Tune in today (5/19) at 11:15am for a live studio performance by Nashville newcomer (and one of personal favorites), Tristen, on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic!
Tristen has been on the rise for the last year or so and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. She’ll be treating listeners to tracks from her debut, Charlatans At The Garden Gate, and much much more. You definitely don’t want to miss this one!
If you’re a fan of garage, indie rock, you definitely need to give Balkans a listen.
Hailing from the suburbs of Atlanta Georgia, Balkans are lifelong friends with roots starting in elementary school. When the boys came of age and discovered the city, the four fresh-faced teens won the hearts of Atlanta performing with a combination of youthful-frantic energy and musical precision in clubs that they otherwise would have been too young for. Quickly becoming a sensation, they released several 7″ singles through local labels. The singles showed off a palette of influences. The first features an instrumental punk jam with a B-side that swan dives into a dreary, atmospheric round of shoe-gazer fog. The next release showed the group drifting toward a fiery, precise rock terrain with developing elements of surf rock charging into obtuse, art-driven angles that transcend the kerrrang of ’60s surf. These releases won a variety of critical acclaim one of which was rated the Top Atlanta Release of 2009 alongside a critic vote of Best New Music act for the same year.
As the Balkans matured, their own distinctive sound developed; fast precise guitar with a tight reserved rhythm and immediate vocals that cut through the noise. A pop/punk grind that waivers between bouts of sincerity and catharsis. Now a year out of high school, the Balkans have been to touring nationally and have begun on their long awaited debut full length (Balkans) was released earlier this month via Double Phantom Records [source: doublephantom.com]
Some of my favorite tracks include Black Swan (which you can check out below), Troubled and Done (free download here), Dressed In Black, Flowers Everywhere, and Edita V, but the entire record is worth a listen.
NY based indie outfit, Hooray For Earth, are gearing up for the release of their latest LP, True Loves.
The record is set to be released June 7th, via Dovecote Records, and they’ll be touring with Architecture in Helsinki for most of June (heads up LA, they’ll be at the Henry Fonda Theater on June 1st. Complete tour dates and more can be here).
I haven’t had a chance to listen to in it’s entirety, but i’ve only heard good things about it and i’ve really liked what i’ve heard thus far. In the meantime, enjoy the video for the title track, as well as a brand new Hard Mix remix of the track (download it below).
The latest from Brooklyn indie rockers, The Antlers, is out today!
Burst Apart is the follow up to one of my absolute favorites of 2009, Hospice, and I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t expecting as much from this record.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting to be disappointed, but like MGMT before them, The Antlers were faced with the difficult task of following up a critically acclaimed and popular album. So let’s just say, even though I’ve been (impatiently) anticipating the release of Burst Apart for quite awhile now, I set my expectations a bit lower than I should’ve. Needless to say, there was no need for me to worry.
I’ve listened to Burst Apart (in it’s entirety) about seven times now and I love it. Do I love it more than Hospice? Probably not, but it’s close. Burst Apart lacks some of the raw emotions and realism that make Hospice such an incredible record, but the band’s “trademark atmospheric tension” remains and Peter Silberman’s “feathery voice is still defiantly pure, floating high above the crystalline sounds of his backing band”. My favorite track right now is No Widows, but other stand out tracks include I Don’t Want Love, French Exit, Hounds, and Putting the Dog to Sleep.
Head on over to The Antler’s media. There are numerous tracks, from both Burst Apart and Hospice, available for download (free!), as well as a handful of videos for your viewing pleasure.
8tracks is an online site for user generated mixtapes. I hadn’t heard of it until the Hype Machine gave it a nod in one of their recent newsletters, but then I immediately downloaded the free iPhone app and started searching through thousands of free mixtapes.
The app is great. You can easily find and listen to thousands of free mixes, but to really get the full effect of 8tracks, you need to start creating your own mixes. I just completed my first one and I’m already thinking about my future mixes. [Update: The app was great. Since posting this last week, I haven’t been able to make it through one entire song without the app crashing. Until they fix this, the app is pretty much useless. At least the app was free, so I can’t bitch too much, and I still love the site.]
Check out my first mix, Boy Meets Girl, Volume 1, (let me know what you think), then start creating your own.
Cheers!