Silly band name aside, I already know you'll like these guys. It's another Metric side-project! This time it's the revenge of the rhythm section as bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key band (ooh, an unintentional pun!) together.
If you're a fan of the anthems on Old World Underground... you'll be into this from the get go. Their lead single "Death of Death" couldn't be farther away from the connotation of its title. The song begins with a classic, spiraling guitar riff that sounds like a slightly more mature version of a Be Your Own Pet song. Not surprisingly, the drums and lagging bass hooks are the meat of the song.
"It's all right in the dark of night..."
Quite the rock 'n' roll turn of phrase. Check it out for yourself:
Today would have been Elliott Smith's 38th birthday. And, we all know why it's not. In honor of his would-be birthday, Kill Rock Stars is offering up on of the best tracks off of his posthumous album, New Moon. So, instead of adding more graffitti to the almost invisable Figure 8 wall at Solutions today, download "Angel in the Snow" below...
Neither of us broads have really spoken out about how great the new Rakes album is. Sure, it doesn't have the same guilty, drunken, renegade 20-something without a cause feel as their debut, but it's got some perspective. Take their latest single "The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect." As the name suggests, it's a jab against all those dirty, pretty things queuing up outside the newest hipster hotspot, oblivious to the headlines or anyone else.
The video for the song captures that aloof quality, featuring the band as apathetic hairdressers (not on fire). Check it out...
Though the hyperactive tracks seem to be The Rakes' forte, my personal favorite would have to be the ballad-esque "Little Superstitions." Listen for yourself...
Everyone has a karaoke song. I don't care if it takes you 6 shots of Cuervo Gold to grab the mic, you know you have one. And those of us who aspire to be "musicians", by playing power chords in garages and spend time at work looking up guitar tabs instead of making phone calls, have a cover song. It's a song that is your ace in the hole in case all of your original material sucks--with this song you could still make it.
For me, I wanted to find a track with a good balance of great pop catchiness and slightly obscure cool. My song was The Pastels' "Nothing To Be Done." It is sheer pop genius. Apparently, Swedish art rockers Love Is All thought so, too. They stole my thunder and cover the fucking song that was going to get me on blogs. Fuuuuccckkk yooooou!
Kidding... kinda.
I love this band, and they did a great job of the cover. Plus, they've been recently endorsed by Karen O (that really rubs salt in the wound). Check out their version of the Pastels classic at their MySpace page. But, let's compare....
This should be an obvious statement to all 13 of you who read this blog. Art Brut rule.
Their debut Bang Bang Rock & Roll was a great album that came to my attention via, erm... NME and lead singer/talker Eddie Argos' "feud" with Kele Okereke (I believe the term "fatty" was tossed around). But, I read beyond the trash, and carried onward. I dug up the album and fell in love. May I remind you a little lyric from "Formed A Band": We're going to write the song / That makes Israel and Palestine / Get along.Sheer fucking genius. Eddie, I'm sure Jonathan Richman is proud.
So, fast forward to now. They're Pitchfork darlings, they've played NYC 1,673 times, closed last year's Coachella (in a tent, but hey...) and just finished their second album. It's called It's A Bit Complicated, and it is. Well, moreso than songs like "Little Brother" and "Fight!".
During Summer '06 the band started peddling around new material. One of which was my favorite bootleg of last year: a song called "Nag Nag Nag Nag" (eat that, Cabaret Voltaire). The song is sung by little man lost Eddie Argos with an opening riff stolen right off the Orient Express and lyrics that beg the question, "When will I grow up? And do I really want to?"
Lucky us! They've recorded it. In a studio. Professionally. And here it is, with another gem... "Pump Up The Volume". Eddie, Christian Slateris proud.
The band have a quick US tour that includes these dates:
Art Brut April Mini Tour Apr 17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom Apr 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Studio B Apr 19 - Toronto, Ont @ The Mod Club Apr 20 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean Apr 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
As if that wasn't enough, band showoff, pointer-extroirdinare and power-chording guitarist Jasper Future shows you 10 Steps to Guitar Genius. Professor?
I don't know what the deal is with M.I.A. lately but I'm just not feeling it as much as her older stuff. Here is her track on the Timbaland album (with Timbaland of course) that didn't make the US release.
I've been sitting on this little-known Denver band for a while. I'm selfish. I'm greedy. But, now I have changed my heathen ways and will let you in on this amazing secret: Kissing Party.
It's not an episode of Girls Gone Wild (sorry), it's actually a band. Along with being excellent kissers, they've found time to write a slew of under 2 minute, just enough sugar, pop gems. They're indie-pop to a tee... twee? To get an idea of their sound, imagine if you will The Pastels hitting on The Vaselines at a dive bar, buying one too many shots of Jaeger, taking things back to his place only to have both of them realize they're still in love with their exes, but they exchange numbers anyway and are totally going to stay friends.
Make sense?
Perhaps this will help. Check out an old live review by Filter from an early show they played at Denver hipster haunt Hi-Dive last year here.
The band's core is made up of frontman Gregg Dolan and frontwoman Deirdre Sage. They banter back and forth with I love you, but I hate you verses in saccharine melodies. But don't think this is another mates of state. The two are platonic, as you can see in their live shows when the band delves into an Oasis moment and Dolan starts kicking the band when they make mistakes. Take that, Noel. The band released a home made demo album a few months ago locally called hold your hour and have another, and are hitting a Denver studio to produce more of "the greatest songs ever" which Dolan promises to be "better than Oasis." Here, here.
tips, new music, gentlemen callers, UK citizenship and witty reparte are greatly appreciated. and, you know, free stuff is cool, too.
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