Jun 30, 2013

Darren Hayman and the Long Parliament - Four Queens EP - 2013



Darren Hayman releases a special four-track EP entitled Four Queens. The EP follows on from his critically acclaimed album, The Violence, released on Fortuna POP! last year, which has spawned an ongoing fascination with English history. Comprised of one track from The Violence, the outstanding ‘Henrietta Maria’, plus three new compositions, the EP features (as the name suggests) songs about a quartet of English Queens. Sung from the perspective of King Charles I as he serenades his French Queen, ‘Henrietta Maria’ is beautiful and touching, and somehow Hayman manages to indulge in a brief history lesson without ever compromising his lyrical meter or the song’s integrity.



Elsewhere, ‘Nine Day Queen’ deals with the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for a mere nine days before being beheaded at the tender age of 17. ‘Eleanor Of Aquitaine’ tells the story of a monarch who was Queen of both England and France who, as well as marrying two kings gave birth to two, lived to 80 (outliving all but two of her ten children) and caused a whole lot of trouble along the way. Perhaps the standout track here though is ‘Elizabeth The First’, which sees Elizabeth Morris from Allo Darlin’ taking lead vocals over Hayman’s plaintive backing. As The Violence so clearly showed, Hayman is a master craftsman at the top of his game, and this EP continues the remarkable quality of his recent releases with these four, finely wrought royal vignettes.

Equinox, the Peacekeeper - Birdsongs On The Waste Land - 2013




‘Birdsongs On The ​Waste Land’ is the 2nd album of Equinox, the Peacekeeper, aka globetrotter Wouter Buyst who currently lives in Ghent (Belgium). In 2010 he released 'We Could Wake Each Other Up'.

"It’s easier to get inspired on the road. In Belgium I also write songs, but while travelling it’s easier. Things that happen seem to form a mythical story in itself, just need to turn it into a song."



A most excellent album - please support Equinox by catching his show and buying his album ...

Jun 26, 2013

seamonster - These Bones - 2010



bedroom dream pop with psychedelic overtones. excellent.

Airling EP - 2012



45R’s favourite shoegaze act is Airling, who you guys all have to check out, for real. It’s the project of Lachie, who besides being a crazy rad bloke, also plays drums in Lunaire. He was nice enough to answer a few questions for us. It’s a really fun interview! [My favourite bit being him talking about recording his vocals in the back of an old bus]

1. Who exactly is Airling? 
 At the moment Airling is just me. It’s a kind of “bedroom project" I guess you could call it. I’ve been playing drums in the band Lunaire for years and only just recently have been writing my own songs and recording them. I moved to Melbourne with my bandmates from Lunaire about three years ago from a reasonably small town which really expanded our musically tastes I think. I think what got me into playing music was my Grandmothers generosity. As a kid she gave me all her old instruments which included a drum kit, several keyboards, a piano and an organ. I made electronic music for a few years and picked up guitar in my late teens. 

Jun 25, 2013

Playlists - the un-herd music - 2013



Here's another great blog that has a ton of amazing mixes, usually slapped together according to genres and styles... The latest instalment is a dandy - covers!!!

Have a look:

1. Tsar Pool Party (The Olsen Twins)
2. Needles//Pins Picture My Face (Teenage Head)
3. Rocket Rocket (Mud)
4. Bamboo Kids Jet Boy, Jet Girl (Elton Motello, by way of Plastic Bertrand)
5. Howler Up the Bracket (Libertines)
6. Best Coest Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)
7. London Calling Just Got Back (Cheap Trick)
8. Nushu My Best Friend's Girl (The Cars)
9. Tina & the Total Babes Tell That Girl To Shut Up (Holly & the Italians)
10. Kasey Anderson & the Honkies Save It For Later (English Beat)
11. Warm Soda Waiting For The Man (Velvet Underground)
12. DM3 Sweet Hitch-Hiker (Credence Clearwater Revival)
13. Material Issue Little Willy (The Sweet)
14. Imperial State Electric I Don't Know What I Want (Raspberries)
15. Yesterday's Kids Tired of Waking Up Tired (Diodes)
16. Ko & the Knockouts If I (Nolan Strong & the Diablos)
17. Superchunk Cruel Summer (Bananarama)
18. Boys School S.O.S. (Abba)
19. The Connection Yeah Yeah (Ramones)
20. The Dollyrots Dream Lover (Bobby Darin)
21. Bayside Oliver's Army (Elvis Costello)
22. Ash Teenage Wildlife (David Bowie)

Jun 24, 2013

Peek-a-Boo Records Compilation - 2013




I have loved this label forever... Wanted to share some of the great bands and music that started off on this Austin label. A lot of Silver Scooter and Super XX Man cause I love them more than any other band in the world, but Knife in the Water is an excellent band too - much to offer!
Enjoy...
Coming Soon:



Peek-A-Boo Records is proud to announce that Austin's favorite experimental pop band, The Octopus Project, will return with their fifth studio album, Fever Forms, on July 9th, 2013.
Where its predecessor (2010's Hexadecagon) went wide-screen and cosmic, Fever Forms is more representative of The Octopus Project's live experience — dense and ecstatic, a concentrated dose of frenetic beats and exuberant melody set in a brilliantly-colored sound world. 

Jun 22, 2013

Advance Base - Our Cat EP - 2013



"Two more intimately claustrophobic home recordings by Owen Ashworth. Both tracks feature Rhodes electric piano, rhythm box, & vocals recorded to cassette 4-track with an extra track to spare. Mixed in mono. "Our Cat" is a true story waltz about a lost pet. The flip side is a 45 second cover of one of the greatest television themes of all time."

Jun 20, 2013

Horrible Houses - Songs Written and Recorded Under the Influence of the Yellow House - 2013



Some of these recordings are old. Some are recorded under the influence of folköl and John Fahey. A few are about John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978). One is about a celebrity couple purchasing a haunted house. Another about a 17th century church. All of these songs are improvised, made up on the spot, recorded to cassette in a kitchen. The tapes were later buried in the garden of the Yellow House (autumn 2009), pictured above, and excavated in the merry month of May (2013). Because there is really nothing quite like a tape that's been carefully mastered by earth worms. 

Cute Kittens Fly


My kids love this video and thought y'all might get a kick out of it... Great song for the flying kiddies of the world.


Jun 18, 2013

The Kid Makes Sense


I think the students of the world need to revolt and take back their education!
Check it!

Playlists - The Music Ninja - Chill DoJo #40


What’s that? 40 already? Damn, this dojo’s gettin old. Don’t worry though, we’re still keepin it fresh and chill for all you hip young’uns to enjoy. We’re still cool, we promise.

So after 40 editions, what’s the secret to ageing so gracefully? That’s easy. Always keep it chill. Peace out.

Get yourself a nice mix @ The Music Ninja

Astralwerks - 20/20


1. Future Sound of London – The Far Out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman (Original 12″ Version)
2. The Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats
3. The Beta Band – Dry The Rain
4. Fatboy Slim – Praise You
5. Cassius – Cassius 1999
6. Doves – The Cedar Room [Promo-only version previously unreleased in US]*
7. Kings of Convenience – Winning A Battle, Losing The War (J-Walk Remix) [Unreleased in US]*
8. Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At
9. Royksopp – Poor Leno
10. Sia – Breathe Me (Four Tet Remix)
11. Hot Chip – My Shit’s On Fire Right Now [First ever commercial release]*
12. The Kooks – Put Your Back to My Face [Unreleased in the US]*
13. Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream
14. David Guetta – Sexy Bitch (feat. Akon)
15. Air – Indian Summer [Previously unreleased in the US]*
16. Kraftwerk – Die Roboter [German language version of "The Robots." Unreleased in the US]*
17. Eric Prydz – Allein
18. Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child (feat. John Martin)
19. Diamond Rings – Put Me On (Diamond Dance) [Previously unreleased]
20. Gold Fields – Dark Again

Jun 16, 2013

Alice and the Glass Lake - The Evolution EP - 2013



Alice Lake is a Wisconsin native transplanted, of course, to Brooklyn. “The Glass Lake” is her well of inspiration. As she puts it, “It’s the lens through which I live my dreams. It’s an escapist place of possibility and heartbreak. And it’s a sonic space to become lost and find truth.” Not surprisingly, then, the songs inhabiting Alice & The Glass Lake’s debut EP find Lake attempting to channel artistic purity by reaching deep inside herself. The result is a sonic spiderweb of shimmering, translucent lines that appear fragile but are strong enough to ensnare the listener. PopM

Mystery School - I Don't Wanna Be Too Cool / Waiting For The Crisis - 2013


Happy Fathers Day

Jun 11, 2013

Holley Maher - Euphorics - 2013



Good things comes in threes. On Holley Maher’s third EP, the Nashville-based songbird teams up with producer Chris Grainger and electro-pop artist Kyle Andrews; The result? Euphorics, a collaborative record that shines a light on all three sides of Maher’s personality: the ballad-singing crooner, the intimate singer/songwriter and the technology-savvy, pop-loving experimenter. asw


Jun 10, 2013

Queens - End Times - 2013


Electronic artist and frequent Panda Bear collaborator Scott Mou is the first person to admit that his debut album End Times, released under the moniker Queens a few weeks ago, isn’t quite what people expect. “When Dial Records asked me to do it, I was really shocked and very humbled—and I thought the label would expect something different—more techno, more house, more classic minimalist,” recalls Mou. What he gave them was of another mood entirely... more

Jun 9, 2013

Shocking Twist - Dark Pop - 2013


he says, "this is how I was, this is how I felt, this is how I think" 
you say, "isn't it strange? I feel the same." 


The music itself is dark, electronic pop rooted in an experimental vein.  Equally fitting for a humid summer evening or a snowy afternoon alone, Dark Pop is highly eclectic.  Most of the songs feature layered atmospheres and textures, as well as vocals and harmonies.  The instrumentation also includes programmed and acoustic drums, synthesizer, electric and synthesized bass, acoustic guitar, melodica, glockenspiel, chimes, and woodwinds and brass.  I recorded all the songs in my various bedrooms over the past three years.  It would be great if you could take a listen! Eric Holsten

Jun 6, 2013

Split Milk - Carnet de Voyage - 2013



During the dark days of December 2011 Amsterdam based quintet Spilt Milk found comfort in the first 8 published poems by American Modernist poet Wallace Stevens (1879-1955). Gathered under the title 'Carnet de Voyage' ('travel notebook'), these songs are full of stars, sunsets, landscapes and rivers. Although Stevens' poetry may not be the easiest or most permeable, listening to Spilt Milk's drone folk adaptations makes entering his buddhist-like, abstract view of the world a rewarding experience.

Teenage Daydreams - Romance Memories - 2013



This album is the product of seven months of sheer determination. I made it entirely on my own, after losing the most beautiful love I had ever experienced. I went through sooooooo fucking much to make this album, I tried to killed myself, literally, it was an insane time and a crazy adventure, I traveled to nyc with no real plan or expectation, after being suddenly thrown out by the girl I gave my heart to-I booked a plane on a days notice and have eventually ended up here, I did everything on the album, all the instruments all the singing, all the recording and mixing and mastering. And I did it all for love, because that's what I believe in, that's what makes me happy. Even though everything went wrong during those seven months, even though my computer broke for a month and I thought the whole album was lost, even though I had to live on nothing but pancakes and I got fucked over sooo many times by assholes, I did it, and I did it for love, so listen up ya dobis!

Jun 4, 2013

Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record - 2013


The title of Friedberger's sophomore album is Personal Record, and it is, in a sense. Personal, that is. But not personal in the way of, say, a coming-of-age record, or a diary about the past, which Last Summer was. Many of the songs seem to be about love, or love lost, but whether any of the experience is hers or someone else's, she isn't saying. "It's not as specific a narrative this time," she says. "There's a universality to it." So incisive are the lyrics, in fact, that Friedberger's bassist incorrectly assumed that two of the songs were about him. "I loved that," she says. "I want him to feel like the songs are about him. I want you to feel like the songs are about you."





Jun 3, 2013

Jam In The Van


Cool concept with a great selection of Artist to check out; all jamming in a big old van.

Tape Club - Always Eat Apples - 2013



Tape Club make some raw, emotional music just the way I like it... In the small corners of the world. Lo-Fi folk straight from the bedroom to four track to the masses. Excellent release.

Jun 2, 2013

mariposa - holy ghost - 2013


all songs written and performed by madeline johnston. 
recorded in my bedroom in denver, co, winter 2012-2013. 

Hallelujah The Hills - Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can - 2013


Bandcamp

Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Trash Can collects the singles, b-sides, and unreleased material from Hallelujah The Hills' storied “career” and lovingly places it all together in an order that plays out like the double album they never released. Much of the material is brand new, with 5 songs coming out of 2013 which is, as we know, a year that isn't even half over yet. The lead-off singles “Honey, Don't It All Seem So Phony” and “Confessions of an Ex-Ghost” waste no time ratcheting up the stakes, volume, and storytelling the band has often been accused of. 



Captain's Dead – May 17, 2013 

"They just put out a odds and sods double record that is made up of b-sides, non album tracks, etc and god damn if it aint better than most bands/artisits real records." 

Clicky Clicky – May 8, 2013 

"A brilliant lyricist and a cracking coterie of collaborators and it's easy to see why there's gold at every turn here." 

Bucket Full Of Nails – May 6, 2013 

"Much like a good work of fiction, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Trashcan warrants return visits. I’m already picturing dog-eared copies of this album years from now."