Civil Love is a band formed in London by 4 guys coming from different places of the world.
Their music is firmly based on 60's pop with references from the 90's indie bands that made sugary guitar driven pop without being too sweet.
If I had an 'Indiepop Promise' badge, I'd give mine to Civil Love.
Earlier this month, a debut EP was released with 4 songs. You can get it at their bandcamp page.
The Sorry Shop is a bedroom project created in 2011 by Régis Garcia in Rio Grande, south of Brazil. Combining shoegaze with lo-fi and a bunch of references from the american alternative movement from the 90's filled with reberbs and distorted guitars.
His music is both a look from outside, from the distance but also a heartfelt experimentation that sounds urban and somehow chaotic, just like our modern lives.
Last year, 'Thank You Come Again' - an EP with 5 songs - was released and last month, his debut album - 'Bloody, Cozy, Fuzzy' came out.
Both can be found at Bandcamp for free download.
'About Kings and Queens I' is one of the best songs released last year.
With a song made to close the discotheque, Doble Pletina took Spain by surprise and became one of the main promises of the colorful independent scene of the country.
'Música para cerrar las discotecas' is already a classic, an anthem for indiepop kids and - as spanish indie bible Rockdelux said - "a song to dance with tears in your eyes". With an apocalyptic atmosphere and a calm - yet strong - drumbeat the song goes 'Music to close the discotheque, something to dance if the end is getting close...' and suddenly you're under Doble Pletina's spell.
Mainly an acoustic act, this Barcelona based group delivers mesmerizing indiepop where love and everyday life are sung via a clever, melodical and charming perspective.
Emotional and extremely musical.
A few days ago I ran into Templeton's bandcamp and had the pleasure to listen to their new album entitled El Murmullo (or The Whisper). Templeton is a six piece band from Torrelavega, North of Spain.
This is their second album. In 2009, Exposición Universal was released via Subterfuge Records.
El Murmullo is a 10-track album and couldn't have a better title since - song after song - slow paced gems are delivered with a beautiful and very particular imagery of broken hearts and deceit that is continuously built throughout thoughtful lyrics.
To make this album, the band asked for fans to send them things that they associated with whispers, so they could use them as inspiration. As for the band, whispers are connected with fear.
The highlights of the album are 'Mar Cantábrico' - comparing two individuals where one is the cantabric Sea (cold and acid) and the other being Cote d'Azur ( a natural disaster that still makes the other tremble) is absolutely fantastic.
'Los Días' tells the story of a love taken for granted and has a video featuring two girls (or their memories) involved into a dreamy and full of light atmosphere.
This album is full of pop references - pop from the 60's, spanish indiepop from the 90's, flirtations with electronics used to punctuate the most upbeat song of the album 'Sabe Mejor', somber moments where the fear is almost palpable...
Everything is filled with a delicate and sensitive aesthetic that makes it all kind of irresistible.
Here's a live performance of 'El Caminante' - another favorite of mine - for Esquire Spain.
El Murmullo was released only in vinyl. You can also get the album at their bandcamp page.
Our current 'digital age', allowed us to experience the plurality of different perspectives. And by different perspectives I mean the act of producing cultural content and at the same time consume it, having in mind and at the distance of a mouse click that the other exists and is more real than ever.
More specifically about music, I think net labels and the way they think music has an extremely important role to define and rethink what we call 'music', being an important key to reshape (like independent labels) the cultural market idea that music is more what comes into a nicely done package and less a way of express creativity.
That being said, today CuC features an interview with a good example - or alternative - to distribute and consume music.
Bad Panda Records is one of the most politically outspoken labels I know. With an eclectic catalog of artists from all over the world and giving away music under Creative Commons license, Bad Panda believes in free and democratic culture where "music IS politics" (but not necessarily has to talk about it).
