The Stone Roses - Waterfall (Justin Robertson Remix)

Yep, the summer has finally arrived and though it may only have scratched the late celsius teens most white skinned males from around these parts has gone topless and about (in roughly 12 minutes) to attain a fine red wine colouring. At these times I tend to drop my musical guard and have been known on occasion to wobble incoherently in time with tunes that normally make my ears bleed. So there I was eagerly stripping above the waist in the cloudy sunshine when one of the my favourite songs ever hoved into view all remixed up and sounding quite groovy. It is taken from the generally lacklustre album of remixes of Stone Roses tunes from 2000, which to its credit stuck to the Silvertone end of things. Of all the songs from their faultless debut ‘Waterfall’ seems to have become the most remixable and you may have already read my gushing praise for Sam Flanagan’s stellar mash-up ‘Water Lily’. Now, pass me the heat balm I’m bleedin' melting here. KD

The Stone Roses - Waterfall (Justin Robertson Remix)

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Stone Roses
Year: 2000

Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

Running around in the nip as an earthquake crackles in the background seems to be a most liberating of experiences. How else could you explain Sigur Ros and their new Animal Collectivesque bouncy new direction. Out of the blue the cinematic and delicate sense of wonder is pushed aside and in its place a brash stampede of handclaps/drums propel Jonsi’s uncommonly lively vocals. As ever I am enamoured and with a buzz in my ears I have been playing it endlessly. It all adds up to an intriguing primer for the new album ‘með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust’ which is out at end of next month. And the surprises should keep rolling as one of the tracks is said to be sung in English, heresy I hear you roar but since much of the album was recorded outside of Iceland (another first) you’ve gotta give them some latitude. Sigur Ros play Electric Picnic at the end of the summer, I am going to see them, I will be happy and fully clothed. KD

Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Sigur Ros
Year: 2008

Okay - My

Okay’s new album is called ‘Huggable Dust’, contender for title of the year in my book but then I am biased. Okay are from Fremont in California and are distinguished by the utterly distinctive vocals of lead man Marty Anderson. It takes some getting used to but once it sinks in you’ll be enamoured. Anderson's serious health problems meant that much of ‘Huggable Dust’ was conceived in his bedroom but what emerges should be embraced by the wider world. ‘Okay’ is touching, uplifting and tragic all at once, ultimately leaving its mark through the sensuous delivery and fine musicianship. The effect is otherworldly and precious enough to warrant greater inspection. ‘Huggable Dust’ is out now so start inspecting. KD

Okay - My

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Okay
Year: 2008

The Dying Seconds - Everything Always

You can now buy this song on one of our Indiecater compilations here!

As albums go it is up there with the best of 2008. Because it is free to download there is no reason in the world why you shouldn’t be enjoying its vibrant digital heart within an hour. It’s worth it, I promise you. I had been enjoying the cascading electronic opuses long before I discovered that the Dying Seconds are actually from ye olde Dublin. Came as a bit of surprise that a local outfit could have produced such a wonderfully realised composition but it made the listen all the sweeter. The Dying Seconds obviously have the ambition and the talent to succeed; all they need now is a label to kick-start their inevitable ascent to the top. ‘Everything Always’ is one of several instrumental tracks to be found on the album and is a suitably grandiose piece with which to close proceedings. If Orbital had created this at their peak they would have been rightly lauded so don’t let your fear of the unknown cloud what is a stellar piece of work. Also included here is ‘I’ll Make The Best Weapon’ which has the added touch of some pretty glorious voices. KD

The Dying Seconds - Everything Always

The Dying Seconds - I’ll Make The Best Weapon

More Info: Official & Myspace
Download The Album For Free: The Dying Seconds
Year: 2008

See The Future For Free!

While Foggy Notions as a paper entity may be no more (the online version is about to hatch) that hasn’t stopped the team behind the magazine from bringing the best new music to our shores. And that endeavour builds to a crescendo next month when the Future Days Festival takes places over several nights in 2 venues in Dublin 8. The most eye-catching show has no less than 5 stellar acts performing. Dan Deacon, Jape, Deerhunter, White Williams and High Places will all be taking to the stage in Vicar Street on Saturday the 14th of June and here’s your chance to score one of three double passes to the gig. In order to be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is email us your dream gig line-up. Your choices will have to be of the up and coming variety and try and keep it to a maximum of 5. The three best selections will each win a double pass to the show. Meanwhile here are some choice tracks from Deerhunter, High Places and a superb Super Extra Bonus Party remix by Jape to get you in the mood. Exciting isn’t it. KD

Update: Congrats to Gerard Duffy, Robert Maguire and Derry Farrell who are all off to the gig with a friend.

Here is the pick of the dream line-ups from Gerard.

The not so much "Up and Coming" but coming band Children Under Hoof open with their 8 minute krautrock post post punk dirge "A Collar Can Become A Noose", swiftly followed by 15 minutes of a vl tone busting/sax swarming/floor tom pounding improv.

As the audience's ears ring deaf, the second act will take to the stage to unleash one song and one song only. Mary Harness is sure to win over the crowd with that Brazilian samba outro.

From one dare deviling woman to another, the mother of all Turkish Pysch-Rock Selda then plays her first Irish show. Playing flangetastic (I'm talking about her funky sound) self titled debut LP from start to finish. As she gets dragged off the stage after fainting from exhaustion, the lights fade. And the stage fills with an army of roadies putting together a smorgasbord of keyboard/pedals and strange music paraphernalia that even Jean Michel Jarre would be proud of.

The Wet Dreams take to the stage. The strobes burn retinas and the casio dg 10 drum beat gets the even the chin wankin' hipster's hips shaking. Finally the main man himself slides in across the stage like some American 70's quiz show host. Patrick Kelleher and the Wet Dreams come into full flight with their "Zombie/Vampire Cop Car Chase on a hot summer night in San Fran." sounding song "He Has To Sleep Sometime". Their set whips the crowd up till they form peaks and other such cooking references.

Everybody's new favourite band A Faulty Chromosome headlines. Their debut album makes even this twenty five year old curmudgeon feel like a freewheelin teenager again. Better than awesome, double Awesome.

Everybody leaves with free oxygen masks to recover from the night of deadliness!!!

Act One : Children Under Hoof
Act Two : Mary Harness
Act three : Selda
Act Four: Patrick Kelleher
Act Five : A Faulty Chromosome

Honourable Mentions.

The Bear People

Bats

Ixchel


Deerhunter - Hazel St.

High Places - Shared Islands

Super Extra Bonus Party - Everything Flows (Jape's Flow)

Watch The Video To Dan Deacon's Crystal Cat

Le Galaxie - We Bleed The Blood of Androids

Just when you thought electro pop was becoming so last year up steps Dublin quartet Le Galaxie to give it the requisite kick up the backside. This ain’t too far from Super Extra Bonus Party territory but Le Galaxie tend to widescreen their efforts with coarser guitar strokes. The result is a nice burst of noise, energetic and spastic one minute, precise and relaxed the next. ‘We Bleed The Blood of Androids’ manages to be about as intergalactic as the name suggests, a sodastream of audio that is bubbling with invention from start to finish. Unsigned but getting there this is one of the few genuinely exciting acts to emerge from the capital this year. Catch them before they go supernova. KD

Le Galaxie - We Bleed The Blood of Androids

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Le Galaxie
Year: 2008

Pilote - The Name Of My DJ

Stuart Cullen, as Pilote, has been cooking up gems for several years but his last 2 EP’s have really seen him hit his stride. 2007's ‘Pop Will Make Us Free’ EP (elongated play?) has 10 tracks of lush electronica, golden pulses of sound that should aid anyone in dire need of audio floatation. The EP flows organically and it’s likely you’ll miss the end of one track and the beginning of another such is the smooth progression. The work rarely strays from its core template but when it does approach mild confrontation like on the hip-hop influenced ‘The Name of my DJ’ an even more fascinating personality emerges. Ambient without the ambience one might say and don’t you just love the way the soft chords sound when juxtaposed with the solid grey smoke belching beats? KD

Pilote - The Name Of My DJ

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Pilote
Year: 2007

The Ruling Class - Umbrella Folds

Oh swoon, I mean really swoon. This is just so perfect, so full of everything I hold dear in indie pop. Fey, quietly realised vocals with a chorus of jangling chords chiming in the background. There is more than a touch of the early nineties about this London based (Swedish derived) act so it's not at all surprising that the Stone Roses (thankfully first coming Roses) come out on top of their list of influences. The Ruling Class’s debut EP ‘Tour De Force’ has just been released and should be on your shopping list if ‘Waterfall’ and ‘Sugar Spun Sister’ are at the crux of your music existence. ‘Umbrella Folds’ arrived at my ears quite by accident and 30 seconds in I was deep in prayer hoping it could carry on from such an auspicious start. I needn’t have worried, this baggy little number may wear its inspiration on its sleeves but that doesn’t stop it from being totally inspirational in its own right. Anyone know a cure for chronic goosebumps? KD

The Ruling Class - Umbrella Folds

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Ruling Class
Year: 2008

Radiohead - Creep '08 (A Copycat Remix)

Take a listen to this and remember I am impervious to your snide remarks concerning its awfulness. And the reason being that I like it quite a lot, more and more with each listen in fact. Let’s face it this Swedish DJ has left himself wide open for attack by deciding to remodel something as gargantuan as Radiohead’s breakthrough hit, this song probably resides in the hearts of more people than their whole back catalogue post ‘Ok Computer’. So what does he do, well he introduces a splattering beat that sits uneasily atop the original. Initially it sounds awkward and uneasy finding itself in the close company of a great but before long a bond forms and it genuinely begins to make sense. The song is thus imbued with a manic intensity missing from the original giving it a contemporary taste of the noughties ADD like tendancies. No doubt it’ll be blasphemy for some but I’d take this over many of the lame ducks that can be found plodding all over ‘In Rainbows’. KD

Radiohead - Creep '08 (A Copycat Remix)

Watch The Video To A Real Creep

More Info: Official & Myspace
Year: 2008

Allegories - Grass Toboggan

This song knocked me for six when I heard it first time around. Subsequent listens have proven no less exotic, no matter what way I approach it I continually fail to unravel a single word yet always leave with a bleary intoxication from the dreamy swirls. This is Panda Bear with less obvious reference points, Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell venture into the great unknown and come back bearing all manner of gourmet audio. The remarkable news is that there is a full album of wide-eyed glee and its called ‘Surreal Auteur’, a moveable feast that will have you entranced from beginning to end. Much like their website Allegories are wilfully obscure but never taxing, in fact their patchwork quilt of hidden messages add up to a grand mystery the likes of which Arthur C. himself would have been proud. It’s at times like this that I find myself fighting back the tears at the beauty of it all. Music to ensure you never grow old (take note Alphaville). KD

Allegories - Grass Toboggan

Watch The Video To Surf's Out

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Allegories (soon)
Year: 2008

Alphaville - Forever Young

Given it’s magnetic heartstring twigging potential it is surprising that ‘Forever Young’ has seen so little coverage (newly coined term for a song that has been covered by other artists, although it was given a neat jangly treatment by the Antipodean rockers Youth Group recently). ‘Forever Young’ may well be into its 3rd decade but the intervening period has seen the song lose little of its magnetism. Ok, the leaden drum sequences are uniformly eighties in bent (and marvel at those hairstyles in the video) but there’s no denying the sincerity in the words and the beauty in the vocals that dispel them. The Berlin trio had a clutch of hits throughout Europe but will be forever remember for this and their debut single ‘Big in Japan’ which did very well on both sides of the Atlantic. KD

Alphaville - Forever Young

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Alphaville
Year: 1984

The Radio Dept. - Where Damage Isn't Already Done

Every time I listen to this song it makes me happy. Adorable rarely gets evoked this wonderfully and no better label than the majestic Labrador to bring it to fruition. Of course the Radio Dept. have been around over a decade now, constantly turning out small classics and continually being overlooked despite some notable exceptions like Sophia Coppola who used several of their tracks on the ‘Maria Antoinette’ soundtrack. ‘Where Damage Isn't Already Done’ is a relative oldie, taken from the Swedish band’s debut album ‘Lesser Matters’. It is distinctly lo-fi in nature but so rich in indie deities it may take a couple of listens for you to be fully conversant. The combination of the twinkle twinkle little star guitars and Johan Duncanson’s barely uttered voice tweely is a delight. Despite a recent lull in activities the Radio Dept. return with a new (politically charged, gulp) EP next month titled ‘Freddie and the Trojan Horse’. KD

The Radio Dept. - Where Damage Isn't Already Done

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Radio Dept.
Year: 2003

Win Tickets To See Times New Viking!

Screechy and nerve shredding they may be but Times New Viking have an impeccable sense of knowing when to drop an enticing bolt on melody. Without this important ingredient most right thinking people would likely be scurrying for the nearest supply of soundproofing cotton wool. Times New Viking somehow conspire to make like the grown up kids from Sesame Street who have graduated from the alphabet and times tables to more important subjects like faces on fire and mean gods. If this sounds like a recipe for a good night out then you may as well skip on up to the Andrew’s Lane Theatre next Monday (May 26) where you can also explore the raw brilliance of Limerick’s Giveamanakick. If you’d rather not pay for the privilege why not drop an email remembering to include your name and your favourite font. The 2 most stylish answers will each win 2 passes to the gig. Felix Titling

Update: Congrats to Wingdings and Shruti lovers Emma and Bobby!

Times New Viking - Drop-Out

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Times New Viking
Year: 2008

Win A Signed Copy of Mogwai’s Reissued Young Team!

Let’s face it one of the benefits of a Mogwai CD over one of their live shows is that you are in complete control of the volume levels. I caught the band in Dublin several years ago and I was convinced my eardrums were going to be ruptured such was the ferocity of the noise. I’ve always been a fan, even though later releases have left me a little cold. The odds and ends compilation ‘Ten Rapid’ remains their bona fide classic but running it close is their proper debut ‘Young Team’. I mean if ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ is not in your top ten post-rock tunes of all time then I guess you mustn’t have heard it. Time to redress that mistake pronto and to help you on your way here is a chance to win a copy of the soon to be reissued album signed by all the band. The reissue includes a remastered version of the original release as well as a bonus disc of tunes including a cover of Spacemen 3’s ‘Honey’. All you got to do to be in with a chance of winning is to email with your name. All contestants will be automatically added to Mogwai’s Chemical Underground mailing list which will debrief you with all the details about their forthcoming new album. If you don't manage to scoop the main prize (which will be chosen at random) there is also a runner-up prize of an unsigned copy of ‘Young Team’. So, while you are busy emailing why not slip on some slippers, take a pull on your pipe and lavish in the velvet dressing gown of sound that is ‘Kids Will Be Skeletons’. As Borat might say, it's nice. KD

Update: Congrats to Andrew and Jakob, CD's on the way!

Mogwai - Kids Will Be Skeletons

Watch The Video To Stanley Kubrick

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Mogwai
Year: 2003

Portrait of a Song: Michael Knight's 'I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This'

Portrait of a Song is a new series where the music makers explain how a particular song of theirs evolved. The inaugural portrait comes from Richard Murphy of Dublin band Michael Knight who discusses the title track from his bands second album. The track reminds me so much of December, a lavish production saddled with an overwhelming air of glorious sadness. KD


Richard Murphy: "Not being renowned among my friends for any conciseness when talking about myself, or my art (which, being the same thing, but disguised as a more legitimate subject, is an even greater danger), I fear mp3hugger didn't know what asking me to write about my own song entailed. Well, I'll try my best to be decorous. It's hard to give an accurate description of something one is so close to, so I'll content myself to point out what to me are the interesting things, which will almost certainly tell you nothing about what it sounds like in general, but then that's why this is being written on an mp3 blog, and the reader is expected to do some work too you know.

Lyrically, the song was designed as a variously bitter/bemused/amused lament of a person whose life hasn't turned out quite how they'd intended. The title was chosen to accentuate the mix of confusion and vague humour, and to deflect interpretations of intent from any sort of social commentary. The lyrics are counterpointed with a triumphant mix of horns, strings, pianos and organs - something I thought could fit comfortably on Songs of Praise - which I thought, opposing the laconic mood of the lyrics, would further capture the narrator's sneering bitterness. The real tune to listen to in the verse is in the brass, and in the chorus the piano/brass, as the vocal line had to be monotonous rather than melodic. Being a musical nerd, my favourite part of the song is the 4th quarter of each verse, a more emphatic version of the 3rd - the 2nd last chord of the verse always strikes me as being particularly delicious on that front. This is not the 1st time I've sacrificed sense to pointlessly complete a sequence that arose accidentally."

Michael Knight - I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This

Watch The Video To Leaving Town

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Michael Knight
Year: 2008

Luigi - Mariposa

There is a distinctly early nineties feel to Luigi’s ‘Mariposa’, post grunge it may be but it also conjures images of those feisty female fronted bands of the time. Michelle DuBois has attitude in spades and sveltely surfs her bands spunky playing. And it’s all over in a flash, clocking in at just over 2 minutes. The Atlanta quartet were formed in 2003 and have 2 albums to their name, the last of which ‘Found on the Forest Floor’ came out 3 years ago. Looks like things may be slowly grinding to a halt but DuBois seems to have the wherewithal to reinvent herself again (she has previously been in the Flying Polecats and Ultrababyfat). There are a scatter of free mp3s to be found at the bands website and myspace (links below) which are well worth checking out. We need bands like this. KD

Luigi - Mariposa

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Luigi
Year: 2005

Ambulance LTD - Country Gentleman (LTD)

The problem with illegal downloading (or so I’ve been told) is that you can never be guaranteed about what arrives on your hard drive. Remember those early days of P2P when industry insiders devilishly replaced the genuine article with a never ending piercing banshee wail wrapped up in an mp3 coating. Success could never be guaranteed and even if you made it past the dreaded 99% on dial-up you often had to contend with damaged goods. In some very rare cases the malformed actually stacked up quite well against the original. One memorable example I can recall is a knocked about version of Bell XI’s ‘Music In Mouth’ which arrived looping fantastically around the best bits of each tune. So ‘Snakes and Snakes’ ended up sounding like the most perfect 3 minutes ever as the jangling guitars endlessly wound about themselves. Another favourite is this stunted version of Ambulance Ltd’s ‘Country Gentleman’, which only contains one verse and a menagerie of beautiful tilted chords. Round and round it goes as if in constant state of inebriation but my do I love it, can’t even bring myself to listen to its fully developed self. KD

Ambulance LTD - Country Gentleman

Watch The Video To Primitive

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Ambulance LTD
Year: 2003

Pomegranates - Thunder Meadow

I’m reliably informed (wiki of course) that a Pomegranate is a fruit bearing deciduous shrub or small tree that can grow up to 8 metres tall. For those who are well heeled musically it is also the name of a band from Cincinnati whose debut album ‘Everything Is Alive’ comes alive this month. Pomegranates are not exactly pop but that’s not to say that they’re not entirely fruity. Listen to ‘Thunder Meadow’ and you’ll see what I mean, it sounds like something that could only have emerged after the Arcade Fire and Los Campesinos! were involved in a non fatal road smash and ended up writing music together while recuperating in their multi-bed hospital ward. Yeah, it’s warped but it has the consistency of a piece that could really stand the test of time. There are surprises aplenty and the latter part of the song ends up sounding completely different to how it started out (always a good characteristic in my opinion). If Columbus had discovered this he’d have dined out for free on it for years. KD

Pomegranates - Thunder Meadow

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Pomegranates
Year: 2008

Smells Like Theme Spirit #4 - Kicks Like A Puyol

The European Championships may not have the allure of the World Cup but the football is often much better. Here’s hoping Euro 2008 will be a huge success in Austria and Switzerland and to celebrate its arrival may I present Mixtape #4 ever so footily titled ‘Kicks Like A Puyol’. All the action begins on the 7th June and continues right up until the last Sunday of the month. Because Ireland haven’t qualified I can’t say they’ll win so instead steady yourself for my World Cup predictions in 2 years time.

If you want to know more about a particular song, click the 'info' button on the bottom left of the player.



Want some more? Try on some old mixtapes for size. #1, #2, #3

M83 - Graveyard Girl

It would unfair to label M83 MBV copyists because their back catalogue proves otherwise. But, taken in isolation you can’t help but think that ‘Graveyard Girl’ could amount to pretty much a perfect return to the scene for the Irish greats. As it is Kevin Shields and co. have a busy schedule in 2008 with a clutch of gigs including Electric Picnic. News on a new album has been shallower but it seems something is imminent before the end of the year. But back to more immediate matters, ‘Graveyard Girl’ sounds like M83’s first true tune, their lush soundscapes may have dazzled us in the past but for the first time Anthony Gonzalez has come up with a traditional song structure that uses real instruments. ‘Saturday’s = Youth’ is his third album since founding M83 member Nicolas Fromageau departed the scene and it should see his band profit from shoegaze’s inevitable resurrection. KD

M83 - Graveyard Girl

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: M83
Year: 2008

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)

Guru Josh may not mean much to a lot of you but I could listen to him to infinity. And that’s what springs instantly to mind when listening to the discotastic rumble of Cut Copy’s ‘Hearts on Fire’ (here given a rather splendid remix treatment by fellow Melbourners Midnight Juggernauts). Already onto their second LP Cut Copy have long ago imagined the zeitgeist by twinning the electro with the rock to soundtrack every fashionisto’s perfect soundtrack. ‘Hearts on Fire’ is the trio at the peak of their powers as the song neatly reconvenes that old trick of sounding robotic while still affording humans every opportunity to have the time of their lives (see also Visage’s ‘Fade To Grey’). If I had one complaint it’s that 4 and a half minutes hardly seems enough to adequately explore all the gifts at play. KD

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)

Watch The Video To Lights & Music

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Cut Copy
Year: 2008

Call To Mind - Running With Scissors

Feeling let down by that Coldplay freebie, wherein the band blow their chance to give something back to the hoards by dropping their most impotent effort to date. Well, maybe it’s time you widened your horizons and soaked up the excitement being stirred up in the margins. Call To Mind are an intriguing prospect from the Scottish Highlands who come prefitted with the melancholic grandeur of Elbow and the epic swagger of Doves. A tempting description I’ll think you’ll agree and ‘Running With Scissors’ showcases enough atmospheric genius to fix the ozone layer. Martin Ross’s vocals are startling, at first he sounds slightly hoarse but when the tempo is raised he reaches parts that few can come near. Call To Mind played the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival last year in what must have been the perfect collision of humanity and the natural environment. Platitudes were invented for bands like this. KD

Call To Mind - Running With Scissors

More Info: Official & Myspace
Year: 2008

Canadians - Summer Teenage Girl

The geographically mixed-up band known as Canadians are at it all over again. At least they were last year when their full-length debut ‘A Sky With No Stars’ came forth bearing plenty of indie rock kicks. I became familiar with the Verona act about 2 years ago when I found myself in a rabid listening session centred on a track of theirs called ‘It’s Over’. ‘Summer Teenage Girl’ boasts a similar understated quirkyness, the kind you’d expect from Weezer where they still in the business of making decent music. Light and fluffy it may be but there are enough interesting asides to ensure return visits are rewarded. Especially fulfilling are the cascading chords that filter through towards the end which turns what could have been a simple thrill into something a good deal more tangible. KD

Canadians - Summer Teenage Girl

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Canadians
Year: 2007

A Place To Bury Strangers - Another Step Away

I can imagine Jesus & Mary Chain fans wincing in their seats as they listen to the feedback drenched squall of ‘Another Step Away’. Yep, it doesn’t stray too far from the Scottish bands template but boy does it sound rather nifty set amongst the hoards of clean cut perfectly fringed contemporary bands. And it’s not as if the Reid brothers disapprove as they’ve already shared a stage with A Place To Bury Strangers. The New York 3-piece are currently on an all out UK tour promoting their self-titled LP which came out last year. An it could be a case of death by audio if previous reviews of the eardrum perforating live APTBS experience are anything to go by. Even at the lowest setting on the dial ‘Another Step Away’ shatters glass, gives budgies heart failure and proves without a shadow of doubt that drone rock is alive and well and about to give you a damn fine kicking. KD

A Place To Bury Strangers - Another Step Away

Watch The Video To I Know I'll See You

More Info: Official & Myspace

Listen & Buy:
Year: 2007

The Hi-Life Companion - The Girl In The Gorilla Suit

You know something like this could really catch on if Dom Joly was still plucking obscure yet instantly hummable tracks for his sketch show. ‘The Girl In The Gorilla Suit’ is built on a simple yet addictive premise and the Bristol collective (including brothers Matt and Jon Troy) known as the Hi-Life Companion must be applauded for their catchy endeavours. The tune is somewhat out of step with the bands other compositions, which can often be found sweetly skulking around the outskirts of tweeville. The omens thus far are decidedly favourable, hugger favourites Cloudberry Records have already released a 3-song CDR (which has sold out) from the band and their debut is currently being primed for a summer release. Troy's second coming may be closer than you think. KD

The Hi-Life Companion - The Girl In The Gorilla Suit

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Hi-Life Companion
Year: 2008

Of Montreal - We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling

‘Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer’ might just be one of the great albums of our time. With danceable, catchy, funky tunes, but telling dark and personal tales of inner turmoil, it's a split personality of a record straight from Kevin Barnes' brain. At the Botanique in Brussels on Friday night, however, all Of Montreal wanted to do was have a good time. With only forty minutes allotted time they squeezed in theatrics galore and as much of the ideas-explosion that is ‘Hissing Fauna...’ as could be expected. ‘She's A Rejector’ opened the show, with an actor on stage in suit and tie staying perfectly still, only to explode in a mimed fit of rage during the chorus. ‘Suffer For Fashion’ then got the crowd moving, and the panto moved into full swing, though the excellent ‘Gronlandic Edit’ and ‘Bunny Ain't No Rider’ as the band popped balloons of glitter over the crowd. After they finished on the day-glo pop song ‘Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse’ to make way for We Are Scientists, you got the feeling the real party was just starting, not too far away. TK

Of Montreal - We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling

Watch The Video To Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse

More Info: Official & Myspace

Listen & Buy Songs:
Year: 2007

Acoustic Sunday

The birds are tweeting in the trees, the sun is breaking through the clouds and you’ve decided to skip mass for the third Sunday running. All you are missing now is something to colour your earspace as your eyes are already busy scanning through the only newspaper you buy all week. Well, here’s hoping that the acoustic wonderland supplied by Nick Schillace and Sainte Chapelle can make like a Picasso on your lobes. Both are undoubtedly pretty pieces, perfect background material with lively personalities shining through. Sainte Chapelle are Gary Pyskacek and Daniel Schneider (also of Pedal Steel Transmission) from Chicago, Nick Schillace on the other hand is from Detroit and is known to use a 12-string guitar when crafting his delicate unassuming opuses. KD

Nick Schillace - Your Memories of Oklahoma

Sainte Chapelle - In Search of Skip

More Info Nick Schillace: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Nick Schillace
Year: 2008

More Info Sainte Chapelle: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Sainte Chapelle
Year: 2004

Schuman The Human - A Weekend Away

Sometimes I try to pick a song to fit the mood of the day. So if you are looking for a slow contemplative number the best time to drop by would be Sunday morning. If dancefloors are more your scene then sometime after 6pm on Friday could slake your thirst for nocturnal beats. Right now I am having a lazy Saturday and Schuman The Human is doing his damndest to supply me with a most perfect soundtrack. Schuman is in fact Mark Foster and some friends who came together to record his debut record early last year. He’s a fan of the banjo and alt country is our Mark but not in a way that could ever attract stetson wearing folks to his gigs. In fact much of ‘Showtime For Schuman’ boasts a near perfect take on indie pop, the type of fare that Belle & Sebastian used to produce in spades. Chilli Gold joins him on ‘A Weekend Away’ and together they make such a sweet racket. Soft and welcoming it for some unknown reason reminds me of the Inspiral Carpets ‘Sleep Well Tonight’. Tuck yourself in, close your eyes and dream about your next weekend away. KD

Schuman The Human - A Weekend Away

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Schuman The Human
Year: 2007

The Octopus Project - I Saw The Bright Shinies

Had this been around in the late 1930’s it could well have provided a neat backdrop for any brightly coloured scenes involving munchkins and ruby slippers (it’s the theremin effect you see). But because we inhabit a different time altogether let’s just celebrate the wonder of the sound that Austin’s Octopus Project make. And the magic doesn’t end there, imagine calling your latest album ‘Hello, Avalanche’ and being signed to Peek-a-Boo Records! And the Octopus Project somehow encapsulate all the giddiness without a single trace of schmaltz. They may not specialise in the accommodation of words but this trio offer an alternate universe well worth investigating. On this evidence that old adage about there being no place like home doesn’t always ring true. KD

The Octopus Project - I Saw The Bright Shinies

Watch The Video To Music Is Happiness

More Info: Official & Myspace

Listen & Buy Songs:
Year: 2007

White Williams - Route To Palm

Who is White Williams and why isn’t he playing trumpet in a freeform jazz project where the average member is well into his seventies? That is exactly what went through my mind as I pressed play on this gorgeously manicured little number. Could be an ode to masturbation but I haven't read the lyrics so I may be way off the mark? White is in fact Joseph, a precocious youngster with a decade in the music business already under his belt. His debut album came out late last year in the States (just now in Europe, hardly makes sense though in today's world does it?) and was a DIY effort mostly dreamed up on a portable computer and recorded in a variety of rented locations. Technology is definitely Williams’s friend and the union has afforded him the opportunity join up with Domino Records as well as Vampire Weekend who he is currently touring with. He will be playing Vicar Street on the 14th June with true Emerald Isle hugger Dan Deacon in what promises to be the ultimate battle of the laptops (as part of the Foggy Notions Future Days Festival). KD

White Williams - Route To Palm

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: White Williams
Year: 2008

The John Buddy Williams Band - Saturday Night Blowout

If I ever ditch this indie lark when I am old(er) in favour of something more gratifying then I hope it will be something along these lines. My knowledge of Calypso is scant at best (before hearing this tune and doing some investigation I actually thought it was an ice pop) but this frothy piece of action could kickstart my voyage of discovery. The genre is forever identified with the Caribbean but its origins lay further afield in Africa. This tune comes from the late fifties and was produced by Emory Cook, a renowned producer who knew how to fill earphones with a stereophonic sound. The production is immaculate and if you take the time to explore you'll find the detail is extraordinary, these untrained ears can’t get past the fact that it all sounds like the most exhilarating Jazz they’ve ever heard. This song and many others can be found on the ace 'Calypso Awakening' compilation on Smithsonian Folkways (link to buy below). With this on repeat the dreariest day has all the makings of being the best holiday ever. Were Basement Jaxx to hear it they might say it's time to Do Your Thing. KD

The John Buddy Williams Band - Saturday Night Blowout

More Info: Official

Listen & Buy:
Year: Sometime before you were born

Mr. Gnome - Night of the Crickets

From one group of noise merchants to another, this time in the shape of the shabbily monikered Mr. Gnome (also a duo in fact). Naff name or not there is nothing throwaway about the music this Cleveland band makes. ‘Night of the Crickets’ is an impressive peephole into their debut album ‘Deliver This Creature’. If one didn’t know any better you could be forgiven for thinking that this is the work of a forest of musicians. The song marches forward with bucolic power, Nicole Barille’s vocal utterances may be only semi-decipherable but they add an almost dreamy texture to the barrage of noise that surrounds them. I am hearing ‘Submarine’ era Whipping Boy with flashes of Tricky thrown in for good measure, the result is a white hot noise with undoubted melodic undertones. Unmistakably one of the songs of the year, something for your next garden party. KD

Mr. Gnome - Night of the Crickets

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Mr. Gnome
Year: 2008

See No Age In Dublin For Free!

What would be Moby be like if he were 2 people with hair, lived in Los Angeles, had a preponderance for lavishly created guitar sounds and was about to thrill an audience in Dublin’s Whelan’s? He’d be No Age of course, our favourite vegan’s who have a plan to change the world using ingeniously experimental chords and vocals that have swallowed at least half a dozen red bulls. Now is your chance to catch the lads gratis and for a minimal of effort on Tuesday 20th May. As everyone in the know already knows No Age’s debut is called ‘Nouns’ so all you have got to do to get one of 2 double passes to the gig is to subject an email with a verb that you think neatly describes No Age. Be as inventive as you wish, made-up verbs will be treated just as equally as real ones. If you don't win you can buy tickets here.

Update: The 2 winning verbs were Scratchening and Dairyfree Jangle. Nope, haven't a clue what either mean but they sound nice and sorta remind me of No Age. Congrats to Adam and Laura, enjoy the gig! KD

No Age - Neck Escaper

More Info: Official & Myspace

Listen & Buy Songs:
Year: 2008

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

Classic dance doesn’t come more, er, old skool that Bassheads ‘Is There Anybody out There?’ Songs like this were what put the Hacienda at the centre of the universe in late 80's/early 90's and even though it sounds like a mash-up of A Guy Like Gerald, early Prodigy and Talking Heads there is no denying its potentially hip breaking swirl. Bassheads were Desa and Nick Murphy from Liverpool and despite the success of this song in the early nineties they have largely made their names with their remixes (Visage’s ‘Fade To Grey’ and Bjork’s ‘Human Behaviour’ being the more well known) and club nights. Perhaps this was due in part to the smorgasbord of lawsuits that were filed when ‘Is There Anybody out There?’ came out (one came in from the Osmonds!). It still broke the Top 10 in 1991 and has held up quite well despite its age even if the ubiquitous jumpy piano lines of the time do sound like an, admittedly pleasant, acid flashback. KD

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Bassheads
Year: 1991

Slaraffenland - I'm A Machine

I just went the longest time in about 5 years without listening to new music. It was refreshing but I guess some balmy warm air and a vibrant Catalan city sure helps. Anyway, I’m back fresh and chomping at the bit for new sounds. My inbox was stuffed to the brim, but this track is the one I’ve been playing all day. Slaraffenland is Danish for ‘the land of milk and honey’ but whether that translation will make it any easier to pronounce this Copenhagen band’s name is open to question. Signed to the stylish Hometapes label Slaraffenland are closely aligned with fellow Danish experimentalists Efterklang and the two are embarking on an extensive US tour together over the next few weeks. Slaraffenland's next release will be the ‘Sunshine’ EP, which not only includes this song but also has an A-ha and Radiohead cover (as zeitgeist as it gets). ‘I’m A Machine’ is perhaps less strenuous than anything the band has ever released. It is still as loose as a pair of Joe Bloggs but there are certainly louder pop frequencies than usual at work here. I’m also hearing a note or two from a hippie classic and it’s that slight familiarity that should see Slaraffenland invade the consciousness of those who normally shy away from audio that deals in wide brush strokes. It’s good to be back. KD

Slaraffenland - I'm A Machine

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Slaraffenland
Year: 2008

Art Of Fighting - Break For Me (+ her)

I’ll be away from the rain and general non t-shirt wearing climes of Dublin for a couple of days. The wonders of the Nou Camp, Las Ramblas and Barri Gotic await but I’m not trying to make you jealous – pretty soon I’ll be back and you’ll be packing your suntan lotion. If that doesn’t cheer you up then why not sit back and wonder at the mournfully sumptuous sound of Melbourne’s Art of Fighting. It’s a sonic holiday worth taking. KD

Art Of Fighting - Break For Me

Watch The Video To Free You

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Art of Fighting
Year: 2004

Motocade - Soap Opera

Spiky guitars eh, a thorn in your side? Only when you’re on a spiky guitar 24-hour bender in my opinion. And you can probably blame the Arctic Monkeys for the current proliferation of sharp riffs and even sharper word volleys. So in a crowed market is there room for another band of this ilk I hear you ask. Motocade certainly give a good case for the defence, the New Zealanders are busy getting the word out on their upcoming debut album and ‘Soap Opera’ speaks a language I am fully conversant in. They’ve been here before but this time there's more meat on their bones and the ragged riffs seem a tad more focused and slinkily joined at the hip with the swaggering vocals. A nice way to spend 3 minutes of your day. KD

Motocade - Soap Opera

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Motocade
Year: 2008

The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock - In Country Dark

You can now buy this song on one of our Indiecater compilations here!

You know I am barely into the Spook of the Thirteenth Lock’s self-titled debut album and already I am stuck on endless repeat at track 2. ‘In Country Dark’ is deliciously put together you see, a spark of experimentation goes a long way in my book and the tail end of this ditty provides it in spades. I mean at one stage I really felt like it was going to burst into My Bloody Valentine style molten chord exchanges. Before all that though there is a lively folk jamboree to be savoured, which comes complete with the sweetest of vocal melodies. Taken in an Irish context the Spook of the Thirteenth Lock are reminiscent of Horslips but they tend to take on more of the contemporary which often obscures the traditionalists within them. It’s early days yet but lead man Allen Blighe has all the makings of a true visionary, this album of his will surely give the Spooks a great deal more than a ghost of a chance. Irish album of the year by a country mile (with hairpin bends every 15 yards), haunting doesn’t even begin to describe it. KD

The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock - In Country Dark

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock
Year: 2008