Monday, March 26, 2007

Kiiiiiii: "4 Little Joeys"

Ahhhhhhh! This is just too much fun! :D



Kiiiiiii actually have some U.S. dates coming up, Id imagine their show would be insanely fun, so if they're round your town you should probably check them out.

Dates:
Mar 26 2007 Towne Lounge PORTLAND, Oregon
Apr 1 2007 Velvet Lounge Washington, DC, Washington DC
Apr 2 2007 secret project robot BROOKLYN, New York
Apr 3 2007 tonic NEW YORK, New York
Apr 4 2007 cakeshop NEW YORK, New York
Apr 5 2007 cindersgallery Brooklyn, New York

Kiiiiiii on MySpace
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Friday, March 23, 2007

Let It Bee: A My Honey Compilation

My Honey Records is an italian Indie label that realizes records and makes honey since 2004. Let It Bee is the small indiepop labels' first stab at a compilation. The great thing about it though is that it's not just a textbook comp, it's more a concept record of sorts. Taking their label name and running with it, they got 20 bands including The Smittens, Celestial, Le man avec les lunettes, and many more to record a song about bees, honey or the generally fantastic world of bee-keeping, and it turned out great! You can buy Let It Bee, here.

[MP3]: Eisenhower :: Honey Bee Stick To Me
[MP3]: Le man avec les lunettes :: Could I Call You Honey? (Highly Recommended!)

Tracklist:
1. Eisenhower - Honey Bee Stick To Me
2. The smittens - C'mon! (When the Grass Grows Tall and Green)
3. Minibar - La extraña pareva
4. Luisa mandou um beijo - Com um pote de geléia de morango nas mãos
5. Le man avec les lunettes - Could i call you honey?
6. Half-handed Cloud - Bees Baked a Loaf for Me (or Flour from Flowers?)
7. Celestial - former bee-keepe
8. Mocca - It's over now
9. Mutt Ramon - Just My Honey
10. Mr.60 - Sad bees prefer flowers
11. Sebastian Fors & The Ones That Got Away - Birds And The Bees
12. The Shermans - Sweet as Honey
13. Hacias dos veranos - La última tarde del apicultor
14. Oceano da Cruz - Beehives Mighty Vicious
15. Linda Guidala - La Reina debe morir
16. Ant - He's The Bee's Knees
17. Watoo watoo - Vraiment rien (bee)
18. Rough Bunnies - Thought honey
19. Piney Gir - Bumblebee (Abelha)
20. Locas in Love - Wir sind Bienne

My Honey Records on MySpace!
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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Boat Club: Warmer Climes

The debut single from Göteborg's Boat Club, Warmer Climes, is finally out now on the totally awesome I Wish I Was Unpopular Records. The single's two tracks are a catchy blend of early New Order-eqsue electronics and modern indiepop. The single's A-side, "Warmer Climes," has a bit of a calypso/island feel to it. I can't really explain it, but I'm liking it a lot. There's a little bit of shoegaze, too, predominantly on the record's B-side, "Memories." Basically, Boat Club's got tons of potential and I can't wait to hear more from them. Pick up the single from I Wish I Was Unpopular.

[MP3]: Boat Club :: Warmer Climes (Very Rec'd!!)

Boat Club on MySpace
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Lucky Soul: "The Great Unwanted"


London indiepoppers, Lucky Soul.

I think this is my third mention of Lucky Soul here on Skatterbrain. I've mentioned them quite a bit because, well, I love them. I forget who it was that made me listen to them... I wanna say maybe Shane at The Torture Garden? I'm not too sure... whatever. Anyway, after playing the hell out of all the singles for the past month or so, I've finally heard their debut LP The Great Unwanted. Despite the fact that I've already heard roughly half of it in the singles, the entire record is completely ace. From dance floor jams like "Add Your Light to Mine, Baby" and "Lips Are Unhappy" to slow builders "One Kiss Don't Make A Summer" and "Baby I'm Broke" there's really no low point on this album, no skippable tracks to be found.

Even taking a page from Camera Obscura's book, on the totally rollicking "Get Outta Town!" Ali Howard's "tired-of-this-place" sentiment is clear as she shouts "I know you've got rhythm and I know you've got soul, but there ain't nothing here for us, baby! Gotta get outta town!" My favorite non-single track here though, would have to be the album's title track, "The Great Unwanted." It's got handfuls of memorable lines, all building up gradually to the song's huge fantastic wall of sound finish. The record's definitely gonna be a favorite of the year. I highly suggest you take a listen to this song immediately.

[MP3]: Lucky Soul :: The Great Unwanted (Highly Recommmmended!!!)
I mentioned above that this song's got more than a few memorable lines... and well, it does. Following the opening verse, Ali moves to the chorus singing "Look for us we were the casualties, forever paying the price for a life less boring / Look for us we were the whipping children, but no more / Look for us 'cause when the tables turn, youll be saying a prayer to the great unwanted, singing a hymn to the great unwanted / We will not be ignored, we won't take that no more" over well timed horn blasts and string cuts. What follows is song growing and growing, eventually breaking into into a full-blown ochestra of sounds, gloriously fluttering in and out of each other, making such a sweet collective noise that I think even my ears were smiling.

The Great Unwanted is out April 9th on Ruffa Lane Records.
Please buy Lucky Soul's records HERE
Visit them on MySpace and say hi!

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Monday, March 19, 2007

New Tullycraft Song!!!

Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man so great!!! :D



This new song will be on the new album! It's called "If You Take Away the Makeup, Then the Vampires They Will Die." Sean confirmed this as one of the upcoming album tracks in the interview he did for the Bottle Rocket Zine!
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Amida: "Class of 2000"


Manchester's Amida

I meant to mention Amida a couple weeks ago, but I never got around to it, so here they are, my first post in like, a week. Influenced by a host of bands that I love, it's really hard for me to not be really excited about these guys. They've got that jangly guitar and bouncy bass, with vocals that bring to mind older acts like Orange Juice or The Bodines. The melodies are infectious and when has singing along to "ooh ooh ooh ooh" ever not been fun? Their debut EP Arts & Crafts was released last month on Plastilina Records. Listen to "Class of 2000."

[MP3]: Amida :: Class of 2000 (Highly Recommended)

Pick up Arts & Crafts from Plastilina Records
Amida on MySpace

Plastilina Records also co-released Annemarie's fantastic ABC on TV, which you should DEFINITELY look into if you havent yet. It's one of my favorite pop records of the year so far.

[MP3]: Annemarie :: Apple (Suicide on Your Stereoset) (Highly Recommended!!!)

Okay bye have a nice day!
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Warm and Sunny!

It's still too pretty outside to blog I'm sorry!
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Monday, March 12, 2007

The Honeydrips: "(Lack of) Love Will Tear Us Apart"


Mikael Carlsson is The Honeydrips

The Honeydrips is a one man band composed of one Mikael Carlsson, of the now dead band, Dorotea. He makes great pop songs, sometimes with a little bit of an electronic tinge, and sometimes not. He's released a few CD-Rs and one 7" back in 2005, but this year he'll finally be releasing his first full length, Here Comes the Future on March 28. This song comes from the freshly released (Lack of) love will tear us apart single, that you can order from Sincerely Yours, HERE.

[MP3]: The Honeydrips :: (Lack of) Love Will Tear Us Apart (Really, Really Rec'd!)
This song features guest female vocals by who I believe is Hanna Fahl from Kissing Mirrors, but I'm not completely positive, so don't hold me to that. There's a sweet drum machine loop, but it's really the bassline that makes this song so completely awesome. Well, that and the perfect vocals, and that one transition where he stops and she starts is just wonderful. So really, give this listen.

The Honeydrips on MySpace
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Friday, March 09, 2007

I know this is from last year but I don't care cause I could watch it all day long forever

Lucky Soul is my musical crush of 2007, and though this song is actually from 2006, I could seriously listen to Ali sing "Shake Shake Shimmy Shimmy" for hours and hours and then even more hours.



Lucky Soul on MySpace
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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Some new things you definitely should be aware of

There's a couple things to be aware of this week. Well there's things to be aware of every week, but this particular week, there are two new records that I was anticipating quite a lot. First off is Celestial's Skipping Stones debut Dream On, and it sounds like, well, Celestial. The MP3 that fine folks of Skipping Stones have provided is quite a treat, just as I'd expected it to be. It's a lazy, hazy pop song with the perfect balance of jangle and, of course, shoegazey guitar. Fans of MBV's Ecstasy and Wine era or the Jesus and Mary Chain's softer moments would do well to listen to this immediately.

[MP3]:
Celestial :: Dream On (Highly Recommended!)

Preorder Dream On from Skipping Stones records
Celestial on MySpace

Next up is the equally awesome
Liechtenstein, with their very first 7". The additon of Liechtenstein's Stalking Skills 7" makes this now THREE amazingly great Fraction Discs releases in a row. I'm so glad they decided to start a label. Anyway, I've mentioned Liechtenstein here before and gushed about how much I love them, so if you're interested in reading that again, here you go. But, just to reiterate how badly you need to go pick this up, here's "Stalking Skills," again. For fans of the TVPs, Dolly Mixture, Shop Assistants, you get it...

[MP3]:
Liechtenstein :: Stalking Skills (Highly Recommended!)

Buy the Stalking Skills 7" Fraction Discs
Liechtenstien on MySpace

ALSO! I meant to mention the brand new(!) Bottle Rocket zine when I got the first issue in the mail a week or so ago, but better late than never! The first issue was great and had a pretty sweet Tullycraft interview, but apparently Katy has been hard at work and issue two is already done! The second issue includes interviews with Tender Trap, Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, and Camera Shy, as well as many other good things! Go
HERE for details on how to order a copy!
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

This Saturday at The Fire!

I'm pretty bummed to be missing the Indie Pop Hootenanny at SXSW this year, but this Saturday, March 10th, at The Fire in Philly should just about make up for it! If you're in the area you should definitely come out. The show starts 6pm, with sets by: Surefire Broadcast, Lil' Hospital, The Faintest Ideas, and The Young Untold. Check out some songs below and hopefully I might see you there!

[MP3]: Surefire Broadcast :: Miles Apart
[MP3]: Lil' Hospital :: Fast Learners
[MP3]: The Faintest Ideas :: Nosebleeders on the Track
[MP3]: The Young Untold :: Sisters

P.S. Click the flyer to enlarge.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Palomar: "Our Haunt"


The guy and gals of Palomar.

When Brooklyn's Palomar released their very first back in 1999, lots of folks were comparing them to bands like The Fastbacks and yes, Talulah Gosh. Now, eight years and three albums later, they've grown up into a slightly different sound. Their fourth record, and Misra Records debut, All Things, Forests, is a little less Talulah and little more Rilo, but we don't mind, actually. The single, "Our Haunt," has been on repeat the past couple days, and though that's all I've got to go on, I'm willing to bet this record's gonna be a favorite here.

[MP3]: Palomar :: Our Haunt (Highly Recommended!!!)
I had a paragraph or so written about this song, but after I read it to myself it just sounded dumb, because all I really feel the need to say is that this is just a good song. It's simply an really great, abrasive pop song with pretty female harmonies. Nothing I say is gonna make this song sound better or worse so I'll just stop talking. Oh, near the end there's a pretty nice solo that I like.

Preorder All Things, Forests from Misra Records

They've also got a bit of a tour coming up, so go see them if you want.
Mar 10 2007 Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland
Mar 11 2007 Soapbox Wilmington, North Carolina
Mar 12 2007 40 Watt Club Athens, Georgia
Mar 13 2007 Red Star Bar Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mar 14 2007 Rudyard's Houston, Texas
Mar 15 2007 Lovejoys - SXSW Day Party Austin, Texas
Mar 17 2007 Habana Calle 6 Patio - SXSW Absolutely Kosher/Misra Showcase Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2007 The Basement Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 20 2007 Schubas Chicago, Illinois
Mar 21 2007 Little Brothers Columbus, Ohio
Apr 12 2007 The Mercury Lounge - RECORD RELEASE PARTY!! New York, New York


Palomar on MySpace
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Monday, March 05, 2007

Maia Hirasawa: "And I Found This Boy"


Maia Hirasawa

Maia Hirasawa of Sweden's fantastic Hello Saferide will be releasing her debut solo full length on April 4th on Razzia Records. This song, the one in the video there below, is too wonderful for words. It's just too good! You can preorder the record, Though, I'm Just Me, here. I am now dying to hear this whole album. The video is actually pretty fun to watch, too.



Maia Hirasawa on MySpace
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I'm Busy / Tigercat!

Hey folksies, I'm real busy today and haven't found anytime for a legitimate post, so for now, I'm just going to urge you to go listen to lovely pop of Tigercat!. I'm personally digging "Coffins Cars" quite a lot, so maybe check out that one first. Okay bye!
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Thursday, March 01, 2007

Sister Vanilla: "Pastel Blue"


Sister Vanilla

I feel kind of stupid just now hearing about Sister Vanilla while news about the album has been up on Chemikal Underground for quite a while now. But, anyway, I'm glad I've finally caught wind of it as it's helped me get over the disappointment of not being able to see The Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella this year. If you're not quite familiar with Sister Vanilla yet, it's the project of Linda Reid, the sister of the Reid brothers from the aformentioned JAMC. Sister Vanilla's debut Little Pop Rock sounds for the most part like a female fronted Jesus and Mary Chain -- which makes sense considering her brothers appear on the album -- however, there are a few tracks, like this one, that stray from that path a bit. All in all though, it's a pretty great pop record with basically nothing to complain about.

[MP3]: Sister Vanilla :: Pastel Blue (Highly Recommended!)
I fell immediatey in love with this song the moment she mentioned The Pastels: "Didn't listen to a word was said, I got The Pastels playing in my head." It makes sense though, considering Linda's apparent love for the great band. The other reason I love this song is that it's nice and relaxing. It's just acoustic guitar and some piano tinkering in the background behind it before the song eventually drfts off into the darkness; or daylight, depending on how you want to look at it.

Little Pop Rock is out in March on Chemikal Underground
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