Tearjerker - Hiding - 2014

Only Magic Left is Art Feel good Shoegaze Lo-fi with melancholic influences that channel the spirit of Atlas Sound. Before you know it, you'll be jerking back a couple of tears from the fractured memories this music manages to salvage.

Emily Hogan I'm annoyed at myself for sleeping on the cassette, but had to have this in my digital collection nonetheless. Sleepy lo-fi pop with driving guitar and bass lines. Reminds me of Yuck and Girls (two of my faves).

Rivulets - Stars In Aspic 7" - 2014

so gradual, so minimal, so epic, so wonderful… again again again!

Miya Folick - Strange Darling - 2015

Two song EP from Miya Folick. Her voice is just so darn cool… no fancy frills, just a true voice with passion and integrity which matches up well with her melodies. Very Nice!

Elvis Depressedly - New Alhambra - 2015

a cool collection of bedroom pop tunes - this diy artist knows how to construct songs that are instantly likeable.

terrible Returning to that Holo Pleasures vibe with a bit clearer sound this time. Still feels like Im listening to this at the bottom of a pool, remaining mellow yet moving all the while Favorite track: Ease.

JT Honestly this is some of the best music i have ever heard. Favorite track: N.M.S.S..

I K W Y A A Y A N arguably mat cothran's best work. this record is important. Favorite track: Big Break.

Leonard Cohen – Can’t Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour - 2015

In the summer of 2012, Leonard Cohen, then 77 years old, set off on the road in support of his newest album Old Ideas. The tour would last for more than a year and take him around Europe and North America (then Europe and North America again) before finally wrapping up in Australia and New Zealand.

The tour, much like most things the Montreal bard touches, became legendary, with the shows noted for their 3-plus hour running times, multiple encores and his intimate, heartfelt and humorous stage banter.

If you missed him on that tour, consider this a second chance. Can’t Forget: a Souvenir of the Grand Tour.

Tracklist

01. Field Commander Cohen (Live At Denver Soundcheck, 2012)

02. I Can’t Forget (Live At Copenhagen Show, 2012)

03. Light As The Breeze (Live At Dublin Show, 2012)

04. La Manic (Live At Québec City Show, 2012)

05. Night Comes On (Live At Mönchengladbach Show, 2012)

06. Never Gave Nobody Trouble (Live At Odense Soundcheck, 2013)

07. Joan Of Arc (Live At Québec City Soundcheck, 2012)

08. Got A Little Secret (Live At Auckland Soundcheck, 2013)

09. Choices (Live At Christchurch Soundcheck, 2013)

10. Stages (Live At Sydney Show And Hamburg Soundcheck, 2013)

preview

Shadow Folk - Mystery Park - 2015

Like a warm cozy psychedelic blanket with a few indie tattered and torn spots, but one you won't give up for the world. 

Excellent sounds out of Halifax as always…

Victor Florence - boring - 2015

As Victor's bandcamp info so eloquently describes his sound as "noise folk fantasia for the soul." Two juxtaposed songs illustrating sadness and happiness all in one tight little package.

Brandon Flowers – I Can Change - Single 2015

Brandon Flowers just released “I Can Change,” the fourth single from his upcoming record, The Desired Effect, and it’s just as synth pop-fueled as other recent offerings like “Lonely Town.”

This track, however, is decidedly more Killers-esque in terms of both tone and structure than the other, more cheerful, singles. Beginning as a piano ballad that transitions into a dark, driving synth beat, the song never loses an element of drama. With help from producer Ariel Rechtshaid, Flowers utilizes his powerful voice and solid composition to deliver a unique pop hit. The track sounds like it could have been written for Sam’s Town, The Killers’ sophomore album, had the band been replaced with a synthesizer.

When your time runs out

And you’re looking for a place to land

I step from the shadow

Into the palm of your hand

When you’re out of luck

I’ll be what you’re looking for

Even if it’s not who I am

When you’re out of luck

I’ll be what you’re looking for

Even if it’s not who I am

I can change

I can change for you

I can change

I can change or you

I can bend

I can break

I can shift

I can shake

Place the trail through the drive of rain

Girl I can change for you

I can change for you

Cairobi - Distant Fire EP - 2015

Formerly known as Vadoinmessico, the psychedelic-pop outfit Cairobi features five individuals of different nationalities; Mexico, France, Italy and Austria.

Munroe - Munroe - 2015

Hamilton, ON-born singer-songwriter Munroe is set to unveil her debut self-titled solo EP. 

  

Although she's currently based in Los Angeles (acting on ABC's Resurrection), the songstress found the time to team up with fellow Hamilton music maker Michael Keire to co-produce the record. The seven-song offering showcases Munroe's dad-taught guitar work, and her own self-learned skills on the piano and ukulele. 

  

"This album was definitely a learning experience," she explained in a statement. "We wanted to create a certain tone, there was a lot of trial and error and ultimately some restraint, opting for stripped-down versions on songs instead of adding too many layers." 

  

She cites musical inspirations like Mazzy Star, Best Coast, Timber Timbre and Angel Olsen, which weave their way in to the hauntingly sparse, sometimes dark songs on Munroe. Gorgeous, melancholy tracks like the slow-burning, piano-based "Mercy" and previously heard single "Summer" mix with slightly more optimistic, ethereal sounding pieces like "On the Briars" or the downright sunshine-y "Bonnie." exclaim

Belle And Sebastian – Paper Boat - Single 2015

Paper Boat is an unreleased Belle & Sebastian track written by Stuart David (co-founder of Belle & Sebastian, now of Looper) with a brand new video created by Looper's Karn David (who directed the early Belle & Sebastian videos).

Cavedweller - Small Wonder EP - 2014

Recently posted on spacerockmountain "EP Grab bag," what a great little release I must say. Heavy bass lines, scratchy vocals, and just enough guitar to round it all out. I am always impressed with the material they find over at SRM, which makes it a go to place for new discovers. 

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Cantalouper - Reproduction - 2015

http://www.cantaloupertheband.com

Re-emerging from behind the church signs and cornfields, Midwestern indie stalwarts Cantalouper are preparing to release their second full-length LP "Reproduction" on vinyl and digital download May 8th.  Reaching beyond the audio dimension and back towards things that might have been important to you as a kid, a band coloring book, sculptures, and customized view-master reels have developed this project into a singular work.  Two singles are currently available on itunes, and to support the record Cantalouper will take their noisy, heartfelt sound on the road from Dallas to Nashville with a two week regional tour in June.  

"Reproduction" was recorded by Cantalouper in various bedrooms, a shed, a theater, an aquarium, and outdoors around the band's hometown of Columbia, MO. Mixed with Brett Siler (Child Bite, Thunder/Dreamer) and mastered by TW Walsh (Soft Drugs, Headphones , Pedro the Lion), "Reproduction" is the strongest release Cantalouper has produced to date.  It's the sound of a Missouri band layered with shoegaze and 80's new wave references coming into its own--haunting, yet familiar.  It's the music of bright, hazy snapshots lost in your family's cluttered attic.  It's the dog-eared pages of the spiral notebook where you once revealed your secrets.  It's the soundtrack to the last day of your childhood; warmer, deeper, and louder than you remember.

Sóley - Krómantík - 2014

Ever since the release of her debut album We Sink (2011), Sóley Stefánsdóttir, better known as Sóley and member of the band Seabear, has been wowing audiences around the globe, and after a quick parental leave, she’s now back with the next surprise: Instead of presenting another album of sepia-toned pop tunes, the bespectacled multi-instrumentalist from Iceland returns with an EP entitled Krómantík, a short, eerie, cinematic, almost voice-less set of piano tracks she originally composed for various art projects over a longer period of time. 

“I always wanted to do a piano album, ever since I was in the art academy,” she explains. “I wrote a lot of music for piano back then, and I had so many long compositions that I included some short piano chapters, which I later realized could actually stand on their own. Some of the pieces on Krómantík were written while studying – and the first track ‘Stiklur’, for example, was originally part of a bigger composition for piano that I wrote. However, in the end I didn’t use that many pieces from school, just because I liked doing new songs, and so a lot of them were written for a bigger art project I worked on during the summer after I finished We Sink.” 

Sóley’s take on instrumental piano music is a stunningly bleak and shadowy overture to her sophomore album, which she plans to release in 2015. 

Eddy Dillon - Happy Times Sad Faces - 2015

Dream pop, shoegaze with wonderful melodies… Nicely built songs shimmer the days away. 

Nice release.

Personality Disorders - split - 2015

lots of emotion coming out of some trouble youth; aside from the heaviness of the themes covered on this album, the music fitting, pulling at your angst and exposing it for all to see.

handsome eric - oh, cool - 2015

Handsome Eric is one of the best new artists I've come across on the vast labyrinthine world of Bandcamp, and he's only 18. Handsome Eric is the project of Stephen O'Dowd, a kid from Dublin who records in his college dorm room. His pop songs are atmospheric and interesting, topped with O'Dowd's deep, melancholic drawl.

He's become a micro-celebrity in a tiny pocket of 4chan's /mu/ where people share Bandcamp links, but still has less than 200 likes on his Facebook page. His lyrics alternate between genuine feels and tongue-in-cheek wordplay, and his album titles are off-hand phrases like, "Nah, I'm Good," and "Oh, Cool." We're streaming his new EP exclusively until the release. Give it a listen. VICE

Brown Bird - Axis Mundi - 2015

Iorgs2 Brown Bird gets loud! An outstanding final record, by a largely underrated band. Seen them live, and wont ever forget it! Cheers 

Lee Mason I hadn't heard of Brown Bird an hour ago. Now I can't wait for this album to arrive! 

Christian Mecca An incredible album cementing the legacy of one of independent music's most important acts. Thank you Brown Bird.

The sixth and final album from the boundary-pushing folk/Americana duo Brown Bird begins, fittingly enough, with dirgy, mournful strumming on a lightly electrified guitar that brings to mind what, say, Mark Lanegan feels like on a particularly downcast Sunday morning.

Like several songs on Axis Mundi, the reverb from the amp tailing lightly within the space of the room in which it was recorded gives the music an immediacy that’s almost too close for comfort. Of course, this is the kind of “discomfort” that we look for in music, the kind that puts us up close and personal with the people who made it and makes it impossible to keep a casual distance from what they were going through when they made it. diff

Decoration - Put me back on my bike - 2014

Sean Rice Championed by John Peel and Dandelion Radio and not difficult to see why ...absolutely in no way biased by free gift

Richard Morrey Excellent return from the outstanding indiepop band of the noughties. Stuart Murray's "kitchen sink" vocals, in particular, spot on!