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The Royalty: Chinese Fire Drill
July 31, 2008
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It’s unlikely a band takes as much from The Ronettes as they take from Weezer, but far more unlikely such a band springs out of the desert, border-city of El Paso, Texas. The Royalty, for the El Paso/Juarez metro, is just that: a pleasantly misplaced oddity.
The band is currently readying for its summer California tour with their new self-titled debut EP in tow. When not on tour, the band can be seen playing several shows a week in the El Paso/ Juarez/ Las Cruces area, or you can catch them on Juarez radio station, Orbita 106.7. In September 2008, the band will record its first full-length album, shoot it’s second music video and tour the following winter. The Royalty would love to see you at a show |
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Marching Band: For Your Love
July 30, 2008
Marching Band is an indie rock duo based in Linköping, Sweden. The band just finished recording their upcoming release “Spark Large” with Adam Lasus, renowned indie rock producer of such artists as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Army Navy, Yo la Tengo, and many more. Mastering Engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie, John Lennon, and The Ramones) mastered in May and the album is poised to drop with great fanfare in a few short days on August 5th.
While the group does use the mainstay rock sounds of guitars, drums and bass guitar, they also employ an array of more eccentric musical instruments for a indie pop band, such as xylophone, marimba, banjo, vibraphone and unique vocal harmonies. Check out what sounds like a steel drum intermixed throughout this track ‘For Your Love’! [ioda]
Marching Band
“For Your Love” (mp3)
from “Spark Large”
(U & L Records, Inc.)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album
Raleigh: It’s Held in the Silence
July 29, 2008
From their debut EP “Karma” out August 5th
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Starting out in the early days of February 2006, RALEIGH thrived on the idea of creating a style of music that would keep their listeners wanting more. RALEIGH would not be classified as veterans of the Indie/Post Hardcore music scene. However, do not let this sway your opinion on this new 5 piece out of the South Shore Massachusetts area. |
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Return to Mono: Losing Faith
July 28, 2008
Losing ourselves in the San Francisco night, today’s Daily Dose takes a look inside Return To Mono’s hybrid sound experimentations, specifically the sultronica musings of their track ‘Losing Faith’. This organic offering is available on RtM’s 2006 release, ‘Involution’, a well reviewed album that takes you right to the heart of the thriving Bay Area electronic landscape.
If you enjoy the ethereal playlists of fellow DJ’s Dave Warner (Dave’s Lounge) and Anji Bee (The Chillcast), I can guarantee this will be right up your alley. Aside from finding this solid and lauded release at CD Baby, you can find ‘Involution’ and the track ‘Losing Faith’ over at iTunes as well. [cs]
Career Club: Down in Arms
July 27, 2008
From their Album Pure Hearing
Featuring Hans Gutknecht on guitar and lead vocals and Philipp Gutbrod on drums, the band was originally formed in 2005.
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Hans, who had worked as an engineer at R&B producer Dallas Austin’s studio in Atlanta, has been a successful songwriter, licensing music for film and TV. And Gutbrod’s technically innovative and imaginative style complements him perfectly, bringing a new force to the band’s already potent songs. Raised in Germany, Gutbrod has been a lifelong student of percussion with experience playing in clubs and festivals all over Europe. His fluency in both rock and jazz has given Career Club a rhythmic sensibility that distinguishes them from other indie acts. |
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The Winter Sounds: Trophy Wife (demo)
July 26, 2008
IR favorites, The Winter Sounds, are currently recording their second full length album entitled ‘Church of the Haunted South’ down in Austin, Texas. Apparently the recording is taking place at Cacophony Recorders where they are working with Danny Reisch (the Lemurs) and should hopefully be done soon for the sake of all of us fanatics.
The first hint of the sound on the new album can be found on this unmastered new demo called
‘Trophy Wife’, which you can currently grab for free over on TheirSpace.
For future news on the album progress, keep checking their website at: http://www.thewintersounds.com
Mixtape: Shoreline Sirens [Side B]
July 25, 2008
So you are done with Side A, no? If not, you’ve stumbled across the second side of our mixtape set tipping a hat toward the Siren Music Festival presented annually at Coney Island, NY by the Village Voice.
The image here was provided by NY photographer Josh Kuckens and is of the successful Toronto band on the Arts & Crafts label, Broken Social Scene. For a full size version of this image and for more pictures of the event, please go here.
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SHORELINE SIRENS MIXTAPE [SIDE B]
11) Broken Social Scene – Swimmers
12) The Dodos – The Ball
13) Ra Ra Riot – Each Year
14) Parts & Labor – Fractured Skies
15) These are Powers – Chipping Ice
16) Film School – Like You Know
17) Annuals – Nice Day
18) The Helio Sequence – Can’t Say No
19) Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Cold Son
20) Lo-Fi Encore: Times New Viking – Drop-Out
The Bell Divers: Window View
July 25, 2008
The Bell Divers formed in London in 2005 by Clinton Toghill (guitar/ vocals) and Matthew Lobb (guitar) although the full line-up wasn’t established until the two returned to Brisbane in late 2006 adding Kyle Smith (bass), Donald Mackay (drums) and Melanie Smart (keys)
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Around Easter 2007, they went to Sydney and recorded their first album June July. Recorded over five days at Megaphon studios Sydney, June July is concise in its arrangements and builds primarily on The Bell Divers’ crisp live performances without overcomplicating the simply structured songs.
Lyrically, June July is a collection of short, incomplete narratives giving the listener only brief glimpses into the lives of its varied characters through songwriter Clinton Toghill’s oddly poetic imagination. |
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Mixtape: Shoreline Sirens [Side A]
July 25, 2008
On July 19, 2008 an incredible selection of musical talent assembled under the shadow of the famed eighty-one year old Cyclone rollercoaster at the storied community of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.
This mixtape is a salute to the Siren Music Festival put on by the Village Voice, a free all day/all ages music celebration that got its start in 2001 as a way to help revitalize this historic community and celebrate the Voice’s coverage of local & national music.
We’ve graciously had one of the photographers at the event, Josh Kuckens, offer up a few images to be posted here, this specific image being “Film School”, an artist from both San Francisco & Los Angeles.
Make sure to check out the rest of his photos, including a full sized version of this one, here. Also you can check out side B of this mixtape over in our festival comp. section.
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SHORELINE SIRENS MIXTAPE [SIDE A]
1) Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Baltimore
2) The Dodos – Fools
3) Islands – Rough Gem
4) Beach House – Master of None
5) Film School – Activate
6) Jaguar Love – Bats Over the Pacific Ocean
7) Parts & Labor – Endless Air Show
8 ) Dragons of Zynth – Who Rize Above
9) The Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Ahead
10) Broken Social Scene – Fire Eye’d Boy
11) Ra Ra Riot – Dying is Fine
Stuporhero: There Goes the Rainbow, Baby
July 24, 2008
Seattle’s Stuporhero is back with their third and latest album, Weightless, and they are pleased to announce that it’s available as a free download here on their website.
In addition to high quality 320 kbps MP3s, they are offering AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files.
More from Stuporhero:
“We thought long and hard about what to do with this new batch of songs and determined that the typical avenues of producing, distributing, and promoting an album are cost prohibitive to the band at this time. We’ve decided that releasing the music for free is the best hope we have at present to achieve our goal, which is for our music to be heard, shared, and hopefully enjoyed by as many people as possible.
While we’re in the generous spirit, we’re also offering free downloads of our first two albums, It Would Be Nice To Wake Up and Last Star Shining.
Also available for free download on our website is Lo-Fi Lounge Volume 1, a collection of 4-track demos and studio outtakes.”
Please help them spread the word. Life is expensive…Stuporhero songs are free!
Henry Bliss & The Sidewalkers: Hurry Up !
July 23, 2008
Henry Bliss is a singer-songwriter from Brussels and is now playing with the “Sidewalkers” (Olivier Van Steirtegem: guitars, piano; Cédric De Meersman: bass, backing vocals; Mounir Kadjaj: drums, backing vocals.
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Why Bliss ? “To be honest, I wanted a name that would perfectly complement my first name (Henry) and easy to pronounce in French and English. This last name must also express an emotional affinity with my inner self, with my songs and compositions. I chose for the antithesis. My songs express mostly bad feelings, escape or misunderstanding. On the other hand, “bliss” means beatitude, serenity or happiness. This duality represents my vision of the basic human condition.” |
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El Ten Eleven: I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool
July 22, 2008
We’ve decoded a recent El Ten Eleven instrumental transmission here in Los Angeles and it seems to be ushering in a new album release:
“El Ten Eleven’s third album, “These Promises Are Being Videotaped,” is out now!
You can buy a physical copy or get a download of the record at ete’s website:
http://www.elteneleven.com/north/
It will be available in a few weeks at all the usual outlets like iTunes, Amazon, Amoeba, etc. But because you are super special you get first dibs! For those of you who are audiofiles, FLAC files will be coming soon as well.”
For those of you in the Southern California area, ete will be opening for Pinback in Costa Mesa on July 31. Tickets are available here:
http://www.ocpac.org/home/Events/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=730
We recommend getting your tickets early as this will likely sell out.
Caverns: This Are Syntax
July 21, 2008
Instrumental rock music…how does that phrase make you feel? Some people fall asleep after just hearing the word “instrumental”. People need lyrics, a catchy hook, and a singer to focus on, right?
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This is where Washington, D.C.’s Caverns comes in. Neither Mathy nor Spacey, Caverns side-steps many of the things that have become cliche in instrumental rock and forge a sound that varies between the beautifully melodic and the intensely discordinant and everything in between.
With the release of “Sing Along”, a 5 song e.p. recorded by J. Robbins at The Magpie Cage Studio in Baltimore, MD, Caverns have committed every ounce of their live intensity to tape. |
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Way to Go, Einstein: Walk Through Fire
July 20, 2008
From one of my favorite regions in Canada – Way to Go Einstein hails from Vancouver, British Columbia and we apparently enjoy saying their name so much as it doubles as a nice age-old method to convey epic failure to someone.
On the flipside of the meaning, Einstein has a successful sound that jumps a lot of musical pandoric trees ala Sigur Rós, Jump Little Children, Coldplay, and seems to have a slight shoegaze element that you’d possibly find layered in an Ulrich Schnauss collaboration. While navigating this musical obstacle course, they still remain grounded with their own unique vision for the artwork which takes it forward in some very interesting directions and to promising heights.
A few months ago they had the privledge of having Kevin McDonald (Kids in the Hall) announce one of their shows, testing new material and crushing heads. We’ve included an extra highlight video below if you’d like to experience some of that night for yourselves.
You can support Way to Go, Einstein through iTunes and can also pick up a physical copy of their debut album, ‘Hide and Seek Champion’ over at CDBaby. [cs]
Insomnia Radio #158: The Coffee Break
July 19, 2008
Today we bring you what they call in your country, ‘The Coffee Break’. Its a nice assortment of different sound selections starting off a heavier note and gradually ending at a light-hearted party somewhere in Spain, straight out of something that belongs on the 80’s Something Wild Soundtrack.
As usual we are all over the regional board although mostly in the US this time around. We take you from Texas (Austin, Dallas), California (Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Long Beach, Irvine), Washington (Seattle), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Minnesota (Minneapolis), and of course Spain (Valencia).
Enjoy, and don’t forget to grab an extra cup on your way through!
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ARTISTS
- Basic: Favorite Movie
- Moving Atlas: Travel On | itunes | mp3
- The Dust: Pretty and Confused | snocap
- Joshua Lanes: Theft on the Floor | itunes | cdbaby
- Stuporhero: Superball | emusic | free album
- Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer: Plays Pretty for Baby (feat. Anthony Green) | emusic | mp3
- Sick of Sarah: Common Mistake | emusic | mp3
- Bag of Toys: Rollin’ | itunes | emusic | cdbaby
- Faded Paper Figures: B Film | cdbaby | mp3
- Cof Cof: Carribean Boy | mp3
SPECIAL THANKS
MLC PR
IODA Promonet
Flickr Image Credit: chispita_666
It Came From the Liquor Cabinet
Soundbed: Isles (Great Electronica/Trip-Hop out of Iowa!)
Daily Dose Extras: Joshua Lanes, Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, Sick of Sarah, Bag of Toys
