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Arbouretum – New Scarab
There are a handful of people I’ve met through the internet who are now my foremost sonic prompters. People who send me short emails about a song or an act that they think I’ll like. In the vast majority of cases their hints end up becoming posts on this site. This one came in from our man in Switzerland this morning and what a feast for the senses it is. He primed it as a sort of Neil Young/Uncle Tupelo sound to which we’ll add Red Star Belgrade. A touch of ragged country that is fuelled by a rotating chord and Dave Heumann’s deft pronouncements. Taken from newbie LP ‘Aureola’ this was informed, inspired and generally aided and abetted by another band with a similar lineage called Hush Arbors. The latter, Keith Wood, has spent time in a list of curious yet spelling bands like Six Organs of Admittance and Sunburned Hand of the Man. With those ingredients it was never going to fail, in truth it is one of the year’s most incandescent compositions. Arbouretum and Hush Arbors play Whelan’s this Saturday (May 5th). KD
Arbouretum – New Scarab
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Arbouretum
Year: 2012
Gringo Star – All Y’All
If you thought this sounded retro then you’d be on the money as it comes from the now dusty environs of 2009. From an Atlanta band that have gone on and recorded a follow-up just last year. Given their Beatles referencing moniker it might be too ironic for some that they sound altogether like the Kinks. But why deny oneself an undeniable guilty pleasure? The chords are sultry and fused to equipment that Jack White would give his sister away for. As if to ram the point home there are also lots of hand-claps and vocal harmonies cascading underneath a rapidly fading sunset. You may well be in paradise. KD
Gringo Star – All Y’All
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Gringo Star
Year: 2009
Slowdive – Machine Gun
What with Reading getting promoted it’s probably apt that one of her most famous (sorta) bands is rolled out for old times sake. And boy did this 5-piece have a lasting influence, to this day my mind often wanders back to their floppy fringes and perfect indie girl singer. The music for its part was a hypnotic brand of shoegaze and along with MBV they were the poster-boys for the genre. Slowdive’s back catalogue, while quite slight (3 albums and some incandescent early singles), had at least half a dozen bona fida classics. This is one of them from their middle album ‘Souvlaki’, which along with ‘When The Sun Hits’ epitomised the bands swirling psychedelic montages. It still sends tingles, even more so if you can rent a smoke machine for the afternoon. KD
Slowdive – Machine Gun
Al Scorch – Working Dream
Coming from the West of Ireland I was naturally indoctrinated in the art of traditional music. Hardly worked though as in my infinite wisdom I chose to ignore every strain of the genre that came my way. I was to return, of course, as maturity set in but that reconnection was only kick-started after falling head over heels for the soundtrack to a movie called ‘Southern Comfort’. In that case it was a hypnotic raw form of Cajun, with old-man vocals and boisterous fiddles opening the door to the sounds from back home. I was reminded of that kinetic energy on Al Scorch’s, decidely laidback, ‘Working Dream’ which stood out from the vast crowd of indie numbers that populate my daily soundtrack. Scorch calls it country-soul but has said his sound has Irish origins which probably explains why it feels so attractive to these ears. There is plenty more goodness to be found on the Chicago mans ‘Tired Ghostly Town’ from last year. KD
Al Scorch – Working Dream
Ican Ican’t – 3 Nil-Nils
In 2002 mp3hugger was a mere twinkle in this blogger’s eye so there was never any chance that Ireland’s impressive run in that year’s World Cup would be commemorated in an online capacity by us. 10 years later and with a record label that is now almost of school-going age we couldn’t let the occasion of the country’s qualification for Euro 2012 pass without giving it some sort of recognition. And so ‘Sing Up For The Boys In Green’ has been put together by some of our favourite bands from home and abroad. There are 11 tracks in total which cover a myriad of themes, all of which are related to the Boys in Green. The album is streaming in full over at Indiecater (and below) and there is a freebie track from Ican Ican’t called ’3 Nils-Nils’, which besides a mighty chorus sums up all our hopes for the summer ahead. It even has a momentary nod to the Proclaimers which inevitably means it will haunt wedding dancefloor’s for decades to come. We live in hope anyway. Take in all the action over on the Indiecater website. KD
Ican Ican’t – 3 Nil-Nils
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Sing Up For The Boys In Green
Year: 2012
Jonka – Every Other Day
Been a while since an electronic track has been kickin’ around here but ‘Every Other Day’ is an absolute beaut. The Brooklyn based couple behind Jonka offer a semi-gospel vocal that is propelled towards the heavens courtesy of an uplifting trancey backdrop. Of course the audio sounds better than that awkward description, so much that it could easily straddle the line between lounge scene setter and dancefloor filler. It is ripe for a remix too as there is plenty of possibilities to stretch its array of engaging ideas. KD
Jonka – Every Other Day
Conduits – Top Of The Hill
Not quite shoegaze (they do mention Slowdive and MBV in their bio so it’s no coincidence) but a direct descendant nonetheless from this Omaha band who are tantalisingly going on tour with Cymbals Eat Guitars. What a contemporary retro feast that is likely to be given their shared love of all things 90′s (something you’ll have gathered that we are also quite partial to as well). For all ‘Top of The Hill’s epic grandeur though it slips by quite quickly, at just under 4 minutes, which is a shame because the twin diametric forces of Jenna Morrison’s glacial vocals and the monstrous chords are irresistible. Has us pining for more but then there is a whole self-titled debut to gorge on. KD
Conduits – Top Of The Hill
Toy – Left Myself Behind
This really is quite an extraordinary 7 minutes, especially the molten instrumental breakdown in the second half. And quite unexpectedly it comes from a group in the first flush of youth straight out of London town. They’ve been feted before mind, as the short-lived and much hyped Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong. This new incarnation, at just 2 singles in, is already streets ahead of its predecessor and with a canny label in Heavenly behind them they are surely set for the big time. Once they don’t throw themselves out of the pram that is. ‘Left Myself Behind’ could have been on Swervedriver’s ‘Raise’ so as you can imagine this is pumping through my veins with the intensity of a last minute Ireland goal. KD
Toy – Left Myself Behind
Apollo Ghosts – What Are Your Influences
Been somewhat diverted with the imminent arrival of tiny hugger number 2 and the small matter of our tribute compilation to the Boys In Green (more of which later). So listening to new sounds has been a fleeting activity recently. And with so little time to spare it is only tiny dinky numbers like Apollo Ghosts ‘What Are Your Influences’ that are getting through. All it takes is 90 seconds for these Canadians to work their retro heeled magic however. This is a real-life mirror image of the best 90′s indie band that never was, all brightly lit moving parts and a vocalist who sounds like he might be smiling all the way through. It’s mightn’t add up to a hill of beans but then it doesn’t make you fart either. KD
Apollo Ghosts – What Are Your Influences
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Apollo Ghosts
Year: 2012
Real Estate – Beach Comber
Before they neatly landed on our laps courtesy of last year’s ‘Days’ New Jersey band Real Estate already had form. Witness the opening cut from their 2009 debut, a simple rolling jangling number that dispenses with widescreen theatrics in favour of plain old chord changes and pretty indie boy vocals. It’s our staple, our meat and 2 veg and the sort of stuff that will be playing on our tombstone whenever they get around to figuring out how a piece of stone can play music on rotation long after the flowers have wilted. Don’t mind the rickety production as this is a band who had figured it all out by the time they had unveiled their next set of tricks. KD
Real Estate – Beach Comber
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Real Estate
Year: 2009
The Spook of The Thirteenth Lock – The Brutal Here And Now (Part 1)
Of course the beauty of Dublin’s The Spook of The Thirteeth Lock is that they somehow utterly appeal to both the traditional and foraging-for-new-music people sets. I choose to say ‘sets‘ for that is the type of foot activity that I tend to adopt on hearing their rangy banjo and intrepid vocals, bound together in the style of a schoolbus full of children set loose on a field of naturally growing smarties. It’s as joyful as that, as pushing the boat out as a bearded posse of planxty’s, and yet they remain entrenched underground. An LP called ‘The Brutal Here And Now’, out in a few days, will hopefully render them obligatory for a much wider audience. KD
The Spook of The Thirteenth Lock – The Brutal Here And Now (Part 1)
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: The Spook of The Thirteenth Lock
Year: 2012
Bishop Morocco – Old Boys
Torn between a warped and jangling demeanour early doors ‘Old Boys’ soon hits its groove, and in the process becomes a splendid porthole into the sort of music that Sweden’s Labrador Records has been producing for years. Bishop Morocco are very much a Canadian proposition though, despite being decamped in Europe for many moons. The twin creative forces of Jake Fairley and Jim Sayce had previous creative incarnations together before meeting quite by chance in Northern Holland after some time apart. The resulting songs came out as Bishop Morocco and with Arts & Crafts offering assistance their knowing brand of indie pop should find a ready audience. KD
Bishop Morocco – Old Boys
More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Bishop Morocco
Year: 2012