Yes, I haven’t made a post since late April 2008, which is basically six months ago. I chose Emiliana Torrini as the post to break the 6-month slack because her latest record is all I listened to in August.

Emiliana came out with a new album a few months ago called “Me and Armini” and it is just sublime. She gets better and better with every album. 1999’s “Love In The Time of Science” was heavy on the trip-hop/electronic production, and I love that record, but since she’s gone more organic (acoustic guitars, mellow drumbeats played with brushes and rods, and subtle piano and percussion), her music just soars. Check out three songs from “Me and Armini”

FIREHEADS (the album opener)

BIRDS

GUN (my favorite track from the record)

Visit Emiliana’s myspace to hear more songs, and to order her music and/or merch!

MINIPOP. I discovered this San Francisco-based band in early 2008. Easily my favorite band of 2008, and will remain such until the end of this year and probably several years following. Minipop is fucking brilliant. ‘Nuff said. You want proof? Listen to the four songs below, from their debut full-length “A New Hope” (2007):

Ask Me A Question

Precious

Like I Do

A New Hope

My favorite thing they do is in the chorus of “Precious” – PERFECT use of melodic suspensions… first time around, you’re like “ahh! They need to resolve this beautiful tension!” And the second time around, boom… it’s resolved, making the chorus ten times more powerful than it could have been written. BRILLIANT songwriting. Absolutely fucking BRILLIANT.

Buy Minipop’s music and merchandise from their myspace page.

L’Altra are Lindsay Anderson and Joseph Costa. They’re also one of my all-time favorite bands. Here’s a bio from their official myspace:

“By its very definition, L’altra could not possibly be run-of-the-mill. Any band whose name translates to “the feminine other” in a number of Romance languages surely has something dark and mysterious up its sleeve. As does any group that comes from a collaboration of two exes – singer-guitarist Joseph Costa and singer-keyboardist Lindsay Anderson – who spent 7 years together and broke up before they’d even made a record. That Lindsay and Joe have recorded a trio of albums since then only confirms that the energy at the core of the L’altra sound – a moody mix of baroque balladry decorated with ambient electronics, simultaneously soothing and unnerving – is hardly commonplace.”

That’s a damn good description for a damn good band. Take a listen to three songs from their 2005 album Different Days:

Better Than Bleeding

So Surprise

There Is No

buy L’Altra’s music from:
amazon.com

Several years ago, through the website www.auralgasms.com, I discovered the beautiful, epic music of indie band Mew (yes, “mew”, like when people imitate the sound cats make).

They made an album in 2003 called “Frengers” which was unavailable in the US until 2006, shortly after their 2005 album “And The Glass Handed Kites” was released. In my humble opinion, “Frengers” is their best record to date. “Glass” is a little too experimental for my pop-trained ears. Haha. I still love it, but I prefer the music on “Frengers.”

Below are the first three tracks that kick off the “Frengers” album (by the way, in case you were wondering, the invented word means “a mix of friends and strangers”). Listen to their arrangements and how they change up each song’s feel (especially the first two). Not only are they insanely tight but their riffs and key modulations are to die for. You can’t help but sing or hum along to these songs upon first listen.

Mew are the dictionary definition of underrated music. Enjoy:

Am I Wry? No

156

Snow Brigade

Buy Mew’s music from:
amazon.com

A while back, I got into the Irish band The Frames. I forgot about them for a bit, and then I heard fantastic things about the indie film “Once” which was released in 2007 to select theatres. “Once” starred the lead singer and main songwriter of the Frames, Glen Hansard, and I bought the DVD without even seeing the movie yet. Of course, upon seeing the film and hearing the fucking brilliant music that is featured throughout, I had to pick up the “Once” soundtrack, which is basically the music of indie/folk duo The Swell Season.

The Swell Season is Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard and Czech singer/songwriter Marketa Irglova, the two main stars of “Once.” Marketa and Glen have known each other since she was 13, and the both of them wound up writing and recording songs as The Swell Season in 2006. Shortly after, most of the same songs were used in the movie “Once.” (different versions of the songs on the soundtrack and Swell Season album).

Without boring you to death with full details (I do tend to ramble a lot when I’m excited about great music), just LISTEN to these three PERFECT songs, and please… buy the movie “Once” if you have even the slightest love for music and personal chemistry. You’ll love it.

Falling Slowly (“Once” soundtrack version)

If You Want Me

All The Way Down (“Once” soundtrack version)

buy the Once DVD, soundtrack, and Swell Season CD from
amazon.com

Sorry about the lack of posts… the holidays were pretty crazy over here. Now back to business…

As many people have written for several years now, Nada Surf has been putting out great record after great record, despite being a “one-hit wonder” with their single “Popular” from 1996, which was all over eMpTyV that summer.

Nada Surf was kicked off their label shortly after the release of their second album, 1998’s The Proximity Effect. Rumor had it that the label wanted them to be “more like The Foo Fighters” which was a problem that Jimmy Eat World encountered a year later with their album Clarity. Nada Surf’s sophomore album was chock full of great hooks and solid songwriting, especially with the song “Mother’s Day” which is featured below (pay close attention to the lyrics).

After label/distribution issues which prevented the band from getting The Proximity Effect heard on a mass scale, Nada Surf finally got hooked up with a new label, this time an indie called Barsuk, which released their third record Let Go in 2002. This album really cemented their status as that all-important category of “great band.” I’ve included “Blizzard of ‘77″ and “Inside Of Love” from that record, below.

Nada Surf have a rabid fanbase, without any radio play or good distribution. When the people know great music, they know great music… and it gets out there no matter what. That’s one of the reasons I started this music blog. Enjoy.

Mother’s Day

Blizzard of ‘77

Inside Of Love

Buy Nada Surf’s albums from:
amazon.com

Mark Kozelek has made appearances as a musician in the movies Shopgirl and Almost Famous. But what a lot of people don’t know is that he’s been writing and releasing songs with his band Red House Painters (and later, Sun Kil Moon) for over a decade. Mark’s voice is the kind of voice that sends shivers down your spine… it’s deep, it’s soft, it’s everything that fits with the music he writes on guitar. And his lyrics are fucking brilliant.

Take a listen to the Cars cover “All Mixed Up”, “Have You Forgotten” and “Priest Alley Song” (all from the 1996 album Songs For A Blue Guitar) and taste his songwriting genius:

All Mixed Up (originally recorded by The Cars)

buy Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon music at
amazon.com

Pure pop perfection? Oh yes. Maryland/Washington DC’s Velocity Girl came and went like a thief in the night (and they largely went unnoticed), but man… did they impact the indie/alternative rock world for those who were lucky enough to know of them in their prime. Beginning as a noisy band with vocals basically buried in the mix, Velocity Girl evolved into a powerhouse of a band… mainly due to lead singer Sarah Shannon’s flawless, classically-trained pipes. Here are three tracks from their final album, 1996’s “Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts” (Sub Pop Records):

Same Old City

and as a bonus, “My Forgotten Favorite” (one of their earlier songs, which is absolutely perfect musically, even though you can barely hear Sarah)… this song miraculously made the soundtrack to the great movie Clueless.

My Forgotten Favorite

Fans of this music should absolutely check out Sarah Shannon’s solo work– myspace.com/sarahshannonmusic. She made two awesome solo records in recent years. More than likely, I’m going to be posting something about her solo music in the coming weeks…

Buy Velocity Girl’s music at
amazon.com

I hate how NO ONE knows who the band Wheat is. At most, exposure to this band came from Cameron Crowe’s awesome movie Elizabethtown, when Kirsten Dunst’s character says “Some music… needs air. Roll down your window.” And even then, few people knew the name of the band unless they bought the Elizabethtown: Vol 1 soundtrack.

So… this is the indie band Wheat… and two of their songs, “I Met A Girl” and “Don’t I Hold You” (the latter being the song from Elizabethtown):

I Met A Girl

buy Wheat’s music from:
amazon.com

For a lot of people, ska is dead. But great music lasts forever. Case in point – Berkeley, CA’s Dance Hall Crashers. They’ve been around basically since Operation Ivy (1988). I wouldn’t classify them as “ska” just as I wouldn’t call Operation Ivy ska… DHC (and Op Ivy) had so much more going on musically than just “ska.”

DHC had mainstream success in 1995 with the Geffen release “Lockjaw” (and the smash hit single “Enough”, about sex and shallowness), but beyond that, they’ve kind of stayed in the background of music, and that pisses me off, because the talent they possess is tremendous. Lyrically, they’re awesome. Melodically… shit. I can’t think of a more “hooky” band!

I’ve been a die-hard DHC fan since 1995. I love all of their records. In 1999, they released on album called “Purr” on Pink and Black Records (a division of Fat Wreck Chords) which in my opinion, is by far, their best record to date. Here are three songs from “Purr.”

Do You Think You’re Beautiful?

Just Like That

The Real You

buy DHC CDs from
interpunk.com
amazon.com