The Strokes are back big time in 2011.

This page is dedicated to highlighting the most recent, and most popular, posts and mixtapes on IRC that focus on best new and emerging artists, ‘established’ indie and alternative rock bands, and obscure, under-the-radar artists you’ll only hear on IRC. Check this page often to stay up on bands to watch, hot new bands and talented, promising artists who can be found only on IRC.

Also, access numerous playlists and mixes right here, including IRC’s weekly Best New Releases and Top Ten Songs series, as well as regular special edition playlists like In Dee Mail, Recent Releases Almost Missed, plus special playlists like the extremely popular Best Summer Songs mix series, and  One Man Bands, Indie Cover Songs, Feetz To Da Beatz, Songs About the Moon, Indie Christmas Songs, Halloween Song Mixes, Songs About New York, Singer-Songwriter Spotlight, and many others that you can browse, featuring hundreds of free MP3s.

Fresh Tracks: Beirut’s ‘The Rip Tide’ Album is One of the Most Anticipated of the Summer – and For Good Reason

Last modified on 2011-07-12 12:32:11 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

Beirut will release their new album, The Rip Tide, on August 30th

One could make a pretty good case for the fact that Beirut are one of the most talented and popular indie bands ever, and deserve their fair share of the credit for helping to popularize indie music to a wider audience over the years. With a solid discography of classic indie albums like The Flying Club Cup, any announcement of a new album by Beirut creates a sustained flurry of expectation, speculation and chatter among literally millions of fans worldwide.

The anticipation building around the upcoming release of the band’s first album in four year’s is palpable. The new album is called Rip Tide, and has been slated for official release in the U.S. on August 30th. After a show recently, we were given an advance copy of the album (see tracklisting below), and listening to it, was the main priority after the show.

Based on the number of times we’ve listened to Rip Tide now (on the fifth or sixth spin right now), we feel strongly that Beirut fans are going to be pleased with the band’s first album in four years.  We’ve already listened to it three times. Already, the first single from the album, “East Harlem,” has made the rounds, even taking the No. 2 spot on the third week of June’s Top 10 Songs list. It’s a fantastic song, but, thankfully, it doesn’t end there. Rip Tide is yet another album of wonderfully written and impeccably recorded songs from one of the best indie bands of the past decade.

“East Harlem” – Beirut from The Rip Tide – out August 30th

One of the main things that we like about Beirut is the consistency of their sound and their work – rich, textured, full, creative, clever, engaging, and a pillar of influence to other musicians around the world. And while Beirut does have a recognizable sound – the unmistakable brass and string instrumentation, the distinct, crooning vocals of Zach Condon, the synth orchestrations, fabulous choruses, thrilling climaxes, strong poetic songwriting influenced by a keen world view, and a professionalism that makes the band members, individually, and collectively, admired by fans, critics and fellow artists.

We don’t want to give away too much about the album, but we believe that Beirut fans will be particularly delighted with The Rip Tide. There are some really fantastic songs on here, including “Santa Fe,” “Goshen,” “A Candle’s Fire”, the first single, “East Harlem,” and the title track. As is the case with all of Beirut’s albums, it’s hard to find a song on The Rip Tide that we don’t like, and easy to find songs we enjoy immensely.

“The Rip Tide” – Beirut from The Rip Tide – due out August 30th

One of the things we also like about the album is that there are many songs about places, as the track listing below clearly shows. Beirut has always evoked a deep affinity, and even longing, in their music for places, which any Beirut fan knows to be true. There are a dozen or more Beirut songs from their fantastic discography that have a geographical reference in them, whether it’s in the lyrics, the song title, or both. We share this affinity for songs that are about places – whether it’s a town or city, state or country, or even a lake, river or ocean.

Beirut has the unique gift to create a sense of place, not just in their lyrics, but through their rich, dynamic and world music influenced compositions. Anyone familiar with the band’s music over the past decade can’t miss this central theme in the music and one of the reasons

The other reason we like The Rip Tide is that fact that it presents more terrific songs for our State of Music playlist series – a mixtape series with the names of states or cities in the song titles. It’s one of our favorite mixtapes to put together, so, if you’ve never heard them before, you gotta check them out.

In fact, it’s about time to make a new State of Music mix. Surely, one of the songs from The Rip Tide will be included. In the meantime, listen to State of Music mixtapes, and find out how this mixtape series was partially influenced by Sufjan Stevens. We have hundreds of great, manually selected and organized playlists for this series, and it’s been a while since we’ve put together a new one – so watch out for that, coming soon.

You may remember Beirut’s third album from 2009, which was basically two EPs – March of the Zapotec/ Realpeople Holland. The former was the band’s collaboration with excellent mican artits. recording with a marching band in Mexico, and the other from Condon‘s solo, bedroom project under the moniker, RealPeople (nope, not the 1980s TV show) . On the latter EP, was yet another place name song, the enchanting, “Venice,” via UmStrum.com. And the place name songs list goes on and on.

“Venice” – RealPeople fom Holland EP (2009)

The Rip Tide Track Listing:

1. A Candle’s Fire
2. Santa Fe
3. East Harlem
4. Goshen
5. Payne’s Bay
6. The Rip Tide
7. Vagabond
8. The Peacock
9. Port of Call

Have You Heard Beirut’s New Brazilian Cover Song?

Beirut also has a new cover song out from the compilation Red Hot + RIO 2, that officially dropped this week. For their part, the members of Beirut recorded an unsurprising excellent cover of Caetano Veloso‘s “O Leãozinho.”  While we have yet to hear all of volume two of Red Hot + Rio, if it’s anything like the first volume, then we’re looking forward to hearing it – the LP is on our Summer Listening list (that gets longer every day).

“O Leãozinho” (Caetano Veloso) – Beirut from Red Hot + Rio 2 via DayDreamStationMusic blog

7 Overseas Bands You’ve Gotta Hear, Vol. I: Last Dinosaurs, The Black Atlantic, Street Chant, Bodies of Work, I Only Date Models

Last modified on 2011-06-16 03:45:51 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

Every few months or so, a music publication or blogger will tag a certain overseas country, region or city as “emerging” or “up and coming” or “place to be” for new indie and alternative rock music, and the gazillion sub-genres that branch outwards from that trunk. For a while it will be one overseas area, like, say, Manchester in the U.K., or Stockholm, and then some other critic will crown some other location, like Prague, while another insists only weeks later that it’s all happening in Melbourne.

We thought it would be much easier, and more interesting, to expand the new and wildly popular playlist series, 7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear (or 7 Bands for short), into sub-categories, since there are so many bands and songs that we have posted and will be posting for weeks and months to come. Due to the positive response to the first installment of 7 Bands, and after we reviewed reader comments and web stats, we decided to expand the series into geographical categories.

Some people may be understandably skeptical that we have received over 1,200 submissions from bands and artists in the past six months, but it’s true. So, we’ve been going through them one by one, which can be draining and tedious at times, but it’s all worth it when we come across a fantastic artist or band that we never heard of before. In fact, we’re almost sure that this is the first “big” exposure on a U.S. indie rock music site for many of the artists in today’s 7 Bands installment.

Little by little, we’re getting through the approximate 1,200 submissions (and counting), and sorting out the bands we like the most by first listening to the songs they submitted, and if they get our attention, we then put them into a playlist which we listen to numerous times over a couple of weeks time. In that process, more songs are omitted, and others rise up, until we have a robust mix of just the songs that impressed us the most.

From there, we then go and review each chosen band’s complete submission. Really, it doesn’t change anything at this point – we don’t care where they’re from, if they’re DIY (which most are) or signed to a label, who they have opened for (or if they’ve opened for anyone before), what their bio says, and who are their biggest musical influences. All that really matters to us is the music, and that’s all we’ve ever cared about.

We don’t expect everyone to like every band we feature, but if most people come away with a couple songs added to their MP3 player, or even a new favorite overseas band, then we feel like it was a success and worth the great deal of time it takes to make these featured playlist posts possible. We can’t wait to see what all of you think of these bands, and we’ll be keeping count of which songs are played and downloaded the most. And there is SO much more to come, so stay tuned to IRC.   The bands in this issue of 7 Bands are:

Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia
The Black Atlantic – Groningen, Netherlands
Street Chant - New Zealand
Bodies of Work – London, England
I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England
Genuine Hamony - Karlstad, Sweden
Luciano Sprovieri – Los Angeles via Sao Paulo

The Last Dinosaurs are an indie rock band from Australia

Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia

In their native Australia, indie rockers Last Dinosaurs have been selling out shows all over the continent. No wonder. The band serves up brimming, energetic, blazing indie pop rock that is perfect for a summer barbie party, and even more, for live shows. We expect to see and hear more from this band in coming months, and are very interested in how IRC readers will respond to the band.

We think that others who stop by the cafe and hang out to listen to the two singles we’ve included from the band will wonder, as we have, why we haven’t heard of this band before.  One would think that a band with this level of pure talent, splendid songwriting abilities, and near perfect execution would be a big deal. Maybe we can change that right here and now. What do you think? As far as we can see, they’ve only be previewed before on a couple U.S. based blogs.

It’d be great to get this band to SXSW 2012 and see what the reaction is from the attendees. Hopefully they can get visas and get booked at U.S. and European venues and festivals. It’s basically a no brainer that Last Dinosaurs have the potential to be hugely successful to an international, rock-craving populace, which has a huge appetite for new and talented bands. And the same can basically be said for most of the bands in this series. If you enjoy the music you hear in today’s post – most of which is likely new to most of you – then you will really enjoy what we’ve got in the pipeline for upcoming editions of 7 Bands Overseas.

Now, back to Last Dinosaurs. This first track, “As Far As Your Concerned,” was the band’s debut single last summer, and it really struck a chord in the land Down Under. Their debut EP, Back From The Dead is out now and the band has embarked on an extensive Australian tour.

“As Far As Your Concerned” – Last Dinosaurs from Back From The Dead

“Honolulu” – Last Dinosaurs from Back From The Dead

Last Dinosaurs on MySpace

The Black Atlantic – Groningen, Holland

The Black Atlantic is an acoustic indie folk pop band based out of Groningen, Holland. The Black Atlantic’s music is an introspective and intimate affair of story-telling that relies heavily on vocal harmonies, and melodies via soft strummed guitars and banjos, pianos and minimal percussion. The band often evokes natural imagery to express their stories on love, death and family.

The Black Atlantic has toured in various incarnations around the world, mostly in North America, the U.K. and Europe, and have opened for bands such as Nada Surf, Patrick Watson and Saturday Looks Good to Me. In 2009, the band released their debut album, Reverence for Fallen Trees , most of which was recorded during the autumn of 2008 in a log cabin in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. TBA are recommended if you like Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Sigúr Ros and Patrick Watson.

“Fragile Meadow” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees

“Heirloom” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees

Download Reverence for Fallen Trees for free.

The Black Atlantic on Myspace

Street Chant – Melbourne via New Zealand

Over the past couple of years, New Zealand indie rock band Street Chant, have made quite an impression in their homeland, and little by little, outside their Down Under domain. In fact, their mini blog hit, “Scream Walk,” made the rounds, but less so in the U.S. In fact, the single appeared on some blogs’ and music sites’ top singles of 2010 lists.

Now based in Melbourne, Australia, we think Street Chant is the only band in today’s post that has performed at CMJ. Their appearance last fall at New York‘s famous CMJ was one of the most anticipated out of hundreds of artists and bands vying for any piece of territory where they could plug in and jam. For each of Street Chant’s performances during CMJ week, the venues were packed with lines waiting outside. The track included below, “Scream Walk,” was one of the songs that propelled the band to a position of being chosen to perform at CMJ.

A few weeks ago, the band’s publicist sent us a new single, “The Fatigues” from the band’s April album release, titled Means. So, we have a newer and older track to offer.  The raw talent, overwhelmingly positive press and word of mouth about Street Chant have definitely earned them a place among our 7 Overseas Bands You Gotta Hear.

“The Fatigues” - Street Chant from Means

“Scream Walk” – Street Chant from Street Chant EP (2009)

Bodies of Work – London, England

Since forming in 2009, London DIY band, Bodies of Work ,have created a small discography of dark and glittery alternative pop music, capturing melodrama with flashbulbs and sequins. Lead by compulsive frontman, Martin Bjorck, Bodies of Work has found common ground alongside Lizzie Holdforth (synth/vox), Chris Morgan (drums), and Andy Wright Becker (bass), thriving on musical extremes, as evidenced on the band’s EP debut, Flyers, which features soaring synths and gritty guitars intertwined with a powerful and sophisticated rhythm section.

The band’s musical skills and talent are showcased throughout Flyers. On the stand-out track, “Feathers”, by the second time the chorus came around we found ourselves singing along and tapping our feet. But the EP’s most accomplished track, “Flyers,” features a minor, catchy synth riff accompanied by the Interpol-esque guitar driven chorus.

We think Bodies of Work are just waiting to be discovered by indie fans everywhere, including the all-important U.S. market. Surprisingly, not much has been written about Bodies of Work on music sites or blogs in the U.S., and their band name is not particularly search engine-friendly. But, we’re hoping that today’s post will bring the U.K. band more interest from across the pond.

“Flyers” – Bodies of Work from Flyers EP

“Feathers” – Bodies of Work from Flyers EP

Bodies of Work on MySpace

What others are saying:

“Expect big things from Bodies of Work” – Richard Bowes, London Tourdates

“With songs of this caliber they won’t be quiet for long” – Record Collector

“Bursts with vim and vigour and unabashed catchiness… performed with conviction and passion” – God is in the TV

I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England

In October 2010, the Nottingham UK indie pop band I Only Date Models dropped their debut LP, This End Tomorrow. It’s no surprise that less than a year since forming they’ve become one of the most popular new bands in Nottingham and were recently featured on the BBC, the all-important foot-in-big-door broadcast for aspiring young UK bands since the 1960s.  Based on these two songs alone, we’re listing I Only Date Models as a UK Band to Watch in 2011.

The track “This Ends Tomorrow” is almost immediately an instant indie hit if there ever was one, so we would not be surprised if it ends up on the upcoming Top Ten Songs mixes. Since today is Saturday, the track doesn’t quite qualify for inclusion on this week’s Top Ten, so we’ll have to wait a week to see, but we’ll be watching the numbers all week and will let you know via our Twitter Glitter.

In edition to “This Ends Tomorrow,” the boys also sent us the riveting guitar-drive rocker, “Tunnels,” another track that is not hard to imagine as a hit single. While the argument could be made that the sound is a bit too polished to be “indie” we beg to disagree – the band are unsigned. That makes them much more indie-legit, if you will, then many other bands that are labeled indie.

We can hear the comparisons already (so we won’t even mention them), but we were surprised to find out that no one in the cafe has ever heard of I Only Date Models before, especially for our readers in the U.K., where IODMs are building a growing audience of fans.

“This Ends Tomorrow” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow

“Tunnels” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow

IODM list among their musical influences deadmau5, Skrillex, Biffy Clyro, Phoenix, and Phil Collins.

Genuine Harmony – Karlstad, Sweden

From the city of Karlstad, Sweden, the four-member, unsigned indie pop outfit, Genuine Harmony, formed in 2008 and recorded their first demo in the autumn of 2009. About a year later, after winning two music contests and playing at different venues around Sweden, the band released their EP, A Thousand Times Before.

The band has had some good press coverage in Sweden and in scattered areas across Europe, but not much at all in the U.S. Maybe we can help change that. While most bands do not list their band members’ names in their submissions, even though we highly recommend it, Genuine Harmony did; the band is made up of Simon Öman (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Christoffer Zetterlund (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Ola Nilsson (bass) and Jakob Bäckman (drums).

Genuine Harmony have opened for bands we’ve never heard of like The Fast Forwards, Magnus Weideskog, Starboys, Snowstorm, and Jacks n’ Jokers, and consider among their biggest musical influences bands like The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, The Kinks, The Libertines, First Aid Kit, Those Dancing Days, Mando Diao, and more.

“Flowsnakes” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before

“You, Me & Coco” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before

Genuine Harmony on MySpace

Luciano Sprovieri – Los Angeles via Sao Paulo

From São Paulo, Brazil, DIY singer/songwriter and pop musician Luciano Sprovieri wrote his first song when he was only eight years old. As a self-proclaimed lover of melodies, Sporvieri continued to pursue a passion for music, and a penchant for songwriting, from that moment to the present day.

In 2005, he fulfilled a personal dream to move to California. Since then, he turned his attention to releasing a debut album last fall called Drifting By. In the box on the submission form for ‘Bands Opened Up For,’ Sprovieri indicated none, but did not elaborate. His personal musical influences include Return to Forever, Weather Report, Marisa Monte, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, George Benson, Luis Gonzaga, Jethro Tull, Eric Clapton, Air, Marvin Gaye, Pearl Jam and many others

“Ocean” - Luciano Sprovieri from Drifting By

“Shattered” -  Luciano Sprovieri from Drifting By

Luciano Sprovieri on Facebook

7 Bands You Gotta Hear, Vol. I: Golden Dogs, Rec Centre, Smoke & Feathers, Boogie Monster, The Wind, El Santo Nada, M&JC

Last modified on 2011-07-19 09:55:32 GMT. 11 comments. Top.

The Golden Dogs have been around for a decade, but we're just digging them lately

As we disclosed earlier this year, we got behind on the In Dee Music series for one simple reason – the number of submissions coming in has nearly tripled in the past 16 months, which almost perfectly coincides with the rise in overall monthly visitors during the same time period. IRC is receiving up to 400 submissions a month, and we’re backlogged.

So, here we are playing catch up, and for very good reasons. We have received a practical treasure chest of good to absolutely fantastic music to share with you from bands and artists most of you have never heard of before. Although it is tempting to just bite the bullet and scrap the backlog, that would be a disservice to our readers, the artists who sent in their music, and ultimately, to ourselves. The music that is coming in dee mail is, again, simply that good, and we think that not to share it would be just wrong all around.

Rather than using the rather non-descript, but ‘creative’ post title, In Dee Mail, we decided to make it more luring by creating a title that creates an immediate connection to readers, listeners and visitors. If you love hearing new music from talented artists you are unfamiliar with, we think we have a treat just for you today.

In this special edition of In Dee Mail – 7 Bands You Should Hear – we’ve put together profiles with music of seven bands that stood out for one reason or another among hundreds of music submissions. To some degree, some of these bands, perhaps all of them, could be Bands to Watch, but we want to make the distinction that they are known to us only because they sent us their music.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada
Rec Centre – Vancouver, Canada
Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas
The Wind - Long Beach, California
Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada
Me And Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts
El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada

Toronto indie pop band, and Nevado recording artist, The Golden Dogs, caught our attention right away after sending in these two terrific singles – “Cheap Umbrellas,” followed by a second single, “Darkroom.” Both songs are off their most recent album Coat of Arms and were sent to IRC unsolicited.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when we found out that The Golden Dogs have opened for an impressive list of bands, to say the least, including Feist, Sloan Zeus, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Thurston Moore, Roky Erikson, and The Libertines. You know how many bands out there would kill to open for just one of those big-hitters? Thousands.

The band have been praised in The New York Times, Q Magazine, various Toronto weeklies and a number of blogs like Pop Matters. But, they haven’t really “broken out” yet in the U.S. in the big way that they deserve to. So, we’re going to do our best to help that along.

The Golden Dogs’ musical influences range from alternative and indie rock – Radiohead, Ween, Wilco, New Pornographers – to classic rock giants like The Beatles, The Kinks and Neil Young.

We’re really interested to hear if you knew of The Golden Dogs before, or if this is your first time, what you think.  Oddly, the band has been around for 10 years – a bit surprised they’re not well-known. First up, is the Spoon-sounding rocker, “Darkroom,” a song that we’ve played over and over again in recent weeks. And, of course, the fascinating tack, “Cheap Umbrellas,” helps make the case further as this being a band to watch in 2011 and beyond.

“Darkroom” - The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms

In Their Own Words: “We have a great live band made up of our dearest friends who are insanely talented musicians and incredibly impressive to watch. We’re sort of known in Canada for our wild live performances.”

“Cheap Umbrellas” – The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms

Rec Centre -  Vancouver, Canada

Rec Centre is the moniker of Eh Jay, a ‘bedroom musician’ from Vancouver. We’re opting to let Jay tell the story of Rec Centre himself: “I had been playing folk music in my bedroom for years, and got tired of writing cutesy acoustic music that sounded nothing like the music I listened to. So I start programming electronic beats, ditched my acoustic guitar for an electric, and used a vintage Casiotone that my friend found in a Salvation Army.

“I recorded on my computer and made everything loud. I was aiming to make a C-86-sounding indie pop record, but I think the results probably sound closer to ’90s slacker rock. I’ve been working with a keyboardist and a drummer to turn Rec Centre into a real band, but up until now it’s just been a solo project.” Long Weekend! is a free EP, and Eh Jay is apparently working on new material now.

Rec Centre include among musical influences of The Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, early Weezer, Apollo Ghosts, Little Girls, Black Tambourine, the Cure, and Pavement.

“Sleeper” – Rec Centre from Long Weekend EP (2010)

“Funner” – Rec Centre from Long Weekend EP (2010)

Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas

Austin based psychedelic rock/southern indie rock band Smoke and Feathers sent in a couple of very good tracks from their recent self-titled, debut album. We were floored. This band rocks! Sorry for the cliche, but it’s so applicable, both in the actual music itself, and in the way to describe the band to others.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Smoke and Feathers are gaining ground in the local Austin alternative rock scene, which says much when you consider that great bands are a dime a dozen in one of the musical capitals of the world. So, to standout in Austin, is a huge deal for any band.

And it brings along with it many opportunities. Aside from the annual SXSW music fest, and Austin City Limits, not to mention an array of other music festival and events in the city, rising bands in Austin often get a chance to open for some well-known, international artists. Smoke and Feathers have ceased those opportunities, opening for bands like The Black Angels, The Whigs, Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Alberta Cross, Indian Jewelry, and The Entrance Band.

In Their Own Words: “Smoke and Feathers takes you carelessly away on heavy guitar rifts to a place in your psyche, where the angel and devil inside argue; soulful human drama, eerie, compelling wizardy, desire, temptation – nothing close to innocent, but perfectly and beautifully balanced contradictions.”

On “Blue Skies,” we dig the lo-fi guitar punk sound that’s going on, and on “Wicked Ways,” the track has an appropriately southern rock style with a bit of swagger and some definite Led Zeppelin influences. We recommend Smoke and Feathers if you like bands such as Cage The Elephant, Wolfmother, and Them Crooked Vultures.

Smoke and Feathers on MySpace

“Blue Skies” – Smoke and Feathers from Smoke and Feathers

“Wicked Ways” – Smoke and Feathers from Smoke and Feathers

The Wind – Long Beach, California

What is this? Another promising DIY band that almost no one has ever heard of? Yes, it does look that way. And it’s no surprise that they, who call themselves The Wind, are based by the oceanside in Long Beach, California. It’s also fitting that their most promising single, “Hathor,” sounds like a spring or summer time song.

The second track, “Monsters,” isn’t as menacing as the title suggests; instead it’s a kind of day-dreamy type of mellowed out track flushed with globs of Beach Boys-style harmonies, and interludes of background voices and slow-hand mini-guitar solos. The Wind have opened for awesome bands like Delta Spirit, Local Natives, Dawes, and Cold War Kids and include among their major influences – and not surprisingly -   The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead, Danny Elfman, The Kinks, and Cat Stevens. Their debut double CD, Harum Scarum, was released in November of 2010.

“Hathor” – The Wind from Harum-Scarum

“Monsters” – The Wind from Harum-Scarum

Get The Wind’s album free

Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada

Calling all head bangers and noise rock lovers; the Boogie Monster is real, frantic and loud. At least in Vancouver. Woven in between the searing guitar riffs, floor-thumping bass, dynamo drum explosions and lack of vocals (instrumental only band), there are tiny hints of classical music that jump out as if from behind corners and trees as the song plows forward through your mind and body. From the first few seconds of “Lost in Bollywood,” Boogie Monster comes at you with an all-out blitz and barrage of metal, rock and experimental sounds that are heavily charged, aggressive and immensely noisy – great stuff; let it rip. We also are including, “Castle In The Clouds,” a more tamed outburst, and like all of the band’s songs, completely instrumental.

Like bands such as The White Stripes, The Raveonettes and Japandroids, this Canadian duo consists of just a guitarist, Ben Fussel, and drummer, Tony Dallas (of the SSRI’s, Supercassete and “at least five other bands”). The duo tear out tornado riffs inspired by many disparate artists (At The Drive In, Rage Against The Machine, Lightning Bolt) and many different styles (from “metalic bhangra” to “proggy celtic jigs”).

Lost In Bollywood -  Boogie Monster from Zechimechi

“Castle In the Clouds” -  Boogie Monster from Zechimechi

Boogie Monster on MySpace

Me and Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts

This Cambridge, Massachusettes band does get some attention with its alluring name – Me and Joan Collins. But gimmickry is not the measure of a good band (although some have done well at it, and not much else, for whatever reasons). Full of 60’s-pop-by-way-of-80’s-college-rock hooks, Me and Joan Collins exhibit a love for prickly post-punk, glam rock riffing, and shoegazing grandeur, and have been compared to groups likes Spoon, Pulp and Of Montreal. And on top of all of that, we have yet another boy/girl rock duo.

As evidenced by the first single here, “Crime of the Century,” the band has a quirky rocking attitude reminiscent in a way to the B-52s or Southern Culture on the Skids. And yet the song is addictive, in a kind of half-cool, half-geek way; it’s hard to explain (obviously – lol). The second track also has a gimmick-like aspect to it, but also does well in standing on its own merits. Every teenager can probably relate to any song with the title, “(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much.”

Me and Joan Collins has opened for The Cliks and Bettie Serveert, and include among their influences Bowie, T. Rex, Velvet Underground, Phil Spector, Blondie, Pulp, Spoon and the Zombies.

“Crime of the Century” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

“(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

Me and Joan Collins Official Website

El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

El Santo Nada is a collective of musicians from Pescara, Italy which forged an eclectic identity through their exploration of Ennio Morricone‘s spaghetti western soundtracks, Mexican traditional music, instrumental and surf rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, italian and balcanic popular music as well as British psychedelia and contemporary alternative rock.

In addition, they blend styles of sci-fi sound effects with instrumental guitar, bass and drum work that by themselves would be great for the soundtrack of a Quentin Tarantino flick with the flavor of Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns. Anyone who knows well the award-winning work of Tarantino as a director, and Morricone as a composer, will be able to easily hear the musical styles that appear in many of Taratino’s films, most especially Kill Bill.

The collective have opened for artists such as Damo Suzuki, Gang Of Four, and Stan Ridgway, to name just a few. He lists among his biggest influences Ennio Morricone, Santo &Johnny, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, Calexico, Earth, and Wall Of Voodoo. The released the album Tuco in December. We will keep an eye and ear out for more of El Santo Nada.

“Gallinas Y Lagartos – El Santo Nada from Tuco

“Sciuorbazizi” – El Santo Nada from Tuco

7 Bands You Gotta Hear, Vol. I: Golden Dogs, Rec Centre, Smoke & Feathers, Boogie Monster, The Wind, El Santo Nada, M&JC

Last modified on 2011-07-19 09:55:32 GMT. 11 comments. Top.

The Golden Dogs have been around for a decade, but we're just digging them lately

As we disclosed earlier this year, we got behind on the In Dee Music series for one simple reason – the number of submissions coming in has nearly tripled in the past 16 months, which almost perfectly coincides with the rise in overall monthly visitors during the same time period. IRC is receiving up to 400 submissions a month, and we’re backlogged.

So, here we are playing catch up, and for very good reasons. We have received a practical treasure chest of good to absolutely fantastic music to share with you from bands and artists most of you have never heard of before. Although it is tempting to just bite the bullet and scrap the backlog, that would be a disservice to our readers, the artists who sent in their music, and ultimately, to ourselves. The music that is coming in dee mail is, again, simply that good, and we think that not to share it would be just wrong all around.

Rather than using the rather non-descript, but ‘creative’ post title, In Dee Mail, we decided to make it more luring by creating a title that creates an immediate connection to readers, listeners and visitors. If you love hearing new music from talented artists you are unfamiliar with, we think we have a treat just for you today.

In this special edition of In Dee Mail – 7 Bands You Should Hear – we’ve put together profiles with music of seven bands that stood out for one reason or another among hundreds of music submissions. To some degree, some of these bands, perhaps all of them, could be Bands to Watch, but we want to make the distinction that they are known to us only because they sent us their music.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada
Rec Centre – Vancouver, Canada
Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas
The Wind - Long Beach, California
Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada
Me And Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts
El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada

Toronto indie pop band, and Nevado recording artist, The Golden Dogs, caught our attention right away after sending in these two terrific singles – “Cheap Umbrellas,” followed by a second single, “Darkroom.” Both songs are off their most recent album Coat of Arms and were sent to IRC unsolicited.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when we found out that The Golden Dogs have opened for an impressive list of bands, to say the least, including Feist, Sloan Zeus, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Thurston Moore, Roky Erikson, and The Libertines. You know how many bands out there would kill to open for just one of those big-hitters? Thousands.

The band have been praised in The New York Times, Q Magazine, various Toronto weeklies and a number of blogs like Pop Matters. But, they haven’t really “broken out” yet in the U.S. in the big way that they deserve to. So, we’re going to do our best to help that along.

The Golden Dogs’ musical influences range from alternative and indie rock – Radiohead, Ween, Wilco, New Pornographers – to classic rock giants like The Beatles, The Kinks and Neil Young.

We’re really interested to hear if you knew of The Golden Dogs before, or if this is your first time, what you think.  Oddly, the band has been around for 10 years – a bit surprised they’re not well-known. First up, is the Spoon-sounding rocker, “Darkroom,” a song that we’ve played over and over again in recent weeks. And, of course, the fascinating tack, “Cheap Umbrellas,” helps make the case further as this being a band to watch in 2011 and beyond.

“Darkroom” - The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms

In Their Own Words: “We have a great live band made up of our dearest friends who are insanely talented musicians and incredibly impressive to watch. We’re sort of known in Canada for our wild live performances.”

“Cheap Umbrellas” – The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms

Rec Centre -  Vancouver, Canada

Rec Centre is the moniker of Eh Jay, a ‘bedroom musician’ from Vancouver. We’re opting to let Jay tell the story of Rec Centre himself: “I had been playing folk music in my bedroom for years, and got tired of writing cutesy acoustic music that sounded nothing like the music I listened to. So I start programming electronic beats, ditched my acoustic guitar for an electric, and used a vintage Casiotone that my friend found in a Salvation Army.

“I recorded on my computer and made everything loud. I was aiming to make a C-86-sounding indie pop record, but I think the results probably sound closer to ’90s slacker rock. I’ve been working with a keyboardist and a drummer to turn Rec Centre into a real band, but up until now it’s just been a solo project.” Long Weekend! is a free EP, and Eh Jay is apparently working on new material now.

Rec Centre include among musical influences of The Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, early Weezer, Apollo Ghosts, Little Girls, Black Tambourine, the Cure, and Pavement.

“Sleeper” – Rec Centre from Long Weekend EP (2010)

“Funner” – Rec Centre from Long Weekend EP (2010)

Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas

Austin based psychedelic rock/southern indie rock band Smoke and Feathers sent in a couple of very good tracks from their recent self-titled, debut album. We were floored. This band rocks! Sorry for the cliche, but it’s so applicable, both in the actual music itself, and in the way to describe the band to others.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Smoke and Feathers are gaining ground in the local Austin alternative rock scene, which says much when you consider that great bands are a dime a dozen in one of the musical capitals of the world. So, to standout in Austin, is a huge deal for any band.

And it brings along with it many opportunities. Aside from the annual SXSW music fest, and Austin City Limits, not to mention an array of other music festival and events in the city, rising bands in Austin often get a chance to open for some well-known, international artists. Smoke and Feathers have ceased those opportunities, opening for bands like The Black Angels, The Whigs, Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Alberta Cross, Indian Jewelry, and The Entrance Band.

In Their Own Words: “Smoke and Feathers takes you carelessly away on heavy guitar rifts to a place in your psyche, where the angel and devil inside argue; soulful human drama, eerie, compelling wizardy, desire, temptation – nothing close to innocent, but perfectly and beautifully balanced contradictions.”

On “Blue Skies,” we dig the lo-fi guitar punk sound that’s going on, and on “Wicked Ways,” the track has an appropriately southern rock style with a bit of swagger and some definite Led Zeppelin influences. We recommend Smoke and Feathers if you like bands such as Cage The Elephant, Wolfmother, and Them Crooked Vultures.

Smoke and Feathers on MySpace

“Blue Skies” – Smoke and Feathers from Smoke and Feathers

“Wicked Ways” – Smoke and Feathers from Smoke and Feathers

The Wind – Long Beach, California

What is this? Another promising DIY band that almost no one has ever heard of? Yes, it does look that way. And it’s no surprise that they, who call themselves The Wind, are based by the oceanside in Long Beach, California. It’s also fitting that their most promising single, “Hathor,” sounds like a spring or summer time song.

The second track, “Monsters,” isn’t as menacing as the title suggests; instead it’s a kind of day-dreamy type of mellowed out track flushed with globs of Beach Boys-style harmonies, and interludes of background voices and slow-hand mini-guitar solos. The Wind have opened for awesome bands like Delta Spirit, Local Natives, Dawes, and Cold War Kids and include among their major influences – and not surprisingly -   The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead, Danny Elfman, The Kinks, and Cat Stevens. Their debut double CD, Harum Scarum, was released in November of 2010.

“Hathor” – The Wind from Harum-Scarum

“Monsters” – The Wind from Harum-Scarum

Get The Wind’s album free

Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada

Calling all head bangers and noise rock lovers; the Boogie Monster is real, frantic and loud. At least in Vancouver. Woven in between the searing guitar riffs, floor-thumping bass, dynamo drum explosions and lack of vocals (instrumental only band), there are tiny hints of classical music that jump out as if from behind corners and trees as the song plows forward through your mind and body. From the first few seconds of “Lost in Bollywood,” Boogie Monster comes at you with an all-out blitz and barrage of metal, rock and experimental sounds that are heavily charged, aggressive and immensely noisy – great stuff; let it rip. We also are including, “Castle In The Clouds,” a more tamed outburst, and like all of the band’s songs, completely instrumental.

Like bands such as The White Stripes, The Raveonettes and Japandroids, this Canadian duo consists of just a guitarist, Ben Fussel, and drummer, Tony Dallas (of the SSRI’s, Supercassete and “at least five other bands”). The duo tear out tornado riffs inspired by many disparate artists (At The Drive In, Rage Against The Machine, Lightning Bolt) and many different styles (from “metalic bhangra” to “proggy celtic jigs”).

Lost In Bollywood -  Boogie Monster from Zechimechi

“Castle In the Clouds” -  Boogie Monster from Zechimechi

Boogie Monster on MySpace

Me and Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts

This Cambridge, Massachusettes band does get some attention with its alluring name – Me and Joan Collins. But gimmickry is not the measure of a good band (although some have done well at it, and not much else, for whatever reasons). Full of 60’s-pop-by-way-of-80’s-college-rock hooks, Me and Joan Collins exhibit a love for prickly post-punk, glam rock riffing, and shoegazing grandeur, and have been compared to groups likes Spoon, Pulp and Of Montreal. And on top of all of that, we have yet another boy/girl rock duo.

As evidenced by the first single here, “Crime of the Century,” the band has a quirky rocking attitude reminiscent in a way to the B-52s or Southern Culture on the Skids. And yet the song is addictive, in a kind of half-cool, half-geek way; it’s hard to explain (obviously – lol). The second track also has a gimmick-like aspect to it, but also does well in standing on its own merits. Every teenager can probably relate to any song with the title, “(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much.”

Me and Joan Collins has opened for The Cliks and Bettie Serveert, and include among their influences Bowie, T. Rex, Velvet Underground, Phil Spector, Blondie, Pulp, Spoon and the Zombies.

“Crime of the Century” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

“(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

Me and Joan Collins Official Website

El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

El Santo Nada is a collective of musicians from Pescara, Italy which forged an eclectic identity through their exploration of Ennio Morricone‘s spaghetti western soundtracks, Mexican traditional music, instrumental and surf rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, italian and balcanic popular music as well as British psychedelia and contemporary alternative rock.

In addition, they blend styles of sci-fi sound effects with instrumental guitar, bass and drum work that by themselves would be great for the soundtrack of a Quentin Tarantino flick with the flavor of Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns. Anyone who knows well the award-winning work of Tarantino as a director, and Morricone as a composer, will be able to easily hear the musical styles that appear in many of Taratino’s films, most especially Kill Bill.

The collective have opened for artists such as Damo Suzuki, Gang Of Four, and Stan Ridgway, to name just a few. He lists among his biggest influences Ennio Morricone, Santo &Johnny, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, Calexico, Earth, and Wall Of Voodoo. The released the album Tuco in December. We will keep an eye and ear out for more of El Santo Nada.

“Gallinas Y Lagartos – El Santo Nada from Tuco

“Sciuorbazizi” – El Santo Nada from Tuco

In Dee Mail – Night Manager, Ghastly City Sleep, The Vain, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Buxter Hoot’n, The Teenage Lesbians, Is Shepherd

Last modified on 2011-07-19 12:15:51 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

Brooklyn band Night Manager's album cover for the recently released LP, Sex Talk

As we continue to sift through hundreds of music submissions we receive in the mail – thus, the title, In Dee Mail – we continue to highlight singles from that most people have never heard of, including ourselves. The fact that most of the bands are rarely known makes this particular music mixtape series all the more interesting, because it is unlikely you’ll hear these artists anywhere else. A saying that we’ve had for a long time goes: “Some of the best music is that which you haven’t even heard yet.”

A few people asked about the In Dee Mail series because they haven’t seen a IDM post in a while. The main reason for this is because we’ve been fusing what would otherwise be bands for the In Dee Mail series into many other regular posts like the weekly Best New Releases and S-25 Mix, plus, 7 Bands You Gotta Hear, Fresh Tracks, and others. However, it’s time to start saving more of the bands that contact us directly for just the In Dee Mail series.

In this installment of In Dee Mail:
Night Manager
Ghastly City Sleep
The Vain
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya
Buxter Hoot’n
I Believe in Hotpants
The Teenage Lesbians
Is Shepherd

Let’s start off with two bands from Brooklyn that caught our attention after sending us some tunes. However, not only are both bands from Brooklyn, they each also just released a new album a couple of weeks ago. Ordinarily, in this case, we’d be publishing these band profiles and songs to the Recent Releases We Almost Missed posts, but they are so much more fitting as the top two bands to kick off this mixtape.

The Brooklyn “doo wop/grunge” band Night Manager released its new album, Fire Talk, on July 5th. In this case, we are definitely not instrumental in ‘breaking out’ a new band because Night Manager have already been featured on blogs like Pitchfork, The Fader and Altered Zones. However, this is their first time being featured on IRC. As far as the biographical information, this is literally all they provided us: “Three dudes and one girl from Paris making fuzzy, surfy, grungy pop in a bedroom in Brooklyn.” And really, it’s not a disservice to keep it that simple since the focus is on the music.

Opened For: Tennis, Bass Drum of Death, and Reading Rainbow.
Musical Influences: Nirvana, Leslie Gore, Sam Cooke, Total Slacker

“Pizza Pasta” – Night Manager from Fire Talk

“Blackout Sex” – Night Manager from Fire Talk

Night Manager on Facebook

Another Brooklyn band, Ghastly City Sleep, sent in the single “Being; Or, What You Will” (whatever that is supposed to mean), that demonstrates the bands post rock indie roots. The track is a meandering, lo-fi psychedelic track that reminds us a lot of Melpo Mene on shrooms. However, we only received one track from the band, so we don’t have much to go on.

Still, the track at least shows promise. But is that enough? This is the same question that always arises with an apparently talented band with true potential residing in Brooklyn. Because there are literally thousands of artists and bands in Brooklyn, and without question hundreds over the past decade that have gone beyond the NYC borough to national and even international acclaim, it’s not good enough for a band based in Brooklyn to be just good, or talented, or promising.

Yet, take that same band – Ghastly City Sleep or Night Manager – and plop them down in the middle of the music scene of another city somewhere in the U.S. (with exceptions of Austin, Portland, S.F. and L.A.), and the chances greatly increase they will stand out.

That aside, GCS is made up of former members from Virginia hardcore/emo/post-rock bands such as City Of Caterpillar, pg. 99, Majority Rule and Gregor Samsa. After moving to Brooklyn 2005, they’ve released two records – their eponomynous debut EP in 2007, and a widely-praised full length, Moondrifts, in 2010.

“Being; Or, What You Will” – Ghastly City Sleep from Lunic Driftwood: Remnants & Remixes of Moondrifts

Opened For: Pygmy Lush, Wires Under Tension, Hooray For Earth
Musical Influences: Bear In Heaven

Ghastly City Sleep official website

Brazilian indie rock band The Vain's sophomore album, Panda, was released this week

“Close To The Fire” – The Vain from Panda

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya – Lansing, Illinois

by Sterling Forest

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya has an aesthetic expressing a goofy outlook on being sexual. This brought images of Skerrit Bwoy in the “Pon De Floor” music video to mind. But unlike Major Lazer, Ogbonnaya’s new album, Rotissabooty, lacks a sharp and serious tone in attitude, album art, sound, and lyrical themes. This difference makes it seem like Ogbonnaya made Rotissabooty as a joke – which is confusing because of the difference in the level of intricacy in the song structure and instrumental choices, and the lacking attributes named above.

On the other hand if the style of the album art were altered to cater more to the dump.fm community, I could see this music finding a niche there. As for me, it feels like something I could send to a friend because they may find it funny but that might be as far as the novelty goes.

Buxter Hoot’n – San Francisco

San Francisco DIY band, Buxter Hoot’n, released its third, and self-titled, album back in May. The lead single “Blue Night” demonstrates the band’s influence of Americana root rock, together with “Rolling Stones swagger, pop sensibilities and honest lyricism.” The band, whose name references a baroque era composer as well as family folklore, claims to have “created its finest and most mature album to date.”

Their sophomore album, In Another Life, debuted as the #5 most added album for the Americana Music Association, as well as charts for the Roots Music Review chart and reached #8 in the Jambands.com chart where it was in the top 10 for three consecutive months. The band’s disciplined musicianship and the vocals of Vince Dewald and Melissa Merrill, indicate to us a band that deserves even more credit and recognition then they’ve already received. Buxter Hoot’n infuse an array of sounds that span from haunting violin and banjo, to Allman Brothers style electric rockers, to psychedelia.”

“Blue Night” – Buxter Hoot’n from Buxter Hoot’n

I Believe in Hotpants – Nashville, Tennessee

I Believe in Hotpants is a Nashville trio who claim to create music that “we’d listen to if we were the types who liked listening to ourselves.” In addition, or despite, the wacky band name, this Nashville indie band crossed our radars after sending us a few tracks from their latest album, The Teenage Pregnancy Party. In the bio the band presented, they wrote: “…listening to our music probably provides a more insightful bio than we could ever write while trying to create one.” That’s pretty much all the band offered in their bio section of the submission form.

We’re always a bit perplexed why bands don’t offer more 411 when they should be aiming to create a stand-out profile – marketing which is not particularly what musicians are known for. The flip side, however, is that there is currently a trend on where bands don’t wish to seek much publicity, and that trend would make it much easier to use the word “indie,” which is such a broad and multi-dimensional phrase these days.

“Is That You, Fr. Payeras?” – I Believe in Hotpants from The Teenage Pregnancy Party

“An Outclassed Song Title” – I Believe in Hotpants from The Teenage Pregnancy Party

Opened For: None

Musical Influence: The Beatles, The Dandy Warhols

The Teenage Lesbians – Helsinki, Finland

From Helsinki, Finland, The Teenage Lesbians, are not lesbians at all, but in fact a four-man indie rock band. They could be men who like woman and desire to be women themselves. The band are working on an album about Canada, titled Canada Unlimited, even though the band members have never actually set foot in Canada. The songs are based on travel guides, newspaper stories, Googling and wild guesses.

While the band said the album is due out some time this year, they still have not announced a release date. However, we have two of the Canada-centric songs from the album, including the catchy pop track, “Vancouver Skyline” and “Sasquatchawen in Ruins”. The Teenage Lesbians released their debut limited edition 12″” LP Black Dress Day in 2006. Get more info at http://canadaunvisited.wordpress.com/

The band describes “Ruins in Sasquatchawen” as a “post apocalyptic vision of Saskatchewan, after mankind has vanished from the face of the earth” where “wild animals have taken over our deserted librarys, malls and highways.”

Music Influences: Neil Young, Stooges, Sonic Youth

Opened For: None

“Vancouver Skyline” – The Teenage Lesbians from Canada Unlimited

“Ruins in Sasquatchawen” – The Teenage Lesbians from Canada Unlimited

Is Shepherd – Various Locales, England

The band members of Is Shepherd hail from various locales in the U.K., including Newcastle, Tyneside, and Englans. The release of their new album, Songs For Sons, on June 6th, has gone largely overlooked on music blogs, even among those in U.K.

Upon listening to the first two songs the band sent below, we were not blown away, but something made us continue to listen. While the songs sound like demo versions, that might be part of the appeal, and what prompted us to listen to these two songs a few times.  We think Is Shepherd has laid the foundation of their potential as a band with the release of Songs for Sons. But, of course, we’re most interested in what you think.

“Pine Box” – Is Shepherd from Song for Sons

“Forever More” – Is Shepherd from Song for Sons

Music Influences: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen; Yo La Tengo, Low, Wilco

Opened For: Josh T. Pearson

Is Shepherd official website

IRC’s Record Store Day Music Guide, Vol. I – The White Stripes, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Beach Fossils, The Flaming Lips, Beck

Last modified on 2011-04-13 20:00:37 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

The now-disbanded White Stripes will reissue their first two singles, which until now were only available on the out-of-print Japanese edition of their 1999 break-through self-titled debut album. See more below.

If you’re a rock music fan, and especially if you’re a collector of rare vinyl, then you have probably heard of Record Store Day. RSD is the one day of the year that music fans get a chance – at a participating RSD record shop -  to purchase rare and limited edition vinyl singles, EPs and LPs from a wide array of popular, and up and coming, artists and bands, spanning the gamut from classic rock to grunge, and indie to alternative rock.

The reason it’s called Record Store Day is two-fold: one, as mentioned above, it’s the one day of the year when serious record collectors can have a field day buying limited edition special releases at participating indie record shops, and two, it’s a holiday, of sorts, to honor the independent record store, a rare and dying breed of commerce and culture that have been slaughtered by technology. Those that have survived are to be revered and supported by passionate music lovers who understand how important the indie record store is to the American cultural landscape, and who also appreciate the rich sounds you get on vinyl that are not possible with MP3s, and even to some extent, compact discs. Yet there is an entire generation that has largely missed out on vinyl, and the whole coolness and intimacy that comes with buying vinyl.

Sadly, the mergers of large chain record outlets (Tower, Barnes & Nobles) over the years, the pervasiveness of illicit downloading on the Internet, and the strip-malling of America – from sea to shining sea – has made the local, independent record store a rare species these days.

IRC’s Record Store Day Guide – April 16th, 2011

Over the past few weeks, there have been dozens and dozens of announcements from artists and bands who will issue limited edition vinyls on Record Store Day 2011 this Saturday. There are releases from both active and disbanded groups, living legends, and those who’ve passed on, indie rock and classic rock bands, punk stars, reggae icons, alternative rock trail blazers, and popular indie garage rock, electro pop, chillwave and surf rock artists who have received a lot of much deserved attention in recent years.

As of today, there are more than 250 RSD-only vinyls of every size and color being released this coming Saturday, including new, rare and previously unreleased music, cover songs, split singles, reissues, compilations, and more as LPs, EPs, singles and more. Other releases will come with booklets, artwork, download codes, bonus tracks and more. The purpose of this guide is to highlight our top RSD 2011 recommendations, many of which are likely to be the same choices for many IRC readers, and among the most sought out releases of RSD 2011.

Ozzy is RSD 2011 official ambassador. Why? Frankly, we don't know, and yes, we do care. How about Beck, Wayne Coyne, or Neko Case?

Just some of the bands and artists releasing one-time only, limited edition releases this coming Saturday include Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Beach Fossils, Of Montreal, Flaming Lips, Franz Ferdinand, Mumford & Sons with Laura Marling, Peter Bjorn and John, Pearl Jam, AC/DC, Blitzen Trapper, Foo Fighers, The Kills, Daft Punk, Matt & Kim, Midlake/Will Self, Cults, The Black Angels, Cults, Dom, Fleet Foxes, Eric Clapton, and dozens and dozens others that we’ll be posting all week on IRC.

And in case you didn’t hear, the one-and-only Ozzy Osbourne has been chosen as he official ambassador for RSD. We think that is just stupid and oh so predictable. Seriously, Ozzy? Don’t the organizers understand who their audience is?

It’s certainly not for a mega-rich music celebrity who hasn’t released any worthy new music in 30 years.

IRC is covering Record Store Day releases more in-depth than other resource we know. We have rare MP3 versions of vinyl-only releases, songs and streams, re-issues, covers, split singles, and much more.

Plus, today’s posting is just the beginning of RSD posts and mixes that we’ll be putting out over the next three days, right up to Record Store Day itself. Everything you need for RSD, you’ll find in our RSD guide.

For today’s Volume One, we created the index below to make it easier to jump to particular sections of this post that covers more than a dozen recommended vinyl releases available only at participating RSD stores on Saturday, April 16th. Volume Two of our RSD guide is already in the final stages, and should be posted late Wednesday, or early Thursday, and will include coverage for Deerhoof, Foo Fighters, The Kills, Franz Ferdinand, Pandar Bear, The Black Angles, Of Montreal, and many others. We’ve also included album links to purchase and download MP3 and original vinyl versions of any of the limited edition vinyls in case you are not able to get the limtied editions, but still want to buy split singles, compilations, re-issues, and other releases that are outlined in this guide. Plus, with every purchase you make via one of the album links, you also have the extra option to add all of the music you buy to a free account on the Amazon Cloud, a new and revolutionary service launched by Amazon earlier this month.

• A. The White Stripes Will Reissue First Two Singles on Vinyl
• B. Guided By Voices’ Tribute Album Featuring The Flaming Lips, Lou Barlow and Others
• C. Limited Edition EP Releases from Nirvana and Sonic Youth
• D. Special 7-inch Vinyls from Beck and The Beastie Boys
• E. Flaming Lips Set to Release Special Box Set, Heady Nuggs
• F. Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing Do Split Single Covers of The Wake
• G. Of Montreal Issue only 1,000 Copies of 12-inch Black Vinyl
• H. Arctic Monkeys’ New Track from Fourth LP to Drop RSD on Special Vinyls

The White Stripes Will Reissue First Two Rare Singles on RSD

While The White Stripes are no longer a band as of this year, Jack White wasn’t going to let Record Store Day 2011 go by without some kind of offering to WS fans. Plus, his record Label, Third Man Records, has other RSD releases to talk about as well.

White announced the famous rock duo’s re-release two of their first singles – “Let’s Shake Hands” and “Lafayette Blues” – on a special vinyl seven-inch limited to 1,2000 editions each. The B-sides are “Look Me Over Loosely” and “Sugar Never Tasted So Good,” respectively.

“Let’s Shake Hands” – The White Stripes from The White Stripes (Japanese Edition Bonus Track) (2000)

The songs were only available on the initial Japanese version of their debut, self-titled album, so many fans have not heard these rare import tracks. The first “Let’s Shake Hands” comes on red vinyl with “black wisps” on it and flanked by the Third Man Records logo. The second single, “Lafayette Blues” is printed on white vinyl with black wisps integrated into the vinyl.

Third Man Records will also be kicking out a double single from Karen Elson featuring the tracks “Vicious” and “In Trouble With The Lord.” Watch the video above for more details.

Guided By Voices’ Tribute Album Featuring The Flaming Lip, Lou Barlow and Others

On Saturday, there will be a special, RSD-only release of a Guided by Voices tribute album titled Sing for Your Meat. Guided By Voices was one of the earliest indie rock bands to have such a tremendous influence on other indie bands and artists over the past three decades.

The tribute album features GBV covers from The Flaming Lips (“Smothered in Hugs”); Elf Power (“Man Called Aerodynamics”); Lou Barlow (“Game of Pricks”), and Kelley Deal and Buffalo Killers playing “Scalding Creek.”

Guided By Voices were instrumental in popularizing indie rock

Also, Sonic Youth founding member and record label exec, Thurston Moore, has done a re-make of the track “Stabbing A Star,” which he, along with Steve Shelley, covered under the moniker Music Slut.

That track appeared on the 1998 GBV tribute album, Blatant Doom Trip. Unfortunately, we were not able to find any MP3 tracks from the new tribute album, but you can stream three tracks below, as well as the original Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley cover of “Stabbing A Star.” Stream the new re-worked version of the track via Spin.

“Stabbing A Star” – Music Slut (Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley)

Plus, here are two other YouTube audio tracks from Cymbals Eat Guitars and Mass Solo Revolt.

Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Gleemer (The Deeds of Fertile Jim)”

Mass Solo Revolt – “Gold Star for Robot Boy”

View (and order) the track listing for Sing for Your Meat

The RSD release of Sing for Your Meat will feature 17-tracks, and include a five-song bonus digital EP download. If you don’t think you’ll be able to grab a RSD vinyl of the tribute album, we have a link to the MP3 version of the album via Amazon for only $8.99.

Limited Edition EP Releases from Nirvana and Sonic Youth

The widely credited trail blazers of the wildly popular 1990′s grunge rock movement, Nirvana, and alternative rock legends Sonic Youth will reissue rare EPs, available on Record Store Day only.

Nirvana’s Hormoaning was originally sold as a tour-only EP during their 1992 tours of Australia and Japan. The Record Store Day pressing of the 12-inch will be limited to 4,000 copies, worldwide.

Both EPs were originally made available as tour-only releases.

The vinyls also features two Nirvana originals – “Aneurysm” and “Even in His Youth.” However, CD and vinyl copies of the rare EP are currently being sold on Amazon, and on those, instead of “Even In His Youth,” the second original track was “Turnaround.”

Also on the currently available editions listed above, and the limited edition RSD vinyl, there are four well-known Nirvana cover songs, including:

“Molly’s Lips” (and “Son of a Gun” (The Vaselines)) – Nirvana from Insecticide (2002)
“Turnaround” (Devo) – Nirvana from Insecticide
“D-7″ (The Wipers) – Nirvana from Insecticide

Note: Several of the tracks on the limited edition vinyl were re-released in December of 1992 by Geffen Records, as part of Nirvana’s rarities compilation, Insecticide.

Interestingly, Sonic Youth will drop a similarly-titled EP to the Nirvana’s Hormoaning, called Whore’s Moaning EP. The title was picked by Sonic Youth as a play on the title of Hormoaning. We have been unable to find an alternative version to purchase for this particular EP, but will update this page when, and if, we do.

“Sugar Kane” - Sonic Youth from Whore’s Moaning

The Whore’s Moaning EP was originally released as a tour-only record from Sonic Youth’s 1993 tour of Australia and New Zealand. The front cover features a photocopy of one of Kurt Cobain’s dolls, and the back cover features an original drawing from Cobain. See more details from Sonic Youth’s official website.

On Whore’s Moaning, there is a radio edit of “Sugar Kane,” an instrumental versions of “The End of the End of the Ugly” and “Tamra.”

The EP also includes covers of The New York Dolls’ “Personality Crisis” and Alice Cooper’s “Is It My Body.”

Like the Nirvana EP, the Sonic Youth release will also be limited to 4,000 copies. We expect both to easily sell out on Saturday.

“Personality Crisis” (The New York Dolls) – Sonic Youth from Whore’s Moaning

Special 7-inch Vinyls from Beck and The Beastie Boys

New Beasties! The Beastie Boys new single, “Make Some Noise,” is off of the trio’s long-awaited album Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2. Plus, Beck and Bat for Lashes will drop their Twilight duet, “Let’s Get Lost.”

“Make Some Noise” – The Beastie Boys from Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2

“Let’s Get Lost” – Beck and Bat For Lashes from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Flaming Lips Set to Release Special Box Set, Heady Nuggs

The members of the Flaming Lips grew up on vinyl. And they’ve also been great marketers of their music, which really doesn’t need any marketing help. But that’s cool with them, they do it anyways, and fans love it. So, it’s no surprise that the Flaming Lips have set to release a box set on Record Store Day.

The Flaming Lips’ box set, with the cool title, Heady Nuggs, will drop on Saturday, and feature five classic Lips’ albums released between 1992 and 2002: and like: Hit To Death In The Future Head (1992), Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993), Clouds Taste Metallic (1995), The Soft Bulletin (1990), and the Grammy Award-winning, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002).

“Do You Realize?” – The Flaming Lips from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

Heady Nuggs will come out in two different editions of the vinyl-only re-issues. The first will be the so-called ‘standard’ edition that features all five discs pressed on black 140gram vinyl. The ‘special limited edition’ includes all five discs pressed on five different colors of colored vinyl, available only on the Lips’ official web store, and, as the band describes on their site, “once they are gone, they’re gone.”

Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing Do Split Single Covers of The Wake

The Brooklyn 2010 Break-Out indie band, Beach Fossils, will release a split single seven-inch vinyl with Wild Nothing, featuring two cover songs of The Wake, and which originally appeared on the compilation, Gruesome Flowers: A Tribute To The Wake.

Each time Beach Fossils releases a song or album, it further enhances the band’s credibility as one of the best new bands of this decade. Their cover of The Wake’s “Plastic Flowers” is yet further affirmation of BF’s amazing talent. Of course, on vinyl, it sounds SO much better.

“Plastic Flowers” (The Wake) – Beach Fossils from split vinyl Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing

Wild Nothing‘s cover of “Gruesome Castle” is magnificently cheerful for a song with a drab title. It’s shimmering electric guitar playing, irresistible melody, bouncy bass and the wonderfully dubbed vocals of Virginia native Jack Tatum. In fact, this is one of the best cover songs we’ve heard so far in 2011.

“Gruesome Castle” (The Wake) – Wild Nothing from split vinyl Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing

Since really breaking through in 2009 with the blogger hit single, “Summer Holiday,” and a well-received 2010 debut LP, Wild Nothing has become of a sensation in the blogosphere, and now, increasingly in the mainstream press. This track, once more people get to hear it, we think, will end up on more people’s iPods, and will help make double sure that the split single limited edition vinyl will sell out on Saturday in, we predict, two hours max, especially considering there are only 4,000 copies.

Of Montreal Issue only 1,000 Copies of 12-inch Black Vinyl

Indie favorite Of Montreal will drop a 1,000 limited-edition black vinyl 12-inch 45 of the classic track, “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” off of 2007′s terrific, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

The B-side features a brand new version of “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal,” recorded for the Spike Jonze short film “I’m Here.”

The new version also features Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner, and members of the Moonrats.

You can also order a deluxe 2 disc vinyl (with MP3s) of the classic album via Amazon.

“The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” – Of Montreal from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Deluxe 2 disc vinyl + MP3s)

Arctic Monkeys’ New Track from Fourth LP to Drop RSD on Special Vinyls

For much of the 2000s, English group the Arctic Monkeys were one of the U.K.’s top rock bands, and were fairly big in the U.S. as well. We’ve loved the band since Whatever People Say I Am, I’m Not, released in 2002. Their early songs just had so much fire, gusto and even beauty in them. Now the band will release their second track from the band’s upcoming fourth LP release, titled, Suck It and See (due to drop in June), on on vinyl for RSD. That title is quite provocative. The single, “Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair,” is like old-time Monkey’s with a menacing guitar riff.

“Don’t Sit Down Because I Moved Your Chair” – Arctic Monkeys from RSD single

So, that’s gonna wrap up Volume One of our special Record Store Day 2011 previews, reviews and recommendations. But, not to worry – there is so much more coverage that will be published throughout the week, as this is RSD Week on IRC.

In addition to the separate from RSD, weekly Best New Releases mix and review, slated to be posted late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday, there will also be Volume Two of our RSD Music Guide, including Deerhoof, Foo Fighters, The Kills, Franz Ferdinand, Pandar Bear, The Black Angles, Of Montreal, and many others. We expect to have a total of four volumes, the web’s most extensive guide to Record Store Day 2011.

In Dee Mail Special Edition 2011, Vol. I – Secret Knives, Lisa Savidge, Charlie Khan, Indie Folker, Michael Silversmith, Jangula, The Hollow

Last modified on 2011-03-07 16:24:56 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Secret Knives are a new indie rock band from Wellington, New Zealand

Over the years, IRC’s In Dee Mail series has become one of the most popular regular playlist series with readers and visitors. In Dee Mail, which is a play on “in the mail,” is a special feature on IRC in which we spotlight the best artists and bands who submit their music to us unsolicited.  Some of our favorite artists and bands have come to us by way of our mailbox, and in turn we package it all up and post it for our readers to enjoy. Of course, we’re also very interested to see what people think of these artists, and therefore, strongly encourage anyone to post a comment on what they think of a particular band or song.

So, to kick-off this special 2011 series of In Dee Mail, we are spotlighting some of our favorite artists out of the hundreds who have sent their music to us over the past few months. None of these artists have been previously featured on IRC, and many have never been profiled on a popular indie blog.  For those artists, we’re changing that today, and indefinitely -  in the coming weeks and months, we’ll be publishing perhaps some of the best music you’ve probably never heard before today.

Hopefully, many of the highlighted artists in this series will begin to build upon their exposure on IRC (as various other bands have in the past) and attract more fans and the all-important “blogger buzz.” All of the bands that are featured in this series on definitely on our music radars, and many of them are by default, bands to watch in 2011. After being featured on IRC, we wouldn’t be surprised if a good number of these bands start popping up on more blogs and music sites in the coming months. Even though much of the music in this special edition series of In Dee Mail comes from 2010 releases, most of the songs represent each artists’ latest releases.  In addition to the songs, we are adding new features to each band profile, including basic information like website address, genre, label (if applicable), artists they’ve shared the stage with and musical influences.

Finally, we are going to stay in touch with as many of these artists and bands as possible, so that once we find out which of the artists you guys like the most (based on number of streams and downloads of songs, Hype hearts, comments, etc.), we’ll be asking them to send in new songs as they become available so we can provide our readers with the newest music from the most popular of the artists featured in this special edition series of In Dee Mail.  We are really interested to see what you guys think of these bands because, as mentioned previously, most are getting their first real significant exposure on the web via Indie Rock Cafe.

Secret Knives – Wellington, New Zealand

The band we are kicking off this special 2011 edition of In Dee Mail with is New Zealand‘s magical shoegaze outfit, Secret Knives. As with many of the artists we feature throughout the year, Secret Knives are, somehow, still relatively unknown in the U.S.  But for a band as talented as they are, it’s still surprising. So, let’s see if we can change that.

Formed in 2008, Secret Knives found success quickly in Wellington following the release of their debut EP, The Wolves. In New Zealand, when a good band pops up, they are pretty much well known quickly throughout the small country. And no wonder Secret Knives became popular in New Zealand, even signing to A Low Hum records.  The band’s sound is probably best described as shoegaze mixed with pop.

After listening to their debut album, Affection, we knew immediately the band needed to be heard by more people.  In no way related to, or resembling, the famous Stanley Kubrick horror movie of the same name, the sah-weet track, “The Shining,” starts out mellow, and slowly builds up into an epic, atmospheric pop song that you just want to play again, and again. On the other featured track here, titled “The Garden,” the members of Secret Knives, demonstrate their talent with another gorgeous song that fits the whole shoegaze atmosphere, right up to the airy guitar licks,  steady, amplified percussion and layered choruses.

“The Shining” – Secret Knives from Affection

Affection is steeped deep in magical tracks brimming with mystery and intrigue – music that you truly can get lost in because it is so atmospheric. From song to song there are  gorgeous rhythms and sweet melodies that weave together beautifully throughout Affection and The Wolves EP.  Luckily, the band has made both their debut album and debut EP available as a free download via A Low Hum’s label website (if that link doesn’t work, click on the album title to download from BandCamp instead).

“The Garden” - Secret Knives from Affection

Website: Secret Knives on MySpace
Label: Black Cactus Records
Genre: Shoegaze, pop, alternative rock
Opened For: The Chills, Daedalus, Die!Die!Die!
Influences: Slowdive, The Chameleons, Why?, Burial, Wolf Parade

Lisa Savidge – Phoenix, Arizona

With the unlikely name, Lisa Savidge, former military serviceman, Dan Somers, returned to Phoenix, Arizona after years of deployment in the Middle East with “cynical, and hopeful eyes.” Somers’ experiences overseas were an inspiration for his songwriting. He then set out and recruited local musicians to “push the boundaries of what can be done with rock music,” bringing together Ellery Keller, James Krehbiel, Nick Gortari, and Patrick Lamaide. And the results are remarkable as evidenced on the band’s September 2010 eponymous sophomore LP, Elk Cloner. From start to finish, Elk Cloner is a fascinating, genre-bending mix of raw power pop, post-rock and shoegaze; a thrill ride from start to finish.

The band have attracted quite a bit of praise from Phoenix area press and beyond. In fact, Bruce Repologle, the former publicist of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, said that Lisa Savidge’s music “rains down in a minimalism revved up again with a neo-Echo & The Bunnymen chorus.”

“Fire Exiting” – Lisa Savidge from Elk Cloner

“Appalachacha” – Lisa Savidge from Elk Cloner

Website: Lisa Savidge on MySpace
Label: Black Cactus Records
Genre: Indie Rock, Noise Pop, Prog, Post Rock
Opened For: Kinch, What Laura Says, Black Carl , Kirkwood Dellinger, Peachcake
Influences: Pink Floyd, The Pixies, Explosions in the Sky, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead

Charlie Khan – London, England

Musician Charlie Khan from London definitely stood out among hundreds of submissions we’ve received in recent months. Backed by a clattering cacophony of weird and wonderful instruments, including his trusty two-string stick bass (which handily doubles as a weapon), and a host of decrepit guitars and vintage keyboard instruments, his brand of demented skiffle-esque diatribes are a truly unique proposition.

The first track Khan sent, “The Mortal Coil Shuffle,” is such a fun and engaging song; we can totally imagine it being on the soundtrack of some Johnny Depp movie because of it’s quirky, carnivalesque style and Tom Waits-on-speed flare – a musical vaudeville and dark cabaret that takes the listener on a rambunctious audio thrill ride. The only thing that is missing is the lion’s roar.

“The Mortal Coil Shuffle” – Charlie Khan from The Four Horsemen EP

“Gaia Weeps” – Charlie Khan from The Four Horsemen EP

Website: Official website
Label: Villainous Records
Genre: Dark Cabaret, Carnivalesque
Opened for: None
Influences: Amanda Palmer, Can, Captain Beefheart, EELS, Frank Zappa, Nick Cave, Tom Waits

Indie Folker – Cluj, Transylvania, Romania

With nasally, Dylanesque vocals, and a stripped down acoustic guitar playing along to the refrain, “I see monsters in Rome,” are some of the reasons we love  “Monsters In Rome,” one of the best indie folk songs we’ve heard so far this year.  Interestingly, Indie Folker, are a band are from Cluj, Transylvania in Romania.  Last May, the band released their debut album, Monsters in Rome. In the band bio box on the IRC submission form, Indie Folker claims to be “very much like Iron & Wine, without the iron, or Noah And The Whale, without the whale…Tom Waits on high heels, a more scrupulous and much younger Bob Dylan, a low-tuned Elliot Smith with an aching throat, a less-British Damien Rice – but longing to be more like David Gray on a regular day.”

“Monsters In Rome – Indie Folker from Monsters in Rome

“Afraid Not Sacred”- Indie Folker from Monsters in Rome

Label: Unsigned/DIY
Genre: Indie Folk Rock
Opened for: None
Influences: David Gray, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Iron & Wine, Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Cohen, M. Ward, Alexi Murdoch

Micheal Silversmith – Riverside, California

This next song sent to us by Riverside, California singer/songwriter Michael Silversmith. Again, another artist that we’d never heard of previously, and who turns out to be wonderfully talented.  This is a grower song, and it definitely has a catchy title. Silversmith is a new-to-us addition to the Americana and folk end of the musical spectrum. Not surprisingly to us, Silversmith has opened for bands like Crystal Antlers and Delta Spirit. His album, Life is Beautiful, was originally released last November.

“Born To Hold Your Hand” – Michael Silversmith from Life is Beautiful

“Pasadena” – Michael Silversmith from Life is Beautiful

Website: MichaelSilversmith.com
Label: Unsigned/DIY
Genre: Singer/Songwriter Americana
Opened for: Crystal Antlers, Delta Spirit, Jay Buchanan, Richard Swift
Influences: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Iron and Wine

Jangula – New York, New York

For a band that we’ve never hear of before, New York band Jangula have a matured indie rock sound as evidenced on “Genji Glove.” With it’s driving beat, jangling guitars, thick melodies and bold vocals, the track seems to have all of the ingredients of a college radio hit. We know that band comparisons can be tricky, sometimes risky, but we think Jangular sounds a little like Spoon, and a bit more like the Editors. Combining Joy Division’s driving skeletal rhythms, Brian Eno’s colorful harmonics and Bowie’s imaginative lyrics, their dynamic, genre-bending style is powerful enough to get people dancing and singing along.

“Genji Glove” - Jangula from Jangula EP

“Pachinko” -  Jangula from Jangula EP

Website: Jangula on MySpace
Label: Unsigned/DIY
Genre: Dance Rock, Electro, Experimental, Post punk
Opened for: Didi of Brazilian Girls, The Postelles, Free Blood
Influences: Joy Division, Roxy Music, The Beach Boys

The Hollow – Rockaway, New Jersey

Of all of the bands featured in this post, The Hollow are probably the most polished-sounding. But, in their case, it’s not a bad thing; although their songs, at least the two tracks featured here, are more likely to be played on college radio alongside bands like My Morning Jacket and 3 Doors Down. That said, The Hollow are an unsigned band; whether they progress more towards the modern rock sound, and away from alternative or indie rock, remains to be seen. Of course, they didn’t do themselves any favors as far as the band name, when you consider that there are numerous bands with the same or similar name. Luckily, it was easier to find them in a Google search then it is for other bands with common names – especially over-used favorites like bear, deer, shark, and so on.

The Hollow’s first single, “Run Away,” with it’s opening atmospheric guitar lick (which sounds remarkably like the intro on U2‘s “Where The Streets Have No Name”) has the makings of a college radio hit, even though it could benefit from a little better mixing on the percussion.  The second single, “Move On Past,” is another solid modern rock track, elevated by high-octane guitar licks (and a not too shabby solo) and soulful lead vocals. The band have received numerous accolades on rock radio in New Jersey and in the local media. Apparently, they have only opened for one band, The Marshall Tucker Band. We’re not sure how an alternative rock band in the 2000s got paired up with a classic southern rock band from the 1970′s; but, you know, strange bedfellows and all that.

“Run Away” – The Hollow from The Hollow

“Move On Past” – The Hollow from The Hollow

Website: TheHollowBand.com
Label: Unsigned/DIY
Genre: Alternative Rock
Opened for: The Marshall Tucker Band
Influences: Perpetual Groove, 311, My Morning Jacket, Incubus, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, MuteMath, Phish, The Grateful Dead, Stone Temple Pilots

Did you dig one or more of these virtually unknown bands? If so, you’ll definitely want to keep checking back for the subsequent installments of this special series that will put the spotlight on a whole bunch of other super talented artists and bands who somehow, and for the most part, remain under the spotlight.

In the meantime, we recommend these popular posts and playlist mix series featuring thousands of free and legal MP3s for your computer, mobile phone or MP3 player.

Popular On-Going Playlists & Mixes

- In Dee Mail

- One Man Bands

- Singer-Songwriter Spotlight

- Best New Releases

- Top Ten Songs

- Recent Releases Almost Missed

- Indie Cover Songs Uncovered

- Feetz To Da Beatz

Special Thematic Mixes

- Songs About New York

- Songs About the Moon

Popular Seasonal Playlists & Mixes

- Indie Christmas Songs

- Halloween Song Mixes

- Best Summer Songs

Fresh Tracks from Radiohead, The Strokes, The Ravonettes, Opus Orange, The Submarines, Okkervil River, Stylofone

Last modified on 2011-02-27 05:31:10 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

On Saturday, the world finally got their hands on the highly anticipated, MP3-only album, The King of Limbs, from rock gods Radiohead. The King of Limbs is the long awaited follow-up LP to the band’s brilliant 2008 release, In Rainbows.  With the release of the latter, Radiohead snuffed the corporate record label EMI by offering In Rainbows to fans for whatever fans wanted to pay. It was the shot heard around the recording industry. And fans reinforced Radiohead’s anti-corporate stance by purchasing hundreds of thousands of copies of In Rainbows in the first couple of months of its release.

This time around, Radiohead has made The King of Limbs available only from their own website, and no where else, yet without the name-your-price option, instead setting the price of the MP3 album at $9.  What In Rainbows did in as as far empowering bands and their fans to connect directly with one another, we think The King of Limbs will do for elevating and building on that dynamic relationship. Just from a musical perspective, The King of Limbs is already receiving high praise from critics and fans alike.

The lead up to the release of The King of Limbs was insignificant compared to the massive million-dollar marketing campaigns that surround artists who have a fraction of the talent that the four members of Radiohead possess. It was apparent the band did not want a big fuss to be made around the release of the album. To that point, the release date for The King of Limbs was only announced on Valentine’s Day, five days before it’s official release. There was no advance single or NPR album stream. As with millions of other fans, we had been eagerly awaiting the web-only release of The King of Limbs all week, almost like little kids counting down the days to Christmas morning. But in fact, some savvy Radiohead heads discovered the band actually made the album available sometime on Friday.

And there they were – all eight fresh tracks from Radiohead sitting in our iTunes, waiting to be played. For whatever reason, Radiohead’s albums have the distinction of sounding better over time – like a fine, fruity wine. That said, it took only a few seconds of the first song to recognize the quintessential and intricate sound of one of the most beloved modern rock bands on earth. And, in a rush to put words to what we were hearing, we pretty much messed up our first hurried attempt to present an off-the-cuff, and somewhat intelligent, review of the album. We should have known better – Radiohead’s albums are way to layered and complex to summarize after just a couple of hours of listening.

Radiohead – Little By Little

It takes many, many spins over a number of months, even years, to begin to formulate a sensible review, but, not because their music is necessarily cryptic, but in fact because it is so magnificently arranged and recorded by each member of the band. Radiohead is so ahead of the rest of the music paradigm – and has been for years – that fans, writers and musicians are still studying (and copying) the band’s previous album when a new one drops. Just who do you expect to be at the top of the best albums of 2011 lists in nine or so months from now?

The first track here is Thom Yorke performing “Lotus Flower” during a solo acoustic show in Los Angeles in January of 2010.

“Lotus Flower” (Live 1/24/10) – Radiohead from The King of Limbs

The Strokes Build Anticipation for New LP with a Killer Single

Last week, New York‘s quintessential garage rock band, The Strokes, released the first track from their much anticipated new LP, Angles, due out March 22nd. The track, “Under The Cover of Darkness,” does not disappoint; it’s electrifying guitar rock just as we expect (and hope for) from The Strokes, backed by a catchy, shuffling rhythm, and a superbly addicting chorus. We realize that many of you have either heard the track or purchased it; but, we’re including it anyways for those who have yet to hear this awesome track.

“Under Cover of Darkness” – The Strokes from Angles – out March 22nd

Above is the official cover for Angles. We are seriously jonesing to hear the rest of the album. Hopefully, it will be released in a couple of weeks as an album stream on Spinner, NPR or even The Strokes’ website. Pre-order Angles from Amazon for only $11.94.

You may also want to check out the The S-25 Songs Mix in which The Strokes were the featured band.

Also, here’s behind-the-scenes footage of the band (minus Julian Casablancas for some reason) during recording of Angles. Why is the director whispering?

The New York rock band have also announced that a new, non-album single, “You’re So Right,” will be released as an exclusive Record Store Day vinyl edition on April 16th. The track will also be featured as the official B-Side to “Under Cover of Darkness,” which drops officially as a 7-inch single on March 1st.

Opus Orange Gives IRC Exclusive New Track

If you’ve been a regular reader of IRC for the past year or so, you may be familiar with the music of successful Los Angeles music composer Paul Bessenbacher, aka Opus Orange. In 2009, we were the first indie website to premiere the music of Opus Orange after hearing one of his songs on a Johnsonville Sausage commercial. Since then, our love for Opus Orange has only grown with each new release, and all seven OO songs we’ve published during the past 18 months have been big hits with our readers and visitors.

So, it’s with great excitement that we premiere a brand new, unreleased single from Opus Orange titled “Crystal Clear.” Let us know what you think. We call it ‘deliciously upbeat indie pop,’ perhaps OO’s best single yet.

“Crystal Clear” – Opus Orange, single 2011 - IRC Exclusive

Check out Opus Orange’s Bandcamp page

Raving About The Raveonettes

We’ve been digging this spanking new track from The Raveonettes, complete with a percussion heavy, lo-fi indie rock romp that makes the track as exciting as the anticipation of the duo’s upcoming fifth album, Raven in the Grave, set to drop on April 5th. Pre-order here.

“Forget That You’re Young” – The Raveonettes from Raven in the Grave

Okkervil River’s Rondevu With “Mermaid”

Pitchfork premiered the new Okkervil River single, “Mermaid” last week, the first single from the popular indie band’s upcoming album, I Am Very Far.  We have yet to hear any news of an Okkervil River tour to the support the May 10th release of the band’s newest album. One show is scheduled for June 7th at New York’s Terminal 5.

“Mermaid” - Okkervil River from I Am Very Far – out May 10th

The Submarines Come to the Surface with New Track

Every since one of their songs was included on a popular and frequently viewed commercial touting the new iPhone in 2008, The Submarines have built a fan following across the States and Europe. The Submarines are currently putting the final touches on their latest album, Love Notes/Letter Bombs. We’d love to know what you guys think of this advanced track, “Birds.” Pre-order the album on Amazon.

“Birds” - The Submarines from Love Notes/Letter Bombs

Popular Indie Film You Won’t Miss Me with Indie Soundtrack

On May 17th, the critically praised indie film, You Won’t Miss Me, will be available on DVD via Factory 25. The film, an official selection at Sundance and SXSW, and a Gotham Award Winner, is a kaleidoscopic film portrait of Shelly Brown, a 23- year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Starring Stella Schnabel, featuring Rene Ricard, and introducing other notable New York personalities, the film gives pathos to the frenzy of the youthful desire for acceptance.

Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote about the film: ” This powerful, iconoclastic pic could gain a cult following,” and Nick Pinkerton of Village Voice, said the film “has a pure, 180-proof burn.”

The film’s theatrical run began in New York City in December 2010, followed by a substantial national tour. The soundtrack contains original songs by Stylofone, a band featuring members of Amazing Baby, MGMT and Standing Nudes. The following song is one of the tracks from the soundtrack.

“Loose Boots” – Stylofone from You Won’t Miss Me

Julian Lynch Releases Title Track of New LP

Julian Lynch, the respected and rising one-man band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, has completed recording for his third album, Terra, slated to drop on April 24th. Growing up in Ridgewood, Lynch learned to play clarinet and guitar, and in high school, he performed in bands alongside future members of Real Estate, Titus Andronicus, and Family Portrait. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin in the fall of 2008 to begin a master’s program in Ethnomusicology.

“Terra” - Julian Lynch from Terra – out April 24th

Lovett Releases New Single from 2011 Release

Lovett has composed and scored a variety of independent films including The Signal which premiered at Sundance in 2007 and received the award for Best Score at the 2009 Brooklyn International Film Festival for the song, “The Last Lullaby.”

With an extensive background in film music, Lovett’s own original songs naturally possess the same kind of lush, visual translation as his previous artistry. “Eye Of The Storm” is the first of a thunderous series of nine cinematic music videos – one for each track on Lovett’s debut album Highway Collection, set for release on March 15th.

Directed by Chris Alender of Soapbox Films, the video is more accurately described as a short film, one transporting viewers into a richly detailed steam punk world where a lone skycaptain pilots an airship through the celestial heart of a raging storm.

“The Fear” – Ben Lovett from Highway Collection

Edward Sharpe Member Alexander Ebert Sets Solo Debut

Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will release his self-titled solo debut LP on March 1st. Also check out a fresh track from singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow‘s widely praised debut album, Early in the Morning.

“Truth” – Alexander Ebert from Alexander Ebert – out March 1st

“If I Had A Boat” – James Vincent Mcmorrow

Nodzzz Return with Their Sophomore LP

The San Francisco garage rock, poppy post punk band Nodzzz spent much of 2010 writing and recording the songs for their upcoming release, Innings. The band will tour the West Coast of the U.S. in late February, and during March in the U.K. The album is expected to be released early this coming summer.

“Time (What’s It Going to Do?)” – Nodzzz from Innings

5 Bands to Watch in 2011, Vol. I: Yuck, The Pass, Watch Out For Rockets, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, Church of the Very Bright Lights

Last modified on 2012-01-15 02:31:32 GMT. 10 comments. Top.

Yuck has members from locales such as New Jersey, London, Scotland, and Hiroshima.

The bands to watch in 2011 queue is already filling up fast, and it’s only the second week of February. Right now, we are in a weird push-and-pull situation, in which we’re trying to wrap up all of the ‘best of 2010′ music playlists as well as stay on top of highlighting the best new 2011 music that we are hearing.  This is the first installment of IRC’s Bands to Watch in 2011 series.

We hope that you discover some bands that you dig but have never heard until now.  Of course, we’ll be looking for your comments and tallying the songs that are played and downloaded the most from this post to see which make the Top Ten Songs list and which bands our readers like the most from this post and all the upcoming posts that will feature new bands. In fact, volume two of this series will be published this coming weekend. But first, we introduce you to Yuck, The Pass, Watch Out For Rockets, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, and Church of the Very Bright Lights.

Yuck is the appropriate title for this cover art, but the album inside is amazing

Yuck – Various Locations

Obviously not concerned with some marketing director’s advice to consider a different name, the indie band, Yuck, are defying their namesake. In recent months, Yuck have been building the vital blogger buzz, if you will, and are now getting noticed by mainstream music critics.

Yuck’s MySpace page lists the band’s “location” as New Jersey, Hiroshima, London, Scotland, and United Kingdom. Now that’s an eclectic mix of musicians almost sure to produce some interesting musical results. And so they have with the upcoming release of their debut, self-titled album. Yuck are talented, fun, daring and obviously influenced by different genres and eras of rock, including alternative rock and post punk. Spin this blazing pop rock song, “Holing Out” to get the engines fired up.

In a recent profile of the band in the U.K. Guardian, writer Dave Simpson described Yuck’s sound this way: “the sound a band of indie-loving kids who weren’t interested in dance music would have made 20 years ago: a cocktail of Dinosaur Jr noise, Lemonheads melody and Teenage Fanclub‘s wistfulness.”  We can almost guarantee that you be hearing more about this band in 2011.  If you thought rock was dead, Yuck is one example it’s here to stay.

“Holing Out” – Yuck from Yuck (Amazon Exclusive)

“Rubber” – Yuck from Yuck (Amazon Exclusive)

“Coconut Bible” - Yuck from Coconut Bible 7″

Yuck are scheduled to perform a number of shows next month during Austin’s famous South by Southwest festival.

The Pass – Louisville, Kentucky

If we could go back and re-do it, we would have listed The Pass among the 50 break-through bands of 2010. The Louisville, Kentucky indie rock band have been stirring things up, by their packed live shows, blogger love and a growing fan base. However, The Pass are not as well known as other break-through bands of 2010 like Broken Bells or Local Natives. The first song we want you to hear from The Pass is the single that really got the ball rolling for the band on their debut album, Burst. Plus, check out a couple of songs from the band’s 2010 EP, Colors. Keep an ear out for The Pass this year.

“Trap of Mirrors” – The Pass from Burst – Sept. 21st

“Crosswalk Stereo” – The Pass from Colors EP - Feb. 23rd

“Colors” – The Pass from Colors EP

Watch Out for Rockets – Austin, Texas

Watch Out for Rockets are an Austin-based punk psychedelic pop band, who really are all of those things and more.  One thing that you can’t do with this talented, but relatively unknown, band is to categorize their style. As the introduction indicates, they cover a wide range of genres and styles, literally from song to song. That’s a risky thing for a band to do, but WOFR pull it off impressively, on the free EP, Telepathic War Machine.The song that would probably connect with most people is the upbeat, almost 100% pure pop track, “Ghetto and Rye”.

“Ghetto and Rye” – Watch Out For Rockets from Telephatic War Machine – Nov. 16th

The opening track, “Banshee on the Water”, is a low-fi psychedelic track that is creepy and catchy at the same time. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that the band are influenced by artists like Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Built to Spill, The Beatles and Janes Addiction. Those are the bands that popped into mind while listening to Telephatic War Machine. The title track is another stand out on the EP, with its psychedelic tinged pop song that sounds like it could have been a hit record on underground radio stations in 1969.

You can’t go wrong with this EP; afterall, it’s free. We’ll be watching out in 2011 for more from Watch Out For Rockets. And yes, they are also a band to watch in 2011.

“Big Lies” – Watch Out For Rockets from Telephatic War Machine – Nov. 16th

We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves – Brooklyn, New York

We’re assuming that the band name for Brooklyn‘s twee pop trio, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, is intended to be ironic because the band seem to be enjoying themselves just fine. And, so are the folks who’ve been digging their tunes. In past couple of weeks, we’ve been enjoying their free BandCamp LP, most particularly the two songs featured here. Lead singer Giovanni Saldarriaga demonstrates great control and range, and has been compared to the likes of Colin Meloy (The Decemberists). Comprised of a bass, drums, and a guitar/singer, WCEO weaves simply structured, and incredibly catchy, pop songs.

“Hang Back with The Brutes” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

“A Charming Man” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

“Miss Maris Morris” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

The Church of Very Bright Lights – Calgary-Montreal, Canada

Last fall, Montreal-via-Calgary indie rock band The Church of Very Bright Lights quietly released their terrifically warm and mellow debut album, Gang Crimes, on the web a few weeks ago. Along with Calgary musician James Cullen, two members of the popular Canadian indie band, Women – Chris Reimer (drums) and Matt Flegel (bass) – spent the past year writing and recording songs for the album, which is available as a free download.

“Words” – Church of the Very Bright Lights from Gang Crimes

“Bone/Muscle” – Church of the Very Bright Lights from Gang Crimes

Church of the Very Bright Lights Debut Album

Note: The next installment of 5 Bands to Watch will be published this coming weekend.

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