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.

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.

April Smith and The Great Picture Show – Songs for a Sinking Ship

February 27th, 2010  |  by b aiken  |  published in female vocalists, indie pop, rock  |  2 comments

“Wow”. That’s all I could say after taking a listen to this album, “Songs for a Sinking Ship”. It is a downright enjoyable music experience that uses the time-tested formula of great vocals, catchy hooks, and well orchestrated instrumentals to give the listener a true gem of an album.

The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme

February 24th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in indie pop, shoegaze  |  7 comments

What makes this slightly different, though, is that unlike most of today’s pop-loving indie rockers, The Radio Dept. goes as far back as 1995, when Swedish classmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson began playing music together. Since then, players have come and gone, with the most-recent lineup adding Martin Larsson, Lisa Carlberg and Per Blomgren. Which leads me to a confession: I wasn’t being completely straightforward earlier. These guys aren’t pure indie pop; they’re shoegaze, too.

Spirit Spine – Jungle Bridges

February 7th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in indie pop  |  4 comments

Jungle Bridges is not a perfect album, but it is certainly an important album. With the release of the album, we are witness to the official arrival of a significant artist who has managed to digest and process an aesthetic that most are simply aping.

Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History

February 3rd, 2010  |  by b aiken  |  published in dance, indie pop, post-punk  |  4 comments

What do you get when you cross three Irish dudes, some guitars, and some heavy electronic influence? Well, you can get a ton of things, one of which is the sound produced by Two Door Cinema Club, a modern contemporary trio bringing us some seriously catchy tunes on their debut, Tourist History. While we wrote about them back in April of 2009, this album illustrates the band’s range while simultaneously keeping to a central theme of guitar-driven electro-pop and lyrics that cling to your brain like… brain glue?

Efterklang – Magic Chairs

January 28th, 2010  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in indie pop, post-rock  |  2 comments

My roommate made an excellent observation: “Europeans keep pumping out new releases sung in English. Americans could never pump out records in other languages. Americans suck. Europeans rule.” Whether you take that as truth or not, the fact stands: European bands tend toward singing in English (save for the Krauts). Efterklang is no exception to that rule. Natives of Copenhagen, Denmark, the four core members of this group perform beautiful post-rock pieces reminiscent of Sigur Ros’s most recent track opener, Gobbeldigook. The final product? Drum-thumping bliss.