasn't trying to group them according to any criteria except "wow this is a terrible band name"

really confused & feeling old by all these new indie bands coming out that i know nothing about. none of them really sound too appealing, either

The debut album from Avi Buffalo is not that bad. It's sort of like the Shins + poppy WEEN. The bells and whistles don't distract, which is nice nowadays. It might be sort of twee, but I'm twee friendly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tHwJcOWw1c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNaSEQERGz0

Starting to get into some indie records, finally!

Really enjoying a lot of the first half of The National record.

Listened to the new LCD through once yesterday -- man, it's good. "Drunk Girls," which I strongly disliked when I first heard it, makes total sense in context.

lol 2007

http://pitchfork.com/news/38852-new-toro-y-moi-leave-everywhere/

not really sure what qualifies as indie anymore, but i can't think of a better thread to post these than here. i'm interested in hearing what people think. the first track is well... defnitely scandinavian, and the second is 60s influenced indie-pop (original!) but i think i like it.

Jaakko Eino Kalevi - "Poison"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7WSbgpuScs

Cults - "Most Wanted"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMvdhVxSmg4

i agree w/ what's been said upthread about the TA record. that and the gorillaz record are about the only BNM-labelled albums that i like.

i dig this Tame Impala song, solitude is bliss. vocals sound like the clientele, actually. it has some of that woozy vibe, too, but it's more psych-rock.

the tame impala album is pretty good altho nothing really sticks -- dude sounds a lot like john lennon imo -- i'm not huge into psych rock or w/e so i doubt it's an indictment on them in particular -- cool stuff anyhow

decided to watch the video for the male bonding single cuz the pfork tv blurb said that they make out & it's really fucking good (the song)!! (the video is cool & hilarious too btw) -- anyway when i was reading nabisco's pfork review i sort of assumed i just wouldn't dig it cuz this sort of indie rock isn't totally my kind of thing & obv it's hard to make an overwhelming case for an album like this besides saying "it's really hooky, trust me!" which is exactly what nabs did -- in any event i am surprised at how hooky it is, and i should've trusted nabisco -- this kind of strikes the exact point for me where i can tolerate the feedback wind tunnel vibe & at some points (like in "years not long") it actually really works in the songs' favor

tbh i should've listened to it earlier since he brought up abe vigoda in the review -- that album is dope dope dope

calling it one of the "happiest surprises of the year" is pretty otm too -- probably sit through dozens of albums like this a year (not necessarily this exact sort of music, but general boys with guitars indie) & it's weird how one can just sprout of the ground and separate itself

god i am going to do another music review for this website and i'm listening to avi buffalo and god this album is kiiiilling me its soooo fuckiing boring

i'd not paid all that mind to the besnard lakes based on their first album but the latest one is a beautiful piece of work

yeah i like it! a couple songs are totally great destroyer era low, in a good way

yeah the avi buffalo was terrible

dunno guys, if i stumbled across a record by a band called "Avi Buffalo" i'd want to listen the shit out of it

i didn't stumble on it!!! it was sent to me!!!!!!

and now i'm dealing with the repercussions the best way i know how okay?

i empathize & will consider sending a sizable donation your way to assist in your recovery

actually, i won't send you shit, but i do hope you recover from the malestrom that has been most unfairly thrust upon your hitherto placid existence

maelstrom

it's the thought that counts! : )

avi buffalo is my katrina

maelstrom is the best ride in Epcot fwiw

http://family.go.com/images/cms/travel/maelstrom_ts.jpg

here's my review of that avi buffalo...it's one of four capsule reviews for this mpls site:

http://www.reviler.org/2010/05/26/avi-buffalo-avi-buffalo-review-four-takes/

Although they're not the love of my life, Avi Buffalo can play in my kitchen anyday.

sounds like matt would agree with you

lol at "i just don't know why they exist"

smh @ the guy who gave em a 95/100

Besnard Lakes' "Chicago Train" is a beaut.

the other thing that bugs me...it's not that fuckin amazing that 20 yr old kids are making indie rock records...that's the age you SHOULD be in an indie rock band...

ice cube was like 19 when he did straight outta compton...look at stevie wonder..the sex pistols, etc etc tons of amazing music was made my ppl that young, don't act like it so fuckin mind blowing that you can string together some chords and mewl over it then overdub some keyboards and shit

that is bad but this is worse:

They hit every genre here, from soaring 7 ½ minute epics, country-twang, and pure pop sensibilities. It really is a wonder to see this unfold.

because i would argue that "hitting every genre" is not only a terrible argument for why something is good, but it rarely is a property of good music, period

also that's like not even 1/100000th of "every genre"

guys, all those other genres don't really count, so at least give him credit for being internally consistent

i liked "what's in it for" on a jangly, washing over you type of way that i dig real estate -- i'm suspicious of the album tho

hunkering down with beach fossils, neverever and stornoway albums, brb

Molly Ringwald stans for The School

i'd not paid all that mind to the besnard lakes based on their first album but the latest one is a beautiful piece of work

yeah yeah.

i borderline-disliked their last disc, but love their new disc unreservedly.

Same here.

one thing i love in indie lately is "ironic" smooth sax solos, kindof a Through The Night Softly move. Julian Lynch and that Gayngs record are what I'm thinking of.

Great sax solo on the new Club 8 song "Like Me" as well.

hello youtube

ugh fn s club 8

I had no idea... when did S Club 7 become S Club 8?

Anyway, totally different thing.

s club eight is actually the 2nd gen. s club 7 which s club juniors were temporarily called on their way to becoming s club.

...iirc

beach fossils, neverever and stornoway albums

beach fossils disappointing, it's not shit but every song sounds pretty much the same, i guess i was expecting as much but 'daydream' stands above everything else on it. stornoway album not bad but again the single is the best thing on it. neverever album surprisingly good, doing the trashy girl group/blondie thing quite well without the ridiculously overdone lashings of reverb their contemporaries feel necessary

charmparticles, my favourite band of 2008, are putting out a track a month this year. except they started five months into the year. the first two are now up though @ http://music.charmparticles.com/

"charmparticles"

fuck off and die

after thinking about it a bit, i think Contra's probably the best indie rock record i've heard this year

'things you used to say by very truly yours is not only the most ridiculously twee thing i've heard all year but also really good

took me an hour to parse your sentence because i didn't realize "things you used to say by very truly yours" was a band and album title

ah yes i missed out some important punctuation

i liked "what's in it for" on a jangly, washing over you type of way that i dig real estate -- i'm suspicious of the album tho

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, May 26, 2010 8:32 PM (1 week ago)

i dig this

after thinking about it a bit, i think Contra's probably the best indie rock record i've heard this year

you're overthinking it.

bestow upon me the answer of the Unconscious

your Unconscious will now speak to you

.

,

'

vampire weekend is boring.

\(^o^)/

Baths:

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2730-baths/1

So: White Hinterland. Google seems to agree with me that her voice sounds very much like Bjork's.

the Morning Benders record is ace! on first listen: way better than BSS, The National, and whatever other indie rock stuff I've heard this year. actually, unless I'm forgetting something, it's probably the single most enjoyable indie rock LP I've heard all year

Chris Taylor produced this, right? it shows. guitar sounds very similar to Grizzly Bear's in places. has his fingerprints all over this thing. but that's good — his production style's compelling

that Morning Benders album is very good, one of my go to albums at the moment.

yeah man, i was expecting i'd be indifferent to it, but i wasn't! i'll probably revisit it, too

White Hinterland is wonderful. The voice is a little Bjorky but it really strikes me in terms of song structure etc. as a female electronic version of Dirty Projectors. Like if Angel etc. sang ALL of Bitte Orca and not just the two best songs.

Haven't heard Morning Benders though. Will check that out asap.

so this band wye oak have a fn sax player

also their song i hope you die is abt euthanasia(?)

haven't paid much attention to the Avi Buffalo album as a whole but I do like "One Last" a lot.

xp that Wye Oak song is awesome.

that wye oak song is awesome

glad people are coming round to wye oak. their second album is also really great

new les savy fav album!!!!!!! :)

serious question: has any indie record besides the Vampire Weekend produced any interesting discussion this year? it seems like there's been no really engaging discussions about any indie rock records since, like, January

define interesting discussion

something like the Vampire Weekend and M.I.A. threads before they petered out

just saying that it doesn't seem like we've had many big records this year yet -- the stuff that has been acclaimed has been mostly by smaller bands, and the bigger indie bands have all been putting out really disappointing stuff

The bands that people like now are really just one or two people recording tracks in their bedrooms and then posting the mp3s on tumblr where the internets go CRAZY about them for two hours until someone on a different tumblr posts another mp3. I've seen the hype cycle shrink this year to a count of minutes rather than days.

i don't think a lot has changed over the last 4 years or so but ymmv.

vamp wknd and mia both have some kind of larger socio-political steez that makes them discussion fodder, this can be interesting but doesn't really relate to discussion of "music" or "records" all that much.

Mostly that comes down to "what kind of crazy shit is Jessica Hopper saying now?"

yeah, sure — but a side effect of those discussions is that people do talk about the music itself much more

i'm just saying, it seems like the rap world and the pop world have much more going on in them discussion-wise than the indie world at the moment

xpost, obv

Johnny Fever also OTM re the hype cycle — a band really does get, like, week-of-release discussion and then they drop off the face of the planet these days

ummm rap world is pretty stale atm although should pick up with some heavy hitters (for arcade fire read jeezy etc.) this summer

maybe ilx's rap crew just does a really good job making it look like there's always something going on to outsiders, because whenever I drop in to a rap thread it seems like something's going on these days, even pre-Drake Day imo

i remember those days

the halcyon days

i think ksh is right that the hotly anticipated indie discs have largely landed with a thud this year. i don't think the quality is down, but perhaps there's just been a glut of releases from acts whose status as critical darlings was already starting to fray, e.g., the new pornographers; the hold steady; broken social scene. and when there isn't a huge undercurrent of critical praise, it's easy for an act to get lost in this highly fractured, niche-oriented entertainment environment.

SO IT IS WRITTEN, SO IT SHALL BE DANCED

truths once again emit from the keyboard of ilx's seer

nah, i was just f---g with you.

everything's sucked this year, basically.

irl lol

oh, i'm just kiddin'. i don't want to dispel any romantic notions you may have about my profession, kingshgwy1, but as a practicing lawyer, i don't get many chances for irl lol's. except when i read my own motions.

it's true, it's true.

very much so hope all your motions end w/ a "nah, i was just f---g with you"

that line is part of my signature block.

_________________________________
DANIEL, ESQ.
dibble, dabble, delay & daniel, p.a.
0000 lollipop avenue
fla. bar no. 0000000
Nah, I was just f---k with you.

lol

None more twee mentioned the sonnets. They seem lovely. Anyone know anything about them?

the new pornographers; the hold steady; broken social scene.

these bands are all old and that's pretty much the story

Kevin Drew's gotta be like 70

Hetfield had to have been like 85 when St. Anger was released, and that record has given me much joy

actually, "All Within My Hands" bares witness to the very real possibility that Hetfield had at least one heart attack during that record's sessions

these bands are all old and that's pretty much the story

okay, but what story: the story of how they declined in quality, or the story of how they lost the favor of critics?

Sufjan's 34 now — terrified that South Dakota is gonna be worse than a Tapes 'n Tapes jam

James Murphy's 40, by the way, and just put out a stellar record, so

stellar

great point once again

James Murphy's 40, by the way, and just put out a stellar record

with one strikethrough, this is one of the least debatable propositions on this forum ever.

irl lol

okay, but what story: the story of how they declined in quality, or the story of how they lost the favor of critics?

both. it's hard to put out 5 good albums in a row esp. when you're not really changing things up. i wasn't really speaking about age, but obv murphy is a late bloomer and a special case.

Radiohead did it

they put out seven good records in a row

but, yeah, it's hard to put out one good record, really. it's just a coincidence that a handful of bands a bunch of critics and fans like put out lukewarm efforts in the same year

"pitchfork reviews reviews attends record label showcase and interviews tame impala lead singer about his pitchfork score and how much weed he smokes"

i said something like “you don’t have to answer this, i know it’s tacky but i’m just genuinely curious, how much money do you guys make off your record deal?” and he told me that each member of the band gets $500 a week from the label, and no matter how many records they sell or if their songs are in cadillac commercials they don’t get any more money than that. so now you know how much money some indie bands that get best new music get

25K a year isn't much to live on. i guess they have day-jobs?

that stinks, actually. artists -- like educators -- are terribly undervalued.

tame impala have their own thread

Just gave my first listen to The Sirens of Venice's record, and only did so because main dude Craig Jackson used to be in Gersey. I LOVED GERSEY, but this is like a moderner betterer version I think. It's thoroughly delightful.

http://www.myspace.com/thesirensofvenice

i loved the debut gersey album but it was diminishing returns from there

this stuff sounds like debut album-era gersey with more interesting production

i dig

The new Club 8 is very interesting!

Yeah, I really like all the drummin' on the Club 8 record.

xp Gersey's second album Storms Dressed As Stars was the best I thought, and "The Night We Walked to Mexico" was one of my favorite songs of the '00s.

By out of the loop I mean I barely care anymore

― ksh, Tuesday, March 23, 2010 5:11 PM (3 months ago)

need a vacation imo :-/

it's good but i have a v different perspective on them having kinda seen them grow up in public.. the first album felt like it was way better than it should been. but by the time that second album came out my interest was already on the wane..

xpost

*have been

A fair assessment, considering I live half way around the world, have no first hand experience with them, and only came to know them around the time of the second album (going back and hearing the first one when I already had the second one to compare it to).

kinda OT but it's always funny discussing bands with someone from their local scene when you're not. i remember talking to this swedish dude once about the leslies (who i really like) and he basically gave the impression they were considered a complete joke in their hometown..

I know what you mean. I was living in Nashville when Kings of Leon gained recognition, and in interviews they talked about their Nashville upbringing and musical roots and all the usual stuff. EXCEPT they had never come up through the live circuit, no one in town knew who they were, as if they'd been formed in the lobby of RCA and signed to a major record contract five minutes later.

that's the case with almost every aussie band that gets big quickly. at least i can remember jet playing shitty venues round town for a while before they got popular

glad people are coming round to wye oak. their second album is also really great

I saw them a few months back & they slew & I finally got the new-ish EP & The Knot

they kick ass

any thought on this tv buddah band?

i kinda dig them. singer sounds a little like the urge-overkill guy. also: gritty, dirty rock with okay riffs.

i like the allo darlin' album a lot.

i still need to snag that Wavves record. didn't mind Wavvves at all

Wavves: making wavvves with ksh!

finally listened to it earlier tonight -- album's not bad at all! cleaned up production is A+, songs are fun

Been spinning the debut from Blue Hawaii alot. Band from Montreal, cassette only release called Blooming Summer but it's available as a free download from Arbutus Records. Personal favourite is Blue Gowns, but it's all good. Not quite chillwave(lol) if chillwave is beachy and relaxed and nostalgic and distanced, this is emotional and icy and ethereal.

My brain keeps filing it as a musical sister to White Hinterland's excellent Kairos even if the latter is more mathematical and technical and Dirty Projectors-y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zfn6_uQF94

Also, this has been making the rounds, but if you haven't heard Valley Maker yet:

http://valleymaker.com/

Dude from South Carolina, friends w/ Toro Y Moi, but did this really intense and gorgeous folk album as his Master's Thesis. It's based on the book of Genesis and traffics pretty heavily in Biblical tropes, characters and imagery but it's not necessarily RELIGIOUS per se...works from the characters' viewpoints, and feels very...human? Not sure if that actually means anything.

Contender for my top 10 of the year, probably.

http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/849586962/soundscan-numbers-for-selected-2010-releases-week-of

Sleigh Bells sold WAY more records than I thought they would've by now

cracks me up that LCD Soundsystem is outselling Janelle Monae?!

holy shit @ broken bells

huh i had no idea vampire weekend was that popular

http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/849792870/interpreting-the-soundscan-numbers

This Suuns ep is actually really, really good. Too good to be free, even. But hey, it's free anyway.

http://secretlycanadian.com/suuns/

thx johnny...

man this sounds a hell of a lot like clinic right off

oh thanks! I was trying to place the similar sound, but I was blanking on Clinic.

Betty and the Werewolves = big fans of Talulah Gosh.

nice little record that one

it is, and on damaged goods who have a pretty unimpressive hit to miss ratio normally. there seems to be a fair number of very good indiepop records around lately. a resurgence come after a bleak few years.

One more thanks for Johnny. That Suuns thing is really nice. I have this feeling that there's more to be wrung from the Clinic formula, and that it may take another band to do it...

New His Name is Alive is very pretty. I am not sure it is new though, something about it being part of that 11 disc box set they released a few years back. still, very pretty.

the new Candy Claws is also very nice perfect record to just let wash over, they improved the production nicely although the vocals are still for effect only, sounds as if they've picked up some ambition as well. still hippies though. like the Swirlies if they were hippies.

ok the Betty & the Werewolves record is seriously growing on me - gonna end up in my top 10 for the year for sure

i agree w/ keith that damaged goods is pretty hit and miss but they've put out at least one fantastic record each year for the last few years (though tbf two of those were the graham day albums)

i think sometimes damaged goods is more concerned if something is authentic than if it is good.
nice interview with amelia fletcher and some former home secretary from the uk who longs to be a pop star--http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t6xs2
betty and the werewolves is a really smart pop record.

will have to listen. though tender trap just seem to get duller and duller

is this the new arcade fire thread

you may discuss their debut EP only

young adults demo bringing back very favourable memories of classic era GbV

this is well good

I'd be neglecting my hype hype duties if I didn't post the new Naked and Famous video here like I have the last two. So excited the album is due within just a few weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCcUXEC5_eU

Kind of feeling this album lately: http://mixylodian.com/album/wild-in-church

I can't trace a direct lineage back to stuff I was listening to in 1997, but it incorporates found-sound samples and cheapo keyboards with singers of both sexes making sometimes upbeat/sometimes droney stuff. I'm getting nostalgic for nothing in particular, besides a feeling music gave me in the late '90s.

the sally seltmann record is making me smile, smart and quirky aussie pop. are her new buffalo records as good?

the debut EP is awesome & a million times better than her current stuff, the debut full length not as great and more in line with what she's doing now

smart and quirky aussie pop

this is depressing me and i don't know why

sorry

but it is nice. isn't it?

no no not that you said it, just that there is almost nothing in aussie pop i find terribly appealing anymore

yeah her album is decent, i find the lyrics a bit too cloying to relax into but it's well made for sure.

that Balam Acab See Birds EP is sounding promising on the first listen. they seem to have a bit of buzz going on right now.

genuinely curious what quarters the buzz is coming from, Bee? havent heard of them until now

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14548-see-birds-ep/

ty

i didn't know it was from Pitchfork until i looked

new Grass Widow album pretty good, riyl liechtenstein / look blue go purple

jim, do you like wintercoats? he's australian right? i like his EP, it's nice, a bit like Spoonfed Hybrid except the singing sounds like the guy from Cody.

sounds like the guy from Cody

(I quite liked them, assuming we are talking the Cody on Shifty Disco/Kooky/Shinkansen. But not for the vocals, it has to be said.)

i haven't heard of wintercoats, i will seek them out

cody's first bunch of singles were v good i thought, particularly 'simple'

i think you'd like them. i like cody's second record as well, it's a pretty good impression of a twee new order in parts. one of cody made that nice cathode record, has he done more?

Kind of feeling this album lately: http://mixylodian.com/album/wild-in-church

I can't trace a direct lineage back to stuff I was listening to in 1997, but it incorporates found-sound samples and cheapo keyboards with singers of both sexes making sometimes upbeat/sometimes droney stuff. I'm getting nostalgic for nothing in particular, besides a feeling music gave me in the late '90s.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, August 17, 2010 2:50 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

my guitarist's high school art teacher is mixylodian! have you heard the song eagle bird on his myspace? not a serious song but was extremely funny to us all when he showed us

Yeah, that song is great. Cool small world.

the new brother kite is better than i thought it would be based on the previously released demos but not as good as the last one i think, missing a lot of the pretty atmosphere, mostly they are relying on his voice on this record, the music is mostly understated but i've only listened once.

Just found this song by A Singer Must Die. Anybody familiar with them? Looks like they released an album in 2007, but I haven't heard it (yet). There's an ep coming out soon (maybe).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ9PYVrkpFw

volcano playground have a terrible name but are rather good. from toronto. their ep is available for free download on their facebook page. dreamy propulsive stuff.

New song from The Radio Dept. and it's very good.

http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/09/the-radio-dept-the-new-improved-hypocrisy/

frightened rabbit's new one brings it. some gigantic moments. definitely a step up imo
― burrr-zum (jk), Tuesday, 2 March 2010 02:26 (6 months ago) Permalink

First listen to this today, and have spun it four times in a row. Love it.

listening to the new Zephyrs album on club ac30

sounds good, bit more interesting than their earlier stuff, but the weedy vocals give the whole thing such an anonymous sheen that totally prevents me from loving it

maladies of bellafontaine single on static caravan = great and surprisingly catchy too

frankie rose album is a whole lot of pretty nothingness on 1st listen, perhaps it is a grower?

I had the same impression. Nice sounds. No songs.

Anyone check out The Young-Voyagers of Legend? Loving it so far, LP out on Mexican Summer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9xLsNXuGc

Half the songs on the Strange Boys' new album, Be Brave, sound like warped versions of the Stones' "Sweet Virgina."
The title track is not one of those, but it is one of my favorites from 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEQd-1XdIs

I'm also starting to like the new Menomena album more and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI8aQVbvTsc

only just found stewart anderson's 'wetherbeat' compilation, it is fantastic. with all of the noisy, tuneless warbling about stewart anderson almost seems influential now.

ha

i like parts of that comp but overall it is v patchy.. though it doesn't really pretend to be anything else

patchy? it is 36 songs. maybe i am listening with my own high school ears. funny that boyracer hasn't really gotten much better since high school. have you seen the book?

yeah, it was a cute read, though obv it's not a scene i felt especially close to

be brave is great glad to see it getting some love. i started a strange boys thread in hopes that the new album would blow up but i found the rest of the songs way too tame & lacked a lot of the quirk & swagger of best shit on the previous one(s)

also this comment is two years late but its pretty lol that rev started this thread.

this menomena is kinda cool

new (& free) procedure club album on beko digital is heaps better than the slumberland one, which is still quite good

they've gone a bit darker this time out

new strand of oaks album is real solid.

the hello seahorse! record is a real surprise, arty and clever, her singing is fantastically odd. they were once so dull.

didn't mind the last hello seahorse record, so i'll check out the new one

just got the seeräuber jenny single 'push it away' and i'm instantly smitten

been on an emusic downloading frenzy so will have much ignorable babble to post tomorrow

i came here to say only one thing:

the fresh and onlys - play it strange.

is this good? i've got it on my emusic saved-for-later list.

yeah, it's good: a bit of a fresher attitude towards garage music.

maybe too amateur, time will tell.

yeah listened to a bit of that and it's really good

been digging this Black Angels "Phosphene Dream". beautiful vinyl

by contrast the only Fresh & Onlys record had some of the fugliest art/design ever. music wasn't bad tho. this was like 3 years ago

only Fresh & Onlys record I'VE HEARD

that should say

got the fresh & onlys in my listening q

looove their cap tracks EP

fresh and onlys is on captured-tracks still, right? good label iirc.

they only had the one EP on CT, the new LP is on in the red

adore pretty much everything CT puts out these days

yeah yeah

girls at dawn LP on norton not bad at all, opens up sounding a bit like a popsike talulah gosh, then settles into more of a girls in the garage thing while managing to avoid sounding like vivian girls pretty well. woulda liked more songs like the opener though, it's a lovely sound. was surprised by the norton thing before listening but makes perfect sense now

new le futur pompiste is very good on first listen although I am not much for the guy's voice. reasonably similar to the debut. still vaguely well actually pretty blatantly really stereolab-ish.

i'm amazed that the Aias album isn't on elefant being that they're spanish fuzzy girl pop but considering that the last handful of singles released on elefant are among the worst pieces of music i've ever heard in my life (that papa topo single made me feel violent) they're probably better off

oh what i meant to say is that the Aias album is very good

been thrashing the lucky soul album recently, i've decided it's heaps better than the debut, will def make my top 10 for the year

hmm ok I've been pretty unimpressed with Lucky Soul so far including seeing them live but I'll give it a go

yeah the arrangements are fussy enough that i can imagine it not working very well live, but everything sounds really confident on the record..

loving Fresh and Onlys!! Although it reminds me quite a bit of Mag. Fields?

new crystal stilts 45 not bad

sounds like someone gave them a flying nun compilation. i hope this is indicative of future directions

i like that crystal stilts band.

hm.

On Friday, October 29, Calgary indie rockers Women played a contentious gig at Victoria, British Columbia's Lucky Bar. According to Exclaim, intra-band punches were thrown, and guitarist/vocalist Chris Reimer announced it was their "last show as a band." A witness told Exclaim, "(Singer/guitarist) Pat (Flegel) started throwing punches at his brother [bassist/vocalist Matthew Flegel] during their set-up and soundcheck. Full on 'break it up' brawl between the brothers."

* * * *

Here is the latest, full statement from (band manager) Russell:

"With a heavy heart, we regret to say that the band Women is exhausted and are in need of a break from touring. They have experienced a lot of stress recently, and this culminated in a disastrous public conflict on Friday. Band members have been suffering from poor health, and are in near-exhaustion; as of today, all upcoming shows have been cancelled.

We feel that it's necessary to emphasize that this is a very difficult time for the band, and is not a trivial decision for a group that has spent as much time touring as they have. The band is a close-knit group of friends that have known each other since elementary school, and the personal health of these individuals forces this decision.

The band would appreciate some privacy as they sort things out and recover."

The band has cancelled all of their upcoming shows, including a European tour.

sucks! but they have toured a lot this year.

mighty clouds is fred thomas and betty marie barnes, sounds like what he always sounds like but thankfully he doesn't sing and betty marie barnes was the best slgtm singer.

Any thoughts on the Jaill record on Sub Pop? Pretty decent record, imo.

what does it sound like?

I'm so bad at describing stuff sometimes, but its these guys from Milwaukee that play what I've seen described as "psych-pop", but I really don't hear a whole lot of "psych". More of a surf vibe and a teeny bit of "twang" in a few of the tunes. Really poppy, guitar-driven indie with lots of sing-songy melodies, I guess.

I'll take my praise of Peter Wolf Crier to this thread.

Jaill is kind of like a twangy New Pornographers (sans Neko) imo. I like it a lot!

Hmm, not sure I would have ever made that comparison. No soaring harmonies and a little more dependent on playful guitar runs, imo.

I didn't come up with that myself, but when I heard it, it made sense. You're right about the lack of soaring, though.

seeland cover of fenwyck's "mindrocker" = <3 <3 <3

this band 'mirrors' desperately want to be OMD - who can blame them - but the tunes are p decent

Oh damn, I heard something really great the other day and meant to come post it in this thread, and now I can't remember who it was. Sorry, y'all.

frankie rose album is a whole lot of pretty nothingness on 1st listen, perhaps it is a grower?

― hypnopriapism (electricsound), Thursday, September 30, 2010 2:19 AM (1 month ago)

I had the same impression. Nice sounds. No songs.

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, September 30, 2010 2:20 AM (1 month ago)

Anybody been able to derive real pleasure from this thing yet? I gave it another go last night and...it's like it was before. I actually have to give them credit for resisting the impulses they must have had to turn these things into real songs and opting not to.

haha

no, my impression hasn't changed either. in fact it was probably cemented further by finally hearing the dum dum girls album and realising just how far down the totem pole the frankie rose album is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm8EmhXTkvg

http://acollectionofbizarredistortions.tumblr.com/post/1627262228/this-is-an-example-of-the-new-chapel-club-sound

imo Chapel Club has progressed rapidly from "hmm, that's nice" to "wow, that's REALLY great," especially with their song "The Shore". Now they've posted a track from their upcoming ep named "Telluride" and it's absolutely sublime (see above link).

i'm really starting to dig the debut album from Lower Dens, it's called Twin Hand Movement. it has been out since July but was just recently turn on to it and feels more like a winter album anyways. female vocals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScDgf5CQ-tw&feature=related

i see Liz Colville on Pitchfork gave it a 8.1: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14339-twin-hand-movement/

appropos of nothing, i suppose, but i am so bummed about the "major indie" labels leaving emusic.

ah, well. LET'S GO EAT A GODDAMN SNACK.

digging this -- soft moon -- from the captured tracks label.

on my d/l list for tonight!

only $5.39.

also get the jameses' singles if u haven't already for they are crackers

i think i love this album

http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2010/10/The-Soft-Moon-The-Soft-Moon.jpg

it's on captured tracks. there's a new album by the minks on the same label; same general aesthetic and vibe (early-to-mid 80s gothy noir), but aside from the singles i've already heard, it doesn't seem to hit the same highs.

I've heard one song by each of these bands. Based on them, I like The Soft Moon more as well.

or wait...are you saying you like Minks more?

whoa i didn't know the minks lp was out too. only just got the soft moon one, haven't had a chance to listen yet but i did prefer the minks 45s to the soft moon ones a little..

cosmetics album on the way too i see, among others. really want a soft metals album, that EP is tremendous

not an ep. looks like a full-length: by the hedge

and i already think i may have judged it too harshly. think: the cure.

by EP i was referring to the soft metals EP

soft metals ep sounds like it belongs on the italians-do-it-better label, not captured-tracks. but it is good.

i do not know that label. should i?

soft metals inspired me to get a pro one synth

chromatics and glass candy. i gotcha now

i can barely play classical guitar; i wouldn't know what to do with a pro one synth. frankly, i'm mystified by how so many talented people make music these days, e.g., hip-hop and laptop music.

soft metals sound just like those two IDIB bands imo.

it speaks to me on a pleasing level

what do you think of the jameses (another captured tracks band)? i'm considering downloading their new single, caribou, but . . . eh . . . not sure.

not a patch on 'rat people', which is in my top 10 for the year. only listened to the newie once so far though

i was actually thinking of just downloading the caribou and rat people singles.

just for the hell of it, my cap-tracks top 10 for 2010 (as of right now):

1. beach fossils - daydream 45
2. wild nothing - cloudbusting 45
3. the jameses - rat people / haunted rider 45
4. soft metals ep
5. wild nothing - gemini lp
6. minks - ophelia 45
7. fresh & onlys - august in my mind ep
8. cosmetics - sleepwalking 45
9. aias - s/t lp
10. girls names ep

ophelia is what turned me on to minks, but i think i like their other single -- funeral song -- even better. and i think i like soft moon's singles better than anything on that list, tho i love almost all those songs (i still don't get the fresh & onlys).

interesting labels fixations for me this year: captured tracks; sacred bones; whatever label the dirty beaches have put out singles on (the zoo music and sibling-sex labels are the ones i know).

oh tbh if i did a top 20 the quality difference b/w 1 and 20 would still be small

fresh & only song on that EP to hear is 'you're known to wander' imo

i dig the veronica-falls singles on captured tracks, too (especially found love in a graveyard).

listened to the minks lp last night, i really like it. it's maybe not as 'impressive' sounding as the soft moon but i think the songs themselves are more up my alley..

memoryhouse 45 on suicide squeeze totally wonderful. it sounds like what the beach house album might have aspired to were it to live up to its hype

new klima record is beautiful. guy fixsen is missed only slightly.

really surprised how much i like this heavy hawaii disc. i normally don't like beach-boy signifiers these days, but this band brings a dark undercurrent to the music, which is a nice touch.

the most immediate, catchy single is teen angel (youtube link).

anyone familiar with this disc or the band? is HH a melodic noise band?

super excited for the dirty beaches' full-length disc, badlands, which is out in march on zoo music:

Currently in Portland now at a roadside motel called The Palms, on N interstate. It has a giant flashing neon palm tree as their sign. Like something out of a movie, $50/night with Wi-fi. I'm in a smoking room and it doesn't smell like ass. Highly recommend it to those on the road passing through Portland.

In terms of the up and coming full length "Badlands" LP, I have already submitted all 8 tracks to Zoo music last month, the cover art is almost finished, and we will need to get it mastered and the whole 9 yards but we are shooting for march 2011 as the current release date. I'm very excited and can't wait until it comes out because I worked my fuckin ass off for this LP. I have enough b-sides from this album to make another album. (Some, which you will hear in the upcoming split 12" with Ela Orleans)

A brief background on the LP:
The concept behind Badlands, is about a man who is possessed by the road. My mother used to say to me, "you walk at night often enough, sooner or later you'll run into a ghost." I think its very true, as the devil comes in all forms. Just here to fuck your shit up.

Side A will be all bangers, with songs about leaving, and being chased on the road, and driving a burning car into oblivion. Side B will be ballads, and dirges laced with murder and lament. Expect similar fidelity as golden desert sun and night city recordings. I am looking into upgrading my recording gear as soon as them paychecks come in, so to deliver a better quality product to the listeners. But as of now, its budget home recordings.

In the meantime, I'll be making my way north, up to vancouver after this weekend. It has been a long journey since I left montreal last month. Highlight being driving from NY to san diego in 45 hrs with 3/5 of the crocodiles. we drove non stop other than gas/peepee/shit and food. 4 drivers on shifts. Everyone was amazing, no one bitched or complained. We just drove that motherfuckin van all the way across the USA. I was the only night owl of the group so I had the 3am to 9am shift. Driving across the desert at night until the sun came up is a memory I will always cherish and remember forever.

to good health, and safe driving.

love
alex

cover art:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-CPxVpR7DwQ/TOMcl2dS9SI/AAAAAAAAAI0/QWt8AaxI5iw/s1600/badlands+250.jpg

i've briefly mentioned it here before but does anyone else fuck w/ the beko digital label? free music every monday and the quality level is pretty high if you like yr indie electronic and/or fun

1. beach fossils - daydream 45
2. wild nothing - cloudbusting 45
3. the jameses - rat people / haunted rider 45
4. soft metals ep
5. wild nothing - gemini lp
6. minks - ophelia 45
7. fresh & onlys - august in my mind ep
8. cosmetics - sleepwalking 45
9. aias - s/t lp
10. girls names ep

This is interesting to me because I've only really recently discoverd Captured Tracks thanks to Blank Dogs (whom I love!) and I'd expect this year's album on that list. I need to check out this other stuff though, ASAP.

blank dogs are getting better but i haven't quite fallen in love with them yet.. having said that i haven't delved into the new LP heavily..

I suppose I could look at it as, if the Blank Dogs LP isn't even the 10th best thing this label has released in 2010, then I need to get to listening!

see also the sacred bones and zoo-music labels. artists on both have similar aesthetics to those on the captured tracks label, sort of.

hozac and not not fun are also in the ballpark, though more garagey overall

Yeah I've heard stuff on Not Not Fun, but new to those others mentioned.

semi-representative sacred bones act -- nerve city

semi-representative zoo music act -- the dirty beaches

the zola jesus stuff on SB is great, like the electric bunnies 45 too. find it a bit patchy overall tho

the Weekend album on slumberland is growing on me, after initial impressions of it being crap

getting huge laughing clowns/ed kuepper vibes off the girls names' EP on tough love from earlier this year. heaps better than their CT one.

the my autumn empire record is very nice, very july skies/epic45/pastoral england which is about right since it is one out of epic45

Okay, digging into some Captured Tracks stuff right now, really liking both of these Jameses 7"s.

This is great! Kind of sounds like old Magnetic Fields, but (way) more lo-fi.

http://honeydrum.bandcamp.com/

i think i've gone on-and-on about this band in this thread, perhaps too much. but at the risk of pushing the envelope again, i'll mention that the dirty-beaches posted a great live session on the daytrotter site yesterday.

Okay, really been going crazy for Captured Tracks stuff lately, picked up a bunch of the 7"s off iTunes as well as ordered physical copies of the Aias record and the new Wild Nothing EP. Such a great label right now, think the Soft Moon full-length will be up next for me.

yeah, it's been a great year for that label, and the sacred bones label, which shares a similar aesthetic, sound and vibe.

Late to the party with this Fresh & Onlys record, but it is fantastic. Really loving it.

i know right

starting to regret bigging up beko DSL upthread, they've been really laying the witch house crap on thick lately

haven't been able to get into the fresh & onlys much. their name bugs me, but i don't think that's the reason.

kinda diggin' this ep (only now available digitally, i think) from föllakzoid. they're from chile, and the ep is on the sacred bones label. proggy-ish.

anyone know anything about the band, or the to-be-released-in-2011 ep?

i just saw the 2-songs for $6 thing and immediately ignored that one i think. will see if i can find it elsewhere for more reasonable $$

yeah. twenty minutes of total music.

this is really sweet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wkegccROqs

dirty beaches full-length badlands, appeared early on emusic

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-CPxVpR7DwQ/TOMcl2dS9SI/AAAAAAAAAI0/QWt8AaxI5iw/s1600/badlands+250.jpg

really great.

noticed that and thought of you

thanks. frustrating that i saw it while my internet connection was broken (by florida power & light's meddling). just got chance to download it earlier today.

i'm probably the only person who cared about this disc, but i guess that's what the "rolling 2 cents" thread is all about.

did i never mention thrushes on this thread? their '10 album is a wonderful thing, like the first velocity girl album / red dye # 5 thing but better

has anyone heard of -- or have an opinion about -- this self-titled debut by conspiracy of owls? i'm not even sure it's indie (at least in sound/vibe, it's much closer to 70s am rock).

about 50% of the time, i like the soundscans. about 50% of the time, i'm not sure.

Tennis album has appeared.

and? . . .

it's arriving on emusic on january 18. not sure if i'm gonna download it.

Some of you might like this (it ended up being my #18 album of the year). Youcoco - Big Now!. Two women, kind of a more '90s-style K or Kill Rock Stars-type of rock instead of reverbed-out Dum Dum Girls or Best Coast stuff. Also, from Slovakia! I don't think I've ever liked a band from Slovakia before, though I don't know if I've ever heard a band from Slovakia before. Anyway...

http://www.deadred.sk/sk/releases/big-now

(You can actually download it in super low quality by right-clicking and saving each link)

i like the tennis record. it is aislers set-y/secret goldfish-y in that i think it's smart and restrained. also there is a new christmas aislers set song on the aislers set myspace page.

time for a new rolling thread. next year's going to be good, i think.