We’re not clear on why anyone (unless your Kayne) would want to drop a new album two days before Thanksgiving; most people are completely distracted by the holidays. That said, there are nonetheless some fine releases you may just want to scoop up during your Christmas shopping excursions.
In recent months, the Miami duo, Bikini, have been on the rise, and this week they drop a new EP, RIPJDS. Nigel Diamond and Olivier Olivier met at Canada‘s Glen-Lyon Norfolk School of music. The band have become well-known for their electro-pop dance music, and we are lucky enough to have two singles from their new release to share.
“American Mourning” – Bikini from EP RIPJDS
“ACheerleader” – Bikini from EP RIPJDS
While we are on the electro-dance vibe, check out the just released new track from the popular Austrailian band, Cut Copy. “Take Me Over” has a decidedly funky beat and an addictive, catchy melody and rhythm; more evidence that the band continue to evolve their stellar sound, to the delight of millions of fans.
“Take Me Over” – Cut Copy from Zonoscope! – out Feb. 8th, 2011
Now, back to this week’s best new singles from newly minted records. Not by design, the next three artists are all from the wonderful city of San Francisco, which has always been a music mecca, but in recent years, has spawned a very long list of popular indie bands and artists.
Among them is the indie pop duo, Eux Autres, who have been gaining ground locally and across the country. Their debut album, Broken Bow, is out this week via Bon Mots Records. And just in time for the holidays, the band also have a new Christmas album, Another Christmas At Home. The band is comprised of brother and sister pair, Nicholas and Heather Larimer.
“Go Dancing” – Eux Autres from Broken Bow
Since the release of their debut LP, Album, San Francisco’s Girls have amassed a worldwide following. That doesn’t happen without relentless touring, so it is a bit surprising that they had time to pump out a new EP, Broken Dreams Club. We have yet to listen to it from start to end, but the single release, “Heartbreaker” is a nice little melodic pop rock track with a bittersweet message.
“Heartbreaker” – Girls from Broken Dreams Club
Another San Francisco musical artist, multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez, aka, The Soft Moon, dropped his self-titled debut LP this week. “Tiny Spiders,” the album’s closing track, is gripping and dark, and marked by chaotic synth notes, a rapid beat and occasional distant vocals high on reverb. With the release of his debut, and series of previous 7″ singles, Vasquez’s style is hard to describe – it’s dark synth, if you will, influenced by post-punk, psychedelic rock, and Krautrock. Vanquez calls his style “world music.” But it’s not; instead, it’s more accurate, as his record label suggested, to be tagged”post-apocalyptic.”
“Tiny Spiders” – The Soft Moon from The Soft Moon
And while we’re on the subject of San Francisco bands, you might be interested in a $1 donation to a homeless cause to get a sampler from True Panther Records, featuring tracks from SF bands like Young Prisms, Girls, Ty Segall, Fresh and Onlys, and Dominant Legs, among others.
Sometimes release dates for LPs can get pretty confusing. There’s the digital release date, in the U.S. and abroad, and there’s the physical (vinyl and CD) release date.
Last week, Home Video dropped their latest album, The Automatic Process, digitally; and this week it is out physically. Here’s a track from their new album, plus a remix from Sweden’s Montauk.
“Smoke” – Home Video from The Automatic Process
“Every Love That Ever Was (Montauk’s Vacation Mix)” – Home Video
The legendary Scottish band, Orange Juice, dropped their first album yesterday since frontman Edwyn Collins‘ 2005 stroke. Many of the band’s songs from their peak in the late 1970’s to the early 1980’s were not previously available.
With the new boxset, the band’s fans stateside now have all of the classic tracks in one place.
“Felicity” – Orange Juice from Coals To Newcastle
