9.6.10

New Black Mountain.

So, now there's something worth telling about again - Canadian stoner/acid rockers Black Mountain release a new album in September! And already now, you can fetch a brand new tune, Old Fangs, for the price of your email address.

Go fetch!

Yay!

4.6.10

Dirty Projectors live.

Alright, I know this is sort of old, but this performance of Cannibal Resource by Dirty Projectors is the best.



Also here.

1.6.10

Mixtape: Best of '10 - so far.

Oy!

Not that much posting these days because I've been busy making a mixtape for you guys. I just thought it would be a brilliant idea. One must say that '10 has been absolutely acceptable so far and there's still a lot more to come. Here's the 15 best tunes of the year so far in my opinion. Scroll down for download!:

The Besnard Lakes - Albatross
This fantastic shoegaze epic would start of every mixtape brilliantly with its cool dynamics and beautiful melody. It took some time to grow on me, actually, but that guitar intro is the best.

Las Robertas - Ballroom
I had absolutely no clue who these 4 girls from Costa Rica were before this popped up in my mailbox. But now I know - and I now happen to love their young, fresh, trashy garage pop. Ballroom represents their album, Cry Out Loud, brilliantly - it's simple, noisy and very catchy!

Happy Birthday - Perverted Girl
Sub Pop signed minimalist lo-fi garage rockers Happy Birthday would have been pure crap if it wasn't for the fantastic and catchy pop songs they write. What they have now is a lovely mess in which you'll always find that fantastic melody despite of bad vocals and lousy instrumentation. Not easy listening, but absolutely fantastic listening.

Spoon - Got Nuffin'
Spoons new album, Transference, is really good. So is Got Nuffin' - a very dynamic tune, simple melody but really well-thought instrumentation and dynamics all way through.

Liars - Scissor
The latest offering from Liars, Sisterworld, was indeed quite a mouthful. VERY inaccessible, demanding and experimental listening that forces the listener to be a 100% into this. To be honest, I think this might be a bit too uneasy listening because the good melody only shines through on occasion. One of these occasions is Scissor - trashy and demanding but also immediately satisfying artrock music.

Caribou - Found Out
Okay, I admit - the change from Liars' trashy rock to Caribou's dance music isn't very smooth. But you'll forgive me when you hear this - a very nice melody combined with a simple dance rhythm and a minimalistic, repetitive guitar line that works fantastically. Shake that ass, white boy!

LCD Soundsystem - You Wanted A Hit
Just keep dancing while you're at it - Caribou isn't a mile away from LCD Soundsystem musically. The last LCD Soundsystem album (sadly), This Is Happening, is really good. On this mixtape you'll find You Wanted A Hit which is a 9-minute hypnotic garage dance tune. It sounds like quite a something but it's easier to listen to than you'd think.

OK Go - I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe
The sexiest tune of '10 this far? Yes, indeed. It's one of the first times that "funky" actually works on me instead of scaring me. But this melody is incredible and makes the walls drip from...... Horny.

Serena-Maneesh - Blow Yr Brains In The Morning Rain
To move on from the minimalist-lo-fi-horny-dance-sexy part of the mixtape towards the more rocking part of it I've decided to use what's probably one of my top 3 favorite tracks of '10. Blow Yr Brains In The Morning Rain is a BLAST of acid-bad-trip-stoned-shoegaze-noisepop. Sexy? Yes, indeed, but in a completely different way than OK Go. In my opinion, this is the highlight on Abyss In B Minor.

The Van Jets - Matador
Matador doesn't say that much about the latest Van Jets album, Cat Fit Fury, which is mostly a very nice pop record with some guitars on it. Matador is trashy, noisy and absolutely amazing.

The Mad Trist - Silver Lines
Pay The Piper by The Mad Trist is one of my absolute favorite albums of '10. Stoned pop music quite inspired by bands as Queens Of The Stone Age but with that Benelux touch of synths and something that can't be defined. Silver Lines is rocking a bit harder than most of the tunes on Pay The Piper, but it's great nonetheless and it's probably what I've listened to the most this year.

Melissa Auf Der Maur - Isis Speaks
I never thought I'd like a concept album about vikings this much but (thank God) it's a lot better than it sounds. Out Of Our Minds is probably the album I remember the best because it's a bit bizarre with the viking theme and the lyrics but the songs here are very well-written.

Black Box Revelation - Part Of Me
A heavily distorted bass, heartfelt vocals and some trashy attitude - there is your dose of melodic garage trashy rock music. Definately something for itself.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Shadow's Keeper
This comes as no surprise, I guess, but I honestly find Beat The Devil's Tatoo one of the best albums this year. Shadow's Keeper is represents the record brilliantly - psychedelic, a bit pop, a bit noise and shit loads of cool.

Arcade Fire - Month Of May
The two new tunes released by Arcade Fire pumps up my expectations SOOOOOOOOO badly for their new record, The Suburbs. I. Can't. Wait. On the b-side, Month Of May, they've apparently gone rock (?!) but they do it brilliantly.

BONUS: We Are Scientists - Rules Don't Stop
This thing works so brilliantly as a pop tune. Catchy as hell, cool guitars, and not demanding at all. How can this be one of the best of '10? Because is the best the first 20 times you hear it.

BONUS BONUS!!: How To Destroy Angels - The Space In Between
The new EP from Trent Reznor's How To Destroy Angels just popped into my mailbox this morning. (Yes, that widget thingy worked). The opening tune is amazing. Here it is.

As all mixtapes, this mixtape can be downloaded right here:

Download - Megaupload.

Cheers!

28.5.10

Pre-order How To Destroy Angels.











Just pre-order it, I think it's free. If I've got it right.

27.5.10

New Arcade Fire (one whole tune this time).



Embedding gone right this time! Very little video since it's not really important. The tune is amazing. I'm having so high hopes for their new album now.

New Nine Inch Nails.

Today is a good day - Trent Reznor has put out a new tune! That's kind of lovely since Trent Reznor is one of the most interesting people on the music scene because he's always absolutely awesome. This time it's some kind of soundtrack. It's a very ambient tune!

Here's an mp3 of Theme For Tetsuo: The Bullet Man.

Cheers!

26.5.10

New Free Kurt Vile.

Oy!

A lot of posting goes on at the moment. Now it's the new EP by Kurt Vile who is a rocking singer/songwriter. His label, Matador, is giving it away for free for the next 24 hours or so, so be quick and grab this one!

Download here.

New Klaxons.

Oy!

A new Klaxons tune can be streamed via YouTube now. It's 3 years since we last heard from them, so it's kind of nice to see them back. Enjoy!



I still don't know to fit YouTube videos in to this layout. Embedding gone wrong. :(

Cheers!

23.5.10

New We Are Scientists.

Indie rockers We Are Scientists have a new album out very soon. It's called Barbara. BUT! There's a single already and it's an amazingly good pop tune. It's called Rules Don't Stop. Here it is:

Here's an mp3 of it.

22.5.10

Preview New Arcade Fire.


Here's an extremely short preview of the new Arcade Fire singe, The Suburbs. Those are some damn promising seconds!

A. The Suburbs




AA. Month of May

20.5.10

More Tokyo Police Club.

The brand new Tokyo Police Club album, Champ, is on its way. The first single, Breakneck Speed, was really good and now they're sharing a little sampler of Champ - 5 tunes off the new album, including Breakneck Speed. And, it's a widget which means I can resist the temptation of using it. Enjoy!











19.5.10

Roskilde.

Someone told me to make a post about what I'm going to see at Roskilde. Well, I found out that you could make your own version of the Roskilde poster where you got to choose headliners yourself from the bands that are playing Roskilde. I thought: Brilliant idea. And then I used a picture of a unicorn:

Also, a few words about these bands:

Them Crooked Vultures: One of the best supergroups I could imagine. Their first album was great, they have a second on the way - hoping they'll play some new stuff from that one! Serena-Maneesh: Well, I think I've told you enough about this Norwegian noise pop/rock band that sounds like My Bloody Valentine if they attacked their songs a bit harder and did acid. The National: I can't wait to see this guys live. I think it's going to be amazing!
Wooden Shjips: Not one of the biggest bands on Roskilde, but definately one of the most exciting ones! Psyched out 60's psych noise rock that gets you into some sort of trance.
LCD Soundsystem:
The ultimate party. James Murphy is kind of a genius - their new (and last!) album is really cool!
Kasabian: First time they ever come to Denmark. I think they're a great band and I'm looking forwards to seeing them live. Either, it's going to be kind of crappy or kind of awesome. Hoping for the best!
Gorillaz:
Seeing Gorillaz live isn't a chance you get very often so I'm stoked about this booking. I have no clue what they'll pull of live but I'm truly excited!
Dirty Projectors:
After watching their performance of Cannibal Resource on Letterman, I'm convinced that this is a great live band. Probably the best indie booking of the year by Roskilde. Prince: A true original, a musical genius and a very under-estimated guitarist. He's a legend! Muse: Always a pleasure to experience live, I believe. Last time I saw them was in 2008 and that was really good.
Titus Andronicus:
Punk rock energy, shit loads of booze and fantastic songs. Not much more to say!
The Kissaway Trail: These Danes are a great live band. The music reminds me a bit of Arcade Fire.
Ghost Society:
Danish shoegazers that I can't wait to see live.
CV Jørgensen:
A Danish legend that must be experienced .
John Olav Nielsen & Gjengen:
This dude is believed to become the Norwegian answer to Bruce Springsteen. This has potential!
Teddybears: Swedish guys that mix rock, pop, hiphop and stuff. Hoping for a party!
Robyn:
Probably the best and most interesting Nordic pop act of the moment.
Kandy Kolored Tangerine:
Danish garage rockers inspired by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Sonic Youth, among others. Their songs are cool!
Pavement:
Legendary American slacker rockers are back and they're headlining the festival. I've never really listened to them but everyone says it's going to be amazing so I guess I'll just check it out since I'm there anyway.
Wild Beasts: These guys are kind of cool and their very theatrical indie rock might work really well live, I think.
Health: This is mostly just because they're hyped as hell and I want to see what all the fuzz is about.
Efterklang: Another Danish band, their latest album is very fine. I'd really like to see these guys play it live and see how they'll do.
Biffy Clyro: First time I saw these guys was then they opened for Queens Of The Stone Age and they did an honorable job. Their latest album is sort of sloppy in my opinion but the one before that, Saturday Superhouse, is really great.
Beach House: Another hyped indie booking, they should be shoegazing sometimes and I'm a sucker for shoegaze so now, it's time to check them out!
Kashmir: Danish band playing beautiful rock tunes. They deliver the goods brilliantly when they play live.

I have no more to say. Enjoy your Roskilde Festival, I'm sure I will.

Cheers!

18.5.10

Dum Dum Girls.

So! Walking down the same path I walked down some days ago with Las Robertas - girls playing noisy garage pop. Apparently, it's the new thing - Vivian Girls, Girls, Dum Dum Girls....... Something with girls and garage pop. Dum Dum Girls are generous and have put up two tunes from a 7" single they released on Record Store Day. Check it out if you liked the last post, if you like noisy garage pop or if you want to be really indie hipster.









13.5.10

Las Robertas.

Oy!

Finally something worth blogging about! Las Robertas are 3 girls from Costa Rica playing the noise-garage-pop thing that's quite reminiscent of The Raveonettes. Their new album, Crying Out Loud, can be downloaded for free through their website, and it's pretty damn cool!

Listen and download right here.

Cheers!

9.5.10

Classics: 00's indie/garage.

The '00 indie/garage movement was both brilliant and bad. Brilliant because of some masterpieces and the fact that rock music was played more frequently in the radio, for example. Bad because of the massive load of crappy rock bands that had 3 chords and some skinny jeans and thought that now was the time to take over the world - simply, it was very easy to be productive but the quality filter almost disappeared. Nevertheless, as before mentioned, it brought some really, really, really brilliant albums with it. Here's some of the essential must-haves from the 00's indie/garage movement:

The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

Quite simply probably the best garage rock album I've ever heard and the artistical highlight in Jack White's career. Childish energy, monstrous guitar sounds and fantastic melodies go hand in hand here. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground is simply THE tune of the garage rock movement.




Arcade Fire - Funeral

In my opinion, Funeral is THE must have of the 00's indie rock movement. INCREDIBLE melodies mixes with sincerely clever instrumentation and more feelings than I've heard on many other albums. Each single number is so strong on itself it's almost unbelievable. It's honestly one of my favorite albums.



Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Even though Bloc Party aren't as lo-fi and simple as most of the other indie bands they are considered a part of the indie rock movement, probably because of their ridiculous energy and twangy guitars. Electronic bleeps drop by and say hello sometimes as Bloc Party deliver sophisticated and clever melodies. Helicopter still remains an absolute killer single today.



The Black Keys - Magic Potion

Magic Potion was the perfect middle-of-the-road-album for The Black Keys between their early really lo-fi bluesy albums and their newer, more melodic ones. Here, feeding lo-fi guitars mix with cool melodies and more soul than on any other garage rock album, highly because of Dan Auerbach's amazing voice.




Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards

Robbers & Cowards makes crappy and brilliant mix in such a special way - just take the two first tunes as examples: We Used To Vacation is such a fantastic melody but lousy instrumentation and the worst guitar solo I've heard makes it so twisted and brilliant. Hang Me Up To Dry is another amazing melody that contains an incredibly bad piano solo that anyone could have played. SO much nerve on this album you won't believe it.


Jakobinarina - The First Crusade

A fantastic and valuable pearl on the very bottom of the indie ocean. SO overlooked, but so fantastic. These Icelandic guys sound unlike anything else I've heard. A very, VERY powerful record but still with nerve and vulnerability just underneath the soaring noisy guitars and badly pronounced English lyrics. Seriously an album you must hear and probably haven't.



Alright, I realise that there are shit loads of cool indie and this is just the very surface of it all. I might have to make a part 2 of this with Interpol, Deerhunter, The Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kings Of Leon and.......... Yeah, I think you get the point.

6.5.10

New The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Something indicates that Brooklyn dreampop/noisepop/indiepop band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart will have a new album out soon - a brand new single has just landed. It's called Say No To Love, and it's quite reminiscent of what they have done earlier which is not a bad thing.

Stream Say No To Love right here.

Cheers!

5.5.10

How To Destroy Angels.

Oy!

I've been a bit busy the last couple of days and not a lot of interesting things have happened music-wise, but now there's something - How To Destroy Angels. It's Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and his wife and if the first tune from them is characteristic of them, I'd say they've almost gone 90's trip hop a la Portishead.

Go listen at Pitchfork.


Cheers!

2.5.10

ZAZA.

Just went to a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert yesterday, an amazing experience of hard-hitting noisy, bluesy and shit cool rock 'n roll. Since I've told you enough about BRMC for like, a lifetime, I'd like to mention the opening act ZAZA. Psychedelic, drony soundscapes with added electronics and boy-girl vocals make for a quite nice athmosphere. They only have an EP out, it's called Cameo and it's good. Since the internet isn't floating with lots of free mp3's from upcoming bands, I couldn't really find anything with these guys except from this Soundcloud thingy of Always On which gives you a fairly good impression of what these guys are doing.



Cheers!

30.4.10

Film School.




The last couple of days I've been drenching myself in glorious noise from Maribel, Underground Railroad and especially Film School which I rediscovered a couple of days ago. I bought their latest one, Hideout, from 2007 and listened to it a couple of times and figured out that it was quite good and then I completely forgot it. Just took it up about a week ago and decided to listen to it again and now is has revealed itself as a brilliant blend of raw shoegaze, psychedelic noisy stuff and indie. These guys should get so much more attention than they do. Here's some fantastic tunes off Hideout:

Dear Me.
This is the glorious opening tune - tends towards the more melancholic noise rock.
Compare.
Compare might have the best melody on Hideout - this one is kind of classic shoegaze but with an indie feel.
Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl.
Brilliant song title, I like the drony noise that comes from the guitars.

Film School are currently working on new material, by the way.

Enjoy!