Oct 30, 2014

The Airborne Toxic Event – Wrong - Single 2014



We’re very excited to announce that our brand-new single, “Wrong,” from our soon-to-be-released fourth studio album is OUT NOW. It’s our first new song in a year, and the first of many.

talons' - Lost Summer EP - 2014


MIDI-triggered guitars with chopped drums and tape echos as well as some singing.

Bug Martin - Penitence - 2014


Penitence is undoubtedly the theme of the album, but unlike most gloomy folky bluesy boys, the sins of Bug Martin are never directly addressed. I’m still not certain why Bug Martin is now Bug Martin and is not Dead Bugs (I’m told it’s a long story, and I’m not told details). There’s something mysterious about Penitence, something buried in the muck of few microphones recording everything all at once that listeners might spend the rest of the calendar trying to uncover. If Bug wanted us to see the deepest color of his blood, he might have included lyrics to the songs on the bandcamp stream of the album, but a lack of words to read leads me to believe his regrets are singular and secret. Perhaps our biggest regret as listeners is losing touch with the profound variety of feelings that all human beings are capable of feeling, losing touch with the truth that sharing those particular, poignant emotions that can be the only thing that bind us together as a species. Or maybe the dude just needs another drink. I think Bug Martin wants you to feel this record more than he wants you to understand it. Take a listen and feel it out for yourself. BBR

national screen service - feathering - 2014



Imagine working as cabin crew on a long haul flight. The only passengers are Steve Reich and Grouper. For some reason you're all crammed inside the cockpit with your ears pressed against the door, trying desperately to hear Steve and Liz playing together over the woozy swirl of the engines. That is the sound of National Screen Service, the fuzz drone project of Mick Harrison, one time bass player in schizoid hypno band Prolapse.

BELLE GHOUL - Around For The Weekend - 2014


BELLE GHOUL are an unpredictable, unimaginable group, resulting from the uncontainable talents of the two main members, Christopher Tait (among many other things, keyboardist of ELECTRIC SIX) and Jesse Smith (Patti Smith’s daughter). With such big names, the mix is unpredictable, and in this case, serves to whet our appetites for their imminent 10” vinyl mini-LP, “Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday” with this advance digital single. The single includes a remix and a previously unreleased song that lets the group’s electronic background - something they haven’t shown so openly so far - run wild. 

But the main song, included in the upcoming mini-LP, is a perfect example of soul and pop, with the lyrical forms of Sam Cooke and the musical influences of THROWING MUSES and XTC. The result is one their most significant hits to date. And as for the remix, DUBAI BROS (another of Christopher’s projects) are in charge and they put an important twist on “Lakes Of Fire”. It’s an unimaginable leap forward for the group’s sound, darker and more danceable, with echoes of KRAFTWERK and LIQUID LIQUID. Then there’s “Devoir (Imaginary Theme)”, which is a landscapey, instrumental song where the keyboard pads make room for evocation in a new unusual and unexpected example of the group’s abilities. 

It’s just a taste of what’s to come from what is probably going to be one of the most important releases in BELLE GHOUL’s career, which, given the evidence, still has so much more to give us. Savour it all as it comes.

Belle And Sebastian – The Party Line - Single 2014



Oct 28, 2014

Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life - Single 2014



Astronauts, etc. - Sadie - 2014


There is a fragile balance to Astronauts, etc. — an attempt to reconcile contradiction. Harmonious conflict rolls through mastermind Anthony Ferraro's uniquely soulful compositions with a struggling duality innate in each note. A classically trained pianist with French composer Hector Berlioz tattooed on his arm, Ferraro approaches his songwriting with both a disregard for his 15 years of focused lessons and a respect for the skill those studies have afforded him. 


Phillip This EP is just all around refreshing. I love both the simplicity and the complexity about it. I've been listening to it over and over for days now.

Olivia Lee delicious straddling of perfectly addictive melancholic pop on a bed of sweet synth heaven

Andrew Jervis Oakland, CA is bursting with talent, and Anthony is one of the acts at the top o'the pile.

Hideous Towns - 2014 EP


Dream pop with weaves of psych rock...

Victor Florence - happy birthday! - 2014


These few tracks are spare music on the wings of delicate twitters... well conceived, delivered. Perfect for a background music kinda day.

Oct 26, 2014

The Gravy Train - Thank You For Nothing! - 2014



The Gravy Train may have only released three and a half singles (one was a split flexi, you see), but they were certainly no strangers to the flourishing UK cassette scene of the early '90s. It looks like there were just as many songs given to such great compilations, like "Positively Teenage!!?", "C92" and "Teeny Poppers", as there were on their own records! So, curating a collection of this band's work involved a lot of patience and dodgy cassettes (so the sound quality is not always perfect), but I think the resulting 28-track compilation was well worth the effort. On this disc, you'll find all ten songs from their singles, a majority of their compilation contributions (a couple were unsalvageable, regrettably), as well as tracks from their never-released debut lp and a few unreleased gems for good measure. Dig in!

The Kickstand Band - HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - 2014


The Kickstand Band began playing in Detroit while chipping away at their debut album Puppy Love, a masterclass in melodic guitar pop and sticky hooks, filtered though the vinyl collections and frayed tweed amps shared by friends, roommates, & bandmates. Addicting boy-girl vocal interplay and major-minor chord changes, pop-punk teeming with earnestness and sincerity, both out of time and timeless. 

LVL UP - Hoodwink'd - 2014


"Skater slackboard hunk-punks from Brooklyn, Philadelphia pull through again with their crooked take on post-2007's Smashing Pumpkins meets the coked out vibes of the "what-if-Pavement-were-from-the-70s" reunion revival of yesteryear, servin' up a dash of what's better known as THIS side of singer Greg Ruthking's jizzed out stoner fantasy mind."

prim - Older - 2014


Enjoyable dreamy pop out of Cincinnati; diverse melodies accompanying female vocals down the road of bubble grooves. Get yourself a copy over at their BC page.

Victor Florence and Logan Archer - Dialogues - 2014


An ambient split LP with Logan Archer (loganarcher.bandcamp.com), who lives on the other side of the country (California for him; Florida for myself). 
We would challenge each other to come up with instrumental passages to certain images, phrases, or quotes we found interesting. Here is the dialogue that formed over the thousands of miles between us.

Oct 25, 2014

Benjamin Woods - Nobody Ever Got Rich By Making People Sad - 2014


Stripped down acoustic sadcore... Beautiful sadness.

Slight - Spirit School / Tasting - 2014


SLIGHT is a swirling psychedelic pop krautrock project from Montreal.
New EP just out at slightsound.bandcamp.com.

Cabana - Normal City - 2014


In times of relentless rain and the on-slot of winter's bitterness, listen to garage rock! It really cures the weather blues. 
Cabana's latest can help wage war on the outside...

Oct 22, 2014

Astronaut Husband - Then & Now - 2014


the best kind of formula; hushed vocals, expansive guitars, constant build... 
Now that's what I call shoegaze. Cool release.

People//Talk (formerly So Sexual) - Merseyrail Soundstation Session - 2014


People//Talk formed in a pub in January of 2012 under the original name of So Sexual.

What started out as a few friends who had previously played in bands together thinking that maybe it’d be fun to write a bunch of songs and play a gig (which they did in the space of the first month), has 2 years later proven to have a little more longevity than any of them might have anticipated.

Within that time frame the band now known as People//Talk have developed their own distinct identity, drawing upon elements of post/punk and new wave whilst delivering a contemporary, accessable sound.

For those who are already familiar with and enjoyed the bands previous works as ‘So Sexual’ you will be pleased to find that a change of name doesn’t mean a departure from the overall sound.

For those of you listening to People//Talk for the first time here’s what you should know-
This new release contains 5 tracks written between winter ’13 and Spring ’14.
The EP explores the highs and lows of romantic entaglement. A universal theme set against a bright musical backdrop that compliments each twist and turn of the lyrical subject matter.
For fans of: The Chameleons, Interpol, The Cure, New Order

Brideshead - The Mermaid - 2014


Lets Say We Did - Such a Shame EP - 2014


*Groovenet* 
While managing to drift their way from Stockholm to my ears, Let’s Say We Did have punched out a sound that feels incredibly overlooked. Like an emotionally afflicted Stephen Malkmus, “(Won’t You Please) Tell Me Something” scathes the surface of that old familiar Pavement sound in executing something so soothing and wounded all at once. It strikingly matches the album art for their new EP, Such A Shame, for which this track is from. 

Oct 21, 2014

Lesser Strays - Heaven to Hell - 2014


Excellent release...

…I'll fly from this city, escape from your eyes 
Paint my sorry ink against the sky… 
Heaven to Hell is the 3rd extended play release from the Portland based indie band "Lesser Strays
The title and content is born from the observation of the fluctuating quality of the human experience. We step in and out of moments of heaven and hell, as well as the stagnant points in-between. To travel back and forth from both places, is simply to live.

Craig McBrine - Letters - 2013


I like music that doesn't try to be more than it is... These pillow penned songs keep it simple, straight forward, but possess a wonderful sentimentality...

Letters is about the years 2010 to 2013. A lot happened. Letters reveals my deepest fears throughout those years, fears that I've now grown out of. But it reveals something that happens to all of us - change. The defining moments in our life that shape us into who we will be. And for me, that was Letters.



From Bandcamp: Kenneth McBrine Great Music. Hard to explain without bigger words so think of it as a bubble on the outside of a bubble, expanding at a fast rate until it explodes in amazingness. Favorite track: The World is a Hologram.

Oct 20, 2014

Car Seat Headrest - Nervous Young Man - 2013


Copezone: This record is refreshing from start to finish. I like the throw back fuzz and feel of the vocals. It's like discovering a gem that got packed away in a garage somewhere. I hear some good old Leonard Cohen in the vocals and lyrics, with some Lou Reed despair and attitude! The band gives lyrical nods to the likes of Neil Young and the Chambers Brothers. Instant fan!

xingbee: There are artists you love, and there are artists that "amaze" you. Car Seat Headrest falls into that second category. Everything this guy writes is genius and impresses me beyond words. Somewhat reminiscent of The Velvet Underground, but completely unique. A gem, really. Do I tell everyone I know about this artist or savor it like some secret treasure (eh that's selfish)? Oh and the outtakes album? It's *even better* than Nervous Young Man. Thank you Will Toledo, you are truly talented!

Isla Norman - Too Many Love Songs! - 2012


I am a nineteen year old singer songwriter from New Zealand, and have just released my second album entitled "Too Many Love Songs!" My music is most often associated with the word "quirky," which I choose to take as a compliment.

My songs are upbeat and positive, written mostly for the ukulele in a sort of "dear diary" format. My biggest influence is Ingrid Michaelson.  

Hellolisa - We Got it for Cheap - 2013


We are a band, we are 7 and we are friends, since 2005. We live in Collioure, the most beautiful little town on the Mediterranean sea.
We are playing indie rock / Alt folk, in an indie pop mood, so if you like Belle and Sebastian, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Arcade Fire...
We are unsigned and looking for a beautiful label who will help us to spread our vibes  

Oct 19, 2014

the range of light wilderness - The Range of Light Wilderness - 2014


From Bandcamp:

Randall Douglas Matson, Please keep making music like this! This sounds to me like music made simply for the sake of doing what you love doing. We need more of this in the world. Thank you so much for your music.

Alie This album is like putting on a pair of sepia-tinted sunglasses, then falling in love lazily and without a trace of cynicism.

Water Music - Wolves - 2014


Recorded on 8-track between June and October 2014 at Hawk Moth Records HQ. 

"The ever prolific Matty Barker emerges from the shed with a gorgeous new Water Music album. Serene space folk to soundtrack the contemplation of small things, of big things, of nothing at all. Tremendously uplifting and superbly written, as always." - BandcampHunter

Wartime Recitals - Wartime Recitals - 2014


Los Angeles' Wartime Recitals emerged from a love of pop melodies, large arrangements, and a desire to play their instruments very loudly. Though the group does have glockenspiel parts, they would like to note that all comparisons to other glockenspiel-related bands are probably wrong. And that's okay.

The Weather Station - What Am I Going To Do With Everything I Know - 2014


Folky tunes with a touch of garage dirt thrown in for good measures. 
Worth a listen.

Løzninger - Roses of Poison - Single 2014




Pet Sun - Gimme Your Soul - Single 2014


Some serious Canadian Rock for you here...


Canada's Pet Sun recently put out their debut EP, Feel Like I'm Going Away, on Sleepless Records. It's an album of mostly poppy mid-fi garage punk a la Wavves and Black Lips, but with a few slower, trippier dirges too. You can stream the whole thing below, as well as check out the brand new video for its track "Gimme Your Soul" (one of the poppier songs) which premieres in this post. BV



Pet Sun -- 2014 Tour Dates
10/15 The Casbah Hamilton, Canada
10/24 The Flat Brooklyn, NY w/ Weird Womb

Billy Moon - COLD - Single 2014


You gotta love an artist like Billy Moon - the creativity coming out of this rural landscape is just great.


Billy Moon is a project that I try not to put limits on. Now that I've moved back home, it seemed like a good time to start putting out artwork and tunes that I had been sitting on for a while.
Gotta keep busy.
I've always kept journals of poems, songs, and weird drawings of butts and stuff, but this is the first time I've released artwork like this so I'm excited to see what people think.
If the accompanying single, “Cold”, could be summed up it would be: “Don't be an asshole”.
I should probably shut up.
Hope you enjoy!
Billy Moon.

Oct 13, 2014

The Active Listener Sampler #24 - 2014



1. Heaven's Gateway Drugs - Apropos. From the upcoming second album, due in October.
2. EDJ - The Mountains on Fire (In The Rearview). From the album "EDJ", out now on Easy Sound.
3. The Autumn Stone - The River Song. From the album "Beautiful Freaks", out now.
4. The Ilk - Powerplant. From the album "The New Dark Age", out now.
5. Papernut Cambridge - When She Said, What She Said (Extended Active Listener Mix). Original version available on the album "New Underground", out in October on Gare Du Nord.
6. Holögrama - In Your Head. From the upcoming album "Waves", out soon on Trouble in Mind Records.
7. Espectrostatic - Escape from Witchtropolis. From the upcoming album "Escape from Witchtropolis", out soon on Trouble in Mind Records.
8. Cosmic Analog Ensemble - Murs Libres. From the album "La Fonte des Glaces", out now as a free download.
9. Heed The Thunder - Horrible Condition. From the album "Cokaigne", out now. 
10. Klaus Morlock - The Derelict Nursery. From the album "The Bridmore Lodge Tapes"out now from Reverb Worship.
11. Dodson And Fogg - When You Were Young. From the album "In a Strange Slumber", out now.
12. Ripe - Eyes and Mind. Ripe on Soundcloud.
13. Montibus Communitas - The Pilgrim At The Shrine. From the album "The Pilgrim to the Absolute", out September 30 on Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records. 
14. Slow Motion Rider - Never Blue. Slated to appear on a future Slow Motion Rider album. 
15. The Sunchymes - Mr Buckstone. From the digital single Mr Buckstone.

Des Roses - Des Roses - 2014


Brilliant shoegaze/dream pop from Dantes. Just an EP... Need more.



Oct 12, 2014

Yec Roc - The Best of Americana Music Festival 2014


What are the Essentials of Americana? Each year at Americana Fest, the list gets longer as artists from around the world gather in Nashville for the annual celebration of blues, country, roots, indie and insert-genre-here music. And each year, Yep Roc Records and The Americana Music Association invite a variety of artists that fall into that category to record exclusive acoustic sessions while they’re in town. This year, the sessions were incredibly special, as they were recorded at the Historic RCA Studio A in the heart of Music Row. Now, these sessions are available in The Best of the Americana Music Festival 2014 exclusively at NoiseTrade.


The Pretty Greens - Jealous Waves - 2014


February Records is a micro-label based in New England that releases and promotes independent pop music. February Records is about bringing people together, forging connections and exposing people to great music.

Hurry - Everything​/​Nothing - 2014


Happy Hurry Day! Hurry's debut album, Everything/Nothing, is officially dropped. We're all excited this moment has come and look forward to seeing where it goes. Pre-orders are preparing to ship, deliveries to your favorite Philly record stores are being made, hands are being shook with a polite nod. There's a lot on the horizon for the band and for this release. Stay tuned for the fucking fun! 

Patient Barney Penrose - Kirilov - 2014


"As a lyricist, Patient Barney Penrose shares a vividness with Matt Berninger of The National, expressing himself with melancholic, literate concision. These are lyrics that read well without a melody. An extension of an obvious literary talent, they embellish his dulcet arrangements."

Oct 11, 2014

caroline says - 50​,​000​,​000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - 2014


Austin musicians' pen wonderful music; this is no different... folk inspired sadcore.

Everything's Alright Forever Vol. 1 - 2013


Exhale's first year anniversary compilation includes fourteen bands from seven different collectives from around eastern Canada. It acts as a statement of what we've had a pleasure of being a part of in the past year as well as a look into what the future holds. 


Collective labels involved in the project: 

OPTICAL SOUNDS- www.opticalsounds.com 
ROTTEN FOLK- www.rottenfolk.com 
OUT OF SOUND- www.outofsoundrecords.ca 
PERDU- secretsound.ca 
WOLFSHIRT- wolfshirtrecords.com 
PONCHO RECORDS- ponchorecords.bandcamp.com 
BRUISED TONGUE- bruisedtongue.com 

frankie cosmos - donutes - 2014


Bedroom popped tunes... sweet twee lo-fi ditties...

Frankie Cosmos is connected to your soul. Frankie Cosmos is the flower you should grow. Frankie Cosmos is the infinite cosmos infinite space. Frankie Cosmos is the pride soldiers show when they are returning home from battle victorious.

tyler burkhart - which angel? - 2014


True, honest, no nonsense music from the heart. I have always had an affinity to Tyler's music and this latests only adds to his catalogue. Always free, always great song-writing, the way great music should exist.

Lily & Madeleine - Rabbit, Run For It - 2014




"Rabbit, Run For It" is the feature single from Lily & Madeleine's forthcoming LP, Fumes, out on Asthmatic Kitty Records on October 28th, 2014.
Lily & Madeleine are currently running a music video contest for the song. The winner receives $500 cash, a prize package, and their video may become the official "Rabbit" music video!

This compilation also includes acoustic versions of songs from their EP and last year's debut self-titled LP, and a cover of Alex Turner's "Stuck on the Puzzle."

Oct 10, 2014

Playlist: Woodist 2014



Brandon Cunningham - Give Out - 2012


Brandon Cunningham isn’t a spinner of tall tales. This is where he diverges from the path traveled by most traditional folk singers. He’d just as soon skip the bullshit and get right to the substance: the tensions that lie between love and loss, chance and meaning, brokenness and redemption. These are the ideas and experiences that occupy his mind, the inner dialogue that is captured in his songs: finding the meaning within those tensions, and the hope that lies just beyond them.

Cunningham has always been the quiet, contemplative type—but he didn’t always look to music as a vehicle for his thoughts. Growing up in Texas, he sang in the gospel choir (ask him about the time he opened for M.C. Hammer), and he learned how to strum a six-string as a teenager. But music was never particularly personal for him—until he heard Bon Iver at age 19.

Something about those first few songs he heard made a strong impact, stitching together feeling and experience in a way that resonated more deeply than anything he’d heard before. He started thinking about music as a vehicle for capturing his own thoughts and experiences. He started writing.

Pretty soon he had enough songs under his belt—originals and covers—to take the stage. He got two friends together, and played his first show. It was terrible. Truly awful. But he loved it. He was hooked.

Brandon has journeyed many miles since those first steps, both literally and figuratively. Propelled by restlessness, compelled by truth, he is convinced that while tension and pain are often the markers and milestones of this life, all roads can ultimately lead to renewal. That is a choice we can all make. And while we must live with the tension long enough to know it, the call of life is to find the meaning and hope beyond it. That’s what Cunningham is constantly seeking. His songs reflect that spirit. His music is a documentation of that journey.

Sounds like:
Bon Iver, Ryan Adams, Sigur Ros, Neil Young, Night Beds, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, AA Bondy, The National, Sharon Van Etten.

Luke De Sciscio - Another Room - 2014


Great sentiment in this music... The kind of sounds you want at the end of a busy work week; the scotch helps too of course. Delicately crafted songs that open the world up to many possibilities.




"Luke De-Sciscio is a singer-songwriter of Anglo-Italian descent, currently leading a double life; half recording artist and half river man. Moored around the South of the UK on a narrow boat, Luke has immersed himself in a world of song writing, nature and vinyl. Nurtured a passion for honest, unguarded and melodically intimate songs and found the space to reflect on humanity, from both a very personal and a completely Universal perspective."

'Another Room' is the final track from Luke De-Sciscio's 7-track-EP Rust. The response that followed a brief mention from music blog YVYNYL hinted that this track, though brutal in its honesty, may be one of the most accessible tracks on the album. Since that blog post, which simply professed 'heartbreaker', acclaim for the track has been monumental.

You can hear 'Another Room' here: https://soundcloud.com/lukedesciscio/another-room