Notable releases for July 7th

Overall, as a debut for the young Scotsmen of We Were Promised Jetpacks, These Four Walls is a good album. But, alas, not a great one. Maybe my hopes were too high since I absolutely love "Quiet Little Voices" and "Ships With Holes Will Sink". My biggest problem with the album are the repetitive lyrics that too oft seem more like just choruses. It's not quite what we were promised, pun intended, but it's a good start. Don't write these guys off one bit.

---

Originally released last year, The Rural Alberta Advantage's Hometowns was re-released in lieu of the band signing to the Saddle Creek label. If you don't have this album by now, what are you waiting for? It's a solid album throughout.
Don't Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage from Hometowns

---

This is my favorite release from this week. Completely unintentional to pit Scots against Scots, but this is the one that delivered for me. Broken Records' debut album, Until The Earth Begins To Part is exactly the kind of album that gets me excited about Tuesdays.
If The News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It by Broken Records from Until The Earth Begins To Part
If Eilert Loevberg Wrote A Song, It Would Sound Like This by Broken Records from Until The Earth Begins To Part

Elephant Stone - The Seven Seas

Montreal and India natives, Elephant Stone's newest release (and Polaris Prize nominated) The Seven Seas is available now on Indiecater Records. It's a solid indie pop album. Don't believe me? Check out the mp3 below or you can stream the whole album here.


I Am Blind by Elephant Stone from The Seven Seas

New album coming from The O'Darling

The Toronto-based alternative-pop orchestra band, The O'Darling (that were featured here in March) have a tentative July 17th release date for their first full length album. The 9-track album seems almost perfect for summer nights, complete with one track, "Prairie", all in French. If you enjoyed their 2008 release, A Nice E.P., you're going to love this. I have high hopes for these guys and gals.
Enjoy the first single below.

Tracklist:
Venture Song
Prairie
Altostratus
City Part 1
Embroideries
The Type
Good Day
Montreal
Fire Fire

notable releases for June 30th

Just in case you didn't know (like that was even possible), Wilco released their seventh album today, Wilco (The Album). You can join in the Wilco lovefest Paste Magazine is having today and stream the whole album here.
Indie rock faves, Spoon, have released the Got Nuffin EP/CD single. I like the title track, the other 2 tracks, "Tweakers" and "Stroke Their Brains" are just meh. Unless you're wanting a physical copy, I highly suggest buying it directly from Merge Records. Amazon doesn't have the MP3 version and iTunes, well, is just iTunes.

notable release for June 23rd

If this is not the must-have album of the year, then I need to find myself another hobby. Granted, I've had the digital version for a month now, but that just means I've had more time to really appreciate that this could possibly be Spencer Krug's best work to date. I was a lukewarm fan of Sunset Rubdown, more of a Wolf Parade fan, but this album solidifies my entrance into full blown SR fandom. The lyrics, the music, the consistency throughout the whole album, there's not a single bad track; Krug went all out and it shines through. Now, if only they would do a show in Detroit.
Idiot Heart by Sunset Rubdown from Dragonslayer

---

This was the only other release coming out today that I was looking forward to. With the release of singles like "Early Warning" and "Vacationing People", it showed promise. Foreign Born delivers on this one, no doubt. Other stand-out tracks: "That Old Sun" and "Can't Keep Time"
Vacationing People by Foreign Born from Person To Person

Block o' new music

Haven't done one of these in a while, eh?
Enjoy.
Australian indie pop band, Bird Automatic will be releasing their EP, Not Morning People, later this month.
About The Money by Bird Automatic from Not Morning People EP

---

Coming from Chicagoland, psych-rock/shoegaze quartet Apteka are giving away free downloads of their latest, Tour EP, on their MySpace page. Good stuff.
The Sheet by Apteka from Tour EP
She Is Riots by Apteka from Tour EP

---

Hamilton, Ontario indie folk band, Dark Mean, released their first in a series of three EPs back in April, frankencottage, which they're giving away for free (provided you supply them with an email addy) on their website.
Happy Banjo by Dark Mean from frankencottage

---

While doing my daily blog crawl, I came across a post on Hear Ya about a indie pop duo from New Orleans I just had to share. Generationals - check these guys out, seriously. They'll be releasing their first album, Con Law, off Park the Van Records on July 21st. You can also check out the SXSW session they did for Daytrotter here.
When They Fight, They Fight by Generationals from Con Law

Oh to summer

I seem to have fallen a little bit behind on the blogging duties. My apologies; it's been a hectic and tiring week. But good news is I have next week off for vacation, relaxation, and warm weather. What more could a person ask for?

Live Forever by Oasis from Definitely Maybe
Pulling Teeth by Of The Red Sea from Verona
Nobody Knows You by Office from Mecca
For Real by Okkervil River from Black Sheep Boy
Erla's Waltz by Ólafur Arnalds from Found Songs
Victoria by Old 97's from Wreck Your Life
Í Nýju Húsi by Ólöf Arnalds from Við Og Við
No Tomorrow by Orson from Bright Idea
Friend by Outstars from Outstars

image from Drew Lenale @ Flickr

The Dying Seconds - Some Grand Romantic Gesture

On June 16th, Dublin-based band, The Dying Seconds will be holding a launch party/gig for the upcoming EP, Some Grand Romantic Gesture. It's clear the 4-track EP is suitably named with the sounds of opening track, "Calling All Cars", that wraps you up in an atmospheric blanket, and graduates throughout from the instrumental "Desire Lanes" to the final track, "The Ladder Drops". According to the band's MySpace, the digital release is still pending, but when it's available to those of us on the other side of the pond, I highly recommend snatching it up.

Downloads of earlier releases, The Dying Seconds album and Seconds EP can be downloaded for free from the band's website.

Tracklisting:
1. Calling All Cars
2. Desire Lanes
3. My Best Behavior by Dying Seconds from Some Grand Romantic Gesture
4. The Ladder Drops

Hockeytown dethroned

Tis a sad day for Wings fans, but life must go on, right? And on with the tuneage we must

Apartment Story by The National from Boxer
Hold On, Hold On by Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 by Neutral Milk Hotel from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Evergy Shortage by New Grenada from Energy Shortage
Ceremony by New Order from Singles
Use It by The New Pornographers from Twin Cinema
The Door Opens by The New Year from The New Year
Breed by Nirvana from Nevermind
5 Years Time by Noah and The Whale from Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down
Cars by Now, Now Every Children from Cars

image from kofyslug @ flickr

Fanfarlo giving 15 songs for $1

London-based indie pop band, Fanfarlo are selling their 11-track album, Reservoir, plus 4 bonus tracks for one whole dollar on the band's website till July 4th. The only way you could beat that is if it were free. There have been some comparison's to Beirut, simply because of the vocals, but I personally think that's where the comparison ends. This album was originally released back in February and I have to say that it should be getting a lot more attention than it has been, especially with tracks like the opener "I'm A Pilot". Here's hoping this great deal will do just that.

Tracklisting:
I'm A Pilot
Ghosts
Luna
Comets
Fire Escape
The Walls Are Coming Down
Drowning Men
If It's Growing
Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
Finish Line
Good Morning Midnight
*Kist of Whistles
*Hands (demo)
*Drowning Men (acoustic version)
*Acoemeti

*bonus tracks

A good beginning

Ten years ago, we saw the release of Sigur Rós' Ágætis Byrjun, and the band has set up a mini-site to honor this anniversary, as well as plans to release a deluxe edition in 2010. This album is still (and with good probability always will be) one of my top albums of all-time. It's just a wonderful and beautiful masterpiece as far as I see it, but then again, I have a little bit of personal bias from my love of their homeland of Iceland. Not everyone shares the belief that it's such a great album, I know. The way I see it is this: there's 3 categories when it comes to people's opinions on music of SR. They either love it (such as myself), don't get it, or just flat out hate it.

Ný batterí by Sigur Rós from Ágætis Byrjun

South Ambulance - EP#5

via mp3hugger
Sweden's indie pop/shoegaze band, South Ambulance have released their EP#5 off the Dublin-based Indiecater Records (aka Kevin of mp3hugger).
And while you're there, you can get other releases for a good deal like one of EOI's faves, Everyone All At Once by The Rest.



Dear Mutiny by South Ambulance from EP#5

Entire EP can be streamed here

best things in life are free

Some free (and legal) tunes out there from upcoming releases (and one really great cover):

I Knew by Lightning Dust from Infinite Light
Periodically Double Or Triple by Yo La Tengo from Popular Songs
Josephine by Magnolia Electric Co. from Josephine
Ancestors by Throw Me The Statue from Creaturesque
Reflections Of The Television by The Twilight Sad from Forget The Night Ahead
Sleepyhead (Passion Pit cover) by Run Toto Run
The Fun That We Have by Julian Plenti from Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper
Early Warnings by Foreign Born from Person To Person

image from Naut Sirius @ flickr

From Helsinki to NJ

With their 7- track debut EP released earlier this year, Helsinki, Finland's Delay Trees offer sweet yet melancholic indie pop, all the while being a pleasure to listen to. I hope to hear a lot more from these guys on this side of the Atlantic.


About Brothers by Delay Trees from Soft Construction EP

---

Having played with one of my favorite newer bands, Blind Pilot, the New Jersey quintet, The Static Jacks definitely show a lot of promise. One listen to their 4-track EP released late last year, Bridges And Tunnels, and it's clear there's plenty more to come out of this band with all their lo-fi goodness.


Fire On The Bridge And In The Tunnel Below by The Static Jacks from Bridges and Tunnels EP

part 2

Vacations are just never long enough. Certainly doesn't help that I left comfy 90 degree summer weather to come back to a measly 60 degrees.

So Much Trouble by Matt Pond PA from Several Arrows Later
Fog by Mason Proper from Olly Oxen Free
The Runout by Maps of Norway from Die Off Songbird
I Was A Lid by Manchester Orchestra from Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind EP
How We'd Look On Paper by The Main Drag from Yours as Fast as Mine
Indian Summer by Magnetic Morning from A.M.
Rave On by M. Ward (featuring Zooey Deschanel) from Hold Time

image from DefJux921 @ flickr

The Decemberists w/ Blind Pilot @ The Pageant in St. Louis

Yeah, I know video has been making its rounds across the internets already but I was there so neener neener.

Here's a few more videos from the same show.
The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
The Rake's Song
The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
Grace Cathedral Hill
We Both Go Down Together
Sleepless
O Valencia!
Shankhill Butchers
and a little bonus when the band decided to lighten things up a bit with a crowd surfing reenactment of the trans-Atlantic flight of The Spirit of St. Louis.

All these videos but I still can't find any mp3's from the show. Grrr. By the way, if you happen to know of a site that's got 'em, I would greatly appreciate an email or just leave a comment.

First Set:
Entire Hazards of Love album from start to finish

Second set:
Grace Cathedral Hill (from Castaways and Cutouts)
We Both Go Down Together (from Picaresque)
Culling of the Fold (from The Crane Wife)
Sleepless (from Dark Was The Night)
July, July (from Castaways and Cutouts)
Dracula's Daughter (according to Colin the worst song he ever wrote)
Sixteen Military Wives (from Picaresque)
O Valencia! (from The Crane Wife)
Crazy on You (Heart cover)

Encore:
Shankill Butchers
A Cautionary Song

Awesome show. Shara Worden was definitely the highlight. I think she pretty much blew everyone away with her voice and her stage presence.
The only downside of it all was the constant talking and chatting that went on during Blind Pilot's opening, especially from the two yahoos next to us who seemingly insisted on talking louder so everyone within earshot could hear their conversation. But for the 30 minutes BP was on stage, they were great. I was only a little bummed they didn't play "I Buried a Bone" but played a great set nonetheless.

I could easily say I got more than my money's worth, but if I had known the show would be that good, I would've paid more.

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

So it's finally out - Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest. The blogosphere will stop its drooling soon enough. Unless of course you're Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun Times. "Chipmunks on ecstasy" Ouch!
Just ignore the hater.
I don't qualify as a GB fan and even I say it's good. And just as a disclaimer, getting it for $4 on Amazon MP3 has absolutely nothing to do with my opinion of the album - but 12 tracks for $4 really is a good deal.
On the downside, I'm not feeling track 6, "Dory" at all. Aside from that, I give it a 4.3 out of 5.
Will it still be at the top of so many lists come year's end? We shall see.
Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear from Veckatimest [deleted mp3]

full album stream here