Proud Canary

Melancholia.FM.20

2011-03-21T17:02:00.012+01:00

Cotton Jones - Dream on Colombia Street.mp3

Melancholia.FM.19

2008-08-21T17:35:00.002+02:00

Rivulets - Happy Ending.mp3

Album: You Are My Home (2008)

Melancholia.FM.18

2008-08-20T12:22:00.003+02:00

Benji Hughes - Waiting For An Invitation.mp3

Album: A Love Extreme (2008)

Melancholia.FM.17

2008-08-13T13:15:00.004+02:00

The Replacements - Sadly Beautiful.mp3
Album: All Shook Down (1990)

Glen Campbell - Sadly Beautiful.mp3

Album: Meet Glen Campbell (2008)

Melancholia.TV.01

2008-07-30T12:40:00.003+02:00

Nick Cave, Charlie Haden and Toots Thielemans

Melancholia.FM.16

2008-06-26T10:32:00.004+02:00

The Byrds - Goin' Back (version one).mp3

Album: The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)

Melancholia.FM.15

2008-06-19T15:54:00.003+02:00

Silver Jews - My Pilow Is The Treshold.mp3

Album: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (2008)

Melancholia.FM.14

2008-06-16T14:15:00.002+02:00

Scott Walker - Two Weeks Since You've Gone.mp3

Album: Scott 3 (1969)

Melancholia.FM.13

2008-06-03T16:55:00.006+02:00

Dennis Wilson - Time.mp3

Album: Pacific Ocean Blue (1977)

Melancholia.FM.12

2008-05-21T13:14:00.003+02:00

Willard Grant Conspiracy - Miracle On 8th Street.mp3

Album: Pilgrim Road

American Music Club - Miracle On 8th Street.mp3

Melancholia.FM.11

2008-05-09T11:09:00.006+02:00

J. Tillman - Evans & Falls
album: Cancer & Delirium

Melancholia.FM.10

2008-04-28T17:17:00.011+02:00

Chappaquiddick Skyline - Leave Me Alone.mp3

Album: Chappaquiddick Skyline (1999)

Melancholia.FM.09

2008-04-08T13:52:00.001+02:00

Sun Kil Moon - Lucky Man.mp3
Album: April

Melancholia.FM.08

2008-04-07T13:37:00.003+02:00

Low - Murderer.mp3
Album: Drums and Guns
Docu: LOW - You may need a murderer

Melancholia.FM.07

2008-04-01T13:28:00.001+02:00

The Dodos - Jodi.mp3
Album: Visiter

Melancholia.FM.06

2008-03-18T14:34:00.003+01:00

Matt Pond PA - Bring On The Ending.mp3
Album: Emblems

Melancholia.FM.05

2008-03-05T14:29:00.001+01:00

Sam Amidon - Sugar Baby.mp3
Album: All Is Well

Melancholia.FM.04

2008-03-04T14:34:00.002+01:00

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos.mp3
Album: Sun Giant EP

Melancholia.FM.03

2008-03-03T16:19:00.003+01:00

Duncan Sheik - Reasons For Living.mp3
Album: Duncan Sheik

Melancholia.FM.02

2008-02-27T13:32:00.003+01:00

Paul Westerberg - Never Felt Like This Before.mp3
Album: Come Feel Me Tremble

Melancholia.FM.01

2008-02-26T15:34:00.002+01:00

Chuck Prophet - Kmart Family Portrait.mp3

Album: Homemade Blood

Eclectic.Gem.19

2008-02-20T12:35:00.002+01:00

The Gutter Twins - Each to Each.mp3
Album: Saturnalia

Eclectic.Gem.18

2008-02-18T15:25:00.003+01:00

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Wooden Ships.mp3
Album: CSN

Eclectic.Gem.17

2008-02-14T10:55:00.003+01:00

For Stars - Movies.mp3
Album: For Stars

Eclectic.Gem.16

2008-02-13T12:40:00.003+01:00

Tindersticks - Intro.mp3
Album: The Hungry Saw

Eclectic.Gem.15

2008-02-11T16:42:00.000+01:00

Rufus Wainwright - Tiergarten (Supermayer Lost in Tiergarten).mp3
Album: Tiergarten EP

Eclectic.Gem.14

2008-02-08T15:07:00.000+01:00

Headphone - Ghostwriter.mp3
myspace
Album to be released

Eclectic.Gem.13

2008-02-07T15:16:00.000+01:00

Jim, Son Of James - Hold On.mp3

myspace
Album: Disappearing Twin

Eclectic.Gem.12

2008-02-06T14:37:00.000+01:00

Human Bell - A Change in Fortunes.mp3

Album: Human Bell

Eclectic.Gem.11

2008-02-05T14:10:00.001+01:00

Destroyer - Introducing Angels.mp3
Album: Trouble In Dream

Eclectic.Gem.10

2008-02-04T14:51:00.000+01:00

Daniel Rossen - Too Little Too Late.mp3

JoJo Cover

Eclectic.Gem.09

2008-02-01T14:14:00.000+01:00

Buddy - Say A Lot.mp3
kcrw toptune
Album: Alterations and Repairs

Eclectic.Gem.08

2008-01-30T11:44:00.000+01:00

Tyler Ramsey - Worried.mp3
Album: A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea

Eclectic.Gem.07

2008-01-29T16:40:00.000+01:00

Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger.mp3

Album: In Good Company

Eclectic.Gem.06

2008-01-25T15:03:00.000+01:00

Thief - Sunchild.mp3
Album: Sunchild

Eclectic.Gem.05

2008-01-24T16:17:00.000+01:00

Tom Middleton - Sea of Glass.mp3
Album: Lifetracks (Album Sampler)

Eclectic.Gem.04

2008-01-22T15:13:00.000+01:00

Odori - Shousetsu.mp3
Album: Radicalfashion

Eclectic.Gem.03

2008-01-21T15:21:00.000+01:00

Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor.mp3
Album: A New Perspective

Eclectic.Gem.02

2008-01-18T11:19:00.001+01:00

Nico - Winter Song.mp3

Album: Chelsea Girl
Heliocentrics - Winter Song.mp3
Album: Out There

Eclectic.Gem.01

2008-01-17T16:38:00.000+01:00

Orchestra Baobab - Cabral.mp3
Album: A Night at Club Baobab (2006)

Seventeen Evergreen - Life Embarrasses Me On Planet Earth

2007-09-20T13:59:00.000+02:00

Mixing the scuffed, urbane wordiness of Pavement with the pastoral, bong-fried wooziness of shoegazing and psych-folk, San Francisco’s Seventeen Evergreen are the kind of band that only people who know waaay too much about music are into. But it’d be a shame if their gently experimental shtick were only ever to be enjoyed by indie ghetto dwellers, as Life Embarrasses… is as pretty and peculiar an underground rock record as you’ll hear all year. Give it a chance and it’ll make a sunny, slightly sad afternoon pass by in a pleasingly lush haze. [BBC]
pw: kroepoek

Kris Dane - Songs of Crime and Passion

2007-09-19T12:08:00.001+02:00

"At the time I was preparing this album, I started my second residence in Brooklyn, NYC. There it was, the right moment to overlook my experiences and achievements in music and life. I wanted to come back down to the bottom-line. I felt I had been drifting apart from the essential. After all this rambling I knew that the minimalist, dark & mystic, straight to the heart kind of poetry was -after all- my deepest strength. I wanted to breathe in my own particular way. There is a time to bring out the message, pure and wrinkled, based on the story of death & rebirth, back from birth to death.
And while the soul went pants down, naked, vulnerable and brave, I managed to stand, through my own eyes, in the eyes of god, in the eyes of Satan, and in the eyes of my family. There lies my faith.
For love's sake, it was about time to unite and accept the devil and god I bare inside. It was time for musical honesty and salvation…
So this album is about playing the music I am willing to play from here to eternity. Every day and every night, each song has to have its story, each story has got to have its prose. There cannot be one sound too many and every pace of respiration must reflect the frame of mind coming deep down from the inner soul.
This is the first album of a trilogy, and I presume that on a long term there will be many more to come…" KrisDane
PW: kroepoek

itunes store

soundz : : barry adamson (nick cave)

2006-11-30T15:43:00.000+01:00

barry adamson - the sweetest embrace.mp3
*album: oedipus schmoedipus (label: mute, '96)

After some releases with more of a pop, beat-heavy feel, Adamson moves back -- sort of -- into the land of noirish soundtrack. Unlike Moss Side Story, it's not really a soundtrack with repeated themes and motifs. A lot of pieces establish soundtrack-like moods, but the flow never builds up a momentum of its own. As individual soundscapes, though, the tracks (largely instrumental) are reasonably impressive, whether it's burlesque-type fare, a takeoff on Miles Davis, or lounge jazz. If noir is what you want, "It's Business As Usual" is especially creepy, with its neurotic answering machine messages nearly buried under waves of disquieting sounds; achieving a similar effect, in an entirely different manner, is "Vermillion Kisses," a fairytale narrative with a morbid ending. Nick Cave adds a guest vocal to (and co-writes) "The Sweetest Embrace"; Pulp's Jarvis Cocker can be heard (and co-writes) another cut. Adamson's skill in layering and devising unusual sound textures still qualifies him as one of experimental rock's more imaginative composers and producers. But on the more rock-oriented pieces, he's using too many of those damn beat-boxes for his own good. [amg]

soundz : geoff farina (ex-karate)

2006-11-23T16:17:00.000+01:00

geoff farina - femmes damnees.mp3
*album: already told you ep (label: southern, '06)

ALREADY TOLD YOU is Geoff Farina's first solo effort since the break up of Karate, the trio that was Geoff's main gig since 1993. ALREADY TOLD YOU sets images if bitter New England winters and gray Atlantic tides to weaving melodies and Hoagy Carmichael-era harmonies. Rhode Island's Quakers, incessant mosquitoes and seaside burnouts are the target of "Molasses to Rum," a New Englander's wry take on Carmichael's "Georgia on my Mind." The EP's title track is a kind of meta-love song as Geoff informs his inamorata that he has finally exhausted his catalogue and has nothing left to sing to her. "Femmes Damnees" evokes the intimate bedroom-recordings of the Secret Stars with glimpses of bitter Boston winters, and "Kin of Carbons" recounts a dream of flora reclaiming the environment from the humans who squandered it. Together these songs offer another glimpse through a frosted window of the imperfections of consummate love and other existential ponderings that Geoff has been singing about for the past 15 years. [southern]

soundz : : john cale - mr. wilson

2006-11-17T17:19:00.000+01:00

john cale - mr. wilson.mp3
*album: slow dazzle (label: Island , ´75)

... the warm, epic lift of the chorus of "Mr. Wilson," very much a tribute to the Beach Boys' main man and one of the best he's ever received, is surrounded by strings and piano both lovely and paranoid. [amg]

coverz : : oldham brothers on beach boys tribute

2006-11-06T17:36:00.000+01:00

oldham brothers - wouldn't it be nice.mp3
*album: do it again, a tribute to pet sounds (label: houston party records, 06)

TRACKLIST
1. Oldham Brothers – Wouldn’t It Be Nice / 2. Vic Chesnutt – You Still Believe In Me / 3. Nobody And Mystic Chords Of Memory (with Farmer Dave) – That’s Not Me / 4. Centro-matic – Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) / 5. Micah P. Hinson – I’m Waiting For The Day / 6. Antenna Shoes – Let’s Go Away For Awhile / 7. Dayna Kurtz – Sloop John B / 8. Daniel Johnston – God Only Knows / 9. Mazarin – I Know There’s An Answer / 10. Jody Wildgoose – Here Today / 11. Patrick Wolf – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times / 12. Architecture In Helsinki – Pet Sounds / 13. The Wedding Present – Caroline No

other mp3's from tracklist can be found here (obscuresound.com)

sounds : : thomas dybdahl

2006-10-30T16:24:00.000+01:00

thomas dybdahl - a love story.mp3
thomas dybdahl - solitude.mp3
*album: One day you'll dance for me, New York City (label: bertus)

Stilly and at the same time more intense than ever, he takes you by the ear and whispers his most inner secrets to you. The natural acoustic based sound enhances the intimate atmosphere, which invokes the spirit of Jeff Buckley or a soft ballad of dEUS. [bertus]
This is 24 year old Norwegian Dybdahl's third long player. Taking hints from Ed Harcourt and Bright Eyes , the palette from which he paints from is both fragile and weary. "It's Always Been You" is a heartfelt weepie that features whispered breathy vocals and a gorgeous piano refrain, all drenched in subtle strings. Title track "One Day You'll Dance For Me, New York City" has an underlying country feel to it with a gently picked banjo, whilst Dybdahl 's lyrics are concerned with typical outsiderdom. The young Norwegian doesn't anything new or different on this record, he's just a great songwriter. [itsatrap]

coverz : : the beatles - tomorrow never knows

2006-10-24T10:44:00.000+02:00

801 - T.N.K..mp3
*album: Live (label: Expression, '76)

For a one CD collection of the best work that Eno and Manzanera did during the 70's, look no further. Some of their best tracks are here and given a dynamite live performance. Add to that brilliant bass playing by Bill McCormick (who nearly steals the show from the "stars") and able side play from Monkman and Philips and you have one of the great, obscure albums of all time. The quality of musicianship on display here is fantastic. For folks who think prog rock was just about 20 minute psuedo-symphonies, 801 is a pleasant surprise. The songs are short to medium in length with great melodies and a real punch in their delivery here. But there are also avant moments whether it be Eno's foreshadowing of New Wave in Miss Shapiro or the atmosherics of Sombre Reptile. There is even a kind of funky jazz feel to many tracks with Monkmans Fender Rhodes and McCormick's bass giving a little swing to things. ~ Amazon

coverz : : nick drake - black eyed dog

2006-10-19T11:47:00.000+02:00

antenne - black eyed dog.mp3
*album: Antenne #2 (label: Korm Plastics, 2002)

... achieving an arresting level of melancholy romance, there are clear reference points: traces of glitch production, merged with blues and jazz instrumentation, and filtered through the slow-core sensibilities of bands like Low ... Truly remarkable. [xlr8r.com]

goldmund : : the heart of high places (7")

2006-10-18T13:29:00.000+02:00

goldmund - unbraiding the sun.mp3
goldmund - sumi-e.mp3
album: the heart of high places (7") (label: type)

The artistic pseudonym has long been used as a means to bypass contract obligations or release material that doesn't quite fit within the musicians' current remit. Often the results are anything but satisfying. However there are always exceptions to the rule - and Keith Kenniff is a glowering one. Having already released fantastic material under the Helios and Sono monikers this year alone, Kenniff returns to Type under the Goldmund guise for the latest installment in the label's splendid 7" series. Squeezing six tracks onto the vinyl, 'The Heart Of High Places' is all about the piano - as Goldmund runs the gambit of emotions from melancholy through to abject hope; all carved from an innate understanding of the ivories. Opening with the gorgeous 'Unbraiding The Sun', Goldmund brings a smoky ambience to the table - conjuring monochrome images of Parisian streets and lovelorn emotions. Moving on, 'Heavenfallen' seeps into your senses with an ethereal mood that can't fail to raise the spirits, whilst on the back 'Cavalcade' establishes a mournful narrative before 'Sumi-e' floors you through some of the sweetest melodies this side of Bacharach. Stylish and uncluttered, this is music for the heart. [boomkat]

isobel campbell : : milkwhite sheets

2006-10-13T11:41:00.001+02:00

isobel campbell - cachel wood.mp3
*album: milkwhite sheets (label: cargorecords, 2006)

The acoustic album ‘Milkwhite Sheets’ hits the shelves on October 23 through V2 Records.It follows her acclaimed, Mercury Music Prize nominated album ‘Ballad of the Broken Seas’ with Mark Lanegan which was released in January.Speaking to Gigwise, Campbell said of the album: "It's an album of half traditional, and half new songs that I've written. I suppose I'd describe it as dark psychedelic folk."

coverz : : masha qrella - don't stop the dance

2006-10-06T11:20:00.000+02:00

masha qrella - don't stop the dance.mp3
*album: don't stop the dance / saturday night 7'' (label: morr music, 2006)

Masha Qrella have always seemed to posess one of the most sophisticated and complex songwriting skills in indie-rock, this cover version also clearly illustrates that they are master-arrangers, a band in posession of a pop instinct that quite honestly raises the hairs on the back of my neck with what seems like unabridged effortlessnes. [boomkat]

the smiths : : hooligan ep

2006-10-04T10:30:00.000+02:00

the smiths - i keep mine hidden.mp3
the smiths - work is a four letter word.mp3
the smiths - what's the world.mp3
*album: sweet & tender hooligan ep

soundz : : uphill racer

2006-09-26T13:45:00.000+02:00

uphill racer - the fat grin of the enemy.mp3
uphill racer - one face down.mp3
*album: no need to laugh (normoton, 2006)

Now that The Postal Service have become ubiquitous enough for your mother to know about, shoegazing electronic indie pop acts employing near-falsetto vocals are pretty much a dime a dozen. Some of these, however, still sound pretty good [brainwashed]

Blessed with the kind of hushed vocal style that doesn't become grating despite its overt fragility, Uphill Racer (aka Oliver Lichtl) comes across like a contemporary chamber orchestra - wherein a friable sense of space is left between the mossy instrumentation and lovelorn vocals, giving the nod to Beck's 'Sea Change' in the process. Incorporating the likes of choral riffs, deep basses, rhythm groups, strings, mellotron, acoustic guitars, speech samples, frogs, cats, birds and an indistinct fusion of opaque elements, Uphill Racer allows harmonies to evolve naturally and in doing so imbues his music with a timeless quality that really hits the spot. [boomkat]

soundz : : eskimo songs

2006-09-14T10:55:00.000+02:00

eskimo songs - eskimo1.mp3
eskimo songs - eskimo2.mp3
eskimo songs - eskimo3.mp3
eskimo songs - eskimo6.mp3
album: asleep at the wheel

http://www.myspace.com/eskimosongs

soundz : : various production

2006-09-07T10:38:00.000+02:00

various production - thunnk.mp3
*album: the world is gone (label: XL Recordings)A dizzying collection of styles and shapes—from dubstep, to playgirl grime, to spartan folk, and weathered trip-hop—The World Is Gone would be easy to dismiss as an ADHD-addled genrefuck. Where it makes its mark is in how well these jagged stylistic leaps coalesce. The opening “Thunnk”’s clingy static boom is a palate-setter, easing the listener onto Various’ peculiar soundstage... [stylus]

soundz : : maskesmachine

2006-08-23T11:59:00.000+02:00

maskesmachine - voor mij zedde gij schoon.mp3
*album: plaktang (LOWLANDS RECORDS, 2004)

The music of Maskesmachine is folky, with a high input of humor and cuteness. [www.maskesmachine.be]
They operate in a totally different dreamworld, where snippets and inspiration from varying sunsets are scrambled into a fresh cocktail of hipshaking tunes. [lowlands]

folktronica : : leafcutter john

2006-08-21T12:07:00.000+02:00

leafcutter john - seba.mp3
*album: the forest and the sea (staubgold, 06/2006)

"Whereas other artists operating under the folktronica guise often tip too far towards acoustic traditionalism, the Leafcutter matches his bard-like couplets with perfectly married sample matter, stretching his captured sounds into gently distorted shapes." [BBC Collective - Martin Longley]

The Sky is Darker Than the Road.zip
An album of 13 songs compiled for a friend in 1999. 'The Sky is Darker Than the Road' was recorded simply on a 4 track cassette recorder between 1998 and 1999. It is totally free to download and comes with the original artwork.

soundz : : new sparklehorse album

2006-08-16T15:57:00.000+02:00

sparklehorse - morning hollow.mp3
album: Dreamt For Lightyears In The Belly Of A Mountain (capitol, 25/09/06)

Although it is Sparklehorse's first studio album in five years, approximately 25 minutes of the 55 minute long record have been previously released in some form. "Ghost in the Sky" and "Shade and Honey" appeared in slightly different form on the soundtrack of the film Laurel Canyon. "Morning Hollow" was previously released as a b-side around the year 2001. The track "Dreamt for Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain" was originally released in 2001 under the title "Maxine" on the LP version of It's a Wonderful Life. [wikipedia]

soundz : : moondog

2006-08-09T12:36:00.000+02:00

moondog - remember.mp3
moondog - i love you.mp3
moondog - nero's expedition.mp3
*album: moondog compilation (label: colombia, 1969)

... this collection of orchestral treatments of his compositions may be his most appealing work. Dozens of string and wind instruments were enlisted to expound upon the composer's circular themes (which are sometimes canons). The results were tracks that were both dramatic and melodic, building in impact and tension... [allmusic]

iggy pop - repo man

2006-08-04T13:35:00.000+02:00

iggy pop - repo man.mp3
*album: repo man (MCA original soundtrack, 1984)

Repo Man is packed with more incongruous sight gags than anyone can absorb in one viewing; keep your eyes peeled for the air fresheners, the generic newspaper box, and the watches without hands. [allmovie]

coverz : : the flying burrito brothers / the afghan whigs

2006-08-03T11:24:00.000+02:00

The Flying Burrito Brothers - Dark End of the Street.mp3
*album: The Gilded Palace of Sin (Edsel, 1969)

The Afghan Whigs - Dark End of the Street.mp3
*album: What Jail is Like EP (Elektra / Asylum, 1994)

j-postrock : : toe

2006-07-10T14:37:00.000+02:00

toe - tremolo+delay.mp3

*album: the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety
Label: Catune (10/2005)
...a set of melancholy-tinged post-rock melodies. The drums are splendidly drummed and the album cover — haunted by a solemn-looking deer, sans antlers — is my favorite of the year. (From Japan.) .. [neumu]

...of sinking ships : : instrumental grandeur

2006-07-04T13:55:00.000+02:00

Of Sinking Ships - The Last Signal.mp3
Of Sinking Ships - The Circumstances.mp3
file under: post rock

Drawing comparisons to Tristeza, The Mercury Program, or Tortoise would be easy... but the fact that one person wrote & performed all of the music (guitars, bass & drums) on this record, makes it phenomenal. Grab your headphones, close your eyes, and allow ...Of Sinking Ships to whisk you away into uncharted waters of sonic majesty. [gilead media]

roommate : : songs the animals taught us

2006-06-29T13:03:00.000+02:00

roommate - typhoon.mp3
*album: songs the animals taught us (released via plug research, 04/2006)

The album’s centerpiece, “Typhoon,” is perhaps most representative of the album’s themes. Pictures are painted of celebrity tabloids and Biblical apocalypse, of history-makers burning the facts to print their own truth, of people crying in flooded lands. These images are juxtaposed with stark renderings of love, both spiritual and romantic. The closing lines seem to sum up the crux of Roommate’s dilemma: “How much luxury would it take to kill me/ and how much of your breath would it take to fill me/ and how much love will save me?” [plug research]

other available mp3's:
roommate - tuesday.mp3
roommate - hot commods.mp3
roommate - fresh boys.mp3
roommate - rp (forget the metaphors).mp3
roommate - rp (forget the metaphors) live.mp3

videos et al: http://www.kentlambert.org/new.htm

soundz : : new Giardini di Mirò EP

2006-06-27T14:16:00.000+02:00

giardini di mirò - othello.mp3
*album: North Atlantic Treaty of Love EP (pt.2)

With a straight 4/4 kickdrum, a grooving synth bass and guitarist Jukka Reverberi singing for the first time, “Othello” sounds quite different than anything from their previous releases. But although this song introduces a lot of new elements to the shimmering sound cosmos of Giardini di Mirò, the underlying guitar harmonies are unmistakable. [2ndrec]

CD and 12″ are now available from mailorder.

more mp3s from giardini di mirò:
When You Were A Postcard
Pearl Harbor
Dancemania
Little Victories (Dntel Remix)

soundz : : augie march

2006-06-26T11:38:00.000+02:00

augie march - the cold acre.mp3
*album: moo, you bloody choir (release via sony/bmg, 2006)

In confining themselves to familiar pop forms, and even limiting the actual notes they are using, they create music so beautiful and bursting with emotion that, after hearing it just a few times, it’s impossible to ignore. [popmatters]
notes: The album was variously produced by Australian studio legend Paul McKercher, Eric Drew Feldman (PJ Harvey/Captain Beefheart) and by Augie March. It was mixed by Mark Howard (Bob Dylan's Out Of Time).

visionz : : great smog video

2006-06-23T11:33:00.000+02:00

Featuring the very lovely Chloe Sevigny in the lead role and Smog’s very own Bill Callahan supporting, the video for ‘I Feel Like the Mother of the World’ is an absolute triumph, not only does the visual style meld perfectly with Callahan’s unique sense of humour and songwriting, but it flows like a movie. [boomkat]

bonnie "prince" billy - god's small song

2006-06-22T11:07:00.000+02:00

bonnie "prince" billy - god's small song.m4a
*album: cursed sleep ep (release drag city, 2006)

[thetripwire] The third and last track, "God's Small Song," sounds like a late night trek through dark woods. It's quiet with sporadic spurts of energy that seem to peak in beautifully unexpected moments.

[pitchfork] Here, dissonant guitar whines float Oldham's signature mewl, threading together into some kind of heavenly mess, all echo and apprehension: if there was a soundtrack for dying, "God's Small Song" would be its standout, somehow just spare and iridescent enough to effectively tug any lingering spirit from your cooling bones.

morr postrock : : couch

2006-06-15T11:15:00.000+02:00

couch - blinde zeichen.mp3
*album: figure 5 (released via morr music, 06/06)

[morr] With Jazz they share the confidence in pure sounds. With Postrock they share the epoch.

foto: gerald von foris

Stuart A. Staples : : Leaving Songs

2006-06-14T17:04:00.000+02:00

stuart a. staples - dance with an old man.mp3
*album: leaving songs (release via Beggars Banquet, 06/06)

[popmatters] Stuart Staples infuses his melancholic singer-songwriterly compositions with tasteful dashes of country pathos and vintage R&B heartache. More than a side project, Leaving Songs is a very strong album that perfectly complements his body of work with Tindersticks.

Watch the video for "That Leaving Feeling"

new wave soundz : : lowlife

2006-06-08T14:44:00.000+02:00

lowlife - a sullen sky.mp3
*album: diminuendo (released via LTM, 1987)

Diminuendo captures Lowlife at their peak, dismissing the inevitable Cocteau Twins and gothic rock comparisons and crafting an album of real distinction. With the inclusion of some of their best singles, and the strong Swirl It Swings ep, 1987 was definitely the year when Lowlife really should have reached beyond their cult following" (Leonard's Lair, 04/2006)
It's rather poppy, straight-forward New Wave that perfectly reflects the sounds of other great bands of that time (Chameleons, The Cure, Echo). [soundslike]

sunny soundz : : lily allen

2006-06-07T15:56:00.000+02:00

Lily Allen - LDN.mp3
*album: Alright, Still (release in july via regal/parlophone)

Lily Allen - Mixtape 02.mp3

[pitchfork]: Lily's debut single "LDN" is breezy, lilting summertime pop, a horn-tinged tribute to London-- loving without being fawning, charming without being all winks and nods.

myspace to see the LDN video

coverz : : big star * thirteen

2006-06-06T14:43:00.000+02:00

magnapop - thirteen.mp3
*album: magnapop (released via play it again sam)

big star - thirteen.mp3
*album: #1 record (released via ardent)

It is the perfect melancholy ballad, a song for which the loop/repeat buttons on CD players were made. [amg]

wilco has done an amazing cover of this song, you may find it here or here (also posted the elliott smith cover)

soundz : : logh

2006-06-02T10:30:00.000+02:00

logh - the passage.mp3
logh - yellow lights mean slow down not speed up.mp3
*album: Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings (Bad Taste, 2002)

Logh is truly a band rich in texture and ambience. The group's seemingly endless list of comparisons ranges anywhere from Joe Christmas to Codeine. The music here covers the spectrum of twangy guitar, lightly brushed snares, and hushed vocals that can only be described as an ambient atmospheric display that must have been the soundtrack to God making the sunrise. [AMG]

soundz : : the black heart procession

2006-05-29T16:17:00.000+02:00

the black heart procession - your church is red.mp3
*album: 2 (released via southern records)

the black heart procession - not just words.mp3
*album: the spell (released via touch and go)

The Spell is the most fitting name yet for a Black Heart Procession record. True, One and Two and Three have economy on their side, and Amore del Tropico nodded toward the intrigue within. But The Spell nails it. Spells are cast over a person, a love affair, a nation, a world; they enchant and entrap, disorient and delude. They are the heart of this record, both the webs they spin and the snap that occurs when they’re broken. And there is no better word to describe the spooky intoxication of The Black Heart Procession’s sound. [touch and go records]

coverz : : big star * big black car

2006-05-24T15:30:00.000+02:00

big star - big black car.mp3
*album: third/sisters lovers - label: rykodisc

Nothing can hurt me
Nothing can touch me
Why should I care
Driving's a gas
It ain't gonna last

walkabouts - big black car.mp3
*album: death valley days - label: glitterhouse

Death Valley Days is a fragmentary collection reining in scattered tracks drawn from demos, B-sides, unreleased albums, compilations and tribute records, along with a few covers... [amg]

addictive soundz : : midlake

2006-05-19T13:25:00.000+02:00

midlake - head home.mp3
midlake - roscoe.mp3
*album: the trials of van occupanther (release via bella union, 06/06)

Although they never sound anything but contemporary, Midlake’s second album takes many of its musical cues from the 70s: Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, America, CSN and Joni Mitchell. Lyrically, one of the central themes of the record is that of retreat and the desire to remove oneself from the modern world. The Trials Of Van Occupanther will be out on June 5th on the Bella Union label. [V2]

wixel : : introspective electronica

2006-05-18T14:34:00.000+02:00

tracks of melancholic acoustic guitars and warm electronics - a very personal and introspective record that might remind you of bands like the notwist, the remote viewer, xela, album leaf, de portables...

wixel - a december goodbye.mp3
wixel - distraction.mp3
wixel - your home i smy last resort.mp3
*album: heart

jerboa : : listen up for that sound

2006-05-17T15:58:00.000+02:00

jerboa - white windows.m4a
*album: music for my instruments (released via jerb records)

Jerboa was born rocking 24 years ago in that strangest of countries called Belgium. He was five when he signed up at a local academy to study the basics of music, and eleven when he bought his first instrument, a bass guitar. A few years of practicing and some time with a rock band later, Jerboa was living and breathing music. And he didn't want to play just one instrument: he wanted to "play them all". Not an easy call... The album offers over an hour's worth of Jerboa's unique blend of haunting melodies, expressionist beats and boundless composition. First single off 'Music For My Instruments' was the twisted pop song 'White Windows' [jerbmusic]

photo by n. meersschaert

sway violently to tigarah

2006-05-16T13:17:00.000+02:00

tigarah - girl fight.zip

lively, trendy & exciting - find plenty of remixes here

soundz : : matmos

2006-05-15T13:50:00.000+02:00

matmos - solo buttons for joe meek.mp3
matmos - roses & teeth for ludwig wittgenstein.mp3
*album: The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of The Beast (released via matador, 05/06)

Matmos have often heard the criticism that behind all the ideas and experiments that they rarely show any real ability in conveying emotion. Anyone who claims that hasn’t listened to a song like “Solo Buttons for Joe Meek,” which ends with a dark and ill alleyway piece of orchestral finality, summing up Meek’s suicidal end. Even without knowing of Meek’s tragic decision, the notes carry enough weight to signal that something isn’t right. [stylusmagazine]

soundz hauntingly : : shearwater

2006-05-12T14:29:00.000+02:00

shearwater - nobody.mp3
*album: palo santo (released via misra records, 09/05/06)

[misra]: Far from a standard-issue indie-rock mumbler, Meiburg is as ambitious a vocalist as Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) and as captivating as Devendra Banhart or Neil Hannon (of Divine Comedy). His voice, both delicately expressive and emotionally opaque, leaps with grace, even with the most startling gaps in these often deliberately schizophrenic songs, surging forward into your ear only to retreat into an echo-soaked canyon.

offering wonderful shearwater songs: chromewaves, said the gramophone, MySpace

coverz : : human fly

2006-05-11T11:14:00.000+02:00

the cramps - human fly.mp3
*album: gravest hits (released via illegal, 1979)

nouvelle vague - human fly.mp3
*album: bande a part (release via justin time records, 27/06/06)

soundz : : deux d'arriba

2006-05-09T12:36:00.000+02:00

herbert - the movers & the shakers.mp3
* album: scales (released via !K7, 30/05/2006)

"the master of low-key groove-oriented soul/funk/house/whatevs..." [the phoenix.com]

spinto band- oh mandy.mp3
*album: nice & nicely done (released via Bar None Records, 10/05)

"The Spinto Band is a seven-member group with a catchy pop sensibility but with the not-so-poppy ability to rock the F out." [Metro NY]

soundz : : barbara morgenstern

2006-05-08T13:53:00.000+02:00

Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass Is Always Greener.mp3
Barbara Morgenstern - The Operator.mp3 (lunapark6.com)
*album: the grass is always greener (released via monika, 02/05/06)

[monika] : Ms. Morgenstern combines the charisma of her voice with subtle melodic inspiration, fully displaying a bold, well-earned maturity. Her unmistakable voice and warm piano style make for a unique sound that is the perfection of minimal elegance.

coverz : : zita swoon does morphine

2006-05-05T13:56:00.000+02:00

zita swoon - the night.mp3
*recorded live acoustic in Antwerp, Hopper Café by VOX

soundz : : morphine

2006-05-05T10:21:00.000+02:00

morphine - the night.mp3
*album: the night (released via dreamworks, 2000)

[amg]: The Night shows that Morphine was just entering a new phase of their career, and it's a shame that Mark Sandman is no longer with us to follow through on this promising new direction.

soundz : : kimono

2006-05-04T11:00:00.000+02:00

kimono - aftermath.mp3
kimono - sonar.mp3
*album: arctic death ship (released via smekkleysa)

think of: can / television / polvo / fugazi / joy division / my bloody valentine / radiohead / low / blonde redhead / modest mouse / sonic youth / deus [http://www.myspace.com/kimono]

soundz : : deux d'arriba

2006-05-02T15:06:00.000+02:00

tom verlaine - the earth is in the sky.mp3
*album: songs and other things (released via thrill jockey, 06)

[popmatters]: ... Songs and Other Things is Verlaine’s first album as a singer-songwriter since 1990, but he hasn’t lost a step. If anything, this is fiercer and tougher and more ambitious than The Wonder... Every song has a new OMG-did-he-just-PLAY-that moment, which is what we have come to expect from the master...

brakes - all night disco party.mp3
*album: give blood (released via rough trade, 07/05)

[rough trade]: 'all night disco party' is the catchiest dancefloor anthem since 'take me out' and it gets re-released with fresh dancefloor mixes. the limited 7" features mixes from graham sutton and matthew herbert.

extra! extra!
brakes - all night disco party (matthew herbert remix).mp3

soundz : : apparat organ quartet

2006-04-28T11:18:00.000+02:00

apparat organ quartet - stereo rock & roll.mp3
*album: apparat organ quartet (benelux release via skelt)
The album originally appeared in Iceland in 2002, but has been unavailable outside Iceland til now. It will also be released in Japan in the next few months by P-Vine.

www.johannjohannsson.com states: "Apparat Organ Quartet is a 5 piece band: 4 organists and 1 drummer. They sometimes describe their music as “Machine Rock and Roll" but the standard definition of their sound is “Organ Quartet Music", a completely new genre. They have been compared to such different acts as Kraftwerk, Wagner, Goblin, Terry Reilly, Steve Reich, Sigur Rós, the Glitter Band, Stereolab and Trans Am. Their sound has been described as quite unique and their concerts frequently inspire high praise: "Apparat Organ Quartet has grown into a phenomenal force, playing soul-stirringly portentous mechanical music, equal parts progressive rock and horror film soundtrack, reminiscent of older acts like Kraftwerk and Goblin... as innovative and meticulous as Sigur Rós but who sound nothing like it." Neil Strauss The New York Times"

Scott Walker's The Drift Microsite Online

2006-04-27T16:53:00.000+02:00

scott walker - a lover loves.mp3
*album: the drift (release via 4AD, 08/05/06)

4AD announced today that: 4AD has launched a microsite which aims to introduce listeners to the unique world of Scott Walker's new album. The site features - amongst other things - all the lyrics from the record, an essay and Scott Walker timeline written by Ian Penman, portaits of Scott, and the video for "Jesse" which was created by Graham Wood of Tomato.

microsite * pre-order * 5-star review in the observer

coverz : : paris, texas

2006-04-27T12:25:00.000+02:00

gotan project - paris, texas.mp3
*album: lunático (released via universal, 04/06)

ry cooder - paris, texas.mp3
*album: paris, texas (soundtrack) (released via warner, '89)

soundz : : beirut (believe the hype)

2006-04-26T15:39:00.000+02:00

beirut - postcards from italy.mp3
beirut - mount wrocla (idle days).mp3

"While it may sound like an entire Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, Beirut's first album, Gulag Orkestar, is largely the work of one 19-year-old Albuquerque native, Zach Condon, with assistance by Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw). Horns, violins, cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!) all build and break the melodies under Condon's deep-voiced crooner vocals, swaying to the Eastern European beats like a drunken 12-member ensemble that has fallen in love with The Magnetic Fields, Talking Heads and Neutral Milk Hotel" [beirutband]

buy it from Ba Da Bing!

soundz : : deux d'arriba

2006-04-26T13:07:00.000+02:00

grandaddy - elevate myself.mp3
*album: just like the fambly cat (release viaV2, 05/06)

ellen alien & apparat - way out.mp3
*album: orchestra of bubbles (released via bpitchcontrol, 04/06)

soundz : : isan

2006-04-25T15:31:00.000+02:00

isan - lent et douloureux.mp3
*album: trois gymnopedies (7" released via morr music, 06)

The latest in Morr Music's occasional 'A Number Of Small Things' series, 'Trois Gymnopedies' takes Satie's original 1888 compositions, then bathes them in a warm and sudsy bath of digital milk - resulting in a sleight but thoroughly satisfying slice of vinyl. Opening with the most recognisable of Satie's triptych ('Lent Et Douloureux'), Isan avoid any accusations of 'furniture music' (the composers own description for his later work) by pepping the undulating backdrop with a pin-point melody so ear-catching, you've been seduced to the run-out groove before even noticing. [boomkat]

soundz : : pills

2006-04-20T15:01:00.000+02:00

winterpills - pills for sara.mp3
*album: winterpills (released via signature sounds, 11/05)
"Winterpills make seamlessness look easy… they get the balance just right, creating a landscape of muted colors and slow-building hooks…. Sadness never sounded more sublime." [Junkmedia.org]

fink - pills in my pocket.mp3
*album: biscuits for breakfast (released via ninja tune, 2006)
"... There’s an understated charm about the album which recalls Seventies predecessors such as John Martyn and J J Cale: while Fink’s not in the same virtuoso class as a guitarist, there’s a steady, calm centre to his work that echoes their sultry, laidback manner." [belfast telegraph]

soundz : : the band

2006-04-19T15:58:00.000+02:00

the band - whispering pines.mp3
*album: the band (release via capitol, '69)

amg: One of the Band's most beautiful songs, if not the most gorgeous, "Whispering Pines" is a heartbreaking ballad, a testament to the loss of a true love and the loss of direction that accompanies her absence. It opens with, "If you find me in a gloom, or catch me in a dream/Inside my lonely room, there is no in between." Aside from the obvious lyrical reference, the song is reminiscent of some of Brian Wilson's moodier moments on Pet Sounds and the aborted Smile sessions. "Whispering Pines" is mostly a piano ballad, with Manuel's delicate playing and bruised and vulnerable lead vocal leading the Band through the piece toward the song's center: an emotional call-and-response verse with drummer/vocalist Levon Helm. The song was released on the Band's second album, simply titled The Band, a record where the collaboration between the members was at its peak performance. "Whispering Pines" is an example of the whole group working well together; in addition to the aforementioned vocal work, Garth Hudson provides a textured organ, Helm plays tasteful drum and percussion parts, Rick Danko fits in a thoughtful bass part, and Robbie Robertson lays in and out on a classical guitar, playing mostly fingerpicked embellishments. The lyrics -- a collaboration between Manuel and Robertson -- are filled with images of haze, darkness, emptiness, a lonely sounding fog horn, the waves crashing in the sea, and, looming over it all, the shadow of the pines, so prevalent in the Band's adopted home of Woodstock, NY, and their home country of Canada. Surely the Band, being students of roots music, were aware of the Howard Hausey-penned Johnny Horton country oldie "Whispering Pines," if not just subconsciously, perhaps making an outright allusion to it. The Horton song is also about losing one's way and loneliness after the loss of a lover. Somehow, the narrator of the Band's song manages to find a glimmer of hope: "If only one star shines, that's enough to get inside." Covers of "Whispering Pines" include a pedal steel version by Joe Goldmark, a tender acoustic reading by Damon & Naomi, and a fairly faithful but heartfelt interpretation by Kelly Hogan with help from a longtime fan of the Band, the Mekons' Jon Langford.

soundz : : deux d'arriba (bang)

2006-04-18T14:53:00.000+02:00

absentee - something to bang.mp3
*album: shmotime (released via memphis industries, 05/06)

"fabulous songs, streaked through with dark humour and drunken warmth...perhaps the best of the new London hopefuls" [Record Collector]

dirty pretty things - bang bang you're dead.mp3
*album: waterloo to anywhere (release via mercury records, 24/04/06)

"it is the debut album from former Libertine, Carl Barat's band Dirty Pretty Things. The album has been produced by Dave Sardy and Tony Doogan" [wikipedia]

soundz : : j.j. cale

2006-04-13T13:19:00.000+02:00

j.j. cale - the problem.mp3
*album: to tulsa and back (released via sanctuary records, 2004)

... his stinging Stratocaster lead lines, spare and razor taut -- especially when ringed with distortion -- are plentiful, as are his tight-knit song constructions. [allmusic.com]
... a warm, rhythmic, relaxed record that preserves the down-home flavor that’s come to define Cale’s sound. [© sanctuary records]