Liars – Sisterworld

March 10th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in rock  |  1 comment

Sisterworld, the band’s fifth album, continues the tradition of radical reinvention that has dictated the band’s narrative for a decade now. The album isn’t as exhilarating as They Threw Us, nor as abrasive as Drum’s Not Dead. Sisterworld sheds a lot of the biker rock posturing that dominated their eponymous forth album in favor of a creepier, more expansive aesthetic. The record requires a fair amount of a patience to get through the first couple of times.

Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks

March 8th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in folk-rock  |  1 comment

Frightened Rabbit are receiving infinitely more mainstream attention than they did back in the post-”Midnight Organ Fight” days. They placed top of my albums of 2008 list at a time when their rallying Scottish folk-rock had barely brushed the top of the blogosphere. Now, a week before the release of their third album “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks” – they have taken the title of the most streamed artist on the UK Myspace charts.

Aloha – Home Acres

March 7th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in indie pop, progressive rock  |  1 comment

While the album cover for Home Acres may be a bit gloomy, Aloha’s four members (now scattered throughout the East Coast) have no problem creating a quick-tempo, reverb-filled and smiley album. One key to this happy formula (beside the heavy presence of drum-line style percussion) is the use of marimbas and vibrant synthesizer, elements that have abounded throughout their former releases.

Foxes in Fiction – Swung From The Branches

March 6th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in experimental, folktronica, indie pop

Warren Hildebrand, the man behind Foxes in Fiction, is another in a line of them this year that have been flooding my inbox with their admirable work. Foxes in Fiction have released a 19 song album for free. The album is filled with dreamy songs that barely coalesce enough to call them songs.

Strange Birds – Strange Birds EP

March 4th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in acoustic, alternative, folk  |  3 comments

Aidin Sadeghi and Bret Leinen compose the two-man duo that is Strange Birds. The majority of their work sounds distinctly like the exhibited by Coldplay in their songs “Parachutes”, “We Never Change”, and in particular, “Easy to Please”. At the same time, however, Strange Birds obviously don’t have Chris Martin’s distinct voice leading the show. Indeed, there are a number of elements that set them apart, including clean and round acoustic guitar that strums to a clean and upbeat, jazzy cadence.

East Hundred – Passenger

March 3rd, 2010  |  by Jess Alatorre  |  published in female vocalists, shoegaze  |  2 comments

Today’s indie rock scene doesn’t always have enough female fronted bands that get me addicted. But, with bands like Land of Talk, Rainer Maria and now East Hundred, I say “Hand those chicks a mic, and let their vocals spill out emotion!” East Hundred’s story isn’t all that unpredictable: boys grow up together, boys make music, one asks girlfriend to add vocal track, girl and boy break-up, band survives and grows from it musically (The break-up lyrics really shine through on “Pony”).

The Strange Boys – Be Brave

March 3rd, 2010  |  by b aiken  |  published in garage, rock  |  1 comment

Have you ever wondered what The White Stripes would sound like if Jack had been born in 1945, started the band in 1963, and sang with the voice of a young Bob Dylan? Well, me neither, but if you were, this album from The Strange Boys would give you a pretty damn good idea. The decidedly lo-fi, bluesy, folk inspired and just plain awesome sound harks back to a homespun time of synthless choruses and voices unspoiled by autotunes.

Mesita – Living/Breathing

March 2nd, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in experimental, indie pop  |  3 comments

Technically, Mesita didn’t even send me a full album. He sent me a single. That single is pretty darn good, and I think it’s worth sharing with the world. Not to mention that the additional tracks on his Myspace tend to indicate that this isn’t a fluke. I highly encourage you to visit it by clicking the link in this post.