Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose (2009)

Bombay Bicycle Club
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
July 2009 | Island Records
---------- !Highly Recommended! ----------

Bombay Bicycle Club release their astonishing debut album I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose (recorded by long-term producer Jim Abbiss), a beautifully literate and ambitious debut. From the dizzying My Bloody Valentine/M83 swoops and morning-after ruefulness of the LP’s opening song to the open-tuned, Appalachian folk feel of the record’s closing track, the album thrums with subtle invention and quiet emotional intensity. Fans of Bloc Party, Broken Social Scene and Bon Iver--or any mildly sensitive soul with a fondness for ricocheting guitar chords --will be utterly beguiled. Indie rock rarely gets to enjoy its innocence these days, but Bombay Bicycle Club know that’s exactly what makes it precious.

link | I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose

Kissy Sell Out - Youth (2009)

Kissy Sell Out
Youth
June 2009 | ADA label group

Debut album from Colchester's Thomas Bisdee, whose inventive and exciting postmodern electro-pop productions have earned him remixing credits for a host of mainstream pop and indie stars. The album sees a stylistic shift away from the explicit dancefloor orientation of his remixes in favour of a more pop-based sound which draws heavily on 80s synthpop whileincorporating more organic indie influences. The album's title is the clue to its thematic concept, as Bisdee reminisces about the formative events of his youth.

link | Kissy Sell Out - "Youth"

Pw: colours

Back To The Roots: The Zombies - Odessey And Oracle (1968)

The Zombies
Odessey And Oracle
April 1968 | CBS
---------- !Highly Recommended! ----------

Here's one of my favorite albums which I can't understand why more people now a days don't know about it. Especially since it ranked #80 on Rolling Stones Magazine's 500 greatest albums and it has "Time Of The Season" which was one of The Zombies' biggest hits! But, despite how unique The Zombies were and how amazing this album is, The Zombies still seem to have been somewhat forgotten like the vast majority of musical master pieces.
Anyway, despite what their band name might suggest, this album would probably be best described as straight up psych pop, but with a huge dose of much appreciated originality. Granted, it probably wouldn't seem too original today, but just remember the year in which this was released. Although their band name fails to properly represent their sound, I believe this album cover does a pretty good job of it. Very pretty psych music and soothing vocals. As expected, it mixes pretty well together and creates a relaxing feeling, but still conjures all the swirly, floral images you'd expect from a good psych album. This is another one of those album that if you're just into the heavier music, then you might wanna stay away from it, but anyone else will probably love it!

link | Odessey And Oracles

+ their first release, also great: Begin Here

Beck Covers Velvet Underground & Nico's "Sunday Morning"

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Jamie T - Stick 'N' Stones - EP (2009)

Jamie T
Stick 'N' Stones - EP
June 2009 | Virgin

Playing approximately 29 different genres of music on top of one another, and with two choruses for the price of one, Sticks 'N' Stones is a stunning return to form from the 23 year-old wag of Wimbledon. More brat than brap, the trustafarian scatting and cod-reggae of yore which peppered his debut 'Panic Prevention' have been calmed in favour of letting his gospel and uplifting pop influences and, of course, unique self-deprecating rapping style, now fine-tuned and more assured than before ("Running with believers/no time for fever/and I ain't got no time for you either!"), come to the fore. His previous recording style saw him record much of his debut alone in his bedroom, but the backing singers and live band now present add muscle to the existing formula, that sees his knack for melody pack even more of a punch.

The typically stupendous lyrics detail JT's lost youth drinking White Lightning in Hampden Wick, confrontation-happy rascals and wideboys, disintegrating friendships and a line instructing haters to go "suck their mumma's tits", all done with his trademark articulacy and knack for when to both raise and lower the tone. Joyful and uplifting, it arrives not a moment too soon from his spell holed away in the studio, and provides a tantilising taster for both the upcoming EP of the same name, and for his anticipated new album, due sometme later this year. Tremendous.

link | Stick 'N' Stones - EP

Look See Proof - Free EP (2009)

Look See Proof
Free EP
June 2009 | Self Released

"So I guess this little EP is a thank you and wave goodbye all at the same time. If this is the first thing you hear of us, you have super bad timing…We are taking a little break from Look See Proof for a while. Nothing major, we just need to be doing other things right now. Thank you for sticking by us and coming to our shows, it means/meant a hell of a lot to us. We will see you again soon........" by Lee Sells

link | Free EP

Beirut - Live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (2009)

Beirut
Live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
June 2009 | Ba Da Bing Records

You could tell what kind of a show it was going to be 3 hours before the doors even opened. Outside Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, a few stone cold kids stood shivering on line. Their hope? Get through those restrictive doors by any means necessary. A sold out show meant not all of them would make it. But if by chance a few did, a fantastic night of music featuring Brooklyn's own Beirut awaited them.
Zach Condon would choose to begin Beirut's set with a simple "Good evening everyone", diving immediately into the set, to the rapturous applause of the hundreds in attendance. Using an impressive variety of instrumentation (stand-up bass, accordion, trumpet, trombone, french horn, euphonium, and Condon's signature ukulele), the band played a batch of tunes that appropriately ushered the audience to a variety of places around the world. "Gulag Orkestar" sparked a quick trip to the Balkans. During "The Shrew", a song from Beirut's brand new EP 'March of the Zapotec', Mexico became the destination of choice. They also dabbled in a track called "My Night With a Prostitute from Marseille"; this one from Zach Condon's 'Realpeoples' Holland' EP.
At the end of their full set, Condon would be forced to tell the still hungry crowd, "You've bled us dry at this point"; a statement that would hardly deter the crowd from demanding more. Two encores later, the love affair between Beirut and the fans in attendance was complete. They ended the show with a cover of a dancy old Brazilian song, written by Ary Barroso called "Aquarela do Brasil" ("Watercolor of Brazil"); a lighthearted way to send the happy crowd off into the cold streets of Brooklyn indeed.

link | Live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue (2009)

Bibio
Ambivalence Avenue
June 2009 | Warp
---------- !Highly Recommended! ----------

Bibio takes his name from the inconspicuous black & red fishing fly, known amongst anglers as the bait to lure in colourful rainbow trout. With a nod to happy childhood memories fishing with his father on the Welsh rivers, parallels can be drawn in name to this quietly spoken artist and purveyor of this joyous summery music, where startling melody lines unexpectedly emerge out of grainy, glorious lo-fi. A lover of texture and colour and noise, his first outing as a recording artist started 5 years ago on Mush Records. Having completed a trilogy of albums, Bibio’s departure to Warp also reflects a difference in musical output.

Anyone listening to ‘Ambivalence Avenue’ will be immediately struck by the unusual array of music. Neither electronic nor rock, this album can not actually be classified.
A diverse collection of music, each track on this opus has a distinct identity and stands apart from the next, some vocal, some instrumental, from vintage disco beats to swirling expansive pieces to plaintive guitar songs.

link | Ambivalence Avenue

The xx - Crystalised - Single (2009)

The xx
Crystalised - Single
May 2009 | Young Turks

The xx are a London quartet, featuring the dual lead vocals of Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim (who also play lead guitar and bass guitar respectively), Baria Qureshi (keyboards and guitar) and Jamie Smith (beats, MPC sampler).
Bonding over a shared love of dark, emotive 80s guitar sounds and the high-end sheen of American R&B, The xx’s unique sound befits a band whose wide range of influences include everything from Aaliyah to Cocorosie, Rihanna to The Cure, Missy Elliott to The Chromatics
and Mariah Carey to The Pixies. These influences combine via beautiful, hushed vocal duets and a brilliantly inventive use of samples and low-end frequencies to produce the stark, sweet melancholic pop of this debut single. Available on 7” vinyl only, limited to 500 copies and exclusively available to independent retailers, ‘Crystalised’ also features a cover of band favourite Aaliyah’s ‘Hot Like Fire’ on the B side that further expands The xx’s hauntingly soulful sound. Both tracks are produced by the The xx and engineered by Cocadisco’s Rodaidh McDonald.
Meanwhile, The xx are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album.

link | Crystalised

Youtube Video

John Paul Keith And The One Four Fives - Spills And Thrills (2009)

John Paul Keith And The One Four Fives
Spills And Thrills
April 2009 | Fat Possum

JOHN PAUL KEITH & THE ONE FOUR FIVES finished their debut LP, "Spills And Thrills". The band took great pains to make sure it sounds as good as possible on a format nobody listens to anymore. In fact, they spent almost as much time making the record as they did making their Myspace page. Just who the hell are these people? Well, John Paul Keith is a native of Knoxville, TN, who has moved around a lot and played in a lot of bands (The V-Roys, The Nevers, Ryan Adams' Pink Hearts, Stateside, Harlan T. Bobo, Jack Oblivian, and Jim Dickinson's garage rock project, Snake Eyes).

link| Spills And Thrills

One Hundred Hurricanes - 60 Years Under The Stars (2009)

One Hundred Hurricanes
60 Years Under The Stars
June 2009 | Unsigned

One Hundred Hurricanes draw their sound from the music that encompasses the soundtracks of their day to day lives. With solid influences like the Beatles, the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, the group has made composing eclectic tracks their calling card.

link | 60 Years Under The stars

Parker Lewis - Parker Lewis (2009)

Parker Lewis
Parker Lewis
June 2009

Parker Lewis is a Swedish pop artist who has been traveling outside his home country for some time now, now holing up in New York City for a few months. He just released Written & Directed By Parker Lewis on Cloudberry Records. A wonderful melding of that sentimental, heart-warming, utterly sincere Swedish pop aesthetic and this old-fashioned folksy rock style. It’s like Jens Lekman mixed with the eccentricity of Wayne Coyne or Peter Bjorn & John song recorded by the Beach Boys circa 1966. Absolutely wonderful, absolutely a joy, absolutely what will keep you warm as we drift into fall and only want everything to come to life again.

link| Parker Lewis

YouTube

Theoretical Girl - Divided (2009)

Theoretical Girl
Divided
August 2009 | Memphis Industries

Theoretical Girl (Amy Turnnidge) is a female solo artist from Southend on Sea signed to the Memphis Industries record label. Her sound could be described as chamber pop. Amy has gigged throughout Europe over the past three years either with just her guitar and backing tracks or backed by her band ‘The Equations’. Some of bands she’s played with include Robyn, Maxïmo Park, Kate Nash, Lethal Bizzle, Calvin Harris, Good Shoes, Metric. She received a 4/5 review by The Guardian for her live performance, and she will be appearing at the 2009 Glastonbury festival.

link | Theoretical Girl - Divided (2009)

eXpoSeD by oBserVeRs - Secondhand Youth (2009)

eXpoSeD by oBserVeRs
Secondhand Youth
June 2009 | Sonic Playground
---------- !Recommended! ----------

Exposed By Observers is a digital-electro-punk band formed in 2006. Consisting of two cousins, rasmio (vocals,loops,bass) and evilplaymobils (synths,back vocals), they are known for their live energy. After sending demos to producers and friends,they strarted searching for a producer to record their EP. Nikos Triantafyllou from Sonic Playground started discussions and he later began working with them for free on August 2008. On September 19th,he arranged them their first gig at Bios Bar with Zebra Tracks, where he was the sound engineer for that night. Plugnick was at that time the guitarist of the band.
Later, after the show, he asked them to play next night at a party he was also arranging at his house and the day after that they signed to Sonic Playground. After a couple of shows, Plugnick had to leave the band due to his studies in France. He was substituted by Stratos and the line-up was completed. They played 2 more shows, including Art Rocker-Velvet Party in December supporting Shitdisco dj set. Rasmio and evilplaymobils are also doing dj sets in several bars.
They are currently finishing their first EP, entitled as Secondhand Youth, which is due to come out on September 2009.

Link | Secondhand Youth (Thx to evilplaymobils1)

Peggy Sue - Lover Gone EP (2009)

Peggy Sue
Lover Gone EP
April 2009 |

Peggy Sue (now sans Pirates) release the gorgeous, heartfelt ode to a past love, Lover Gone to coincide with a UK tour and performances at the Great Escape and Camden Crawl. Co-produced with Ben Lovett from Mumford and Sons, it’s backed with three more self-penned songs showcasing Rosa and Katy’s astonishing vocals and talent for off-beat, modern folk. Clocking in at under two minutes Lover Gone is short but very sweet, a further progression for Peggy Sue who have honed their sound over the last year or so with regular gigs and the release of the Body Parts and First Aid EPs.

link | Peggy Sue - Lover Gone EP

MySpace

VA - Kitsuné Maison Compilation 7 (2009)

Various Artists
Kitsuné Maison Compilation 7
June 2009 | Kitsuné
---------- !Recommended! ----------

01 Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work
02 We Have Band Feat. Yulia - Time After Time
03 Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Version)
04 Crystal Fighters - Xtatic Truth (Xtra loud Mix)
05 The Golden Filter - Favourite Things
06 La Roux - In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix)
07 Beni - Fringe Element (Shorts Like Me Edit)
08 Autokratz - Always More (Yuksek Remix)
09 80kidz - Miss Mars
10 James Yuill - This Sweet Love (Prins Thomas Sneaky Edit)
11 Men - Make It Reverse
12 Chew Lips - Solo
13 Chateau Marmont - Beagle
14 Heartsrevolution - Bara To Kanojyo To Ouji
15 Delphic - Counterpoint (Delphics En Route Mix)
16 Interlude - Encore
17 Maybb - Touring In Ny (Short Tour Edit)
18 Renaissance Man - Rythym
19 Tanlines - Bejan

link | 7

Troels Abrahamsen - WHT

Troels Abrahamsen
WHT

May 04, 2009 |

Troels is considered one of the top producers in Denmark. He is the lead singer of the group VETO and he produces remixes and DJ material under the name SuperTroels.
Troels Abrahamsen released WHT May 04, 2009.
WHT is mystical and dark. I was very surprised with this album, because I know that he is a very skilled DJ and anything I've found by him has been very upbeat. This album is very much downtempo and it is definitely my favorite slower album so far this year. VETO is very similar to Turboweekend by means of genre style and origin. If you like Troels, try the works of his band VETO for sure.

link | Troels Abrahamsen - WHT

The Rumble Strips - Welcome To The Walk Alone (2009)

The Rumble Strips
Welcome To The Walk Alone
July 2009 | Island Records

The Rumble Strips release their second album 'Welcome to The Walk Alone' on July 13th, through Island Records. Produced by Mark Ronson 'Welcome to The Walk Alone' is the extraordinary follow up to the band's critically acclaimed 2007 debut, 'Girls and Weather'. Having recruiting life-long friend Sam Mansbridge as their permanent bass player, The Rumble Strips has swelled to a five piece.

Recalling the widescreen sounds of Phil Spector and Scott Walker coupled with 1940's wartime melodies and early 1960s European soul (Sam also brought a love of French chanson music, introducing the band to Jacques Brel and Charles Asnavor), 'Welcome to The Walk Alone' is a timeless record that sounds like nothing else released this year.

link | Welcome To The Walk Alone

Emery – …In Shallow Seas We Sail (2009)

Emery
…In Shallow Seas We Sail
June 2009 | Tooth & Nail Records

After the hot tranny mess that was I’m Only A Man, and the inconsistent EP While Broken Hearts Prevail, it was probably fairly easy to forget about Emery. But that EP was a crucial stepping-stone to bringing the post-hardcore quintet back to prominence. Laying down tracks such as “The Smile, The Face,” and “Edge of The World” proved that Emery could still deliver quality tracks. And that they do, plus more, on their fourth album, …In Shallow Seas We Sail. Masterfully produced by Aaron Sprinkle, the thirteen track album features crisp musicianship, incorporating the melodic heaviness that drew us to love Emery in the first place.

link | ...In Shallow Seas We Sail

The Kills Discography

Albums:
link | Keep On Your Mean Side (2003)
link | No Wow (2005)
link | Midnight Boom (2008)

Some Singles & Bonus:
link | Black Rooster (EP - 2002)
link | Black Session (Live - 2005)
link | Cheap And Cheerful (Single - 2008)
link | iTunes Session (Live - 2009)