Aushua, Foxes, Owls, Kooks

Aushua - "Stained Glass Blues". My younger brother is in town for a visit (and some SXSW festivities) right now and so of course we ended up talking about the new bands we're into. He dropped the name of an Orange County outfit called Aushua on me and they are honestly my new faves. Classic mid-tempo anthemic sounds, which can get admittedly trite these days, but done very well here. Some nice touches of The Verve. Check out their Myspace page for some great songs.

Fleet Foxes - "Oliver James" & "White Winter Hymnal". Miss early My Morning Jacket and first album Band of Horses? Of course you do. This guy's voice is UNREAL it's so good. That end of "Oliver James" is amazing.

Grand Archives - "Torn Blue Foam Couch". And, following on in that vein, here are Grand Archives (with some apparent tie to Band of Horses that I can't be bothered to research). Class tune in that same genre.

Cut Off Your Hands - "Closed Eyes". Now for a little noise. I wrote about these guys last summer and they just keep cranking out the hits. These guys and Tokyo Police Club keep me so happy.

Lykke Li - "Little Bit". If you don't know this one already, you really need to get out more. This is the seductive jam for Spring. And this Swede is definitely more than a one-hit wonder. The album is good. Investigate.

Mezzanine Owls - "Snow Globe". I wrote about these guys a year ago to the day (odd). Fortunately they are coming back to SXSW and I hope to sort them in (who knows this year...). This song is another bit of pure genius, second only to "Lightbulb".

The Kooks - "Always Where I Need To Be". I've loved these guys since that first note years ago. Somewhat over-the-top pop, but homeboy can sing and write a tune. This one didn't fully catch me at first, but now it's stuck up in me brain.

See you after SXSW... In the meantime (and if you are lucky enough to be reading this while the tune is still available), do yourself a huge favor and check out "When I Go" by Slow Club. As charming as they come...

Glasvegas: Single #3

The mighty Glasvegas dropped single number three yesterday (on Valentine's Day, ah), a big studio version of the lovely "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" backed with "Be My Baby" (of course...). This post is a not-so-subtle nudge for you to find your way over here, buy the single and support the undisputed 'best band in the world' (i.m.h.o.).

To whet your appetite for this classic, listen to the 'Home Tapes Demo' version here (plus other demo tracks here) and download the demo of "Geraldine" below.

Glasvegas - "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry / Be My Baby" (purchase here)
Glasvegas - "Geraldine" (Home Tapes Demo)

Website | Myspace

Leftfield: Mute Irregulars And Their Kin

I'll be the first to admit that the tunes I typically post here favor my overly melodic pop tendencies. Well, today, we're going to flip to the b-side.

There are some fairly good 'art/noise/experimental/post-post-post punk' (I never know what to call it) bands coming out of the UK right now, many of whom are being adeptly harnessed under the new Mute Irregulars label. Here's a preview of this amazing new outfit along with some of their like-minded cohorts. Go buy these great singles.

XX Teens - "How To Reduce The Chances Of Being A Terror Victim (BBC Live)" (purchase). This lot have been kicking around for a few years and recently changed their moniker from the Xerox Teens to simply XX Teens (makes you feel creepy when you Google it). This song is a live BBC version of their latest single, showcasing the narrative vocals over rhythmic back-beat and usually solid bass guitar (very early Fall) style that typifies this new 'scene'. I highly recommend picking up last single "Darlin'".

Spider And The Flies - "Spider And The Flies" (purchase). This is the brainchild and side project of the immensely talented Spider Webb of The Horrors, known club promoter and all around genius. Love the drums.

Cristine - "Cross The Line" (purchase). This is just one of those big tunes that you would love to hear while walking into a club.

The Broken Hearts - "Blanco" (purchase). These girls don't really fit here very well at all except for their inclusion on Mute Irregulars. This is a tune that is the aural equivalent of their dainty flapper look. Great song.

The Bleeps - "Dull Thud" (purchase). The Bleeps lean back into familiar early post-punk territory with this masterfully rhythmic track. Dig that perfect bass-line.

These New Puritans - "Elvis" (purchase). Our cover stars (up top) here and an outfit that have been around since the early days of this new 'explosion'. A new LP is out now on Angular where you will also find the similarly styled Navvy (and if you like them, check out Electricity In Our Homes, both being very Pere Ubu / Fire Engines-esque).

Rip it up and start again, indeed.

A Baker's Dozen : Volume 11

Another set that should have been posted a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy.

01. The Cribs - "Don't You Want To Be Relevant?" (buy). Seriously, this is what their B-sides sound like?!?!? It's amazing. I love the way this one kicks right in and even though I don't quite get these lyrics, I do love the "your onstage antics out in Leeds were tailor-made to suit men's needs". Three albums deep and they still have it. That's rare.

02. Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong - "Sleazy Hughes" (buy). New British press darlings here and fortunately they have the tunes to back it up. Check out new single "Lonely Buoy", last single "Lurio Starts Fires", and the Smiths-esque "I Ain't Sure". Band name of the year as well. Fortunately, they are coming through SXSW.

03. Elle S'appelle - "Little Flame" (buy). Quirky and catchy. A nice Moshi Moshi addition here.

04. The Duke Spirit - "Lassoo" (buy). "I talk to no one, oh you're invisible...". Dirty rock'n'roll at its finest. The Duke Spirit is back with their grimy souls in tow. Again, SXSW on deck!

05. Brazos - "Mary Jo" (buy). A local Austin outfit here named for a river in Texas. "Mary Jo" has been swimming through my head for months. Reminds me of classic moments from the likes of Beat Radio. Just a plain good song.

06. Plans and Apologies - "Meetoo" (buy). I don't know where I picked this one up, but it's a great slick indiepop melody that I'm always a sucker for. Well written.

07. Let's Wrestle - "I Won't Lie To You" (buy). These guys have PAVEMENT written all over them. The kind of kids that sport bedheads without the product. It just sounds so amateur and yet brilliantly catchy. "No matter how many records I buy, I can't fill this void, and no matter how I try and calm down, I can't help but feel annoyed".

08. Slow Club - "Me And You" (buy). Remember The Research from a couple years back? Same vibe here and I love it. A good melody will always have a room in my house.

09. The Wombats - "School Uniform" (buy). So, the "official" debut album is finally out and although it doesn't have a ton of new tunes, it's still brilliant. I'll even go as far as to say that these guys trump The Cribs for me, and that's a high honor. It's Glasvegas and The Wombats for me. "I remember short skirts, long hair, my hormones flying everywhere...".

10. Hatcham Social - "Til The Dawn" (buy). Listen to that voice at the start. I haven't heard that falsetto since the first Smiths album. And the rest of this sounds like it was recorded around 1985 as well, delving into the darker side of the "Young Sound of Scotland" with the likes of Josef K and The Fire Engines. I'm excited to see where things lead this lot.

11. The Moldy Peaches - "Anyone Else Isn't You" (buy). Like most, I had no clue about this song until I saw the hilarious movie "Juno" (if you haven't seen it, pack up your things and go right now). Another perfect example of two chords and a great melody getting the job done.

12. Tegan And Sara - "Soil, Soil" (buy). I took my niece to see Tegan & Sara play Stubbs here in Austin a couple of months ago and it was an amazing show. I love their tunes and harmonies. Charming performers as well.

13. The Real Tuesday Weld - "It's A Wonderful Li(f)e" (buy). "And all we ever need to do is to see the world the way dreamers do, and I'd say 'Never say die' and you'd say 'It's a wonderful life', but you know that's a wonderful lie". Optimism, faith, hope, disappointment, etc. It's all a big swirl sometimes, but I'll take my place in the "Wonderful Life" line. Cause it is.

Good Good Times Ahead

Another year comes to a close and unless you were living under a rock, 2007 was a great one for music. Maybe the tunes are actually getting better lately or maybe they're just easier to get at (I sometimes wonder how many great bands were lost during the pre-Internet era).

There are so many bands to be excited about right now, most of which are coming out of the UK courtesy of forebearers like The Arctic Monkeys and The Cribs and now spilling into a new generation of punk/C86 mashers like The Wombats, Los Compesinos, Frightened Rabbit, Tokyo Police Club (I know, they're from Canada; hey, it's a commonwealth), and a few of the ones presented below. And, then there is Glasvegas. Enough said.

The Answering Machine - "Lightbulbs" (buy). "Just shut up, it's not like that; she retracts like a brick wall, but I'm her cracks."

Johnny Foreigner - "The End And Everything After" (buy). Man, this new generation of drummers just gets it. Snare rolls all over the place. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Look See Proof - "Casualty" (buy). Hear any Blink 182 in there? Of course you do. This is a great amalgam of the Atticus boys, emo, and the new school C86/punk sound. So catchy.

Rooney - "When Did Your Heart Go Missing" (buy). OK, change of pace here. Less noise, more classic pop hook. This LA band may be a bit too pretty, but every album they put out comes with at least one monster gem like this that gets stuck in my skull for days. What a hook.

Danny Malone - "Baby Bleu" (buy). The past three weeks have been an insane emotional ride. Without explanation, suffice it to say that I could write novels on sadness, hope, and 'love's easy tears' right now. Being a parent is the greatest and most heart-wrenching thing ever. When your kid isn't feeling right, you aren't feeling right. I sat in my favorite NYC deli last week and ate about 1/4 of my food. I've never been so consumed. "Wishing all day that I could clear my head, yeah wishing all day that I could clear my head, clear my head full of thoughts of you, oh you're all I think about 'baby bleu'".

Merry Christmas.