The New Pornographers

If anyone asks, tell 'em I'm busy. But just between us, I can always find the time for discovering new music.

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band who have released five studio albums to date. The song Crash Years is taken from the last one, which came out in 2010. I must admit, though, that all of the albums are rather brilliant. I've been spinning them constantly for these past few days and honestly cannot get enough of them. Your thoughts?

Lost In The Dream

Best album of the first quarter of 2014? Well, I think I have a winner. If you're feeling any kind of nostalgia for the '80s, or even if you don't, dive right in.

"Right thoughts, right words, right action."

It's been a long, long time since Franz Ferdinand released something new. Four years after their latest album, the wait is finally over. Was it worth it? Well, I'm not quite sold yet, but their comeback is a welcome news nonetheless. Your thoughts?

Trouble Will Find Me

I doubt I'll have time to write some kind of a proper review for The National's new album, so this must suffice. In short, it is brilliant. The band have once again outdone themseleves. Go check it out.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

I have to admit, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is my first encounter with Cold War Kids, and I am enjoying the album quite a bit. Songs Miracle Mile and Jailbirds are the definite highlights for me. The record is hell of a surprise, so thank you, st. tropez.

Demons

The National belong to the rare kind of bands that get better with every album, and their last release is the kind of a record that gets better with every listen. That said, High Violet is one of the best albums of the last few years. The only reason I don't listen to it more often is because I'm afraid it would knock The Suburbs off the top spot. I have no reason to believe their newest effort isn't gonna continue the trend. Here is the first single, Demons. The album Trouble Will Find Me comes out May 20. Thoughts?

Edit, Friday 12th:
And here's another one. Enjoy.

Monomania

Let's talk about something new for a while. For me, Deerhunter's last album, the super-successful Halcyon Digest, is one of those records, which you know are good--because everyone tells you so--and which you enjoy for the brief time the melodies drift through your headphones, but in the end, they just fail to leave a significant mark on their own.

However, the band has just released the title song from their upcoming album, Monomania, and judging from this little appetizer, it's hardly gonna be the same story this time around. I love the distorted guitars. Color me stoked.

Surrogate: Post-Heroic

Another indie band I almost forgot I ever knew, what a shame... Surrogate just released a brand new song via absolutepunk.net and you can download it for free directly from this link. It's rather brilliant. Their new album, Post-Heroic, hits the shelves on April 5th. I hope I'm not the only one who's looking forward to it.

Weird Shapes

2010's Astro Coast was an astonishing debut album full of infectious tunes. Surfer Blood will release their new album, Pythons, in the summer, and here's a first glimpse at what it may sound like. The lo-fi approach of their first record is gone, but the band obviously hasn't lost its personality. Color me stoked.

Jules and Jim

It's been almost a year since Nada Surf released their latest album. Well, it's still great. There is a new music video for one of its best songs.

Come of Age

What Did You Expect From The Vaccines arrived about a year and a half ago. And although it wasn't all that groundbreaking and innovative in the way of the Arctic Monkeys' or Franz Ferdinand's debuts, it was nevertheless a great fun ride from start to finish.

This time around though, the aim to entertain masses is replaced by musical ambition. The songs are far more sophisticated, both musically and lyrically. The Vaccines have slowed down significantly and settled down for more introspective themes. But that doesn't mean they've lost their natural ability to write extremely infectious tunes. And in the end, Come of Age comes off as the better album.

Most of all, I'm just glad to see that The Vaccines are no one hit wonder. They're obviously here to stay and if they don't lose their creative stride, then we have much to look forward to.

Best tracks: No Hope, Teenage Icon

Yotam Ben-Horin

The frontman of my favourite Israeli pop punk band Useless ID will be releasing his solo debut, Distant Lover, on October 3rd. I really like his vocals so I thought I'd share it with you. It sounds pretty much like a slower version of his band, perhaps with more introspective lyrics. Thoughts?

79

Last Days of April, the Swedish indie-pop band best known for their early 2000's emo indie albums on Deep Elm Records that have influenced acts like Charlie Simpson & Fightstar, are back with their newest CD, 79, the bands second since reforming in 2008. While the transition made from the early work of Angel Youth and Ascend To The Stars to the newer work on Gooey is still very visible, we get to see some of the old LDAO songwriting on 79, in particular in the tracks "Lily" and "Where We Belong". With a more indie flare, a dash of twang, and with obvious influence from bands like The Weakerthans, Springsteen, and Band of Horses, Last Days of April have officially merged their early 2000's emo influence into a more robust indie influence, reinventing themselves to a new sound and a new fan base. Below is a sampling of three songs off the new CD:

Young The Giant

Over the last year, i've been slowly getting into Young The Giant, the indie alt rock outfit from the OC. If you have yet to check out their debut self-titled album, I suggest you do so. Recently, the band sat in with entertainment & music magazine/website A.V. Club and partook in their series "Undercover", sponsored by Starbucks, which features acts covering songs selected by the site and magazines readers. They compile a list of most voted on songs, and allow the bands, one-by-one, to pick which track they'd like to cover. The song is then performed, the song is crossed off the list, and the band leaves the recording space having penned their signature, comments, and song on the wall. Here is Young the Giants offering of a the early 2000's rap classic, "Ignition (Remix)" originally by R.Kelly, with a indie rock twist to it.




It should also be noted, I am a HUGE fan of alt rock bands/acoustic singer/songwriters covering rap songs. If you are as well, I highly suggest you check out the once-viral video of Mat Weddle covering "Hey Ya" or Goot and his piano cover of "Changes" by 2pac.

Presenting: The Tower and The Fool

It's not often a disc comes along that moves me from start to finish. As I sit here trying to recall, I am hard-pressed to think that the last CD that struck me this hard was The Dangerous Summer's Reach For The Sun. Sure, other releases like Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra strike me for awhile, but the lasting value in minimal and the songs became just that, songs. They don't carry their emotion from listen to listen throughout the days/months/years.

The Tower and The Fool released their first EP in 2010. Drawing influence from artists like Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Counting Crows, the band pushed forth in 2011 to record their first full-length with ex-Hot Rod Circuit member Mike Poorman on drums, and a few other members covering everything from slide guitar to the ivory. Over the year, they wrote, recorded, and produced what would become their first full-length, How Long, released on Run For Cover Records. With a week of listening under my belt, I can't promise that it will be one of those long lasting CDs like The Dangerous Summer, but after first listen, my heart felt like it did when I first heard Reach For The Sun, which is a good indication that this CD has lasting value for me. So, for clarities sake, I will pencil it in as a lasting listen, but due to time restraint and minimal time with the disc, I won't ink it yet. 

With a dose of Ryan Adams-indie-twang mixed with the feel of The Horrible Crows, lyrical content that is heavily influenced by Adam Duritz, and vocals, at times, reminiscent of AJ from The Dangerous Summer, this disc has won me over. It is one hell of a sad record, but sad in a good way. It's not depressing, it's just heartbreaking. Songs of lost love, songs of anguish, songs of brokenness, songs of relationships. The band has started to gain a notice on absolutepunk, being featured as an ABSOLUTExlusive, gaining praise from staff members and reviewers, and threads filled with listeners who are blown away by the bands work and claiming to as a early candidate for many AOTY lists. I encourage everyone to give this disc a listen from front to back, then again and again and again. It is powerful, and it seems like every new spin, I discover something else golden. Below is a stream of the CD, available courtesy of Bandcamp.

Personal favorites: "Dive Bar", "How Long", "Breach", "Scoliosis", "My Heart is Dead in NYC"

Somebody That I Used to Know

I don't know if you've heard this song before or not, but I can't get enough of it! Before this song, I'd never heard of Belgian singer Gotye, but this song came on the radio in my hometown a few weeks ago and I fell in love! The video's a bit weird for my tastes, but I love the song.

Farmer & His Gun

...and in case you missed it, there's the new music video from Charlie Simpson's latest single, Farmer & His Gun.

How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep

Enjoy amazing music video for Bombay Bicycle Club's new single from their latest album, A Different Kind of Fix.

Charlie Simpson Unplugged

Watch Charlie Simpson perform an unplugged version of the song Farmer & His Gun from his debut solo album.

Given To The Wild

For me, in the flood of UK indie music, The Maccabees used to be just a band to look out for, but nothing more. Sadly, they never stood out, and Young Lions was their only song I really liked. But that might have been all my fault.

However, Given To The Wild is a complete game-changer. It's definitely a step up from their previous records, whatever you think about them. They certainly weren't afraid of pushing their sound, not unlike The Horrors or Arcade Fire. And yes, by reinventing I mean adding up synths, a move that every indie rock band has to undergo come their third album. But nonetheless, in this case, it feels like a very natural progression. It doesn't distract at all and helped them to achieve even greater heights. In a way, the album is like ogres, it has layers, and it's fun to discover them all. Pelican is  the only faster song on the record, the other flow rather slowly, but are all equally atmospheric and captivating, reminding me of Raised By Swans a bit.

To sum it up, Given To The Wild may be this years first truly great album and you shouldn't miss it by any means.