Weekend Instant Mix Vol. 25: You Have Mail
We've been on hiatus this week test driving cars and listening to snarky salesmen pitches. What I wanted was a sports car so rad it would magically melt the clothes off any hottie on the street. Alas, what I got was a whole lot different. We ended up with an affordable and easy on the gas Kia Sportage. I will say for a factory job, the audio system is banging, equipped with Sirius sat radio, a USB connection, iPod/mp3 player jacks. It also comes with all the bells and whistles you need to make the boring commute to work a little more bearable.Although, I knew the worst part of it was going to be dealing with all the car salesman bullshit. Have you noticed in the car commercials how they always make it sound like you can walk in with nothing and walk away with a insanely low payment? They must assume we're all morons. God knows how they figure those ad prices, but it hardly ever applies to the average working person. I bet you can't watch a half hour of news or sports these days without seeing at least one ad. Man, those guys are desperate now Cash for Clunkers is over. In fact, just this week the owner of one of top car dealerships in the state committed suicide at his own place of business. That's crazy!
Enough about that, let's get down to some tunes. Since our mailbag filled up on us again, we thought we'd go through and deliver the goods. As always, this is a great place to get familiar with some artists you may not have heard of yet. Please keep in mind most of these file links are sent to us by records labels, PR firms, musicians and the like, so let us know if they stop working and we'll make every effort to fix them.
The San Fran quartet Mother Hips has been steadily gaining attention for their brand of loud fuzzed up soul rock. The band's seventh studio album Pacific Dust recently entered Billboard's Heatseekers Chart and they just began a 19 city national tour. The album is out now on Camera Records.Cold Cave is an experimental electronic group from Philly and New York who make melodic synthscapes with jackhammer beats. They acknowledge the dark roots of synth music as potential for making bright pop sounds while celebrating the contradictory beauty of the human condition. They just released their debut album Love Comes Close on Matador Records.San Diego's Tape Deck Mountain first made waves by releasing their debut EP Sparks on the unconventional medium fitting their name. However, the band makes it clear that this format won't become their "thing" when they release their debut full length album Ghost November 17th on Lefse Records.Scanners is a London-based rock outfit receiving acclaim for their sound and on-stage presence perfected by busy touring which included a show at SXSW and an appearance on Last Call With Carson Daly. The first single showcases a dark new wave sound which overlays the haunting melody. It's on their second album Submarine due out February 2010 on the label Dim Mak.For the past 15 years, LA-based drummer Jason Boesel has been planted firmly behind the kit, keeping time for some of the decade's most influential indie bands (Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes). Boesel was inspired to write his own record after his friends raved about the songs he was writing. Now, he's ready to release his solo debut Hustler's Song out January 12th on Team Love Records.NY area singer songwriter Will Stratton released his debut album when he was just 19 (Sufjan Stevens makes an appearance on it). Even at such a young age, he had paired a powerful command of lyricism with potent songwriting and a producer's sense of how best to animate his compositions with depth and deft. Now 22, he recorded his followup No Wonder between classes as he completes college. The album is available now on the label Stunning Models On Display.Twin Atlantic is another exciting band out of Glasgow, Scotland who are spreading their reputation outside their native land. They have yet to officially tour in the US, but they drew rave reviews for their shows at SXSW and more recently at the CMJ Marathon. The band will release their critically acclaimed EP Vivarium to the US in early 2010 with EMI Imports.Cracked Latin has been referred to as They Might Be Giants gone Tropicalia. We think that's an apt description of their new single inspired by frontman Luis Accorsi's oft-dangerous adventures in his native Venezuela. Over hip shaking rhythmic drums, he sings of crooked cabbies, car chases, shaving monkeys and military coups. Just a few of the many thrills from their new album The World Is Cracked Latin just released on Transparency Records.As one of the world's only female Scotch whisky experts, Heather Greene has served on the tasting panel of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh. It was also in Scotland where the singer songwriter conceived her second album Sweet Otherwise. Recorded when she returned to New York, it evokes lush, pastoral landscapes weaving a kaleidoscope of musical elements from classic '60s folk to twangy country to textual electronic of the upbeat '80s. The album is now out on Paved Earth Music.This Sioux Falls, South Dakota group We All Have Hooks For Hands are packing up the van and getting ready for a cross country tour in support of their November 17th sophomore album The Shape Of Energy. If you're unfamiliar with their brand of off-kilter and melodic sing along folk pop, you're in for a treat evidenced by their new single. The new album will be released on Afternoon Records.Toronto based Little Girls, the home recording project of Josh McIntyre and company, are picking up serious critical steam with their darkly lo-fi brand of shoegazy rock. They recently made a pit stop at the CMJ Marathon and are heading on their first North American tour with Japandroids, Wavves, and Nurses among others. Their debut album Concepts was just released on Paper Bag Records.Brooklyn's The Library are a band that transcends the simplicity of their graceful langorous songs which harken back to the early '90s softer side of shoegaze. While the influence of English bands is undoubtedly present, there is a muscular American rootsy quality underlining this dreamy pop band. They are giving away their debut EP The Life and Times of Rosa Lee as a free download here.Once Oklahoma native Audra Lee opens her mouth and lets loose with that voice, pure and strong with a hint of country twang and a twinkle of good humor, you realize this is what she's meant to do. Her distinctive songwriting and voice is one that's capable of relating fully developed characters and stories. She's drawn comparisons to the absurdly gifted Neko Case and Jenny Lewis, which certainly is getting her noticed. Her debut EP Haunt is out on SideOneDummy Records.Austin, Texas is no stranger to excellent music with its SXSW and Austin City Limits festivals, where the college town becomes the live music capital of the world twice a year. Whether that is an advantage or a hindrance for local, homegrown talent is debatable, but one band that has effectively broken through the city's musical static is Brazos. Initially a vehicle for songwriter Martin Crane, it soon became a full band, opening for acts including Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend. Their first full length effort Phosphorescent Blues is slated for release November 24th on Autobus Records.Brooklyn's Paul and the Patients are headed up by prolific songwriter Paul Holmes, who routinely pens and records a couple of tracks a week. Recently, the band decided to capitalize on his bounty by undertaking their To The Lions project, where the band records and posts a new song each week. You can stream their songs or download them in a pay what you want system at their dedicated web site here.Class Actress began in Elizabeth Harper's Brooklyn bedroom along with producer Mark Richardson and some choice vintage synths. The songs quickly grew legs and began to wind up all over NYC's sound stages. The band pulls from variety of styles, ranging from '80s synth pop of Depeche Mode and New Order, the sexuality of early Madonna and the bubbly heartbreak of Mazzy Star. Their debut EP Journal of Ardency comes out February 9th on Terrible Records.Enjoy, GB
Posted by Wake Up and Smell The Music at 11/14/2009 5:08 PM 
Categories: Class Actress,The Library,Will Stratton,Tape Deck Mountain,Heather Greene,Little Girls,Cold Cave,Paul and the Patients,We All Have Hooks For Hands,Mother Hips,Twin Atlantic,Cracked Latin,Scanners,Brazos,Jason Boesel,Audra Lee
Tags: Weekend Instant Mix Mail Bag
Categories: Class Actress,The Library,Will Stratton,Tape Deck Mountain,Heather Greene,Little Girls,Cold Cave,Paul and the Patients,We All Have Hooks For Hands,Mother Hips,Twin Atlantic,Cracked Latin,Scanners,Brazos,Jason Boesel,Audra Lee
Tags: Weekend Instant Mix Mail Bag
Twin Atlantic is awesome!! Their new album, Vivarium, is available on iTunes and definitely worth a purchase. Plus, they are soo cute...
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I love Twin Atlantic. Their album Vivarium is so unique and catchy, I can't stop listening to it!
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