Wake Up It's The Morningbell

Gainesville's psychedelic pop masters, Morningbell, have returned yet again. It's hard to believe that this band around for so long and has yet to be signed. Four albums in and it's easy to say that Morningbell are clearly one of the best bands in Gainesville if not in the entire state. They have perfected their craft, their sound, and released a pack of exceptionally adept records. With all that in the bank and the band playing at their best, they've decided to throw a few new things into the formula. Gone from their sound is the bands overwhelming psychedelic influences and here now are a mixture of power pop and soul sounds mixed with some classic pop and world music styling which makes Sincerely Severely sound something like Of Montreal partying with Janes Addiction and Prince at Carnivale.

Sincerely Severely is an album that covers all its bases by utilizing everything it knows. While the band's tendency for psychedelics has been replaced with a more soulful and intimate approach, Morningbell has still managed to intermingle the two at times to create expansive songs that really want to hang out with Jamiroquai and Vampire Weekend. As bizarre as that might sound, it's really not a bad thing at all because the musicianship and the songs are both incredibly song (see "Dancing In The Jaws Of A Lion," for a prime example). In all honesty, about the only thing that does get a bit weird is vocalist Travis Atria's attempts at falsetto; sometimes it works and sometimes it just seems a bit odd for its own good but that's just nitpicking

Musically armed with loads of horns and strings, Morningbell really sound more as if they're putting on a review then just playing on an album. Sincerely Severely is the sound of a band having to much fun at what they're doing and loving every minute of it. Whether it's with strings, horns, world music vibes, soulful jams, or blissed out guitar work, Morningbell cover more ground in 50 minutes than most bands do their entire career. Sincerely Severely is a wonderfully diverse record that takes pop music and turns it on its head and then reshapes it and makes it, it's own. From the world music feel of "The Blue Whale and the Fly," to the power pop of "Lets Not Lose Our Heads," Sincerely Severely is all over the place in all the best ways.

Sincerely Severely is another notch in the brilliant career of these Gainesville legends. In fact, it might just be the album of their career simply because it's an album that refuses to sit still and be contained by genre. Morningbell have come a long way over their short career and Sincerely Severely proves it. This is a band that has matured into one of the best groups of musicians in the state. Now if someone outside of this state would just sign them justice would be done!

Download: Good Morning I'm Here
Download: Marching Off To War

For A Lack There Of...

Tonight's Treasure Trove post comes to us from Lack There Of...

Danny Seim is mad prolific. Seriously. Before he started the acclaimed Portland, OR art rock trio Menomena (in which he drums impressively, and, along with the other two members, sings, writes, composes, arranges, deconstructs, and reassembles), he was the sole, inexhaustible, and promotion-averse member of Lackthereof. Seim still finds time for making Lackthereof recordings, which, over the project's ten year history, have ranged from lo-fi to lush, acoustic to synthetic, poppy to noisy.

A Lackthereof Retrospective 1998-2008, or I was a Christian Emo Twentysomething is the 10th full-length Lackthereof release, contains the best of Seim's Lackthereof work, selected by him from among a decade of remarkable electronic beat experiments, lo-fi indie dub, simple acoustic soundscapes, challenging art pieces, and much more.

The album is limited edition and is a pretty much essential purchase if you can find one.

Download: Safely In Jail

This One's For The 904...

Well...those of us in Riverside anyway.

This post comes to Riverside via London thanks to Peo De Pitte aka Peo Häggström.

Originally from Stockholm Sweden but freezing his ass off, Peo Häggström did what any normanl person would do and move to Hawaii. Just kidding after leaving Stockholm, Peo jumped across the North Sea and wound up in London to start and manage his own label, FlatOut Records, from a bit more temperate clime. The label is Peo's creative outlet for his two aliases Peo de Pitte and Haggstrom.

Using a combination of rare groove beats and synths up the ying yang Peo has gone about things a bit differently and incidentally made him one of the more interesting new producers to emerge lately.

With remixes and releases on labels including Fingerlickin’, Global Underground, LOT49, U&A and Champion Records it is no surprise that he has won huge support worldwide in a short amount of time. The guy has been so busy in fact that he's already found himself on Radio 1 and Kiss 100.

If these re-works are any indication of what his originals are like it's no wonder he's getting all the support he's getting.

Download: Sidney Samson - Riverside (Peo De Pitte Remix)
Download: Sidney Samson - Riverside (Peo De Pitte Dub)

Hail the Boy Genius

The latest post from the POP! Stereo Treasure Trove comes to us from Boy Genius.

Jason Korenkiewicz began writing songs in 2006 for a two-man acoustic project tentatively called Boy Genius. One night at a party someone declared them ‘neither boys, nor geniuses’ and the name was solidified.

Their first two EPs and debut album, Anchorage, were all recorded in Brooklyn, NY with engineer Josh Clark at Seaside Lounge. Clark had just finished working with Beirut and the New Pornographers and his ability to capture horns, multi-layered vocals and a wide array of instruments made him a great match for Boy Genius. Within days of releasing Anchorage, however, the band (now Jason on guitar and vocals, Marisa Cerio on lead guitar, Lisa Klimkiewicz on drums and backing vocals, and Jeff Mensch on bass) decided that legendary producer/musician Mitch Easter would be the person to work with on their second album. Known best for his work with bands like R.E.M., Pavement, Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr, the dBs and Velvet Crush, Easter’s pop sensibility and distinctive recording style seemed a perfect fit for Boy Genius. They began sending him demos and, within a few months, Easter agreed to produce their second album, Staggering.

From its inception, the goal with Staggering was to craft an album tailor-made for vinyl that would both glorify the format and preserve the history of the LP. It was conceived in sequence as two sides of a full-length record, each with its own distinct beginning, middle and end. Staggering was recorded over the course of 11 days at Easter’s fantastic Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC. The collaboration with Easter proved to be a revelatory experience for the band, allowing them to build on the power of their live room recordings with subtle musical flourishes and layers of sound. The album was recorded on tape, mixed to tape and mastered directly from tape to the lacquers that press vinyl albums. While the decision to rely heavily on tape proved arduous at points, the result is an album that has all the warmth and charm of a classic vinyl pop record. For this reason Staggering is available only on vinyl.

Download: Old New England

Are Your Globes on Remote

Based in Los Angeles, California, Globes on Remote was formed in 2008 and named after an event that can never be retold in print.

Members of Globes on Remote are Stephen Andrews, Tawny Carson, Kevin Ignatius, and Daniel Medina. Aside from Carson (the only member actually from LA,) the remaining members come from small towns: St. Augustine, Florida, Warren, Pennsylvania, and Winters, California. All mad about music from an early age, the four members collaboratively sing and play instruments that range from guitars and synthesizers to megaphones, trumpets, and a euphonium – all are classically trained, especially in megaphoning.

The music of Globes on Remote is dancy, anthemic, and full of energy, instruments, and voices. Their songs are character-driven; wannabe stuntmen and/or spacemen, sleazy professors, carnival operators, and neurotic porn writers, all have their misadventures borne out over a beat. The band is DIY to the bone (okay, except for mastering) and all of their music is self-recorded, mixed, and produced.

Download: D.T. Lipps
Download: Space Camp

Ten Tracks You Need #50 Christmas Edition

Hey guys...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well unless you're hear at POP! Stereo Central where it will be a balmy 74 degrees and we'll be wearing shorts!

To celebrate this we're giving you a Christmas present of sorts...this week's Ten Tracks You Need is Christmas themed. Loads of tunes to have some eggnog to, unwrap presents, eat, etc. There's also a ton of full mixes for you to enjoy as well. There's enough music to get you through the rest of 2009!

Enjoy and more importantly, have a great holiday folks.

Ten Tracks You Need
1) The Hush Now - Wishing You A Merry Christmas

2) Hawksley Workman's - Sweet Hallelujah

3) Slaraffenland - Little Drummer Boy

4) Shannon Fields - I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)

5) Pattern Is Movement - O Holy Night

6) Brad Laner - It's Christmas But I Don't Care

7) The Caribbean - Christmastime is Here

8) Sean Bones - If You Hear A Knock

One Bonus Xmas Song....
8.5) Don Ho - Mele Kelekimaka (iamxl Remix) via Mediafire

Two Non Xmas Songs...
9) Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes website

10) I Was Totally Destroying It - Conventry Carol website

Seven Bonus Zips (and a partridge in a pear tree)
NAPT on Triple J Promo Mix full mix

Buffet Libre DJ's - Verbena Selected 4 full mix

Sex Invaders - Love The Donkey full mix

CJ Milli - Alcoholic Enema December 09 Mixtape via Mediafire full mix

HavocNDeed - CutDrop.com Mix via Mediafire full mix

Death To The Throne - I Only Have Eyes For You via Mediafire

Germ - Midnight via Yousendit

Videos
Patrick and Eugene and Christmas

What The Heck Is A Heligoat

The Heligoats quietly entered its 10th year of existence in 2009. Chris Otepka (formerly of Troubled Hubble) always used the moniker as a separate songwriting outlet, even while touring and recording with other full-time, well-acclaimed bands.

Releasing at least one record per year since the first The Heligoats release in 1999, Chris has worked on the band constantly for ten years. Otepka's adventures, wrapped in delirious art craft and song wit, allow his freaked-out but devoted supporters to wade into his odyssey as deeply as they choose to challenge themselves.

The Heligoats are now more than just Chris Otepka. They include Mike Mergenthaler, David James and Steven Mitchell. They will be bringing the spirit of their new album Goodness Gracious with them on the road this new year, playing the songs from the record, as well as new songs from an upcoming record and a number of selections from the past ten years of The Heligoats’ existence.

Download: Fish Sticks

I Love Monster Movies

Monster Movie return with Everyone Is A Ghost, the latest fuzzy downer-pop showcase from the London-based duo of Christian Savill of Slowdive and Sean Hewson of Eternal. 2010 marks the pair’s twentieth anniversary of working together and tenth anniversary recording and performing as Monster Movie. Since their inception in 2000, Savill and Hewson have been slowly developing their synth-kissed wistful and utterly distinctive sound. Everyone Is A Ghost weaves that signature sound through ten tales of misspent youth, and past loves and losses remembered.

Perhaps Monster Movie’s finest realization yet, Everyone Is A Ghost distills the sprawling and infinitely expansive floorboard-gazing fuzz-wall of Slowdive into ten perfectly-baked and intensely catchy pop songs played out on guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, percussion and a range of synthesizers. Buried deep in the duo’s carefully-crafted, hazed-out sonic mire are combinations of experimental-atmospherics ala David Bowie’s Low, flashes of dramatic ambiance, electronica-laced sunny pop nostalgia, and unparalleled male/female vocal harmonies.

Written and recorded in six cities across the U.S. and U.K in 2009, Everyone Is A Ghost features guest appearances from Ryan Graveface (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dreamend), Sophie Pittaway and Rachel Staggs (Experimental Aircraft). Artwork was created by esteemed Rhode Island-based illustrator and musician William Schaff, who has previously set ink to paper for Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Kid Dakota and more.

Monster Movie’s Everyone Is A Ghost will be released on April 6th on Graveface Records.

Download: Bored Beyond Oblivion

Why Write?

Jacob Faurholt is one busy guy. Having been in more bands that I could ever hope to keep track of, he's been there done that and bought a dozen t-shirts. But as usual, the desire to make music never stops and so Jacob has decided to start yet another project.

Jacob started a new musical project called Why Write?. A 5-song EP was recorded, with a more instrumentation than usual, and put together with help of several Danish musicians.

The intimate vocals and acoustic guitar that populated many of his songs were traded in for a spacey sound that harks back to the early 90’s. The EP was mixed & mastered by American producer KRAMER (Daniel Johnston, Low, Galaxie 500), and was released by the Canadian based label What A Mess! Records, Nov. 18th 2009.

Being a truly global affair, the record seems larger than life and most definitely will remind anyone old enough to remember (like me) of classic noise pop. Part shoegazing, part indie pop, and altogether good, Why Write? is the one project of Jacob's many that you won't want to miss.

Download: Burning Holes

Download: Jesus on a Stamp

We're All Futurless Now

Since the winter of 2008, The Futureless have been enticing fans across Toronto’s booming electronic scene with their unique blend of progressive trance, techno, ambiance and indie. Nolan (vocals, keys, programming), Savard (keys, bass) and Tucker (vocals, keys, programming, guitar) take dissonant fuzzy bass lines, pulsating dance rhythms and ethereal vocals and fuse them into a sound that’s as lush and moody as it is abrasive and jarring.

The net result of this is something that sounds like Depeche Mode in a bar fight with someone like VNV Nation. It's dark, ridiculously catchy, perfect for the dancefloor and dressing in black. It's goth stuff for non-goths...

Their live-set pairs live instrumentation with drum and synth samples, melded with an intense yet vulnerable stage presence that makes them “one of the most compelling underground acts in North America today. Having just released their Futura EP, and traveling across Canada, the band are heading back into the studio next year to complete their full length album.

Download: CCR
Download: Lowest of the Dead

I'm Not a Band...But They Are

I'm not a Band is a band, but not really in the traditional sense. Rather than a power trio or quartet, I'm Not A Band instead is an explosive band of tunes, sounds and catchy melodies composed, produced and played by classical musician Stephan J and vocalist Jana D.

Brought up by professional musicians in the north of Germany, Stephan soon wanted to make music himself – and he started playing the violin, later drums, guitar and the piano. From 2005-2006 he lived in London and was fascinated and inspired by London's music culture. It was just at the beginning of 2008 that he started 'playing laptop' as an outlet for his musical cravings. Combining club-like beats with sometimes dirty, sometimes glitchy sounds, I'm Not A Band still preserves a unique sound by using classical instruments such as the violin. In 2009 Jana D. joined the project for the vocals and for live shows.

It's good stuff in that oh, so German way; cold, clinical and designed to destroy dance floors this is like what would happen if Miss Kittin and the hacker had a sense of what makes good pop music.

Download: Crazy
Download: Electrolin
Download: Train Thoughts

(all via Mediafire so left click then right click)

Nana Grizol and Ruth Cross the Country

Nana Grizol's second album, Ruth is a potent mix of revved up melodic indie rock, laced with intricate horn arrangements and sleazy, ripping guitars. It alternates between contemplative, beautiful folk arrangements and blasting rock and roll, often within the same song.

"Cynicism" kicks things off with a haunting finger picked guitar melody, mixed with a lush horn arrangement. "Galaxies" then kicks things into high gear with it's infectious swagger. "Black Box" is an album highlight, with it's urgent, tense backing of a lyrical rumination on mortality. "From Here" opens with a jubilant, group vocal, then channels Neil Young's Crazy Horse for a blazing,energetic guitar workout. "Sands" ends the album with an ominous,horn backed swell that builds into an expertly crafted pop song, leaving off on a dark but hopeful note.

Lead singer Theo Hilton's lyrical voice is ruralist, lovelorn and punkrock in the most primal way: he looks to explicate a world gone way wrong on the most basic, inhumane levels. Experiences gained on the touring road and at his home at the Orange Twin Conservation Community have led him to question the empty life of the modern American, and the disquieting ways the inherent Dystopia have made itself manifest on our own interior landscapes.

The answers to those questions and more are addressed in the shambolic but spectacular album. If you don't believe me you can catch them on tour and question what the meaning of life actually is.

Tour dates...
12/30 - Atlanta, Ga. @ WonderRoot w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/02 - Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club (Album release party) w/ The Awesomelies, New Socks,
1/08 - New Orleans, La. @ Allways Lounge
1/09 - Austin, Texas @ Club 1808 w/ Geoff Reacher
1/10 - Las Cruces, N.M. @ TBA
1/11 - Tucson, Ariz. @ TBA
1/13 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Smell
1/14 - Santa Barbara, Calif. @ Biko
1/15 - Berkeley, Calif. @ 924 Gilman w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/16 - Ashland, Ore. @ a pizza place w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/17 - Portland, Ore. @ Satyricon w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/18 - Olympia, Wash. @ TBA w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/19 - Seattle, Wash. @ TBA w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/20 - Missoula, Mont. @ Zootown Arts Center
1/21 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Kilby Court w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/22 - Denver, Colo. @ TBA w/ The Max Levine Ensemble
1/23 - Omaha, Nebr. @ TBA
1/24 - Lawrence, Kans. @ Replay Lounge
1/25 - Saint Louis, Mo. @ Antarctica

Download: For Things That Haven't Come Yet

RJD2 On Tour Forever!

RJD2 will be tirelessly touring the US throughout the first part of the new year in support of his highly anticipated new release, The Colossus, out Jan. 19th on his own new label, RJ’s Electrical Connections.

The tour will be taking RJ from coast to coast and well into the month of April. That’s almost one-third of the year, folks! After touring the Southeast, Midwest and beyond, the third leg kicks off with a hometown show at Philly’s First Unitarian Church, followed by performances throughout New England, Canada, and the Midwest, before returning to Pennsylvania. The fourth leg is set to sate fans in both the Mountain and Pacific Time zones. All tour dates are below.

Sat. Jan. 9 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Sun. Jan. 10 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle #
Mon. Jan. 11 - Charlotte, NC @ Visualite Theater #
Tue. Jan. 12 - Savannah, GA @ Live Wire #
Wed. Jan. 13 - Orlando, FL @ The Social #
Thu. Jan. 14 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar #
Fri. Jan. 15 - Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder #
Sat. Jan. 16 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Heavan Room) #
Sun. Jan. 17 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree #
Mon. Jan. 18 - Chattanooga, TN @ Rhythm and Brews #
Tue. Jan. 19 - Knoxville, TN @ Valarium #
Wed. Jan. 20 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel #
Thu. Jan. 21 - Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre #
Fri. Jan. 22 - Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant Street #
Fri. Feb. 5 - Newport, KY @ Southgate House #@
Sat. Feb. 6 - Columbus, OH @ Sully's Music Diner #@
Sun. Feb. 7 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall #@
Mon. Feb. 8 - Nashville, TN @ Exit In #@
Tue. Feb. 9 - Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe #@
Wed. Feb. 10 - Oxford, MS @ The Lyric Oxford #@
Thu. Feb. 11 - New Orleans, LA @ Tipitinas #@
Fri. Feb. 12 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon #@
Sat. Feb. 13 - Austin, TX @ Emos #@
Sun. Feb. 14 - Denton, TX @ Hailey's #@
Wed. Feb. 17 - Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar #@
Thu. Feb. 18 - Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note #@
Fri. Feb. 19 - Grinnell, IA @ Grinnell College - Harris Center #@
Sat. Feb. 20 - Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club #@
Fri. Mar. 5 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church #&
Sat. Mar. 6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #&
Sun. Mar. 7 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom #&
Mon. Mar. 8 - Boston, MA @ Paradise #&
Tue. Mar. 9 - Providence, RI @ Jerky's Music Hall #&
Wed. Mar. 10 - Montreal, QC @ La TuLipe #&
Thu. Mar. 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club #&
Fri. Mar. 12 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick #&
Sat. Mar. 13 - Chicago, IL @ Metro #&
Mon. Mar. 15 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club #&
Tue. Mar. 16 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater #&
Thu. Mar. 18 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop #&
Fri. Mar. 19 - Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theater #&
Fri. Apr. 2 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater #$
Sat. Apr. 3 - Durango, CO @ Strater Theatre #$
Sun. Apr. 4 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room #$
Mon. Apr. 5 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah #$
Tue. Apr. 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre #$
Wed. Apr. 7 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent #$
Thu. Apr. 8 - Eureka, CA @ Red Fox Tavern #$
Fri. Apr. 9 - Portland, OR @ Dantes #$
Sat. Apr. 10 - Bellingham, WA @ The Nightlight Lounge #$
Sun. Apr. 11 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos #$

# w/ Happy Chichester
@ w/ Kenan Bell
& w/ Break Science
$ w/ Busdriver


That is an EPIC tour and there's no excuse not to go see Mr. RJD2 as he's playing literally everywhere including your neighbors living room.

Download: Games You Can Win (via Fairtilizer)

Tasty Disco Biscuits

When the Disco Biscuits formed in Philadelphia in 1995, they introduced a pioneering blend of electronic and jam band elements (crusties eh??). Since then, they’ve steadily cultivated a rabid fan base and have spawned an entire movement. Today the Biscuits are able to sell over a quarter of a million tickets in a year and have founded uber-successful summer music festival, Camp Bisco. But rather than remaining within their comfort zone, the band has forged ahead and introduced new ingredients to the beloved Bisco sound. This Fall, the Biscuits gave a sneak peak of the highly eclectic new material with two EP’s, On Time and Widgets. On February 2nd their latest chapter is fully realized in the form of their new album, Planet Anthem, on Diamond Riggs Records through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group.

Planet Anthem is the product of three fruitful years of labor, during which the Disco Biscuits absorbed everything from hip hop to pop to indie rock into their sound. The band collaborated for the first time with multiple producers, songwriters, and outside musicians, including Don Cheegro and Dirty Harry (Ludacris, Chris Brown, Beanie Sigel). While the album still bears the signature Bisco sound, it also broadens the group’s palette and contains a mountain of meaty hooks. “You and I” is a pogo-inducing rocker with slightly sinister guitar riffs and a monster, arena-ready chorus. “On Time” is a breezy, electro-flavored anthem that is poised to slip into clubs across the country.

Download: On Time
Download: You and I (Juan MacLean Remix) (via RCRD LBL...opens in seperate window)

Thrills Delivers

The latest from the Treasure Trove series brings us some booty shakin' goodness...

Thrills (also known as Devlin Gormally) is one of the most exciting producers in bass music today. His genre defying sound has been championed by Electro, Dubstep, and Mashup crowds alike, comparable only to peers such as Drop the Lime, AC Slater, & B.Rich. Thrills exploded onto the dance scene with his “refixes” of seminal club hits by everyone from DZ & 16Bit to Jack Beats & Caspa.

While Thrills has retooled many a track, it would be unfair to pigeonhole him as a remixer. You see, both his original bass heavy Electro and Dubstep tracks have been played by the likes of heavy-hitters such as Rusko, DJ Yoda, Kissy Sellout, Doorly, Detboi, DZ, Mickey Slim, Drop the Lime, Nero, & Le Castlevania which really is never a bad thing. With more originals on the way and a lineup of resotrations in the works Thrills will be bringing it and reworking it alot in 2010.
Download: Zion I - DJ DJ (Thrills and Tony Rocky Horror Bassline Remix)
Download: Thrills - Friday (Original Mix)
Download: Does It Offend You Yeah - Epic Last Song (Jack Beats Remix/Thrills Dubstep Refix)
Download: Tragik - Crazy (Thrills and Tony Rocky Horror Remix)
Download: Thrills Dubstep Refix Mix 2

(all downloads are via Mediafire)

Causing Popular Damage

As you may or may not know, Popular Damage is a dance-punk /pop act from Berlin and Manchester composed of Nadine Raihani and Stephan Hengst.

Since then, it’s been an upward success spiral with shows, tours, and even an apperance at the Brandenburg Gate. Popular Damage’s latest EP The Royal Fly, out this month, well and truly raises the bar, featuring a new and re-recorded version of their classic “Everybody Got Young” and remixes of “Everybody Got Young” by Double Dragon & Fukkk Offf, as well as the tracks “Exclusive” and “Easy Money” (with a remix by Beatshaker & Blender).

Until that EP hits the 'sphere...enjoy these remixes...

Download: Zoot Woman - We Won't Break (Popular Damage Remix)
Download: Digitalism - Taken Away (Popular Damage Assimilation)

Shout Out For The Shout Out Louds

Merge Records is excited to announce that Sweden's Shout Out Louds will be releasing their new record, entitled Work, on February 23, 2010. Work is the band's third album and second for Merge. It was recorded in Seattle and produced by Phil Ek (The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses).

After a year of touring behind their acclaimed second record, Our Ill Wills, the band went their separate ways -- singer/main songwriter Adam Olenius to Melbourne, Australia, keyboard/vocalist Bebban Stenborg to Los Angeles, drummer Eric Edman, bassist Ted Malmros and guitarist Carl von Arbin back to Stockholm - and took a much needed break. Olenius wrote many of the new songs in Australia in a tiny room, with a little synthesizer, an acoustic guitar and garageband on his laptop. He passed them on to the others who listened closely from their corners of the world, questioning and challenging him until the songs that make up Work had all passed the test.

And now that they have all passed the test, the band has allowed us to check out the first track to emerge from the upcoming record, "Walls."

Download: Walls

HotChaCha

The World’s Hardest Working Telescope and the Violent Birth of Stars, is the much anticipated debut full-length from the ladies of HotChaCha, and follow up to 2008’s critically acclaimed EP, Rifle, I Knew You When You Were Just a Pistol.

The full-length finds HotChaCha expanding upon many of the ideas laid out on their debut EP, and adding new instrumentation and sophistication to their arrangements in addition to naming their records with titles that are their own paragraphs.

The 11 songs presented on The World’s Hardest Working Telescope and the Violent Birth of Stars, run the gamut from staccato sing-a-longs to slowly building atmospheric explorations. This is not your sisters garage rock band. While many of HotChaCha’s songs come in at under the three-and-a-half minute mark, are incredibly danceable, and high energy, it would be an oversimplification to classify them solely as adherents to the ol “punk / new wave” formula.

Think Pearl from Powder, the whole of Sahara Hot Nights, the mysticism of Concrete Blonde, and a hot Los Angeles night and you have a pretty good idea of where HotChaCha are coming from. It's an infectious combination that's as sexy as it is garagey. Add in a sense of hilarity for naming songs things you would never think and you have one heck of a band that's so much more than just another average garage rock revival band.

Download: Ticket Away From Prague
Download: Hookers Deserve A Life Time Achievement Award
Download: Bob Has A Better Cow

The Bullet and The Snowfox

Bullet & Snowfox was born in a quaint West Hollywood café in the late summer of 2008. It was there, at Joey’s Café, that Kristen Wagner and Josh Shapiro saw the perfect creative counterpart to one another and thus, the music making began. After both having been involved in un-fulfilling projects, they were convinced that it was time to do things their own way.

With Josh heading up the track writing and Kristen covering all things vocal, they easily established a division of labor that gives the songwriting process an element of freedom that both had been so desperately looking for. With influences that span across the map from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Megadeth, they have developed an indie-dance-pop sound that is truly all their own.

With song subjects ranging from bitter break-ups to a quirky take on neurosis, they clearly cover all the bases when showcasing the make up of their personalities. Although these two bandits hail from opposite coasts, Kristen from San Diego and Josh from Pittsburgh, they share more in common than even they would care to admit. Both were raised in middle class homes with relatively sane parents, both college graduates, both have limited tolerance for general stupidity, both are maddeningly stubborn, and both just wouldn’t settle for the painfully suburban lives they were set up for. Eventually, amongst the sea of dreamers wandering the streets of L.A., they found each other and set out to conquer the universe (or at the very least, write some great songs.)

That right there is my kind of band. The take the gloss, sheen and plasticity of Los Angeles rough it up a bit, dip it in sugar and come out with pop songs that will own you. They're seductive, hooky, and freaking really really great. If all pop music was like this Lady Ga Ga would be living in a refrigerator box!

Download: Undercover
Download: Bad Days

True Womanhood

Today's Treasure Trove comes to us from the Department of Experimental Indie Rock and Adriana Lima!

Four-foot industrial blades hanging like chimes. A disassembled church organ rigged with wires running into a computer. As much art installation as rock concert, the most conventional things on True Womanhood’s stage are the timpani drums. And these homemade instruments are not mere sonic curiosities but integral parts of the band’s tightly crafted, inventive songwriting. Grounded on friendships going back to middle school, band members Thomas Redmond, Melissa Beattie and Noam Elsner play in an instinctual style that is sonically and emotionally loud.

The trio has emerged out of the doldrums of post-Dischord Washington, D.C. with a collection of haunting pop gems that are surprisingly mature given the band’s youthful exuberance and predisposition towards experimental music. True Womanhood is not merely satisfied with merely making music as it is inventing it!

Download: Magic Child
Download: Dignitas

Billen-aires Boys Club

A lot of things have changed for Sam Billen recently. He is about to release his first solo record in 5 years with indie label The Record Machine. It is his first since leaving Northern Records who also released his decade-long band, The Billions, that called it quits last year. After the break up of the Billions, Sam took some time to focus on making his own music and starting a family (Sam just recently became a father).

Produced and recorded and made entirely by Sam himself, Headphones and Cellphones sees him adapting rather nicely to being away from the band dynamic. He's still got the ability to write quirky pop songs but now they're purely his creation and come off sounding a bit like The Postal Service. Yeah, I know that's a bit cliche, but Sam does have a voice that would make Ben Gibbard blush and if the songs are this good, then who cares.

Headphones and Cellphones is music with a heart and soul and I guess that's bound to happen when you become a dad. Good stuff indeed.

Download: Different Lives
Download: Made Concrete (Republic of Tigers cover)
Download: Spritle (Deastro cover)

Max Justus Is Busy

The latest post from the Treasure Trove comes to us from Wisconsin...

Since age fifteen Max Justus has been working on various projects in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin when he released his first album and opening for illustrious artists Tortoise, Daniel Lanios (solo artist and producer of bands ranging from U2 to Bob Dylan), and Bob Mould of Husker Du. At nineteen he moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he now resides completing two albums, Ophelia and Talk to Strangers , which are only available digitally on Myspace. At twenty-one Max released his first record with Kansas City based label The Record Machine entitled Five Leaping Leopards to much critical success. He has also completed remixes of Kanye West, C & C Music Factory, and Rainbow Arabia.

In just three short years Max Justus has released five albums. At that pace Max Justus releases a new record every seven months. It was just seven months ago when Max was releasing his remixes of Kanye West and just a few months before that he released Five Leaping Leopards. On his newest album No Mercy we find Max taking his mixture of electro, hip hop, and dubstep in new directions.

That's what makes this guy fun to listen to. Not only does he refuse to slow down, he refuses to conform to the parameters of the genre. At times weird, at times pure pop bliss, Max Justus is all over the place in the best possible way. It probably shouldn't work, but it does and it's a testament of just how good this guy is. It'll probably be a week before his next album, so get busy and listen to all the tracks below!

Download: Bending Space and Time
Download: Sweat
Download: Ctrl Alt Dance (Coulson's Cheap Arcade Edit)
Download: Queens Club - Nightmarer (Max Justus Remix)

I And I and You

Weird Animals is Adam Sarmiento's fourth release under the name I and I and it continues in the genre defying modern pop mode that made the last album (White Noise/Black Music) so compelling.

With a name like I and I you would think that Adam would be doing some sort of reggae thing. Admit it, you're thinking I and I is going to crank up the Rastafarian jams, turn up the dub-meter and get in touch with your consciousness. Now you're thinking why they hell would that be on here. Well, I and I is 100% free of all frat boy love for reggae.

Instead, I and I is the sound of a Casio being programmed by Wall-E and then David Gahan singing very dryly on top of Wall-E's creation. It's a bit chilly, sparse, and dark but he has this knack of finding a melody amongst all that. It's twisted stuff that at times seems a little dire, but Adam always finds his way back to something that you can latch on to and that's what makes Weird Animals an enjoyable listen.

Download: Only Grey
Download: Weird Animals

Wallpaper Hangs Another Roll

Wallpaper. just dropped their new video for "Gettin' Drip". With effects and backgrounds that look like something out of a video game from 1989, the video features drummer Arjun Singh and the frontman Ricky Reed strolling throughout various scenes as they try to get their party on.

"A lot of time and money was spent on this video," Singh says. "We had originally projected a budget of $0.00 but due to some unforeseen last minute expenses, we ended up paying $11.82 (and this came out of pocket, mind you)."

"In order to get the video textured just the right way, our director Todd Berger played the video from his computer, filmed it with his camera phone, imported it to his Facebook, had his mom download it as a .wav, recorded it over his Grandpa's 'Magic of David Copperfield III' VHS and then submitted the tape to the Internet," he adds. "That's some real magic."

These guys are one of my favorite bands at the moment, simply because they have their tongues firmly planted in cheek. They're hilarious (just watch the video) and they actually write some pretty decent tunes without even trying. These guys bring the party because they are the party!

Download: Get Drip
Watch:

Westside Is The Bestside

Founded in the eighties, Westside Music was an early champion of Euro-club music, which in turn had a big influence on the American House scene. Artists on the label include Moskwa TV, Microchip League, Celebrate The Nun, Camouflage, Project One, and the Best Beats series. Many of Westside's releases entered the Billboard dance charts and other worldwide Dance charts, including some crossover hits that landed on more mainstream charts during the labels peak.

Production began in Germany in 1984, when label co-founder Achim Völker realized that there was a need for music that was made for DJs and clubgoers who frequented the massive discotechs that were so popular at that time. Now TwentyTen, Westside's follow-up label, is still hard at work promoting these electro classics-- not just in Germany and Europe, but across the world, thanks to its international appeal.

Download: MCL - Short Wave Symphony
Download: Jay Maroni - Everybody Dance
Download: Moskwa TV - Moskwa Electric
Download: Central Unit - Santiago

Don Diablo Knows It's Never Too Late

Here's another one from the Treasure Trove....

Never Too Late is the latest brainchild of Don Diablo , taken from his forthcoming album. The e.p. is set to be released digitally, as a taste maker for the album, at the end of November, right before the release of the official new single and video of Where I belong. The e.p. includes remixes by Jark Prongo, Deepgroove, Mason and others. Grab the original and the Mason remix right here, right now!

As an added bonus...'Too Cool For Amsterdam Bitch' is a cheeky bootleg by Hugo van Dyck based on Don Diablo's 'Too Cool For School', which proved to be quite the DJ weapon during the recent Amsterdam Dance Event, where it spread like wildfire among many of the world's biggest DJs and became one of the festival's biggest tunes.

Download: Never To Late via Mediafire
Download: Never To Late (Mason Remix) via Mediafire
Download: Too Cool For Amsterdam Bitch via Mediafire

Lee Coombs Sees the Light & Dark

The latest post from the Treasure Trove comes to us from a legend...

Lee Coombs is a man who needs little introduction, a constant name and face on the dance music landscape since the mid-1990s he has played a major part in charting the ever changing course of electronic music. Now he gives us an insight into his sound of 2009 with this his latest opus in the form of third artist album ‘Light and Dark’.

Light and Dark is in Coombs own words “a true tech funk album”, an amalgam of sounds and influences from dance music’s often disparate scenes. Alongside acts like Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes and Elite Force, Coombs has pioneered this open minded attitude and helped forge thesound of ‘tech funk’, a fusion of techno, breaks, house and electro.

On this long player Coombs takes the tech funk spirit and develops it to the n’th degree, it is a true melting pot of influences, from the opening bars of the Diva driven Control with the wonderful Katherine Ellis to the final refrain of the heavily Echo & the Bunnymen inspired ‘Blues I’m Singing’.

Download: Light and Dark
Download: Control ft. Katherine Ellis

BuffetLibre Tackle The World For A Good Cause...

The final entry from tonight's Treasure Trove comes to us from Buffetlibre...They sent out this press release which is about their most ambitious project to date. Read on, the press release is unedited in it's entirety.

Four months before the release of PEACE, Buffetlibre announce the line up of this new initiative, co-produced by Amnesty International, that will Include exclusive songs by musicians from over 50 countries. The resulting compilation will be digitally available worldwide in January 2010, letting listeners pick their own price for the album, with a minimum of €2. All proceeds will go to Amnesty International's humanitarian aid projects in areas of conflict.

The line up of PEACE is comprised of some of the most important, popular and innovative artists around the world, with the clear goal of merging a stylistic variety. Headlined by the Oscar winner and founding member of the historic Yellow Magic Orchestra Ryuichi Sakamoto, Soft Cell's frontman Marc Almond and early pioneers of drum & bass music 4Hero, dozens of amazing artists as Tahiti 80, Dubstar, Patrick Wolf, Vive la Fete, I'm from Barcelona and Bonde do Role, to name only a few, comprise the lineup of this new adventure by Buffetlibre.

Also, the ensemble of artists who are part of PEACE (over one hundred) represent the music scene from countries as geographically and culturally distant as Algeria, Burundi, Ghana, Iceland, Indonesia, Colombia, Israel, South Korea, Lebanon, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Senegal, Thailand, Venezuela and Turkey. Regions of the world without an independent state are also represented in PEACE, with musicians from Greenland, Hong Kong, Palestine and Tibet.

The duo Buffetlibre Dj's present their most ambitious musical project to date, after experiences with Rewind, the 80's cover project downloaded by more than 1 million people, and Proyecto Batidora, the biggest remix project in the net.

Buffetlibre offer a free 4 track premiere from PEACE, with two covers by American band The Spinto Band and English songwriter Darren Hayman, and two exclusive songs by South Africa Dj Mujava and Spanish ladies Boat Beam.

Download: The Spinto Band- Mr Blue Sky (ELO cover)
Download: Darren Hayman - If You Were Here (Thompson Twins cover)
Download: Dj Mujava - Superstar (Feat. Dj NonSense)
Download: Boat Beam - Shadow Pool

In-Divisible!

Our next find in the Treasure Trove comes to us from Divisible.

Los Angeles-based band Divisible, consisting of singer Shola and drummer Albert Sadia, released it's debut album Less Than Lion, earlier in the summer.

It's a collection of songs (including a reinterpretation of Radiohead’s “Exit Music [For A Film]),” that explores Shola’s journey from the halls of Harvard to a West African reconciliation with her father, who lives in Ghana via a propulsive mixture of rock, electronica, and world music sounds.

Thankfully, it DOESN'T sound like the other 9 million bands in Los Angeles. While influenced by their surroundings and history, this band is far better than all of that combined. The songs are breezy and sensual with a bit of a global vibe about them. It's good stuff to say the least.

Download: Love Is The Cost
Download: Exit Music (For A Film)

One In A Googolplex

The latest in our Treasure Trove comes to us from One In a Googolplex .

One In A Googolplex is a German singer/songwriter taking his name from a line in the movie “Back To The Future III”. His music is genre-breaking and goes from acoustic to electro-pop.

After a short intermezzo as a singer in a teenage band and after extrapolating the properties of good audio from old Beach Boys cassettes, Coldplay records and Nick Drake’s singing, OIAG began to write his own songs with a ukulele and a very cheap guitar. It took 2 years of recording, experimenting, looking into space with a telescope, singing and mixing, and “The Proclaimer” was born, the first OIAG full-length album with 11 tracks, including the opener “Every Star Is A Thought”, a sublime, modern hymn about the influence of our beautiful celestial sphere on us.

One In A Googolplex is driven by the altruistic motive to bring joy into peoples’ lives and so he composed further songs for his album which was released over the summer, called Hands.

This latest release from OIAG is nothing less than an ode to life itself. With all its ups and downs, Hands reminds you with every track of the miracle of life, and that you should celebrate your existence.

Download: And the Sky Shall Be Painted

Download: Accents Yet Unspoken

So Fresh So Clean

Next in the Treasure Trove, we have The Clean...

What can be said about The Clean? In 1978, they were the seeds of New Zealand punk. They carved out a big sandbox for everyone to play in, and their influence resonated not only in New Zealand but around the world.

The New York Times described The Clean: “This New Zealand band, which has been going off and on since 1978, plays a jangly, damaged kind of guitar pop and was a primary influence on Pavement and Yo La Tengo, and therefore virtually all of current indie rock." In 2003, Merge Records released Anthology, the 2-disc compilation of tracks and song cycles from across The Clean’s musical career. Anthology was chosen by Blender Magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever.

This summer’s Mister Pop saw The Clean continue the great pop pastiche that made them famous with a record that's a modern update of their classic sound.

Download: In A Dream Life You Need A Rubber Soul

Citified Move On In Your Absence

The latest finds from the Treasure Trove, starts here...

It makes sense that in a year following a reunion by one of the highlights of shoegaze, My Bloody Valentine, and a late-period masterpiece by the former Red House Painter Mark Kozelek (as Sun Kil Moon), that Greensboro, North Carolina’s Citified would return with Absence–a record that splits the difference between the softly driven lyrical work of the latter and the hazy crunch of the former.

Think about Swervedriver’s gift for finding the classic pop and rock structures beneath the murk of shoegaze and you’ve hit exactly upon what Citified have created in their third release. Returning with the same lineup that created 2008’s The Meeting After the Meeting, Chris Jackson (vocals/guitar), DM Franklin Kane (bass), Diego Diaz (guitar) and Eric Ussery (drums) have created their strongest outing yet.

Download: Absence

The Cassettes Still Won't Listen

Fresh from a year of releasing an instrumental album titled Into The Hillside, a free remix EP, Fremix, as well as countless remixes for bands such as Dappled Cities, The Dears, and Broken Spindles, Cassettes Won't Listen (Jason Drake) has returned with a brand new single titled "Perfect Day".

It's kind of got an old school hip hop vibe to it that intermingles with the songs indie pop sensibility. The results are a funky little tune that has some nifty synth work and hooks that could catch whale sharks. If, "Perfect Day," is any indication of what's in store for us in 2010, I think we might already have a contender for a top ten album of the year.

Download: Perfect Day (Remix)

The Minor Leagues Are Something Major

Ben Walpole wishes he were British, fronting Pulp in 1995. Patrick Helmes wishes he
were playing lead for Megadeth in 1988. But cruel fate has instead placed them both in the Minor Leagues, playing insidiously catchy indiepop for most of the last decade from their Cincinnati, Ohio homebase.

It's truly amazing how much the members contrast but at the same time how much they work together to create absolutely fabulous pop music. These guys are so hyper active and perky that their songs are by far more cheery then either of their contemporaries (obviously Megadeth). It really shouldn't work at all, and in listening to Minor Leagues, you kind of just wait for the killer mosh riff to show up or some line of sexual perversion to whisk but they never do. Instead, this all works out so well and the songs are so good that it's truly amazing.

Joined live by John Kathman (Nirvana, 1993), Josh Combs (Kinks, 1967), Luke McGlasson
(Specials, 1978), Amanda Lee Anderson (Belle & Sebastian, 1999) and Hilly Kenkel
(Ronettes, 1962), the Minor Leagues are preparing to take their now-septet on the road this fall and winter, touring the Midwest and beyond in support of their new record entitled This Story Is Old, I Know, But It Goes On.

Download: Good Boys
Download: Love That Never Was

Project: Komakino Will Haunt You

Project: Komakino began as the solo music project of Kris Kane in March 2007. The project follows a simple manifesto, purely; “To Konstrukt!”. PROJECT:KOMAKINO was unveiled at the now legendary Experimental Circle Club in April 2007 and received high praise. From there Kris has gone on to play a number of gigs with the like minded up folks, such as Ipso Facto, Electricity In Our Homes and Ulterior.

The band has been referred to as a group of shadows, clad in uniforms of espionage and driven by the duende. With songs about dystopian futures and darker times, the music is disturbing and makes the skin twitch. The music is heavily influenced by British post punk, Constructive Design and Dystopian literature.

With those sorts on influences, there should be no surprise that Project: Komakino sounds remarkably like Joy Division. In fact, "Civility," almost sounds like a long lost Joy Division B-Side found rotting in the Factory offices. It's kind of a derivative of JD, but it's such a dead ringer and so close it's almost impossible not to like it. It's as if Ian was in the room.

After a sold-out single for the Parisian designer April77 and an EP for the hip London label Parlour Records, Project: Komakino will release its first album, The Struggle For Utopia, on the newly launched desire label.

Download: Civility
Download: Syndrome (Tom Furse Remix)

They're So Sneaky

The latest post from the POP! Stereo Treasure Trove comes to us from Australia.

Arguably one of the biggest bands in Australia this past year has been Sneaky Sound System. Their single ‘I Love It’ had the longest chart run in Oz history, their debut album has gone twice platinum and at one point they had four singles in the Top 40. They played the Antipodean Live Earth concert, supported Robbie Williams, and cleaned up at the Arias, the down-under version of the Brits. Yet Sneaky are not a hard-touring rock band or a manufactured pop act. They’re certainly pop and proud of it, but their background lies in their country’s unbelievable dance scene.

Sneaky Sound System are Sydney trio Miss Connie (Connie Mitchell), Black Angus (Angus McDonald), and MC Double D (Daimon Downey), three very different characters bonded by a riotous sense of fun. Their origins lie in the hugely successful club night Sneaky Sundays, thus they make music imbued with frolicking nightlife energy but also flecked with sing-along radio-friendly 1980s electro-pop.

Download: Its Not My Problem (Thin White Duke Remix)

Watch: UFO

Smooth Crimen-inal

One doesn't exactly think of Mexico as a musical hot bed when it comes to dance music. Perhaps, traditional Latin music, but not pill munching, hands in the air, electronic mayhem. But as time marches on, things seem to be changing with the aid of the Internet and technology.

Among those leading the way is Crimen! Hailing from Leon, Mexico, this DJ/producer takes things down a dark and heavy roadway where you're as likely to be run over by a drug cartel as you are a pack of lost ravers. It's brutally good stuff that builds up and then explodes much like a fuel air bomb; lots of destruction be it the dance floor so some unsuspecting village.

Is it any good? Hell yes. If you like loud bleepy noise and some old style techno chaos this will have your reaching for a hearing aid after about three listens.

Download: War
Download: Bass and Diamonds (ft. Fresh Girls)

Skipp Whitman's Tale Of The Tape

The latest from the POP! Stereo Treasure Trove, Skipp Whitman originally released his Clean Mixtape last year, after a bit of a brouhaha with the Richard Pryor estate. A year later and it's back and there's even more. Read on...

Skipp Whitman’s a Whiteboy. Born to artists. Raised at his father’s recording studio in Boston, at his mother’s art studio in Brookline, at his father’s recording studio in New York, at his mother’s art studio in Lincoln (a Boston suburb). Skipp was raised on weekend mornings in New England, on hardwood floors with a pet, a parent, and either Prince Records (at mom’s) or a vocorder/keyboard (at dad’s . . you know, ‘86).

Starting out in an upper-middle class town (namely, Brookline), Skipp was surrounded by the American Dream. His parents struggled, as most artists do. Fortunately, he learned early that in order to be an artist, you don’t have to be ‘starving.’ Fierce, stubborn, independent. Split-brained, impressed by a book he read in ’89 called TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL all while nurturing a pre-teen love for something called Rap Music.

High School, Drugs, Peers, Beers, Athletically Declined, and a Gemini Sampler with the 8 second sample-loop option: Skipp wrote. Any four bar break to any rap song ever, turned very quickly into an instrumental. Skipp wrote. Freestyles, Battles, Respect, Fans, Response, Girls, Girls, Girls . . . . staying money-hungry, Skipp majored in Accounting in College, while nurturing a love for Rap Music.

Download: The Clean Mixtape
Download: The Whitman Fiasco

Ooh La La Its Le Le

Not much is known about LeLe. Emerging from the dark recesses of the dance floor, they release dance floor nuggets that are not only classic in their approach but in their sound. Coming off something like a 80's sort of freestyle group mashed together with Daft Punk and a bit of pure techno LeLe will appeal to anyone with feet.

As if to make a point, their latest single, Disco Monster is a corker of a tune. It's a vocal electronic battle weapon that takes a dark evil voice, loops it through some Christopher Just and then drops in some Italo for good measure. Brilliant stuff that's funky, dark, and really rather good.

Garnering support from DJ Mehdi, Busy P, Breakbot, Brodinski, Jo ost van Bellen, Erol Alkan, Tom Trago and many more they've just released a whole host of remixes. Housed in a Parra sleeve, the record has mixes from Azari, Marco Solo, Seymour Bits, and Alectro.

Download: Disco Monster
Download: Disco Monster (Seymour Bits' Subsonic Monster Remix)

Don't Get To Phil Ospherical On Me Now...

Yeah, I don't know what the hell that title means either. It's supposed to be something along the lines of don't get all philosophical on me now.

Anyway, Phil and the Osophers are quite an ambitions and accomplished band without having ever actually been signed to a record label other than their own. This is a band that has released five albums of material and contains three members that have published several books. Gus the bass player has 9 titles to his credit! Talk about being multimedia savvy.

If that wasn't enough, the band has it's own label, Factual Fabrications. Their latest album "Toward Conquering The Invisible North" received rave reviews and garnered a delightful video for High Art, in which the band perform laser eye surgery on a friend. While digital is the most sustainable resource, Osophers fans can still buy their physical albums from Factual Fabrications. All album art are printed on recycled paper and they use only recycled jewel cases. That keeps the cost and price down.

Anyway, I unearthed this material from the POP! Stereo treasure trove/archives and decided to share it with you! Enjoy.

Download: Third World American
Download: High Art
Download: International Introvert

Polymorphic Raises Some Hell

As the days get darker so shall the music, and it's with that in mind, that note we welcome back the fold Moscow's own Polymorphic with the ever turbulent Rock On EP. This time out Polymorphic delivers the goods with 3 new tracks, 'Rock On', 'Scream' & 'Move Faster'. The EP also features a remix of the title track by Marseille who also had a hand it turning
out Proxy's Raven last year.

Repetitive to the point where your head might explode, this EP is not for the feint at heart. With a bit of old school rave coursing through the tunes as well as some decidedly brutal synths, the tunes here are heavy as hell and insist on causing as much damage as possible.

Polymorphic gets what he asks for as pretty much everything that stands in the way of this EP gets crushed in a fearless display of electronic aggression. Brutally brilliant!

Download: Rock On
Download: Scream

The Bravery Are Nothing But Spectators

It looks like the Bravery are making a full on assault on the world prior to their new album release. The new album, Stir The Blood, comes out on December 1 and it looks like they'll be firing warning shots until then. With the album's first single "Slow Poison" being played on radio stations throughout the land, the song "The Spectator," which will be on Stir The Blood, will also be released tomorrow on the Vampire Diaries soundtrack and we all know what that means tomorrow...PANIC!!

As for the song itself, it seems as though The Bravery have left their little feud with the Killers so far behind them it's not even a blip on the radar and have now totally embraced their inner Interpol.

The tune is good. It's a dark little ditty that I'm sure the goths (and vampire freaks) will fall in love with and pack out dry ice filled dance floors. Hopefully, the rest of the album is as consistent and good.

Until then, enjoy being a "Spectator."

Download: The Spectator