Summer Lovers Unlimited, the art punk label home to Crystal Castles and Apache Beat, have released the new Dandi Wind remix album Sacrificial as a limited edition digipak that features some sick remixes by Fool’s Gold dudes Jokers Of The Scene and Nick Catchdubs himself. Dandi Wind’s particular brand of electro punk has some heavy ‘80s industrial influences (like some sort of glitched-out Nitzer Ebb) which always makes for a good dance remix. The Fool’s Gold RCRD LBL blog has more info…
We just recently posted about how excited we are for the new British Sea Power album, entitled Do You Like Rock Music?, which apparently will grow upon the band’s legacy of being the modern, British Pixies (we know, sounds clichéd, but is so totally true). Brooklyn Vegan just posted the band’s 2008 US tour dates, so make sure to check them out when they pass by your town. One of our favorite Britpop-leaning blogs, 17 Seconds, also wrote about the band today, so hit them up for some goodies.
Aukland, New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands might be ushering in a new era of jerky guitar pop being hot again, especially after the entire music industry went insane over them this last CMJ Music Marathon. Their songs are brash and energetic, and “Closed Eyes”, for example, sounds like a heavier, slighty less dramatic version of proto-emo bands like Braid or Cap’N Jazz. But don’t make a mad dash for your horn-rimmed glasses just yet: COYH also fit snugly into the post-Strokes scene that rock has taken on in the past 5 years. It’s fun, dancey and you can sing along—basically what a good pop song is all about.
One of the things that dismayed us the most about 2007 is that, for all the great dance, indie and pop music that came out, we didn’t feel like there was even one really strong, old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll record. To be frank we didn’t even really get into that last White Stripes album that much, which is saying a lot. Luckily, it looks like Seattle’s Holy Ghost Revival are going to change all that in 2008. The band have the sort of long-haired, sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll demeanor that makes huge riffs and screaming vocals appealing, but without any of the cheese that makes it sometimes obnoxious. This is not Jet or whatever, they’re the real deal. They’ve signed to 1965 Records in the UK, and the label has become a niche for all gritty punk and rock acts in the past two years.
“Flood Part 1” by Ottowa’s The Acorn starts off with some Arcade Fire-style yelps and chants (and vocals not unlike Win Butler’s) before going totally crazy near the minute mark sounding like a more melodic version of old school Hella, then reverting into a chamber-pop-folk landscape. It’s all over the place in a good way (it even has a White Rabbits honky tonk flavor to it towards the end). The band just signed to Toronto’s Paper Bag Records (home of adored acts such as Sally Shapiro, You Say Party! We Say Die! and Tokyo Police Club) and just released their new record Glory Hope Mountain.
Dirty On Purpose’s new video for “Audience In The Room”—from their Like Bees EP—comes off as a glimpse into their collective psyche, as they set up and perform for a small group of people in someone’s apartment. But far from a house party, the performance seems surreal, detached, like something Michel Gondry would dream up for the White Stripes. As for the song, it’s DoP at their fuzzy best, an All-American indie band finally getting their due. The video was premiered on Pitchfork today, and we’ve included some DoP-centric downloads for your listening pleasure.
It’s hard not to love Au Revoir Simone: three beautiful women lightly caressing their Korgs and bringing to life a fantastical world of backyards and twilights. Sounds like the stuff of dreams, right? We’ve been fans of their fluffy snyth-pop vibes ever since ARS was the side project of ex-Dirty on Purpose member Erica Forster and Annie Hart (who now also performs alongside her husband and Dirty on Purpose drummer Doug Marvin in Purse Snatchers), and the more we listen to them, the more they sounds like the partnership of a somewhat chilled-out Liz Phair and Stereolab.
For the release of Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett’s new record Here’s To Being Here, Arts & Crafts have put together a little faux Vh1 Classic Albums short movie, which showcases a few of Jason’s charms as a comedian (hard to believe right?). It’s worth watching, if only for the segment where Collett swears Arts & Crafts made him take an incendiary rap off of lead track “Out Of Time”.
When His Name Is Alive—the Michigan-based '90s alt. band—released Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth in 2001, it had an effect on us, especially the track “Write My Name In The Groove”. Firstly, because the song was featured in a compilation from French music mag Les Inrockuptibles that year (oh, how we love our import magazines) and secondly, because Someday… was released at the same time as Alicia Keys’ Songs In A Minor, and the resemblance between the two records was quite remarkable. “Write My Name In The Groove” is coasting R&B like Keys but with more wit, credibility, and hurt: HNIA vocalist Lovetta Pippen nails the aching of the lyrics perfectly. Bury Me Not featured Someday…-era His Name Is Alive today.
So we’ve already posted about The Bloody Beetroots, the Italian electrobang DJ duo who have toured with Justice and have a knack for turning old school 70s and 80s staples into dancefloor smashes. Their latest tackle is (wait for it) “She’s A Maniac” by 80s one hit wonder Michael Sembello (and of course, the most memorable song from Flashdance!). Bloody Beetroots pick up the pace and push the song to its absolute limits. Definitely worth checking out at French dance blog Boule A Facettes.
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