31.3.10

Sunbears




This record is so happy at times that it literally makes me want to puke, but you will never be in a bad mood when listening to it. I saw this two piece (just drums and a pianist/singer) open for Mates of State last summer, and was really impressed. They can definitely pull off their happy/pukey songs live. They're from Florida. Jacksonville, not Gainesville.
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Creep Division




Probably one of the best super groups that has ever existed. Listen and love it. I don't need to say anything more.
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28.3.10

Sun Kil Moon








You may have heard of Mark Kozelek and his other band, Red House Painters. If the two were in a tug of war, I'd have to side with Sun Kil Moon, personal preference. All three of these records are great. Two originals and a collection of Modest Mouse covers (Tiny Cities). Kozelek's vocal style is so laid back it contrasts his guitar playing really well, which is usually pretty intricate especially when on an acoustic. You can also see Kozelek act up a storm in movies such as Almost Famous and Shop Girl. In Shop Girl, the band he plays in is actually playing Sun Kil Moon songs from Ghosts of the Great Highway. True story.


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26.3.10

Errors - Come Down With Me




The new album on Rock Action Records from these Glaswegian post-(electro)rockers. If you like Lymbyc Systym, but wished they were dancier and sounded a bit more like Battles then you'll be all over this. Great instrumental rock, with synths, electronics, tight drumming and noodley guitar lines. While my friend Matt was living in Scotland he highly recommended that I check these dudes out, and they did not disappoint. This is one of the best albums I've heard this year.
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Kurt Vile








Prolific singer/songwriter (and great guitarist) from Philadelphia, PA who has already released three full length albums in just two short years. His first real album, Constant Hitmaker (Woodsist Records), has a nice lo-fi recording quality complete with echo-y vocals, fuzzed out guitars and plenty of tape-hiss, all the hallmarks of a great bedroom recording. On the new one, Childish Prodigy (Matador Records), Kurt is backed by a real band (The Violaters) and it is his most polished release yet. Kurt's voice sounds like a young Lou Reed here, and musically it isn't too far from a modern spin on the great 70's singer/songwriters ala Springsteen and Petty, plus this dude has the best name in rock.
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The War On Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues




Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile crafting indie rock that sounds like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Bob Dylan amalgamated into one entity. Kurt Vile already has a fairly prolific output as a solo performer, but here in The War On Drugs he is more of a sideman to Granduciel (who provides most of the vocals).
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25.3.10

Titus Andronicus






New Jersey youngsters playing wordy post-punk. These guys sounds like The Constantines covering Fugazi with Conor Oberst singing (Desaparecidos Conor, not Bright Eyes Conor). Their new album, The Monitor is getting tons of buzz right now, and rightfully so the album is fucking awesome. The songs are so epic you barely notice that they hover around the 6 minute mark, they just flow so well. The album is steeped in Civil War imagery (and named after the Navy's first iron warship) and heavy on the booze references, not unlike The Hold Steady or The Pogues. Great stuff.
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24.3.10

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor




Indie pop band out of Silverlake, CA that takes the three-part harmonies of Fleet Foxes, mixes it with the afro-pop of Vampire Weekend and funnels it throught the percussive-pop of The Arcade Fire. This album was released in Europe last November and only just saw a stateside release last month.
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Harlem






I don't know why but I've been on a real psych-rock jag as of late, I've mostly been jamming the Nuggets box-set. This Austin, Tx three-piece wouldn't sound out of place on a nuggets comp, they play great 60's style garage/psych/proto-punk that absolutely rages. If you dig the Black Lips then get into Harlem.
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22.3.10

White Williams - Smoke




These songs were all written and recorded by Joe Williams (aka White) on his laptop in various apartments in Cleveland, San Francisco and New York. Synth-pop with great hooks. The video for "New Violence" directed by Pinky (Derrick Beckles of TV Carnage fame) is totally rad and definitely worth your time to search Youtube for. Yes that is a tranny on the cover (look at those fucking hands!).
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Rocket From The Crypt






These are the two studio full-lengths that the band released on Vagrant Records before calling it quits. After Atom Willard quit the band John Wurster from Superchunk was asked to record the bulk of the drums on Group Sounds. RFTC eventually found a permanent replacement for the drum position in former pro skateboarder Mario Rubalcaba (aka Ruby Mars). Both of these albums are pretty rad.
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Turbonegro - Retox




This is the band's most recent album. I had the pleasure of seeing them live when they toured behind this album and they fucking killed it: By the end of the night my face hurt from smiling and my shoulder hurt from excessive fist pumping. Hilarious songs about hair-loss, chubby dudes and the rock-n-roll lifestyle.
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Wild Light - Adult Nights




This was released about a year ago on Star Time Intl. Records (version 2.0). Vocalist/guitarist Jordan Alexander was the prep-school roommate of The Arcade Fire's Win Butler. The bands first real tour was supporting The Arcade Fire across Europe (must be nice). These guys sound just the The Stills' more recent output, like a lot.
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19.3.10

Happy Birthday




Happy Birthday is the new band fronted by Kyle Thomas (aka King Tuff). He still writes all the tunes, only this time he has a real band behind him. These songs are all ultra catchy, super poppy fuzz-soaked bangers with great melodies that will have you humming along all day long. Sub-Pop Records signed these guys after they had only played a handful of shows. If you liked King Tuff then you'll love this.
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Turbonegro - Party Animals




The best rock and roll band around. This may not be regarded as the bands greatest album, but it's definitely one of my favourites. Every track is a banger. Euro Boy fucking solos all over this entire album and Hank Von Helvete's lyrics are some of the best I've ever heard. This CD came with a bonus 12 minute Hank Von Helvete exercise DVD that is totally rad. It's friday night, if you're going out to rage let this be your party soundtrack.
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18.3.10

King Tuff






King Tuff is Kyle Thomas (vocalist/guitarist for WITCH). Kyle recorded this himself in his parents basement in Battleboro, Vermont and the dudes plays everything on these recordings. This is 50% Nuggets style psych-rock, 50% T-Rex and 50% Undertones style punk (thats right 150% of total rad-ness). These are just super fun and catchy jams.
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Castevet - The Echo & The Light




New six song EP by these Chicago boys. This was supposed to have been released earlier this year but after numerous delays the band decided to leave their former label and take this EP with them. If you were a fan of their album Summer Fences (one of my favourites from 2009) expect a few surprises here in the form of shorter and louder songs. If you've never heard of these guys, Castevet play 90's style midwestern emo with gruff beard-punk vocals, like American Football mixed with Small Brown Bike.
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16.3.10

Give




I finally found this online (thanks Toxicbreed's Funhouse). 7 song EP recorded by Don Zientara at his Inner Ear Studio in Washington D.C. Give play revolution summer influenced hardcore that reminds me of Bullet LaVolta, early Rollins Band and Embrace. I can also hear a little bit of Lion Of Judah in their sound, but maybe thats just me. At any rate this is one of the best new bands that I've heard in a while and it is definitely worth your time to check these dudes out.
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15.3.10

Oxford Collapse










Jittery indie-pop three-piece (who released albums on Sub-Pop and Kanine Records) that sounds like Nothing Feels Good-era Promise Ring mixed with Superchunk. This band just got better with each release. Guitarist Michael Pace and bassist Adam Rizer each share vocal duties and their voices blend well with each other when harmonizing. Fuck I wish this band was still together. If anyone has their split EP with The Joggers post that shit in the comments, I need that in my life right now.
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10.3.10

New Idea Society - You Are Awake Or Asleep




Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) and Mike Law (Euclid) teaming up to create beautiful 60's style psychedelic rock mixed with indie and folk. This album has great harmonies and interesting arrangements. If you dig Brodsky's solo stuff (specifically his Octave Museum album) then you'll be into this, although Mike Law handles most of the lead vocal duties here.
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Harkonen












Here you go Demarco. This is everything I have by this criminally underrated band. Their split/collaboration with These Arms Are Snakes was posted here, and their Dancing EP was posted here. On the debut LP Harkonen play noisy hardcore ala Deadguy or Kiss It Goodbye that had a rad Left Hand Path-esque guitar tone. Everything after that is skull-crushing noise rock played with just the right hint of melody.
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9.3.10

The Double - Loose In The Air




Brooklyn indie rock band's final LP (and first for Matador Records). Lots of guitar noise and distortion, woozy organ, pounding drums and a vocalist who sounds like Isaac Brock and Stephen Malkmus' love child. Really great noisy-pop music.
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Harkonen - Dancing




A great noisy hardcore band from the Pacific Northwest. Singer Ben Verellen now fronts Helms Alee, plays in Roy and builds some bad-ass amplifiers. If you like These Arms Are Snakes and Young Widows this shit will blow your dick off.
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Doves - The Last Broadcast




This is my favourite album by this British band (and also their breakthrough). So many bangers on here, but the stand-out track for me is "Pounding". I could listen to that song over and over and never get tired of it. Sweeping indie rock with great melodies (think Coldplay but with balls).
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The Ramones - Acid Eaters




The Ramones covering the songs of their youth. The standouts are the Amboy Dukes, Love, and Max Frost covers. Pete Townshend even shows up to sing back-ups on their cover of The Who's "Substitute". I bet even my dad would like this Ramones album (they do cover Creedence).
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8.3.10

The Helio Sequence










I first heard of this band after drummer Benjamin Weikel joined Modest Mouse for their Good News For People Who Love Bad News album (Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock also brought them to the attention of Sub-Pop records). After checking out their Sub-Pop debut I was hooked. The first two albums have a My Bloody Valentine-esque wall of sound that is pretty incredible considering this band is only a duo. On their Sub-Pop debut Love and Distance they refined their sound into a sort of Flaming Lips/Modest Mouse hybrid that had lots of melody, and plenty of loudness. Their most recent is also their most uneven with half the songs being great, the other half being weak, though the title track "Keep You Eyes Ahead" is my favourite song by the band.
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Foals - Antidotes




Great dancy/mathy indie rock from this british band. Foals sound like Minus The Bear but way more dance-rooted. Foals also have the occasional slow(er) songs with spacier elements that are equally as rad. This album was produced by TV on The Radio's Dave Sitek (he's the white guy), and he made the drums sound huge and left the guitars plenty of breathing room to really stand out, and stand out they do as they are quite intricate.
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Lymbyc Systym










Instrumental duo from Tempe Arizona, Lymbyc Systym utilize laptop beats mixed with live instrumentation, mostly drums and keys. I've already posted some of their stuff here, and this is the rest. If you're like me and were totally blown away by their side of the TWDY split, their new album Shutter Release continues on along those same lines and is really great.
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7.3.10

High On Fire














I can remember downloading the song Baghdad off audiogalaxy and being totally blown away by how fucking loud/punishing and straight up rad this band was. I was even more stoked when I realized they were playing in London, Ontario the next month with Mastodon opening. They never made it over the border for the show (Mastodon did and they were rad), but I did see them 2 years later on the Blessed Black Wings tour at Alvin's in Detroit, and they fucking killed it. High On Fire is Matt Pike's post-Sleep metal juggernaut that takes the bottom end of Sleep and mixes it with the intensity, grit and speed of Motörhead, with lyrics about wizards and shit.

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