The Morning Benders are a young, talented chamber-pop group from San Francisco who I discovered when they opened for Daydream Station favorites Grizzly Bear at Seattle's Moore Theater in October 2009. Since then, they've picked up a key new member, poaching Grizzly Bear producer Chris Taylor for their own uses. Their sophomore effort, Big Echo will be out March 9 on Rough Trade, and lead single "Excuses" exhibits soaring highs that make them the 2010 music scene's response to the nineties' classic Brit-pop anthems.
Active Child, the subject of my first "Featured Artist" column (here), is gearing up for a proper release, leaving behind the world of 7" singles and cassette tapes. In anticipation, here are two more tracks I've dug up, showcasing his layered falsetto croon over shuffling, icy electro-percussion.
The New Pornographers' Master of Awesome, A.C. Newman, treated us this morning by tweeting out the lead track from their upcoming release Together (available May 4 from Matador). Not much to say - more sugar-high indie pop.
Veteran axeman brings the classic Buzzcocks/Ramones punk ethos here, keeping the lead single from The Brutalist Bricks (due March 9 on Matador) to a tidy 2:37 and stringing hooks and bridges together into a non-stop climax.
Electro-soundscaper returns, offering "Regenerate" as a preview to his upcoming release More! (due in May). After trendsetting on 2006's Movements, setting the bar for a couple of years of electronica, he failed to impress on 2008's The Sun and The Neon Light. "Regenerate" is an ambient but shapeshifting piece, showing Booka still has finesse and range.
The seminal Canadian indie super-collective returns with their first material as a group in five years. What have they been up to in the meantime? Oh, just monstrously successful side careers for members Feist, Stars, and Metric, among others. A seven-minute epic, the song hints that the group is more focused on art-rock exploration than replicating the successes of the aforementioned members' big hits.
New York up-and-comers made my top 10 of 2009 with "Mouthful of Diamonds" and just released their debut full-length, Eyelid Movies (a Bunuel/Dali Un Chien Andalou reference?) on Barsuk, possibly my favorite record label. Check out their sound on "When I'm Small," showing that they can go soft and loud, but they'll always have that dreamy trip-hop vibe.
Surf-rock hasn't been this cool since Tarantino reclaimed it for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Simple sentiments recorded lo-fi over handclaps and, well, surf guitar.
R&B artist/Motown throwback Janelle Monae is finally getting a full album release this spring and "the female Andre 3000," as she is often called, teams up with mentor Big Boi (Outkast everywhere!) on this funkalicious track.
And So I Watch You From Afar - Set Guitars To Kill
New entry on the post-rock scene, for lovers of Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai and their ilk. "The Voiceless" feels like a worthy, if slightly derivative, tribute to EITS, while "Set Guitars To Kill" lives up to its name and sets off sparks with multi-guitar crunch and fret aerobics.
New entry on the post-rock scene, for lovers of Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai and their ilk. "The Voiceless" feels like a worthy, if slightly derivative, tribute to EITS, while "Set Guitars To Kill" lives up to its name and sets off sparks with multi-guitar crunch and fret aerobics.
Young electro act take their cues from acknowledged influence The Whitest Boy Alive, Erland Oye's dance project and pump out up-tempo yet delicate synth-pop.
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