Please don't be offended by this guys, but when I hear "The Pigeon Detectives" I think of Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street. You know how Bert had that weird obsession with pigeons? I don't know if his character is still fascinated by pigeons or not, but I can just picture him in a Sherlock Holmes hat walking down the sidewalk looking for pigeons.
And on that note, let's talk about "The Pigeon Detectives" album Wait For Me. This might seem odd but I hear a 60s influence to their music. It's great! You'll hear influences of The Kooks and the Klaxons.
They are a five-member band from Rothwell, Leeds, UK, who formed in 2002. Matt Bowman, Oliver Main, Ryan Wilson, Dave Best and Jimmi Naylor. Wait For Me released on May 28th, it is their first full length album over a year after their first single "I'm Not Sorry" released in March of 2006.
Their label "DANCETOTHERADIO" says their music is infectious. "The Pigeon Detectives rely on pure, unadulterated passion rather than any pretensions towards any kind of innovation. They are gloriously straightforward and natural in every respect..." Sounds like DANCETOTHERADIO is pretty psyched about having signed this group.
Take a listen: The Pigeon Detectives - "I'm Not Sorry" (mp3)
I like Brit Pop. I know. If Hilary Duff were British, I would so be her groupie. =o)
But anyway.
"Elbow" is a British Pop band, who I would say sways to an Indie beat. And so they are currently filtered in my iTunes library so they are all I am listening to..at the moment. And it's so blissful!
Now let me tell you, this band is NOT new to the scene. They have been around playing and touring, recording and adding to their fan base since the early 1990s. And they are not afraid to take drastic measures in showing just what they can do as artists. "Elbow" proved that when they decided to do an acoustic cover of Destiny's Child "Independent Woman."
Though they haven't done anything in awhile, you can find a complete list of their discography on their label, V2's, website. Their most recent album released in 2005, Leaders Of The Free World. It is an incredible album, but in all honesty I have yet to find a track on any of their albums that I would say is bad.
See for yourself. Listen for all the textural changes and the swoon of Garvey's voice it's nothing short of seduction in audible form.
Band members include: Guy Garvey: lead vocals, guitar, lyrics | Mark Potter: guitar, backing vocals | Craig Potter: keyboards, organ, backing vocals | Pete Turner: bass guitar | Richard Jupp: drums | Zac Monaco: violin
It's so awesome when you can hear a wide range of sounds from one band. It doesn't happen often enough, bands will stick to one genre and one type of sound as if they are afraid to step out of their little box.
Jet is not one of those bands. Having three of four sets of vocal pipes contributing probably helps with their reach and I am all for it. Nic Cester Guitar/vocals, Chris Cester Drums/vocals, Cam Muncey Guitar/vocals, Mark Wilson on Bass. I love it, love it. Their new album Shine On released in Europe on June 13th.
We (Mom, Dad, Brian, Braeden and myself) all went to the Italian Festival in Wilmington tonight. It was jam packed. There was a ton of delicious Italian food; including the sinful Panzarotti (of which I ate so much I started feeling ill.)
Great Italian music played, people dance, people laughed, it was wonderful.
Braeden really enjoyed the kid rides this year. He even rode some of the rides by himself, I was a very proud Mama and the world knew it. I took dozens of pictures and squealed with glee every time the Baha Buggy cars spun by me and my little boy screamed "Hi Mommy" while laughing and waving.
And so, even though my entire body hurts from the carrying and the walking for three hours. Though Brian definitely did his share of the carrying. (Thank you!) I thought I'd post some Italian Festival music...um...that just means the words Italy, Italian and/or Festival can be found in the song title. Haha.
This isn't a new band to the scene, and this song was released on their latest album on April 3, 2007, but it amuses me every time I come across it in my iTunes library.
After having taken a four year break, a new album from "Fountains of Wayne" was highly anticipated. There were mixed reviews on the album, Traffic and Weather. Some critics raving and giving it 8 out of 10 stars while others only gave it 3.
Regardless of how many stars were in their sky that day in April, this song is one I will enjoy for always. =P
I feel that Jack Johnson to make cheery music. It's light and fun, it flows well and if airwaves were a solid entity, well, little music notes would be bouncing around the room gleefully. The "Blue James Band" has the same feel.
In the song "Islands" the lyrics are simple and sweet, combine them with the unique sound of the band and it's magic.
Lyrical snippet:
The ocean is the color of the sky The green grass is the color of your eyes You put the two together Paradise
Folky reggae tunes that remain upbeat even if the lyrics get sad. This music just makes you feel good.
Okay, it's not Flickr, but it does use the Flickr sharing service to import related photos to the music you are streaming. But it's not just photographs, it's images artists that are linked to their music! It streams music of the people you choose. Very cool, it's like getting free music that goes beyond the indie artists. Yes, that means you can get a stream of even people like Fergie. Oh gracious. I can already tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with this little application. Spread the word!
This one is for Yellowcard, compiling the photos with music like a slide show. It's bloody brilliant! Free music and a show, very entertaining while also being legal and allowing artists to promote their music in a new way!
Who knew when I started playing their music, it would sound like rock from decades ago? It does, to me it's like Cheap Trick modernized with a little Wolf Parade or The Posies.
Their New Debut album is releasing on Appendix Records, July 17, 2007. I don't like the cover art, it freaks me out, it's like that little boy from the movie "Omen." Yes, that black and white baby face is their cover art...but I shall not judge the record by it's sleeve... =o)
Gerald - Drums, Grinning, Liam - Guitar, Singing, Marcin - Keyboards, Thumbless Snapping, Matt - Bass, Espresso and Steve - Singing, Guitar. (As taken from their MySpace page...some one is a clever smart@ss. I love it!)
So with the grinning and the thumbless snapping, sit back, sip your espresso and enjoy Frisbie.
Listen: Frisbie - "New Debut" (mp3) Frisbie - "S.F.B." (mp3)
You can buy their upcoming album and some of their older material on their MySpace page via Snocap. Or you can hop on over to CD Baby.
Because you said you had never heard of "Straylight Run" and it made me sad.
"Straylight Run" is a favorite of mine. I have seen them live, seems like ages ago since then, but they were perfect. Perfect.
Brother and sister talents extraordinaire, John Nolan (previously from "Taking Back Sunday") and Michelle Nolan both play the piano, guitar and share vocals, Shaun Cooper is the bassist and Will Noon is on the drums. Their older materials is far calmer and brooding than their new material, but both sides of Straylight Run are fantastic.
Their new album The Needles The Space will be in stores on June 19th!! They are currently on tour with Sparta and Love Drug.
The Needles The SpaceTrack listing "The Words We Say" "The Miracle That Never Came" "Soon We'll be Living in the Future" "How Do I Fix My Head" "Who Will Save Us Now" "Cover Your Eyes" "We'll Never Leave Again" "Take It To Manhattan" "Still Alone" "This is the End" "Buttoned Down" "Track #12" "The First of This Century"
In case you didn't see yesterday, The Goo Goo Dolls have posted their track "Fiction (Before It's Too Late)" from "The Transformers soundtrack" on their MySpace page. Seems that some people aren't too thrilled with it, but I really like it.
Secondly, it is finally Friday and boy what a week it has been.
Art Brut - "People In Love" (mp3) His new album comes on out July 19th, if you pre-order you get a snazzy poster.
The White Stripes new album will release in the US on June 19th. The track originally up here is apparently so special they don't want me to share it, so it has been removed as requested. You can visit their website to stream new music.
"Jets Overhead" is a band I just got turned onto which makes me sad, because I have been missing out. So you've got to give them a listen; deprivation is not cool.
The group consisting of Adam Kittredge - Vocals/Guitar, Jocelyn Greenwood - Bass/Guitar, Piers Henwood - Guitar/Keyboards, Antonia Freybe-Smith - Vocals and Luke Renshaw - Drums, are from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Late last month, "Jets Overhead" were featured in the L.A. Times. You can get their music at eMusic. You can also grab some snippets from their website.
Their music reminds me a little bit of "The Dandy Warhols" but I really, really don't like doing comparisons. Their album Bridges is just brilliant. So you should absolutely grab some tracks.
I've been hearing a lot about Architecture in Helsinki, but there has been so much going on in the entertainment world that I have been slacking on listening to their music.
They put out a new EP Heart of Races on June 5th and their full-length comes out in August, it will be titled Places Like This. Polyvinyl Records says the EP "paves the way for a much bigger and brighter picture on their new album."
Anyway, in support of their new albums they are touring parts of the US, with one show in Canada. Of the 10 states they plan on visiting, Philly is one of them WOOHOO! and they'll be at the Starlight Ballroom on June 9th.
Take a listen: Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart it Races" (mp3)
Tour dates: 6/07 Boston, MA @ Middle East 6/08 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza 6/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom 6/10 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 6/11 Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium 6/13 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's 6/14 Vancouver, CAN @ Richards on Richards 6/15 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom 6/16 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365 Club 6/18 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse 6/19 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo producedd and co-arranged a record for James Jackson Toth and Jessica Toth of "Wooden Wand." And with the help of Jarvis Taveniere, DM Seidel, Jeremy Earl, Steve Shelley and Ranaldo himself, "Wooden Wand" will be releasing a remarkable album, James & the Quiet on June 12, 2007.It's dark, it's heavy and there's an old-fashioned rock to the music with a mingling of an electric guitar, piano and Toth's voice steering country.
I just heard one of my favorite songs shuffling through my iTunes mix. It brings me such happy thoughts when I hear "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police. The song is on disc two of the new Police CD, which is a compilation of some of their greatest and most timeless hits.
This song was written in 1976, but not released until 1981, which just happens to be the year I was born. ;o) And like all music The Police release, it's just incredible! This song originally was a track on Strontium 90: Police Academy. The crystal chiming of the piano in this song is what makes it so catchy. It also has quite a reggae influence if you listen both in the "e-oh-oh" string and the written lyrics:
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
You can hear cross influences between The Police, Phil Collins, U2 and The Moody Blues who are all known for their classic music. The Police raised the bar for pop artists and British artists with their enlivened and robust music that is truly an instrumental workout! You'll hear it on the latest Police CD.
Well it will be part of the afternoon and into the evening...and a late night. We're heading up to North Philly for two super fun reasons.
1. The Art Star Gallery is having a craft fair type thing and I'm covering the piece for VENUS. If y'all head up that way you should stop by this weekend at some point. They are open until 7 p.m. today.
2. The National is playing at Johnny Brenda's and we've got four tickets! Fun times, I am super psyched. I hope they play "Green Gloves" but anything will be awesome!
His name is Braeden, I call him Brae when he is being good. ;o)
So while sifting through new music he often pipes up and mentions whether he likes something or not. He has a good ear; I like to think he takes after his mama.
"Bullets Can't Kill Danny" from Livermore, California...Brae likes your music. I've been listening to your song "Tornadoes" and at one point I turned it down a bit, but when I did Brae asked me to turn it back up. Consider this a standing ovation.
Don't be fooled by the cuteness of this post. "Tornadoes" is not childlike in any way, shape or form. I'm guessing it will never make it to the Disney channel (sorry guys).
I wish I could sound like her; if I could I would sing all weekend long.
Anyway Nina Gordon is not a newbie. She co-founded Veruca Salt and then left them in 1998. Afterwards she began her solo career and has released three albums on her own. In 2004 she was working on an album Even the Sunbeams, but she never released the record. WHY!
The only song that leaked was "Lighter on the Moon." Fortunately another couple songs have surfaced, one of which is "The Bright Side" and it's got this airy, blues sound; it is almost seductive in the beginning and then about 1 minute and 30 seconds into the track it hits a heavier rocky sound that totally pulls the rug out from under your feet so put down the wine, this is not a love song anymore! It goes up and down from then on out, reminds me a lot of Tina Dico (who I absolutely adore).
You've heard about 65daysofstatic, right? I hope so, but if not lemme tell you just a little bit. This is their 6th year out and they reside in Sheffield, England. They have three full length albums and their most recent work is The Destruction of Small Ideas which was released on May 1, 2007 in the US.
And though I can totally picture the song "When We Were Younger & Better" on the soundtrack of a horror flick thanks to the haunting bells; I still absolutely love the song.
Plushgun is essentially one person; Dan Ingala. He's brilliant! You can tell that he lives and breathes this music. From New York, New York he kind of just popped up on the scene and quite frankly he made an instant fan of me.
A select few will know why I love one of their songs in particular, but all of the tracks on this EP are excellent. It's soft, it's catchy, it's got the synthesizers and the keyboards. I love it! I am all about the whole progressive feeling their music projects. It has rock and pop components mingled in with amazingly produced electric mixes that make you want to dance.
Brett's album has been burning a hole in my pocket for weeks now. Hmm. No. Not my pocket, but it's been waiting for me to write something about it for weeks now.
Brett Ryan Stewart is a talented and under appreciated artist originally from Delaware. And there isn't a better time to start the hype about him since he just launched a new music video. In addition, one of his songs is #144 out of 1,855 "Songs of the Times" on Neil Young's website. How wicked cool is that?
We have his older brother and his uncle to thank for his passion of good music. His brother left him a plethora of vinyl records when they were younger. Brett spent many a night by his turntable, building a dream about making his own records while listening to Harvest, Who's Next, Bridge Over Troubled Water... Thanks to his uncle, his music style also reflects a deep respect for the likes of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen.
Brett Ryan Stewart moves to Nashville in 2006 and his career is unfolding beautifully. Necessary Lies is Brett's first full length album and it is more than just the potential for success. Most singer/songwriters put out a first album in a rush due to their excitement and impatience; not Brett. The album brings with it everything he has to offer as a person. Brett says, "I think it's evident that it comes from many places. For me, this album culminates my experiences of heartache and loneliness, my disgust with the current political landscape, and all the human deception that makes life so damn fragile."
His love for childhood vinyls is evident; and brilliantly so for that matter. This music is good, old-fashioned folk rock with well-timed modern twists and exhilarating rifts.
I want to learn how to dance to "Thriller." It's such a fun song and an even cooler dance. Especially since I love the movie "13 Going On 30" and they do a wicked rendition of the dance in that movie!
Linda Blair is the little girl who was in the Exorcist. A movie I absolutely loathe and will never own. I was SO UPSET by that movie when I saw it in the theater after they put back in the awful cut footage. I wish I had walked out of the theater.
The band is on four, count them..FOUR different labels. 4AD Records, Shrimper Records, Emperor Jones Records and 3 Beads of Sweat Records. John Darnielle and Peter Hughes are the primary members, but others have helped out along the way including Jon Wurster and former member Rachel Ware. They have over 15 full length albums which span nearly two decades.
Mmmm...that's really all I know and I'm tired so that's all you're getting tonight. =o)
The Police are touring and of course this means a lot of fans spanning generations are scurrying around trying to find tickets to sold out concerts. I'm trying. I've been trying and so far the search has been futile.
Perhaps this is why The Police are giving away 100 copies of their latest CD. I must have this album. It's a double disc and the track listing is all of my favorites, because it is all of their classics. Not that The Police ever put out a bad song, that's just absurd.
Track Listings
Disc: 1 1. Fallout 2. Can't Stand Losing You 3. Next to You 4. Roxanne 5. Truth Hits Everybody 6. Hole in My Life 7. So Lonely 8. Message in a Bottle 9. Reggatta de Blanc 10. Bring on the Night 11. Walking on the Moon 12. Don't Stand So Close to Me 13. Driven to Tears 14. Canary in a Coalmine
Disc: 2 1. Do Do Do de da da Da 2. Voices Inside My Head 3. Invisible Sun 4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 5. Spirits in the Material World 6. Demolition Man 7. Every Breath You Take 8. Synchronicity I 9. Wrapped Around Your Finger 10. Walking in Your Footsteps 11. Synchronicity II 12. King of Pain 13. Murder by Numbers 14. Tea in the Sahara
So I'm hoping to win one of these Police CDs but we all know even if I don't win, I'll find some way to scoop it up, it's a MUST HAVE. Especially for those of us who haven't gotten their hands on tickets for one of the worldwide tour shows.
Growing up one of the things my Dad and I always had in common is our love for music. The Police were one of the first bands he got me into along with Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Queen, Boston and Journey. These bands cannot be matched by any modern day band. Not by a long shot. And for me The Police are even more special because one of my all time favorites songs is "Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic." That track is definitely a classics and it is on disc 2 of this new album. You just don't even understand how much I love that song. Along with "Tiny Dance" by Elton John, those songs would be on the soundtrack of my life. Seriously. They bring me to a happy place with wonderful memories.
Do I even have to mention Sting? I mean all three members of the band Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland are absolutely brilliant muscians. So when they reunited for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards it was unmissable. THEN TO ANNOUNCE A WORLD-WIDE TOUR! Holy mackenzie! It's a dream come true. So keep trying to get tickets and definitely make sure to get the new Police CD.
Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by The Police.
The MTV Movie Awards are Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 8 p.m. I do love my movies, but movie awards normally let me down. This year though I may need to watch because of only TWO performers picked up to sing, Amy Winehouse is one of them. This will be the British singer's first live performance in the U.S. I guess it is safe to say her single "Rehab" is now internationally acclaimed.
Amy Winehouse is the highest debuting British female artist in the history of the coveted U.S. albums Billboard chart standing at an impressive #7.
Sorry this isn't hitting Bring Me Up until right now, but I did get the interview yesterday afternoon and I did get it published at Indie Music Xposed before this dreaded stomach flu hit me.
And so now I have crawled to my PC to update the blog.
It's not often you get to talk with an awesome band only a few weeks before their new album is going to be released by Mint Records. "Immaculate Machine" made time to talk with me so I could let you know more about who they are and what's going on in their world.
I could hear the cars passing by in Victoria, British Columbia while we were talking on the phone. "Immaculate Machine" has been causing quite a stir not only on music blogs, but also with the music community as a whole. Their new album Fables comes out on June 12th and then they will begin a summer tour traveling all of North America and then heading over to Europe.
And if you know me than you know this has been an especially difficult week. Very long, very tiring and well, just tense.
Thank God for music, right?
I'm going to post some tracks for your listening pleasure. This afternoon I'm talking with "Immaculate Machine" so an interview/article will be in the making and I'm hoping to post that tonight. Be sure to check back.
You can also head over to Indie Music Xposed to read up on Mach Schau and White Rabbits while also perusing other news and listening to emerging new artists music.
I've been listening to "Boys Like Girls" a lot lately. Their self-titled album came out on August 22, 2006 and clearly I missed it then, but am so up to speed now.
Their song "Thunder" is my current favorite. Specifically for these lyrics:
I dont wanna ever love another Youll always be my thunder So bring on the rain
But also because the whole vibe from the song is perfect.
Martin Johnson, John Keefe, Bryan Donahue and Paul DiGiovanni are from Boston, MA. They kind of sound like Dashboard Confessionals or Saves the Day; both of which I love so this is a compliment I assure you.
They are currently on tour with "Hellogoodbye" and then they will be on the road for the Vans Warped Tour all the way through the end of August.
Wednesday mornings require catchy, peppy, funky and all around exciting music, don't you think?
Think something eerie and yet whimsical...think Tim Burton.
Mike Acreman, Brian Bauer, Graham Norwood, David Ostrem and Bryan Scary of "Bryan Scary and The Shredding Tears" can take care of all that in one swoop with their new album The Shredding Tears. Scary's music is contagious, you'll find yourself pressing repeat once the song ends. Comparable to the experimental sounds of "The Foundry Field Recordings" I am highly impressed that the album comes to us having been completely produced by Bryan Scary himself. It was mixed close to home by Brian McTear at Miner Street Studios, Philadelphia, PA. The band is one of four groups on the Black and Green Record label.
Beginning on Memorial Day in New York they will be touring the country. On June 24th you'll be able to see them live in Philly at the Manhattan Room.