Indie Rock Cafe - Independent alternative music blog

Song of the Week, Overlooked Album, Meet Islands

Friday, January 12, 2007

The song of the week is one that is well deserving of the honor. If you like edgy, experimental indie pop, check out the quirky Montreal indie band Island's single "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby".

The single is on Island's under-rated and brilliant debut album Return to the Sea, which surprisingly was overlooked by many rock critics, and even many of the indie rock bloggers. It didn't even make most of the top album of the year lists you see everywhere in December and January.

- Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby [mp3]
- Bonus: Volcanoes [mp3]

Buy the album or these tracks individually at iTunes, Amazon or anywhere they sell the group's music!

Islands is a band that is in a perpetual state of flux, formed by Unicorn members Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur. The album is described by Nick as having "some dancehall [sic] influences, some calypso...diverse and sprawling and ambitious...a bit more mature than The Unicorns... more of a Neil Young/Brian Wilson vibe running through it." (quoted from Wikipedia)

Woooa, Nick, your a great musician and artist but comparing yourself to Neil Young and Brian Wilson is pushing your luck, especially considering those two legends influence on the last 40 years of music. As Stephen Colbert would say, 'a wag of the finger' at you, Mr. Diamonds.

The collaboration on the Return to the Sea project included contributions from members of The Arcade Fire and The Wolf Parade.

Following the release of the album, the band went on a series of U.S. and Canadian tours during 2006. Earlier in 2005 they had opened for Beck from time to time and Metric. The critics and fans love the group's live shows. They even played some concerts where they had the concert-goers to follow them out of the venue and into the streets in the spirit of the Pipe Piper of Hamelin.

After fans complained enough on blogs and fan sites, the group launched a fairly cool Flash powered official website back in late summer of 2006. The site may be a bit difficult for some (roll the mouse over the name of the band for the sections of the site), but it is a creative and refreshing approach.

No question that official band sites are getting better all the time. They just need to offer more free downloads, videos, interviews and add-ons like alerts when a concert date is added or changed.

Since 2006 wasn't that long ago, we have named Return to The Sea one of IRC's Top 20 albums of the year, and the single "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" one of the best songs of the year.

You'd think that a song with such a title would be quirky, angry, mocking or what have you. But it's a true indie gem - oozing with waves of melodies, catchy riffs and memorable chorus harmonies. You may even find yourself tapping your foot. It's a great song to play when stuck in rush hour traffic or you need a picker-upper.

Warning: If you are a total hard-core indie punk or monster rocker, then you'd probably want to smash this CD if it was in front of you, but chill out my friend, we have plenty on damn good indie rock and punk on this site for you too,

Labels: Beck, Best Indie Songs, Brian Wilson, Islands, Neil Young, New Indie Artists, Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur, Return To The Sea, The Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, The Wolf Parade, Unicorns

Camera Obscura Releases New Tour Dates for US and Australia

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Camera Obscura, one of the most popular indie pop bands over the last few years, has released the dates and venues for an ambitious tour across the United States and Australia, kicking off their first show January 17 at The Earl in Atlanta.

According to their official website, there may be more dates added later.

If you get a chance to see them, IRC strongly recommends that you get your tickets early; they will sell out just about everywhere and you don't want to be dishing out double the price for concert tickets on eBay.

Meanwhile, listen to song samples and view the tour dates. You may also want to check out their official homepage, featuring streaming audio and music videos, MP3s and easy-to-use media formats, creating an interactive experience.

Listen now:

- If Looks Could Kill (official release in UK/Europe is set for Jan. 29)
- Let's Get Out of This Country - (one of the song's that got them noticed)

Note: Support the group and buy Camera Obscura music from Emusic.com or anywhere on the Internet.

TOUR DATES - January to March 2007

Jan 17 2007

8:00P

The Earl

Atlanta, Georgia

Jan 18 2007

8:00P

The Club Downunder

Talahasee, Florida

Jan 19 2007

8:00P

40 Watt Club

Athens, Georgia

Jan 20 2007

8:00P

Cat's Cradle

Carborro, North Carolina

Jan 21 2007

8:00P

Sun Satellite Ballroom

Charlottesville, Virginia

Jan 22 2007

8:00P

9:30 Club

Washington, Washington DC

Jan 24 2007

8:00P

Warsaw

Brooklyn, New York

Jan 26 2007

8:00P

Pearl Street

Northampton, Massachusetts

Jan 27 2007

8:00P

Paradise Rock Club

Boston, Massachusetts

Jan 29 2007

8:00P

La Sala Rossa

Montreal, Quebec

Jan 30 2007

8:00P

Barrymore's Music Hall

Ottawa, Ontario

Jan 31 2007

8:00P

Opera House

Toronto, Ontario

Feb 1 2007

8:00P

Blind Pig

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Feb 2 2007

8:00P

Kraftbrau Brewery

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Feb 3 2007

8:00P

Logan Square Auditorium

Chicago, Illinois

Feb 5 2007

8:00P

The Blue Note

Columbia, Missouri

Feb 8 2007

8:00P

The Bluebird Theatre

Denver, Colorado

Feb 9 2007

8:00P

The Record Bar

Kansas City, Kansas

Feb 10 2007

8:00P

Polyforum Siqueiros

Mexico City

Feb 12 2007

8:00P

Neumos

Seattle, Washington

Feb 13 2007

8:00P

Richard's On Richard's

Vancouver, British Columbia

Feb 14 2007

8:00P

Wonder Ballroom

Portland, Oregon

Feb 16 2007

8:00P

Bimbo's

San Francisco, California

Feb 17 2007

8:00P

El Ray Theatre

Los Angeles, California

Feb 22 2007

8:00P

Troubadour

Brisbane, Northern Territory

Feb 23 2007

8:00P

Laneway Festival

Melbourne, Victoria

Feb 23 2007

8:00P

Northcote Social Club

Melbourne, Western Australia

Feb 24 2007

8:00P

Laneway Festival

Melbourne

Mar 2 2007

8:00P

Perth International Arts Centre

Perth, Western Australia

Mar 3 2007

8:00P

Laneway Festival

Brisbane

Mar 4 2007

8:00P

Laneway Festival

Sydney

Mar 5 2007

8:00P

Annandale Hotel

Sydney, New South Wales

Labels: Best Indie Artists, Camera Obscura Concert Tour Dates, Indie Bands, Music Samples, Scottish Bands

'American Idol' Wishes It Had An Original Talent Like Mia Rose

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Update: Nov. 26, 2007 - Hey Everyone! See Mia's special note to all of you in the comments section below, and leave your own comment for Mia and other fans to read (spam and inappropriate comments will not be published)

Fans of Mia Rose! IRC was the first major music blog (Dec. 2006) to recognize the talent, and predict the international fame, of Mia Rose. In the past year, Mia Rose has become a global sensation and more than 35,000 people have come to this website from more than 50 countries worldwide.

Get news by feed or email about Mia Rose and other great independent musical talents - from indie rock to emo -
by subscribing to IRC .

Don't Miss: See her first YouTube video of a song Mia wrote herself below (scroll down)

We will have a very special - and only where on IRC - announcement about you and Mia Rose soon. Also check out Indierockconcerts.com and indierocksongs.com.

This story was originally published on Jan. 9, 2007

As folks who passionately love music, we are always eager to hear fresh and talented musicians who have somehow not shown up on the radar of the music industry.

Mia Rose, an 18-year-old young woman from the United Kingdom, is so far one of the missed blips on the screen.

But make no mistake about it, she will become a superstar if managed by the right people. See and hear for yourself. She can even sing magnificently without music.

The natural ability to sing without music is a big indicator of talent, and Mia does it marvelously.

Not only is she a talented young singer and guitar player, but Mia also has a spunky personality and she is absolutely adorable.

But still the overwhelming consensus is that she is going to be a big star if she gets the right label and manager.

In this music video, which we think is phenomenal, she is clearly a little nervous, but she's 18, so give her a break. All in all, she has begun the journey to international stardom.

Subscribers and new subscribers: Please check the website periodically for more timely updates on Mia Rose and the global indie music movement.

Sign Me Up for the Indie Indeed Feed

Labels: American Idol, Female singers, Mia Rose, New Artists, UK Idol, Unsigned Artists