Antelope is an oft overlooked band on Dischord records. You know, home to Fugazi, Q and Not U, and Black Eyes. So yeah, part of that whole D.C. scene. They play stripped down punk music, not unlike the stylings of Television. Very rhythm based 3-piece. "Game Over" is catchy as hell. They have put out an EP and a single so far, but look to be putting out a full length on Dischord in 2007.
Antelope - Game Over
Antelope - Wen Ho Lee
Antelope official site
Well, above we have the lovely ladies of Broken Social Scene. Leslie Feist on the left, Emily Haines in the middle, and Amy Milan on the right. All of them have contributed to the Broken Social Scene collective with some fantastic songs. And surprise! They have their own projects as well. Today we'll focus on Emily Haines.
She fronts the group Metric, a rock-dancey-new wave sort of band, but I'm not going to focus on that today. She has a solo album coming out on September 26 with the backing of The Soft Skeleton. They are mostly defeated or cautiously optimistic (but always moody) piano ballads with strong arrangements and rich texture. If you know me, you know I'm not crazy into piano driven bands, but this one is a keeper. And no, please don't think of Tori Amos or Fiona Apple or any other girl that plays a piano - these songs stand on their own.
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Our Hell
Emily Haines official site
Emily Haines on MySpace
If you had told me Norway was going to have a pretty hot music scene about 5 years ago, I'm not sure what I would have said. No offense to the Nowegians, but we seldom get many imports to the states. Also, if you had told me it was going to be awesome electro-pop, I don't know if I would have believed you. Joining the ranks of Royksopp and Annie, 120 Days is coming to the US via Vice Records (home to MSTRKRFT and DFA1979). We have ambitious builds and colorful synth intrumentation. A lot of people throw in the Kraftwerk comparison right here. Howling vocals and droning synths...this is what Kasabian would sound like if they were actually any good! Check out "Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone" - it clocks in at 9 minutes but it doesn't feel like it...
120 Days - Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)
120 Days on MySpace
The Cocker Spaniels are the main project of Sean Padilla. By main, I mean he does everything. Drums, bass, guitar, keys, singing...he's got a good sound. Reminds me of Guided by Voices or Boyracer. Lo-fi indie pop - it's pretty catchy. I don't want to go too far into his bio, but I have to admire his perseverance in staying true to what he wanted to do and not crumbling to peer pressure. Anyway, his debut cd is sold out, so he is offering it all for download here. Feel free to donate if you like it! (The above picture is him from SXSW this year.)
The Cocker Spaniels - The Only Black Guy At The Indie Rock Show
The Cocker Spaniels - Third Wheel Syndrome
The Cocker Spaniels official site
The Cocker Spaniels on MySpace
Forget Cassettes hails from Nashville, TN. Pretty rocking - sorta like the yeah yeah yeahs meets hum with touches of fugazi. Can't put a finger on it rigth now. Anyway, stylish female vocals, complex rhythms and chunky chords. That's a keeper! They opened for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead on their last tour. In fact, their old drummer left to join the Trail of Dead. But enough of that downer, the new line-up is a 3-piece and tight as ever. I particularly like "The Catch", but I wouldn't kick Ms. Rhythm and Blues out either.
Forget Cassettes - The Catch
Forget Cassettes - Ms. Rhythm and Blues
Forget Cassettes official site
Forget Cassettes on MySpace
Unfortunately here we have another brilliant band that broke up only after one album...may I preesnt you with Clor! They were a 5 piece from the UK that could be compared to Devo. Sort of a blend between post-punk and electropop. Guys, come back! We need to hear more of this! Signed after playing only 6 gigs? Hot damn.
Clor - Love and Pain
Clor Official Site
CLOR on MySpace
So yeah, it looks like remixes are all the rage right now. I like 'em. It's always interesting to hear other people's takes on an artist's music. MSTRKRFT's ripping up the electro-house remixes, Patrick Wolf doing ... his wolf violin thing, and Ratatat rockifying the rap songs. Got a great Bjork remix down here too by JC Lemay, slapping her vocals over some ominous electronics. Bjork's instrumentation is usually weird, which is part of her appeal, but if you slap her voice on top of some more standard fare, she still sounds pretty awesome! And yes, that was the first image that came up when I searched google for "remix".
Annie - Helpless Fool For Love (Patrick Wolf Remix)
Bjork - Pagan Poetry (JC Lemay Remix)
Missy Elliot - Hot (Ratatat Remix)
I love these guys. No other words necessary. I unfortunately missed them the last time they came to town cause I had to go out of town for work. Damn you, work! If you didn't know already, MSTRKRFT (pronounced "masterkraft") is half of the now defunct Death From Above 1979 (that Cansei de Ser Sexy namechecks in their song). They have a keen ear for remixes, and this is one they did for Juliette and the Licks. Yes, that's Juliette Lewis, the actress. What was up with that rumor about her and Conrad Keely from ...And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead being engaged?
Juliette and the Licks - Got Love To Kill (MSTRKRFT Remix)
MSTRKRFT official site
MSTRKRFT on MySpace
Juliette and the Licks official site
Juliette and the Licks on MySpace
Sharing a home with The Wrens, Xiu Xiu, and Pinback (Absolutely Kosher Records) must be tough on Bottom of the Hudson. Their debut, "The Omaha Record" was released back in 2003, and their follow up EP, "Holiday Machine" in 2005. But did you hear of them? Unfortunately not. For the uninformed, Bottom of the Hudson is a 5 piece that draws their primary influences from GBV, Pavement, and Yo La Tengo, classily mixing 60's pop/rock with indie rock. Although I've posted a picture of the "Holiday Machine EP" above, the following tracks are from their 2003 debut. I love Tokyo!
Bottom of the Hudson - Tokyo
Bottom of the Hudson - Chilling Sourcerer
Bottom of the Hudson site at Absolutely Kosher
Bottom of the Hudson on MySpace
The Samuel Jackson Five are a 5 piece from Oslo, Norway. They play instrumental indie rock. It's tough to pin down influences, but it's easy to say it's alternatingly pretty and rockingly hard. It's quite good, pretty active and lots of changes and layering to keep it going. Sort of a jazz approach to post-rock. Check it out!
Skinflick Dress Rehearsal
The Samuel Jackson Five official site
The Samuel Jackson Five on MySpace
Clothes Make The Man is a weird band for me to recommend cause it strays a little out of my restrained indie rock facade...of course now I will rely on the old crutch of describing another band's sound by comparing them to other bands. Clothes Make The Man is some sort of hybrid between early 90's alternative (sebadoh, dinosaur jr, archers of loaf) mixed with the foo fighters. And mostly the foo fighters cause the singer sounds very similar to dave grohl. In some way I think this could help their chances of mainstream success, but hurt their chances of indie cred. Basically, songs sound like power pop + indie rock guitar interplay instrumental sections. If this sounds like your cup of tea, have at it!
Clothes Make The Man - Singles Only
Clothes Make The Man - WMD
Clothes Make The Man official site
Clothes Make The Man on Myspace
Today I'd like to draw everyone's attention to Life In Bed, a four piece from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Very busy, melodic, and rocking indie rock with touches of The Smiths, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Polvo. They've been climbing the ranks recently, playing high profile shows opening for Don Caballero, The Detachment Kit, Trans Am, and Antelope. This song's definitely a rocker...
Life In Bed - Logic is Your Best Defense
Life In Bed official site
Life In Bed on Myspace
I keep seeing people raving about the Brooklyn Fire remix of "Y Control" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It kind of annoys me since I consider the Faint remix to be superior. The Brooklyn Fire version is alright, but it really feels like someone spent all of 20 minutes on it - weak MIDI sounding drum and bass + the usual droning synth + generic remix song structure. It's just like a really boring club mix. The Faint version on the other hand is closer in structure to the original song, but with more awesome drums and a bass thrown in for good measure. I guess you would say they are different takes on the same song, electronic vs. dance-rock, but I think dance-rock wins here.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control (The Faint Remix)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control (Brooklyn Fire Retouch)
Sweet Trip is a 3 piece from San Francisco. I caught them live and was impressed by their sound. Try taking My Bloody Valentine and mixing it in a bowl with Aphex Twin and St. Etienne...that's what they sound like. Nice fuzzed out guitars and synths too.
Although the 2 songs below are pretty pop-centric, they do have a more experimental glitchy side that definitely keeps things interesting. Anyway, check out the tracks below. I especially recommend "Dsco".
Sweet Trip - Dsco
Sweet Trip - Noise is a Social Skill
Sweet Trip official site
Sweet Trip on Myspace
Labels: DANCE, ELECTRONIC, INDIE POP, SWEET TRIP
Welcome to Let's Sexy Fighting! This is the first post. FIRST! Anyway, the goal of this site is to (hopefully) shed light on new music and not just regurgitate what's already going on out there in the blogosphere. I realize this effort may very well be in vain, and 2 months down the line you'll see me "breaking" the same bands as everyone else, but it's worth a try. Gotta setup a mission statement and then fail to achieve it...
Labels: ANNOUNCEMENT