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Blair "Hello Halo"




"Back in 2007, New Orleans native Blair was gracing my ears with soft and melodic tracks. A lot has changed for the singer/songwriter since then, she's left the Big Easy for L.A. livin' and currently resides where the indie music pulse thump the loudest: Brooklyn. She also has a new record that released in January on Aquarium Drunkard's endorsed label Autumn Tone. Her debut LP is much deeper than the Pluto EP of 2007, with expanded instrumentation and songs far more dynamic than before. 

"Paris France" is an extension on the type of soulful pop tunes from her earlier releases, complete with strong percussion that would fit perfectly in a jam from swingin' eras gone-by. Meanwhile "Hello Halo" is a great guitar driven track as catchy as it is cleverly constructed, definitely watch the outdoor live rendition below. Die Young oozes with upside and showcases Blair's artistic strengths while maintaining the free-spirited edge so crucial to her success." (via I Guess I'm Floating)

Blair
Die Young
Release Date: January 26, 2010

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/9/2010 7:00 AM | Add Comment

Freelance Whales "Hannah"




"Tambourines, banjo, glockenspiel, cello and harmonium line their music, along with more traditional instruments like guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. And while it’s not entirely original (what is nowadays); they blend the sharp electronic stabs of The Postal Service; the urban country twang of Noah and the Whale and Bishop Allen’s slightly awkward hipster melodies, they come across as a band following their hearts, working on a sound that will satisfy fans of the indie pop genre without slipping into a naff delirium. Anyone vaguely familiar with the bands mentioned will eagerly engage Freelance Whales’ soft, inoffensive swoon pop.

For a band that only formed in late 2008, Freelance Whales have an instant chemistry. Their recently self-released debut LP Weathervanes paints them as a much older band, one that has been writing music together for several years and has grown while learning in New York’s musical playground. Displaying such maturity is a credit to all five members’ ability to not only channel their influences but to evolve and find a unique cross-over that defines themselves without falling victim to the usual clichés. Debut records displaying this much class normally lead to greatness."(via Einstein Music Journal)

Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
Release Date: April 13, 2010

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Shows Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/8/2010 6:00 AM | Add Comment

The Indie Music Grinder Vol. 2


Ed. Note - We had to change the title of this feature from The Indie Music Filter in order to avoid confusion with another web site. Actually, this title works with our graphic and conveys our irreverent view of the indie music scene just fine. Cool beans!



Albums That Make Us Wish The Format Wasn't Dead
Broken Bells
Broken Bells
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Label: Sony
Broken Bells combines the intelligence of The Shins frontman James Mercer with the tight production of Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse. Much like Burton's collaboration with Beck a couple years ago on Modern Guilt, it's a dreamscape of pop goodness. Buy On Amazon




Videos That Don't Suck
Gorillaz new video debuted Tuesday as we mentioned last week and it lived up to all expectations. It's a wild car chase between the cartoon monkeys and guest star Bruce Willis who's playing his typical bad ass character. Check it out below.
Gorillaz Video Link Via YouTube

OK Go succeed in making better videos than music. We all remember their You Tube sensation "Here We Go Again" a few years ago. This one probably took longer to set up, but damn if it isn't worth it.

Joy Formidable have a great new single. This is a band we're just catching up with and it looks like this is the first new material for a follow-up to their debut. Right now, this lo-fi animation is the only place you can hear the song on-line. Now will somebody please download the single and post it somewhere?

Videos That Suck Harder Than Your Mom('s Oreck XL)
Goldfrapp seems to have gone for a retro 80's sound which is one thing we're not terribly excited about, but this video really dissapointed. Is it just us or does wrapping up your ex like a mummy and shooting them off in a rocket seem a bit over the top. Dull dance numbers also ensue along the way. Be warned!

GoldfrappVideo Link Via YouTube

Class Actress's Elizabeth Harper has the looks no doubt. We like her latest album and featured some songs off it this week in our Java Jukebox while she gets set to play SXSW in a couple of weeks. So, why should we mind a video of her squirming around in a sexy outfit. Well, because it's badly lit, out of focus, and winds up being a long boring tease. Good idea, bad execution.


This week, Pitchfork announced more additions to their Music Festival at Chicago's Union Park. 
The artists joining this year's bill are Broken Social Scene, Panda Bear, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, El-P, Girls, Titus Andronicus, Bear in Heaven, Freddie Gibbs, the Smith Westerns, Dâm-Funk, Cave, and Allá.

They say they still have plenty of artists left to announce, so stay tuned.
 The current daily line-up is below with some selected tracks and links to more music. By the way, three-day passes are already sold out, so you're going to want to get your single-day passes quick here.

Friday, July 16:
-- El-P

Saturday, July 17:
-- Panda Bear
-- The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
-- Raekwon
-- Titus Andronicus
-- Freddie Gibbs
-- The Smith Westerns
-- Dâm-Funk

Sunday, July 18:
-- Lightning Bolt
-- Cass McCombs
-- Cave
-- Allá

If you've seen this logo at the bottom of our Java Jukebox posts this week, you've noticed we've been focusing on artists performing at the upcoming SXSW fest. Next to the logo we have a link to the performer's scheduled show(s). We'll be covering as many artists as we can the next couple of weeks until it's over.



May is gearing up to be quite a big album release month. We already reported new albums from indie music giants The New Pornographers and 
Broken Social Scene
. This week we had some news on more new albums
 releasing that month.

Minus The Bear is releasing it's new album Omni first on May 4th on Dangerbird Records. Head over to OmniTheAlbum.com to check out their game OMNI SAYS (an homage to one of their favorite 80's games, Simon Says). They have a new track "My Time" to download there. "Hearing this electronic Minus The Bear may be rather off setting at first. But as the song progresses you realize (we) still have the same band here, they are just trying out some new things."


Band of Horses return with their much anticipated third album, Infinite Arms, on May 18. Touring members Tyler Ramsey and Bill Reynolds were added the band. All five members contributed to the recording process, causing frontman Ben Bridwell to state, "in many ways, this is the first Band of Horses record." (via Pitchfork). We're still waiting for a cover or track list.
Band of Horses - Funeral (from their debut Everything All The Time)



After their hip-hop collaboration with Damon Dash, BlakRoc, Dan Auerbach's solo album, The Almighty Defenders, and Patrick Carney's Drummer project, it seems like the Black Keys were putting their main band on hold. Well, they will be back on May 18 with Brothers, the sixth Black Keys album. Mostly recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama and produced by Auerbach and Carney themselves, Brothers features one song ("Tighten Up") produced by Danger Mouse, who helmed the last Black Keys album, Attack and Release.
Dan Auerbach - Brokenhearted, In Disrepair (from his solo album Keep It Hid)


LCD Soundsystem's new album is due in the UK May 17 courtesy of DFA/Parlophone and May 18 in the U.S. on DFA/Virgin. The nine-track album runs 65 minutes, according to band mastermind James Murphy. He told Pitchfork his label is currently deciding between "Drunk Girls" and "Change" for the first single. Apparently, last year's single (below) will not be on it.
Saving the best for last,
The National's fifth LP, High Violet, is due out May 11 on 4AD. We don't have any cover art or a track yet, but they do have a website where you can see them recording it here. Here's a track they contributed last year to the Red Hot Organization's charity compilation.
The National - So Far Around The Bend (from Dark Was The Night)

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/7/2010 5:04 PM | Add Comment

The Sandwitches "Kiss Your Feet"




"Imbuing new indie music with a heavy dose of early 60's doo-wop isn't exactly new (see The Raveonettes, Jens Lekman, etc.), but it has been primarily concentrated in Scandinavia for reasons unknown (or too lengthy to wax on at this moment). Until now. 

Enter San Francisco's The Sandwitches, a band who brings a sock-hop-meets-monster-mash indie vibe to their music that makes me want to dress up like Rizzo from Grease and tie a cute scarf around my neck. And not in a bad way. Their sound has just the right amount of scratchiness to keep it from falling into a retro cliche...and many of the songs add in a completely different vibe making for a thoroughly A plus album experience (bouncier Cat Power on "Kiss Your Feet" anyone?)."(via The Music File)

The Sandwitches
How To Make Ambient Sad Cake
Release Date (unofficial): March 6, 2010
Label: Turn Up

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/6/2010 6:00 AM | Add Comment

Wakey!Wakey! "Twenty Two"




"Mike Grubbs, the creative tour-de force known as Wakey! Wakey!, possesses two rarities in modern indie-pop: a commanding, scale-ascending voice of vibrant clarity and a classically-trained background that gives his songs a dazzling piano virtuoso musicality. After a slew of NY club dates, two live albums, last spring's War Sweater EP and a growing Big Apple buzzfactor, Grubbs recently unleashed his studio debut full length with the verbosely monikered Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You (Family). Like everything else we've heard from the Brooklyn-based troubadour, we're expecting Almost Everything to be an almost perfect amalgam of intelligent, emotionally centered lyricism, sweeping melodies and wide-screen, theatrical flourishes. This is "big idea" music -- but fortunately for us Grubbs and crew have the chops and the chutzpah to pull it off."(via Direct Current Music)

Wakey!Wakey!
Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You
Release Date: February 2, 2010
Buy On Amazon

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/5/2010 7:00 AM | Add Comment

Class Actress "Careful What You Say"




"Brooklyn: cesspool of indie creativity and the stomping grounds of a seriously potent pipeline o' talent. Most cities have their day in the musical spotlight and then it moves elsewhere around America, yet Brooklyn could be the focal point of an entire book based on their fixation with remaining in the spotlight. Another outfit jumping from the beloved borough onto my computer and into my ears, Class Actress has my head bobbing.

Formerly the solo project of theatre graduate Elizabeth Harper, Class Actress expanded to a trio and further developed their sound into a twist of dark pop infused with electro-beats. Harper's smooth vocals and penchant for melody fit perfectly with synthesizers, urging your body to twist and squirm rhythmically with the music. "Careful What You Say" had me hooked from the in-your-face synth at the beginning, almost lifting my spirits all-together in addition to putting a smile on my face." (via I Guess I'm Floating)

Class Actress
Journal Of Ardency
Release Date: February 9, 2010

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/4/2010 5:50 PM | Add Comment

Slow Club "Giving Up On Love"




"Well, these two sound awfully cheerful for a couple of people singing about abandoning their hopes and dreams! Still, as much as they’re expressing frustration with unrequited love and loneliness, it’s very apparent that they’re having a lot of fun with the drama of it all. Why else would this song sound like such an unironic thrill? On the face of it, Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor are shouting “That does it, I quit!”, but it’s obvious to anyone that they’re actually sweetly proclaiming “I’m ready! Love me! Love me!” The best moment in the song comes when Rebecca sings “I’ve been tired and hopeful for far too long now” on the bridge to the chorus, and despite the negativity in her words, she couldn’t sound more forthright and optimistic. This isn’t really about being sad and desperate, it’s about having a lot of love to give and getting impatient waiting for someone who deserves it all."(via Fluxblog)

Slow Club
Yeah, So
Release Date: March 30, 2010
Label: Moshi Moshi Records

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/4/2010 7:00 AM | Add Comment

The Delta Mirror "He Was Worse Than The Needle He Gave You"




"The trio of Craig Gordon (vox, guitar), David Bolt (vox, gadgets) and Karrie K (vox, bass) uses the descriptor “electro shoe-goth” to capture their sound. It’s pretty dead-on. As with former Portlander Bolt’s solo gig Letdown, The Delta Mirror puts together ambient indie rock with purpose—chirps, whooshes and beeps all find their place over hushed vocals and gentle beats—and, more importantly, melodies. It’s not just an exercise in self-indulgence (i.e. wankery)—these songs are good.

The group’s new release Machines That Listen is out March 16 on Lefse Records (including vinyl!)—nine songs that take place in a different room of a hospital. The concept began with a couple autobiographical songs written by Gordon, who then decided to build the story from there. Each song stands on its own, too. “He Was Worse Than the Needle He Gave You” and album closer “A Song About the End” are the standouts (the latter reminds of Zooropa-era U2)." (via The Days of Lore)

Machines That Listen
Release Date: March 16, 2010

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/3/2010 6:00 AM | Add Comment

Dr. Dog "Shadow People"




"Dr. Dog has been around, as a band, for over a decade now. Their impending release – Shame, Shame – will be their sixth, and it’s undoubtedly their most anticipated. The lead single was released this past week, entitled “Shadow People,” and it shows off an upbeat, polished Americana sound.

“Shadow People” is an I-95 South track, warming as it forges down the coast, the temperature increasing with each state line that passes. It drops you off somewhere around Columbia, SC, in a bar off of the well-worn strip, where there’s no cover and the band is playing for $50 and some beers. In a nutshell, you should enjoy it."(via Tympanogram)

Dr. Dog
Shame, Shame
Release Date: April 6, 2010

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/2/2010 6:00 AM | Add Comment

Holly Miranda "Waves"




"Holly Miranda, lead singer of one of my favorite bands The Jealous Girlfriends, has gone solo for the moment with her new debut LP  The Magician’s Private Library. One thing I knew about Miranda from the few Jealous Girlfriend shows I’d attended – she can sing, and she can rock. Buuut…I had no idea she’d be capable of making such a diverse and spectacular album such as this. Seriously she touches on that Bat For Lashes realm here. Miranda sets down the guitar, picks up EVERYTHING else and layers it behind her ethereal voice. The Magician’s Private Library was recorded with Dave Sitek (of TV on the Radio fame). Apparently they slept all day and recorded all night for three weeks. Miranda says “if my prior recording sessions were school, this was like getting a master’s." (via Pasta Primavera)


Holly Miranda
Magician's Private Library
Release Date: February 23, 2010

SXSW Performer
Scheduled Show(s) Here

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Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 3/1/2010 6:42 AM | Add Comment
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