RCRD LBL artists and all around fun dudes White Denim are going on tour with White Rabbits and the Walkmen to ring in the new year. If only the Walkmen had a name that somehow incorporated the word "white" into it, the universe would have already collapsed upon itself. Either way, it's sure to be a fantastic good time of indie rock's finest offerings. Check out the tour dates below and make sure to visit White Denim's RCRD LBL page for downloads 'n' stuff.
The Magnetic Fields are slated to release their latest album Distortion on January 15th on Nonesuch Records, and from what we've heard the LP will be exactly what the title says it will be--lots of fuzzy guitars and messed-up melodies over traditional Stephin Merritt pop gloom. A Plague of Angels is on the fence, hoping that something will emerge from the album's misty production, but we think that if Merritt is at the helm, chances are it will be great.
Spooky! Sons and Daughters are back with a new single entitled "Darling", and it's as jerky and retro as they've ever been. Indie needed a good dash of '50s pin-up and '90s riot-grrrl, so let's all thank the stars that Sons and Daughters are here to dish it out. Check out the video and let us know what you think!
British indie label extraordinaire Moshi Moshi has just released Paris by Friendly Fires--an album that sounds like a joyous romp thought rock-dance music history over the past 20 years. You can clearly hear influences that reach as far back as Talking Heads '77 and as recently as modern classics like "House of Jealous Lovers". The trio are from St. Alban's in the UK and from what we've heard from our English moles, every one of their shows is a punk-funk extravaganza. Good Weather for Airstrikes reviewed Paris today, so check it out.
Two things that we absolutely love--Hot Chip and the inimitable Tracey Thorn--have finally come together to make our aural dreams a reality. Tracey covered the Pet Shop Boys' electropop classic "King's Cross" as the b-side of a recent single, and Hot Chip have reworked it with brilliant skill. We've always felt that Tracey was somewhat underrated, despite a rich and colorful career (she was a member of Marine Girls and Everything But the Girl, obviously, and her new record Out of the Woods is truly one of the best of the year), and hopefully this remix will re-introduce her to a new audience.
Time for the RND UP! We're moving our weekly download recap to Fridays, so we can make sure you have fresh tunes to jam out to over the weekend. Without further ado, here are the tracks that we've posted over the last seven days.
We here at RCRD LBL would like to take a quick moment to thank our sponsors, Puma, Nikon, Virgin America and new addition Nokia. These folks help us hook you up with fresh music, so check out each sponsored widget, click around and enjoy. Visit our sponsors at the links below:
Also, this is your last chance to enter our Puma contest, where you can win gift certificates for you and you friends to the Puma online store. More deets can be found here.
Modular have us super stoked about Ghostwood, their brand new signing. Ghostwood are a rock band from Sydney, specializing in Cure-like, upbeat post-punk. Their first single, '"Red Version", is really catchy and will definitely take you back to those forgotten teenage summers listening to mix-tapes of British indie bands in your room. Check out a free download of "Red Version" as well as the Modular RCRD LBL blog post on Ghostwood below, and welcome the band to the RCRD LBL family.
We were first introduced to Danish electro-folk collective Efterklang when they reworked a Grizzly Bear track on the band's first remix EP Horn of Plenty: The Remixes. They've been on our radar ever since, and the DiS RCRD LBL blog seem to be as enamored as we are. They've just posted two Efterklang tracks for your downloading pleasure: "Him Poe Poe", which is a relaxing drone of strings and keyboards, and a Hulk remix of "Cutting Ice To Snow". Both tracks are sublime, recalling other Northern bands like Sigur Ros. Is there anything Scandinavians can't do?
Ghostly have just posted a rad little featurette on the making of Matthew Dear's new video, for his single "Don and Sherri" off the Asa Breed LP. The shoot took place in NYC which gives the slick video a surreal, gritty sheen. The Ghostly RCRD LBL blog also posted a bunch of links to interviews with Mr. Dear including one on XLR8R TV where he gets a haircut... Enjoy!
.jpg)
