Tag Archives: radiohead

Deerhunter – Microcastle

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Artist: Deerhunter
Album: Microcastle
File Under: Ambient Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound
Featured Track: Agoraphobia

I’ve long been intrigued with the work of Bradford Cox and follow all of his projects – from his solo venture, Atlas Sound, to his five piece group, Deerhunter.  I love his haunted, dreamy vocals and ambient, atmospheric sound.  It’s right up my alley.  And while I enjoyed Deerhunter’s last release, Cryptograms,  I must say I’m liking their latest release, Microcastle, even more.  It’s beautiful and I can’t stop listening to it. It’s hard for me to even pick out a single song to highlight as it’s truly one of those album experiences that should be listened to and enjoyed in it’s entirety.  The music builds upon itself, ebbing and flowing from moments of quiet, hypnotic bliss into smashing, reverb drenched crescendos. 

Much more song oriented than their last release, Microcastle is sure to convert more than a few skeptics. If you were once one, you should definitely give them another listen.  This one’s a classic.

Catch Deerhunter at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall November 24 with Times New Viking.

Get this album free via eMusic’s 50 Free MP3 Promo

buy it at insound!

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The Notwist – Boneless

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I haven’t been able to get enough of the Panda Bear cover of ‘Boneless’ from Germany’s The Notwist. These guys have been making music for nearly 20 years.  They started as a hardcore punk band in the 90s and have slowly evolved into a fusion of indie pop and electronica. Their latest album, The Devil You + Me is a good album that gets better for me with every spin. They have a Radiohead meets Belle & Sebastian kind of vibe that feels really nice on my headphones.  

If you’re in San Francisco, be sure to catch their lush, electro-fuzz sound tonight at Bimbo’s.

Listen to the original Boneless:

Listen to Panda Bear’s version:

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Wintersleep – Welcome to the Night Sky

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Artist: Wintersleep
Album: Welcome to the Night Sky
File Under: Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Grandaddy, The Editors, Broken Social Scene, Jeff Buckley
Featured Track: ‘Drunk on Aluminum’

This has most definitely been the album of the week for me.  While not technically a new album (it was released in Canada in 2007), it just hit the US – and my inbox – last week.  And has been on heavy rotation ever since.  

Welcome to the Night Sky is the third album for the Halifax-based Wintersleep, and one that seems destined for success in the US. Already quite popular in Canada, the band recently received the 2008 Juno award for ‘New Group of the Year’. Their sound is expansive with heavy, smashing guitars combined with delicate, heartbreaking vocals. A sound so well represented in the track ‘Drunk on Aluminum’.

Dig deeper into the album and you start to peel back the layers, and musical influences.  They have drawn comparisons to Radiohead, Mogwai and Low. I hear Jeff Buckley at times, Broken Social Scene, The Editors and a bit of Grandaddy during others. But I think what makes them so compelling to me is that they but they never seem to imitate, only reference these artists.  Which makes me keep coming back for more.  I can’t quite put my finger on it.  So I keep listening to it.  And the more I do, the more I love it.  I hope you do too.

Catch Wintersleep at Slim’s in San Francisco November 24.

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Canadian Invasion

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The best thing about my ‘job’ as a blogger (I say that with air quotes), are the presents I get in my inbox from new artists and record labels promoting their goods.  It’s like a treasure hunt, sometimes the hunt leaves you empty handed but other times you hit jackpot.  That’s the way I felt this week as I listened to two new releases from Canadian artists, The High Dials and Wintersleep. Check it out for yourself.

The High Dials

Montreal-based The High Dials make lush, intelligent psychedelic pop; dreamy anthems built on bittersweet melodies, bright harmonies and moody guitar sounds.  They already have a notable fan base with the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, who’ve declared them the ‘best band in North America’ and Rod Argent, legendary songwriter of the Zombies. Their new album ‘Moon Country‘ released this week.

The High Dials play this Saturday, October 18, at The Hotel Utah in San Francisco.

 

Listen to: These Days Mean Nothing to Me

 
Open Up the Gates


Wintersleep

I’ve been listening to this album from Halifax- based, Wintersleep, repeatedly since I got it.  Their new album, ‘Welcome to the Night Sky’, rose to the top of the Canadian indie rock charts drawing comparisons to acts such as Radiohead, Mogwai and Low. The album, which has been called a masterpiece by many, is now available in the US and expected to take America by storm. I’m hooked.

Don’t miss Wintersleep at Slims in San Francisco November 24.

 

Listen to:   Weighty Ghost

Listen to: Drunk on Aluminum

 

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Trailblazing for Radiohead

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I took a bunch of photos with my puny little digital camera at the Outside Lands Festival yesterday in Golden Gate Park, but this one captured the essence of the evening for me.  Throngs of humanity trampling barriers and blazing trail through Eucalyptus groves to get to Radiohead.  Anxiety got the best of the crowd during Beck as thousands of people realized they had to haul ass across the park to get a seat for Radiohead. And no one had the patience to be herded through the narrow walkways set up by festival organizers.  

We all got there in the end, but it was a squash.  Much more so than the All Points West show in New York two weeks ago.  But that in part was due to the festival capacity.  There were reportedly 60,000 people at Outside Lands vs. 30,000 at All Points West.  Even with the bigger crowds, however, Outside Lands was a much better organized event.  I didn’t feel like I missed half of the festival waiting in lines.  And not having to consume alcohol in a designated Beer Garden was a plus. 

The technical difficulties we experienced during Radiohead was quite a let down.  The sound cut out twice for substantial periods during the performance. But once the crowd settled down and people stopped shoving to get to their destination, we all had a fantastic time.  I’ve always had great Radiohead experiences.  And while this performance wouldn’t rank to the top of my Radiohead show list, it certainly didn’t disappoint.  They are always exceptional to see live.  Each performance is just a different degree of greatness.

To see the full Radiohead set list, go to 58Hours, a great Radiohead concert database.  My highlight for the evening? Paranoid Android.

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Countdown to Outside Lands!

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Whoo hoo!  Two more days to Outside Lands and Radiohead.  Here’s a mix I compiled of the bands I’m looking forward to seeing on Friday.  If I can cram it all in. Enjoy!  If you want the MP3 file, you’ll need to sign up for the OCMD Mixtape newsletter.

  1. Carney – Testify
  2. Howlin’ Rain – Dancer at the End of Time
  3. Black Mountain – Angels
  4. The Black Keys – Psychotic Girl
  5. Cold War Kids – Something is Not Right with Me
  6. The Benevento Russo Duo – Best Reason to Buy the Sun
  7. Manu Chao – Welcome to Tijuana
  8. Beck – Gamma Ray
  9. Radiohead – Bodysnatchers

My Radiohead Religion

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For all the bullshit that was involved with the All Points West Festival in NY this weekend – the poor transportation planning, ridiculous VIP setup, absurd alcohol restrictions, enormous lines and overall clusterfuck –  all was redeemed when Radiohead took the stage Saturday night.

As the sun set on the New York city skyline, thousands of people jostled to their places then stood transfixed and mesmerized for the next two hours.  It was the most beautiful Radiohead performance I’ve seen yet.  So gentle, haunting and moving that it enraptured 30,000 people to such a state of reverent silence you could hear a pin drop when Thom Yorke started in on ‘House of Cards.’

It gave me chills and felt somewhat transcendental.  For everything at that moment was perfect – the weather, the scenery, the crowd, the company and most of all the music.  I didn’t want it to end – ever.

After the show, there was a palpable sense of calm and peacefulness about the crowd.  I was truly amazed no one lost their cool as 30,000 people descended on the only two transportation outlets home.  Clearly everyone was affected.  

Once we got home, all we could do for hours was reflect.  It was a profoundly beautiful evening.  And it might have been the closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever had. My Radiohead religion.

Get this album free via eMusic’s 50 Free MP3 Promo

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All Points West Prep: Kings of Leon

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The countdown to the All Points West Festival begins!  Dubbed as the Coachella of the East Coast (hardly, but I guess you have to start somewhere), I’m really excited to participate in this inaugural NY event this weekend- albeit just for one day.  Of course the highlight will be Radiohead.  But with Kings of Leon opening?  Not too shabby, I say.

Kings of Leon have a new album, ‘Only by the Night,’ due out September 23. They’ve been sampling new tracks on their MySpace page that sound really good.  They released Crawl for download recently. Today they premiered Sex On Fire.  Not a bad anthem.

Follow this link to Sex On Fire

Listen to Crawl

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Radiohead ‘Pay What You Want’ Strategy an Unconventional Success

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The Listening Post published an intriguing article today on the analysis of Radiohead’s groundbreaking ‘pay what you want’ distribution strategy for In Rainbows, which allowed fans to download the album from their website for whatever price they wanted with a valid email address.  Many critics of the strategy considered it a failure because the album became wildly popular on file sharing networks almost immediately upon its release.

But was it really a failure?  Analysts at MCPS PRS have crunched the numbers and beg to differ.  Sure, the album was ‘illegally’ shared more than 2.3 million times within the first 3 weeks of it’s release.  And that’s a lot of email addresses and potential revenue the band lost.  But the firm claims Radiohead’s strategy was a success nonetheless; winning the public’s attention to top the charts in both the UK and US and enable a hugely successful worldwide tour.

They conclude that when it comes to judging whether an album is a success these days, the old metrics just don’t cut it.  And that the music industry needs to stop thinking of shared files as lost sales, and start treating them as an aspect of reality upon which they can build their business. Hear hear!  

The full report will be available on the MCPS PRS website tomorrow.  Until then, enjoy another groundbreaking Radiohead development – the new video for House of Cards using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.  No lights or cameras were used.  Just this 3D LIDAR technology.

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