The Cropper!

New Digs

2009-03-23T12:28:00.001-04:00

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We Landed On The Moon!

2008-12-09T17:06:00.002-05:00

Download: We Landed On The Moon! -- "Re: Your Letter"

We Landed on the Moon! brings you their second LP, These Little Wars, an album featuring beautiful and intimate female vocals, whirling synthesizers stacked on interlocking guitars, and danceable rhythms. In the vein of Velocity Girl or The Lemonheads, These Little Wars is a fresh take on 90's influenced rock.

Tour Dates!

12.8.08 - Tin Roof - Charleston, SC
12.9.08 - Reservoir - Chapel Hill, NC
12.10.08 - Dahlak - Washington D.C.
12.11.08 - Kenny's Castaways - New York, NY
12.12.08 - The Radio Bean - Burlington, VT
12.13.08 - Billy Baloney's - Danbury, CT
12.14.08 - Southpaw - Brooklyn, NY
12.16.08 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario
12.17.08 - The Smiling Moose - Pittsburgh, PA
12.18.08 - Hi-Fi - Cleveland, OH
12.19.08 - Cowboy Monkey - Champaign, IL
01.3.09 - Atmosphere - Lafayette, LA
01.23.09 - The Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA

The Theater Fire

2008-11-25T17:30:00.002-05:00

Download: The Theater Fire -- "Swashbuckler Blues"

Download: The Theater Fire -- "Uncle Wayne"

The Theater Fire, a seven-piece, roots-influenced, indie-pop band from Texas draws on influences ranging from Bob Willis and George Jones to Will Oldham and Lambchop. The two singer songwriters, Don Feagin and Curtis Heath, have a fondness for the old and the new. Their songs, combined with the creative talents of the rest of the band, are like a trip through the annals of music that is neither novelty nor derivative. Their most recent LP Matter and Light is fantastic and available for purchase from the store at the band's website.

Jacob Jiles

2008-11-24T16:05:00.005-05:00

Download: Jacob Giles -- "Fate"

Download: Jacob Giles -- "She's Okay "

If Bill Withers were to pick up and perform from the Iron and Wine song book, the results would tread remarkably close to Jacob Jiles debut, Goodbye Songs. Jiles' songs focus closely on the blink-and-you-miss-it intricacies of life that most of us can't ever clearly pinpoint, but also can never get out of our head. The record is out now on iTunes via Shark Meat Records.

Proud Simon

2008-11-21T13:18:00.003-05:00

Download: Proud Simon -- "Tar Washed Ashore"

Download: Proud Simon -- "Union Chains "

Proud Simon's newest record is an ambitious two-act whirlwind of cinematic Americana-tinged indie rock. The two sides of the record tell the story of a single summer's night, the first a testament to workaday hope, anticipation, and revelry, and the second a descent into the darkness, where good intentions find endless obsessions and temptations endure.

The Rockwells

2008-11-19T17:22:00.003-05:00

Download: The Rockwells -- "Microkorg"

Download: The Rockwells -- "The Quarterback"

Hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, The Rockwells is made up of two sets of of brothers: Fred and Jonathan Kelly, and Tommy and Trace Bateman. Place & Time was recorded entirely by The Rockwells in both Knoxville and Memphis, Tennessee. More than half a dozen locations were used, including various houses, a cabin, and local rock club The Pilot Light. Place & Time is releasing on Migrate Records on December 2, 2008!

Arliss Parker

2008-11-17T14:02:00.004-05:00

Download: Arliss Parker -- "Taken To Antrim"

Arliss Parker evolved as the solo project of Chris Parker in 2006. Chris moved from Colorado to New York in the fall of '06 with an arsenal of musical ideas. He converted an abandoned dark room into a recording studio and started adding all kinds of sounds to his acoustic guitar compositions. Toy keyboards, glockenspiels, random percussive instruments and electronic tones found their way into the mix and Arliss Parker was born. Keep your eyes peeled for Handsome Like A Lion, which will be available via DAG! Records.

Chop Chop

2008-11-11T17:30:00.002-05:00

Download: Chop Chop -- "C Train David"

Download: Chop Chop -- "Northern Armies"

Los Angeles group Chop Chop release their latest album, Screens, today via Archenemy Records. These songs combine pop, rock, and electronica, with influences ranging from the 1930s to the Bee Gees to Run DMC. Quaintly analog instruments like the French horn, keymonica, and toy Zylophone have been tossed into the mix alongside cranky, craggy digital synthesizers and electric guitars, comparing the unintentional quirks of live sound and the consciously manipulated quirks of digital midi sound.

Tour Dates:
11.12.08 - Eugene, OR - Sam Bond's
11.13.08 - Seattle, WA - High Dive
11.14.08 - Olympia, WA - Le Voyeur
11.15.08 - Portland, OR - Tonic
11.17.08 - Oakland, CA - Mama Buzz

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo

2008-11-07T14:59:00.003-05:00

Download: Brent Amaker and the Rodeo -- "When Love Gets To A Man"

Download: Brent Amaker and the Rodeo -- "Girls Are Good For Lots Of Things"
The intercontinental cowboys in Brent Amaker and the Rodeo are on a
mission to spread their brand of country music to the world, and
they're getting around. Dressed in black from hat to boots, the men
of the Rodeo have been racking up the miles in 2007 and 2008, playing
club and festival dates, and making radio appearances across the US
and Canada, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Great Britain. The Rodeo's
latest record, Howdy Do!, is hitting the streets on November 18th!

Live Rodeo Action:
11.07.08 - Portland, OR @ Slabtown
11.08.08 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
11.11.08 - Long Beach, CA @ Pike Restaurant & Bar
11.12.08 - Las Vegas, NV @ DIVE BAR
11.13.08 - Albuquerque, NM @ Atomic Cantina
11.14.08 - Wichita Falls, Texas @ The Iron Horse Pub
11.15.08 - KAOS Radio appearance in Austin, TX / Smooth & Demented
11.15.08 - Austin, TX @ Headhunters Club
11.16.08 - San Antonio - "Sunday Sounds" backyard BBQ show
11.17.08 - Fayetteville, AR @ May Apple
11.18.08 - Oklahoma City, OK Radio 100.5FM Ferris O’Brien.
11.18.08 - Oklahoma City, OK @ hi-Lo Club
11.20.08 - Denver, CO @ Benders Tavern
11.21.08 - Durango, CO @ The Summit
11.22.08 - Flagstaff, AZ @ Monte Vista Hotel
11.24.08 - Santa Cruz @ The Crepe Place
11.25.08 - Bend, OR @ the Annex (above Midtown Music Hall)
12.13.08 - Seattle, WA @ Sunset TavernBrent Amaker and the Rodeo Christmas Party
01.09.09 - Snoqualmie, WA @ The Summit Ski Area

Dancer Vs. Politician

2008-11-04T16:59:00.005-05:00

Download: Dancer Vs. Politician -- "Mach Dich Los"

Download: Dancer Vs. Politician -- "Justin Fairborn"

Dancer Vs. Politician is the musical project of German native Sanni Baumgaertner. She moved to Athens, Georgia in the late 90s, where she started performing in different bands around the Southeast. She plays accordion, guitar, and musical saw. Her lyrics are in German and English. Idolator says, "A City Half-Lost is airy and delicate—a chiming glockenspiel here, a gentle push from an accordion there—-and Baumgaertner's half-English, half-German vocals transform words from both languages into giant, down-filled pillows, even when they're filled with the harshest consonants and glottals. Besides, the tagline on the band's MySpace page is "We love violas," and how can you disagree with that sentiment?"

Catch Dancer Vs Politician on tour:

11-06-08 - Greenville, SC @ The Bohemian
11-07-08 - Charlotte, NC @ The Evening Muse
11-08-08 - Richmond, VA @ The Camel
11-09-08 - Philadelphia, PA @ The M Room
11-10-08 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
11-12-08 - New York, NY @ Piano's
11-13-08 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
11-14-08 - Washington DC @ Electric Maid

Beaten By Them

2008-10-30T12:58:00.002-04:00

Download: Beaten By Them -- "The Asiatic Capital Vista"

Multinational band, Beaten By Them will release their latest album, Signs Of Life, this November 11th on Logic Pole via Thrill Jockey. When Andrew Harris and Max McCormick decided to move from San Francisco back to their home country of Australia at the end of 2006, it seemed they were sounding the death knell for Beaten by Them, the fledgling band they had spawned just a year earlier. But before long the two guitarists were hatching plans to perform with their old band mates: cellist Boima Tucker, drummer Ulf Bjorkbom and bassist Lee Matheson. By mid-2007 Beaten by Them were on the road, making their first tour of the US West Coast. The dynamic, cinematic songs of, Signs of Life, represent the fruits of the band's labors.

Stream Signs of Life at Thrill Jockey

Absentee

2008-10-28T17:26:00.005-04:00

Download: Absentee -- "Bitchstealer"

Download: Absentee -- "They Do It These Days"

London-based Absentee returns with its new album, Victory Shorts, available in the United States of America on ol' election day, November 4th, 2008. The record sees release on Memphis Industries (current or former home to The Go! Team, The Pipettes, The Ruby Suns, and more). Tackling themes of premature marriage proposals, adultery, lost property, love, and broken crockery:

"Victory Shorts is an assured, confident, and quite often brilliant album by a band that is clearly influenced by the past but never falls prey to easy nostalgia." Tim Sendra - All Music Guide

Also, check out Blurt's debut of the video for "Boy, Did She Teach You Nothing" here.

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea

2008-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Download: Matthew and the Arrogant Sea -- "Pretty Purple Top Hat"

Download: Matthew and the Arrogant Sea -- "Mock Origami"

Nova Posta Vinyl, the new record label formed by Bella Union recording artists Eric Pulido (of Midlake) and Robert Gomez, is pleased to announce its first release, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Family Family Family Meets The Magic Christian, available October 28th, 2008. This 14-song odyssey is filled with melodious gems that evoke the experimental natures of The Flaming Lips and Animal Collective perched upon harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys and Fleet Foxes. Matthew and the Arrogant Sea's Family Family Family Meets The Magic Christian is sure to make great waves this year and for many to come. Check them out live at the following:

Oct 25, 2008 - 3:00PM In Store @ Good Records - Dallas, Texas
Oct 25, 2008 - Dan’s Silverleaf - Denton, Texas
Oct 26, 2008 - Emos - Austin, Texas
Oct 30, 2008 - Fort Worth, Texas
Nov 02, 2008 - Spaceland - Los Angeles, California
Nov 04, 2008 - Kimo’s - San Fransisco, California
Nov 06, 2008 - The Empyrean - Spokane, Washington
Nov 07, 2008 - Chop Suey - Seattle, Washington
Nov 09, 2008 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 10, 2008 - Meadowlark - Denver, Colorado
Dec 20, 2008 - Dans Silverleaf - Denton, Texas

Ruby Isle on HaveYouHeard.net

2008-10-21T14:04:00.002-04:00

Check out the Ruby Isle... performance on HaveYouHeard.

Have You Heard Session (kind of): Ruby Isle from HaveYouHeard on Vimeo.

Simon Bookish

2008-10-20T13:50:00.000-04:00

Download: Simon Bookish -- "Dumb Terminal"

Download: Simon Bookish -- "Synchrotron"

An unpredictable and dramatic “big band song cycle about science and information”, Everything/ Everything, the 3rd album from Simon Bookish and his first worldwide release on Tomlab, represents a new departure for London-based composer Leo Chadburn. Though previous Simon Bookish releases have been informed by the sounds of digital synthesizers, Everything/Everything does away with them entirely to focus on live instruments.

Listing Ship

2008-10-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

Download: Listing Ship -- "Depression"

Download: Listing Ship -- "Voice of the Future"

Listing Ship invites you to explore A Hull Full Of Oil and Bone, their self-released, nautically-inspired, fourth full length album. This reinterpretation of the classic country song and folk ballad adds violins, violas, 10 string guitars, banjos, the vibraphone, and 3 part harmonies to craft songs of war, government corruption and love so moving even whale hunting seems relevant.

Founders Lyman Chaffee and Heather Lockie (known a decade ago as Leather Hyman) recruited Shawn Lockie, Julie Carpenter, Laura Steenberge, Michael Whitmore, and Kyle C. Kyle to collectively share the stage and tour Italy earlier this year. They have played with Low, Pedro the Lion, Lou Barlow, Imaad Wasif, DOS (Mike Watt, Kira Roessler) and Carla Bozulich (Geraldine Fibbers), and cite influences as diverse as Johnny Cash, the “presence of sun” and Abba for this record.

Ruby Isle

2008-10-09T14:42:00.004-04:00

Download: Ruby Isle -- "Hey Hey Hey (That Kids Okay)"

Exhibit #1: Ruby Dan Geller, Kindercore Records' CEO and founder of electro tag team, I am the World Trade Center, is one of America's few breakdancing DJs with a masters degree in Biological Engineering.

Exhibit #2: Ruby Aaron Lemay's spy themed punk outfit, "International Espionage" has been busted up by the cops at house shows and basement concerts from Redding, CA to Brooklyn, NYC.

Exhibit #3: Ruby Mark Mallman's 70s and 80s arena rock post-mortemism has earned him a silver star on the side of the biggest nightclub in Minneapolis, a world record, over 20 US tours, and a permanent hangover.

Ruby Isle stole their name from a 79 cent movie theater Mark and Dan used to frequent in their childhood home of Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was here where the two played a game of Chess, once a day for 90 days, and Mallman lost every time. After High school, they moved 1200 miles apart from each other.

Recorded in the basement of a church, then emailed to Geller's studio in Athens, GA for bass, beats and synths, Night Shot is a classic rock record dipped head first in a digital stew. The title track features guest vocals by internet "Chocolate Rain" pioneer, Tay Zonday. The LP also features a duet version of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" with IATWTC's Amy Dykes.

Liz Durrett

2008-10-09T14:37:00.002-04:00

Download: Liz Durrett -- "Wild As Them"

Outside Our Gates represents a sonic leap forward for Liz Durrett. With Eric Bachmann on board, Durrett’s once spare, acoustic downbeats have been supplanted by a more textured and diverse orchestra of sounds. A virtual cornucopia of instruments are here, including (but not limited to) tiny nylon-string guitars, backwards electric feedback loops, pizzicato violins, plucky cellos, upright bass, wurlitzers, accordions, grand space pianos and marching drums. Bachmann’s score harmonizes these elements seamlessly to provide the perfect setting for Durrett’s near dream-state writings and softly unsettling voice. Additional performances by Vic Chesnutt, Brian Causey (Man or Astro-man?), Amanda Kapousouz (Tin Cup Phrophette) and members of Ham1.

New release date for Michael Zapruder + Tour dates

2008-10-03T11:07:00.004-04:00

San Francisco-based Michael Zapruder will return with his new album, Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope, on its new release date of November 18th, 2008. The record will see release on Zapruder's new label home, Sidecho Records (home to Via Audio). Recorded with Scott Solter in two weeks of marathon day-and-night sessions, it's another beautiful record of sinuous melodies that straddles the line between classic songwriting and experimentalism.

Download: Michael Zapruder--"Ads for Feelings"

Tour Dates

10.02.08 - Montreal, Quebec - Pop Montreal - Balattou
10.14.08 - Bakersfield, CA - Sandrini's Bar
10.15.08 - St. George, UT - Electric Theater
10.16.08 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
10.17.08 - Lawrence, KS - 8th Street Taproom
10.19.08 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10.20.08 - Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe
10.21.08 - New York, NY - CMJ, SideCho Showcase - Crash Mansion *
10.24.08 - New York, NY - CMJ, Ace of Clubs
10.25.08 - Washington DC - Dahlak
10.26.08 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Coyote
10.28.08 - Peoria, IL - Gorman's Pub
10.29.08 - St. Louis, MO - Cicero's
10.30.08 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room ^
10.31.08 - Greeley, CO - Atlas Theater ^
11.01.08 - Colorado Springs, CO - Rocket Room ^
11.02.08 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf ^
11.03.08 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts ^
11.04.08 - Upland, CA - The Wire ^
11.05.08 - San Francisco, CA - CD RELEASE SHOW, Bottom Of The Hill ^
11.07.08 - Portland, OR - Roturre
11.09.08 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern ^

* with Via Audio and 1090 Club
^ with 1090 Club

Team Clermont Artists of the Week: Michael Knight & Soda Fountain Rag of Yesboyicecream Records

2008-09-16T17:35:00.008-04:00

Michael Knight is the musical universe of Irish pop contrarian Richard Murphy. I’m Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This is the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed but commercially ignored 2006 limited release debut Youth Is Wasted On The Young and continues his ongoing musical argument that Bach and Bacharach can make compelling bedfellows. A wryly-observed musical curio for the 21st Century, his latest LP, I’m Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This, is the only record you will hear this year that considers the 18th and 19th Centuries as valid as the 80s and 90s as sources for musical inspiration, with Mussorgsky & Beethoven alongside Magnetic Fields & The Monochrome Set.

Download: Michael Knight -- "Coronation Street"
Download: Michael Knight -- "When Will You Collect Your Boxes?"

Don't think 'twee', don't think 'emo' and never ever think 'tweemo'. Soda Fountain Rag is the true spirit of indiepop - uplifting, joyous music and sublimely subversive lyrics.

Soda Fountain Rag is 25 year-old subversive genius Ragnhild Hogstad Jordahl, a one-woman indie-pop phenomenon from Bergen in Norway. In 2007, Soda Fountain Rag released a number of sold-out DIY EPs in the US (Cloudberry Records) and Europe, introducing her unique take on 21st century pop. An anti-folk Nico fronting a garage Belle and Sebastian / YMCK hybrid, she established herself as the most compelling indie-pop heroine out there. As anyone who knows anything will know, this is the girl considered the most likely to get revenge in 2008. Her latest LP, It’s Rag Time, is releasing this Fall!

Download: Soda Fountain Rag -- "Angry Girl"
Download: Soda Fountain Rag -- " Don't Kill The Clowns"

Yesboyicecream Records

Don Chambers

2008-09-10T15:14:00.005-04:00

DOWNLOAD: Don Chambers + Goat -- "Highwater" (Feat. Patterson Hood)

Athens has a lot to brag about this fall, what with new releases by Dead Confederate, Liz Durrett, Ruby Isle, Dancer Vs. Politician and more. But the one that I would like to brag about today is the new Don Chambers + Goat album, Zebulon, out on WARM Electronic Recordings as of yesterday.

The actual recording process started in Berlin and then moved to Athens, where Patterson Hood of The Drive-By Truckers took the production over, and that kinship will continue as Don Chambers + Goat will head out on the road with The Drive-By Truckers, playing their first show together on 9/15 in Tuscaloosa. The tour will kick off this Friday at the Georgia Theater, right here in Athens.

Sep 12 - Georgia Theatre - Athens, GA
Sep 13 - Sky City - Augusta, GA
Sep 15 - BAMA Theatre - w/Drive-By Truckers - Tuscaloosa, AL
Sep 16 - The Bohemian - Greenville, SC
Sep 17 - Headliners - w/Drive-By Truckers - Columbia, SC
Sep 18 - Amos South - w/Drive-By Truckers - Charlotte, NC
Sep 19 - Norva - w/Drive-By Truckers - Norfolk, VA
Sep 27 - The Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA
Sep 29 - Varsity - w/Drive-By Truckers - Baton Rouge, LA
Sep 30 - Bottling Co. - w/Drive-By Truckers - Hattiesburg, MS
Oct 01 - The Lyric - w/Drive-By Truckers - Oxford, MS
Oct 02 - Mellow Mushroom - Tuscaloosa, AL
Oct 04 - The Rocket - Asheville, NC
Nov 15 - Zydeco - w/The Dexateens - Birmingham, AL

I am no real music critic, but the fine folks at Americana UK posted this lovely review Zebulon:

"If I asked you to name the most intense Americana acts, I’m fairly sure I’d hear mention of Johnny Dowd and 16 Horsepower - there’s usually an element of the Gothic about these performers, Southern Gothic that is, not kohl-eyed town centre mis-fits. Now add Don Chambers and Goat (a band rather than the close relative of the sheep) to the list. This is most definitely a Southern sound."

Read the rest of the review here.

PacificUV Tour Dates

2008-09-09T10:50:00.004-04:00

Portland, Oregon band PacificUV are heading out on a West coast tour this October in support of their latest release longplay 2, out on WARM Electronic Recordings.

10.11.08 - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah *^
10.13.08 - Sacramento, CA - Old Ironsides
10.14.08 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland =
10.16.08 - San Diego, CA - Beauty Bar *
10.17.08 - Tucson, AZ - Plush +
10.18.08 - Tempe, AZ - Phase 54 *#
10.19.08 - Albuquerque, NM - Atomic Cantina &
10.20.08 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
10.21.08 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Music Hall @
10.23.08 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge $
10.24.08 - Salt Lake City, UT - Slowtrain Record Store (In-store)
10.25.08 - Missoula, MT - Badlander

* with Dream Tiger
^ with The Junior Panthers
# with The Myrrors
$ with Good Housekeeping and Sonnenblume
@ with Ample Branches and Actors and Actresses
& with Oktober People
+ with Von Iva
= with Melodyguild, Languis and Peter Piek

Dead Confederate!

2008-09-08T18:20:00.003-04:00

I first saw Dead Confederate in early 2007, and I remember it being a blur of smoke and guitars. If you were to ask me to point out on of the members in public, I wouldn't have been able to. Since that point I've seen them play countless times, and they keep getting more and more amazing. In the past year they've played pretty much every festival in the northern hemisphere, opened for R.E.M. at SXSW, and recorded an new album with Spoon producer Mike McCarthy in Austin. On October 10th, they'll be playing on Conan O'Brien, at which point everyone in the country will have a chance to see their entirely unique Southern-fried combination of Sonic Youth, Band of Horses and Nirvana. The new album, Wrecking Ball, is due out on September 16th from The Artists Organization.

Check out the video for "The Rat", recorded during Dead Confederate's live performance at KEXP:

Goldcure's "Portuguese Prince" Streets Today!

2008-08-26T13:18:00.010-04:00

Goldcure, a rising band in the Austin music scene, known for their polished, soaring anthems and captivating emotional rock, release its debut LP, Portuguese Prince, today on Sorin Records! Comprised of members Adam Buhrman, Craig Haskell, Gavin Inverso and John Allison, the band delivers a unique and original sound, while displaying a reverence for inspirations ranging from Wilco, Travis, and the Verve, and at times tapping into the earnestness of bands like U2 and the Beach Boys, however different those two might be.

Download: Goldcure -- "Make It Stop"
Download: Goldcure -- "Too Long"

"Guitars with the beatific shimmer of newer Echo & the Bunnymen, but dusted with a slight twang, mixed with jerky vocals reminiscent of a medicated David Byrne (or a less-husky Britt Daniel)." -- Riverfront Times

"...uplifting brand of alternative pop/rock takes influence from the Verve, U2, and the accessible side of Radiohead." -- All Music Guide

Read their exclusive interview with Scatter O 'Light here!

PS - The Jonas Brothers suck a fat one. I would rather slide down a banister of razor blades into a pool of alcohol than listen to those talentless pansies. That is all.

Loxsly

2008-08-11T17:40:00.002-04:00

Download: Loxsly -- "Lamprey Eels"

Austin band Loxsly's self-assured EP reminds us of power pop stalwarts like Spoon and Beulah, particularly the latter. It's clean, shiny pop gems with great hooks and a been-doing-this-forever kind of confidence. And it sure is catchy.

Woven

2008-08-06T14:22:00.002-04:00

Download: Woven -- "She Blows My Amplifier"
Download: Woven -- "Prickly Pear"

A furious space-rock album of serpentine electronics and heavy atmospherics, Woven's new album, Designer Codes, marks a new chapter in the band's existence, as they head out into the new musical landscape an unsigned and independent band. It's heavy stuff, similar to the Notwist or Deerhunter, and it's a great achievement for a band that's shaking off major label involvement

Megafaun in the house!

2008-08-01T12:13:00.003-04:00

So the boys from Megafaun played an awesome set at Caledonia Lounge last night, they were the first to wake up and come down to pay us a visit at the office!

From left to right, that's Joe Westerlund, Brad Cook (with the gold record halo) and Phil Cook!

Brad also decided to do his best Benji Hughes impression. Not bad! I say that he could use a little more wind in his hair, though!

Thanks Megafaun, for coming down and getting Summer Camp off to an awesome start!

SUMMER CAMP BEGINS!

2008-07-31T11:49:00.005-04:00

So everyone's coming in from out of town! The first arrivals to the TC offices were so excited they couldn't stand!

From left to right, Liz Copeland (KSLU, St Louis), Caleb Shively (Fanatic), Christine Sanley (Pirate) and former Team Clermont intern Dan Yocum!

That blur holding the blurry ball is Matt Kiser, formerly of CMJ and now at Spin! We might try to get a better picture of him, but we make no promises!

Keep looking here to see all the peeps from across the land that make it to our offices during the Summer Camp weekend!

Dead Heart Bloom

2008-07-15T13:42:00.002-04:00

Download: Dead Heart Bloom -- "Our Last Martyr"

Similar to the National or perhaps the various work of Mark Kozelek, this is big, anthemic stuff that still falls on the downbeat side in terms of outlook and worldview. Rolling Stone says: Brainchild of singer/songwriter Boris Skalsky, DHB deliver giant-sized guitar noise topped with gianter-size religious cynicism." And that's why they make the big bucks over there! Haha. The first of three EPs on the way this year, he's giving it all away for free!

Team Clermont Summer Camp! July 31-Aug 2nd!

2008-07-14T18:07:00.002-04:00

Team Clermont, the Athens, GA-based PR firm, has announced the dates and lineup of its newest Summer Festival: Team Clermont Summer Camp! Summer Camp will be held from July 31-August 2nd around Athens, Georgia. This year’s event marks the 11th year of the company’s operation and features some of Team Clermont’s favorite musical acts as well as showcasing the various talents of TC Summer Campers through arts, crafts, karaoke, kickball, Four Square, Corn Hole, dancing, drinking, and more. Team Clermont Summer Camp offers an opportunity to tour the finer clubs and sights of beautiful, bucolic Athens, Georgia, where Team Clermont makes its home. And it all culminates in a night of sing-alongs featuring members of Elf Power, of Montreal, Elf Power, We Versus the Shark, Cinemechanica, Casper & the Cookies, Dark Meat, and more covering ESG, Mclusky, and Paul Mccartney and Wings songs! That's quite a diverse lineup of favorites. Add to that performances by So Many Dynamos, Megafaun, Mostly Bears, Benji Hughes, and more, and you're gonna want your parents to drop you off here right away!

Come to the camp where it's towel poppin' and panty raids 24 hours a day: Team Clermont Summer Camp!

Check out the Team Clermont Summer Camp Muxtape!

FESTIVITIES

Thursday - 07/31
"Camp Orientation” at Caledonia Lounge, Athens, GA

So Many Dynamos
Mostly Bears
Megafaun
Benji Hughes
(18+ , 256 W Clayton St)

Friday - 08/01
Music Director Scavenger Hunt - 12PM-2PM

“Talent Night” at Little Kings featuring...
Karaoke
Dance Party with DJs Cookies & Cream
Arts & Crafts
Four Square and Corn Hole tournaments
Face Painting Station

Saturday - 08/02
Koalas vs. Walruses Kickball Showdown - 10AM-2PM
(All ages, East Athens Community Park, 705 Sunset Drive)
w/ musical performance by Graham MacRae

"Campfire Sing-Along" concert at The 40 Watt Club
(18+ , 10PM - 285 W Washington St)

Tiny Sticks (ESG cover band featuring Josh McKay of Macha/Seaworthy, Bryan Poole, Heather Heyn formerly of Dark Meat, Aaron Wegelin formerly of Elf Power)

Hi Hi Hi (covering Paul McCartney & Wings, featuring Bryan Poole from of Montreal/Dark Meat/Elf Power/the Late BP Helium and Jason Nesmith of Casper & the Cookies)

F*ck This Band (Mclusky cover band featuring Jeff Tobias of We Versus The Shark, Dark Meat and Pegasuses-XL, Scott Smith of We Versus The Shark, Andy Pruett of Cinemechanica, and Brion Kennedy)

Meet the artists

St. Louis' So Many Dynamos recently finished recording their third album with Death Cab for Cutie member and big-time engineer Chris Walla. Known for their danceable post-punk and incendiary live shows, these touring machines always bring a good time with them. "Dudes looked ordinary and innocuous enough setting up, but once the lights went out, the St. Louis-based fourpiece let out the electricity in fits and jolts-- jittery, stop-start guitars, clipped shouts, hairpin rhythmic turns-- like so many, er, energy-producing machines." (Pitchfork Media)

Arizona's Mostly Bears are college radio darlings on the rise, spinning big-time anthems in the Arcade Fire or Radiohead vein, though those comparisons are a little too easy given the band's unique ability to weave its myriad influences into something unique. “Full of verve and with chops to burn” (Allmusic.com) and “Adventurous and never boring” (PopMatters).

From Stereogum: "On their debut Bury The Square, Raleigh-via-Eau Clair trio Megafaun neatly splice together different strands of sounds, whether it's tape manipulated hoedowns, mournful, slow-blooming banjo-and-white-noise-laced epics, or the rural barbershop doo wop of "Find Your Mark." Focusing on a wide palette of instrumentation, but always coming back to their soaring three-part harmonies, it's easy to see why Akron/Family contacted them out of the blue and asked them to support them on a six-week tour: Megafaun opens, then joins Akron plus excellent sound manipulator Greg Davis on-stage as a supergroup of sorts. When they're on their own as Megafaun, the group consists of brother Brad and Phil Cook, along with Joe Westerlund. All three played in DeYarmond Edison with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and Brad co-owns Burlytime Records, the label that put out Bowerbirds and Horseback last year."

Hidden behind flowing rusty hair and Shakespearean beard is Benji Hughes, a complex, and often funny, dreamer with a harmonious voice. The singer songwriter from North Carolina subtly infuses his music with flavors and colors, evoking the numerous feelings that love brings. From happiness to misery, Benji describes relationships with friends, women and life in general. New West Records will release Benji’s debut, 25 song, two album set, A Love Extreme on July 22nd.

Graham MacRae's debut record was released earlier this year to ecstatic reviews, like this one from Americana UK: "There is no denying that in his deft finger-picking style Californian Macrae has listened to huge amounts of John Fahey records and shares that visionary’s approach to song writing and resulting aural unease. It clearly has done the Eagle Rock native no harm at all as this self-titled debut album is a corker and a record that, like Fahey, rewards repeated listening. Production is sharp and measured and choice of material throughout is of the highest order. Lyrically Macrae has an edge, a certain weirdness and ‘out there’ perception that is both charming and easy on the senses – more a sixties sensitivity as opposed to seventies whimsy."

Previous Team Clermont Summer Festival performers have included Danger Mouse, Deerhunter, Bobby Conn, Calvin Johnson, Castanets, Phosphorescent, Summer Hymns, The Wrens, of Montreal, The Mountain Goats, Man Man, Dark Meat, Elf Power, John Vanderslice, Liz Durrett, De Novo Dahl, The Polyphonic Spree, Trans Am, John Roderick of the Long Winters, Songs: Ohia, Man…or Astroman?, Cinemechanica, Enon, Eleni Mandell, Pattern is Movement, Radar Bros., the Rosebuds, and many, many more.

Hotel /Travel Information

Days Inn: Athens - Located on Finley Street. Walkable to downtown and has a pool.
Best Western Athens - Located on Miledge Avenue and Broad Street. Walkable to downtown and has a pool.
Holiday Inn Express - Located on Broad Street in downtown Athens.

Travel from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport to Athens:
- AAA Airport Express - Shuttle between the Atlanta airport to the Holiday Inn in downtown Athens. Check website for schedule and reservations.
- Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport transportation listings can be found HERE.
- If we really like you and there are 2-3 people in your group, a Team Clermont employee might be able to pick you up. Probably not though.

Driving directions from...

North: I-85 South, take Exit 149 for US-441/GA-15 toward Homer/Commerce/Banks Crossing. Turn LEFT at US-441/GA-15. Go straight for about 22 miles. US-441 turns into Dr Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy. Turn RIGHT at North Avenue. Turn LEFT at Hull Street. Turn RIGHT onto Washington Street. The 40 Watt is on the corner of Washington and Pulaski Streets.

West: I-20 East toward Atlanta. Take exit 75 to merge onto I-75/I-85 North toward Chattanooga/Greenville. Travel on I-85 North for about 26 miles. Take a slight right onto GA-316 East/Athens/Lawrenceville. Continue traveling straight on GA-316, which eventually turns into Broad Street. Turn LEFT onto Pulaski Street. The 40 Watt is on the corner of Washington and Pulaski Streets.

East: If traveling from Northeast, take I-85 route as listed above in the North directions. If traveling from the Southeast, have fun with that.

South: No Floridians allowed. However if you are traveling from New Orleans or somewhere around there, take I-65 North towards Montgomery. Take Exit 171 and merge onto I-85 North towards Atlanta. Take a slight right onto GA-316 East/Athens/Lawrenceville. Continue traveling straight on GA-316, which eventually turns into Broad Street. Turn LEFT onto Pulaski Street. The 40 Watt is on the corner of Washington and Pulaski Streets.

Otherwise, we suggest using a lovely service called Google Maps.

Again With the Shovels!

2008-07-09T14:05:00.002-04:00

Taylor Hollingsworth

2008-06-27T15:14:00.003-04:00

Download: Taylor Hollingsworth -- "Damn Boy What's Wrong With You?"

Download: Taylor Hollingsworth -- "Shout It Out"

Download: Taylor Hollingsworth -- "Hard Headed Woman"

A sideman for Maria Taylor and Conor Oberst (he played guitar on Oberst's forthcoming Merge solo debut), Taylor recalls a Johnny Thunders-styled throwback or a Flat Duo Jets-esque shredder. Armed with an arsenal of guitar slinging and grisly, thought-provoking songwriting, this boy-faced wonder echoes the gritty gist of some of the South’s greatest musical traditions. It's a gritty, raw garage record that kills from start to finish.

Monotonix @ Go Bar

2008-06-27T12:38:00.003-04:00

Monotonix at Go Bar last night (6/26/08)

Messy business.

Rock Band!

2008-06-24T17:02:00.002-04:00

The Weeks

2008-06-23T17:44:00.002-04:00

Download: The Weeks -- "Buttons"

Download: The Weeks -- "Altar Girl"

The Weeks' debut album taps into Southern roots (and their parents' vinyl collection) for influences. Raised on a Deep Southern diet of the Marshall Tucker Band and the Allman Brothers, the Weeks proudly hail from the rich musical heritage of their home state, a pride that burns proudly through the taut rhythm section and soaring leads of "Mississippi Rain". Sonically akin to Southern neighbors the Kings of Leon and friends Colour Revolt, the Weeks are roaring out of the garage, and are ready to take the stage as a Southern juggernaut to be reckoned with.

Earlimart

2008-06-18T17:16:00.002-04:00

Download: Earlimart -- "Song For"

We are so pleased to bring you a new track from one of our favorite bands around here at Team Clermont: Earlimart. "Song For" is the first song off the duo's stunning new album, Hymn and Her. It's a driving melancholy pop song that manages to be both economical in arrangement and still lush, with pounding piano bass, serpentine cello, and insistent drums, all bolstered by terrific vocal performances. The whole record is fantastic, another achievement in the evolution and maturation of this thoughtful pop band.

2008-06-17T17:41:00.002-04:00

Download: The Boy Bathing -- "The Beaches Meet The Sea" http://teamclermont.com/mp3/theboybathing_thebeachesmeetthesea.mp3

Download: The Boy Bathing -- "A Fire" http://www.teamclermont.com/mp3/theboybathing_afire.mp3

Sometimes other people say stuff better than I can, so let's let them do the talking: Amplifier says of The Boy Bathing: “…lyrics may be The Boy Bathing's strongest suit. Whether whispered, cooed or snarled, Hurwitz's words delight with their disarming blend of unpredictability, insight and jubilant resignation. If The Boy Bathing's full-length debut is at times grandiose, it's the most self-effacing grandiosity you're likely to encounter this side of Sufjan Stevens.”

Jon Sonnenberg

2008-06-13T14:07:00.002-04:00

Download: Jon Sonnenberg -- "DOA"

Download: Jon Sonnenberg -- "The Door With 5000 Locks"

For more than a decade, Jon Sonnenberg (member of Travelogue and more) has charmed listeners with his ability to blend intricate sounds and textures with pleasant melodies. Whether creating sounds electronically, electrically, or acoustically, the layers and quality of Sonnenberg's work enables one's imagination to see beyond the confines of commercial music. His new album, Acoustic Selections, features reconfigured and rerecorded versions of his previous electronic "greatest hits." Some of the 27 instruments that Sonnenberg plays on his album he made himself. Check out these cool YouTube videos where Jon explains the process.

Never Gonna Let You Go

2008-06-12T18:10:00.002-04:00

We Versus The Shark

2008-06-11T18:49:00.002-04:00

Download: We Versus the Shark -- "Mr. Ego Death"

Download: We Versus the Shark -- "Hello Blood"

Recorded nearly live in two days, Dirty Versions is where We Versus the Shark ups the ante, bringing you the full force of the Shark's live show. Drawing from the likes of Mclusky and The Melvins for inspiration, Dirty Versions is a compact, immediate record that builds on the quartet’s post-Dischord sonic template. It's powerful, raw, dynamic, and more than a little weird, taking unexplained and irrational turns that always work. Dirty Versions was recorded in Athens by friend of The Shark Joel Hatstat (ex-Cinemechanica, Pegasuses-XL).

Dance My Pain Away

2008-06-03T17:59:00.002-04:00

William F. Gibbs

2008-06-02T17:59:00.002-04:00

Download: William F. Gibbs -- "Operate"

Download: William F. Gibbs -- "Darling, You Were Beautiful Once"
My Fellow Sophisticates is a haunting medley that's immediately immersive, whether it's "Brother John", the song of a devout priest whose only secret is disbelief, "Tomorrow Never Comes", an intelligent look at a culture willing to trade their souls for fame, or the dream-inspired "Oh Pollyana". Call it Americana, call it Alternative Folk or Rock and Roll. Ultimately, labels don't matter. William F. Gibbs writes music that reflects his memory, his imagination, his artistry. It as scattered, sprawling, and diverse as the Southern landscapes he calls home.

I Am A Scientist

2008-05-29T11:01:00.001-04:00

The Instruments

2008-05-28T16:42:00.002-04:00

Download: The Instruments -- "Ode To The Sea"

Download: The Instruments -- "Sounds Electric"

Led by Japancakes and Circulatory System (among others!) member Heather McIntosh, The Instruments' lush psych-folk album Dark Småland was created with the help of a number of fellow E6 alums. In other exciting news, Heather McIntosh has joined Gnarls Barkley (and played cello on their new record) as the touring bassist (with some cello).

The Broken Letters

2008-05-27T18:02:00.002-04:00

Download: The Broken Letters -- "Another Morning"

Download: The Broken Letters -- "Licht"

Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, The Broken Letters exist as the primary medium for the songwriting and vocal lyricism of David Hickox. With a crooked craft of melody and a penchant for dark and Biblical delivery, the Broken Letters create songs of love and death, birth and pain, of the moon and of a great fire. This is mournful, committed music from an exciting new duo, in the vein of early My Morning Jacket or Magnolia Electric Co.

Daniel Ahearn

2008-05-22T15:58:00.002-04:00

Download: Daniel Ahearn -- "Down For The Count"

Daniel Ahearn, of the electro-acoustic folk rock band Ill Lit, is releasing his solo EP, Pray For Me By Name, on Riparian Records. Late in 2007, Daniel was robbed; his electronics, boom box, keyboards, and pedals—all stolen. All the songs on his new EP were written to be songs that Daniel felt like he could play with just an acoustic guitar and his singing. These songs are about traffic, drugs, hookers, the gymnastics of relationships and a fascination with the West Coast. Every one of them is a love song.

Careless Whisper

2008-05-22T13:14:00.001-04:00

Mass Solo Revolt

2008-05-20T18:09:00.002-04:00

Download: Mass Solo Revolt -- "The Site..."

Download: Mass Solo Revolt -- "Hoka Blast"

Mass Solo Revolt's intelligent, clever songwriting butts up against tough hooks and ringing production. A strong, compact debut with roots in the mid-90s, Easy Mark, channels the sounds of Bob Pollard, The Grifters, and Superchunk. Mass Solo Revolt's guitarist/songwriter/producer Martin Brummeler, along with bassist Jim Frye, migrated to Athens, GA from Ypsilanti, Michigan where their previous bands, Data Cadet and Propeller, released records with the help of Fred Thomas' (Saturday Looks Good To Me) West West Side Records and Makoto Recordings, respectively.

Anthem In

2008-05-19T15:27:00.005-04:00

Download: Anthem In -- "Down"

Download: Anthem In -- "Hold On To Me"

Anthem In's fantastic self-titled debut overflows with sneaky rhythms and powerful melodies. It's a confident debut from these New York City transplants, filled with danceable indie-rock tunes that share a sense of layering and depth reminiscent of fellow travelers Rogue Wave, Death Cab for Cutie, or Pinback, while following its own path.

Unicycle Loves You

2008-05-16T18:13:00.004-04:00

Download: Unicycle Loves You -- "Highway Robbery"

Download: Unicycle Loves You -- "Hawaii"

Unicycle Loves You was formed in the Summer of 2006 in Chicago by Jim Carroll (vocals, guitar), Jon Pollock (guitar, vocals), and Nicole Vitale (bass, vocals); practicing a variety of songs Jim had previously recorded solo under the moniker Unicycle. Shortly thereafter, Adam Labrada (keys, harmonica) and J.T. Baker (drums) were added to the roster and the band played their first show in November 2006. A pop music chimera influenced by music from the 50s, the psychedelic 60s, and rock of the 80s, Chicagoan rising stars will release their self-titled debut album on Highwheel Records (Airiel, Dragged By Horses)!

Gregor Samsa

2008-05-15T15:22:00.003-04:00

Download: Gregor Samsa -- "Jeroen Van Aken"

In their third full-length album in seven years, Gregor Samsa takes a new approach to composition, both in process and instrumentation. The result is Rest; nine pieces composed over e-mail during the course of nine months by key members in New York, Chicago, Boston, DC and Richmond, VA. The album, being released by The Kora Records, was mastered by Mark Christensen at Engine Room Audio in NYC. This May they are touring Europe, partially with experimental Brooklyn band Kayo Dot.

05/16 - Milano, Italy @ Leoncavallo
05/17 - Italy @TBA
05/18 - Roma, Italy @ Traffic
05/19 - France @ TBA
05/20 - San Sebastian, Spain @ la Casa de Cultura de Okendo
05/21 - Spain @ TBA
05/22 - Barcelona, Spain, Be Cool
05/23 - Lyon, France @ La Marquise
05/24 - Bièvre, Belgium @ TBA
05/25 - Brugge, Germany @ Cactus
05/26 - Paris, France @ Mains d'Oeuvres *
05/27 - Amiens, France @ Le Grand Wazoo *
05/28 - Luzern, Switzerland @ Treibhaus *
05/29 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Elfer *
05/30 - Luxembourg @ D:qliq *
05/31 - Münster, Germany @ Gleis 22 *
06/01 - Duisburg, Germany @ Steinbruch *

* with Kayo Dot

The Lodger

2008-05-11T12:08:00.002-04:00

Download: The Lodger -- "The Good Old Days"

Resurgent indie-pop label Slumberland Records (Velocity Girl, The Swirlies, Hood, and many, many more) is bringing Leeds pop dynamos The Lodger's highly anticipated second album, Life Is Sweet, to American fans of ringing, catchy English pop. Drawing on influences like the Go-Betweens and Orange Juice, Life Is Sweet (driven by amazing first single "The Good Old Days") will see release this May.

Ghosty

2008-05-09T16:20:00.002-04:00

Download: Ghosty -- "Dumbo Wins Again"

Download: Ghosty -- "You Are A Big Screen"

Ghosty's new album Answers, harnesses the band's talents in a masterful display of avant-pop songcraft. Andrew Connor's mercurial song structures are brought to life by his vocal harmonies and guitar interplay with Jake Blanton, while David Wetzel's keyboard textures, Nolte's rich bass lines and Adams' complex counterpoints give the album a resounding depth. It's intelligent, slightly askew pop that compares favorably to Field Music or Rogue Wave in its unexpected complexity.

Stunt Rock

2008-05-09T15:16:00.000-04:00

I've Got A New Partner Riding With Me

2008-05-07T16:50:00.003-04:00

Pattern Is Movement - All Together

2008-05-06T11:23:00.003-04:00

Download: Pattern Is Movement -- "Right Away"

Download: Pattern Is Movement -- "Bird"

Today you can officially get your hands on what we here at Team Clermont think is one of the finest releases so far in 2008. Chris and Andrew of Pattern Is Movement have crafted a darn fine album, and we strongly encourage you to pick it up here. Also, PIM's got some East Coast dates with Helio Sequence on the horizon, do stop in and say hello.

Fri. May 16 @ Metro Gallery - with Wye Oak

Tues May 20 @ Black Cat, Washington DC - with Helio Sequence

Weds May 21 @ Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia - with Helio Sequence

-----and Ravens & Vultures -----"All Together" record release party!

Thur May 22 @ Great Scott, Allston, MA - with Helio Sequence and Pretty & Nice

Fri. May 23 @ Iron Horse, Northampton, MA - with Helio Sequence

Slaraffenland announce US tour with Efterklang! Plan to release EP...

2008-05-05T17:36:00.004-04:00

May 6 begins Slaraffenland's coast-to-coast North American tour with fellow Danes Efterklang. The tour features dates with Subtle, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and others - AND it will be the first place you can hear and get your hands on Slaraffenland’s new Sunshine EP. Made manifest by Hometapes for the month of May as a scrappy-but-still-exquisitely-packaged limited edition CDR pressing, it will soon put on its Sunday Best and find its way to stores, complete with the A-Ha cover you will be soon be listening to, uncontrollably, on repeat. More on the EP officially in the coming weeks, but for now, here is the track listing and an MP3...

Sunshine EPTrack List
Download: I'm a Machine
The Trick
Take on Me
Dust (Me as a Monster)
Paranoid Android

And here are the tour dates!

05.06 - Denver, CO @ Lorimer Lounge
05.07 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
05.09 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
05.10 - Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
05.11 - Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
05.12 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
05.13 - Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door
05.14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
05.15 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
05.16 - Tucscon, AZ @ Plush
05.17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Modified
05.19 - Denton, TX @ Hailey's
05.20 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk
05.22 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
05.23 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 505
05.24 - Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
05.26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Sanctuary
05.27 - Hamden, CT @ The Space
05.28 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
05.29 - Boston, MA @ TT The Bears
05.30 - Montreal, Quebec @ Zoobizarre
05.31 - Toronto, Ontario @ El Mocambo
06.02 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
06.03 - Kansas City, MI @ Record Bar

* with Efterklang

I Spy With My Little Eye...

2008-05-01T12:53:00.003-04:00

Sarandon

2008-04-30T15:01:00.003-04:00

Download: Sarandon -- "Mike's Dollar"

Download: Sarandon -- "Welcome"

Man, is it great to have Slumberland Records back around (not that they really went anywhere, but they were sorta dormant for a bit there in the public eye). I am really excited to be working with them as a fan of the jangle and twee and...what's this? KILL Twee Pop? Haha. The irony probably wasn't lost on Slumberland, nor was the insane post-pop that Sarandon cranks out here. It's jittery, it's spastic, it has mind-melting drums, and it's also catchy as all hell. This record is pretty damned unique, a real sleeper.

NAFTA, The Musical

2008-04-29T21:25:00.002-04:00

Lousy Robot

2008-04-28T17:53:00.003-04:00

Download: Lousy Robot -- "Welcome To All My Weird Awakening"

Download: Lousy Robot -- "It's Getting To Me"

Lousy Robot is a four-piece power pop/rock group from Albuquerque. Lousy Robot are well known for creating catchy, noisy songs aimed at the cynical but somehow resonating with the hopeful. Songs about the not-so-everyday lives we deal with everyday. Their second LP, Smile Like You Are Somewhere Else, is a great slab of killer hooks and sing-a-longs that recalls everything from the Replacements to the underrated Deathray Davies. These are pretty likeable jamz.

The Balustrade Ensemble

2008-04-15T11:11:00.002-04:00

Download: The Balustrade Ensemble -- "The Drowning Calm"

Download: The Balustrade Ensemble -- "Incarnadine"

The Balustrade Ensemble is like the aural background to a Victorian science fiction film, a group has developed their own musical style of some type of steampunk-ambient. Capsules, out on Dynamophone Records, is an otherworldy collection of adroitly-crafted pieces of rich acoustic guitar pickings, mellotron, orchestron, claviola, cello, piano, pedal steel, and voice. Delicate and sometimes spooky, Capsules is like the lost soundtrack to a Brothers Quay film, a collection of lovely, brittle compositions viewed through a hazy, antique looking-glass.

The group is made up of guitarist and composer Grant Miller (Mandible Chatter), arranger and engineer Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, Boxharp, John Vanderslice, Pattern is Movement), and vocals by Wendy Allen (Boxharp), assisted by select players (including Liam Singer and Matt Henry Cunitz) contributing to the blend of vintage keyboards, cello, piano, and pedal steel. The group's music embraces the textures and invention of the modern era in conjunction with a more formal –even at times, antiquarian– sensibility. Still, on the whole, it is more progressive than regressive, moving the listener forward toward new promises.

Moomaw

2008-04-13T11:45:00.002-04:00

Download: Moomaw -- "March"

Download: Moomaw -- "October"

This past year, Moomaw finished a project in which he wrote and recorded one song for every month he was twenty-six. Before the end of each month he published the song on his website along with an original piece of art and a journal entry of the lyrics. What has come of his year long project is his album, 26. Moomaw is a musical project of San Francisco-based artist Nathan Moomaw, who plays lo-fi, psychedelic, country folk in the vein of Damian Jurado, Iron & Wine, citing influences of Donovan, Leonard Cohen and The Byrds. He typically plays solo, using jangly loops to employ instruments like toy piano, hand percussion, musical saw, mountain dulcimer as well as ukuleles and guitar. Moomaw has had various folk and twee-pop collaborations including one called Meli, with Miwa Gemini.

Graham MacRae

2008-04-09T17:33:00.002-04:00

Download: Graham MacRae -- "Who Will You Be Talking To?"

Download: Graham MacRae -- "Voice and Guitar"

Influenced by everything from Jimmy Page to John Fahey (and a creeping fascination with the works of Eno and Robert Wyatt), Graham MacRae doesn't follow the traditional singer-songwriter tropes of strumming chords in favor of something more complex and less confining. Graham's album is one of contemplative arrangements and quiet emotionalism, with an undercurrent of unease that's darker and stranger than it seems at first blush. It was recorded by David Newton (formerly of the Mighty Lemon Drops) at his studio, Rollercoaster Recording in Burbank, CA. Lee Ladouceur of the Little Ones stopped by to play drums, glockenspiel, and keyboards. Renowned producer Scott Solter handled mixing duties.

My Favorite Things: Doctors & Dealers!

2008-04-08T18:13:00.005-04:00

Today's My Favorite Things come from Sparrow of Doctors & Dealers:

Parties
I don't know if I can call a party "a thing" but I do love it. But the parties look different for me now than they did a couple of years ago, then I'd start drinking at a bar, then walk from club to club, and for every new entry I did the music got louder, the drinks got cheaper, the people got younger and when the people looked so young that they could be my own kids I knew that it was time to leave. Leave to the afterparty that is. And then I'd walk home with the sun up and shining, a quick stop to buy a burger or something just as greasy, get home, fall asleep with my shoes on and with the burger in my pocket, wake up 10 hours later, asking myself "what the hell happened?" and then get ready for a new party. Nowadays I can't waste my days like that. I get older and must be more careful with my days. So I start partying early at home with some friends, and we start HARD. It's the whole race - beer, drinks, vodka-shots, wine to fill it up, then some quick shot-races. When it's time to leave for the club I'm so drunk that I can't even find my keys to get out of the apartment, so I crash on the couch, just like before, only now it's only 11pm! So I'll wake up in decent time the day after, I save money from cabs etc and I can wear the same outfit many parties in a row cause no one ever sees it.

Jeans
I'm a little jeans-crazy, I have more than 50 pair. I don't think I can live without my jeans. As a poor musician I work extra in a jeans-store, and that's like heaven for me. I think the first week I worked there I bought over 20 pair of the same kind of drainpipes jeans, in different colours though. It reached that point that I bought so much jeans that I almost had to pay to get to work instead of getting paid, then I had to slow dowm my endless shopping spree.

My little studio
When I started doing music I had nothing. No guitar, no piano, not even a simple keyboard. Cause I didn't know how to play any of it so what would be the point? I did have a bass, I had got it from an old boyfriend, but, as been said, I had no idea how to play it! But a friend of mine had a computer and a cheap synth, so thanks to him I could get started. But it sucks to rely on other people's stuff, so I bought a proper studio-computer, a book about how to set up your own studio, books about how to play all these damn instruments, some guitars (which I still don't know how to play properly so I leave that to other people), a fancy mic, all the percussions in the world, a little piano and so on and suddenly I had created heaven on earth! I can sit in my lil' studio for hours, it's like nothing exists outside of it. When/if I get more money I want to build different rooms for drums and vocals but this will do for now.

Energy drinks
Ok, it's not a secret that I have an addictive personality, and it's been both a struggle and a blessing. Some of my addictions I'll swap for something else (hopefully something healthier..) but there is something that I probaly never will quit - my energydrinks. I should be the spokesperson for Red Bull or something, cause I live on that shit. I can panic if I know that I don't have a single Red Bull at home, so I try to plan my purchases in advance so I never have to deal with one of the most horrible problem on earth - no Red Bull just when I wake up!! Oh sweet lord of mercy, just the thought of it... Ugh.

Spring
Well, I guess this is not "a thing" either, but what would I be without it?! Just a wet blanket I guess... Everyone is getting a little bit prettier, a little bit smarter, a little bit nicer and the days are getting a little bit lighter, a little bit longer, a little bit warmer. And life is getting a little bit better, a little bit more human, a little bit more reasonable. And the future gets brighter than ever.

Download: Doctors & Dealers--"Snow Child" MP3

Lemuria

2008-04-08T13:28:00.002-04:00

Download: Lemuria -- "Dog/Dogs"

Download: Lemuria -- "Pants"

Lemuria is guitarist/vocalist Sheena Ozzella, bassist Jason Draper, and drummer/vocalist Alex Kerns. The band formed in 2004 and, in true DIY fashion, self-released several EPs and 7”s over the past few years. In 2006, they released a split LP with Kind of Like Spitting, which was released on Art of the Underground, a record label/distro run by drummer Alex. They’ve also done a 5-week tour of Europe and generally tour around the States 4-5 months out of the year. This April they are doing a mini tour of Puerto Rico. Seriously…the band has been keeping busy.

Get Better consists of tight melodic punk songs, led by vocals provided from each member, though mostly from Sheena. Their sound has been compared to Superchunk, Discount, and Jawbreaker, while their list of influences includes the Lemonheads and Husker Du. Bust magazine reports that Get Better is "oh so satisfying" while Skyscraper predicts that "these D.I.Y. darlings will be on the tip of a lot of people's tongues in the coming year."

The Buffalo-based indie pop/punk trio Lemuria is releasing their first full length LP, Get Better, on Asian Man Records. What's more you can catch them on the road real soon:

Spring/Summer Tour

04/11 - Mayaguez, Puerto Rico @ Bunkers #
04/12 - Cataño, Puerto Rico @ SOS Burger &
04/13 - Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico @ Teatro Diplo %
04/26 - Athens, OH @ For Real Fest
05/02 - Cincinnati, OH @ Warner House
05/17 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place ^
05/22 - Carmi, IL @ The Punkhouse *
05/23 - Lansing, MI @ Macs *
05/24 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie's Rock Club *
05/26 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club *
05/27 - Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar *
05/28 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre *
05/29 - Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep *
05/30 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Venue's Club Sound *
06/01 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon *
06/03 - Sparks, NV @ The Vixen *
06/04 - Orangevale, CA @ Boardwalk *
06/05 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill *
06/07 - Los Angeles, CA @ Safari Sam's *
06/08 - Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar *
06/09 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
06/10 - Phoenix, AZ @ Brick House Theater *
06/11 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
06/12 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
06/13 - St Louis, MO @ Bluebird *
06/14 - Covington, KY @ Mad Hatter *
06/15 - Huntington, WV @ TBA *
06/17 - Nashville, TN @ The Muse *
06/19 - Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Laundro *
06/21 - Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Cafe Metropolis *

# with Anti Sociales, Gio y Los Policias
& with Diente Perro, Juventud Crasa, Un Final Fatal, Jenny Fatale & Los Degolladores
% with Los Nervios, Hay Silencio
^ with The Ergs!
* with The Queers, Bomb the Music Industry, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Kepi Ghoulie

Water Fai

2008-04-06T12:18:00.003-04:00

Download: Water Fai -- "Kaiyon"

Influenced by Mogwai, Styrofoam, and Electralane, Osaka, Japan natives Water Fai bring a feminine approach to the post-rock genre, so often dominated by male artists.

Founded in 2002, Water Fai, dynamically contrast intricate melodies and soft harmonies with violent guitar-noise and electronic effects. Members include Yuko Kureyama (guitar, vocals), Yumi Norimoto (guitar, vocals), Makkiko Toba (bass), Mayumi Ennaka (keys), and as of 2007, sole male member, Tadahiko Aono on drums.

Before the formation of Water Fai, members Yumi, Yuko, and Mayumi longed for form an all-girl band in the vein of Cibo Matto or OOIOO. They added Makiko into the mix and formed the band, not knowing how to play music. Makiko didn't even know how to play the bass. A few months later, they performed for the first time, playing five original songs that are included on Girls in the White Dream.

This Spring, Brooklyn-based White Shoe Records will re-release Water Fai's self released debut album, Girls In The While Dream, on April 18th. The songs were record between 2004-2006 and bring their own translation of the sentimentality captured best by the Album Leaf and Yo La Tengo.

pacificUV

2008-04-04T12:29:00.002-04:00

Download: pacificUV -- "Need"

Download: pacificUV -- "Tremolo"

pacificUV, former Athenians currently residing in Portland, have a new record out on Warm Electronic Recordings, succinctly titled longplay 2. Both songs available for download above are from the new record. Good stuff, eh?

Chatting With The Stars: Laura Jordan of the Billionaires!

2008-04-03T16:23:00.004-04:00

Laura Jordan is an actress. She is also in the phenomenal getting-drunk-obsessed pop band, The Billionaires. And she talked to me, which is more than most women are doing these days. Ahem. Anyway, I talked with her on the phone about all kinds of stuff for this interview, but I couldn't type fast enough to catch it all, so here is a redacted version in which we discuss the writer's strike, Canadian summer camp, and bird calls.

Did the writers strike affect you?

I went to Paris. Well, first, my manager told me to do this job even if it wasn't the wow project for me. I went to Vancouver and worked on a horror movie.
I came back right during the writers' strike I had an emotional time and took off to Paris for a month. We came back and started rehearsing big-time and booking shows.
I'm pretty laid back about my career--which maybe isn't a good thing. I'm not constantly, actively seeking out my next role and I wait around for good stuff, like indie stuff, and it doesn't always come along. Sometimes I'm waiting in vain, but at least I get to play music with my boys in the meantime.

What do you do live in the band?

Joe and I share keyboard duties and in the middle of "Eighties Movies" we switch out. People seem to like that.

How would describe your live show?

We've worked really hard to get it in shape. We have this really great clean-sounding album that we need to be able to perform. When we wrote these songs, we recorded them as we came up with the ideas, so these weren't the songs we'd been playing for a year. If Joe had a melody, we'd just hit record and do it. Or if we recorded something instrumentally, then someone took a verse or a chorus. What we've recently figured out is how to play these songs. The rest of the guys have been playing in bands for a long time, and I didn't really have the confidence to play the keyboards and sing, but they encouraged me and I'm getting better..

What's it like to be a band in LA?

Hold on, my neighbor's making bird calls to me, and he's 70 and he's really cute. I heard that song and he was poking his head through the bushes and making bird noises.

What do you think about birds?

I love birds. I've been thinking about birds a lot lately. Joe got shit on by a bird yesterday. Do you think that's going to bring him good luck? I think he thinks that. I live in this shack at Silverlake right now, and it's all overgrown, and it's like being in the wilderness and there are hummingbirds everywhere. My adorable older neighbor in his red hat making bird calls. There is a bird house up in a tree here and it's so hard to get to to put seeds in it. When I watch these little hummingbirds, I just want to be them, buzzing around there, not a care in the world.

Are you interested in other animals?

I like snakes. When I would go to summer camp, and the French Canadian girls were always mean to the English Canadian girls, but I wasn't afraid of snakes, so I had an advantage. I would put snakes in their sleeping bags and then sneak out. But pretty soon they started to put it together because I was the only one who would pick up snakes. The feeling of lying in my bunk, pretending to read, to watch them get in their sleeping bags with the snakes was amazing.

How cool is Planet Earth?

My best friend was on the Ellen show and they gave the whole audience the box set of that. Oh my God, I just watched hours and hours and hours of it. That shot of the shark jumping out of the water to grab the seal...it's elegant and beautiful, but it's also sad because he's eating it. I've been thinking about stuff like that lately.

Do you guys really like to get drunk as much as every song indicates?

[laughs] Yeah. Yes. Yes, we do.

---------------
Download: The Billionaires--"End of Summer Song"

Lo Fine

2008-04-03T11:57:00.003-04:00

Download: Lo Fine -- "Remotely Together"

Download: Lo Fine -- "#37"

On April 8, 2008, Lo Fine ,of Northhampton, MA, will release their newest LP Not For Us Two on Pigeon Records. Lo Fine creates expansive, beautifully literate songs that slip under one's skin with a welcome ease. Less is decidedly more, for this group, and the emotive resonance of the music speaks volumes.

Lach

2008-04-02T11:49:00.002-04:00

Download: Lach -- "Egg"

Download: Lach -- "I Want To Be With You"

In 1983, a club booker at Folk City, located in Greenwich Village, turned down Lach, a young singer songwriter. His reason? Lach’s style of folk was too punk. Lach then opened up his own club on the Lower East Side called the Fort; which hosted its first event the same week as the New York Folk Festival. His event was called the New York Antifolk Festival, which is still held annually, now at his new club, the Sidewalk Cafe.

Lach is credited with coining the phrase ‘Antifolk’, which has served as a launching pad for musicians like Beck, Michelle Shocked, the Moldy Peaches, and Regina Spektor. His music is influenced by his conflicting love of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, versus his love of The Jam, Sex Pistols, and the Clash. He has released four albums in twenty years, each one receiving rave reviews from everywhere from Billboard to Mojo to the NY Times.

The Calm Before, is available through Fortified Records and delivers classic Lach tunes influenced by his love of folk and punk. As always, Billy Ficca from Television handles the drum duties on the album.

The Billionaires video

2008-04-01T16:46:00.002-04:00

Oh, man. I haven't posted here in forever. So here is a Billionaires video for you:

Those are some serious harmonies. I like it.

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

Download: Doctors & Dealers -- "Snow Child" MP3

Download: Doctors & Dealers -- "Summertime Love" MP3

Swedish one-woman band, Doctors & Dealers, will release her first album, Confessions of a Drunken Mind, on her own Bluesong record label on April 22, 2008. Adhering to a DIY/Antifolk philosophy, Confessions...is an album of charming, witty, and perky homemade pop music that has garnered comparisons to Kimya Dawson, Regina Spektor, and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.

Formed in Stockholm in late Summer 2006, Doctors & Dealers is the result of songs sprung from suspended moments in airport bars, train-stations, smoky New York cafés and walks in the twilight. The face behind D&D, Sparrow, has crafted a bevy of retro-tinged tunes perfect for lazy days in the park, crazy nights in a bar, and the "blue" parts of the evening. Guided by simple, unpretentious melodies with signature handclapping, Casio keyboards, lots of finger-snapping, and sincere, quirky lyrics, the songs have already garnered significant attention in Sweden and France with international interest growing everyday. The album was entirely home-recorded and produced by Sparrow in the Swedish-indiepop tradition, but Sparrow is already in the studio (for the first time!) working on her next album. Sparrow plans on touring the US in 2008.

The LK In The ATL

2008-03-21T16:38:00.001-04:00

Team Clermont "what to use instead of oink" at least at SXSW

2008-02-19T11:34:00.006-05:00

... from our friends at team clermont:

That's right, I said it. Team Clermont.

...Like Soy milk for the New Santa,

we're "what to use instead of Oink".

I got nothin else, except make note

of the forthcoming

Team Clermont Under The Radar

Official SXSW College Party

coming March 13th to Austin, Texas. 12 noon.

- The only official day party we know of...

Bands include Noah and The Whale,

Shout Out Louds, Rogue Wave, Akron/Family,

Elf Power, The Helio Sequence, & Fleet Foxes.

Miwa Gemini

2008-02-18T17:25:00.002-05:00

Download: Miwa Gemini -- "Travelling Man"

Download: Miwa Gemini -- "Pieces"

This Is How I Found You, the new album by New Yorker Miwa Gemini, takes on the darkest affairs of the heart with a saccharine smile and haunting vocals you won't hear anywhere else. A multi-instrumentalist, Miwa incorporates guitar, banjo, mandolin and piano to drive powerful songs of loss and redemption: Think Nina Simone meets Sparklehorse meets Cat Power, and you're getting close. This Is How I Found You was released in 2007 in Canada on Addictive Records, and is seeing release on March 18, 2008 on Rock Park Records in the United States and Europe.

Crushed Stars

2008-01-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

Download: Crushed Stars -- "Spies"

Crushed Stars is placid, patient, pop sophistication. These songs are meticulously arranged and beautifully performed, falling in line with such artists as David Sylvian, Red House Painters, and even Burt Bacharach. This is hazy, starry late-night music that forgoes aggression and attack for uncommon beauty. Todd Gautreau, the man behind the music, is a powerful songwriter and one of the best dreampop craftsmen around.

The LK

2008-01-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

Download: The LK--"Private Life of a Cat"

Download: The LK--"Tandem Bikes"

What to say about Sweden's The LK? They are brilliant musicians and just as lovely human beings. The LK (The Love of Kevin, Colour, Chaos, and the Sound of K) is the collaboration between Lindefelt, abstract sound artist, and Fredrik, pop visionary and songwriter par excellence. Fusing musique concrete-style collages of sound with iconic pop arrangements, the typical LK song is both gradually mind-invading and comfortingly direct. Recorded with a minimum of equipment, VS. the Snow was built largely by glueing pieces of Lindefelt's abstract sounds, lyrics and voice to Fredrik's simple, beautiful melodies and chords. The Kora Records has really struck gold with this band. Check 'em out post-haste!

King of Prussia

2008-01-22T17:36:00.000-05:00

Download: King of Prussia -- "Misadventures of the Campaign Kids"

While a quick assessment of King of Prussia's debut might bring to mind the Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, or a more straight-ahead Flaming Lips, the band's deftly-designed, often misanthropic, lyrics--which speak of home as place, home as state, consumerism, summertime, etc.--place the band closer to the Steely Dans and Magnetic Fields of the world. The point here is that it's hard to categorize KoP, even if their erudite power pop is warmly familiar. They are definitely a fitting band to reboot the Kindercore label!

Zillionaire

2008-01-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

Download: Zillionaire -- "The Gardener"

Download: Zillionaire -- "No Contest"

Zillionaire's upcoming LP, The Street Lights Have Been Turned Down, is coming out on New Granada Records, the Tampa-based home to Candy Bars and Isobella, proving yet again that there's more going on in the Tampa Bay area than Morbid Angel. Not that there's anything wrong with Morbid Angel, mind you. Still, it's nice to hear a variety of sounds associated with a city as opposed to Tampa being exclusively thought of as metal, and DC conjuring up nothing but Dischord, etc. New Granada's stable is impressively diverse, and Zillionaire is indeed a step in a new direction for the label. Their debut, which harkens back to the halcyon indie rock days of Versus and Bedhead, will be out soon.

The group, formed in 2004 by Heath Dupras and Keith Ulrey, was originally envisioned as a guitar-and-drums duo, but the layered, dynamic nature of the material quickly revealed a need to bring others into the fold. With the addition of Michael Waksman (guitar, vocals) and Bryan Bates (bass), the now completed line-up set about making music on their own terms and at their own pace. Zillionaire indeed took their time (a year and a half to be exact). The songs above are a taste of the debut they set out to make.

Murder Mystery

2008-01-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

Download: Murder Mystery -- "Love Astronaut"

Download: Murder Mystery -- "Honey Come Home"

Murder Mystery is here to bring the feel-good pop. Their upcoming debut album, are you ready for the heartache cause here it comes, is a showcase of their unique talents: meticulously crafted melodies and harmonies, intertwining guitar arrangements, catchy basslines and danceable rock n' roll beats. It's a collection of unpretentious pop gems, so clear some space to dance.

Catch Murder Mystery on tour:

Tue Jan 15 - Pittsburgh - Garfield Artworks
Wed Jan 16 - Cleveland - Beachland Tavern
Thu Jan 17 - Detroit - Small's
Fri Jan 18 - Columbus - The Basement
Sat Jan 19 - Lexington, KY - The Dame
Mon Jan 21 - Athens - 40 Watt
Wed Jan 23 - St. Louis - 2 Cents Plain
Thu Jan 24 - Chicago - Schuba's WOXY event
Fri Jan 25 - Madison - The Annex
Sat Jan 26 - Minneapolis - Triple Rock Social Club
Wed Jan 30 - Vancouver - The Railway Club
Thu Jan 31 - Seattle - Skylark
Fri Feb 1 - Portland - Tonic Lounge
Sun Feb 3 - LA - The Scene

Pattern Is Movement/We Versus The Shark

2008-01-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

Download: Pattern Is Movement -- "Right Away"

Download: We Versus The Shark -- "Right Away" (Pattern Is Movement cover)

The stars appear to be aligning favorably for Philadelphia's Pattern Is Movement. Not only does the band have a killer new record, All Together, coming out later this spring, but they also just got done playing a New Year's Eve show at The Knitting Factory in NYC with The Dirty Projectors, which you can read about here. The song above "Right Away" is on PIM's upcoming full-length, but fortunately you don't have to wait 'til April to get your paws on it. Not only is it obviously available in digital format here, but you can also get it on a clear vinyl 7'' with the equally strong "Korea" right now. Here's that link.

As you can see, I've also reposted We Versus The Shark's cover of "Right Away" as well. This is part of a very cool project WVTS has taken on, cheekily titled Murmurmur, in which they will cover a different song that inspires the band each month throughout the year. Some of the songs will likely be relatively high-profile acts, but the Shark plans to give plenty of attention to a number of less widely known local groups as well. Either way, it should make for some interesting listens. WVTS is all sorts of talented and they've got omnivorous ears (can that happen?), so I'm really looking forward to hearing what else they dig up. You can read more about their cover project here.

My Teenage Stride video

2007-12-21T14:19:00.001-05:00

It's nice to have this visual/aural reminder of a super record that came out earlier in 2007. My Teenage Stride's video for "To Live and Die in the Airport Lounge" was directed by Nara Garber, and the song is from the album Ears Like Golden Bats. The British label Becalmed Records released the record earlier this year, and it's been in heavy rotation here at The Cropper ever since.

Wisely

2007-12-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

Download: Wisely -- "Through Any Window"
Download: Wisely -- "Cracked World View"

Wisely's been around for a while, but this album, his fourth, is the first one where he's felt like it's what he's really wanted to do. That's why it's self-titled. It's an album of evocative pop, as he calls it, drawing on influences like Elliott Smith, the earlier (better) Badly Drawn Boy, and the first two solo records of McCartney's. Wisely is also friends with Jenna Fischer AKA Pam Beesly from The Office, whose film Lollilove he scored. She returned the favor by appearing in the video for "Through Any Window", which you can watch below!

Meredith Bragg

2007-12-12T18:45:00.000-05:00

Download: Meredith Bragg -- "My Absent Will"

Download: Meredith Bragg -- "Twin Arrows"

Silver Sonya is DC artist Meredith Bragg's first solo record without his backing band, the Terminals. Late in 2006, Bragg met with Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Smart Went Crazy) and T.J. Lipple (Aloha) at their studio, Silver Sonya, to discuss his plan for a solo record. The trio worked together on his last record, The Departures EP, which forged a strong friendship as well as a strong producer/artist relationship. If anyone was willing to jump off the bridge Bragg was headed towards, he knew it would be them. The idea for the record consisted of two rules --

Rule #1: Only the sounds Meredith could get from his acoustic guitar or voice could be used.

Rule #2: Once recorded, there were no restrictions on how those sounds could be manipulated.

After recording the basic tracks, these sounds were pulled, filtered, shifted, butchered, looped, broken, and mended. While some songs changed little, others developed from the process, unfolding in excitingly unexpected ways. Out of this process came a record that is both expansive and intimate, fractured and yet whole.

The Dimes

2007-12-10T17:46:00.000-05:00

Download: The Dimes—“Jersey Kid”

Download: The Dimes—“Paul Kern Can’t Sleep”

Download: The Dimes—“New York 1930”

Download: The Dimes—“Catch Me Jumping”

Wildly melodic and inherently quirky, The Dimes’ sunny day indie-pop is born of the same Northwest, um, loins as The Decemberists, The Shins, Ben Gibbard, and even recent Austin to Portland transplants, Spoon. Known for unexpected outbreaks of foot stomping and hand clapping at their live shows, The Dimes boys’ first full-length looks to push them a couple rungs up the ladder, closer to likes of the aforementioned indie royalty – maybe sooner than anticipated. This album is really starting to turn heads with its hooky high-concept songs based on some Depression-era newspapers found in the basement of the lead singer's house.

The Yarrows

2007-12-07T17:48:00.000-05:00

Download: The Yarrows--"May"

Download: The Yarrows--"Diamond"

The Yarrows’ Plum comes at you with such subtlety and mastery of its own language that it's hard to believe that this album is a debut. Plum is a musical atmosphere as textured and psychological as the songs themselves, filled with full-blooded and naked emotionalism that never descends into melodrama. It’s a sublime record, one that trucks in the same territory mined by tindersticks and the National while sounding wholly unique. Really take your time with these. They're worth it.

Black Tie

2007-12-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

Download: Black Tie—“Wide Open”

Download: Black Tie—“The Haunting of Francisco De Goya”

A veteran of the Albuquerque scene, Roger Apodaca’s project Black Tie is an orchestrated, moody affair that brings to mind influences as disparate as Mogwai, the Constellation Records crew, Galaxie 500, and Mojave 3. This is patient, passionate music; it’s Americana without being country. We use the term Americana a lot to mean twangy, Ryan Adams-y sounding stuff, but this record is has an Americana to without much of that. It's from a guy who lives in the Southwest, in the expanse of New Mexico, and his music is informed by that. It's ambitious, open, far-reaching, beautiful, and lonely. Did I mention beautiful?

around the horn

2007-11-30T20:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the posting absence, I know you've been missing our updates. In lieu of bringing new content in this post, I'll go ahead and draw some attention to some press a few local bands have been picking up at other outlets

Pylon - Gyrate Plus - DFA Records - reviewed in Pitchfork

We Versus The Shark - "The Lament of Sue Richards" from EP of Bees EP - Hello Sir Records - reviewed in Paper Thin Walls

The Ginger Envelope - "Drift" from Edible Orchids - One Percent Press - reviewed in Forkcast

Nice to see some people outside of town turning their ears to what Athens has to offer.

Ginger Envelope

2007-11-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

Download: The Ginger Envelope—“Failsafe”

Download: The Ginger Envelope—“Dirty Penny”

Download: The Ginger Envelope—“Caretaker”

Every time I see Ginger Envelope I come away even more convinced that they are a great band. A few nights back at the 40 Watt, after playing their LP Edible Orchids in its entirety, the band played a second set of more recent material, which was equally strong. The songs above are from the aformentioned LP. Enjoy!

Castanet & Shiny Around The Edges.

2007-11-12T17:52:00.000-05:00

Michael Seman from Denton, TX based band Shiny Around The Edges sent over this video a few days ago, and I felt compelled to post it here on The Cropper. The song, which is performed by Ray Raposa of Castanets, and Shiny Around The Edges (with Jennifer Seman on vocals), and is a cover of Willie Nelson's "I Just Can't Let You Say Goodbye":

DJ Donna Summer "Eating Crow"

2007-11-08T18:46:00.000-05:00

Download: DJ Donna Summer -- "Eating Crow"

Got an email from the hyper-prolific, and just plain hyper, DJ Donna Summer yesterday. In his own words:

"Here's an especially cheesy B'more track that I think SHOULD make people go nuts at your party!...There's no release for this one, let it spread like the flu! "

Have at it.

Miss Fairchild

2007-11-01T17:05:00.000-04:00

Download: Miss Fairchild—“Number One”

Download: Miss Fairchild—“Vanilla Place”

Here are a few tunes off the new album from the insane blue-eyed funk/R&B band, Miss Fairchild, Ooh La La Sha Sha. These guys are 100% committed to what they are doing. This isn't just some suburban white kids play-acting at being an 80s funk band. Lucas showed the record to someone and they said, "I bet this band isn't funky. This is just some indie pop band with a drum machine, right?" WRONG! Miss Fairchild provides wet pop-funk madness; they’re probably the only group around that cites Raphael Saadiq and Morris Day as major influences, and we certainly like that.

Leland.

2007-10-31T17:39:00.000-04:00

Download: Leland -- "And Why"

Singer songwriter Leland's sophomore effore, "The Golden West", released on Rubia Records, is an expansion of the sound she created for her 2004 debut release "Forever." This time around the lush instrumentation and haunting infectious melodies have been rendered in a much more robust rock production. The basic tracks for this entire album were recorded live with a full band over the course of a few days lending an intense, rhythmic, and energized quality to these well crafter avant pop songs. Each song is an epic experience with a build up, crescendo, and magnificent outro section infused with layered vocal instrumental harmonies. Like the songs on her debut "Forever", they are songs with a familiar romantic nostalgic tone steeped in the late 1960s and early 1970s and year are unmistakably now. They are songs describing romantic disappointment, lonlieness, spiritual awakening, the rejuvenating power of nature, and the redemption of love. "The Golden West" is a music odyssey that begins with the solitary acoustic guitar of the title track taking the on a desolate journey of lost love in the Old West. The next ten successive tracks bathe the listener in lush orchestration, musical movements, crescendos and vocal harmonies until finally we arrive at the final pristine vocal and acoustic guitar track of The Sound of Music which bookends The Golden West listening journey carefully constructed by Leland and her producer/collaborator Marc Doten.

Bear in Heaven

2007-10-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

Download: Bear in Heaven -- "Bag of Bags"

Download: Bear in Heaven--"Werewolf" (single edit)

The songs above are from Bear in Heaven's soon to be released LP, Red Bloom of the Boom. The members of the band have cut their teeth with an impressive array of musicians including, but not limited to: Rhys Chatham, Jonathan Kane, Savath and Savalas, Panthers and Paul Duncan. Red Bloom of the Boom makes a compelling case for the band's compositional talents as well as their technical proficiency. Long, spacious, and dark, the seven songs of the LP work best when listened to in one sitting. Though the tracks offered above are a testament to the quality of individual songs on the album, Bear in Heaven succeeds in creating a cohesive work that is somehow more than the sum of its parts. We hope that you enjoy the songs here, and if you do, be sure to pick up the whole record from your local record store or the fine people at Hometapes.

Andy Ditzler

2007-10-11T16:09:00.000-04:00

Download: Andy Ditzler – “Another Customer”

Download: Andy Ditzler – “Economics”

Andy Ditzler is wild artist: this former theatrical production is part TMBG intelligent whimsy, part Ken Nordine spoken word, part Laurie Anderson, part...well, who knows? It's all over the map, and that's why we decided to work with Andy. He's so wonderfully different than all of the other stuff out there. As much as we love the indie rock, it's nice to encounter an artist who is striving for something larger than band with four members that rocks out. With a healthy sense of humor, the song lyrics range among technology, the metaphysics of TV news, a Buddhist samba, economics for beginners, politics, and love in 21st-century America. Songs From Yes and No is a witty, poignant, and illuminating view of current events, and a provocative musical vision. He's got samba, jazz, rock, and electronic influences scattered about, sometimes in the same song! He even has Outkast's sax player!

Siberian

2007-09-24T18:30:00.000-04:00

Download: Siberian – “Belgian Beer and Catholic Girls”
Download: Siberian – “Islands Forever”

This is big-time, reach-for-the-stars, anthemic rock and roll. Siberian doesn't do anything small and their songwriting ambition is surprising given the relative youth of the band members. This Seattle band writes crafty big-hearted pop that reminds us of the Bends-era Radiohead (with a decidedly American filter) or maybe the Arcade Fire without the quarter note bass drum all-the-freaking-time. There are twists and turns galore and a lot of subversion of traditional structures without seeming showy about it or anything. And what I really like is that they don't mind "going for it" in a non-ironic way. Siberian is a band that pounds it out without cynicism and full of optimism and enthusiasm, and even though "earnest" is supposedly back, it still seems refreshing when you hear it done right. Siberian comes our way courtesy of Sonic Boom Recordings, who also put out the great Pseudosix EP and Ghost Stories LP this year...a name you can trust!

Biirdie

2007-09-17T17:55:00.000-04:00

Download: Biirdie--"Him"
Download: Biirdie--"Estelle" MP3

We here at Team Clermont are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Biirdie's second album, Catherine Avenue. It's coming out on Love Minus Zero Records (part of the Drive-Thru Records family), and we think it's a big, stunning Great American Rock Record. The band spins sweeping anthems told in California semi-gloss, with twinges of West Coast Country and big-hearted Southern balladry. It's an album about place and location, about the way that geography affects us. California itself figures heavily as a character on the record; two of the band's members are Southern ex-pats and the lyrics often address the bewilderment of finding oneself transplanted to Los Angeles. If you need musical analogues then we hear Fleetwood Mac, Grandaddy, CSNY, Rilo Kiley, and Brill Building pop, but that's by no means a complete list. This is ambitious orchestral music decked out in gorgeous harmonies, ringing pianos, and some pretty killer guitar work that knows a thing or two about dynamism. It knows when to take a breather, and it knows when to go for the knockout.

Slaraffenland US Tour

2007-09-13T17:56:00.000-04:00

Download: Slaraffenland -- "Dust (Me As A Monster)"

Denmark's finest, Slaraffenland, are going to be hitting the States for a fall tour culminating in their performance at Hometapes' CMJ showcase. We here at The Cropper couldn't be happier about this. Slaraffenland put out one of our favorite records of 2007, and consistently put on an impressive live show. If you're at all able to make it out to any of the dates below, consider yourself very lucky. We love them. We hope you're able to see Slaraffenland soon:

Sep 25 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge - w/ Porlolo
Sep 26 - Nampa, ID - Flying M Coffeegarage - w/ The Invasion
Sep 27 - Portland, OR - Towne Lounge - w/ Donny Hue and The Colors
Sep 28 - Seattle, WA - Easy Street Records
Sep 30 - Hollywood, CA - Knitting Factory - w/ The New Loud, Casxio
Oct 01 - San Diego, CA - Che Cafe - w/Clock Work Army/Channing Cope
Oct 04 - Ames, IA - Iowa University - M-Shop - w/ The Helio Sequence
Oct 06 - Chicago, IL - South Union Arts -w/Fred Lonberg-Holm/David Daniell
Oct 07 - Fayetteville, AR - JR's Lightbulb Club - w/ Memphis Pencil
Oct 08 - Austin, TX - Mohawk - w/ Silver Pines
Oct 10 - Atlanta, GA - 11:11 Teahouse - w/ Tradesecrets
Oct 11 - Washington, DC - DAM! Festival @ Rock-n-Roll Hotel
Oct 12 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern - w/ Phosphorescent
Oct 14 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery - w/Paul Duncan/The Caribbean
Oct 15 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fire - w/ Pattern is Movement
Oct 16 - Somerville, MA - PA's Lounge - w/ The Coast
Oct 19 - New York, NY - CMJ Music Marathon - Mo Pitkin's - Hometapes showcase

Little Name

2007-09-04T21:33:00.000-04:00

Download: Little Name -- "How To Swim and Live"
Download: Little Name -- "Tracy & I"

This record has to go down as the surprise release of the year for us. It must have been a surprise for Ann Tabor of Sleepy Records as well. She received the Little Name "demos" one day out of the blue. This guy, Lee Barker, from Liverpool, is holed up in his house for eight years because of panic attacks and records this marvelous, bubbly British pop record that follows in the footsteps of Belle and Sebastian, British twee, and Gruff Rhys (his voice is often a dead ringer). The guy plays 99.9% of the instruments, the production is impeccable, and he just sends it out to a fledgling label, who was absolutely floored and quite happy to release it. Would that every unsolicited package was like that! Can you imagine getting this brilliant pop album in the mail unannounced? One wonders how many other great songwriters are holed up in their houses making beautiful music like this.