Category Archives: New Releases

11.22.10
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Saint Motel Cardigans Released

 

Saint Motel and clothing company Apliiq have just announced the release of a collaborative line of signature cardigans designed by Saint Motel. Like the tuxedo shirts the band wears on stage, each cardigan has a unique fabric chosen by each band member to reflect his individual style on each shoulder and on the sides of the cardigan (WHERE STYLE BELONGS.) According to the band and Apliiq, the cardigans are “perfect for a scotch fueled romp or for a night experiencing the thunder of Saint Motel’s live show.” They are not so perfect for the vomit rage after said night of scotch fueled romping though.

Saint Motel is currently wrapped up a tour with Nico Vega and Imagine Dragons and currently recording the follow up to their acclaimed ForPlay EP, which LA Weekly called “a glorious amble of glammy garage songs apparently unfettered by convention and triggering surprise emotional explosions at every turn.”

Pick up the cardigan HERE.

11.19.10
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The Morning Benders’ “Excuses” Get the Golden Filter Treatment


If you missed The Morning Benders’ shows in the US and unfortunately cannot afford a Christmas/New Years’ vacation in Australia where they are headed next, this may not quite be enough to counter the disappointment, but it can at least provide you with one extra tune you can impress your friends with. New York City electronic duo The Golden Filter have remixed the Californians’ ballad “Excuses,” off their album Big Echo (Rough Trade). In this shiny new arrangement, Chris Chu’s voice is complimented with Golden Filter singer Penelope Trappes’s for an eerie, echoed beginning. It quickly transitions into a steady beat that replaces the original song’s twirling guitars. Instead, a never ending keyboard loop will have you entranced, so much that the abrupt breaks in the song will have you disoriented, until you realize they were just there to let you catch your breath before another round of frenetic dancing.

You can download this remix for free on The Morning Benders’ website HERE but make sure to get a first listen below:

11.19.10
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The Cordelier Club Reveals Debut Song on December 6th

The Cordelier Club’s December slated single, “Don’t Let It Go By” from the London based ensemble is fused with bouncy guitar, dance-synth keyboards and percussion that you can clap your hands to. The music has a similar effect as many of their contemporaries today but with a style almost evoking disco and vocals influenced by 70’s rock singers, merging that current sound with an older generation’s. The Cordelier Club has created a refreshing new take on what’s popular right now.

The brother-sister vocal effort from the core of the band – Richard and Alice Smith – comes through with charming harmonies and an echo throughout the chorus from Richard after Alice implores “is any body out tonight?” Alice’s vocals are more prominent and powerful and are the melody to Richard’s cool rhythm.

It’s a great dance song and a perfect debut for a band on the verge of breaking out. If they don’t manage to blow up the scene, well then it’s one perfectly pleasant song to be proud of. The latter seems to be less likely especially with the help of the likes of Mike McCarthy, the man responsible for the production of Spoon and …Trail of Dead.

Look for “Don’t Let It Go By” on December 6th.

11.18.10
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Acrylics Release First Single off “Lives and Treasure”

Acrylics can’t possibly be making any kind of statement with “Nightwatch,” the first single off their upcoming debut LP, Lives and Treasure.  But with the multitudes of flash-in-the-pan indie that has come out the past few years, making a significant splash isn’t about being bold or innovative, you just need to write a good track. 

“Nightwatch” is a good track.  It’s easy to imagine this as a Fleetwood Mac tune given that singer, Molly Shea, is a female and the track screams 70’s soft rock; however, the similarities end there.  Unfortunately, female singers have always been limited to ill-conceived and ambiguous comparisons due to a smaller influential pool to draw from.  Not every female folk singer sounds like Janis Joplin, just like not every male indie rocker sounds like Lou Reed — even if they try to.

Regardless, “Nightwatch” is a late-night drive, a haunting slow jam that never picks up because it never has to.  The line, “I believe in infinity” falls as flat as the chorus it makes up, but the rest of the song coasts along toward its shimmering fade out.

11.18.10
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The Future Islands And Lonnie Walker Release Split 7 Inch

The Future Islands and Lonnie Walker team up to release a split seven inch from Baltimore’s Friends Records. The single features a new track from both artists and is now available on limited addition peach colored vinyl. Only 1000 copies were made so you better act fast!

Making sense of why these two very different bands have teamed up at first is a little tricky, but the two artists actually have a long history together. In fact they have known each other for most of their lives. Both from coastal North Carolina they at one point played in a band together in college.

The two will also be  playing shows together this week.

November 18 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
November 19 Raleigh, NC – Kings
November 20 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar