Silver Swans Lake

You can tell it's near Christmas as the music industry slowly but surely grinds to a halt. I mean I guess they do deserve a vacation and lord knows I do. Anyway, if you're wondering where the heck we've been the last week, quite frankly there just hasn't been anything in our in box worth posting about. Then the Silver Swans came along...

Silver Swans take their name from the group of super-villains in the Wonder Woman comic book series. The evil Swans have the ability to create a powerful "swan song" of sound waves using their voices that is capable of devouring a small area of land with its destructive force. By creating a low-level humming, the Silver Swan can also form a protective shield around herself to deflect bullets and other projectiles. The musical counterpart Silver Swans, however, are far from the evil and destruction of their namesake. The electro dream-pop project captures the haunting dramatics, pure beauty of life and dreams to build a dynamic, exultant sound all of their own.

They formed from the collaboration of DJ producer Jon Waters and songwriter Ann Yu. Both artists also have prolific backgrounds. But with all of their experience the duo decided to take a different route when it comes to creating music together. Silver Swans puts a special meaning to the idea of bedroom recordings. All tracks were recorded in late night sessions hidden under covers, in their bathrooms, and right before bed. The songs you hear are a reflection of the dreams they’ve uncovered and hope to discover.

Download: Holidays
Download: Secrets
Download: Secrets(Letting Up Despite Great Faults Remix)

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Acid House Kings Return

Look I'm not even going to lie...I'm going to go listen to this song ALOT right now. So enjoy the press release below, download the song, and join me. The Kings have returned and this is a very, very good thing.

Almost six years since the release of the highly acclaimed "Sing Along with Acid House Kings" album, Sweden's pop perfectionists no. 1 are ready to release new material.

The first single "Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?" is a drive in the Swedish countryside with nothing planned and a feeling anything can happen. The radio is playing lush and heavily orchestrated 70's soul with huge arrangements and a distinct sentimentality. It's a blistering pop explosion inspired by the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, Tommy Körberg and flamenco percussionists with a chorus that will stay with you.

Stemming from huge elitist's pop record collections and a slightly embarrassed admiration of ABBA, Stock Aitken Waterman and Swedish "dansband", Acid House Kings have continued their slow, but steady fine-tuning towards perfect pop music. And half a decade of song writing means the fans are in for something extraordinarily fabulous. - We've allowed ourselves to be extremely self-critical. Songs good enough for any of our other albums have been singled out repeatedly, says Niklas Angergård.

Acid House Kings are brothers Johan and Niklas Angergård and Niklas' sister-in-law Julia Lannerheim. "Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?" is taken from forthcoming fifth album Music Sounds Better with You, out on Johan's birthday, March 22th, 2011. An album that during a short period was tentatively and logically named "A family affair". According to the band the new album is "sharper, catchier and livelier", a "goodbye to genre obligations" and "it's got castanets on every single song".

Download: Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends

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Satellite Stories From Beyond

Satellite Stories are four daring and unsigned satellite heroes from the arctic city of Oulu, Finland. As well as wrestling with the polar bears, the band somehow finds time to crawl out of the permafrost and write catchy party songs. If you listen carefully, you might hear influences from electronic dance music, even though they don´t actually play any synths.

The band's mission is to bring you nostalgia from events that you never really experienced, like the 60s, first kiss from your elementary school crush and the time you and your best friend bought that awesome 45-single and listened it from your parents record player. (They said it...I didn't). Satellite Stories play scenes from all of your favourite movies in the form of jangly, angular, energetic and always danceable indie rock.

Download: Helsinki Art Scene

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:

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

Fall Into This Tender Trap

Taken from their forthcoming long player Dansette Dansette, "Girls With Guns" shows off the newly propulsive, harmony-heavy edge that Tender Trap have acquired with the addition of Elizabeth Morris of Allo Darlin' (fuzzy guitar) and Katrina Dixon (stand-up drums). The new line-up appears to have rejuvenated Amelia's songwriting: gone is the more contemplative pop classicism of recent years to be replaced by a riot grrrl-esque tale of sisterhood and revenge that wouldn't be out of place among the punkest moments of her previous outfits. While guitars and drums rush by in a blur, Amelia and her new girl crew swear a cold-hearted vengeance on the unreliable and untrustworthy menfolk of the town.

In contrast with earlier Tender Trap, which had a more electronic bent, the new revitalized 'Trap has stronger links to the pop lineage of its founding members; Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were in influential indie pop originals and John Peel favorites Talulah Gosh and Heavenly, who released records on such labels as Sarah Records, K and Stephen Pastel's 53rd and 3rd. Revered by today's revitalized indie pop scene, their records are floor-fillers at indie dance clubs and their influence can be heard in bands such as Los Campesinos! (who namecheck Amelia in their song "International Tweexcore Underground") and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart among countless others.

Whatever Tender Trap chooses to sound like, it doesn't matter because as long as Amelia is still making music life is good. "Girls With Guns," is a spiky blast of indie pop that at times sounds a bit punky, a bit rockabilly(??) and at times like vintage Talulah Gosh. In other words, it's awesome hooky, melodic stuff that had me breaking out all my old Heavenly records. Amelia...it's nice to have you back.

Download: Girls With Guns

David Tattersall's Been Happy For A While

David Tattersall, the lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter from the Wave Pictures, releases his debut solo album Happy For A While on wiaiwya records in June 2010. It will be a limited edition vinyl only release, including a digital download of all the tracks. The album includes the first UK single release of 2010 “Happy For A While”, and the new single "Between My Ear And The Cradle".

The album features guest appearances from long time Wave Pictures collaborator Stanley Brinks (AKA Andre Herman Dune), and Clemence Freschard, and was written and recorded last Spring in Berlin.

Typically understated and downbeat - or what Nick Lowe described as the sound of “a man who has opted to plough a righteous but lonely furrow” – the title track’s signature lyric, “lonely but not alone”, sets up an album of outsider art, skewed views and bittersweet bedsit pop.

Tattersall channels the disaffected spirit of Morrissey, the whip-smart pen of Edwyn Collins and the dusty outback of The Go-Betweens’ Before Hollywood. In a parallel universe, the bookies would already have stopped taking bets on Happy For A While topping the end of year album polls.

Download: Happy For A While (via Yousendit)

Fuck Me I'm Twee! NYC POPFEST 2010

NYC POPFEST in the past has brought indie-pop to the forefront of New York’s indie rock scene. Having championed locals such as The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, My Teenage Stride, The Secret History, Human Television, The Drums, Knight School and countless others they’ve also brought international indie-pop to New York. From Sweden’s Love Is Al and The Radio Dept. to the UK’s The Orchids, NYC POPFEST has brought indie-pop to New York on a global scale.

In its fourth year, NYC POPFEST continues the tradition of presenting fine forms of pop from all over the world. This year features a mix of old and new. With the United Kingdom’s The Wake, Veronica Falls and Tender Trap, Sweden’s The Embassy and Massachusetts’ Pants Yell! all doing headlining duties, this year’s line-up is not to be missed!

The Wake – (Performs May 22nd at The Bell House in Brooklyn)
One the most influential acts to come out of the Sarah / Factory Records era, The Wake will be gracing their jangly pop on gritty New York ground. With this being their only show in New York, missing out one of time’s most underrated bands would be a crime.

Download: O Pamela

Veronica Falls – Performs May 20th at The Cake Shop in New York)
Upcoming UK act has been labeled by Pitchfork as “C86 / Sarah Records revivalists” and having an exciting live show could be one of this year’s breakout acts.

Download: Starry Eyes

Tender Trap – (Performs May 21st at Don Hill’s in New York)
Featuring Amelia Fletcher of Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research and various incarnations – Tender Trap has been making exquisite female vocal fronted pop for the past decade. Having released albums on classic indie pop label Matinee Recordings and classic indie rock label K, Tender Trap is another fine addition to the line-up.

Download: Oh Katrina

The Embassy – (Performs May 23rd at Littlefield in Brooklyn)
Swedish-pop has always been a forefront in indie-pop and Gothenburg’s duo are just another example. With records released on Sweden’s Service (Jens Lekman, The Tough Alliance, Whitest Boy Alive, etc) their synthpop laden songs are not to be missed. This will mark their first show in the United States!

Download: It Pays To Belong

Pants Yell! – (Performs May 21st at Don Hill’s in New York)
Making their last performance in New York, Pants Yell! has been a staple of American indie-pop for almost a decade. With their last album being released on classic label Slumberland, make sure not to miss their last show in New York city ever!

Download: Cold Hands

For more information CLICK HERE

And if anyone wants to send me to this...well that would be amazing because this is going to be an unreal festival!

I Love A World Atlas

Lost in a metropolis of noise, dance music and indie rock, proper indie pop still manages to find a way to shine in New York City. With influences from the likes of Donavon and The Smiths, Brian Broux found a way to fuse these influences into an orchestral parade of pop goodness in his new project World Atlas.

Joined by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good To Me) and The Umbrella girls, World Atlas had recently released their debut EP on classic indie-pop label Magic Marker Records (The Manhattan Love Suicides, Fred Thomas, All Girl Summer Fun Band, The Bats, Voxtrot, B.O.A.T., etc). The EP is a pop atlas steeped in nostalgia and allegory that exudes an aesthetic of a library of weathered books, stolen glances and faded colors.

Classic indie pop then and the perfect soundtrack to spring.

Download: Winter Stories

Night Driving In Small Towns

The members of Night Driving In Small Towns are land dwellers. Having moved from small South Georgia towns to the city of Atlanta in 2008, the pair have seen their share of topography, and so has their music. Having navigated the spaces between artsy folk pop and brazen indie rock, the duo's sound is sometimes gutsy, sometimes reserved, but always premeditated.

Andrea Rogers and Colby Wright have written and performed together for almost a decade, getting their craft down to a weird science in the process. Wright provides a lush musical backdrop for Rogers’s intimate lyrics, an amalgamation that has been described as a “potent cocktail” of sound.

"Come and Tell Me," is a breezy spring-like flourish of lazy pop. It's effortless and sweet and tender and sounds like it should be in some sort of David Lynch movie while something bad happens. As potentially disturbing as that sounds it's because this song has a HUGE heart.

Night Driving In Small Towns, release, Serial Killer, on April 20, 2010 via Lower 40 Records in the mean time download "Come and Tell Me," below.

Download: Come and Tell Me

Their Secret History

The Secret History is an NYC-based band featuring cult songwriter Michael Grace, Jr. and his decade-long co-conspirators from the adored (but obscured) indie pop group My Favorite. The band also features the debut of vocalists Lisa Ronson (daughter of glam rock legend Mick Ronson) and Erin Dermody.

Grace's lyrics turn bare bedsit walls into drive-in theatres, while Ronson's singing alternates between the emotive and the plaintive -- one minute channeling Dusty Springfield, the next, Kirsty Macoll. Behind them, guitarist Darren Amadio, keyboardist Kurt Brondo, bassist Gil Abad, and drummer Tod Karasik tailor soundscapes to suit each changing mood. Together, they are creating a new kind of cinematic post-pop, drawing from the rainy jangles of C86, the buzz & stomp of glam, and the light & air of the classic girl groups (particularly apparent in Ronson and Dermody's harmonies).

With a sound that's not to far from being something like the Smiths meeting the Popinjays on holiday and falling in love with each other, The Secret History clearly know how to write a proper indie pop song. This is a band that's got a classic British sound to them with out them actually, you know, being British. Call it idolatry or call it love, The Secret History have done their homework and have come up with a beautiful set of songs that will have you drinking cups of tea and reaching for your anorak. Awesome stuff that might just be better than My Favorite.

Download: Johnny Anorak

Hush Now.

One last post before bed...

Boston indie-popsters, The Hush Now, are releasing the second single, Contrails, from their upcoming, sophomore album, Constellations (due out February 16th).

The Hush Now have a unique, ivy league, indie-pop-rock sound that their label says is reminiscent of early Weezer and Wilco but with the muscle of shoegazing’ s glory days mixed in.

But the single...well it sounds like classic Apples in Stereo if you ask me.

What do you think?

Download: Now Contrails

Emanuel and the Fear Aren't Afraid

Often times, a band can get too big too quickly and not be able to adapt in ample time to their own success. In Emanuel and the Fear’s case, they started big - an entire 11 members big. With less than a year under their belt since the initial self-titled EP release, Emanuel and the Fear has been building its profile and reputation rapidly, proving to the industry and fans alike that it is one band that is worth the hype or at least it's size.

Now armed with a brand new 18-song album of epic proportions, Emanuel and the Fear is raising the bar yet again with Listen. To be released in North America on March 9th and in Europe on March 22nd with Spring and Summer tour plans both domestic and abroad, Emanuel and the Fear will be bringing their music and full live experience to listeners across the globe.

I guess they'll be chartering a plane and a fleet of buses as the pack of the Fear trudge across countries bring sunshiny Ben Fold's like pop to the masses. Emanuel and the Fear are jumpy pop merchants that use everything short of the kitchen sink to get their message across and they do a fantastic job of getting it across with brassy arrangements, sweeping pop pianos and choruses bigger than Europe. Just listen to, "Dear Friend," and see for yourself.

Download: Dear Friend

Seabear Build A Fire

Icelandic 7-piece Seabear will release their sophomore album, We Built a Fire, in March 2010 on Morr Music.

What started out as the lo-fi solo project of Icelandic singer/multi-instrumentalist Sindri Már Sigfússon's (aka Sin Fang Bous) has now morphed into a rambling experimental/indie/folk septet.

We Built A Fire was recorded in the band's apple carton-covered basement studio and is the followup to their 2007 debut, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, which sold over 20,000+ copies with little to no promotion behind it.

"Lion Face Boy," is an awesome glistening track of indie pop that sounds so tender and so fragile that it might just shatter into a million pieces at any minutes. It's beautiful, slightly twee stuff that just might break your heart if it doesn't break apart first. If the whole album is like this,there will be a lot of heartache come March.

Download: Lion Face Boy

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)

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

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

Music For Your Heart

Music For Your Heart is the alter ego of Sandra Zettpunkt. Her coaxing timbre slips into the ear, suggesting thoughts fed on experience and expectation – mostly in English, sometimes in German. Time and again, stunning vocal harmonies arise from the substrate to open up familiar territories, a voice couched in transparent arrangements.

Playing all of the instruments herself, discounting the occasional guest presence of a double bass, Sandra weaves a timeless and sensitive fabric of sound embellished with a thread of nostalgia

On Turning Marvel sounds something like Cat Power meets Camera Obscura in the middle of a field of heather. It's pastoral and folky in all the best ways and sung in an absolutely perfect English accent. On Turning Marvel is truly beautiful stuff that's far more than just your average folk pop record.

Download: The One

Hooray For Tullycraft.

First String Teenage High: The Songs of Tullycraft Played By People Who Aren't, was originally co-released in 2003 by AAJ & Bumblebear records. The initial run was only 500 CD's and has been completely sold out for quite some time.

First String Teenage High started as a labor of love by Bumblebear Records owner Jimmy Hughes (current member of Elf Power & mastermind behind wonderful band Folklore). With Sean Tollefson's support, Hughes lovingly complied the tracks over a two year period. Some of the songs covered are actually from Sean's bands that were precursors to or side projects of Tullycraft - Crayon and Six Cents & Natalie. Sadly, very few of the bands that contributed to the album are still in existence.

First String Teenage High will be available for download via all major outlets on July 28th, 2009! And if you're like me you a) LOVE Tullycraft and b) will most definitely NOT miss this opportunity to have this record in your collection a second time. Twee done by twee for twee. You can't get much tweer than that.

Until July 28th rolls around enjoy two tracks from this rather masterful tribute record!

Download: Murder Beach performing 8 Great Ways
Download: Bugs Eat Books performing Sweet

Casper and the Cookies Love Modern Science

If you know Of Montreal then you know Casper and the Cookies. C&tC are just one of the many many spin offs, side projects, and other experiments by members and ex-members of the uber popular band.

Casper and the Cookies has been in a constant state of flux since it's origin back in 1998 when Jason Nesmith founded the group. Since then there have been more members than you or I could count. Today, there are currently three members including Jason, Kay Stanton (an old member who's still hanging around) and Jim Hix. However, their album Modern Science has tracks on it that features no less than 35 musicians including members of Of Montreal, Apples in Stereo, and Pylon.

Modern Science is filled with paradoxes like these as well as brilliant psychedelic power pop; the kind Of Montreal stopped playing so long ago. It's a brilliant little record and if you've ever considered yourself a fan of Elephant 6, of Montreal, Yellow Pills comps, Nuggets box sets or just crunchy guitars you'll want to find Modern Science when it comes out May 12th!

Download: Little King
Download: Pete Erchick Bicentennial Service Area