by mcirigliano2

Vampire Weekend Release iTunes Session

The boys of Vampire Weekend have announced the release of an iTunes Session EP, now available exclusively on the iTunes store. The indie darlings recorded six tracks this past September at New York’s Avatar Studios. The stripped-down session includes a completely reworked version of their hit “Holiday,” plus “A-Punk,” “Cousins,” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” The release also includes two covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going Down,” as well as their take on The Honeycombs’ “Have I The Right.” Three horn players joined the band for the sessions, which add a new element to the band’s standard brand of music, which usually relies on the backing of a string quartet.

Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album Contra was recently nominated for a Grammy award, and is receiving some major recognition on year-end lists, including the #1 spot from New York Magazine, #4 from Jon Pareles at The New York Times, and #6 from Rolling Stone.

Contra is also sale priced on iTunes through January 4, 2011, at $7.99.

12.30.10

by John Grimley

The Gorillaz Play Santa

Gorillaz

Some people believe that giving is better than receiving. It seems that Damon Albarn is firmly in this camp. Gorillaz fans got the gift of a brand new album for free on Christmas morning.

Nothing better than some shiny new tunes for the holidays. The album was written and recorded entirely on an iPad (a crazy feat in itself) while the band was on tour.

The band released all sorts of artwork and wallpaper for the new album on the days prior to Christmas. You should check it out, there’s probably something up there right now.

12.30.10

by wesleyambrecht

Jimmy Fallon Welcomes Local Natives

2010 has been a particularly good year for Frenchkiss Records’ Local Natives. Under the Radar Magazine named their album Gorilla Manor the year’s greatest debut and Daytrotter said their music evokes a feeling “that you can only attain if you’re head over heels with the very thought of maximizing all that’s in your heart.”

Local Natives surely hope to use that momentum to propel them forward in 2011, and they’ll get a chance when they play Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on January 4th. Beyond that, the band also has a remix album in the works.

12.30.10

by tunmer

Chevrolet Adopts Dawes’ “When Time Comes” for Commercial

It’s not hard to hear why “When My Time Comes” from Los Angeles band Dawes was chosen by one of the automobile industry’s leading brands, Chevrolet, to score their newest commercial. The single off the off their September 2009 released album North Hills, named for the part of Los Angeles from which they hail, is a real solid, folksy narrative and one that seems to target the Chevrolet demographic.

It’s got that blue collar pride and Springsteen spirit that accompanies all too well the Chevrolet truck and what it represents: The American Dream, more or less. The comparison between Dawes’ video of “When My Time Comes” and Chevrolet’s sampling is a progression. The band’s official video shows an early 20^th Century impoverished and enslaved life as the band plays inmates shoveling dirt on the side of the road watched over by oppressive, Aviator-adorning cops, then they escape to a haven in the woods playing makeshift instruments like pots for drums and an upright bass with one string.

The Chevrolet commercial, using effective marketing, shows the modern American life using the truck as proof of endurance and invention ranging from everyday tasks to police missions and ending with a declarative motto: “This is how America gets work done.”

12.29.10

by wesleyambrecht

Who is Middle Brother?

Earlier this week, Partisan Records made a huge announcement; Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, John McCauley of Deer Tick, and Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit have joined forces to create Middle Brother. Since the trio played their tiny, late-night, unannounced event at CMJ under the moniker “MG&V,” there have been whispers that a side project wasn’t far off. But, little did we know that the guys had already wrapped their debut record, which is set for a March 1st, 2011 release date.

Middle Brother will be playing a one-off show December 20 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles to benefit Invisible Children. That show will also feature an acoustic McCauley set.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

12.29.10

by jill ettinger

Jonquil’s Oxford Invasion

Oxford England’s Jonquil are not the Beatles, but they are British, and coming to America. Hugo Manuel, Sam Hudson Scott and Robin McDiarmid have been rehearsing and recording in their studio, aka their UK flat.

As a leading sound in Oxford’s Blessing Force collective, alongside Pet Moon, Trophy Wife, Fixers, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Chad Valley (Jonquil’s own Hugo Manuel), Jonquil brings an exciting and new sound to pop music. Influences of The Smiths, Paul Simon and Mark Ronson, they deliver a royal slice of indie-pop.

Releasing their single, “Fighting Smiles” on RCRD LBL, a vinyl version of their EP, One Hundred Suns is available now and will be released on vinyl in January 2011. Jonquil are slated to perform at SXSW in March 2011, perhaps even adding some US dates. Check ’em out here: Nylon Free Music Download “Fighting Smiles.”