Friday, April 29, 2011

Le Butcherettes


Le Butcherettes are a heavy rockin' trio from Mexico City, led by the wild'n'crazy Teri Gender Bender (a.k.a. Teresa Suaréz). Man, they do some serious rockin' and here's their upcoming release, Sin Sin Sin:



And here's a cut from the debut album, Kiss & Kill, back when they were a duo:

I'm Queen

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Lykke Li

Another of my Swedish loves is Lykke Li (to go along with Taken By Trees, Robyn, Niki & The Dove, and Anna Ternheim) and she has a brand new CD out called Wounded RhymesFirst, here's an older cut, which I believe you can get free by signing up to her mailing list:

Tonight

The title track single features a great video:

Wounded Rhymes

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Gina Chavez

What a great sound from this Austin based folk-rocker, Gina Chavez. She's working hard at uncovering her Latin roots and here's some great music:




Monday, April 25, 2011

Hawk Moon Records

Back from Disneyworld (oh yeah, it was fun!) and here to offer you a belated Free Friday - Hawk Moon Records sampler, volume II. It has a cut from one of my favorite instrumental artists, Lowercase Noises and should be damned solid. You can grab it via their Bandcamp page (follow the link on the page if their free download limit has been reached) or listen to it here:

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Steve Mason

There's a new single from one of my favorite releases of 2010, Steve Mason's Boys Outside. And it is even one of my favorite songs, from a CD full of great songs. Here's the video for it:

All Come Down

And here' s some cool remixes of All Come Down:

Monday, April 11, 2011

Wire

Wire is a band that sure has been around a while. Their first release (Pink Flag) was way back in 1977, and they have been making music ever since. And music that is right up my ally - sometimes jangly, sometimes smooth, sometimes dark pop songs, usually with clever hooks. Listening to the wonderful compilation The A List, I was amazed at how many of these songs were familiar, like this one:

Ahead

You can grab a bunch of free MP3s from their web site here, including live version of a song from their classic debut:

3 Girl Rumba

Adapt

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Regina

Regina is a Finnish trio who recently had their first US release from Friendly Fire Recordings, called Puutarhatrilogia. You probably won't understand a word of the song but the enchanting voice and pop melodies will have you hooked nonetheless. Check these out:

Tapaa minut aamulla
Sinun tässä salissa

Saanko jäädä yöksi?
Regina - Saanko jäädä yöksi? from friendly fire recordings on Vimeo.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Acrylics

Acrylics are a duo out of Brooklyn NY with that dreamy pop sound that I just cannot resist. Their new album, Lives & Treasures is just chock-a-block with Fleetwood Mac / Kate Bush-ish grooves, with Molly Shea's shimmering vocals a real standout. Check out these sounds:

Nightwatch
Sparrow Song

Molly's Vertigo

Friday, April 8, 2011

Free Friday: The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 1

This is the first volume of the Blue Indian Compilations (you can see volume 2 here). I have not even had a chance to listen to it yet, but if it is anything like volume 2, there's bound to be a couple of gems. Grab the free download on bandcamp or listen here - up to you:



The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 1 | The Blue Indian

Free Friday: SPIN's 32 Songs for SXSW

A tad late but still free and massive, SPIN's Austin Power sampler has tons of great sounds, include:

The Kills - Satellite
Fences - Girls With Accents


FREE ALBUM! SPIN's 33 Songs for SXSW | SPIN.com

Free Friday: deep heaven now

One of my favorite local bands, who I have yet to see in concert, is playing at a nearby music festival. Called Deep Heaven Now, this ambient electronic-palooza is something I would dearly love to go see. But, alas, it is the one weekend I will be out of town, so I will miss 28 degrees taurus once again.

But you can grab a collection of songs from the various groups that will be playing over two days in Somerville MA over on bandcamp. Or you can just camp out and listen here:



deep heaven now

Free Friday: Amazon.com MP3 Artists on the Rise

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This month's "Artists On The Rise" free Amazon MP3s  is a typically eclectic, but solid, collection of 6 free MP3s:
  • Generationals "Ten-Twenty-Ten"
  • Kurt Vile "Jesus Fever"
  • Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears "Livin' in the Jungle"
  • Caitlin Rose "Shanghai Cigarettes"
  • Jonny Diaz "Delights In You"
  • Thoa & Mirah "Eleven"
Amazon MP3 free Artists on the Rise

And have you tried out the new Amazon MP3 "Cloud Player"? It's pretty cool. All your purchases (including the free ones!) can be automatically stored on your Amazon Cloud Drive and you can upload your own MP3s as well. They give you 5gb of storage but if you buy an MP3 album, it goes up to 20gb. And MP3s bought on Amazon don't count against the storage limit. The player works well from a browser, and even better from your Android phone. I haven't uploaded anything yet, but I will.

Learn More About Amazon Cloud Drive


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Taken By Trees

Victoria Bergsman, originally of The Concretes, split off in 2007 to follow her own muse and called it Taken By Trees. Looking to do something completely different, she took off to Pakistan with a sound engineer and, despite some difficulties, came up with a very nice album called East Of Eden, which marries many different sounds. She first came to my attention with her wonderful cover of Guns'n'Roses(!) Sweet Child O' Mine. There are a number of dynamite songs on East Of Eden too. Why, I even saw her in concert (with the incomparable El Perro Del Mar - oh no, another missing Swedish artist!).

Sweet Child O' Mine
Anna

My Boys

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Concretes

And once again, my love for Swedish pop rears its ugly head :) This time it is for Swedish pop legends The Concretes, who once featured Victoria Bergsman (of Taken By Trees - what no TbT post yet? Need to rectify that! Edit: Fixed here!). Now the lead singer is drummer Lisa Milberg and yes, it is still a great sound, silky yet poppy. Here's a couple from their latest full length CD, WYWH (no, I don't know what it stands for).

My Ways
Good Evening
Crack in the Paint
The Concretes : 'Crack In The Paint' from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.