Thom Yorke – “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses”
Thom Yorke has just released a new 12″ this week featuring two tracks, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” and “The Hollow Earth”. I was particularly drawn to this track and it’s back story of apparently being the predecessor to one of my favorite Radiohead tracks, “Reckoner”. You can definitely hear it. Enjoy.
Electric Tickle Machine –“Gimme Money”
Yeah, your totally going to buy this album just for the cover. Electric Tickle Machine is an unsigned NY-based garage rock group (sounding very San Francisco, I might add) whose debut, “Blew It Again”, is due out October 7. Vinyl copies of their album will be sold at their shows followed by a digital release to be made available on the band’s website. Check their site for tour dates near you.
Alberta Cross – “Broken Side of Time”
The band has released their debut album on their website for streaming and digital download today – a full week early. (And using Topspin, I might add.) One of my favorites for 2009, go get it!
Obsessed: Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs, due out September 8. Pre-order now on Matador. Then get your tickets to Treasure Island Music Festival to see them live on October 18.
“What else is there for us to do…”
The Layaways – “Keep It To Yourself”
One of the most brilliant things about music is the ability express a mood or articulate a feeling that you just can’t put into words yourself. Chicago indie rockers, The Layaways, do just that for me. I think La Blogotheque expressed it best when they said, “J’aime bien les chansons de The Layaways.” Moi aussi. Their bittersweet, melodramatic indie pop hooks tap into a kind of universal woeful lament that anyone can relate to at some point in time in their lives.
But best of all, the band is giving away their latest release, “The Space Between“, for free! Absolutely no strings attached. Go get it and enjoy.
Artist: She Keeps Bees
Album: Nests
File Under: Lo-Fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Heartless Bastards, Cat Power, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Jack ‘n Meg
Featured Tracks:
No frills, stripped down, raw, lo-fi, bluesy indie rock. You like that kinda music? Me too. And this Brooklyn-based duo, comprised of Jessica Larrabee (vocals, guitar) and Andy LaPlant, gives it up in spades. The first hit I got when I heard their album was a stripped down version of the Heartless Bastards. Like Erika Wennerstrom and Cat Power, Larrabee’s voice has a similar bluesy, soulful quality. And given their relationship status (boyfriend/girlfriend) and blues rock vibe, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to The White Stripes.
Oh, and then there’s the songwriting! Powerful and seductive, it’s hard not to get caught up in Larrabee’s conviction on “Gimme” as she pleads “Gimme, gimme, give it to me daddy/ Work me like my back ain’t got no bone.” And my personal favorite, “My Last Nerve”, where she growls “Lord, I am tired of this same old bullshit…” just gets me every time.
Nests, originally self-released by the duo in 2008, has been reissued this year under Names Records along with their Revival EP. Go get it. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks See What You Hear for turning me on to this one!
North Carolina’s Floating Action self-titled debut is the latest work of Seth Kauffman – who already has a couple of albums under his belt by his own name. He mashes up a lot of influences on the album, but the jangly, soulful, lo-fi rhythms shine through. The perfect song for such a beautiful, balmy day here in San Francisco.
Here We Go Magic, “Tunnelvision”
The debut album by this Brooklyn-based group has been on heavy rotation for me quite a while. Even more so now that the Grizzly Bear/ Here We Go Magic show at The Fillmore is merely days away. I’ve been listening to it incessantly all week and I am as infatuated with Luke Temple’s (Magic) voice as I am with Ed Droste’s (Grizzly Bear). Both are pure and angelic and the two bands complement each other perfectly.
Both albums are atmospheric but Magic is decidedly more lo-fi and ambient in a Panda Bear kind of way with lots of loops and multi-tracked vocals. The beautiful, murky rhythms of “Tunnelvision” and “Fangela” are representative of much of the sound found on the album. But I must confess they lose me on a couple of their noise, experimental tracks toward the end. While it’s a bit incongruent to the overall flow of the album, it doesn’t overshadow the overall experience – enchanting.
This was the scene out my back door this morning. Set up by my 4-year old, Judah. He just received a box full of Matchbox cars from his cousins in Chicago. And this is either an extremely organized display of admiration for his new booty or he has some serious Type A tendencies. Only time will tell.
Julian Plenti, “Fun That We Have”
Interpol frontman, Paul Banks, is going solo under the moniker Julian Plenti. His solo album, Skyscraper, is due out August 4 on Matador Records.
the OCMD 