Round Table Knights - Belly Dance (EP - 2009)

Round Table Knights
Belly Dance - EP
September 2009 | Deadfish

Round Table Knights are my hotly tipped duo for 2009 (and beyond) - but it doesn't take a genius to work out they're going places. They've just been signed to Mowgli's 'Deadfish' label, have succesfully dabbled in all sorts of sounds, and now they have the Belly Dance EP dropped in September. This swiss duo played and mixed already with names like Bloody Beetroots, Crookers, 2ManyDjs (Soulwax) among others!

link | Belly Dance EP

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (2009)

Local Natives
Gorilla Manor 
November 2009 | Infectious

They call themselves a vocal group not a guitar band and apparently spend more time arranging their harmonies than anything else, and you get the impression that Rice, Ayer and Hahn all could be lead singers in their own right. But they don't neglect the songcraft: songs such as Airplanes are immediately likeable albeit quite intricately constructed, with dips and dives and shifts of tempo, but they generally build towards an indie-orchestral climax whose message would appear to be: life is complicated but joyous!

link | Gorilla Manor

Mochipet - Bunnies And Muffins (2009)

Mochipet
Bunnies And Muffins
 March 2009 | Daly Records
---------- !Recommended! ----------   

Born in Taiwan R.O.C. to rocket scientist father and kindergarten teacher mother, David Wang (a.k.a. Mochipet) did not get his start in music until the age of 15, when the urge of metal guitar overtook him in Livermore California. Rocking through a set of 2 in speakers and a cheap stiletto six-string, David Wang conjured up the forces which began his music adventure.

Hot off the heels of Mochipet’s “Microphonepet” banger which gained him a spot on NBA2k9 Videogame along side acts such as Beastie Boys, N.E.R.D., and The Cool Kids, comes a more melodic and subtle record. Cozy enough for an afternoon stroll but still intricate enough for any hard core music aficionado. Bunnies & Muffins bounces you all the way from glitch-hop to symphonies. Tracks like “Prolonging Forever” and “Fool” Bring elements of Ratatat and Prefuse73 with a more harmonic organic feeling. While “Anthem” bangs you over the head like a Bon Jovi on Kraftwerk.

link | Bunnies And Muffins

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Single - 2009)

Brooklyn based experimental indie rock group Yeasayer finally returns with a new album called "Odd Blood", about two years after their critically acclaimed debut "All Hour Cymbals". Their singer Chris Keating, who already gave his voice to "Audacity Of Huge" of Simian Mobile Disco, is great.

And so is the first single off "Odd Blood" (to be released February 2010)! It is heavy on the electronics, but the vocals are still in the forefront. This song is meticulously crafted to the finest degree and amazed from the first listen. Incredibly good!

link | Ambling Alp

Snow Patrol - Up to Now (2009)

Snow Patrol

Up to Now

November 2009 | Fiction/Interscope

Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland. Three new songs will be released on the album. One of these is "Just Say Yes", which will be the lead single.

link | Up to Now

Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser (Single 2009)

Them Crooked Vultures

Mind Eraser, No Chaser (Single)
+ New Fang (Single) 
November 2009 | Rca. Int

New Single from the upcoming Them Crooked Vultures LP, enjoy...

link | Mind Eraser, No Chaser
link | New Fang

The Perishers - Let There Be Morning (2003)

The Perishers
Let There Be Morning
  2003 | Nettwerk

---------- !Recommended! ---------- 

Hailing from Sweden, the Perishers got together in 1997. Lead singer-guitarist Ola Kluft, keyboardist Martin Gustafson, bassist Pehr Astrom, and drummer Thomas Hedlund may not be household names in the States yet, but they have a growing fan base across Europe and North America. One of those fans happens to be Sarah McLachlan, who handpicked the band as the opener on her 2005 tour.

But even if you've never heard of the Perishers, chances are you've heard their songs. A lot. They've had tunes featured on "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill," "Veronica Mars," "Kyle XY," and in a promo spot for "Grey's Anatomy." And now you can add "Greek" to the list with "Come Out of the Shade," from their 2007 album, "Victorious."

link | Let There Be Morning

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait (feat. Beck) (Video - 2009)

IRM, the album that French singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg made with Beck, is out in January via Because. We've already dropped a BNM on the album's whirring, beeping title track. Now, another taste of the album is available: first single "Heaven Can Wait", a Gainsbourg/Beck duet.

The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself (Single-2009)

The Soft Pack The Soft Pack just finished recording their debut LP for Kemado with veteran D.C. hardcore knobsman Eli Janney, and already "Answer To Yourself" is out amongst the wolves, with nary an album title or release date in site. That's fine, really–who could sweat the details when we're already sweating to three minutes of Modern Lovers-doing-Hot Snakes jangle. We really weren't expecting an anthem here, but that's what we got.

link | Answer To Yourself

guerolitoplaylist 10/09

It's already the beginning of a new month, so it's high time for the playlist of october! For the second time the playlist summarizes the music posted here last month and adds some more great tunes you did not know before! Enjoy it folks!

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work
2. The Deer Tracks - Yes This Is My Broken Shield
3. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down - Cool Yourself
4. Bowerbirds - In Our Talons
5. Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic
6. Art Vs. Science - Parlez Vous Francais?
7. Laura Jansen - Use Somebody (KOL Cover)
8. Editors - Papillon
9. Slagsmålsklubben - Brutal Weapons
10. Rain Machine - Give Blood
11. Sea Wolf - Violet Hour
12. Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man
13. Friska Viljor - Wohlwill
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)
15. Annie - I Don't Like Your Band
16. Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
17. YACHT - Waste Of Time (Dub)

link | 10/09

The Dead Weather - Live From Third Man Records West (EP) (2009)

The Dead Weather

Live from the Third Man Records (EP)

October 2009 | Col

Recorded at the ever-so-brief L.A. incarnation of Jack White's Third Man Records and Novelties that popped up in the city in August, Live From Third Man West is a new five-song/four-video digital EP from the Dead Weather that is now available on iTunes. Along with highlights from the band's debut LP Horehound, the EP features a cover of "Forever My Queen", originally recorded by doom metal overlords Pentagram.

link | Live From Third Man Records West

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young (2009) 320kbps

Julian Casablancas

Phrazes for the Young

October 2009 | RCA Records

Best known for fronting The Strokes - one of the most successful and critically-acclaimed bands this side of the millennium - Julian Casablancas' laid back vocal style is as crucial to his music as any instrument. 'Phrazes For The Young', his first solo record, is something of a departure for the New Yorker. Taking influence from eighties electronic music with seventies prog rock undertones, single '11th Dimension' is as infectious and well-crafted as modern pop gets, setting the tone for this dazzling album.

link | removed by request

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection - 2009)

Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection)
 November 2009 | V2 Records

1. Lisztomania (Alex Metric remix) 
2. Fences (The Soft Pack remix) 
3. 1901 Bo Flex’d (Passion Pit remix) 
4. Lasso (Two Door Cinema Club remix) 
5. Fences (25 Hrs A Day remix) 
6. 1901 (L’aiglon remix) 
7. Love Like A Sunset (Turzi remix) 
8. Fences (Boombass remix) 
9. Lisztomania (A Fight For Love – 25 Hrs A Day remix) 
10. Fences (Friendly Fires remix) 
11. Armistice (Yacht remix) 
12. Girlfriend (Young Fathers remix) 
13. Fences (Chairlift remix) 
14. Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart) 
15. Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective remix)

 

link | Remix Collection

Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang (Video - 2009)

You don't have to pack into crammed rock clubs/attend huge festivals/scour YouTube for crap-grade performance clips for tastes of the Led Stone Age Fighters supergroup much longer: Them Crooked Vultures have a self-titled debut out next month, and the studio song they want you to hear first is "New Fang." For fans of riffs!

Kitsuné Masion Compilation 8

Various Artists
Kitsuné Maison Compilation 8
 November 2009 | Kitsuné Music

---------- !Highly Recommended! ---------- 

01. French Horn Rebellion – Up All Night

02. The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
03. Siriusmo – High Together
04. Le Corps Mince de Françoise – Something Golden
05. Midnight Juggernauts – This New Technology
06. Heartsrevolution – Dance Till Dawn
07. Logo – Junocide
08. Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk (Moulinex Remix)
09. Slagsmåklubben – Brutal Weapons
10. Beni – Maximus (Harvard Bass Remix)
11. AMWE – Friction Between The Lovers
12. Jolie Cherie – Star
13. Chew Lips – Salt Air (Alex Kapranos Remix)
14. Delphic – This Momentary
15. Memory Tapes – Bicycle
16. Parallels – Find The Fire
17. Nottee – Control
- Encore -
19. Crystal Fighters – I Love London
20. My Tiger My Timing – I Am The Sound

link | Kitsuné Maison 8

Oasis - Live @ Gurtenfestival, Switzerland (2009)

Oasis
Live @ Gurtenfestival 09
July 2009 | Bootleg 

1. Rock'n'Roll Star (End of - DJ Talking)

2. Lyla
3. The Shock Of The Lightning
4. Cigarettes And Alcohol
5. Roll With It
6. Waiting For The Rapture
7. The Masterplan
8. Songbird
9. Slide Away
10. Morning Glory
11. My Big Mouth
12. Half The World Away
13. I’m Outta Time
14. Wonderwall
15. Supersonic
16. Live Forever
17. Don’t Look Back In Anger
18. Champagne Supernova
19. I Am The Walrus
20. (DJ talking - Noel interview)

link | Live

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (2009) + EP's

Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More
October 2009 | Island Records

---------- !Recommended! ----------

"Sigh No More" is exactly the kind of album that Mumford & Sons needed to make. Although the album contains quite a few songs that have appeared on their past two EPs, the production has afforded them a level of… well, grandiosity that their previous releases kept hidden. Just take a listen to the opening few tracks, particularly “The Cave”, with its awesome horn section, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

For those who haven’t heard the band before, the sound is predominantly a mixture of bluegrass, country, folk, and freakin’ awesomeness. There’s a term I hesitate to use too much on this blog, and that’s the description “soaring”. But soaring this album is, and you’d be hard pressed not to imagine choirs of voices joining in with most of these refrains at a live performance by the band.

link | Sigh No More

Bonus: Lend Me Your Eyes (EP-2008) / Love Your Ground (EP-2008)

The Deer Tracks - Aurora (2008)

 The Deer Tracks
Aurora

2008 | Despotz Records

The Deer Tracks is David Lehnberg & Elin Lindfors, both children of the Swedish town of Gävle. Despite their earlier success with respective projects (Leiah, Ariel Kill Him & Twiggy Frostbite), all roads led them into this electromagnetic mist of melodies. And so, around the shift of 06/07, they met to shape electro landscapes just as sparkling as the rime that sheeted the long and hard winter nights. lectrifying vibrations meets a gentle forest, where tracks of magic leaves shaped patterns. The castaway’s last hope, a message in a bottle drifting against the stream. Saw them last time in my home town supporting Patrick Wolf! Really Good!

link | Aurora

Nirvana - Bleach (Deluxe Edition - 2009)

Nirvana

Bleach (Deluxe Edition)

October 2009 | Sub Pop

20 years later, heres the album that started Nirvanas legacy. This is their first record and so I am happy that it has been fully remastered from the original tapes. This huge deluxe edition also contains 11 previously unreleased live tracks that were recorded February 9th, 1990 show at the Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon.

link | Bleach

Julian Casablancas - River of Brakelights (Single 2009)

Julian Casablancas

River of Brakelights (Single)

October 2009 | RCA Records

The release date of Phrazes For The Young has been postponed! It’s not due out until November 3rd, which it's a shame. To compensate this, Jules is kind enough to post a track off his official site. "River of Brakelights"

link | River of Brakelights