SF’s Kid Mud Debut “Now They Shut Us Down” Out Today

Posted on June 16, 2009 by the OCMD

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San Francisco’s Kid Mud (aka Sean Duncan) makes good on his debut LP Now They Shut Us Down out today on New and Used Records. I loved his home recorded, one man band solo EP, Birds Will Move In, juxtaposing bleeps and bloops with acoustic longing. For Now They Shut Us Down, he keeps his independent recording flair but takes it up a notch with a host of collaborators, backing vocals and full-fledged recording studio. The result is a set of richly layered, finely crafted indie rock songs. Sparklehorse fans this is right up your alley.

San Francisco fans can catch Kid Mud play the Mission’s El Rio June 17.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Release New Album – A Blank CD!

Posted on May 18, 2009 by the OCMD

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In probably one of the more ingenious marketing launches of an album, the mysterious and elusive details of Dark Night of the Soul – the collaboration between Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and David Lynch (yes, that’s right) – are now available. You can actually stream the album now on NPR Music.

It all started with mysterious posters all around Austin during SXSW this March. I saw them and was intrigued. I love pretty much everything Danger Mouse touches. Then information started to emerge. Dark Night of the Soul is an album of songs written by Danger Mouse and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and features a myriad of other artists including James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.

The album was supposed to be released in July with a book of photographs by David Lynch. But due to ongoing disputes with label EMI, the album will not see an official digial or physical release. (Oy…labels.) So the band will be releasing the album as a blank CD-R with a note to fans to download it from an illegal filesharing network. For now you can enjoy a free stream of the album on NPR Music. Check it out now, while it lasts. You can pre-order the CD (albeit blank) with book of 100 original photos from David Lynch on the bands website now.

The Sea and Cake – Car Alarm

Posted on November 6, 2008 by the OCMD

Artist: The Sea and Cake
Album: Car Alarm
File Under: Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Stereolab, American Analog Set, Japancakes, Sparklehorse
Featured Track: Aerial, On A Letter

Aerial:

On A Letter:

This Chicago quartet has been around for quite a while and there’s a comfort in the familiarity and consistency of their music. Their latest release, Car Alarm, is no exception. And from the buzz out there in the blogosphere, this is their best album in over a decade. I’ve been listening to their electronic grooves a lot this week. Mellow yet powerful at the same time, they are firmly rooted in Indie rock with a splash of that electronica sound I like so much. It’s smooth, well balanced, easy on the ears and layered with just enough complexity to keep it interesting listen after listen. Like a fine wine.

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

buy it at insound!

Danger Mouse – The Arbiter of Cool, Indie Music

Posted on July 14, 2008 by the OCMD

I realized after obsessing this week over Beck’s new album, ‘Modern Guilt‘, that I was listening to yet another Danger Mouse production. What is this guy up to and what else is he working on? A lot, so it seems.

Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) is famously known for remixing Jay Z‘s ‘Black Album‘ over samples from The Beatles ‘White Album’ to create, ‘The Grey Album.’ From there he collaborated with Cee-Lo (as half of Gnarls Barkley) to release the hugely popular ‘St. Elsewhere’. He’s also produced the debut album from The Good, The Bad and The Queen, and the latest releases of Sparklehorse, The Rapture and Gorillaz.