Category Archives: News

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.

11.22.10
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Nobody Gets Spoon But You


Spoon are releasing another song from their critical and commercial darling Transference, which came out earlier this year.

This time, the track getting the visual treatment is “Nobody Gets Me But You” a classic Spoon track that features amazingly catchy rhythms (as always) and a raw, stripped-down sound that adds grit.

The video is also appropriately low-tech. Britt Daniels explains that it is influenced from his experience at New York’s Cake Shop, which is a less than ideal concert locale. The video is filmed as if you are watching the band on the TV by the bar.

Check out “Nobody Gets Me But You” right 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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Wildlife Release Full Length Version of Their EP, “Strike Hard, Young Diamond”

Canada is a big and confusing place, unless of course, you’re from there. But even then, it’s still a lot to grasp, eh? Seems like the vastness and all the maple sugar highs can often cause people to freak out like a Moose Gone Wild. Or at least, they write songs about the confounded feelings from living in such a large, cold and too-cussing-polite-about-it-all place. Toronto’s Wildlife clearly is no exception, as demonstrated on their latest release, Strike Hard, Young Diamond.

Channeling fellow Canadians Tokyo Police Club and wilderness influenced uber-rockers, Wolf Parade; Wildlife delivers a melodic, heady, transfixing offering with Strike Hard, Young Diamond. Extended from their EP of the same name, Wildlife thought it fitting to finish the project by adding gutsier tracks to round out the effort.

Emoting youth gone angstier, Strike Hard, Young Diamond plays almost too candid at times, offering desperation right from the opening tracks, “Stand in the Water” and “Sea Dreamer” all the way through to “American Eyes” and “Out,” but it works in their favor, like a sordid reality show, it’s hard to turn away. “Drunken Heart” is sure to be a classic. It waxes and wanes with a precision so hypnotic that you’ll mourn it’s ending with maudlin pause. Even “Move to the City,” which sounds familiar and somewhat unimportant at first, unravels into anthem status.

Though there are at least more than twelve moments eerily indistinguishable from Wolf Parade (or any of their myriad worthy side/side/side projects), there’s solace in the sounds on Strike Hard Young Diamond. Imagine that you’re standing in the middle of Canada’s magnificent Boreal Forest. Certainly no one would feel nearly as comforted if there was only one frail tree standing alone. Wildlife embraces the Canadian sound with hubris, laying deep roots alongside fellow greats, hopefully for decades to come.

Vive le forests.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen for yourself. Three songs for FREE:
http://wildlifeband.bandcamp.com/

11.19.10
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The Concretes Release Vowel-Free Album

Well…Unless you count Y. The Concretes released their newest album, WYWH, last week. The album features a new singer and a new label for the band, but the album still manages to sound like an evolved version of  The Concretes.

Drummer Lisa Milberg has stepped up for vocals duty and Friendly Fire Records will be bringing the release to a store near you (or Amazon).

To celebrate the occasion, the band has put out a new song from the album. The song “All Day” is a melodic piece of fuzz-pop that would have fit perfectly into the summer rotation for the beach. However it’s still pretty amazing in the midst of a chilly November.

You can check it out right here.

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.