better days

Fonda ~ Better Days EP (Fonda Music, Inc., 2011)

It's been almost 10 years that I'd heard about Fonda. A friend sent me their first ep 'Music for Begginers', from 1998 and I had a blast listening to it. Then years past... and imagine my surprise and delight when David sent me an email last week talking about their new release.
It's been 8 years since Fonda's latest release.The once band now is the couple/duo David Klotz and Emily Cook. Both work on the entertainment industry and have successful careers: David is the music editor for the TV hit 'Glee' and Emily is a screenwriter and among her works are 'Gnomeo and Juliet' and 'Ratatouille'.
Fonda is the unique combination of shoegaze, brit pop, 60's pop, layers of sound and boy-girl singing. And "Better Days", their new ep, is somehow a pretty evolution from the 8 years that passed without new music from them. It's bright, tight and perfect to be listened in the middle of the day, surrounded by the sun and potent speakers/headphones.

In time, here's 'Better Days EP' for your listening pleasure... You can also download the title track here. The EP will be out on June, 6.
  Better Days - EP by fondaband

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music to see #15

RADIOSEVEN + CRAFT SPELLS + TELEKINESIS + TENNIS + BALLBOY.

dreamboat

Saskatchewan ~ Dreamboat (Independent, 2011)

Saskatchewan is a province in Canada but it's also a really cool 5-piece band from Orlando, Florida.
Dreamy and pure bliss... that's all I can say about this beautiful track. The rest are just feelings of summer days filled with the anticipation / preparation for a day on the beach.
The song starts with the laid back vocals singing 'Girl I wanna be a dreamboat. Won't you let me be your dreamboat?' and that leads to this vintage keyboard/synth sound making this subtle wall, punctuated by amazing guitars. From that moment on you'll be hypnotized.
I'll warn: as a perfect pop song, it is addictive. But I guess that won't be much of a problem, right?


Dreamboat is available for free download on their bandcamp where you can also find 'Nice Daze', a 7'' released in January.

01. Dreamboat



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skyll på mig

De Montevert ~ Skill på mig (single) (Nomethod Records, 2011)

De Montevert is the fragile folk-electronic-experimental-pop project by Ellinor Nillson. By taking a naive and almost empirical approach to music, she manages to create charming songs filled with simple melodies.
She's been quietly releasing songs and conquering indiepop hearts across the world...
This summer, a new ep will be released under Nomethod Records - this pretty and small label from Sweden - and now, to celebrate her release, you can listen, download and watch 'Skill på mig'.

 


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days on grey skies

Days ~ On Grey Skies WNYU 89.1FM (Shelflife Records, 2011)

Yesterday, while visiting the blog from Shelflife, I found myself in a moment of joy and happiness and excitement. Let me explain:
being in New York for NYCPopfest, Days, the band that thrilled us all with the sweetest and most melancholic release on Shelflife history, performed a few songs and did an interview with radio station WNYU FM. Ed (Mazzucco) put it all together (4 songs + a 13 minutes interview) and made it available for download...
Since it's been 3 years from the release of 'Downhill EP', it is good to hear from this guys, even though there's no new songs on the performance.
On the interview, you'll here the shy members talk about origins, influences, being part of Shelflife Records, singing in english, cd x vinyl, new songs... Thanks, Shelflife!




01. Motion
02. Downhill
03. Small & Ordinary
04. Simple Thing
05. Interview




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my teenage stride. interview #40

My Teenage Stride started as the musical vehicle for Jedediah Smith express his love for The Smiths and Jesus and Mary Chain. After two albums recorded all by himself, the act started to count with a few rotating musicians and nowadays has Jedediah and three other musicians backing him up for live performances.
The band started back in 2004 in Brooklyn and since then, received a - much deserved - cult status by their followers. Not hard to understand why, since MTS plays some of the most tight, straightforward, addictive tunes in the indie world (I'm not exaggerating when I say world, ok?). The perfect combination of rhythm, witty/clever lyrics and evoking melodies. Jedediah is - and a lot of fellow music bloggers agree - one of the best songwriters nowadays and I could name at least 3 songs from MTS that should be part of any respectable guide to indie music from the 2000's.
While the references are all there, in their music (The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain, C86, jangle pop, 60's pop with a tougher take...) MTS manages to create a fresh, powerful, very personal and creative sound; modern and urban.

Below there's my conversation with Jedediah... This is one of the most enjoyable interviews I've made: just like his compositions, Jedediah's answers are filled with a funny and witty mood.
Here he talks about references, creative processes and recording sessions in haunted studios and among bats; his next album, which was funded by supporters through Kickstarter and more.
He recently released five (amazing!!!!!!!!) free songs at Free Music Archive. At some point of the interview, the link will pop up.

mind universe

The Telegraph Reverb ~ Mind Universe EP (BFW Recordings, 2009)

The Telegraph Reverb is a shoegaze-electronica duo from Bandung, Indonesia. Vicky takes care of programming and ambient sounds and Marino plays with synths.
The only musical register we have from them (so far?) is this little ep released on BFW, a netlabel specialized in ambient, shoegaze, experimental electronica and based in Manchester.
'Mind Universe' runs through an engaging and melodically heartfelt field, sometimes resembling early Ulrich Schnauss.
The ep is available as a free download on the BFW website...

01. The Blue Sea
02. Cloud N Trees
03. I Am Looking Something at Trees
04. Lightning of Harmony


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nigerian girl

Yournalist ~ Nigerian Girl (single) (Drink Tonight Records, 2011)

photo by Petri Huhtinen

Yournalist is a new trio coming from Finland making fun power prog pop and rock with a bunch of other influences... but musical genres apart, the first thing one might notice is the energy present in their music.
They have just released an EP called 'Slippery and Infected EP' on the new indie label Drink Tonight Records.
'Nigerian Girl' is the first single and best song of the release. A fun, catchy, summery and fresh tune made for the repeat button. You can get it on the player below.


  Yournalist - Nigerian Girl by drinktonightrecords

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tropic of capricorn

Work Drugs ~ Tropic Of Capricorn (Independent, 2011)

photo by Work Drugs

A warm breeze is coming from "an abandoned pier on the banks of the Delaware River in beautiful Philadelphia, PA"... it brings along smooth electronic, lo-fi and chillwave songs, performed by Work Drugs.
Benjamin Louisiana and Thomas Crystal (along with Joan Wellfleet backing some songs with her sweet voice), create the perfect mood to lay back by the sea in a quiet beach (while getting stone, maybe).
As mentioned on their description: music for dancing, boating, yatching, sexting and living.
They have two EPs released: Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn (the last is a free download on last.fm).
At the moment, they're holding a 'Rad Remix' competition for their song 'Rad Racer'.

01. curious serge
02. rad racer
03. golden sombrero
04. sunset junction
05. third wave
06. dog daze
07. rad racer (cayman islands sessions)


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another town

Daniel Rodin ~ Another Town (Independent, 2011)

Daniel Rodin is a singer/songwriter from Sweden. He makes mellow, sad and über romantic music. The kind that goes very, very well with late night hours when you have the feeling that you're the only living being awake and the only sound you here is from distant street cars passing every now and then.

I'd say his music is folk, indiepop, acoustic... and I also can hear the most melancholic bands from Sarah Records echoing in his melodies.  

He has 3 eps released on his bandcamp and you can get them all for free. 'Another Town' is the latest, released in April. It has 2 songs and 'Requiem for a January Night' is the best of all his songs. 

Go ahead and be the melancholic I know you are!

Here's Daniel at the Green Field Festival, held in Sundsvall, last year, performing 'Made in Tango', from the 'Notes' EP.

01. for you my friend

02. requiem for a january night

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into the wilderness

Burning Hearts ~ Into the Wilderness (single) (Shelflife Records, 2011)

Jessika (Le Futur Pompiste) and Henry (Cats On Fire) are back with a new single after the fantastic 2009 debut album 'Aboa Sleeping', also released through Shelflife Records.

'Into the Wilderness' is part of a new EP that'll be released on June 21th. The song has a retro feeling with guitar hooks and a hint of ambient music... don't get me wrong, still is a danceable tune a la Burning Hearts (an elegant, synthy, vintage way of dance).
The song (and the already mentioned EP) were inspired by nature and more specifically by the Östrobothnian landscape, in glacial Finland. In fact, they were so inspired by the region that they decided to relocate to record the next album - due to be released later this year -close to the landscape and environment of the region.
You can feel the open spaces, ice, wild life and resilient trees filling this first single...



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music to see #14 (hardly art records edition)

Hardly Art is a small label from Seattle and has a few good names in its catalog. Been listening La Sera and Hunx and His Punx almost everyday for some time. You can check a few of them now...

First 2 videos from La Sera, a project from Katy Goodman from Vivian Girl making sunshine surfey indiepop with reverberations...



Then Hunx and His Punx in all his glorious lo-fi queerness...


Psycho folk act Fergus & Geronimo with a beautiful video collage...


And to finish our little tour, Arthur and Yu with an escapist and (almost) road movie-ish video.


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