Chasing Lions

From the WeeWerk press release: FemBots originally envisioned their fourth album Calling Out (2008), as an entire album using an assortment of junkstruments, musical instruments created from garbage by artist Iner Souster.  Eight months into the project it became clear that the junkstruments simply were too unpredictable and too difficult to work with to sustain an entire album. Rather than scraping the project entirely, the FemBots used the junkstrument instrumentals they had recorded as rhythm tracks, the rock and roll chassis that the rest of the songs are built on. FemBots - Good Days FemBots tour dates: Sept 26 - Toronto @ The Music Gallery Oct 03 – Montreal @ Pop MTL Oct 04 – Ottawa @ Zaphod s Oct 07 - Charlottetown @ Baba s Oct 08 - Sackville @ Strutt s Gallery (all ages) Oct 09 - Fredericton @ The Capitol Oct 10 - Halifax @ Gus s Pub Oct 21 -Thunder Bay @ TBA Oct 22 - Winnipeg @ The Lo Pub Oct 23 - Saskatoon @ Lydia s Oct 24 - Lethbridge @ TBA Oct 25 - Edmonton @ TBA Oct 26 - Kelowna @ Habitat Oct 29 - Victoria @ Logan s Oct 30 - Vancouver @ The Railway Club Nov 01 - Calgary @ The Marquee Room Nov 04 - Sault Ste Marie @ Loplops Nov 05 - Sudbury @ The Townhouse Nov 06 - Hamilton @ Casbah

Jagjaguwar has signed a new band from Calgary called Women. Expect their self-titled debut on October 7th. The band s debut was recorded by Sub Pop and Flemish Eye artist Chad VanGaalen over 4 months on ghettoblasters and old tape machines in his basement, an outdoor culvert and a crawlspace. Sometimes light and spacious, at other times eerie and dense with an ominous weight, Women hint at the Velvet Underground, Swell Maps or This Heat; a lo-fi masterpiece cloaked in layers of vibrato and guitar wash. Women - Black Rice

Now Now Every Children are heading out to tour, supporting their upcoming full-length coming out in September. Until then, enjoy the title track: Now Now Every Children - Not One But Two 07/16 – Chicago, IL Reggie s Rock Club 07/18 – Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews 07/19 – Sedalia, MO Twisterz 07/21 – Omaha, NE PS Collective 07/22 – Lincoln, NE Box Awesome 07/26 – Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry 08/04 – Missoula, MT The Badlander 08/05 – Spokane, WA Mootsy s 08/06 – Portland, OR The Know 08/09 – Long Beach, CA The Blue Café 08/13 – Springfield, MO The Outland Ballroom 08/16 – Minneapolis, MN The Beat Coffeehouse

From the Radiohead press release: Radiohead will release their new single Nude on XL Recordings on March 31st. The single, taken from their No 1 album In Rainbows, is available on 7 , CD and to download. The 7 b side is 4 Minute Warning and the CD also features Down Is The New Up; both tracks were previously only available on the In Rainbows box set. The Nude UK single will also be available on iTunes in the US on April 1. Radiohead will be giving fans the opportunity to do their own remix of Nude, details of which will be announced soon. On April 1, the group will play a very special free concert for BBC Radio 2 at the BBC Radio Theatre, which is in Broadcasting House in central London. Fans can apply for tickets until Thursday March 13 by calling 08700 100 200. Other BBC radio networks will also be giving away tickets on air. Recipients will be chosen randomly. Some tickets will also be available from www.radiohead.com. Tickets through both the BBC and the website are available only to fans based in the UK. The group tour North America starting on May 5th and start a European tour in Dublin on June 6. They return to the US in August and will take the tour to Japan in October. (more ) Tags: BBC Radio, Radiohead, XL Recordings

Jacob Golden is a mellow breeze in music winding from LA. A breeze wrapping us gently all around hand in hand with the biting lyrics- as large as life. A musical vision who rathers natural acoustics of underground car parks and a subterranean concrete art gallery to recording in studios at times. Jacob Golden: I love the idea of making modern field recordings. This is a progressive addict! Once you taste, you shall never cut it down. This is contagious! If sincere mellowness can buy you innocently that is. In other words; if Simon Garfunkel, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Nina Simone, Daniel Johnston have meant something for you at some point in your life; more contemporarily/particularly if you feel awfully heartbroken each time you listen to Delays- No Ending, Lori McKenna – Beautiful Man, Laleh – Live Tomorrow, Rocky Votolato – One More Work Song Blues, Kristin Hersh- Winter, dEUS- Serpentine, Damien Jurado– Sucker You will definitely love this new album from Jacob Golden. Revenge Songs is the new album of this talented Californian musician, which has been released across Europe in late 2007 already. This amazing record is now out in the USA through bigHelium/Echo (5th February 2008). Jacob Golden’s 11-song-long facing with life where everyone can find their own share. A melancholic chain of ballads that is written after he moved to Portland to work in a regular job and then realized without music nothing would make sense. Out Come The Wolves, Pretend, Shine A Light, Revenge Song, Hold Your Hair Back and On A Saturday (some of you may remember this one from the final episode of The OC : yes he is both talented and tend to be commercially successful at the same time!) are real highlights from the album. One of those records where you exclude the “skip” and “stop” buttons from your musical solitude. You might just feel the need to use some other button: to turn the volume up at the 8th track though: Shoulders! My personal star from Revenge Songs. Just grab a glass of your favorite drink, darken the light and get into this tune. You will love this! I promise. Having rising acclaim from Myspace and MOG world in particular and following small intimate and successful shows in the USA last year, Jacob Golden is now ready to meet with music lovers in the UK and Ireland this spring. Hopes are up to see him live all around Europe before too long and more honestly before more people get to know him. Let alone the amazing- dreamy music of himself these honest-sincere words he said after playing to 40 people at a gig in the US is a big reason enough to be unpatient about his live performance: “But you make an unbelievable, lifelong connection with those people.” Don’t you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRuj1PkhdCg Tags: bigHelium, Echo, Jacob Golden, The OC

People In Planes are close to releasing their next album, one that took over six months to record. The name of the disc hasn t been announced yet, but Windup Records made their first single, Pretty Buildings, available to their list of subscribers. This album follows As Far As The Eye Can See, which had MTVu rotation with their video for If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode) that was directed by Joaquin Phoenix. People in Planes - Pretty Buildings The track opens with an open piano, and Gareth Jones singing a melody that follows the ivory tune. The tracks begin to layer with guitar and drums, analog synths add a hook that sticks in your head, and strings join in during the chorus. As the song moves on the guitar lines build in intensity, matching the emotion of the lyrics. I don t want to feel this low again. I aint goin to steal your flame again. I don t want to feel `Cause you know it hurts like hell. So come out of the closet. Let s talk about it. `Cause you know it hurts like hell. That s you in a nutshell. People in Planes took a considerable amount of time recording this album, hopping from studio to studio. During this elapse of time Gareth had a son, which called for the band to stay close to Cardith, Wales. They finished the album using their own equipment, recording tracks in their bedrooms. Dan Austin (Doves) was one of four producers working with People In Planes for this album. Hey people. I hereby declare People In Planes are back! Our new project was recorded with four different producers in six studios across Wales, England and America, and we ve put our entire souls into it. It s been a long wait for all of us, and we re really excited to present this first track to you- Pretty Buildings . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfL3Bry6958 Tags: People in Planes, Windup Records

Destined to be one of the strongest debuts of the year, The Silver State is releasing Cut and Run on Young American Recordings on April 15. The Silver State s guitar playing and song structure is reminiscent of Pedro the Lion s It s Hard To Find A Friend. They have also been compared to Yo La Tango and Pavement, and understandably so. Caleb Lindskoog began playing music when he was five years old, and formed several bands while he was in high school, though Caleb would rather hide his early recordings. Lindskoog started The Silver State (aka Silverstate) in his Las Vegas home in 2003, releasing an EP in the winter of 2006. They then moved to Brooklyn, and didn t wait long to record Cut and Run. when the album was completed it was handed to Young American Recordings by their friends in Margot and the Nuclear So and So s. During the past half decade, Caleb has been a part of recording projects with Secretly Canadian artist June Panic, Vess Ruhtenberg (The Lemonheads), Heidi Gluck (Some Girls), former Las Vegas bandmate Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers), Andy Fry (Margot and the Nuclear So and So s), and others. Since its formation, The Silver State has performed with Apples In Stereo, Ben Kweller, The Album Leaf and The Silversun Pickups. (Young American Recordings) The Silver State - Cut and Run tracklisting: 1. Did What I Did 2. Vampire Practice 3. Cross Country 4. Faith, You Changed Your Name 5. Gotta Cut 6. Under the Rug 7. Lion s Den 8. Letdown 9. My Neighbor s Basement 10. December 20th The Silver State - Letdown Tags: Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, The Silver State, Young American Recordings

After years of taking peer-to-peer networks to court for music piracy, the major labels are now introducing Qtrax, their own P2P network. The Qtrax website boasts of over 25 million songs that can be downloaded for free, plus it s legal. And for the first time, artists will be paid royalties for song plays, in a similar way they are paid for radio spins. Feeling the jitters of this move, EMI, Warner, and Universal now claim they never gave permission to Qtrax to use their music, saying they did not have licensing deals with Qtrax and discussions were continuing. (This Is London) The Qtrax website states: Qtrax is NOT just another P2P network, it provides a complete system for finding and downloading music. The player provides access a web site filled with artist content, including Videos, Ringtones, Lyrics, Album Art, up to the minute artist news! Try finding THAT on any other P2P network. Even better – its FREE AND LEGAL on Qtrax. Qtrax files will not play on your iPod, though a solution is rumored to come in April. A beta version of Qtrax for Windows was to be made available today, January 28; a Mac version will be downloadable on March 18. A plugin for iTunes will allow you to play Qtrax files outside of the Qtrax music player. They will own the songs permanently but will be encouraged to dock their player with the store every 30 days so it can gather information on which songs have been played. According to Times, Qtrax files contain Digital Rights Management software, allowing the company to see how many times a song has been downloaded and played. Artists, record companies and publishers will be paid in proportion to the popularity of their music, while also taking a cut of advertising revenues. Since the Qtrax files are locked with DRM software, the industry will be able to track the files and control what you are able to do with your music. For example, users will not be able to burn music to CDs. While this move does signal a move towards music access, it shows that the industry will only do so if they retain control. Artists and record labels will benefit from this though, since they will be paid royalties for song plays. The music industry hopes to make their money back through advertisements in the Qtrax player, embracing the free music model. Promising to not be intrusive with the advertisements, the first advertisers marketing on Qtrax will be Ford, Microsoft, and McDonalds. Tags: Brilliant Technologies, DRM, EMI, iTunes, Qtrax, Sony, Universal, Warner

Dave Fischoff is beginning a remix project called Spoolwork. His first remix is one of Jens Lekman s I m Leaving You Because I Don t Love You, making it available as a free download on the Spoolwork s Myspace page. Jens Lekman - I m Leaving You Because I Don t Love You (Spoolwork remix) Both Dave Fischoff and Jens Lekman are signed to Secretly Canadian; the two toured together in the autumn months of `07. Taking an interesting approach at remixing this song, Fischoff hadn t heard Lekman s original version before Jens sent him the vocal track. Dave explained to Puddlegum: with Spoolwork I m trying my hand at working more collaboratively. For this first remix, Jens sent me only a vocal track and I built up the song structure and arrangement around his voice, before I d ever heard his version of the song. We re both really happy with the way it turned out. Artists that are interested in having their music remixed can contact Dave Fischoff via Myspace. If you re a band or a solo artist looking for someone to do some remix work, or put together an arrangement or a beat for one of your songs, feel free to drop me a line through the Spoolwork Myspace page. This first one was a lot of fun and I m looking forward to doing more work like it! Dave Fischoff has released three albums on Secretly Canadian since he signed with them in `98, with his latest being The Crawl. Working with a large resource of sound samples (accessing the Chicago Public Library s collection of sounds) he put distractions aside as he mixed in his basement apartment close to downtown Chicago. Spoolwork will act as a nice reprieve before he releases his next album. (more ) Tags: Dave Fischoff, Jens Lekman, Secretly Canadian

Meshach Jackson has released an eight track ep called Experiments In Drowning, asking you to pay what you want for the disc. Available on his Myspace page, fans of Canon Blue and Mute Math will enjoy their experimental friend. Meshach Jackson - Smile (me)shach Jackson grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in a family that opened their home to youth that had criminal records. His past speaks of brothers in prison, surviving hurricanes, and moments of crisis. Jackson now lives in New York City, after New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. His conversational style of writing on his blog touches on political topics, anxiety attacks, and random musings. Self-described as down-temp, ambient, and neo-soul, Jackson approaches his songwriting in a similar way as his blogging, writing lines like keep your head above water. Simple one word titles hint at his musical ethos. Processed but not layered for the sake of layering, Jackson creates luscious atmospheres that pull the listener in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhEIoDXoINo Tags: Canon Blue, Meshach Jackson, Mute Math

Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin has announced information about their new album, Pershing. Mastered by TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs) at the TW Walsh Mastering studio, Pershing will hit April 8 with eleven songs. Starting January 25, the members will begin a Midwestern tour, staying close to their Springfield, Missouri home. If you live in the midwest, maybe we ll see you on tour next week. And we ll announce East coast and West coast tours really soon. I can t wait to see everyone again. Send us a message if you want to skateboard/ride bikes/talk before a show. So far Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin is picking up support from indie press superstars. Stereogum showcased their opening track, Glue Girls, and Pitchfork gave the new album positive press. Stereogum wrote: It s refreshing to have a band survive a hypestorm and come out sounding fresh, well studied, and amongst the finest in the present crop of young indie-pop songwriters. Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - Pershing track listing: 01 Glue Girls 02 Boring Fountain 03 Dead Right 04 Beach Song 05 Modern Mystery 06 Some Constellation 07 Think I Wanna Die 08 You Could Write a Book 09 Oceanographer 10 HEERS 11 Doris Tailspin (Boring Mountain) Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - Glue Girls (more ) Tags: Pedro the Lion, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, T.W. Walsh, The Soft Drugs

Say Hi (To Your Mom) is officially releasing The Wishes and The Glitch on February 5th through Euphobia, backed up by a stack of tour dates. On October 16, weeks after the album was mastered, Say Hi pre-released the album on their website in DRM-free MP3 format, and began to tour. The Wishes and The Glitch is one that stays in your head and is sure to become a favorite of 2008. You can now order the Vinyl version from our shop. It is pressed on 180 Gram vinyl and includes a nifty download card that ll get you the whole album in DRM-Free 320kbps MP3 form for free. We ll remind you too that most of the shop items ship for free in the US and that buying directly from us is the best way to support the band, in case you were wondering. The spring tour begins in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 16, followed by 29 dates in the United States. The four members of Say Hi will watch the winter season give way to spring as they circle the perimeter states of the US. Say Hi auctioned themselves off to the highest bidder through Seattle s The Stranger in December. They promised to cover a song of the winner s choice, bringing in $710 to benefit a very good cause. Say Hi - Toil and Trouble (more ) Tags: Euphobia, Say Hi To Your Mom

Mike Adams of husband wife manages a label in Bloomington, Indiana, called Crossroads of America Records. Spinning the name off of the state s slogan, Adams hopes to bring more creative awareness to Indiana than it just being a state that people drive through. They have already released ten albums from Rodeo Ruby Love, husband wife, Canterbury Effect, Alexander the Great, Frank Schweikhardt, and Orangeyellowred. Crossroads of America Records, also called XRA, is not waiting long to release their first two albums of 2008. Today, January 15, XRA is releasing Chemic s Fever on the Forest Floor full length. This will be XRA s first digital-only release, sold exclusively on iTunes and Emusic. Chemic - Fever on the Forest Floor track listing: 1. Don t Stop 2. Mississippi in Memphis 3. Off the List 4. War is Over 5. Good Mary 6. Don t Go Close 7. Your Ocean 8. Let s Take Care of Ourselves 9. Calm Killers 10. You Treat Me Like Science 11. Lesser Known Poets Also being released today is an album that was meant to be XRA s first release. Cataloged as XRA-001, Mike Adams is releasing Mike Adams and His Dust Collectors, a handpressed 3 CD five-track instrumental ep. Mike Adams and His Dust Collectors track listing: 1. Big Four and the Nickel Plate 2. Bruce Spangled Banner 3. Alton Bouse s Blues 4. Amazing Graceland 5. Beneath Warren s Hill XRA have more albums coming in 2008. We ve got a very busy release year ahead of us. We re already gearing up for new records from husband wife, Rodeo Ruby Love, Alexander the Great, and Frank Schweikhardt, not to mention all of the top secret stuff that s not quite set in stone that we can t tell you about just yet! it s going to be a good year. (Myspace) husband wife - Nice(R) Pipes Canterbury Effect - Southern Indiana Yacht Club Rodeo Ruby Love - Schedule (II) Tags: Alexander the Great, Canterbury Effect, Crossroads of America Records, Frank Schweikhardt, husbandandwife, Mike Adams, Orangeyellowred, Rodeo Ruby Love

Tournaments are releasing their first 7 single debut on February 18. Boldest Colours will be on side-a, and Message Deleted will be on side-b. A demo of Boldest Colours is streaming on Myspace, along with Turn and Run and Lone Sailor. Digital downloads of the songs will be available at Yeah Ok, as well as iTunes. Tournaments are a new band from Newport, United Kingdom. They played their first show in August, performing as a five-piece, mixing in violin, lapsteel, guitar, bass, and drums. Niamh plays the violin in the band, painting colour behind the melodies, and using the emotional instrument to push the rhythm along. In September, 2007, Gethin Pearson shared with Puddlegum that Tournaments, “have been putting together tunes for a few months with the idea of just making a fresh pop record. We recorded them underneath a boxing club in Newport, UK and in my basement.” The hours spent writing and recording is about to pay off. Tournaments - Boldest Colours Tournaments - Message Deleted Tags: Tournaments

Minneapolisian indie-dance band The Battle Royale are to release their second album Wake Up, Thunderbabe on 8th January through Afternoon Records. A fast and moving start to the new year obviously! People who have discovered and loved this quartet with their debut Sparkledust Fantasy would expect so. For those who are yet to have heard the name The Battle Royale (except the Japanese movie – nice pick as a band name by the way!), imagine an emphatic mixture of Architecture in Helsinki, The Faint, Of Montreal, CSS, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Sunset Rubdown and a little bit of another Afternoon Records band We All Have Hooks For Hands; now that is something passing close to the sound of The Battle Royale. Well, you might say “sounds like the usual electro / dance-punk trend we have been getting showered in the last decade”? Yes, you are right. What makes The Battle Royale different from the others on the other hand is their bilateral way into music, one of which is leading in the folk direction where the other one is gamboling in the dance path. Following the said point of view; Wake Up, Thunderbabe is drawn up in one side dance, one side folk design. Racecar and Scream Scream are the first set of singles from the album. Racecar is an absolute call for dance. Positively full of go and energetic. Considering the praiseful words about Oh Martha from the debut, I think Racecar is going to be a winner too. Scream Scream is a nice sample of folk blended in a modern rock sound. Can’t help but recall Sunset Rubdown especially in this one. Maybe it’s the general sound of the tune (which reminds me of The Little Ones on a serious level too!) or maybe it’s the Spencer Krug (Bless him!) style vocals… not sure really. Just enjoying the song muchly. So for a fresh and moving start to 2008, I think checking The Battle Royale out could be a good idea. Plus they are hailing from the mighty Minnesota music scene and don’t we know that Minnesota bands disappoint us very rarely Enjoy the move! The Battle Royale - Racecar The Battle Royale - Scream Scream Tags: Afternoon Records, Architecture in Helsinki, CSS, of Montreal, Sunset Rubdown, The Battle Royale, The Faint, You Say Party We Say Die

RIO DE JANEIRO - So Here We Are is the name of the new record of the Swedish alt-country sextet, Winny Lee. It will be released next 16th at a big place in Malmö, called Debaser.With two new members and new material, Winny Lee headed for the forest in August 2007 to record So Here We Are in just four days. We are growing as musicians, and as people. We are getting to know each other, and who ever knew that recording as album could be such a fulfilling experience. We love music, we love what we do, and we love each other. It s very spiritual. And that s the way we like it. That s what Winny Lee said about their record sessions on their blog on Myspace. The current line-up includes members from other great Swedish bands such as Billie The Vision The Dancers and label mates Blinders On. So Here We Are will be released by Background Noise Records on CD and for free digital download, available in January 16, 2008. Following the release, Winny Lee will head for the road during spring and summer2008. Honestly, So Here We Are is quite beautiful, cohesive and sincere album. You can feel the passion s atmosphere listening it entirely. Eleven songs influenced by Ryan Adams, Johnny Cash and maybe Hank Willians. Winny Lee was founded in Malmö, Sweden in 2004 and their debut album Open Your Book was released in 2005. Their currently line up is Martin Kullberg (vocals, acoustic guitar), Gustav Kronkvist (guitars, banjo), Axel Gerdtsson (bass), Julia Chrintz-Gath (vocals, accordion, percussion), Martin Eriksson (guitar), Anders Oscarsson (drums, percussion). Winny Lee - Blacksburg Tags: Background Noise Records, Winny Lee

Buildings Breeding is shopping their next album, A Great Divorce, around to labels. As of yet no label is named, though things are looking good. We re told to expect the disc in April. Buildings Breeding have made two songs available, Lowest Light, and Rushing Red. First impressions remind us of Camera Obscura meets Bishop Allen with a surf feel. A Great Divorce will be an album to look for in three months, as you ll surely read about it on your favorite blogs. Buildings Breeding - Lowest Light Buildings Breeding - Rushing Red A Great Divorce was recorded at John Vanderslice s Tiny Telephone studio, produced by Aaron Prellwitz (Sun Kil Moon). Buildings Breeding is now a four-piece band: Chris Larsen, Melanie Glover, Evan Hart, and Chris Vogel. Their influences range from Beatles, Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, The Cardigans, The Shins, and Belle and Sebastian. Buildings Breeding was never meant to be a real band. Their songs were created as a bunch of love letters Christapher Larsen made for Melanie Glover while she was overseas. Buildings Breeding settled in as a fake myspace.com band from Chicago featuring four members — all alias for Larsen. (band bio) Buildings Breeding - A Great Divorce track listing: 1. Lowest Light 2. Rushing Red 3. Story Line 4. My Heart is Cloth and Pinned to My Shirt 5. The Kill 6. Arms Elbows (Shoe Gaze) 7. Horsemen (Seven Ribbons) 8. Pitter Patter 9. Stay Black 10. Skyline 11. Oh Lord! 12. The Ones We Love (Kicking) 13. Untitled Tags: Aaron Prellwitz, Buildings Breeding, Chris Larsen, Chris Vogel, Evan Hart, John Vanderslice, Melanie Glover, Tiny Telephone

RIO DE JANEIRO - Tiger Lou has announced that his sensational album The Loyal has been licensed to Eyeball Records for a US release next February. The new edition will bring fresh cover art and the song Pilots instead of All I have because, as Rasmus Kellmerman said: All I Have is a track that should not have been on the album in the first place. I wrote it right after the first album and it s whole persona is unfitting for an album as The Loyal . So, when one is given the opportunity to correct ones past mistakes – one should embrace that opportunity to the fullest. Tiger Lou - All I have As Rasmus previously reported, the process of recording a The Partial Print is ongoing, seven songs are done. All and all it s been a great journey so far. It s always weird as hell locking yourself up inside a studio, or your own head – trying to cram out whatever leftover creativity you might still have. I feel as if I m not making an updated version of my previous work, but rather creating something new and unique – from my point of view anyway. And it s with great enthusiasm I think about the day when everything is finally done – according to my mental schedule, sometime in February. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrdelOchuHU Rasmus Kellerman is married to Andrea Kellerman, aka Firefox AK. The first single from the new Firefox AK album If I were a melody will be Winter rose. It features a guest appearance from Tiger Lou and it will include b-side remixes from Özgur Can, Tellevika, Assid and Jimmy O. Look for it in mid-January. As for the album itself, it s still due out on February 20th. Together, they play in the punk band called Las Puertas. So far they have released one album, Las Puertas, on their self run label, Combat Disc. Firefox AK s The Draft featuring Tiger Lou from the album Madame, Madame. (more ) Tags: Andrea Kellerman, Eyeball Records, Firefox AK, Rasmus Kellerman, Tiger Lou

Jesse Sprinkle has posted a new song from his upcoming album, Surrounded by Light. While most of Jesse s solo music has been acoustic guitar driven with layered vocals, Where Diamonds Grow takes Jesse in a different direction, opening with an organ, delicate vocals, rhodes keys, and minimal use of guitars. Check out Where Diamonds Grow on Jesse s Myspace. Mr. Sprinkle is also releasing a hip hop album under the name of The Wrong Mind. Jesse tracked every instrument and vocals. Download Tip of the Matchstick at Myspace. Taking a break from the touring life, Jesse has focused on his recording studio, Bluebrick Recordings. Blue Was A Bear recorded at Bluebrick with Jesse mixing and mastering their album, Ghosts of Greater Things. Jesse s Bluebrick demo reel from 2007 icluded: Fusion, Subcolour, The Wrong Mind, Courtney Streb, and his solo album all produced in 2007. Jesse Sprinkle - This Game of God The Wrong Mind - Tip Of The Matchstick none

Puddlegum will be releasing Darkroom s Jets that Fly EP in early March, 2008. Darkroom and Puddlegum are offering a pre-release of Jets that Fly as a free download during the Holiday Season. Darkroom s pre-release of Jets that Fly comprise of four tracks that were recorded, mixed, mastered, and co-produced by Flick (Puddlegum) in a spacious cabin in November, 2007. The official release will include additional tracks, and will be mastered by TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs). Darkroom will begin touring December 28 in support of the pre-release, staying on the road until January 8. Jets that Fly will remain available as a free download until the end of the tour. Darkroom is an epic rock group that hails from Warsaw, Indiana. They write compelling lyrics that are full of imagery, adding color through melodies. Guitar and piano driven, Darkroom isn t afraid to change time signatures in their songs, or mix in xylophone, horns, synth, and sleigh bells as the song requests. Visit Darkroom s Myspace page: http://myspace.com/darkroommusic Download all four songs and share with your friends: http://www.mediafire.com/?4dzvjia1emj Darkroom - My Window Darkroom January tour dates: Dec 28 - TBA - Fort Wayne, Indiana Dec 29 - the mad hatter - Cincinnati, Ohio Dec 30 - TBA - Somewhere, Kentucky Dec 31 - TBA - Atlanta, Georgia Jan 1 - The Channel - Greenville, South Carolina Jan 2 - Spazzatorium Galleria - Greenville, North Carolina Jan 3 - The Soundgarden - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Jan 4 - Fredericksburg All Ages Shows - Fredericksburg, Virginia Jan 5 - Gold Leaf - Washington DC, Washington DC Jan 6 - The Fire - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jan 7 - The Delancey - New York City, New York Jan 8 - TBA - Pittsburgh or western ohio For more information contact Kevin Flick: flick@puddlegum.net For booking Darkroom: info@darkroomsite.com Tags: Darkroom, Puddlegum

Benzos has decided to treat their fans with a free download of Coup d état. This marks their first independent release. Benzos has also posted two remixes from Branches on Myspace that are well worth checking out. Coup d état was written while they were on tour, supporting their recent release of Branches, and they decided to slip it into a set in August at the Knitting Factory. The crowd response persuaded Benzos to keep the song in their set-list. Instead of waiting to record the song, Benzos placed the microphones and arranged the tracks and made it available as a free download. Two b-sides were added to the mix, We Have Names and Blue White, and released it as the Coup d état EP. The Band recently had the idea to clean out the vault , so-to-speak, and make these 2 b-sides that were cut from Branches available to fans for free. Putting out this new track, Coup d état, was the perfect time to couple these all together. And with the holidays coming up it seemed appropriate to do it this way, giving the fans a little gift. Both of these songs are very different tracks. We Have Names is more rock oriented, while Blue White plays with trip hop beats, stripped down instrumentation and soulful vocals. Click here for the exclusive download. Coup d état Tracklisting: 1. Coup d état 2. We Have Names (branches b-side) 3. Blue White (branches b-side) Benzos - Coup d état (more ) none

The Silent Years are in the spirit of gift giving during this holiday season. Their self titled debut can be downloaded for free: http://www.mediafire.com/?8mnmzy4mbig According to an update from the band, The Silent Years are preparing their follow-up to their debut album that was released early in 2007. The Silent Years are currently holed up in a studio from 5 pm until 7 am daily mixing their new album, The Globe with Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead). Giving away their debut full-length allows them to build hype for the album in the making, allowing them to reach listeners that missed them the first time around. Doing so increases the demand for more music theoretically. A note from The Silent Years concerning The Globe: We were watching the film Powers of 10, which they used to show in middle school science classes. In the film, the camera starts out, framed on a couple having a picnic. Every 10 seconds, the field of view expands by a power of ten the picnic becomes Chicago, Chicago becomes North America, and soon you re seeing the Earth in the context of its solar system. This got us thinking about the similarities between mankind and all other components of the universe. An atom is to a cell, as a cell is to a man, as man is to the Earth, as the Earth is to the universe, etc The Globe is a collection of songs which reflect on humanity and the human experience through varying tales which shift focus from the minute to the abstract and gradually expands to the universal. The Globe was chosen as the title since it serves as a very perfect symbol of scale being an integral part of our definitions of self and reality. From suburbia Detroit, the six members of The Silent Years are consistently performing. They have toured the US three times, and have garnered the needed attention to launch their enterprise. Spin Magazine named them Underground Artist of 2007, and Pitchfork gave the album a 7.3 rating. The Silent Years - Someone To Keep Us Warm (more ) Tags: Blonde Redhead, Chris Coady, Grizzly Bear, Pitchfork, Spin, The Silent Years

ISTANBUL - Swivel Chairs is a Brookyln and Philedelphia based band featuring Jason Brown and Jeremy Grites. Their consistency to music brought them together to follow the melodies coming out from their hearts when they were dormitory suit-mates back in 1992. So far, they have released handful records including; full length albums, EPs, compilations and split releases (with Audible, The Banes, Matty Charles The Valentines). The Slow Transmission is the second full length album coming out from this duo. An absolute easy listening combining powerpop with folk-rock and alt-country sways. As to The Slow Transmission, you could say Swivel Chairs are a tanquil band just fitting with the name. All tracks sound quite calm, clear and somewhat nerveless. Still, the form of the record as a full is pretty flexible. One moment it feels like listening to a modern Uncle Tupelo, then it sounds like +/- and the next it is something like The New Pornographers. Some may complain about this variabilty – ones who are relatively conservative with their genres- but to me it is something to be praised about the record, because each variety seems to be balanced and eagerly clicked to each other from where I am standing. First track, Here Out of Reach is an appropriate opener, with the mellow powerpop fragments all over the tune. Cello contributions in between gives a richer feel to it, forerunning the upcoming instrumental diversity. The powerpop atmosphere is to be felt very often in the rest of the record. All At Once, Just A Little Girl, Breaking Up and Afterthought could be classified in this section. Afterthought in particular, is an upbeat, snappy and entertaining piece thanks to the live drum beats running behind. The ongoing catchy-pop wave balks to change places with a relatively experimentalist sound; Clockwise. A short instrumental tune, musically harmonic with the general sound of The Slow Transmission in my opinion. Though, I am not sure about how this little experimenting would be received by powerpop / alt-country diggers. As for me, well I really like it. I think it is the best moment in the album along with December Ghosts. Similarly, December Ghosts could be rated as an experimental tune (comparing to the whole record!) with the chilling dense depth flowing over. Some of you might find this comparison irrelevant but vocals on December Ghosts does really remind me of John Bramwell of I Am Kloot. Probably this and the dense depth explains why this one is my favorite. Easy Now is one of those alt-country weighted tracks making me think The Jayhawks meeting Wilco. In a very softy, catchy way for sure. Same catchiness and folk-rock breeze goes for Sun Goes Down, Caloused Hands and 10 G (Say So) as well. Especially the banjo assistance in Caloused Hands makes this one probably the warmest track in the album, giving a summery Mediterranean-esque feel. I have to tell that this song have me recalled The Decemberists just a little too. Excluding December Ghosts (cause that is way too different than these two); Let’s Get Down to Earth and Wasting Time are the slowest bits of The Slow Transmission. Let’s Get Down to Earth is an impressive ballad where Wasting Time is a typical closing tune with no surprises. The music journey Jason Brown and Jeremy Grites has launched 15 years ago is going on full throttle; with the contributons of Ed Hogarty, Mike Kennedy and Steve Cawley today. Their latest release, The Slow Transmission could be a good opportunity to get to know them, for those looking for peace in music represented by a hybrid sound binding alt-country and powerpop together. Swivel Chairs - December Ghosts none

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin usually isn t the town you think of when indie music comes up in conversation, but The Cold Comfort Band is out to challenge your preconceived notions. Their sound is indelibly influenced by their surrounding landscape, and they make no attempt to hide the silo of corn in the background; rather, they pose with it in a band photo as all eight members hang off the edge. The Cold Comfort Band seemingly begs of Sufjan Stevens to move North to Wisconsin and join them in their experimental folk. Formed in Sprint of 2007, The Cold Comfort Band have posted two demos on Myspace and Purevolume and they re worth your attention. At first impression, Rae Klagstad s angelic voice is reminiscent of the Taxi Taxi! sisters. She s not afraid of using her range, and remains in control with every note. But this band is not only fueled by a strong vocalist, seven members bring their wide range of influences with them as they play their trumpet, sax, and guitars. The Cold Comfort Band hint of numerous directions they could take with their sound, and will be an exciting group to scope even more thrilling than saying Oconomowoc. The Cold Comfort Band - A Heart Unseen The Cold Comfort Band - Awake In Me Oh Morning Tags: Sufjan Stevens, Taxi Taxi!, The Cold Comfort Band

It can be difficult for artists to give their music away for free to the consumer, considering the time, energy, costs, and the amount of thought that they put into the album. But at a time when artists simply need to be heard, waiting for people to purchase music might mean that the music simply goes unnoticed. Canon Blue is aware of this and has decided to give their four song Halycon EP away as a free download. Daniel James, the creative Tennessee gent behind Canon Blue, signed with the Danish Rumraket record label to release Colonies on September 24. Now, just three months later, Canon Blue and Rumraket have decided to release this EP for free. The four-song download is packaged with album art, credits, and a note from Daniel. The album was mastered by Mads Brauer of Efterklang, the band that operates Rumraket. With a label behind him, Daniel James was able to invite guest musicians to record cello, sax, slide guitar, trumpet, and drums. As before, James produced, recorded, and mixed the album. The decision to release this album for free is a brilliant move. Canon Blue is still fresh on people s minds, and now this gem will be passed around to solidify the name. Before any band sees any return to their hard work, they have to have a wide fanbase. More listeners translate into ticket sales, and merchandise sales at live shows. Giving your music away for free pays off in the long run. This EP, for me, is a way to reflect on yet another year quietly slipping by, enjoying the present stillness of a tennessee winter, and looking forward to what is coming up over those yon there hills. I hope you are to able find something in it too. thanks for listening (a note from Daniel James) Free Download: Canon Blue - Halcyon EP Canon Blue - Halcyon Tags: Canon Blue, Efterklang, Rumraket

HAMBURG - Hamburg is like Portland. And although I’ve never been to Oregon before, this coherence is a fact that I’m pretty sure of. At least when it comes to the local music scene. And because of the somehow interconnected dozens of hundreds of thousands (!) of bands, artists and songwriters working and creating in this beautiful German seaport city that I am blessed to call home, I’m more than happy to welcome you to… the first part of a series about Central European bands and singers! (Imagine a flourish or a fanfare at this point, please.) Let’s get started smooth and easy today with some newish blokes on the blocks of Hamburg – Junges Glueck (Myspace). Even though the band was originally founded in 2001 they had a few, well, changes in their line-up going on and have just released their second album called Raus aus Flüsterleben (which could probably be translated to Out of a life of whispering ) a few months ago. So, they still feel more than unconsumed to the listener, I reckon. It’s quite an excitingly unusual blend the three guys have gathered with their plain instrumentation: 12 songs oscillating between impellent instancy and laid-back lovesickness. Sometime – even if this might be a bold statement – they remind me of Bloc Party, but without the disco-attitude. And even the early Shins seem to have left some marks, somehow. There’s no whinging and wimpyness on the album, fortunately. Instead you are treated with the individual conditions of average lads in their late twenties. And the best thing: Whenever Niclas Breslein (guitar and vocals), Ingmar Rehberg (bass) and Lars Watermann (drums) switch into the rocking mode, you can be sure that they put all their energy into the song. Don’t be afraid of the language barrier, by the way, because as always it’s the gesture that counts, as we Germans tend to say; or in case of this series it’s the melodies. So just lean back, turn the volume up and give it a go! Junges Glück - Fluss Junges Glück - Technicolor Junges Glück - Herzkommando none

RIO DE JANEIRO - Beau Jennings from Cheyenne, with Ryan Lindsay (Starlight Mints) and Josh Jones (The Evangelicals) got together and recorded All My Friends Are Snowmen, under the band name Big Love Hospital. Unfortunately, this song won t be on Cheyenne s upcoming release, one of my favorites this year, The Whale. Big Love Hospital - All My Friends Are Snowmen The Whale was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Mastering. He s done all sorts of sweet stuff like Fleetwood Mac, Ben Folds, Sufjan, etc.Its been a little more than 2 years in the making. Personally, my favorite thing about this record is that is was written and recorded together as a band, which is a big difference from the first album. There are a few exceptions that were unavoidable in terms of getting a true 4 way input from everyone but i know that heath, Josh, Ben and I are very proud of this album, which we are calling it The Whale. Said Beau Jennings [vocals, guitar, piano] on their blog on Myspace Music. The Whale is the result of Cheyenne s journey from the Midwest to the east coast, from a one man solo project to a true-blue working band, from gentle folk desperation to rock and roll deliverance. Collaborating with Cheyenne, Starlight Mints member and pop wonder Ryan Lindsey, Ex-Fruit Bats pedal steel player Rob Stephenson, Josh Jones of Oklahoma s Evangelicals, New York City anti-folk singer Jaymay, Oklahoma s legendary lost songwriter Tim Miser, and veteran drummer James McAllister.The cd will be released on Dec. 11th and the band is having a release party at place called Joe s Pub on December 8th. Even with all of the band members having full time jobs, such as an architect, computer tech, writer, etc, the band has played a lot over the summer to support the release of The Land Rush EP and now they are currently in the process of self-booking their spring tour in support of their upcoming CD. Cheyenne is for sure a band to keep an eye on. Cheyenne - The Whale (more ) Tags: Alan Douches, Beau Jennings, Big Love Hospital, Cheyenne, Evangelicals, Ryan Lindsey, Starlight Mints

AM Syndicate will be celebrating their CD release on December 20 at The Parish in their hometown of Austin, Texas. Liberation was officially released on November 13 through Novastar Records, the label s first release, and was produced by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, Voxtrot). Their music video for To The Peasants of the Emperor is an entertaining yarnmation, and was featured on YouTube, drawing over 295,000 views. AM Syndicate was formed in 2004 when Omar Chavez was joined by Vince Durcan and Golfball. Danny Wood was also part of the original lineup before joining And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their influences stretch from Blonde Redhead, Simon and Garfunkel, Lady Tron, Neutral Milk Hotel, Radiohead, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Bjork. AM Syndicate - Liberation track listing: 1. Hang Your Fears at the Door and Join Your Future 2. The Plunderer and the Fool 3. The Neighbor and His Wife 4. My Friend the Sleep Walker 5. The Peasant s of the Emperor 6. All the People Under the Sun 7. Doubt in Progress 8. No Flakes 9. Cauliflower Ear AM Syndicate - The Neighbor and His Wife Tags: AM Syndicate, Erik Wofford, Explosions In The Sky, Novastar Records, Trail of Dead

Andrew Bird has a few scattered shows in December, playing in Los Angelas, San Francisco, and two shows in Minneapolis. The new year will take Andrew Bird down under to Australia and New Zealand. Bird will perform at the Sydney Festival for three consecutive days. This will be Andrew s first time in New Zealand. These will be the last shows he plays for quite a while - he ll then take a bunch of time off from all of this touring to start working on a new album. (Myspace) Andrew Bird s music video for Imitosis is featured on MTVU s The Freshman. If Bird receives enough votes then the video will be added to the MTVU rotation. Andrew gave his campaign speech on his Myspace blog: If elected, I promise to re-install solar panels on the white house, send everyone to electoral college, give free bicycles to all who want one, and serve s mores at my fireside talks (there will be snacks!) Oh wait, I m not running for president. (yet) Sorry – let s stay on point, VOTE FOR IMITOSIS! Andrew Bird was nominated for 2007 Plug Award s Best Male Artist. So if you re in the mood for voting, then vote for Bird here. While you re voting, download the Four Tet remix of Imitosis: Andrew Bird - Imitosis (Four Tet remix) (more ) none

A Saturday morning. Rather midday actually. Waking up to a silent, relaxing day hoping to chuck out all the exhaustion piled in during the whole week and Friday night. Silence seems so lonely and incomplete without a supplementary sound to leak in your cells, and excrete some musical endorphine. What to listen in this fine Saturday? Some calm, gentle cloud of melodies to caress your mind away from worries, maybe? Just like sort of a thermal theraphy Some acquaintance timbres to flow in the heart and make you remember your favorite movies Few moments of thoughts and I know what it is. Browsing the letter “N” in my library to put on Nancy Elizabeth’s debut wonder, Battle and Victory quickly. For those who are yet to hear of Nancy Elizabeth; she’s a talented musician up from North of the UK, Lancashire. One of the few female vocals that leave me in awe. Not only for the perfect colour of her voice but also because of the admiring genuinity of her music which is a rich compound to synthesis variety of genres together. Ethnic to ambiance, new age to acoustic, post-rock to celtic – balkan – eastern folk; she has too much to share in Battle and Victory. So far, she has performed quite many gigs some of which were supports for some amazing bands such as: A Hawk and A Hacksaw, Tunng, Marissa Nadler and James Yorkston. She has also been compared to some talented female musicians as well; Marissa Nadler, Joanna Newsom, Nico It sounds all great till now, isn’t it? Let’s go on then. Battle and Victory is Nancy Elizabeth’s debut album that is released in 2007 through The Leaf Label. In 2006 her debut EP: The Wheel Turning King was released by Manchester’s Timbreland Records under her full name Nancy Elizabeth Cunliffe. Looking into these releases, you can see the musical way she has been leading is more or less the same. Except, maybe the EP sounds a little bit more oriental. Her poetic touches to harp and guitar, wealthy combination of ethnic instruments such as; dulcimer, khim, harmonium, percussion (most of which are performed by none other than herself!)… are seeking attention in both records. And bringing her a critical acclaim, expectedly. First song, I’m Like the Paper is an impressive entrance notifying us about the eerie ambiance of the record. Her powerful singing here reminds me of Mia Doi Todd on some aspects. Second track I Used to Try is also the second single out of the album. Absolutely glowing acoustic entrance with the world-music feel and Nancy’s softly hitting vocals rising with the melody makes this one hell of a marvel! No wonder that it is in the top 10 most listened tracks in my iPod already. Off With Your Axe is one of the outstanding tracks in Battle and Victory. You could say it is the most “new age” sounding piece. This feel is oftenly felt in the album but it is the one that reminds me of Enya most. The Remote Past is an excellent piece with the both crashing melody and lyrics! It is like a blend of Efterklang with Akron/Family and Mount Eerie. The main melody modestly hidden under the eastern type mellow beats is dechipering itself through Nancy’s dreamy vocals. How could you help bumbling along? Same bands again could be referenced for Lung as well. A spine chilling exhale in an afformative way! I get the similar feeling in 8 Brown Legs and What Is Human too. Couple instrumental tracks telling more than lyrics could do… And Coriander! Such a stirring tune leading you on other lands. One could imagine listening to Goran Bregovic (or more contemporarily Beirut), lying on the Balkan fields. Or immersing in an Emir Kusturica film with your eyes dazzled on the screen Is it me and my imagination or is this tune does really smell fresh coriander? There is kind of a settling atmosphere entering with Hey Son: the first single. Which is ramping up in a heroic manner as she sings the “Hey Son” part. Clearly a cinematographic melody, bringing legendary heroes in the sight even if it is just for few secs. Electric and How Can I Stop are decent mellow tunes as well as others. These two seem to be a bit more relaxing than others though. Nancy Elizabeth’s echoing vocals and the eerie ambiance of the instruments again crown it all! Weakened Bow and the final -title track Battle and Victory are need to be mentioned with the glowing mellowness which happen to appear as sorta “boring” at first but then turning to be bewitching in further listens. The bit after the “pause” in Battle and Victory in particular, is sparkingly arousing. More the acoustic fest gets going, more enthusiastic gets Nancy Elizabeth’s alluring vocals. Well chosen as a final track! Battle and Victory is a minimally dark album, budding eerie smelling fresh flowers all along. It is calm, lyric and sentimental. Like a quiet elegy crying out from very within and telling big sonorous things despite the quietness. Something you’d love to spend your Saturday with. Or anytime that you need to be musically cured . Nancy Elizabeth - I Used to Try Tags: a Hawk and a Hacksaw, Nancy Elizabeth, The Leaf Label, Tunng