Nite Nite – How to Touch the Moon
Imagine if Bjork’s voice was put to a backdrop of Siouxsie and the Banshees and you’ll conjure an image of Nashville’s Nite Nite’s brand of gothic rock.
Gerald Krampl – Innocent Wasteland
Sober minimalism of ambient meets classical, “Innocent Wasteland” reaches out past the more traditional feel of spirituality and meditative healing that he had been composing alongside his wife and poet Hilde who passed away a little over 7 years ago under the name Agnus Dei. He also wrote and created a multimedia project about the Holocaust. Gerald focuses on the mellow side of things with this reflective journey of classical ambience. Beautiful.
Matt Weston – Seasick Blackout
Experimental noise and compositions that is staggeringly different from most anything this side of John Zorn that you can find. It’s weird and different and sure and if you give it a chance (and you damn well better), can help propel your musical tastes into a whole new surreal chapter. Not for the feint of heart.
Listen to a sample [MP3]
Proud Simon – Anchors Aweigh
Nice album title pun guys! Journeying through Americana, folk, and alternative pop, Proud Simon write great songs that are poetry wrapped in rhythms and harmonies. Nice and since you can download it for free, you might as well give them the old college try, eh?
Download the EP for Free!
Ramblin’ Dawgs – Shoot ‘em Up
New Jersey natives that play your standard blues rock bar music. Nothing special but entertaining enough that you’d probably go out to see them again and have a good time. Isn’t that what it’s all about sometimes?
Elaine Lachica – I Think I Can See the Ocean
New York’s Elaine Lachica is a classically trained soprano and her music is extremely intricate and inventive in the vein of the Cocteau Twins and Regina Spektor. Nice.
Gabriel Johnson – Fractured
Trumpeter Gabriel Johnson blends electronica releases an album on Carmen Rizzo’s label whose worked with the likes of Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Jem, and Seal to name a few. “Fractured” takes the notion of jazz to the modern era and spins it up a bit. Intriguing.
The Bodies Obtained – Dead Plans
Experimental electro that dapples in gothic rock, industrial, and noise, The Bodies Obtained are a wealth of avant-garde but their post-punk/post-electro soundscape does take a while to grow on you.
The Heligoats – Goodness Gracious
Smart indie rock from Chicago from a band that’s been a bit of an after thought in a way for the folks in the group off and on for a decade now. Melancholy melodies and loosely strummed guitars form the crux of “Goodness Gracious” and everything builds from there on out. Definitely an album you need to re-listen to a few times to fully soak in all of the nuances that are going on – no that doesn’t mean it’s an art rock album filled with weird studio tricks, but that it just needs proper time to be absorbed the right way. Good stuff.
The Sexy Accident – A Merry Christmas to You – Remix
I guess I was a little late on the timing of this one. Power-pop remix of the band’s X-mas song with clips from “It’s a Wonderful Life” along with the original and the b-side, “Say Goodnight”.
Yukon Blonde – Yukon Blonde
‘70s era pop-rock with power pop chops and lucrative melodies rich decorate the catchy harmonies breathed out by Canadian indie outfit Yukon Blonde.
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula
Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate has been around the music world for a long time and jammed with the likes of Bonnie Raitt and U2’s Bono as well as gotten praise from Eric Clapton. His chosen instrument is a derivative of the banjo, known as the ngoni, or ‘spike lute’. He in fact has taken the instrument and created his own magic with it, creating his own trademark sound and one that cannot be copied. “I Speak Fula” is an album that is a great testament to his great accomplishments and his musical lineage.
U-Melt – Perfect World
Progressive rock with plenty of grooves, “Perfect World” by U-Melt is their third studio album and was recorded in their home studio in Brooklyn, not that you can tell with its dashingly grand sound.
Sambada – Gente
Afro-Brazilian brilliance from Santa Cruz, California? Seems unlikely but boy does it ever work with elements of surf-rock, reggae, and funk blended effortlessly by a band who likes to show off their capoeira talents as well. Radical.
Various Artists – Happy Holidays from Ye Olde Hometapes 2009
Again I’m not so topical, but better late than never! Home is where the tapes are. Hometapes, one of the best indie labels out there, was kind enough to mail out old school cassette tapes (wow am I really THAT old now?) to friends and family. Featuring some of the best on their roster of awesome, the compilation is also available for free digital download here.
Robert Valente – Alive
Pop-inflected melodies percolate this folk/country hybrid, “Alive” by Robert Valente, an unsigned artist from California. Lyrical it’s astute and matched nicely with well-blended instrumentation. Nice.
Hallowed Butchery – Funeral Rites for the Living
Doom metal from one of the coldest states in the U.S., Maine. Symphonic doom that trails the line between hard-edged soundscape and something along the line of Neurosis, Hallowed Butchery is a fascinating listen.
The Dojo Workhorse – Weapons Grade Romantic
Calgary-based The Dojo Workhorse pumps out coffeehouse indie pop that feature eclectic instrumentation such as the lapsteel guitar, cello, viola, tap dancing (yeah that’s right), and the glockenspiel. Vocally they’re on point and could easily be a featured band at a Starbucks near you – though I doubt that they’d go that commercial, they’re far too “lo-fi”.
Real Vocal String Quartet – Real Vocal String Quartet
Given the band moniker and the self-titled album, you can imagine what you’re getting – vocals and violin/viola/cello. So now that we’re out of the “no-duh” category”, I’d like to point out that this isn’t chamber music – there’s African trance, circus/klezmer bluegrass, influence.
Chaos Invocation – In Bloodline with the Snake
Debut by German atmospheric black metal outfit; yes it’s clichéd and typical but if you’re into this genre, why not check it out?
Virtual Humans – Transcend
Brazilian group that boasts (?) they have no “real” singers but in the same breath say how their focus on lyrics about human subjects is key. I guess they’re trying to do something pretty cerebral here but it falls flat, both in their delivery (I think they should actually ABANDON the notion of singing since they can’t) and their mantra. The only coup they pulled off was convincing me it was worthwhile to give their yawning barf of modern college pop-rock a listen. If Elvis Costello was dead, he’d haunt their asses.
Bridges & Blinking Lights – Heroes, Guns & Snakes
Chunky guitar hooks bridges the indie pop harmonies and their energetic rock mantra. Their singer reminds me a bit of the dude from My Morning Jacket but the one complaint I have is that it really feels at times as if he’s holding something back. Definitely an album for those of you looking for something off the beaten path of more traditional indie rock.
Carnaval – 2
Due to complications with the recording studio, this second album of stoner rock from Slovenia by Carnaval is their first debut album; that drama aside, Carnaval churns out chunky guitar-centric stoner wailings with dense song structures.
Concentric – Immeasurable
Milwaukee’s acoustic instrumental trio Concentric composes complex progressive music that is sharp, brilliant and special – far from what you would classically dub “acoustic instrumentals” (I swear they have blast beats!). An intriguing listen and something for those of you looking for something unique and off the beaten path but still amazing and catchy.
, and the Beach Boys’ “
” 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.
