Covering all the Music You Didn't Know About Since '96

Cascading loops with dark soundscapes and Latin-influences and velvety melodies, “Pequenas Canciones de Amor” reminds me of something off of Acuarela Discos out of Spain. Inflected indie rock noodles throughout this stirring experimental album. Exploring a variety of styles, O Paradis deploys a king’s ransom worth of diverse instrumentation. But the one all encompassing common denominator is heady vocals and a knack for crafty a finely tuned song. There’s seventeen tracks here that bridge the gap between Euro-pop, indie-pop, electronica, experimental, and abstract. I love it. Thank you Tourette Records!

Kadman sounds like a mellow Pearl Jam album at times; often melodic and meandering (in a good way), extremely lonely and trying to find its feet. “These Old Bones” shakes off stereotypes with a vocally-led drive, sparse rhythm, coffeehouse centric guitars, and intriguing lyrics. An intricate and incredible album to say the very least. Another perfect notch on the belt for Baltimore’s best indie label, The Beechfields.

The group featuring Mrs. Miller and Mccabe, neither of which is the real name of either of the duo whom are properly referred to as Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom) and Alison Faith Levey (The Loud Family, The Sippy Cups), performs stirring indie pop with an Americana twist. But refusing to be slipped into a specific genre cabinet, the group delves into Southern blues, folk, pop ballads, roots-rock, jazz, and pleasant acoustic. It’s foot-stomping fun that refuses to succumb to any industry pressure to sound like this or that. I love that. And you will too. Looking for the next big thing that none of your hipster friends have heard yet? Pick up “Time for Leaving” and you won’t be disappointed.

Peep a video for these indie pop rockers for the title track:

Sultry off-jazz vocals with the constructs of electro-pop and indie pop building a foundation, Panda Transport, a duo consisting of Kathy Compton and Thierry Holweck have been around since ’06. The duo found fame with their single “Transmission” off of their critically acclaimed debut “Plush Mechanique”, which was featured on Greys Anatomy. Having written their debut essentially through Internet-based collaborations, Panda Transport set out to do something more organic and intimate. Intelligently blending ‘found sounds’ (they sampled cicadas outside of Kathy’s yurt and car-door-slams became a new found kick drum) with personal and emotional vocals, light melodies, sweet harmonies, and future pop rhythms, “Monorail” builds upon the success of their debut and proves that they’re far removed from the dreaded sophomore jinx. Pop fanatics will covet the truly catchy nature of many of the tracks, while the more indie and experimental music junkies will drool over decomposing and digesting the varied musical tapestries that make up each track.

The Honest Mistakes – Break Up

You know an album entitled “Break Up” just is going to be wretchedly raw, seething with exposed emotions, and crybaby lyrics about what could have been, revisiting past decisions time and again. Well it’s that, sort of, but not really. And after all, a band that features members who originally met in a band entitled CheapPaperbackRomance surely knows what it means to be ironic romantic self-doubting lovers. The band to no surprise given their name didn’t survive, however Chris and Joylene continued to play together from 2000 to 2004 under the name The Chris and Joylene Show. The group leans on the pop sensibilities of punk and indie rock but utilizes witty lyrics and strongly tasteful melodies to not sound like a big ole cliché. Do they succeed? Absolutely. Ironic lyrics coalesce with dynamic pop that pulls at heartstrings (but not too much damn it), hoping to add themselves as a strong entry in Baltimore’s underground indie pop scene. I hear a whole slew of influences which the band readily admits – Teenage Fanclub and Fountains of Wayne. The Beechfields Record Label, yet again, has another solid winner on their hands. With the release set to launch of the 5^th of January, can you think of a better way to usher in the New Year? I know my New Year’s resolution of listening to more awesome underground indie pop is already off to a great start with the “Break Up”.

Launch The Beechfields Records MP3 Player to preview and listen to all their awesome successes!

Cincinnati indie-pop via British pop influences, The Minor Leagues’ fifth album out on indie label, Datawaslost, is an astonishing presence. Collecting lyrical stories that would make any rock opera blush crimson, “This Story Is Old, I Know, But It Goes On”, is a dashingly brilliant soulful and melodic jaunt down the Memory Lane where Pulp, Apples in Stereo, Blur, and the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” reside. Helping out on the album is a who’s who of studio wizards and musicians of past and present such as John Kathman (Nirvana in ’93), Josh Combs (Kinks in ’67), Luke McGlasson (Specials in ’78), Hilly Kenkel (Ronettes in ’62), and Amanda Lee Anderson (Belle & Sebastian in ’99) forming an pop-rock orchestra septet that traverses the best elements of ’60s Motown soul, ‘70s rock (with a quick nod towards glam), and the best of Brit-pop from the ‘90s. “Good Boys” is easily the best track on this fantastic album with an entertaining up-tempo and fingersnapping melodies. Catchy? Absolutely and then some. Fun? Without a doubt – after all a band that lists Hilly Kenkel as a “choir of one” and “laughing” as an instrument “played” by half a dozen folks in the studio is seriously ready to put the L’s and O’s in LOLing. Building off of the standard rock set-up of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, The Minor Leagues add in the complexities of cello, trumpet, trombone, viola, off-the-beaten-path percussion instruments such as triangle, sleigh bells, tambourine, umbrella (yes), bongos, with plenty of kazoo to please. Great way to end 2009 with a smart album of undeniably awesome catchiness and pop glitz with replay ability of infinity and beyond (thanks Buzz) all recorded in four bedrooms, a couple of band rooms, and two living rooms that surprisingly sound like a multi-million studio affair.

Listen to “Good Boys” [Free MP3 Download]

Listen to “The Love That Never Was” [Free MP3 Download]

Joyous indie pop by The Seedy Seeds that is mixtape quality – you must share songs like “Winter 04” and the title track, you simply  must – The Seedy Seeds boast a fantastically clever songwriting crew that knows that sometimes less is more. “Count the Days” isn’t an extraordinary engineering effort, but it seamlessly fits a myriad of moods, perfectly capturing emotions and thought with efficiency and effectiveness. Jangly pop nuances percolate throughout the album and did I mention that the songwriting is absolutely astounding? Loops of electronica and samples add a subtle urban flavor to the female vocals and Rustbelt rootsy indie folk backdrop. Close your eyes for a minute and you can easily see how comparisons to Mates of State could be made. Truly impressive and one that you will adoringly share with your favorite music geeks to impress them and show what kind of wicked cool music knowledge skills you truly have…

By the way, it’s totally rad that The Seedy Seeds allow you to stream the entire album on Bandcamp!

Art-pop magicians Parlour Steps hail from Vancouver, a music scene that has already garnered a lot of attention in the past few years but simply now is a requisite for music lovers and critics alike. Caleb Stull not only writes beautiful poetry for lyrics but stirs the emotions with his fantastically melodic approach at the microphone. Intelligent indie pop that is this stunning is hard to find these days, so shine this gem up and wear it with pride I say! To think that they were able to release something as incredible as “The Hidden Names” so quickly on the heels of 2008’s “Ambiguoso” is astonishing and showcases the true talent of this quintet.

It’s as if dance-punk went all indie-pop on us. “The Woo-Hoo-Hoo” by Los Angeles-based Globes on Remote constructs each song with sinewy synths and rangy guitars completing the equation with plenty of handclaps, steady rhythms with high use of hi-hats, and vocal harmonies. But just when you think you’ve yourself a hand basket full of clichés, they shift gears. Thankfully there’s a lot in store in each song whether it be a wistful melody, a nifty lyrical twist, or a club beat that no one would have anticipated. Keeping you on your toes the whole album is what Globes on Remote does fantastically; plus if you’re a Ziggy Stardust fan, I dare you not to blink during “D.T. Lipps and the Paperback Porn Writer”.