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1. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and how does that explain yours?
Usually a band's name would explain the band itself, give us a rough idea of the band's image, a hint of the genre or music they're playing and a good band name would usually attract people to listen to them. Thats usually the case, in general. When people see or hear about AZUREFORJANNE, it explains or elaborate the same term too in general, the difference is people would wonder whats "AZURE" or how to spell "JANNE" or why is it spelled with all capital letters, and that would spark more interest for people to check the band behind the name more.
2. In the style that you write in, what are the nuts and bolts of songwriting?
Our songwriting consists of five different styles cause each of our band members have our own distinct style. We collaborate and mix all of our ideas together, usually during our practice sessions, and put all the different elements into one song. We practice creative freedom when it comes to making our songs, so all of ideas would be put to use, it might be filtered but it won't be scraped off. If you ask what are the nuts and bolts in our songwriting, we are.
3. Who would you gauge yourself against as a composer and songwriter?
I'd say a composer and songwriter is not a good choice for us to gauge against since were a band of five people, so it'd be more appropriate if it was a band. The bands we look up to and influences us are local acts such as Love Me Butch and Seven Collar T-Shirt, international acts, to name a few like Chiodos(US), Tribal Chair (JAP), FACT (JAP), Alesana (US), The Amity Affliction (AUS), Dividing The Line (UK) and a lot more.
4. Which do you prefer to write in? First person (I, my) or second (his, hers) … and please explain your choice?
First person's point of view because, it is more personal when people are listening to our songs, they can relate to the lyrics and live the moments through their imagination. The words from the lyrics is more intimate to the listener if it was written or sung in a first person's view.
5. There's the argument that music is part art and part science. Is that true, and how do you see the division?
In the first place, there shouldn't be an argument at all. Music is a form of expression, an expression that billions in the world can relate to and understand, a passion that's shared by everyone and its indifferent when it comes from different individuals. Music is something universal, its not part art and part science, its all heart and passion.
1. What are you guys listening to at the moment? Faisal: Since the radio can't stop playing Justin Bieber's song, I was forced to listen to it. Haha. Well.. At this very moment, I'm listening to "Wheels" by The Foo Fighters, but nowadays I listen mostly to local bands and Indonesian bands. Andy: Listening to local bands like Estranged, One Buck Short, Pop Shuvit, Bunkface, and also international bands like All American Rejects, Sum 41 and Greenday. John: Currently I'm listening to J-rock and Visual Kays. MOose: Korn and Yellowcard.
2. What is the average age of the band and who are at the extremes? Faisal: Our average age would be around 21 or 22. Moose is the eldest and Andy is the youngest.
3. Does the band tend to gravitate towards any particular subject/theme, or are your lyrics mostly random thoughts? Faisal: Our lyrics are usually based on a particular subject or theme. So far, all of the songs I've written are based on our personal experiences and the happenings around us.
4. Who are your personal songwriting heroes? Faisal: John Lennon and Kurt Cobain. Andy: My songwriting hero is Noel Gallagher and Deryck Whibley but since I'm not writing, it doesn't really matter.
5. Would you choose to satisfy your own artistic integrity before you try to please your fans? Why and how? Faisal: I would try my best to satisfy both at the same time by expressing ourselves in our music and at the same time knowing what the fan wants. We owe it to the fans. Moose: Yea.. I would choose to satisfy my artistic integrity so I know who I am and what I'm capable of doing. So fans will love us for who we really are. Andy: Yes I do satisfy myself musically before the fans. It's what makes you original. Handle With CareProfile page - http://www.2crank.com/HandleWithCare
Brain Jelly
1. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and how does that explain yours?
BRAINJELLY is just a catchy name, there is no specific meaning behind it. We chose the name BRAINJELLY simply because it brings the punk rock feel to the band. For us the name of the band is not important. The important thing is our songs... right? hehe..but regardless BRAINJELLY is the coolest name ever! haha
2. Lyrically, what do you guys generally write about?
Our songs are mostly all about life,love,hate and surrounding.
3. If you had to work with someone you admire, who would it be and why?
I am very interested in working with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. For me, he is a simple person with a very meaningful life but i don't know how could he had committed suicide. His lyrics are mostly about himself. They were very nice...
4. What is your favourite album of all time?
There are many album that we listen to, keep, and play, but the ones we like the most are GREENDAY's album "DOOKIE", NIRVANA's "NEVERMIND", SUM41's "CHUCK",MUSE's "ABSOLUTION" album, THE OFFSPRING's "SMASH" and many more..
5. Is there an element of glamour surrounding the songwriter of the band …and does that allow him to dictate the band somewhat? And who is that guy in this band?
Our vocalist is the head of the band, he likes to write happy & catchy stuff...
1. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and howdoes that explain yours?
It depends on how seriously you take yourself. We don't take ourselves too seriously as individuals - one always has to have a sense of humour about things, but we do take our music seriously. Nowadays, you see bands from both ends of the serious-ness spectrum; bands that think they are all that and refuse to acknowledge that they are human too, and bands that just want to have a cool band name but come up with shite tunes. We just randomly came up with our name, we didn't really put much thought into it. We'd rather put that energy into making kick ass tunes and learning new tricks like riding a unicycle. Music is joy, and that's the way it should stay. That being said, there is a really gnarly all-male metal band called Lesbian.
2. How was the band formed and what was the most important ingredient ingetting you guys to share this dream together?
We actually got our first show before we had a band. Initially it was just me (Farah). I opened my big mouth and said I had a band when I didn't just so I could get a show. It was a private party, sometime in August last year. I was playing solo before that, but I felt like such a loser all by my lonesome. If I sucked, I didn't want to suck alone. We didn't even have our own instruments. I just had a mandolin and a borrowed acoustic.
3. Does the band tend to gravitate towards any particular subject/theme,or are your lyrics mostly random thoughts?
No theme, really, There's songs about people we meet, situations we've been in, food that we eat.Sometimes it's about the people we meet, situations they've been in, food that they eat.
4. What are you guys in this for? Money, fame, fortune?
All the above. Kidding. Hahaha, well if anybody in Malaysia ever got into music for the money, they're in the wrong country. Fame, we would've applied for Akademi Fantasia ages ago, then beat up some chick in a club with a stiletto.
5. Would you choose to satisfy your own artistic integrity before you tryto please your fans? Why and how?
There's only 4 of us and like, 30 fans. We'd like to say we have a thousand million fans but we'd be lying and who wants a band of liars? Too many people to please. So it's easier and more economical to please 4 people than a thousand million. We live in lean times, my friend.
1. Lyrically, what do you guys generally write about?
We usually write about the ups and downs in life, the struggle to succeed and things like that; but not in a moody or 'emo' style to the point where we want people to feel our pain or sadness or anything. We don't do it that way. Instead, we try to make it as hyper, heavy and as energetic as possible. After all, it's much easier to make the crowd go crazy if you have upbeat songs.
2. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and how does that explain yours?
A band's name should sound like it could stand the test of time or shake the world! But honestly, we see many new bands now coming up with names they think is 'sempoi' like for example, Biskut Meri, Sayasayangmaksaya, Kautaksayangmakkau, Jejaka Retro, Bintang Menunggu Bulan or whatever. To us, it shows that they have no direction, definitely no attitude, and probably won't be around for long as well. They don't even sound like they are serious. Ours is pretty much straight forward. Rock n Roll John. Rock n Roll is what we play (straight away you'll know our direction right there, man!) and John is just a tribute to our dad who taught us about music. Friends and family call him John.
3. How was the band formed and what was the most important ingredient in getting you guys to share this dream together?
We are brothers and we started learning how to play music since we were kids. That was where it all began. But we only formed the band after high school. What makes us stick together until now is because we love rock n roll so much, we love playing music, and also we are brothers and best friends.You can say the chemistry is naturally there.
4. In the style that you write in, what are the nuts and bolts of songwriting?
Well, sometimes ideas pops up. But if we plan to write a song, we would sit and discuss what the song is all about, how should it sound like, and also research on our music influences which we think is very important in writing your own song. You have to know your roots.
5. Who would you gauge yourself against as a composer and songwriter?
James Hetfield, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, P. Ramlee (sad he's not around anymore).
1. When you see a band's name, what can you understand about it … and how does that explain yours?
"More catchy your band's name, more value will you get". Basically, a band's name is a brand. It does not signify how good or poor your band is with the name that you chose. When it comes to branding, as a brand owner we have to bring a good reputation to our brand. Like the NOFX band for example, the name sounds simple and sometimes funny when said out. I do not know if there is a story behind the name ,NOFX, but for me they are a good band! Is not because of their band's name but their songs are good and that gives good reputation to their band's name.
As the same for us, I chose this name with no good or relevant meaning to describe us. LOL! I took this name from science text book and Carbon 4' Teen is actually a radioactive isotope of carbon but we are not science teachers so.... Yet, the most important thing is that we try our best to make this name gain more value until the point where when people talk about Malaysia's punk rock band, they will talk about us. Yes that is our dream.
2. If the band had to reach out to a singular source for inspiration, who would it be? And why?
Redza, our guitarist and songwriter is our source for inspiration. He knows a lot and is very well versed when it comes to punk rock music, so we trust him; but who cares?
3. Is there an element of glamour surrounding the songwriter of the band …and does that allow him to dictate the band somewhat? And who is that guy in this band?
LOL! I would vote myself as the most glamor guy in this band. Even if yes, I can not simply exert my influence on my band mate to do this and that. If the majority disagrees then the answer would be "No!"; otherwise please go solo.
4. In your opinion, how has songwriting evolved over the past two decades? Are we making good progress? And what is your band's contribution to this?
Yes we're definitely making a good progress and it's getting better even though we're slower compare to other countries. I just want to point out that there are some potential musician/bands that are still hiding behind the mentality of Do-It-Your attitude or "katak bawah tempurung". Surely, they only think of how to "sell-in" and not to go "sell-out". But for me, it does not matter as long as you know what to do. There is no right and wrong here. At the end you will realize that it depends on you because your path is your truest path.
5. How was the band formed and what was the most important ingredient in getting you guys to share this dream together?
In an independent scene, we started this band with the objective to voice our ideology about human rights. We strongly oppose racism, fascism, sexism and that was the very reason we chose hardcore/punk genre for the band.
Back in the days when Malaysia's independent music scene was attacked by black metal issue. Mainstream media was labeling bands that wore black shirts, played heavy music and gigging with black metal activities. That really affected us. But now, Malaysia's music industry is steadily accepting independent music (so called Indie) and suddenly everyone wants to be "indie". Whatever it is, it is a good time and good chance to make a move.
Yes, our music style changed and maybe we follow the market trend by playing Pop/Punk Rock genre but that is the strategy to attract more listeners for our music and to make this band go further but we are still same and we still strongly opposed what we declared before this. It does not mean that if we play softer music we can't voice our ideologies.
"Jangan hanya melepaskan batuk di tangga." Being a good musician means that there is a need to know your limits, being a good listener and respecting one and another are our main ingredients in making our dreams come true. Punk Rock loves you too!
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‘I Need That Record’: Best Documentary of Record Industry Best New Indie Rock Music Videos">
The Black Keys Hate Their Own Music Video (and who could blame them)
- by Maxwell “Hammer” LeCoy
When I first saw the video for The Black Keys’ new track “Next Girl”, I thought for sure it was a clever spoof by some film school brat who happened to have some very fine looking women tolerate being stalked and bothered by a stupid dinosaur hand puppet.
To my utter amazement and disbelief, the video below IS the official music video for the song “Next Girl”. Oh, LOL, I get it – make something so stupid with some beautiful women and puppet to represent one of the coolest rock duos in years, and naturally it’ll get people talking. Mission accomplished, right? Whatever. In fact, Dan Auerbach was so outraged when he saw this video, that he insisted the record label, Nonesuch, place a scrolling message of how much The Black Keys hated the idea. LOL. For real.
Auerbach was quoted in Express Night Out about the video: “It’s weird because we hate it so much and think it’s really stupid and not funny at all and not smart or clever in any way, but it’s got, like, 6 gazillion hits. I wrote the scroll. I said, ‘”The only way I would allow this stupid fucking video on the Internet is if you put this on the bottom’ — and they did it.” Doesn’t matter though, in my opinion; it still is not good for the band’s image.
Part of the text for the scrolling message on the video reads: “This is an attempt by their record label to attract attention to the band using a ridiculous dinosaur puppet.”
The Rolling Stones have remastered and added new tracks to Exile on Main Street (1971) in one of the most anticipated and publicized reissues of the year. To accompany the reissue of Exile, the band is also releasing a documentary of the taping of the double LP on DVD only, due out next month.
MGMT on Letterman (The Late Show) with guest apperance by Sufjan Stevens. We’re looking forward to their show at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in less than two weeks. Interesting choice of venue for such a “big” band, but no complaints.
Even before seeing Free Energy perform three shows during this year’s SXSW festival, we were digging their shameless retro-70’s pop rock sound. They just really come together as a band, create memorable songs and have a very spirited and fun live show. See our archived posts about Free Energy for some of their music and more.
“What’s It In For?” - Avi Buffalo from their new self-titled debut via legendary indie label, Subpop Records
The web has made music videos more available than ever before, and artists and bands have been competing to make the most creative, memorable and high-quality videos for some years now, mostly DIY style.
This page, which is regularly updated, provides some of the most popular ‘indie’ rock music videos on the web, plus the occasional brilliant fan video, filmed interviews with popular artists and bands, studio and radio sessions, rock music trailers, documentaries, and highlight performances from festivals and concerts. In some cases, you’ll also find MP3s that accompany the video. Oh yeah, you might also enjoy checking out, or subscribing to IRC Indie Rock TV channel on YouTube which we also update with favorite videos not necessarily featured on this page.
Feel free to spread this page and send to others with the button. This helps us decide which videos to keep and to post in the future, because we DO care about what you think. Feel free to leave a comment about any of the videos on this page – we try to pick only the best, high-quality and creative videos developed for great songs by a range of mostly indie rock artists and bands.
“Real Love” - Beach House
More posts about Beach House
“The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine” – The Flaming Lips
More posts about The Flaming Lips
“Promises” – The Morning Benders
The Morning Benders website
“Written in Reverse” – Spoon
More posts about Spoon
“Swim” – Surfer Blood
Surfer Blood on MySpace
“Soloist in the Living Room” – Cold War Kids
Cold War Kids on MySpace
“Something New” – The Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event website
“Horchata” – Vampire Weekend
More posts about Vampire Weekend website
“Ready Able” – Grizzly Bear
More posts about Grizzly Bear
“Old Days” – Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog on MySpace
“Basic Space” – The XX
The XX on MySpace
“Paris Is Burning” – St. Vincent
St. Vincent official website
Trailers for Independent Music-Related Films Showcasing at Noise Pop 2010
San Francisco’s 18th annual Noise Pop festival, featuring indie rock artists, film and special events will take place at venues throughout the city over a span of seven days, starting this Tuesday, February 23rd.
Blood Into Wine at Viz Cinema (website | 1746 Post St. ) – 7:30 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages.
The Heart is a Drum Machine at the Viz Cinema – 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.
Blood Into Wine at ATA (website | 992 Valencia St. ) – 7 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.
Woodstock: Now & Then at ATA – 4 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.
The explosive popularity of indie rock around the world is fueled by thousands of talented artists and bands all vying for your attention in a saturated marketplace.
Each month, we receive hundreds of music submissions from bands that few people have ever heard of, and in that process filter out and pick only the best to share with our subscribers and visitors.
This page provides you direct access to the most recent posts profiling both ‘established’ and lesser-known artists, free MP3s, photos, videos, and much more. Therefore, we encourage you to check back often, or bookmark this page, Digg it, Stumble it, Tweet it, Facebook it, and so on.
IRC features the hottest bands of indie rock, plus bands to watch, break-out bands, under the radar and rising artists, and gaggles of others – from the one-man, lo-fi ‘buzz’ bands to the most popular side projects of well-known artists, music collectives and supergroups.
We do our level best to balance our coverage and content between giving people what they want from the hottest bands and releases out right now, and introducing them to brilliant artists and music they would otherwise never have known about. We believe this formula has worked well as evidenced by the unexpected success of IRC.
This page is updated a couple of times each week, so you might want to bookmark it to check for new music we think you wanna hear from the more ‘mainstream’ indie rock bands to obscure and up-and-coming artists.
From New Releases and Bands to Watch, to In Dee Mail and Feet to Da Beatz mixtapes, IRC picks what we think is the best indie music is every week, from bands most people know, to many others that most people do not know. Here are the latest posts in Artists & Bands. Check back often as this page is updated a couple of times or more every week.
The Drums have been picked by a huge margin by readers in the latest polling of the ‘break out artist of 2010 (So Far)”. Of the ten choices, Freelance Whales came second to The Drums, with rather low scores for the remaining eight artists in the poll.
For the past six weeks, hundreds of people have been taking our latest group of polls in a quest to find the ‘break out’ band of 2010 (so far). In the first round of ten bands, Local Natives were picked by 1,000 readers over nine other hot bands, including Surfer Blood, Crystal Castles, Sleigh Bells and Neon Indian.
In this latest poll, featuring another ten artists, 309 people voted. It was strikingly apparent from the first 100 votes that The Drums and Freelance Whales were the real competition of the latest poll. After 200 votes, the margins remained relatively the same, with The Drums receiving an impressive 43% of the vote. This is not surprising considering the huge amount of blog love and mainstream press accolades The Drums having been enjoying, especially in the month’s leading up to the June release of their terrific debut. “Forever & Ever Amen” – The Drums “It Will All End in Tears” – The Drums “Let’s Go Surfing”– The Drums “Saddest Summer” - The Drums
Brooklyn’s Freelance Whales followed rather far behind The Drums with 18% of the total votes. The remaining 39% of the vote was divided up among the other eight bands in the poll: Placing far behind Freelance Whales, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Villagers both took 7%, Warpaint, Smith Westerns and Washed Out with 5% each, Wild Nothing and Ganglians (4%), and Magic Kids (3%). “Hannah” – Freelance Whales “Generator First Floor”– Freelance Whales
Staten Island’s indie rock band Cymbals Eat Guitars broke through last year with their debut LP, Why There Are Mountains, one of the best debuts of the year. As 2010 rolled around, CEG were on a roll that continues to this day. The band will perform at a number of festivals this summer, including Lollapalooza and Lowlands in the Netherlands. “Wind Phoenix (Proper Name)” – Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Irish indie rock band Villagers are definitely one of the ‘break-through’ artists of 2010. The recent release of their debut album, Becoming A Jackal, has been widely hailed by critics and fans alike. Frontman Conor O’Brien said his lyrics are “transcendental darkness” and “dark imagery or feelings alongside really mundane domestic everyday things.” “Becoming a Jackal” – Villagers “Billie Holiday” - Warpaint “Be My Girl” – Smith Westerns “Feel It All Around” – Washed Out “My House” – Ganglians “Your Rabbit Feet” – Wild Nothing “Hey Boy” – Magic Kids
Last modified on 2010-08-05 23:15:51 GMT. 1 comment. Top.
It might just be that we are more aware of it than previous summers, but it seems like there are more solo debuts from band members of alternative and indie rock bands in 2010.
One of the most anticipated is Phil Selway’s (Radiohead) upcoming release, Familial, due to drop August 30th. Selway collaborated with singer/songwriter Lisa Germano, ex-Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sansone. “By Some Miracle” – Philip Selway from Familial Kathryn Calder, of the super Canadian indie band, The New Pornographers, will release her debut, Are You My Mother?, next week, August 10th, via Killbeat Music. “Arrow” - Kathryn Calder from Are You My Mother?
Founding member of the Eels, Tommy Walter, has been working on a new album under the moniker Abandoned Pools (wonder if that’s reference to skateboarding). Walter recently sent this track from the album, which still does not have a release date. “Legionnaire” - Abandoned Pools from TBA Glasgow, Scotland has contributed its fair share to the alternative and indie rock, and one of best in the past couple of decades has been the stellar band Travis. Founding member, Fran Healy, will drop his debut solo album, Wreckorder, on October 4th. “Buttercups” – Fran Healy from Wreckorder
Former Desolation Wildnerness band member Nic Zwart will officially release his solo self-titled debut album on September 7th using his music project moniker, Electric Sunset. “Soda” - Electric Sunset from s/t debut
Musician and songwriter Alain Johannes, who has contributed to albums by Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, drops his debut, Spark, August 17th via Rekords Rekords/Dangerbird Records. “Endless Eyes” – Alain Johannes from Spark Kenseth Thibideau, former member of bands like Pinback, Three Mile Pilot, and Tarentel, released his debut solo album, Repetition, on July 20th. The LP was heavily influenced by Thibideau’s obsession with classic krautrock and European prog that is channeled through swirling keyboards, looped grooves, rich melodies, and the singer’s unique vocals. “Moon” - Kenseth Thibideau from Repetition
In 2009, Andrew Kenny, lead singer and songwriter for the American Analog Set, started a new music project with some friends and named the band The Wooden Birds. Not long after, the band signed with the indie label Barsuk Records, and recently released the debut LP, Magnolia.
“False Alarm” – The Wooden Birds from Magnolia “Punk As Fu*k” - American Analog Set from Know By Heart (2001)
Last, but not least, Erik Parapazzi, bassist for Cat Power, released Rococo, his solo debut that should give CP fans something to tie them over until the next CP album release. “Hi” - Erik Parapazzi from Rococo
The sheer number of break-through, under the radar and bands to watch bands so far this year is impressive. Our folders are full of terrific music that just needs to be heard, and is yearning to be set free.
As you may know, we have been doing our utmost to unleash post after post of great new indie rock music that is coming at us non-stop from every direction. Unlike many of our posts, today’s mix features only artists that have sent their music to us, and who stand out from the hundreds of submissions we receive every month. Because these bands have had little to no coverage online, we have deemed them IRC Bands to Watch.
Even though the popular, regular playlist mix series, In Dee Mail series (a new one is coming soon), has served as the conduit to share our favorite music sent exclusively through the mail – mostly via the proper submission process – IRC Bands to Watch are the best of In Dee Mail.
Fez – London, England
The first band in today’s mix has been spinning in the cafe for a while now. Based in London, indie rockers Fez, stood out from the get-go. We were going to wait and include the band in an upcoming feature of Bands to Watch from Overseas, but we love this band so much, we had to share them with you sooner than later. We did include one of the band’s songs in one of the mega summertime mixes, but it didn’t contain any information about the band.
The impressive number of streams and downloads of that track, “Chemicals” was enough proof that Fez are indeed a band to watch. We can only hope that they will really break on through in the second half of 2010. Fans of Phoenix, The National, and even Franz Ferdinand, are the most likely folks to dig Fez’s music. Their musical influences include The Talking Heads, Television, Neil Young, and their hometown of Battersea Park, UK.
“Chemicals” – Fezfrom Hot Light
A search online for the band returns only scattered mentions, but no significant coverage – which is surprising for a band of this caliber. In addition to the ‘hit-sounding’ track “Chemicals”, the song “Low Light”, is a perfect summertime rock track, and “Success Came Slowly” solidifies the band’s talent for songwriting and musicianship. We predict big things for Fez. “Low Light” - Fez from Hot Light “Success Came Slowly” - Fez from Hot Light Fez on MySpace
The Spruce Campbells – Columbus, Ohio
Currently considered one of the best local bands in Columbus, Ohio, indie pop group The Spruce Campbells are a big hit here in the cafe, and hopefully you will agree. We were frankly floored by the two songs the band sent us recently. The dreamy keys, acoustic strums, and gorgeous vocals of singer Chelsea Moore, draw the listener in closely on the splendid track “More O’s” – a song brimming with an atmospheric shoegaze moodiness that is periodically stunned by a sudden splash of harmonic choruses, hand-claps, big drum beats and a seductive melody that makes it easy to put on repeat. “More O’s” - The Spruce Campbells from Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums
The case for The Spruce Campbells being chosen as an IRC Band to Watch is further enhanced by the second track, “Black Sunbeams,” a catchy rock pop gem with a searing summertime sizzle. Both songs are from the band’s debut EP, Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums, released June 26th via indie label Champions of the Arts.
Founding member Jason M. Kusowski was playing around with some demos some months ago, and getting positive feedback regarding the demos from friends and people who heard the songs online. Encouraged, Kusowski rounded out the live set with band members from his previous garage rock band project, The Nuclear Children. In March, TSC opened for Atlanta’s Gringo Starr.
The band’s debut EP was engineered and mixed by local native Jay Alton , and mastered by Brian Lucey, who recently mastered The Black Keys‘ terrific new LP, Brothers. Kusowski said the EP is the first a series of six EP’s planned for release over the coming months.
The Spruce Campbells are not just another reverb-loving, keyboard soaked, lo-fi, lazy, hazy surf pop band – they really stand out from so many other new artists we’ve heard this year. What we don’t get is why this band has not already been featued on Pitchfork or Stereogum? “Black Sunbeams” – The Spruce Campbells from Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums The Spruce Campbells on MySpace *RT or Like this post to enter to win a copy of the band’s debut EP
Detox Retox – Washington, DC
Classifying their music as indie dance rock, new tracks from Washington, DC indie band Detox Retox, have grown on us over the past few weeks since receiving them in the mail. After a number of line-up changes during the early to mid 2000’s, Detox Retox came together as a unit late in 2007 and began work on their debut EP, released a year later, to fairly good reviews. The band features lead singer Michael Parker, lead guitarist Nate Frey, bassist Kevin Glass, and drummer Kabir Khanna.
Influenced by classic rock bands The Police and the Talking Heads, and modern indie bands like Phoenix and Franz Ferdinand, Detox Retox create catchy, danceable rock music that has landed them opening shows for artists such as Asobi Seksu, Male Bonding, Dum Dum Girls, The Subjects, and Girl in a Coma.
Their second EP, Movement, was released on June 15, 2010, and features the production work of Andrew Maury (Ra Ra Riot). “Caroline” - Detox Retox fromMovement “Too Late” – Detox Retox fromMovement Detox Retox on MySpace
Computer Magic is the musical moniker of a NYC college student only known as Danielle (or Danz)
The volumes of great music that artists and bands have been sending in over the past few months is impressive, and taking time to get through – literally hundreds. And so we have to keep slimming down the list to make it realistic. Today we are adding five more bands to watch in 2010.
A couple of weeks ago, we received some tracks from 21-year-old Danielle (last name unknown), who also goes by the nickname Danz. Danz, who is a DIY musician living in New York City, is better known in the musical realm as Computer Magic. She plays guitar and synthesizer, and writes and composes lo-fi indie rock and glo-fi music. And we hope she keeps doing so, because we heart Computer Magic.
Computer Magic is heavily influenced by old sci-fi films and Philip K. Dick books, in addition to many artists, including Belle & Sebastian, Animal Collective and David Bowie. She loves movies like Barbarella, Zardoz, Outland, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. “Electronic Fences” – Computer Magic “On VHS” – Computer Magic “Teenage Ballad (High School)” – Computer Magic Computer Magic on MySpace
Stockholm – Orlando, FL
Orlando, Florida’s post rock band Stockholm may sound like a new band you’d hear on college radio Top 40; but surprisingly, the band has received very little recognition, and remain unsigned – not sure why. The band, which was only formed last summer, are getting love from indie folks in Florida, but we anticipate more people will be hearing them in the months to follow.
Stockholm’s sound is very polished and chock full of glimmering guitar licks, swoon-style rhythms and the terrific vocals of singer Chris Arter. “Don’t Stop Now” – Stockholm fromDon’t Stop Now “Goodbye Tomorrow” – Stockholm from Don’t Stop Now Stockholm official website
Gift Horse – Anthens, GA
On May 4th, Anthens, Georgia, indie band Gift Horse dropped their debut, Mountain of Youth, produced by Hank Sullivant (Kuroma, The Whigs, MGMT). The band sent us two tracks to share with everyone. If you like heavy shoegaze chords full of distortion and deep, moody percussions, you’re probably going to like this southern indie rock band. Gift Horse have opened for bands like Meat Puppets, Dead Confederate, Kuroma, among others. “Missionaries” – Gift Horse fromMountain of Youth “Plastic People” – Gift Horse fromMountain of Youth Gift Horse on MySpace
The Powder Kegs – Philadelphia, PA
The Powder Kegs formed in New York City in 2005 and now call Philly home. In 2007, they won a band competition on National Public Radio, and not long after, in 2008, they released their debut LP, You and Your Right Now. The LP was produced by Jeremy Backofen (The Walkmen, Frightened Rabbit, Mice Parade). The Powder Kegs’ new EP, Empty Side, is good listening. “Shake Me Down” – The Powder Kegs from Empty Side EP “The Right Time” – The Powder Kegs from Empty Side EP The Powder Kegs on MySpace
Hunter Valentine – Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn’s all-girl trio Hunter Valentine recently sent us a copy of their new album Lessons From The Late Night for us to hear. After just one spin, it was easily to see why the band has received accolades from bloggers and mainstream press.
Hunter Valentine recently dominated the MTV-U video contest, and GO! Magazine named them the Best Local Band in New York. In April, Hunter Valentine’s “The Stalker” video made its debut on MTV’s LGBT channel, Logo, and was picked as Spinner’s Video of the Day just a few days later. “The Stalker” – Hunter Valentine from Lessons From The Late Night Hunter Valentine’s official website Hunter Valentine on MySpace
Last modified on 2010-07-10 11:05:09 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
We’ve been listening to a lot of great music that has come to us in dee mail lately, and discovering dozens and dozens of really talented and promising artists in the process (a bunch that we’re still preparing to publish on the site). We picked two artists for this week’s artist of the week instead of the usual one because there’s so many potential artists and bands of the week, month, and so on that it feels stupid, and too conventional, to be restricted to choosing only one artist or band of the week. We couldn’t make up our minds, ok? (hehe, j/k folks).
No, but, seriously each of the two artists featured below are relatively unknown, they are both one-man bands, and their music would fall somewhere in the so-called glo-fil, or chillwave, movement that is clearly one of the most popular sub-genres in 2010, around the world, as evidenced by the success of bands like Animal Collective, Surfer Blood, Wavves, Local Natives, Neon Indian, Washed Out and many others.
The first artist of the week is poised to explode in popularity in coming months if enough of the right people hear his music. Dream Cop is the moniker of 21-year-old student Tommy Davidson. His music delighted our ears from the get-go, and has just gotten better with subsequent listening sessions. Dipped in uplifting Beach Boys‘ -influenced harmonies and mixed with electronica beats, lo-fi instrumentation, spaced out shoegaze elements and layers of voice tracking, Dream Cop’s got down the recipe for synthy, warm, hazy vibes perfect summer lounging on a hot dog day afternoon.
Interestingly, Davidson is friends with one of our favorite new bands of 2010, Blacksburg’s very own Wild Nothing. Trust us, if you haven’t heard their debut LP, you’re really missing out on a spectacular record. Davidson and the members of Wild Nothing met as students at Virginia Tech University. Now that Wild Nothing have enjoyed moderate success in the indie world in the past six months or so, we think it is time that Dream Cop gets some of the limelight.
Dream Cop’s debut releases, both digital and vinyl have only tentative release dates of late August or early September. “The Output Noise Records digital only release will include two tape/electronic original songs with remixes from Million Young and Outputmessage“, Davidson told IRC. In addition, he will release a separate vinyl-only album with Tough Love Records “including four original tracks”, and three or four remixes from artists still to be determined. Both releases are not yet titled. “Beach City/Carol I Know” - Dream Cop from TBA (2010) “Marooned” – Dream Cop from TBA (2010) “Daily Mirage” – Dream Cop from TBA (2010) Dream Cop on MySpace
As with Dream Cop, it only took a couple of minutes to realize that Brooklyn one man band Justin D’Onofrio, or Grandpa Was A Lion, is a ‘chillwave’ (or glo-fi) artist that more fans of the popular glo-fi movement should hear. Again, like a broken record, we’ll repeat our common refrain – some of the best artists we hear, year after year, are those who are rarely heard, barely known, and yet to “break through”. As with most of the under the radar artists and bands we feature on IRC, we think Justin D’Onofrio will naturally get more press and fans in the coming months. “Flying Birds” – Grandpa Was A Lion “London” – Grandpa Was A Lion “Hello FromThe Farm” – Grandpa Was A Lion Grandpa Was A Lion
In Dee Mail – Terrific music sent to us in the mail from artists and bands you should hear. One Man Bands – Impressive releases from artists who write, play all (or most) instruments, record, mix the own music, usually DIY-style. Ears To The Music – This was an extremely popular 12 part playlist mix series spotlighting the best indie MP3s of 2009. Best Indie Songs of 2008 – Access dozens of playlist mixes featuring the best indie songs of 2008 from bands like Annuals, Fiery Furnances, Panda Bear, Conor Oberst, Passion Pit, Radiohead, MGMT, Weezer and get dozens and dozens more in the 10 part Best Indie of 2008 series. Bands That Rock – This mix series highlights bands that rock, and rock hard. Most of the featured artists are relatively unknown, and that’s why we wanted to share them with you. Bands include Red Pens, Awesome Colors, The Legends, The Doups, Lunaria, and others. Singer/Songwriter Spotlight Series – There’s something special and intimate about a talented musician with just a guitar, a mic, a good voice, and a story to tell. Songs About New York, Vol 1 & Vol 2 – Two dozen carefully selected songs related about New York City from both established and relatively unknown artists and bands. Feet to Da Beatz – We thought it would be cool to have a playlist mixtape series with some of our favorite current dance/electronica/pop songs that make you wanna move your feet. Recent Releases We Almost Missed – This series focuses on presenting tracks from recent releases that must not go unnoticed but where not previously published on IRC for whatever reason. Band Break-Ups: New Faces; The Fake Fictions; The Catholic Comb; Next: Voxtrot; Supergrass; Arizona. Note:This eventual A-Z clickable directory of bands and artists will be updated over time, so make sure to check back regularly.
The explosive popularity of indie rock around the world is fueled by thousands of talented artists and bands all vying for your attention in a saturated marketplace.
Gift Horse – Anthens, GA
