seabear

seabear is from iceland and write pretty pop songs. go buy seabear's the ghost that carried us away coming to stores soon.

-cat piano
-summer bird diamond

blonde redhead?

with two months before the release of 23, the new blonde redhead fell into my lap. the week prior to receiving the leaked album i was in a sonic youth mood but didn't want to listen to sonic youth so i put in the debut from blonde redhead. everything about the self-titled release echoes thurston and company, but as blonde redhead's discography grew so did the slant toward more melodic and lush production.

enter 23, the upcoming release that will no doubt usher in new fans and spawn the loss of some, which would be unfortunate. upon initial listen the album sounds tailored for a sophia coppola film by combining the hazy dissonance of my bloody valentine, the synth heavy dance music of new order and the sex sounds of air. enjoy these two previews of the new blonde redhead and don't forget to purchase on april 10th.

-23
-the dress

remember the beta band?

they are back! resurfacing as the aliens, the former beta band members are releasing their first full legnth lp called the astronomy of dogs in the spring. upon the initial listen i can say that this what the beta band always promised. their albums balanced experimentalism with traditional song structures but the beta's releases, all of which are strong, usually collapsed under the bands ambition. the alien's album on the otherhand launches into tightly wound pysch-rock that never loses focus until the 16 minute epic closer caravan. with the arcade fire, andrew bird and countless other releases in 2007 this proves to be a benchmark year for music. here is a video for the albums first single called setting sun and preview of another track from astronomy of dogs that calls to mind the best of primal scream's club tunes.

-rox

the meaning of 8

cloud cult- chemicals collide
">

hey! did you love the way the postal service made you feel all warm inside? if the answer is yes then you should embrace this band. personally, i don't like the postal service but the single from cloud cult will service the drunken situation where a fringe emo-kid wants to seduce an awkward foxy co-ed. ok, so perhaps that puts this band in a bad light but chemicals collide is a charming pop song. and as for the rest of the album, it has a hand in the dirge-laden ragged folk of the neutral milk hotel and the skewed pop canvas that the unicorns created. regardless this band is worth your time. enjoy them before they become the bullshit score to a zach braff film and go buy the album on april 10th.

-chemicals collide
-pretty voice

love songs of the hanging gardens

kelley polar, a classically trained violinist, first dipped his toe into the world of pop music when featured on metro area's left-field house self-titled album. this time around polar flew alone creating 2005's highly underrated love songs of the hanging gardens. below are several tracks that can be compared to the junior boys but remain very distinct due to his musical background. enjoy!



-my beauty in the moon
-black hole
-here in the night

the jam

the jam were always one step beyond the typical '77 punk styling courtesy of band leader paul weller. weller and cohorts were poorly received in america and probably sold records on par with that of the underground darlings television, but in england they almost reached the height of the beatles. their songs, save for the debut album, always carried a heavy hand for power-pop melodies led by relatively complex structures with the punk a mentality. in the annals of punk history the jam should be the other band that mattered (reference to the clash). please enjoy a band that the mention in america means nothing but in britain their name defines a golden era in rock history. the first track, english rose, ranks amongst the best love songs recorded and the songs that follow should build on my premise that the are jam one of the best punk bands ever.

-english rose
-set the house ablaze
-moday
-that's entertainment

frequent updates starting once again

in the long absence i moved a new city and heard an overwhelming amount of new music and to help with the winter blues here is a mix of some excellent music. (picture from modernhumorist.com)

howie b- i can sing but i don't want to
cornelius- the micro disneycal world tour
billy childish- pretty baby
lilys- dimes make dollars
the bicycles- b-b-bicycles
the greenhornes- hard times
robert pollard- death of the party
luscious jackson- satellite (they were actually great for one e.p.)
sparks- equator
the mighty lemon drops- rollercoaster
the brunettes- end of the runway
talulah gosh- talulah gosh
zumpano- brocca's way
the apples in stereo- 7 stars
francoise hardy- je n'attends plus personne

lali puna- come on home
the concretes- warm night

cornelius- thank you for the music