Foals are a new band from Oxford, England. Given their tight dance beats and intricate guitar lines, comparisons to Bloc Party will be inevitable. However, if you look past the obvious and dig a little deeper, you'll find math rock influences and bits of The Cure and The Clash as well. Also of note is that there's a Travis Bean aluminum neck guitar in the band, as favored by the likes of Shellac, The Arcade Fire, and Sir Salvatore for its distinctive sound. Check out "Balloons" and get dancing (math-ily)!
Foals - Balloons
Foals official site
Foals on MySpace
Labels: DANCE, EXPERIMENTAL, FOALS, INDIE ROCK
Port O'Brien, one of the bands we gave honorable mention for best EPs of 2006 is back with a new album! All We Could Do Was Sing is due out May 13 with new songs and some re-recorded favorites. Check 'em out at Cafe Du Nord in SF this Saturday headlining an exciting Noisepop show!
Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today
Port O'Brien - My Eyes Won't Shut
Port O'Brien official site
Port O'Brien on MySpace
Labels: EXPERIMENTAL, INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, PORT O'BRIEN
I've been enjoying The Dirtbombs cover of "Sherlock Holmes" (originally by Sparks) and I think you should too. Taking the psych-pop of the original and running it through the Dirtbombs filter (2 bassists, 2 drummers, 1 guitarist/singer) leads to a compelling cover...
The Dirtbombs' new album, We Have You Surrounded, is due out March 11.
The Dirtbombs - Sherlock Holmes
The Dirtbombs official site
The Dirtbombs on MySpace
Labels: INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, THE DIRTBOMBS
My roommate asked me the other day if I had heard Bon Iver. Having seen the name around quite a bit recently, I finally investigated and was not disappointed! Bon Iver is the project of Wisconsin native Justin Vernon, who left North Carolina and returned home after the breakup of his band and his relationship. Sequestering himself away for a few months in his father's old cabin, he set out to write some music.
What resulted is an album full of heartfelt and beautiful folk songs. You can really hear the yearning in his voice! I highly recommend "For Emma" - doesn't sound like it'd be too out of place on a Broken Social Scene album...
Bon Iver - For Emma
Bon Iver on MySpace
The Dodos are one of the red hot bands in SF right now and it's pretty easy to understand why. Experimental, but with pop sensibilities, The Dodos are here to stay! They have a new album coming out March 18th on French Kiss entitled, "Visiter". They play an already sold out show at Noise Pop, then cut across the southwest to Austin for SXSW!
Time to throw in a comparison to another artist - a more accessible Panda Bear!
The Dodos - Fools
The Dodos - The Ball
The Dodos official site
The Dodos on MySpace
Labels: EXPERIMENTAL, FOLK, INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, THE DODOS
Enjoy the day off kiddos, cause we're back to work tomorrow!
Drugstore - President (w/ Thom Yorke)
President - In The Sun
President on MySpace
Labels: DRUGSTORE, INDIE POP, PRESIDENT, THOM YORKE
A wise man once told me, "If there's an opportunity for you to join a pile on, do so." Hence, I will also announce the new Tapes n' Tapes song. Not too shabby. I'm not sure if it's a noticable departure from their previous work, but it certainly sounds more "angular", whatever the hell that means! Bring on the rest of the album!
Tapes n' Tapes - Hang Them All
Tapes n' Tapes official site
Tapes n' Tapes on MySpace
Labels: INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, TAPES N' TAPES
Looks like I missed the window for this song yesterday, but whatevs. Also check out the sweet video for "My Moon My Man" which for some reason I had not seen until yesterday!
The World Provider - Valentine (ft. Feist)
The World Provider official site
The World Provider on MySpace
Labels: DANCE, FEIST, INDIE POP, THE WORLD PROVIDER
The word on the street is that The Rooftop Vigil (who used to be Parasol) is now changing their name yet again to Geographer. In any case, they've been holed up in the studio for a couple months recording their full length, but itching to come out of seclusion...check 'em out at Great American Music Hall on 2/21 with Maladroid and The Ian Fays!
P.S. These guys would be great on a bill with Illuminea.
The Rooftop Vigil - Kacey's Song
The Rooftop Vigil on MySpace
Labels: GEOGRAPHER, INDIE POP, PARASOL, THE ROOFTOP VIGIL
What Made Milwaukee Famous is back with their new album, What Doesn't Kill Us on March 4th. "Resistance St." finds them exploring moodier and more southwestern-sounding territory - although that's not necessarily the trend for the whole album!
What Made Milwaukee Famous - Resistance St.
What Made Milwaukee Famous official site
What Made Milwaukee Famous on MySpace
Labels: INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS
We talked about Grand Archives before when they released their delicious cd-r demo. After signing to Sub Pop, they're back with a newly recorded full length album, The Grand Archives, due out February 19th. Created by ex-Band of Horses member Mat Brooke, Grand Archives shares some of the anthemic guitar aspirations of BoH but adds 4 piece vocal harmonies. Hot damn!
Grand Archives - Torn Blue Couch
Grand Archives official site
Grand Archives on MySpace
Labels: GRAND ARCHIVES, INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK
As previously featured on LSF, The Buddyrevelles are back with a new video for "I Dream of Rodney". Fun song, and fun video! Reminds me of when I had summers off during middle school and used to watch Supermarket Sweep.
The Buddyrevelles - I Dream of Rodney
The Buddyrevelles - Moods
The Buddyrevelles official site
The Buddyrevelles on MySpace
Labels: INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, THE BUDDYREVELLES, VIDEO
As previously mentioned, The Republic Tigers are an experimental indie pop band from Kansas City, Missouri. Mixing electronic sounds and 70's style vocal harmonies, one could easily mistake them for America meets the Helio Sequence (or maybe Engineers meets the Postal Service?) In any case, they're followed up their first release with a new self-titled EP. Check out "Buildings And Mountains", and then check out "Made Concrete" for an older single!
The Republic Tigers - Buildings And Mountains
The Republic Tigers official site
The Republic Tigers on MySpace
Labels: EXPERIMENTAL, INDIE POP, THE REPUBLIC TIGERS
Get out there and vote today, kiddies! (If you're in an applicable state.) Thanks for the great poster, Obey Giant!
Spoon - Change My Life
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Something's Changed
DFA - Chain Reaction-Changes
The Postal Service - Suddenly Everything Has Changed
Labels: DFA, SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS, SPOON, THE POSTAL SERVICE
If you've stumbled across this blog before, you know that we have a soft spot for video game sounding music. Calvin Harris, PB&J remixes, 8-bit xmas carols...in any case, today I'm here to write about Laromlab. Using the same type of synth technology, Laromlab lays down crunchy 8-bit disco grooves.
Labels: DANCE, ELECTRONIC, LAROMLAB
