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Hollands: Coughing Boy
June 18, 2009
The combination of rock, punk, and folk never sounded so sweet as the Brooklyn duo, Hollands, have accomplished on their debut EP, Faces released last fall.
Consisting of multi-instrumentalist John-Paul Norpoth (formally of Butane Variations) and violinist Jannina Barefield (heard on Akron/Family’s Set ‘em Wild, Set ‘em Free, as well as appearing on stage with Jay-Z, and Beyonce, among others). Drawing comparisons to Bloc Party, Muse, and The Myriad, Hollands melds together a vast array of musical influences and experiences into their music.
From the guitar-riff driven, Strong Arm, to Coughing Boy, a soft, flowing melody over gentle guitars, to Anomie, the most traditional anti-folk tune of the EP, Faces is an exploration of Norpoth and Barefield’s musical maturity. And with the highly anticipated Mother EP due out in September, they are sure to discover a new depth to their music.
- Hollands Website
- Hollands @ MySpace
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Upcoming Show Details
6/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Cameo Art Gallery (w/In Cadeo!!!) @ 8pm
7/9 – New York, NY @ Fontana’s (w/In Cadeo!!!) @ 12am
7/11 – Rochester, NY @ Lovin’ Cup @ 10pm
7/25 – Rochester, NY @ Boulder Festival 2009 @ 8pm
8/1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Assembly @ 6pm
the fictions: le traitor
June 17, 2009
THE FICTIONS’ EPIC BIOGRAPHY COMMENCES:
And so, the Fictions descended upon the world of men, bleating their war cry, “Le Traitor,” as their foes hastily met them on the battlefield. However, in a confusing turn of events, what was to be the greatest war fought by man and beast spontaneously erupted into a Kool-Aid fueled Tetris party. Man, Beast and Fiction alike played Tetris for what seemed like weeks when suddenly, the would-be conquerers vanished without a trace. The newly crowned Tetris Champion addressed the people of earth asking, “who were those men?”
“That is a difficult question,” answered a shy lass, “for once they were few but later became many.”
“Go on,” replied the Tetris master.
“All I do know that Josh Adachi was their lead singer, and played rhythm guitar, and that Juan Lopez sang as well as he played keyboards. I know that Damin Suarez beat upon the drums, and that his brother, Rion sang and played the guitar… or was it bass… that is difficult to say, for I also met a Steve Hinton and an Anthony Kava who played four-stringed instruments of deep tones.”
“What else do you know?” demanded the Lord of Tetris, losing his patience.
“Only that there was a man named Josh McCool who claimed to play the guitar as well, except…”
“Except what?”
“Except he appeared to be equally content to strangle his instrument, or jar it against stone.”
The Tetris King sighed, for he knew not the families of these men, and would have no means to send them his gratitude. As he turned to address the mass of people left in the wake of the carousal, he drew a deep breath.
“From this day forth, I decry,” began the Tetris King, clearly overstepping the authority of his office, “that across the land it be known… that those guys were pretty bad ass.”
And the people rejoiced.
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Links
- The Fictions @ The SixtyOne
- The Fictions @ MySpace
Ume: Pendulum
June 16, 2009
Ume (pronounced “ooo-may”) are from Austin, Texas, and Pendulum is a song on their EP Sunshower released earlier this year.
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The band’s genetic make-up is a little shoegaze, garage rock, noise and experimental rock, all mixed up into one. Their haunting and delicate vocals are delivered by Lauren and Eric Larson. The Band are spending June touring up and down the Eastern USA (and one show in Canada) check myspace.com/umemusic for details. |
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Still Time: Come Alive
June 15, 2009
The summer months quickly approach heralding San Luis Obispo group Still Time’s long awaited second release in May, “See America”, along with a slew of very non-traditional sounding tour dates up the west coast – from the thin mountain air of Mammoth Lakes to the beautiful wineries of Paso Robles and Capitola.
At the time of this writing we’ve heard a little over half the album so far from initial sneak peeks they provided on their social networking profile and over at thesixtyone, and it absolutely builds from what they offered up on their masterful debut a few short years back.
To capture the right feel for each song, the album was written and recorded in multiple locations throughout the West Coast including an abandoned boxcar on the coast of Oregon, a forest in the hills of Santa Cruz, an empty mansion in San Francisco, and an after hours bar in San Luis Obispo.
As a final touch, the album was mixed by Grammy Award winning engineer Fred Vogler, at the world famous Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood, California.
Today’s featured track, Come Alive seems to recall the bittersweet feeling that visiting one’s hometown and the long summer months seem to recollect. I can just smell the sweet smoke drifting up through the sunshine from the BBQ while that smoking harmonica wails throughout. Hell yes, pass the ribs!
- Artist Website
- ST @ MySpace
- ST @ Reverbnation
- ST @ Twitter
- ST @ t61
- ST store | itunes | emusic | amazon | cdbaby
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Watching Cars: Attribute to Memory
June 14, 2009
The brainchild of brothers David and Collin, Watching Cars is a unique blend of homespun roots and understated pop that will have you unknowingly whistling melodies the next day. Both boys, Texas born and bred, grew up on a steady diet of Beach Boys, Beatles, Chicago, and James Taylor, paving the way for their love of indie pop artists such as Death Cab for Cutie, Iron & Wine, and Pedro the Lion. Out of influences like these and a rigorous background of classical and jazz training came the duo’s characteristic sound.
The music, however, is not the only thing on their minds. Faced with a rapidly changing music business and a corporate environment where fans are just as easily pegged as the sole cause of the industry’s demise, Watching Cars has decided to go an altogether different route. Every song, photo, and video produced by the band has been licensed under Creative Commons. Fans are encouraged to freely make and distribute copies of the works and even use the material to make derivative works of their own. “We’re more concerned about building an active, enthusiastic community around what we’re doing as artists. We want people to be involved, participate, feel as though they have some ownership in our music. The restrictive modern interpretation of copyright was limiting our ability to connect with the people around us. Creative Commons gives us a way to enjoy the control and protection of our work we desire while at the same time fostering the kind of creative environment we feel is so vital to the artistic fabric of our society.”
Watching Cars’ reputation as captivating songwriters and performers has already begun to spread. Soon their infectious brand of honest, melodic music will have reached the ears of fans across the world who just can’t help but sing along.
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Swimming in Speakers: In Knowing
June 13, 2009
Album Review by Sarah Morrison of Miss Morrison’s Mix
If New York based duo Swimming in Speakers (multi-instrumentalist Chris Clarke and lead vocalist Meadow Eliz) can do one thing, it’s defy categorisation. In fact, they can do lots of things, including synth-dipped kitchy electro, gentle heart melting acoustic delicacy and trippy vocal-led musical explorations, and all topped with lilting vocals from Eliz that can be haunting, impassioned or whimsical and are always hugely charming. I’m not even going to attempt to label them with genres because honestly I can’t; each song on the EP takes you down a different path that’s always in a stark contrast to the last.
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The EP’s leading track ‘In Knowing’ is, at the risk of sounding way over-excited, my idea of a perfect pop song. Full of wholesome synthy goodness, classic Casio cool and Eliz’s swaying, laid back, warbling vocals, as well as being more catchy than swine flu, this song has everything that good pop needs plus the unique style that SiS bring to the table. Among countless other nuances the verses actually have a slight tinge of Bhangra about them, in the vocals at least, which just serves to make this song all the more interesting. I’ve listened to this song about 20 times in the last few days, it’s seriously addictive. |
‘In Knowing’ is definitely the standout song of the EP for me, but the rest is definitely worth your time and really shows off the versatility of this exciting new band, and to further entice you you can get the whole thing for FREE from the excellent 100000fans.com!
Swimming in Speakers are another band who realise the power of Twitter and use it to their full advantage, and they’re also really nice! Find them as @sistheband.
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On the Beach: Obituary
June 12, 2009
On The Beach are a four-piece indie rock band from Durham and Chapel Hill NC in the hallowed vein of post-hardcore band Fugazi. Nagendra and John were in a band called Strunken White from 1996-2001 while John, Rachel and Curtis are in a band we’ve featured here at Insomnia called, “I Was Totally Destroying It”.
Their name comes from the great Nevil Shute novel, as well as the great Neil Young album. The group started out as a studio project but now they’re going to be playing some shows soon as well.
The “Final” EP is due out in July 2009 in digital outlets.
- OtB @ ReverbNation
- OtB @ MySpace
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Mesita: Excited for the Future
June 11, 2009
*We’re finding a TON of amazing music (like this track) via a newish website called The Sixtyone. Picture Digg+Last.FM+HypeMachine+Xbox 360 Achievements. Seriously. Get over there and sign up. And if ya do, use “killyourfm” or “irsocal” as the referrer for good karma 
Mesita is the project of a 20-year-old self-taught multi-instrumentalist from Littleton, Colorado, who specializes in writing bios about himself. He records music a lot as a hobby in his home and at his apartment now. He’s been recording music since 2005 and has been trying to learn more and more about music production. In fact, he’s attending school to find out what most of the equipment he has been using does. He uses a laptop, an old Roland VS-880EX, a couple cheap microphones, and Audacity to record. The songs up on the player are from an album he recorded in May of 2008 called “Cherry Blossoms”, based on a camping trip he took with some good friends to the Great Sand Dunes of southern Colorado.
He is now working extremely hard on the next album and is using some pretty fun studio techniques (binaural sound, ribbon mics, spring reverb) and stuff. The album should be done by Summer…. ish…
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The Flying Change: Dirty White Coats
June 10, 2009
Album Review by Sarah Morrison of Miss Morrison’s Mix
The Flying Change, AKA songwriter Sam Jacobs and a selection of talented musicians, had an ingenious idea for spreading awareness and getting awesome coverage for his new record Pain is a Reliable Signal (released 19 May 2009). He gave it away for free to anyone who wanted it, in exchange for a promise that whoever downloaded it posted a review, a tweet or told a friend about it in exchange. It’s such a neat idea, and I’m such a pessimist, that I was almost convinced that the album would be awful and I’d have nothing nice to say about it - I was very wrong on that front. So here I am Sam, making good on the exchange.
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Pain is a Reliable Signal is a labour of love in every sense of the phrase. It is a simple, honest, from-the-heart outpouring of an album, of the kind which comes along very rarely. Inspired by his wife’s (and his) experiences with the US health care system during a difficult time, this record draws you in and makes you feel every emotion that Jacobs feels – every pain, every moment of frustration, every fleeting hope and crushing blow.
It is accompanied by a growing track-by-track explanation of the songwriting process (the stories are still a work in progress) on his blog, of how each song came into being and what the feelings were behind it. In this way it is an interactive album, you can read the story along with each song and somehow feel more involved with the music, getting a rare, personal insight into the creative and emotional process of songcraft. |
Jacobs’ voice and style is reminiscent of many of the great singer-songwriters of our time; the gravely tones of Cohen, the potent simplicity of Dylan and some charming, slightly off-key moments reminiscent of Neil Young. But I found myself concentrating not as much on the music or the voice, but instead on the powerfully emotive lyrics which weave the listener into every song in an inescapable mesh of empathy and passionate emotion.
Musically it is a dreamy landscape of delicately layered pop, discordant symphonies of noise and back-to-basics singer-songwriter sensibilities with a whole host of talented musicians thrown in on top. The music of each song works to reflect the temperament of the lyrics and accentuate their emotive power, such that you can’t be a passive listener of this record – you are engrossed.
The whole record is a triumph both musically and lyrically, but there are a couple of songs that I want to mention specially because of their personal impact on me. ‘Dirty White Coats’ (featured on Insomnia Radio’s Daily Dose), for me sums up the whole feeling of this album; the frustrations that Jacobs felt at the flawed medical system that treated his wife and the pain it caused him to see her suffer, juxtaposed against a musical background of lightly plucked guitar and gentle, lulling strings. The second is the album’s closing song ‘The Northern Bay’, which with it’s final line softly utters, in a breaking voice, “I will take your pain away…”, and in a beautiful, fading cadence the album is brought to its conclusion. If you can listen to that song and not at least get goosebumps, then I don’t want to know you.
Download Pain is a Reliable Signal for free here, and be sure to promote it in any way you can. Tweet, blog or write about it, send it to your friends, just make sure this gets heard as far and as wide as possible
Also read the song explanations (found underneath the download links), and check back for more as they appear. Plus, check out The Flying Change blog.
And if you’re feeling generous (and I think you should), you can purchase the album here.
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Links
- myspace.com/theflyingchangemusic
- theflyingchange.com
- purchase the album here
- Download Pain is a Reliable Signal for free here
Riley: Hope Like An Ocean (feat. Emiko Woods)
June 9, 2009
The story of these three unique musicians started back when Spencer Riley Alfonso & Patrick Hill got their first gig opening for the Cold War Kids in Whittier, California. Encouraged by a conversation with the Indie giants after the performance, Spencer & Patrick formed what became Riley. Later meeting their drummer Jarred Coleman through a series of coincidences and inspired by the Tom Hanks film, That Thing You Do, Riley found a sound that blends Retro-Rock with Rhythm and Southern Californian Soul. Their latest musical installment, a 4 song EP entitled “For the Love,” showcases an even wider range of indie musicality from laid back love diddies to straight forward rock n roll.
Right now, they’re trying to snag 2000 hearts for this track (featuring Emiko Woods) @ The SixtyOne, and they’re almost there so give em a helping hand.
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The Weakerthans: Sun in an Empty Room
June 8, 2009
Reunion Tour is another superb tome from indie rock’s most singular narrators, the Weakerthans. Their newest album from 2007 was recorded after-hours above a closed factory in the cold Canadian spring, weaving the frontier loneliness of the environment into rich lyrical yarns four years in the making.
Songs such as “Sun in an Empty Room” and “Civil Twilight” tell of individual journeys with a melancholic empathy that Paste magazine has described as “songs of brutal beauty, little rock n roll vignettes that perfectly capture the malaise of the peculiar, disorienting times in which we live.” [epitaph]
- Artist Website
- tW @ MySpace
- tW store | itunes | amazon
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The Lava Children: The Green Word
June 7, 2009
From their self titled 5 track Mini Album which was just released on Graveface Records
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Sherri West and Taylor Clark grew up in Tulsa, but melded musical forces to form the band about seven years ago in Los Angeles.
With The Lava Children’s self-titled debut, the listener is immediately aware they’re hearing something completely uncommon. In fact, The Lava Children are something completely uncommon. As the music industry becomes ever more jaded and manufactured and music is treated like so much invaluable garbage to be traded and tossed about freely, it seems like hearing something that sounds totally new is becoming less and less of a regular occurrence. [Last.fm] |
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Links
IODA Links
- The Lava Children
“The Green Word” (mp3)- from “The Lava Children”
- (Graveface Records)
Buy at Graveface Store
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Stream from Rhapsody- Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
More On This Album
The Aggrolites: The Sufferer
June 6, 2009
The Aggrolites are more than a band they are a movement unto themselves. They carry a banner – one created with their own hands. This banner reads, “Dirty Reggae,” and represents their signature fusion of reggae, soul, grit and determination.
Out of the Los Angeles school of hard knocks, The Aggrolites have earned a Ph.D in “feel good music.” On the road they educate with the thunder and punch of the reggae drums and bass, the ripping, soulful melodies of the organ and guitars, and Jesse Wagner’s voice – a gift from the heavens, a perfectly intact gift from Otis, Sam, Ray and Wilson.
The Aggrolites have a specific way of making music. They don’t over think it, they don’t obsess over pop culture demands, they walk onto a stage or into a recording studio and let “it” happen – a culmination of inspiration – from the road, from playing along side music legends, and from the energy and motivation of their die hard fans.
A new album is due for release in a few days on June 9th, 2009 and they call it “IV”. It is a definitive chapter in The Aggrolites journey with 21 tracks; each one a story of their struggle to thrive and their quest to spread soulful music around the globe.
So, when you are in the mood to drop your troubles and kick your baggage to the curb, call on The Aggrolites. Forget yourself and feel the dirty reggae!
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Riverboat Gamblers: A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology
June 5, 2009
In 1997, former Blanks member Pat Lillard (”Spider Stewart”) (Bass), formed The Riverboat Gamblers with Fadi el-Assad (”Freddy Castro”) (Lead Guitar), and Mike Wiebe (”Rookie Sensation”) (vocals). Lillard’s original intention was to emulate Virginia rockers The Candy Snatchers. In direct contrast to the popular emo music at the time, The Riverboat Gamblers’ premiere show featured over-the-top songs relating to drinking and of course, gambling. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, The Riverboat Gamblers continued to play house parties and shows throughout Denton and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The Gamblers burst out of the Denton college scene in September of 2001 on the back of their self-released 7″ single “Jenna Is A No Show.” Both 2001’s self-titled release and 2003’s Something to Crow About were produced by Texas punk rocker Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Lord High Fixers).
After the warm reception of Something to Crow About, the band soon relocated from Denton, Texas to Austin, Texas. The band first received attention from major record labels after their energetic and rowdy showcase at the 2003 South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, but the band ultimately signed with indie label Gearhead Records. In 2005 they were signed to Volcom Entertainment and performed a stint on the 2005 Warped Tour, where the band was often noticed for its deranged live shows. The silliness of some of the earlier material has given way to a more complex breadth of material about America’s maligned. They will be opening for Rancid in the summer of 2009.
They have also appeared on the soundtracks to the videogames Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, Madden 07 and Skate 2
[THANKS JASPER!]
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Links
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/thegamblers
- Homepage: http://theriverboatgamblers.com
- MySpace: http://myspace.com/theriverboatgamblers
goodbye Gadget: Sugar & Sinnamon
June 4, 2009
From their upcoming album “Because I Am Not Myself, You See”
Goodbye Gadget is an alt-rock/indie/punk band which has been gaining notoriety in the relative confines of the San Francisco’s music scene since 2003.
From global rock magazines to punk websites, it has been said that goodbye Gadget rocks like Tsunami Bomb with influences of AFI and Shiny Toy Guns, and has a lead singer that sounds like a cross between Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson. This “female version of Green Day” knows how to fuse melodic rock into punk with an emotional undertone.
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The band has done a lot in its few years. Shows have included the ESPN X Games in L.A., the San Jose Grand Prix, dates on the Warped Tour, the U.S. Open of Surfing and Beach Games and the Bay Area Indie Festival. They’ve opened for bands like the Violent Femmes, The Donnas, The Vandals, Sugarcult, and Kittie-and their music has been featured on MTV’s “Punk’d” as well as Fusion Television.
The band is showing no signs of slowing down. goodbye Gadget’s will be releasing an EP entitled “Because I Am Not Myself, You See” Summer 2009 with tour dates to follow. The EP will be the first release with newest member Neil Hagge, on keys. goodbye Gadget also has some large shows scheduled for 2009: UC Davis Picnic Day, the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon, and BuFest in Aguora Hills (with MXPX, Unwritten Law and Reel Big Fish) to name a few. So who ARE they? |
Jess Loberstein is both guitarist and main spokesperson for the band. Known for assaulting hecklers without reservation, she is the last of the founding members from the originally all-female band. Not shying from her role as front woman and lyricist, singer Ana Isabel uses her talent for writing to shape her words, as well as her hispanic fire to shape her attitude (trivia fact: Her great uncle was the President of Nicaragua until Jan 2007). Neil Hagge, the newest member, joined the band bringing in a whole new element: keyboards. Now allowing the Gadgets to develop their sound and further define their songs, one question is left. Who is Pave? Answer: He is the very popular, very talented and often recruited male drummer for this rising outfit. Guys (in bands) want to steal him and girls want to date him. He lives a charmed life being a Gadget.
