The Tins Make Gold

Buffalo, New York-based band The Tins recently released its self-titled five-track debut EP via V2 Benelux, the arm of the influential label based in the Netherlands. It might be out of the ordinary to be discovered by a major label so far from home, but the situation has turned out well so far for the band.

“The Green Room,” is the first single from the Tins EP, has already gained the attention of the UK's most influential music publication, the NME which called the track “extraordinarily moving”. The song is a seven-minute mini-epic that perfectly spotlights the cross section of Radiohead and Wilco that The Tins mine. The song will remind you of when Modest Mouse was at the height of it's powers. It's indie rock with a twangy sad heart and it's awesome.

Download: The Green Room

James And Evander

After meeting in college in 2005, Oakland based duo James & Evander began making music together in the bedrooms of their apartments. There they discovered a shared love of Moog synthesizers and analog delays and began writing the twee electronica that would make up their first EP.

In the time that’s passed, James & Evander have constantly been making music, releasing a full length, starting an ongoing remix series, and now present a new EP: Sunlight and Circuitry.

Sunlight and Circuitry finds James & Evander wrapped inside their synthesizers and drum machines, exploring new territory while continuing to reference their long standing influences (Dntel, The Album Leaf, and Kompakt Records).

The six songs that make up the EP are moody pieces of electronica that can best be described as weedwave, the stonier more introspective cousin of chillwave. Processed and glitched drums drive the songs while melodies bleep and bloop through thick layers of delay.

Download: Turtle Two

Check The Answering Machine

The Answering Machine have unveiled the first taster of their brand new album Lifeline in the form 'Animals.'

Lifeline - The Answering Machine's follow-up to last year's debut album Another City, Another Sorry - is due for release in early 2011. Before that they will play a series of UK shows and then head out to Europe as support to Tokyo Police Club.

Full list of tour dates are as follows:
21st October @ New Slang, Kingston
22nd October @ The Soundhouse, Leicester
26th October @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
27th October @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London
28th October @ King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
29th October @ Café Drummonds, Aberdeen

The Answering Machine European Tour w/ Tokyo Police Club
17th Nov @ Uebel and Gefaehrlich, Hamburg
18th Nov @ Botanique Rotonde, Brussels
21st Nov @ Luxor, Koln
22nd Nov @ Lido, Berlin
23rd Nov @ 59tol, Munich
26th Nov @ Das Bett, Frankfurt
27th Nov @ Sonic Vision Festival, Luxembourg

Download: Animals

Kissy Sell Out Storm London In October

We get sent a lot of stuff. So much so, doing email is like a full time job. And needless to say we get lots of party fliers...unfortunately, there's only 24 hours in a day AND we have day jobs that we kind of need to pay the bills. So getting to these things is just about impossible.

But, that doesn't mean we can't say..."Damn...that looks like a fine night out." This happens to be one of those occasions. Check it out...

KISSY SELL OUT’S SAN CITY HIGH TOUR HITS LONDON!
with...
Anti Chris
Blamma! Blamma!
Hot Pink Delorean (USA)
KISSY SELL OUT
The Squatters
Union
Urchins
Zed’s Dead (CANADA)

Holy hell look at this line up and ask yourselves if you shouldn't find a way to crawl out of your flat and get down to London?

The answer is pretty obvious if you ask us...

Download: Kissy Sell Out - Essex Boy (4x4 VIP Mix)
Download: Urchins - Drag On (Dub Version)

Ture Womanhood Return From Tour Release Tune

True Womanhood bonded over a shared nostalgia for the songwriting craft of 1980's British
groups such as the Smiths and Joy Division and an interest in the futuristic beats and sounds
of modern day electronica, dubstep and hip hop. The trio's devotion to both these seemingly
disparate poles has yielded songs that at once can be strident and melodic, experimental and
addictive, a unique blend of textures intricately woven into cohesive pop songs. This skillful
assembly is especially evident in its explosive live delivery, where True Womanhood make use
of an ever evolving stage set up which has based itself around the likes of timpani, industrial
blades, and antique drum machines and synths triggering new age electronics.

Their debut EP, Basement Membranes, on the Baltimore label Environmental Aesthetics,
was recorded mainly at the DIY venue and effects pedal factory Death By Audio in Brooklyn,
before the finishing touches were applied with the help of J. Robbins (Jawbox) at his studio in
Baltimore. It was released in 2010. The group's first full-length album, recorded and mixed by
Robbins, is complete pending release.

They just got back from their first nationwide tour and felt compelled to release something so here it is..."Dream Cargoes." And ya know...I bet Marisa Miller is a fan too.

Download: Dream Cargoes

Alfa's On Sky Patrol

Alfa, aka Zak Aldridge, has been hard at work over the last year working on his debut EP, which is nearing completion. Alfa's music is music for the car, for your headphones, and for late nights. A focus on melody and crisp production separates Alfa from his contemporaries, who seem much more interested in either going as heavy as possible, or washing out their sounds as much as possible.

"Sky Patrol" itself is Alfa's first original release since his songs that were on Binary's compilation, LA Lights. "Sky Patrol" is just a small taste of what you can expect from his EP. Zak has been working with various singers, guitarists, and session players while crafting the songs for the release.

Hopefully Alfa is on patrol in the studio and will finish his work soon...we're dying over here.

Download: Sky Patrol

Active Child & School of Seven Bells Team Up & Tour

Active Child and School of Seven Bells have collaborated on a special 7" project, each taking a crack at remixing the other's tracks. This limited edition 7" is on mixed color vinyl, no two of which are exactly alike, and will be available through Lefse Records on October 26. You can pre-order the 7" inch and instantly receive both tracks as free digital downloads.

And in the meantime...you can catch both bands trekking across the States.
Sep 29 2010 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
Sep 30 2010 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
Oct 01 2010 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA
Oct 02 2010 - Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 03 2010 - The Loft (UCSD) - La Jolla, CA
Oct 05 2010 - Plush - Tucson, AZ
Oct 08 2010 - Hailey's - Denton, TX
Oct 09 2010 - Mohawk - Austin, TX
Oct 10 2010 - The Studio @ Warehouse Live - Houston, TX
Oct 11 2010 - Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA
Oct 12 2010 - Club Down Under - Tallahasse, FL
Oct 14 2010 - Crowbar - Tampa, FL
Oct 15 2010 - The Social - Orlando, FL
Oct 16 2010 - Grand Central - Miami, FL
Oct 18 2010 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA
Oct 19 2010 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
Oct 20 2010 - The Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
Oct 21 2010 - Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington, DC
Oct 22 2010 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
Oct 25 2010 - The Horn Gallery at Kenyon College - Gambier, OH

Download: Heart Is Strange (Active Child Remix)

Eux Autres Go Dancing

San Francisco's Eux Autres play pop music. Their third full-length, Broken Bow, will be released Novermber 23, 2010. The band originally consisted of brother and sister Heather and Nicholas Larimer. Heather played drums, Nicholas played guitar, and they both sang. Practices frequently devolved into shoving matches. In an effort to quell these outbursts (and expand their sound), Eux Autres added drummer Yoshi Nakamoto (The Aislers Set, Still Flyin’) in 2008, and bassist Nathan Berlinguette in 2010.

Eux Autres write compact songs with sparse instrumentation. Their music has been unfairly described as “fun.” But while the surface of the songs might seem nonchalant, the lyrics offer skewed observations and fierce barbs. Most of their songs are about a) military history b) being “done wrong” or c) sports. Sadly, Eux Autres are the only people who notice this. The band sounds like the unrequited love song Doug Martsch would have penned for Francoise Hardy, had the time/space continuum conveniently collapsed.

Download: Go Dancing

Masonic Temples

Since their 2001 debut, Never Stood a Chance, Austin, TX band Masonic has been creating well crafted noise pop along the lines of Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, and The Vaselines framed by a Phil Spector influenced production and blending them into a seamless mixture of danceable rhythms, heavy guitar riffs, and catchy keyboard melodies.

Masonic is comprised of brothers, co-writers Kevin and John Mason, and drummer Brian. Joining the band in 2004, Eryn Gettys’ French rock influenced vocals helped cement the unique mix of classic indie rock with expansive, reverb tinged pre-Beatles arrangements. Bassist Trey D’Amico joined in 2007 whose ear for bass melody was developed through his one man freak out band, Toof.

Their fifth LP, Live Like A Millionaire, to be released November 9, 2010, was financed by licensing fees from a Colorado State Lottery commercial featuring 2001’s “Friday Night Song.” The group spent one week tracking at Austin’s EAR Studios, whose 20 foot ceilings and analog plate reverb proved inspirational. Afforded the convenience and time by mixing the album in John’s home studio, and cued by Brian Wilson, Masonic was able to play with the classic structure, sometimes splicing multiple movements into three minute pop songs.

Download: Lifetime of Deception

Will Eastman Is Feelin It

Washington DC club hero Will Eastman is at it again! Some may know Eastman from his Bliss (having their 10 year anniversary this year) and Blisspop parties in DC which are now hosted at his very own club, U Street Music Hall, that he owns with label mate Jesse Tittsworth.

His Feelin' from late last year gets a brand new set of house and club remixes in Feelin' (Part Deux). The release features a new vocal version with remixes by Dillon Francis, T&A's Nacey, Ara & Kenny Summit, Chris Burns and Gavin Holland. The original release was on Fatboy Slim's Beatport Top Ten and has been getting huge support from Donald Glaude, Chris Santiago, Play Paul, Bang Gang DJs, AC Slater, The Glamour, Oh Snap!, Acid Jacks & Ursula 1000 and many other DJs including your grand mom.

Download: Feelin' (Nacey Remix)

Redtrack Has The Whole Town's Heart

Redtrack consist of Billy Wright (guitar / vox), Phil Blake (bass / vox), Mitch Silvey (guitar / vox / keys) and Andrew Perry (drums). They come from Southend-On-Sea, their bass player has survived an attack with a meat cleaver and they reckon they sound like a cross between Girls Aloud and The Clash.

Whole Town’s Heart is their debut album and will be released in early September. It is chewy and tuneful and, with its small-town panic attacks and punchy new wave melodic jabs, sees them nodding towards classic Britpopesque heritage.

Whole Town’s Heart is also the first ever album release on Label Fandango, the Pointy Recordings / Fierce Panda offshoot which has previously concentrated on ace singles by the likes of Broken Records, Fanfarlo, Air Traffic and more. And frankly it is a miracle that this record even exists seeing as how three years ago bassist Phil Blake was attacked with an air gun and a meat cleaver and so badly hurt that he needed microsurgery on severed tendons in his arm. That he is back playing is a testament to his spirit in the face of potentially crippling adversity.

Download: Wait Around

Nicolas Chenard Is From Outer Space

For its 20th release, Absolut Freak Records is proud to present the much expected "From Outer Space" by Nicolas Chenard

Known for Thriller Express and its remix by John Lord Fonda in 2006, the first signed artist of the label is back with a magical project that goes by the name of From Outer Space and features a very special cover made by The Zonders.

Made up of five tracks, the EP starts with "Parallelism", an ultimate tribute to the rave anthems, with its massive spacey disco loop and strings. Already a classic! On "Do Not Educate", he rocks with his GameBoy and shows his taste for 8-bit synthesis. Then, "The Path" reveals his singular melodic genius. The introduction takes you on a fantasy journey with hypnotic organ and flutes, before rolling an electro monster with killer pads. On the flip, the crew from the South of France Electroluxe Family gives a monumental remix of "Parallelism", with a perfect shady introduction and a baroque concerto in the break. Rounding the record out is the stunning french band Racontage offers a new demonstration of their amazing skills (after their EP on the AF18), with a huge remix of "Do Not Educate".

Download: She's Calling

British Sea Power Look To Zeus

British Sea Power are about to release the Zeus E.P. an all-new seven-track EP from Rough Trade. Nikita Khruschev, Rick Stein and Wurzel Gummidge are are all alluded to on the EP, which comes out in the States digitally on October 5th and limited edition 12" vinyl on October 12th through Rough Trade.

The EP was recorded in East Sussex and on the Isle Of Skye and starts with two seven-minute tracks that set the tone for a collection of songs that is wonderfully all-ov er-the-place. The title track "Zeus" sets new standards for progressive garage-rock – a recording that suggests waking from the crazed impetus of a lusty dream full of dead Soviet leaders, TV chefs and... scarecrows. Following this is second track "Cleaning Out The Rooms" which is an expansive and reflective beauty. Elsewhere on the 43 minute long EP is radiant prettiness and care-in-the-community exclamation. (Please note that only the physical 12” format runs to 43 mins, the digital version is slightly shorter). This EP is an unwashed, wild-eyed precursor to the fourth BSP studio album, set for release in early 2011. Of the EP tracks, only "Cleaning Out The Rooms" will be included on the upcoming full length.

Download: Zeus

Allo Darlin'

Allo Darlin' is the music of Australian-born, London-based songwriter Elizabeth Morris. Originally from a country town in Queensland, Elizabeth moved to London in 2005 and, inspired to write songs by her purchase of a ukulele from the famous Duke of Uke shop in Brick Lane, began to make music.

Although Elizabeth has been releasing music under various guises since 2007, it wasnʼt until 2009 that Elizabeth hooked up with Paul Rains (guitar), Bill Botting (bass) and Michael Collins (drums) and Allo Darlinʼ was properly born. Elizabeth and Bill are from Australia, Mike and Paul are from Kent, and they all play in other bands too - Elizabeth is in Tender Trap, Paul and Michael are in Hexicon, Bill is one half of Moustache of Insanity and also in Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern.

Early in 2009, augmented by Terry Edwards of Tindersticks / Gallon Drunk fame on trumpet and sax,Allo Darlinʼ cut their first single, "Henry Rollins Don't Dance," released in 2009 on the cult WeePOP label.

Now signed to Fortuna POP!, the UK home of 2009ʼs biggest indie success story The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, they released their self-titled debut album, recorded at Soup Studios (The Wave Pictures, Letʼs Wrestle) below the Duke of Uke, in June in the UK and it will now see a proper US release in Oct. The album runs the spectrum from joyous, breezy, punky, jump-around pop with fabulous harmonies to sparse ukulele and steel guitar heartbreakers.

Download: My Heart Is A Drummer
Watch:

Abby Gogo Goes and Goes

It's not quite appropriate to pigeonhole Abby Gogo as a shoegaze band and the garage rock shoe doesn't quite fit either. Rather, twin brothers Bon and Jon Alinson and company traverse an expansive middle ground where '60s pop sensibilities are tempered by elusive feelings of melancholy and elation. Previously releasing a split single with Carnivores in summer of 2009 on Double Phantom, Abby Gogo are now set to release their first full length on November 30, 2010.

The grinding intonations of every guitar tone and distant voice are captured with clarity, illustrating jagged sonic textures that serve the long bouts of repetition in the single "Louder Than Dreams". If you ever like early Verve singles or even the first album, you will absolutely love the raw psychedelics of Abby Gogo.

Download: Louder Than Dreams

Oh My Oh Land

We're going to keep this introduction very brief so that all your attention can focus on the music. World, meet Oh Land.

Oh Land, born Nanna Øland Fabricius, translates the sounds live via her "contraption" - a homemade one-woman-band music box topped with balloon video projections (seeing is believing). Don't miss Oh Land on a string of east coast dates with Mates of State.

Her soundscapes are lavish, crunchy, symphonic, brute and captivated with rhythms that fly apart. Oh Land's self-titled EP will be available in October via Epic Records, with her US debut album to follow in 2011.

Tour Dates
09.17.10 - Littlefield - Brooklyn, NY ##
09.22.10 - The Monkey House - Winooski, VT **
09.24.10 - SPACE Gallery - Portland, ME **
09.26.10 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA **
09.27.10 - The Met - Pawtucket, RI **
09.29.10 - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT **

## w/ Unicycle Love You and Frances
** w/ Mates of State

Download: Sun of a Gun
Download: Sun of a Gun (Yuksek Remix)
Download: Sun of a Gun (Savage Skulls Remix)

Rolling With The Punches

PUNCHES is the Brooklyn based late night disco project of twin brothers Greg and Darin Bresnitz—who can be found tearing it up as DJ duo Finger on the Pulse—and nightlife pioneer Alan Astor, who got crowds up and dancing with his 2005 solo hit “Fantastic Fantasy.”

PUNCHES' synth littered, airy beats are rooted firmly in the soul filled space between disco and electro. “Feeling Right,” the debut single off their Sleepless City EP, features Astor's warm, classic-sounding vocals and reveals PUNCHES as a club-ready band that can make it through ‘til morning, when you come to in the light of day and reflect on the night you’ve just had.

The release of PUNCHES’ Sleepless City EP also marks the inaugural release of Travis Hayden's (IHEARTCOMIX, Big Beat) newest label, Our Label.

Download: Feeling Right

Lonely Drifter Karen

Lonely Drifter Karen was born from the union of three people with very different geographical and musical backgrounds (from folk and rock to cabaret, experimental, classical, indie pop & more).

Started as a solo project by Viennese-born Tanja Frinta while she was living in Sweden, LDK became a band when Tanja moved to Barcelona and met Italian drummer Giorgio Menossi and Mallorcan keyboard player and arranger Marc Meliá Sobrevias.

Their sparkling debut album Grass Is Singing was released in 2008 to wide acclaim, and drove Lonely Drifter Karen to perform all around Europe. True to their drifter spirit, Tanja and Marc have now relocated to Brussels, while Giorgio still lives on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. Fall Of Spring, their second album, is due for US release in the fall of 2010.

Download: A Roof Somewhere

Urge Overkill Are Back

Celebrated alternative rock favorites Urge Overkill are officially back together 15 years after the release of their last album. The band released its first full-length, the Steve Albini-produced Jesus Urge Superstar, in 1989 through Touch and Go Records and steadily began ascending in popularity. By the early 90’s, they were opening for Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and eventually signed to Geffen Records, who released their beloved classic LP, Saturation. The group’s biggest moment in the spotlight came when Quentin Tarantino prominently used their cover of Neil Diamond’s“Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” in his film Pulp Fiction. The soundtrack soon became one of the most acclaimed and successful of the decade and Urge’s version of “Girl” became a hit.
The reformed band is made up of original singer/guitarists Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser, along with drummer Brian “Bon” Quast (also in Polvo) and bassist Mike “Hadji” Hogkiss,.” They are currently writing and recording new music in their hometown of Chicago, and will be performing at the Samuel L. Jackson-hosted Friar’s Club Roast of Quentin Tarantino on October 1st.

Download: Effigy

Watch Out Its The Phantom Band

The Phantom Band was pulled together from all four corners of Scotland, settling on Glasgow as PB HQ. Duncan Marquiss (guitar), Gerry Hart (bass), Andy Wake (keyboards), Rick Anthony (vocals) and Greg Sinclair (guitars) are a volatile cabal of creative contradictions: a disorientating amalgam of music, art and performance that defies categorisation and provides an object lesson in how to forge something distinct and unique from well-worn sources.

Checkmate Savage won plaudits from the mainstream music press and the indie blogs alike, finding famous fans in Peter Buck and comic artist Frank Quitely, while the influential music emporium Piccadilly Records named it their album of the year. Their new album may be The Wants, but what do The Phantom Band want for? “Survival. For this album to lead to another after it, that's all. We think it's better than the last one, and if anyone agrees with us then brilliant, they can hop aboard. Those who disagree can hop aboard too, but they're sailing at the stern.”

Download: Walls

Vaselines Return!

The Vaselines have FINALLY released their 2nd album, Sex with an X. In honor of this joyous occasion, we thought we'd post a couple of tracks for you to enjoy. Here’s to hoping it does not take them another 20 years to make a 3rd album.

Formed in Glasgow in 1987, The Vaselines released two singles and one album, Dum Dum, on the 53rd & 3rd label. Splitting up in 1989 (in the same week their album was released), they might have faded into obscurity but for the intervention of a certain band from Seattle. Nirvana covered three Vaselines songs, helping to fuel a growing after-the-fact appreciation of their seedy, two-and-a-half chord, garage pop manifesto.

Founding members Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee remained musically active throughout the intervening years: the former with Captain America aka Eugenius and finally as a solo artist; McKee with Painkillers and Suckle.

Eugene and Frances collaborated intermittently in the intervening years. They toured jointly and played a few of the old songs together in the wake of their respective solo project releases in 2006. But an acclaimed, unannounced appearance at a fundraiser in Glasgow’s Mono for Malawi Orphan Support in 2008 was the real catalyst for their latest, exciting bout of creativity.

Ensuing tours of America (including a stand-out appearance at Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary festival, SP20), Brazil, Japan and some UK festival dates saw The Vaselines “re-connect” with wildly appreciative audiences who had blinked and missed them the first time round. Buoyed by the success of their live return, the two punk rock chums decided to go back into the studio.

Download: I Hate the 80's

Plump DJ's Get A Bit Plumper...

A quick post before I head off to work...short sweet and loud...

The Plump DJs announce the launch of Grand Hotel, a new brand to develop a forward thinking platform for new electronic dance music, their own productions and those of other inspiring artists worldwide

The first two tracks "Boomer" and "Water Born Computer Virus" available now on Beatport and then there's "Get A Grip"...download that below.

Download: Dirty Super Car - Get A Grip (Maximilian Remix)

Black Heart Procession's Blood Bunny

Famed San Diego doom-folk duo The Black Heart Procession are releasing a limited edition mini-album October 12 called Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit on Temporary Residence Limited.

Along with three brand new BHP songs, the 40-minute EP includes a collaboration with the godfather of dub himself, the immortal Lee "Scratch" Perry. Additionally, Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit features a titanic 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of "Drugs" by ambient mainstay Eluvium.

To celebrate the release of Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit, The Black Heart Procession will tour this fall with fellow unique folk duo and Temporary Residence labelmates the Books! You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll be better than 'Cats'.

THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION ON TOUR!
Sep 28 @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY w/ Bing & Ruth
Sep 29 @ The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA w/ The Books
Sep 30 @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC w/ The Books
Oct 1 @ Shaefer Theater, Duke University, Durham, NC w/ The Books
Oct 3 @ Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA w/ The Books
Oct 4 @ Square Room, Knoxville, TN w/ The Books
Oct 5 @ Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, VA w/ The Books
Oct 6 @ Rams Head Live!, Baltimore, MD w/ The Books
Oct 21 @ Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA w/ The Books
Oct 22 @ Pearl Street Nightclub, Northampton, MA w/ The Books
Oct 23 @ Cabaret Mile End, Montreal, PQ w/ The Books
Oct 24 @ Capitol Music Hall, Ottawa, ON w/ The Books
Oct 25 @ The Mod Club, Toronto, ON w/ The Books
Oct 26 @ Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI w/ The Books
Oct 27 @ Ladies Literary Club, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI w/ The Books
Oct 29 @ Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL w/ The Books
Oct 30 @ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN w/ The Books
Nov 29 @ Music Box At The Henry Fonda, Los Angeles, CA w/ The Books
Nov 30 @ Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA w/ The Books
Dec 3 @ Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR w/ The Books
Dec 4 @ Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA w/ The Books
Dec 5 @ Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC w/ The Books

Download: Blank Page

Frederik Olufsen Rocks

There’s just no way to describe the sounds that come out of Copenhagen’s hottest young producer. Straight out of the Danish uptown underground we dare to bring you Frederik Olufsen and his premier EP for Coco Machete called ‘Rocks’.

This is pure electro but with touches of minimal, techno, deep house, dubstep and more. The whole release coheres around deep dark & distorted voices reminiscent of Lil’ Louis’ ‘Blackout’ telling the story of Mr. Olufsen’s rise from the Copenhagen underground.

This past spring Fredirik’s remix for TAI was the surprise breakout mix so CocoMachete decided to give him room to stretch out a bit…they gave us ‘Rocks’.

Download: Rocks
Download: Rocks Mixtape
Buy on Beatport

Lock Up Your Daughters...Monotonix Are Back!

Tel Aviv’s Monotonix are back, and they want you to understand how excited they are. Yes, singer Ami has recharged his jet pack, guitarist Yonatan has applied a new flame-retardant coating to his guitar pick, and drummer Haggai has tweaked the hover capabilities of his drum kit -- the live show, as always, is prepped and good to go.

What has the band totally pumped, however, is the opportunity to play new material off their upcoming record (details TBA) for a fresh group of unsuspecting participants on this fall’s tour. The People’s Rock Band, as Monotonix have come to be known, are so stoked on this record, their first LP since last September’s Drag City release, Where Were You When It Happened?, they’ve decided to give out a taste of this veritable lightning-in-a-bottle (captured as only producer Steve Albini is capable of).

Replete with caustic, ragged riffage, vitriolic spit-fire vocals, and a kick stomp that’s liable to jolt your heartbeat off-rhythm, “Give Me More” is a short fast burn from a rock n’ roll group with more potential energy than a trebuchet or the gravitational pull exerted by Mars upon Deimos, the most terrifying of its moons. Cream may have been the first “power trio,” but Monotonix are the last, best, and most.

MONOTONIX TOUR DATES:
Saturday, Oct. 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ Culture Collide Festival
Sunday, Oct. 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Culture Collide Festival
Monday, Oct. 11 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret w/ Ty Segall
Tuesday, Oct. 12 - Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo w/ Ty Segall
Wednesday, Oct. 13 - Olympia, WA @ The Brotherhood w/ Ty Segall
Thursday, Oct. 14 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Ty Segall
Friday, Oct. 15 - Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall w/ Ty Segall
Sunday, Oct. 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Festival
Saturday, Oct. 30 - Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door
Sunday, Oct. 31 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Monday, Nov. 1 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
Tuesday, Nov. 2 - San Antonio, TX @ Korova
Wednesday, Nov. 3 - Monterrey, Mexico @ Escenica
Thursday, Nov. 4 - McAllen, TX @ Las Palmas Event Center
Friday, Nov. 5 - Dallas, TX @ The Loft
Saturday, Nov. 6 - Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Festival

Download: Give Me More

3 Mile Pilot Are Still Alive

Three Mile Pilot has been out of the game for quite a while. Originally taking a break so their members could focus on side projects like The Black Heart Procession and Pinback, both of which quickly developed lives of their own and gained fanbases beyond expectation, the band was kept on the back burner until early 2009. After headlining a series of wildly successful reunion shows in their hometown of San Diego, the band's core trio spent months in their home studio writing and recording The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten, their new album that offers a new perspective on the band's influential sound.

The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten is out 9/28 on Temporary Residence Ltd. Until their upcoming US tour in early 2011, two thirds of Three Mile Pilot are going to be spending time on the road with The Black Heart Procession. They are touring this fall with The Books, to promote their upcoming EP featuring remixes by Lee "Scratch" Perry and Eluvium, as well as three unreleased tracks.

The Black Heart Procession with The Books
Wed 9/29/2010 Trocadero Theatre Philadelphia PA
Thu 9/30/2010 9:30 Club Washington DC
Sat 10/2/2010 Visulite Theatre Charlotte NC
Sun 10/3/2010 Variety Playhouse Atlanta GA
Mon 10/4/2010 Square Room Knoxville TN
Tue 10/5/2010 Jefferson Theater Charlottesville VA
Wed 10/6/2010 Ram's Head Live Baltimore MD
Thu 10/21/2010 Somerville Theater Somerville MA
Fri 10/22/2010 Pearl Street Nightclub Northampton MA
Sat 10/23/2010 Le Cabaret du Mile End Montreal QC
Sun 10/24/2010 Capital Music Hall Ottawa ON
Mon 10/25/2010 The Mod Club Toronto ON
Tue 10/26/2010 The Crofoot Ballroom Pontiac MI
Wed 10/27/2010 The Ladies Literary Club Grand Rapids MI
Fri 10/29/2010 Vic Theatre Chicago IL
Sat 10/30/2010 Cedar Cultural Centre Minneapolis MN
Tues 11/2/2010 Old Rock House St. Louis MO
Wed 11/3/2010 The Southgate House Newport KY
Mon 11/29/2010 The Music Box Los Angeles CA
Tue 11/30/2010 Palace of Fine Arts Theatre San Francisco CA
Fri 12/3/2010 Aladdin Theater Portland OR
Sat 12/4/2010 Moore Theatre Seattle WA

Download: Still Alive

Don't Panico

Boards of Canada once said "Music Is Math". We don't necessarily agree with that but sometimes a good combination of talent results in a great record. Take the second Panico album for instance: 5 years after the acclaimed Subliminal Kill, the equation is simple...

Solid songs, oscillating between punk rock and indie pop, well rehearsed and played live dozens of times

+

A week in a great studio (Franz Ferdinand's studio in Glasgow)

+

A great engineer (Franz Ferdinand collaborator Paul Savage from Chemikal Underground)

x

A cult producer (Gareth Jones, the man behind legendary records from Einsturzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode, Liars, These New Puritans)

+

Cover artwork made by Chile's greatest living artist Ivan Navarro

= An instant classic...nuf said.

Download: Icon

I'll Be In Grenada

In Grenada was born from the ashes of Philadelphia’s premier ukulele indie-rock band, Movable Type, during the summer of 2007. Now, they make their presence felt with their debut release, Break.

Stuck with a few left over songs and an environmental conscience, songwriter/instrumentalist Jesse Leyh plucked the tunes from the trash and saved them for his compost heap. Over the next two years those first few songs grew in the fertile environs of a home studio, watered by a monsoon of shifting and breaking relationships and the pressures of finding a new place in the world and life.

In the fall of 2009, the recorded song count began to approach 20 strong, and it became clear that the ripest fruits needed to be picked. Self-releasing September 28th, Break is labor of all those fruits. The 10 songs that comprise Break draw inspiration equally from the pain of country, the joy of pop and the attitude of rock ‘n’ roll, and those inspirations are represented musically in layers of cowboy-harmonicas, shimmering guitars and thundering toms.

Download: Distance and Temptation

Head Out To The Low Sea...

Quick and easy, short and sweet Friday afternoon post from the Low Sea.

Ireland-based duo Low Sea combine warped seasick-shoegaze, nostalgic pop melody and fuzzed-out dreampop, all cemented on a solid krautrock platform.

With sounds that reference everything from Suicide to Spacemen 3, A.R.Kane to Mazzy Star, Giorgio Moroder to The Big Pink, Low Sea's songs are a hazy journey between looming shadows and bleached-out light.

Download: Falling
Download: Never Yours

Hush Now....

Boston’s indie-pop quintet The Hush Now is gearing up to self-release their new EP, Shiver Me Starships, on September 28th,and today we have a new track to share with you!“The Other Ones”catches the band at their finest, combining catchy hooks with the bands’ irresistible pop melodies.

The band has four EP Release shows planned around the release of Shiver Me Starships- they’ll be performing at The Living Room in New York on September 24th,as well as a hometown release show at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, MA on October 2nd. Two more shows are also slated, one for Chicago at Elbo Room on October 4th and Cleveland at Beachland on October 6th.

Shiver Me Starships will be The Hush Now’s follow-up to their highly successful full-length, Constellations, which charted in the CMJ Top 50 and received praise from Morning Becomes Electric & BBC Radio 6.The EP was recorded with David Newton of the The Mighty Lemon Drops in LA- the studio flooded on the first day of recording, which might have appeared to be a bad omen, yet came serve as an unconventional good luck charm; the rest of the recording went flawlessly, resulting in the successful production of an amazing album.

Download: The Other Ones

Small Black Preps Tour

Starting October 22 Small Black will be driving to your home town as they embark on a month-long U.S. tour that will take them coast to coast. Class Actress will support on all dates, and on specific dates Small Black will also be joined by Delorean, Young Prisms, Lemonade, and Matthew Dear. Before the official tour starts you can also catch Small Black opening for No Age on two dates later this month in Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

TOUR DATES:
09/18 Brooklyn, NY- Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ No Age
09/20 Philadelphia, PA- First Unitarian Church w/ No Age
10/22 Baltimore, MD- Golden West w/ Class Actress
10/23 Washington DC- DC9 w/ Class Actress
10/24 Raleigh, NC- Kings Baracade w/ Class Actress
10/26 Atlanta, GA- Drunken Unicorn w/ Class Actress
10/27 Tallahassee, FL- Club Downunder w/ Class Actress
10/28 New Orleans, LA- The Saint w/ Class Actress
10/29 Austin, TX- Emo's Jr. w/ Class Actress
10/30 Dallas, TX- The Cavern w/ Class Actress
11/01 El Paso, TX- TBD
11/02 Phoenix, AZ- Trunk Space w/ Class Actress
11/03 San Diego, CA- Casbah w/ Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/05 Los Angeles, CA- The Echo w/ Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/06 San Francisco, CA- The Independent w/ Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/08 Portland, OR- Holocene w/ Matthew Dear, Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/09 Seattle, WA- Vera Project w/ Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/10 Vancouver, BC- Media Club w/ Class Actress, and Young Prisms
11/12 Salt Lake City, UT- Kilby Court w/ Class Actress
11/13 Denver, CO- Rhinoceropolis w/ Class Actress
11/15 Chicago, IL- Empty Bottle w/ Class Actress
11/16 Detroit, MI- Magic Stick w/ Class Actress
11/17 Cleveland, OH- Grog Shop w/ Class Actress
11/18 Toronto, ON- Mod Club w/ Delorean, and Lemonade, and Class Actress
11/19 Montreal, QC- Le Belmont w/ Delorean, and Lemonade, and Class Actress
11/21 Boston, MA- Great Scott w/ Class Actress

Download: Photojournalist
Download: Despicable Dogs

Our Broken Garden

Like the golden sea that names Our Broken Garden’s new album, their music is wide and deep, beautiful and mysterious, its thermal currents inviting you to dive in but with the potential to drag you under…

Hailing from Denmark, Our Broken Garden is the sound of sometime Efterklang keyboardist Anna Bronsted’s bewitching voice and songs with Søren Bigum’s guitar/keyboards and Moogie Johnson’s bass, plus assorted musical friends. Following the Lost Sailor debut EP, their debut album When The Blackening Shows arrived in 2008. Anna’s connection to water began here, with various nautical references in her lyrics, and a deeply atmospheric, drifting ebb and flow to the sound, with a serene, torchy Anna resembling a modern day siren at its heart.

With Anna co-producing for the first time, Golden Sea was recorded at OBG’s shared house in the Danish countryside, with different drummers (Poul Terkildsen, from When Your Blackening Shows, plus Søren Poulsen, Fridolin Nordsø and Yossi Karutchi), Robert Karlsson and Morten Svenstrup (from Under Byen) on strings and Palle Hjorth on the local church organ.

Golden Sea is a substantial step forward for the band. There’s more drama and rhythm this time around - check ‘Garden Grow’ and ‘The Feral’ for clear proof - as if the golden sea was more restless and darker than its colour suggests. Anna puts the change down to wanting to recreate the romantic and grandiose feel of classical music. You can immediately hear that on the opening ‘The Departure’, with its undulating piano undertow and hymnal beauty. The violins that distinguish ‘The Feral’ could be Haydn, but the vocal style and melody is pure modern-day Scandinavia. Talking of which, Anna adds that she also saw [film director] Lars Von Triers’ Antichrist at the beginning of writing Golden Sea, “and I was very moved and influenced by it. It's so graceful and overwhelmingly dreadful at the same time.”

Download: Garden Grow

Sebastien Tellier Gets Remixed

Two years after its release via renowned French label Record Makers, Sebastien Tellier’s Sexuality still garners praise from around the globe- and now, we’re excited to announce the release of the official Sexuality Remix album, out now!

Sebastien started the campaign with his version of “Sexual Sportswear,” a classic, as many of his works tend to be. Critically acclaimed Italian/Belgian duo Aeroplane contributes a dancefloor killer of “Kilometer,” and Kavinsky reworks a stellar version of “Roche.”

German producer-extraordinaire Boys Noize also delivers a unstoppable Eurodance mix pf “L’amour Et La Violence,” while A-Trak does it D-I-S-C-O on “Kilometer.” Other gems from Midnight Juggernauts, Breakbot, Arpanet, Donovan and Danger round out this brilliant remix album, the only way Record Makers knows how.

Download: Kilometer (A-Track Remix)

I'm Not A Band Again...

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 new vocalist Kassandra Papak.

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 but she recently parted ways and has since been replaced with Kassandra Papak. Oddly enough, she also plays violin.

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: To Be Honest

All Tiny Creatures

All Tiny Creatures, a Madison-based experimental pop quartet recording for the Hometapes label, will embark on a string of U.S. tour dates this September, including shows in Brooklyn, Washington DC, and at Raleigh's Hopscotch Festival . To whet appetites, Hometapes is releasing the MP3 single "An Iris." Featuring vocal contributions from Justin Vernon, this track is a sneak peek of what's to come from All Tiny Creatures, a band led by Thomas Wincek (who you know from Volcano Choir and the venerable Collections of Colonies of Bees). Hometapes will release All Tiny Creatures' album Harbors in early 2011. And for instant gratification? The An Iris Mixtape.

Yes, a real tape.

Limited to a pressing of 250, An Iris Mixtape is a continuous audio experience leading off with "An Iris" (which, in addition to Vernon, features vocals by Matthew Byars of label mates The Caribbean). Among the six tracks are four tape-exclusive pieces, one including instrumentation by Ryan Potts (a.k.a. Aquarelle, All Tiny Creatures September tour mate), and one, another clue to the bounty of Harbors: Side B's outstanding song "Cargo Maps" featuring Roberto Carlos Lange (a.k.a. Helado Negro, Epstein). It rings out like an anthem for some faraway land, like the soundtrack for a time lapse film of your own dreams.

The tape, a beautiful object in spot-colored board packaging, will be available on tour with All Tiny Creatures, and soon via mail order (while supplies last) from Hometapes.

Download: An Iris
Download: An Iris Mixtape Side A
Download: An Iris Mixtape Side B

Illuminations With Vic Godard

Vic Godard is the kind of person the term 'cult hero' was invented for. His band Subway Sect debuted in 1976 at the 100 Club Punk Festival alongside the Clash, Pistols and Banshees, and since then he has had by far the most unpredictable and wide-ranging career of any of his punk contemporaries - and arguably the most interesting.

The name was a dead giveaway. While those around him were nailing their aspirations to the mast by dubbing themselves Rotten, Vicious or, gosh, even a Strummer, the 18-year-old Victor Napper's new moniker was a nod to the legendary French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. The band's lyrics, extraordinarily literate from day one, reflect the circumstances in which the members first bonded: not in an art college lunch break or over a couple of lines of speed at the Roxy, but acting out Moliere plays in Godard's bedroom.

The time it took Subway Sect to make two of the classic punk singles, Nobody's Scared and Ambition, was also the time it took for Godard to outgrow the genre altogether. By 1978 the original band was no more, and 1980's debut album 'What's the Matter Boy?' cloaked Godard's richly melodic and intelligent songs in a singular pot-pourri that straddled northern soul, early rock'n'roll and even folk rock, inspiring everyone who heard it - amongst them Felt, Primal Scream and the Postcard Records stable, with Orange Juice's Edwyn Collins describing Godard as "the finest songwriter of his generation".

By 1982's 'Songs for Sale' and the follow-up 'T.R.O.U.B.L.E.', Godard had abandoned rock altogether, instead styling himself as a swinging, Tony Bennett-style crooner. The sound and style of the records was influenced by Cole Porter, and as a writer in that genre Godard was arguably his equal. And then he was gone - increasingly adrift in, and disillusioned by, the glossy, grasping '80s, Vic Godard simply walked away from it all. Taking a job as a postman (which he still holds to this day), he dropped off the radar and didn't perform or record again till 1992.

Coaxed out of retirement by Rough Trade's Geoff Travis, Godard's 1993 comeback album 'The End of the Surrey People' was produced by Edwyn Collins and showed that he had lost nothing, and gained plenty, in the intervening years. The soulful yet biting indie-rock formula of that record was developed on 1998's 'Long Term Side Effect' and a brace of collaborations with, amongst others, The Bitter Springs, Long Decline and Irvine Welsh.

Godard's last couple of releases have found him as contradictory as ever: 2003's 'Sansend' was a stew of breakbeats and blues that many hailed as his best ever work, and last year's '1978 Now' was, of all things, a reconstruction of the great lost album from the start of his career: a record at last of Subway Sect's unrecorded punk-era repertoire that was dropped, perhaps a little too hastily, 30 years before. Since then he's been touring with a mix of classics and unheard new material destined for an imminent new studio record. ‘We Come as Aliens’ will be released on Overground Records in October 2010.

Download: Blackpool

Shoop Shoop to Jupe Jupe

Jupe Jupe mix sci-fi and glam into a synth-noir cocktail and serve it in the genre they wholeheartedly embrace: Pop. Invaders, this debut cocktail, sees it's national release October 5th, 2010.

Taking their textual cues from campy films and the excitement of a late-night dance hit, Jupe Jupe provide escapist songs you can move to – in Milan, or alone in your bedroom.

Jupe Jupe is composed of My Young on vocals and synthesizer, Bryan Manzo and Patrick Partington on guitar, and drummer Jarrod Arbini – veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes (Pleasurecraft, The Cinematics [U.S.], Maximum Coherence During Flying). The quartet’s first release, Invaders, combines crooning vocals, jangling guitars, shimmering synths and pulsating beats to take you on a glamorous ride to the far reaches of the electro-pop universe. Set the controls. Launch.

Download: Something About Love

To The Maxx With Waxx Maxx

The threesome that is Waxx Maxx assembled in the Spring of 2010 in Minneapolis. Waxx Maxx was originally a collaboration between established producer/guitarist Mark Mallman and vocalist Nicole Godiva. The drumming talents of Alyssa Marie (NG's sister) were added later to compliment the budding sounds being created.

The band have an ambitious goal of writing and recording one song a month and have thus far written and released a couple of songs. While Mark Mallman has been around for a while, to say this is a young band would be an understatement.

Download: Phenomena
Download: Celine and Julie Go Boating
Watch:

Oval's Ringtones and Videos

In anticipation of the forthcoming O double album release (9/7), Markus Popp is debuting the video for "Ah!" (one of the more lengthier album tracks)! Amberley Productions, the creative force behind Oval's enigmatically organic "Kastell" music video, has created a video for Oval's "Ah!" whose every frame is as rich and meticulous as the notes of the song it accompanies. The video shows a group of contemporary dancers whose refined motions and postures are coated in a layer of dust, which provides a visceral visual counterpoint and element of vulnerability to the bristling delicacies of the music.

Just enigmatic enough to incite your senses, just concrete enough to constantly keep you guessing, this striking effort purports a very unique and sophisticated aesthetic - a superb and empathetic visualization of Oval's new meta music for the soul.

If that wasn't enough, Oval has also released a second Ringtone ep for absolutely nothing. This is a band so ahead of the game, they've already won it.

Download: Ringtone II EP
Watch: Ah!

Gather The Intelligence

Males is the sixth full length release from Seattle, Washingtonʼs The Intelligence and is their most potent album thus far. For this record Intelligence, main-brain Lars Finberg decided to ditch his usual method of recording all the instruments himself and had his current touring band play on it. The results are as powerful as a punch to the face by Mike Tyson but with the velveteen touch of a dandy fop.

This current line-up of The Intelligence features Lars (of course), Susannah Welbourne, Beren Ekine Huett (Eat Skull) and Chris Woodhouse (Mayyors, FM Knives, Karate Party), who also served as the recordʼs producer. Hopefully this will still be the current line up by the time you read this. The band just returned from one of their many triumphant European tours where they tested the new material from this LP and, according to Lars, these songs made the most hardened Croatian garage punks act like hyperactive teenage girls.

Marrying buzzsaw punk, DIY post-punk, ramshackle garage (as in played by The Fall - NOT the Chesterfield Kings), and pop hooks a plenty, Males is The Intelligenceʼs finest statement to date. This is an album that will live in your memory forever!

Download: Like Like Like Like Like Like

Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship

Having been compared to the likes of Polvo, Swervedriver, Sebadoh, and Sonic Youth, the members of Omaha four-piece Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship draw their influence from late '80s college radio and '90s counterculture. After releasing 2008's My Name is What is Your Name EP on Slumber Party Records, the band now prepares for the launch of its forthcoming debut full length album Hanga-Fang, recorded in Omaha by Mark McGowan and mixed by AJ Mogis.

The band formed in 2005 when guitarists John Svatos and Andrew Gustafson met bassist Ricky Black at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, later joining forces with drummer Rob Webster. They've since been in constant motion, both in the recording studio and embarking on national tours, all the while living diligently by these words:

Under no circumstances does Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship wish to push their beliefs upon you. They just hope you come to their shows and have a good time. The band is happy, and wants you to be too.

Download: Warm Eyes

The Chap Work In Bars

London/Berlin-based pop-manglers the Chap have debuted the video for their single, "We Work in Bars," off their fourth album, Well Done Europe, on Lo Recordings. They are also releasing a Teengirl Fantasy remix of the track "Even Your Friend".

To create the stop motion video, director Harry Rambaut made The Chap spend endless mornings in a North London boozer. He threw buckets of water and pints of ale at them, made them change facial expressions every five seconds for hours on end, and had them fall off a bar stools in twenty stages. In short: it took a long time to make. It was well worth the wait, though! We'll drink to that!

Also putting their touch on the Chap's second single off Well Done Europe, Teengirl Fantasy has come to prominence with their remixes of HEALTH, Memory House, These are Powers, Telepathe, Neon Indian and Light Asylum. Their remix of "Even Your Friend" (video for album version here) takes the frenetic pop of the original and adds a layer of haze and drops the tempo, resulting in a dream-pop take on the song miles away from the original.

Download: We Work In Bars
Download: Even Your Friend (Teengirl Fantasy)
Watch:

The Chap - We work in bars from Harry Rambaut on Vimeo.

Brace for Brackles

Tuesday K7 released the debut official mix CD from RinseFM DJ and general man about town when it comes to bass music, Brackles. The mix touches on many of the diverging elements which make up today's cutting edge bass music scene and includes tracks from well known boundary pushers such as Zomby, Flying Lotus, Cooly G, Roska, Floating Points & more, as well as some names you're likely to hear a lot more from in the coming months.

The label is celebrating the occasion by floating out an unreleased remix from Brackles that's been making the dubplate rounds for a minute. You might have heard it in sets from Ben UFO, Martin Kemp, & others.

We're pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

Download: Under The Sheets (Brackles Remix)

Blowing Kisses

Kisses is a Los-Angeles based disco project featuring Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson.

Though primarily inspired by long-format, instrumental disco (Cerrone, Gino Soccio) Kisses has developed a uniquely concise songwriting style that is equal parts FM radio pop and expansive four-to-the-floor.

Early in life, Kivel developed a friendship with venerated cult disco producer Alec R. Costandinos, who rose to prominence in the late 1970s on a wave of ambitious concept albums and club singles. As Costandinos made available his knowledge and a healthy vinyl collection, the seeds for the Kisses album were sewn -- the KISSES name chosen as a nod to Costandinos' erstwhile 'Love & Kisses' project. As this creative relationship blossomed, Jesse took a day job as a travel writer to help make ends meet. His editors asked him to review hundreds of exotic hotels and resorts, many of which he had never seen or heard of before. The imagery used to write these reviews wove itself through the lyrics of songs like 'Bermuda' and 'Women of the Club', as well as the overall sound of The Heart of the Nightlife.

Nine songs were composed for the project, each exhibiting a refined pop sensibility evocative of Arthur Russell's later-period romantic works. There is a subconscious embrace of simple emotions and sentimentality on this record. It is a minimalist approach to pop music that revels in the celebratory moments of life, those fragments of time that we only remember in postcards or faint recollections. The Heart of the Nightlife takes these elusive moments and celebrates them openly, without fear of scorn.

Download: Bermuda
Watch:

Focus The Extra Lens

The Extra Lens, the musical collaboration between John Darnielle (Mountain Goats) and Franklin Bruno (Nothing Painted Blue, the Human Hearts), will release their Merge debut, Undercard on CD, LP and digital download on October 19.

Undercard is the first new album from this distinguished partnership since 2002's Martial Arts Weekend and is comprised of eleven original songs and a pretty ominous-sounding cover song, and will include copious song notes from John and Franklin.

The artwork features an illustration by Ian Dingman and a vintage boxing poster feel inspired by the title, Undercard, which references the fights listed under the main event at a boxing match.

Download: Only Existing Footage