+ Oceana – Clean Head EP

Greg from Moving Mountains turned me on to this band.  They used to be a deathcore/metalcore band but then changed their style and released an incredible 4 song indie rock EP.  Really digging this.  They just reached their goal on kickstarter so they will be recording a new album soon.  Can’t wait to hear it.

With Clean Head, the band have decided to incorporate this new aesthetic into their music – along with a progression so extreme it will either alienate fans or give them reason to rejoice. Clean Head is different. It is sorrowful. It is marvelous, yet most of all it is happy. Songs such as “Wool God” and “Joy” (obviously) are examples of this newfound happiness, while “Blue” and “Barracuda Capital of the World” showcase mourning, sorrow, wonder, and occasionally a restrained sense of euphoria. Together these songs form a cohesive whole that possesses enough quality to be perfect – yet it’s not quite there yet

via Sputnik

Here’s a couple albums I enjoyed while I was away.

Now, Now – Threads

I listened to this record from front to back at least 2 times a day in the van.  Now, Now plays ambient indie rock vaguely similar to Tegan and Sara/Mansions.   Threads was released on Chris Wala’s (Death Cab for Cutie) record label and I was under the impression that he produced it also but wikipedia tells me that’s not true – a guy named Howard Redekop produced it.  He should pat himself on the back for capturing such good tones.  The synth parts on this record make me want to buy a mico korg to mess around with.

Threads – the second full-length release from Minneapolis based Now, Now – explores the fragile and often transitory nature of our existence, our perceived understanding of the world around us and relationships shared with others physically and emotionally. Produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, An Horse, New Pornographers), Threads forms a sprawling sonic endeavor that showcases the bands incredible growth as songwriters and musicians. Vulnerable vocals give way to oceans of sound retaining definition via deftly layered guitar parts augmented by lingering synths which alternate between background and center stage.

via Amazon

Buy//Download

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Two Swedish sisters with great voices write folk/americana songs and then Mike Mogis produces their album and makes it sound like Bright Eyes.  Sounds great, right?

The Lion’s Roar is an intriguing listen, warts and all, simply because to hear a group of young women from Sweden, of all places, make such a folksy country record is so warmly appealing. They definitely have respect for not only the material they’ve written, but the forefathers (and foremothers) who appeared before them that they base it on. The end result is a record that is hard not to like. At its best, The Lion’s Roar is a staggering, beautiful recreation of the sounds of Americana long gone, with a few added sprinkles and melodramatic twists that contribute extra dimension and weight to the material. At its worst, The Lion’s Roar is simply serviceable – not great, but not horrible either. All in all, the long player establishes that even though the Söderbergs are definitely young, they are wise and mature for their years. Here’s hoping that First Aid Kit act as a salve to openhearted wounds for many years to come.

via Pop Matters

Buy//Download

The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no longer Afraid to Die played before us and I was really excited to see them live because I’ve been listening to their Formlessness EP nonstop.  Here’s a couple videos from the show.

The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no Longer Afraid to Die – Gordon Paul

Click here to view the embedded video.

The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no Longer Afraid to Die – Walnut Street is Dead

Click here to view the embedded video.

I especially like these videos where they give advice to bands:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Part 2, Part 3.

They also make some really good music.

The dancier tracks on this album took a while to grow on me but now I can’t stop listening.  Total Life Forever is an extension of the dance-punk sound found on Foals debut album Antidotes.  It’s a combination of indie rock, funk and post-rock.  A very atmospheric record – much more expansive and emotionally involving than their last record.  Get into it.

At the end of the chorus of ‘Black Gold’, Philippakis sings “The future is not what it used to be”. One would not at all be surprised if this was a motto of sorts for Foals as they were putting together ‘Total Life Forever’, since the greater ambition and maturity evident here could not have been foreseen by anyone. It may not be an especially immediate album, and is definitely not one which can be listened to as background music for fifty minutes, but its slow-burning qualities turn what initially may seem a little messy, into a satisfyingly cohesive release. “Now look back, see how far you’ve come” cites ‘This Orient’, and Foals should heed their own words and be extremely proud of ‘Total Life Forever’.

(via sputnik)

(edit: it looks like their label is forcing a bunch of blogs to remove this album from download.  So follow this google link and do some searching… you’ll come across it)

Before the video begins it prompts you to enter the address of the home you grew up in and then it generates a unique video for you to enjoy.  Awesome idea, well executed.

Hopefully tomorrow we have time to go visit the coffee shop we hung out at last time and see the girl who wanted to use her new imac to “yoohoo” us.  We can also stop by the Tuffy’s auto center that charged us $2,000 bucks to fix our van and burn it to the ground.

This is all I’ve been listening to:

For years, loving the National’s music has often meant reveling in the twinge of pain that comes when someone else manages to perfectly pin down and dissect a little piece of your psyche, which is why fans can get so inarticulate when trying to talk about what’s great about the band. As Felix Mendelssohn said, “The thoughts that are expressed to me by music that I love are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite.” High Violet‘s greatness, above beyond the fact that it’s a gorgeously arranged and performed set of songs of surprising tensile strength and grace, is that it rests its finger on some uncomfortably relevant truths about life after you no longer have the mental, physical, social or emotional wherewithal to spend every night at the bar and leaving the Silver City for somewhere quieter starts seeming like a good move. Anyone who loves this record probably has a very exact idea of how it touches on their own life, but most of us probably aren’t going to want to share.

via Pop Matters

Download:  The National – High Violet

Tigers Jaw’s sound is reminiscent of bands like The Get Up Kids or early Taking Back Sunday – not so much musically as in the overall “feeling” of the album, which I know is a very generalized statement but just trust me – after you listen, you’ll know.

I catch myself listening to The Sun way too often and repeating “What about your friends? What about your friends?  Do they make you happy?”

p.s.  Their singer’s voice is the definition of melancholy.

Download: Tigers Jaw – Tigers Jaw

Read: A Full Review

Enjoy, and thank you Alex!

Hey Dude,

I understand, 2009 was a little disappointing as far as groundbreaking or “new classic” albums coming out. I did have like a top 10-15 list of albums i enjoyed this past year, but i figured i’d whittle it down to albums that really left an impact, or at least left some sign of hope to me for the future of music. So here it is my Top 5!

*click the record name to download*

Telekinesis – S/T,  Merge Records   (check out “Coast of Carolina”)

Screaming Females – Power Move,  Don Giovanni Records

Sholi – S/T,  Quarterstick Records

Horse Feathers – House With No Home,  Kill Rock Stars Records  (“Curs in the Weeds” is a life changing song!)

David Bazan – Curse Your Branches,  Barsuk Records

Native is streaming their new album Wrestling Moves HERE.

I’m on my first listen through right now.  So far so good.

I distinctly remember watching them perform the album’s opening track (Backseat Crew) in College park a few months ago because the intro to that song builds and builds – and when the build up finally breaks they turned on a set of flood lights and the room just lit up with people dancing.  I captured that on video HERE.  I also remember their guitarist knocking over some dude for being a jerk and push moshing innocent bystanders.