Aural Review

2 Years

2008-08-28T15:21:00.001-05:00

2 Years after I stopped posting, I happened upon this site again... only to tell you that I've created another Indie CD which can be downloaded and enjoyed here: Indie CD 3. Please let me know if you enjoy it.

Page France

2006-08-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

Page France, in case you missed it, were included in my Indie CD blog that I posted a while back. I like their almost lowfi, folk, pop sound. It is a huge relief from the overrefined crap that is mass produced and puked up on the radio. I don't think I've heard that many other bands that I can compare them to, so I'll leave it up to you. And now for the most important part... the linkage!

Page France Homepage
Page France Purevolume Page
Page France MySpace Page

Matt Pond PA

2006-08-04T11:28:00.000-05:00

Matt Pond PA is one of my favorite chamber pop groups that I've been sitting on for quite a while now. I don't know why I haven't mentioned them until now, but they are worth mentioning. Their latest album Several Arrows Later is the first I had heard of this quartet back about 6 months ago. Most of their songs on this album are upbeat enough to make me want to go out and accomplish something. They have several songs available for download on their website.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults

2006-07-26T16:24:00.000-05:00

Letting Up Despite Great Faults is a mellow band similar to Pinback (pre Fortress), The Postal Service, Tristeza, etc. Their first EP is being released in August of this year, which will prove to be a relaxed combination of soft, almost whispering lyrics and smooth guitar and piano chords. This indie pop band is somewhat new, but they have tons of potential. Their EP is one that you can put on while doing something else and when it's done, it subtly leaves you wanting to hear more.

MP3s courtesy of Letting Up's Homepage:
I Hear You Drowning, But I'm Tied
Maybe I'll Hide With You
If You're Here Today

Letting Up's Homepage
Letting Up's MySpace Page

Play Radio Play!

2006-07-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of you have never heard of Daniel Hunter out of Fort Worth, TX, but he definitely is worth getting to know. His one man band is called Play Radio Play! His sound is full of hooks and catchy vocals. Play Radio Play! can be described as a mix between The Postal Service, Slow Runner, with a little post punk thrown in for balance. All of his songs are available for free on Play Radio Play!'s site on PureVolume.com. You can also learn more about him on his MySpace site. I'm planning on buying his CD since it's only $2 (with FREE shipping). That's unbelievable! I don't need commercially overpriced music. Don't hesitate to post a comment and let me know what you think. Enjoy Music!
Edit: Thanks Deby for thie YouTube video link! Compliment Eachother Like Colors

Upcoming Releases...

2006-07-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

I just came across some upcoming releases that I thought you should know about. Hopefully they'll be good. :)

August 22, 2006: The Mars Volta - Amputechture; Outkast - Idlewild
September 4, 2006: Kasabian - Empire
September 12, 2006: Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies Are We
September 13, 2006: The Shins - Sleeping Lessons
October 2, 2006: The Killers - Sam's Town

If you know of any other releases that I or others may enjoy, please post them in the comments. Thanks!

The Brunettes - Mars Loves Venus

2006-07-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

The Brunettes is a New Zealand indie pop band with a summery, playful sound. Husband and wife Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield created a catchy and unforgettable indie pop CD called Mars Loves Venus in 2004. For some reason some songs on this CD remind me of Grease. It's no wonder that the record label Sub Pop signed them in December of 2005. They are to release a new album this summer. I'm really looking forward to it.

It took me a couple of listens, as it often does, to really appreciate the album Mars Loves Venus. The beginning of the album is poppy and upbeat and makes a smooth transition to a slower more quiet ending. My favorite song is "These Things Take Time". It starts out with a catchy, simple beat and continues through adding instruments along the way. This is one of those albums that you want to listen to on a bright, sunny and not too hot, good day. Try it out.

The Brunettes' Homepage
The Brunettes' Sub Pop Page
The Brunettes' MySpace

Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase

2006-04-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

The Campfire Headphase is the latest from the Edniburgh duo Boards of Canada. I'm a big fan of theirs, as I quite like the whole electronic ambientness thing. BoC is really quite good at it too. Their latest is largely in the same style as their previous couple releases - Geogaddi and Music Has the Right to Children - but they've got some new samples on this record, mostly of some deconstructed guitar. It's the same BoC, but this album feels a lot more real and less cold than previous works. I love the guitar samples on the record, especially on "Chromakey Dreamcoat", for instance - they add just a hint of funkiness to the track.

That said, this isn't a record for everyone; if you're not into music that's lacking in vocals, you won't much care for this. Furthermore, while this album is a lot more organic than others Boards of Canada have done, it's still an electronic album. But if this kinda thing is your bag, then this latest album is definitely worth a spin. And if you are and you've never tried BoC before, this'd be a good album to start with too. Linkage: iTunes • Amazon

Pedro's Indie CD

2006-04-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

Finally it's here. I've been working on putting together this CD of indie music for quite some time (on and off for over a month) and it's finally here and done! The download will be available for one week or 25 downloads whichever comes first. Just leave a comment if it's expired and I'll update it. I'm going to list the tracks on here and the bands' websites where you can hear more of their music and then link the download at the end.

Antennas - Adapt
www.antennas.se
Junip - Black Refuge
www.junip.net
Eskimo Foe - The Lie
www.myspace.com/eskimofoe
Matt Costa - Cold December
www.mattcosta.com
The Helio Sequence - Blood Bleeds
www.theheliosequence.com
King Seven - Simple Folk
www.kingseven.co.uk
Chimp Beams - Melina
www.chimpbeams.com
Electric President - Insomnia
www.radicalface.com
Page France - Chariot
www.pagefrance.net
If Bears Were Bees - Anxious Jenny
www.ifbearswerebees.com
Amy Millan - Skinny Boy
www.amymillan.com
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - I Hear You Drowning But I'm Tied
lettingup.com
Phoenix - Long Distance Call
www.phoenixmusicuk.com
Sukpatch - We Fold at the Fork
www.sukpatch.com
The Essex Green - Don't Know Why (You Stay)
www.essexgreen.com
My Orchard - A List of Things
www.myorchard.net
Digitata - Death and the Beach
www.totallygrossnationalproduct.com
Victor Scott - Gotta Go
www.victorscott.ca
Josh Pyke - Middle of the Hill
www.joshpyke.com
Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwind (Metronomy Remix)
www.architectureinhelsinki.com

The link to the complete CD in a zip file is here: Indie CD. Enjoy!

Say Hi To Your Mom - Numbers & Mumbles

2006-04-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Ah, Say Hi To Your Mom. A band found through general work-and-internet-fueled silliness. We typed "sayhitoyourmom.com" into a web browser one day to see if it worked and up came this band, which surprisingly was pretty good.

Numbers & Mumbles (Amazon.com) is not the group's (well, E. Elbogen's) latest - that one is Ferocious Mopes - but it's a good representation of their (his) sound. Elbogen is a very soft-spoken singer, almost like a softer Rivers Cuomo, and the music is fairly straightforward indie rock stuff. You've got your bleepy synth in the background, your jangly-but-not-too-jangly guitar, your melodic drumming that focuses less on cymbal work and some fairly simple yet inventive bass lines. The lyrics, though, are what sets this band apart. Take, for example, track 7, But She Beat My High Score:

There's a flame, there's a spark
But she beat my high score
So say goodbye, there's the door
I can't see you anymore

The tracks verge on the silly but they're all pretty heartfelt (and that seems to be the key to indie, IMHO) and really quite nerdy. Full tracks off the album - Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks, Let's Talk About Spaceships, and Super - are available at the band's website. Definitely worth a listen. The cover of I'm So Tired is really good too.

Beale Street Music Festival

2006-03-31T13:53:00.000-06:00

Memphis in May is almost around the corner. The one thing I cannot figure out is how this year's Beale Street Music Festival's band lineup could possibly be worse than the last year's... and the year before that... and they year before that... you get the picture. This festival, and Memphis in general, definitely do not cater to my Indie Rock tastes. The lineup this year consists of (for the most part) either pretentious and over done sell-outs that I would pay money NOT to see or unknown bands that most likely aspire to be like the previously mentioned group. There are very few exceptions like Gomez who I would actually like to go see, but for the price of one ticket ($20) and the wading through all the crap (bands and literally crap), there is no way that is going to happen. It's just not worth it. Sorry Gomez. :( Yet again Memphis has and will continue to fail us with non maintstream taste as a "great" music city. I can't wait to not go and hear how bad it sucked.. again.

Slow Runner

2006-03-25T00:20:00.000-06:00

Slow Runner, who I happened to see at the Young Avenue Deli a while back when they first formed, is an indie/electronic rock band that has a differing sound. The lead singer/songwriter Michael Flynn has a comforting and sympathetic if not empathetic voice. He reminds you of a younger Ben Folds, minus the glasses, because he is a thin white kid who plays the keyboards/piano. I saw Slow Runner again 3/25/06 at the Young Avenue Deli where they were promoting their new album called "No Disassemble".

The first track on the CD is a short electronic track of 44 seconds that leads straight into the song ("Break Your Mama's Back") that made its public debut on Grey's Anatomy a little over a month ago. This is somewhat of an upbeat song that immediately introduces you to the type of music this band performs. The following track called "The Sea is Never Full" is a bit slower with lyrics like "Every tear can feel its mother's pull..." making it a more compassionate song than some of the others. The fourth song is faster with a steady beat and occational banjo picking, which makes it not only more enjoyable, but more original. The next song, which is great live, is titled "You're in Luck". This is probably one of the most upbeat songs on the whole CD which could be classified as a "feel good" song. The CD slows down from this point on. The casual banjo picking comes back in the lyricless "Class of '86" which makes the song somewhat soothing and continuous. The CD ends with "Moody Suburban Teenage Love Song" which sounds just like a moody suburban teenage love song might. It reminds you of your own teenage days and brings the CD to a nostalgic close rather than ending with a bang.

All in all, this CD is definitely worth checking out or buying and if you get a chance, I would go see them in concert. They are currently on a national tour and their tour dates can be found on their website.

Dave Doobinin

2006-03-18T09:29:00.000-06:00

Dave Doobinin's sophomore full album One Station Away starts out with a tense, fast paced track called "Hurricane Trees". Just listening to it makes me a little nervous and it concludes leaving you the same place you started. If there were to be a single, then the next song, "100 Watts", would definitely be it. This song is a little slower paced than the first one, but has a nice reemerging hook. The next song carries the same pace, then the album slows as it comes to "Father's Day". At a short 1:20, you can feel the lyrics such as "..Pretty makeup falling down mother's face.." and "We plant flowers, your body will help them grow. Watch them tower over your tombstone.." affect your heart. After the next song, the CD picks up speed again with "Never Enough", which sounds pretty similar to Weezer's green album. But keep in mind that in general, Dave Doobinin should never be compared to new Weezer with the small exception of his voice sounding a bit like Rivers'. His title track comes next. It starts out slow and then moves toward a cacophony of noises compiled into a decent feel good song with some soul influence. Two tracks later at 4:52, "Man vs. Machine" has the most presence (and length) of any of the songs on One Station Later. It is mechanical in both sound and structure. Towards minute three of the song, there is a very small hint of Ben Lee's voice in "Grammercy Park Hotel". One Station Later concludes with "Wonder" where a female backup singer helps create a soft and melodic conclusion.

The CD is a short 10 Tracks, but better shorter with substance than longer and without. It has a good mix of electic and acoustic instruments throughout the CD. Clearly Dave Doobinin avoided the typical sophomore slump.

Husky Rescue - Country Falls

2006-03-14T10:05:00.000-06:00

Husky Rescue, a Helsinki based band, have put out a relaxing album called Country Falls. This indie electronic album lures you in with its soft and relaxed tempos and vocals. Country Falls is an album that combines the soft jazz feel with the experimentation of the Animatrix soundtrack in a calming way. It's a perfect album to listen to while staying in bed on a slow, rainy day.

Jose Gonzalez - Veneer

2006-03-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Jose Gonzalez was mentioned in my last post for his cover of The Knife's Heartbeats (iTMS link). He does cover the song to great effect, and his effort is on Veneer. However, Gonzalez is about as far as you can get from The Knife. Deep Cuts is big and loud (literally) and experimental and weird. Veneer is a CD full of simple-yet-complex arpeggiated acoustic guitar tunes. You're for the most part just listening to him and his guitar, and the songwriting is there enough for this to work. Gonzalez's music fades into the background. The music is very good but it's quiet and unassuming, and none of the tracks are horribly infectious (save Heartbeats and maybe Deadweight on Velveteen). The songs are a touch melancholy. You're not breaking any new ground when you listen to it - it's almost like listening to Simon and Garfunkel, except more if they had a kid that combined the best of their respective talents - but that's part of the appeal. I honestly waver on it a bit. Sometimes I feel the album is warm and comforting, and sometimes it seems almost as if Gonzalez stapled his heart to his sleeve; that is, cold and honest. Overwhelmingly, it's a disc that you want to curl up in an easy chair and listen to while drinking some nice green tea or French press coffee. And then you want to swear at it because, at 30 minutes long, it'll have ended before you finish your drink. Definitely worth a shot. (Try it from iTMS.)

Couse and the Impossible

2006-03-05T09:59:00.000-06:00

Dave Couse created a new band called Couse and the Impossible who released their first album last year called The World Should Know. The band is from Dublin, Ireland. More news about the band can be fodnu on the ZOP website. This CD is good ol' Indie Rock. The most upbeat and catchy song on the album which I highly recommend you listen to is "Batman & Robin". On February 14th, they released their second single of the album which is called "Beauty Is". You can find a copy of their CD at Road Records.com.

The Knife - Deep Cuts

2006-03-01T23:51:00.000-06:00

As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to review this CD. You may have heard of this band, since their opening track on this album ("Heartbeats") was covered to great effect by Jose Gonzalez and is currently making the rounds. The Knife is a Swedish group that - on this album - seem to be focused around a very 80's style of synthpop. Their tracks are full of heavy synth bass and stereotypical pop waveforms. They even throw in some steel drum too. Vocals are interesting - there's no way to get around the fact that yes, they are from Sweden, but it's complimentary and not really distracting.

Deep Cuts is 17 tracks long. It's sort-of hit and miss. The opening track is good, and the one after ("Girl's Night Out") is as well. After that, it's a bit of a tossup. Some of the tracks - "You Make Me Like Charity" and "The Cop" notably - are weird. The album almost feels padded out. However, that said, there are enough good tracks on it that it's worth just anteing up the $10 for a copy from iTunes. Definitely a preview before you buy album though.

Broken Social Scene

2006-03-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian band with many members. Guests come and go on their albums and they sound like indie rock and experimental pop. Broken Social Scene sound a little like The Good Listeners. Their label is called Arts&Crafts. I like them mostly because of their sampling and manipulation of sound into catchy beats. Their second CD You Forgot it in People got a couple of good reviews from Pitchfork Media and the BBC. Their latest self titled album got a pretty good review from Pitchfork Media as well. I recommend both of these albums and hope you get a chance to listen to them because it's well worth it. I'm looking forward to future CDs by this expiremental indie rock band.

The Reindeer Section

2006-02-27T22:18:00.000-06:00

The Reindeer Section is Gary Lightbody's, from Snow Patrol, former band. The story goes that one night Gary Lightbody got drunk and pretty much dared these people to record a CD. They happened to say yes and he went home the next day to write their entire first CD called Ya'll Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! The band got together for three days of practice and then recorded for ten days. They pulled off an excellent second album called Son of Evil Reindeer that only a collection of talented artists such as Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake, Belle & Sebastian's Mick Cooke and Bob Kildea, Idlewild's Roddy Woomble and Alfie's Lee Gorton, Sam Morris and Ben Dumville, among others, could do so well. This album is an acoustic sounding melancholy CD describing the true hurt of heartbreak. Son of Evil Reindeer really reminds you what love is.

The Brazilian Girls

2006-02-26T10:37:00.000-06:00

The Brazilian Girls is one of the best indie bands that I have heard in quite some time. Ever since I read their article in Blender I was intrigued by both their name and their unique sound. While their name suggests that they're all Brazilian and all girls, this isn't exactly right. There are four members in the group, one of which is female and none of them are Brazilian. According to this article by National Public Radio, the band sings in five languages including English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. Their influences range from dance/pop to jazz. It is well worth the money to buy their album. They truly are a refreshing face in the Indie music scene.

The Raconteurs

2006-02-25T12:14:00.000-06:00

The Raconteurs is a recently formed band with Jack White from the White Stripes and Brendan Benson. I must say until recently I didn't know that Brendan Benson was in it and I was somewhat surprised. But according to their 2 released tracks, they sound pretty good together. Their two released tracks are called "Steady as She Goes" and "Store Bought Bones". The band members include:
Jack Lawrence - Base Guitar
Brendan Benson - Guitar, Vox, Keys
Jack White - Guitar, Vox, Keys
Patrick Keeler - Drums
Their album is due out May, 2006 and is called "Broken Boy Soldiers". They currently are only going to be touring in May in the UK. I would definitely give this new album a listen when it comes out. Who knows, it may be what the radio has been lacking.

Welcome to Aural Review

2006-02-25T11:51:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Aural Review where I review music that I have found using various sites and sources. This is basically so I can remember what I've already heard and how good/bad it was. I'm just now getting this set up, so I will have a lot of backtracking to do. Despite this fact, I plan on starting with a very new band. I hope you can enjoy this as well as me. Thanks for listening.