Three-piece Halifax twang ensemble Dark For Dark just released its debut LP, Warboats. To experience the Canadian comfort of Rebecca Zolkower, Jess Lewis and Mel Stone, download the album’s first single, “Sweetwater,” below.
“Sweetwater” (download):
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Following up last year’s well-received We’ve Got A Map, San Francisco’s Tidelands recently teamed up with neighbor Debbie Neigher for a split seven-inch. The split was just issued via Redgummy Records. Download “Atoms” below.
“Atoms” (download):
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Last year, Jordan Herrera (better known as Young Readers) released his Family Trees EP after a college professor told him he wasn’t cut out for school. The creative DIY efforts of Herrera are undeniable considering that each EP sleeve was printed on construction paper and came with a box of crayons, urging us all to create our own album art. Download serene jam titled “Boxcar,” the second track off of the EP, below.
“Boxcar” (download):
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A married couple from Austin, Texas, Noëlle Hampton and André Moran spearhead the sounds of new project the Belle Sounds. Their recently released self-titled debut EP was produced by Neilson Hubbard in the cool-drenched neighborhood of East Nashville. Download first single “The Starry Eyed,” below.
“The Starry Eyed” (download):
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Lone Star State-based Georgia’s Horse is the artistic outlet of talented singer/songwriter Teresa Maldonado. She just announced the release information for her follow-up to debut The Mammoth Sessions. Maldonado’s new LP, Weather Codes, is out June 25 via Fire Records. Download her latest single, “Ginger,” below.
“Ginger” (download):
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Well, her moniker pretty much explains it all; she doesn’t really care how you perceiver her. Originating in Pennsylvania, Bitch has been putting out tracks since 1999. This July 16, Short Story Records will issue her latest LP, In Us We Trust, which showcases Bitch’s craft on the violin. Download the title track below.
“In Us We Trust” (download):
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Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 29-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
How about this? Y’all get 200 years worth of oil (you can handle yer own transport, etc.), and we get Washington, Oregon and Northern California? Y’all can keep L.A.. Deal contingent on Mike Jordan going to N. Korea to deliver a custom-designed pair of Nikes to KJU.
“Gravity Believes,” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995; Smarten UP!, 2009) (download):
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Ohio native Louis Matteo just released his latest LP, Patchwork Pattern, via Neon Castle Records. This 10-track artifact is the follow-up to 2007 debut Confront The Congregation. Set aside 3:25 to check out the opening track off of the album, “Blossom.” Download it below.
“Blossom” (download):
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Back in February, we premiered Picture Day‘s latest single “Madoline.” Come May, and we have another gritty jam available for by the St. Louis foursome titled “One Of Us.” Their latest EP, Every Day Is Picture Day, is out now. Try and prevent your heads from bobbing after downloading the track below.
“One Of Us” (download):
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The Lonely Wild has made some leaps since it formed three years ago when ringleader Andrew Carroll moved to L.A. and met Ryan Ross, Andrew Schneider, Jessie Williams and Dave Farina. Since then, the band has released the stellar Dead End EP, which was recently followed by debut album The Sun As It Comes (Ursa Major). The Lonely Wild boys recently put together a mix tape for us. Check it out below.
“Everything You Need” (download):
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Yes “Close To The Edge”
Dave: The title track on what is, to me, the definitive progressive-rock album. This is an epic masterpiece. Video
Medeski, Martin & Wood “Beeah”
Dave: I started getting into jazz when I was 18 or so, and Billy Martin was my honorary professor in “how to groove” from 101 to the PhD level. With jazz and MMW specifically, my mind was opened to a new world of rhythm, and gradations between swing and straight-tempo that I was completely unaware of. Video
Led Zeppelin “Since I’ve Been Loving You”
Ryan: I really can’t describe how much I love this song. One of my favorites from a band with an amazing catalog. We were just listening to the Zeppelin live at the BBC disc the other day in the tour van, and the live version of this song might even be better than the studio one. I love the intro guitar riff—how it starts so mellow and smooth and how it bursts into a frenzied climax. The organ, the drums, the vocals—they all come together so well in this song. Video
Del Shannon “Runaway”
Ryan: I recently rediscovered this song somewhere, and it’s a guilty-pleasure song for me. It also has one of my favorite keyboard solos of all time. Max Crook, the piano/keyboard player, invented an instrument that he called the “Musitron,” which was basically a modified Clavioline (an early electronic keyboard), with some spring reverb and some tweaks. The sound he got out of that thing was amazing, and it’s one of the most famous instrumental breaks in rock ‘n’ roll history. Video
Neil Young “Mr. Soul”
Jesse: Neil is my all-time favorite, and it’s hard to pick one song from such an extensive library, but “Mr. Soul” has always topped my list. Lyrically, there is a sort of dark whimsy about it. The guitars are dirty (just how I like ‘em), and the main lick is quintessential Neil—simple with a side of genius. There are several versions of this song. It translates well to various styles, which is a testament to the strength of the songwriting. Video
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles “Ooo Baby Baby”
Jesse: I grew up listening to and loving Motown. Smokey wrote so much of what came out of there. I’m not usually the girl who goes for the swoon-y love songs, but Smokey does it so well. This is one of those songs that sticks to every cell of your being. He has a voice that could melt a glacier. Probably one of the most impressive vocal ranges of all time. Video
Neutral Milk Hotel “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”
Andrew: This song has one of my favorite lyrics of all time: “Can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all.” That kind of sums up the nature of existence right there. Video
The Flaming Lips “Waitin’ For A Superman”
Andrew: The Flaming Lips are known for being kind of a silly, wacky, experimental art-rock band, but if you take the time to listen, Wayne Coyne has some powerfully insightful lyrics. This song has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Video
Claude Debussy “La Cathedral Engloutie” (The Sunken Cathedral)
Andrew: This is one of my absolute favorite pieces of music ever written. Debussy tells the story of a mythical cathedral that rises from out of the sea. I am in awe of the landscape that Debussy is able to paint with one instrument. The piece is just less than six minutes long, and I frequently put it on repeat and listen for way too long. Video
The Faces “Stay With Me”
Andrew: If someone asked me what my idea if a perfect rock ‘n’ roll song was, I would play this track. The Faces are the band I usually put on after listening to the Stones and wishing it would rock just a little harder. The mix of the perfectly dirty rhythm guitar, tasty slide guitar and slightly overdriven Rhodes is one of my all-time favorite sounds. Everyone has their list of bands they’d see if they could travel back in time, and the Faces is definitely on my list. Video
The Australia-based Mick Harvey can speak the language of music across a countless arrangement of instruments. His latest LP, Four (Acts Of Love), will be released June 11 via Mute, just in time to be the soundtrack for the summer months. Download the album’s short-and-sweet “I Wish That I Were A Stone” below
“I Wish That I Were A Stone” (download):
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Equal blends hip hop, loud ‘n’ fast punk and bedlam is the concoction that makes up WhoaBear. This is the musical outlet of vocalist/synth player Beau Dodson and stickman Adam Penkert. This brew of organized chaos is ironically made in a practice space under an old-head/fat-cat Chik-Fil-A corporate office. We are proud to premiere “Rock Em Up!” today on magnetmagazine.com. The track is off the duo’s self-titled LP, out June 11. Download “Rock Em Up!” below.
“Rock Em Up!” (download):
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Montreal’s Reversing Falls recently put out a 10-track debut of garage jams and lamenting odes to the band members being in their 20s. The trio’s self-titled LP was self-released by the band last month.Download album track “I Think We’ve Got A Problem” below.
“I Think We’ve Got A Problem” (download):
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Man Or Astro-Man? is back in action with its first LP in 12 years. The follow-up to 2001′s A Spectrum Of Finite Scale is Defcon 5…4…3…2…1., out May 21. Let your earbuds witness the progression of Man Or Astro-Man? by downloading “Disintegrate” below.
“Disintegrate” (download):
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Australia indie-garage band Blank Realm is set to release Go Easy on May 14 via the Fire label. Catch the foursome while it’s in the U.S., starting in Minneapolis on May 20 at The Hexagon. Download Go Easy‘s title track below.
“Go Easy” (download):
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Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 29-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Obliterating History—a guitar-making mystery, domination and submission in a small town garage re-invents the history of the electric guitar, crediting some unlikely characters with a feminist link between Jimi Hendrix and riot grrrl. Rewriting the sacred chronicles of rock music by inserting fictional origins of a mid-’90s social movement, gives young Carol the opportunity to take a Greyhound to Olympia, Wash., to attend the International Pop Underground where Tae of the band Kicking Giant encourages her to start a band of her own. If only it were true. If only she’d gone and not stayed at home in Nazareth, Pa., home of the Martin guitar factory.
For all that, current-day Frank is a kinky, middle-aged man cheating on Carol; original interpersonal dynamics reveal clues to his inclinations. Delving into family backgrounds to illuminate psychological proclivities, the reader travels back to Frank’s childhood. With an actress for a mother and his father a self-absorbed art director—an original Mad Man—at Manhattan’s Ogilvy & Mather, was anyone considering how young Frank’s exposure to deception might shape his world? In 1964, his father was inventing a phenomenon of storytelling where household products played in starring roles on TV sets across America. Meanwhile, his mother had a part in a Broadway play—Stop the World I Want to Get Off—but, as far as four-year-old Frank was concerned, she was onstage pretending to be another lady—one too busy to make him his pork and beans with wieners on toast just the way he liked it.
“Cyclone,” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995; Smarten UP!, 2009) (download):
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Put yourself in the good, rustic Americana spirit by turning your ears onto Boston quartet Tallahassee. The new sounds of the folk/alt-country band was just self-released via Old Ways. Tallahassee’s track “Old Brown Shoes” is available for a free download below.
“Old Brown Shoes” (download):
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Beams is a band of a seven indie folksters from Toronto. Their latest album, Just Rivers, will be hitting the racks on May 14. In anticipation of the release, experience the first single off the LP, “Be My Brother.” Download it below.
“Be My Brother” (download):
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The career of Canadian singer/songwriter Matt Mays is on the up and up. He just finished touring with the Gaslight Anthem, and he recently won the CMW indie award for “Male Artist Of The Year.” Download single “Take It On Faith,” from Coyote (Sonic/Redeye), below.
“Take It On Faith” (download):
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Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek’s punk ethic doesn’t need further proof. After you have performed on the back of a moving truck, people kind of stop questioning how punk you are. These two Brooklynites make up rising band Japanther. The duo’s latest LP, Eat Like Lisa Act Like Bart, will be released via Recess Records on May 21.
“Stolen Flowers” (download):
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Following up her self-titled debut, the oh-so eccentric Kim Boekbinder, who goes by moniker the Impossible Girl, will be putting out her crowd-funded sophomore release, The Sky Is Falling, on June 21. The theme of the LP is space, and it blends qualities of electronic and acoustic. Download album track “Stellar Alchemist” below.
“Stellar Alchemist” (download):
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The songwriting capabilities of Australian bohemian Pete Uhlenbruch, better known by his moniker Owls Of The Swamp, are further showcased in his latest single. “The Hypnotist” shares the tale of a relationship between a hypnotist and his love interest. The track is led by the captivating vocals not only of Uhlenbruch, but also the Swell Season’s Marketa Irglova. Download the track below.
“The Hypnotist” (download):
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Gambles, the pseudonym of singer/songwriter Matthew Daniel Siskin, will be dropping his Far From Your Arms EP on May 7 via his GMBLS imprint. The NYC artist has supplied the public with the title track. Download the evocative piece below.
“Far From Your Arms” (download):
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Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 29-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Part of painting for a month in Miami was watching two kids for five days while their parents went to an art fair in Europe. We all survived, and I got back to painting. When I next saw one of the kids, the 10-year-old girl, her mother had brought her over to the artists’ residence to say goodnight.
“Good night, my sweetheart,” I said, giving her a little hug. “Sleep tight, my darling.”
Standing next to me, a Famous Art World Artist who had just arrived from England—nice guy.
“Good night, my sweetheart,” he said and hugged the girl. “Sleep tight, my darling.”
Wait. He totally copied what I said and even he looked slightly confused, considering he’d only just met the girl that day.
Jet lag, I thought—or maybe that’s how he got to be a Famous Art World Artist. Over the next few days I noticed that he did this repeating thing repeatedly; he used the same words as the person he was having a conversation with. I noticed that I liked it when he used my words. I liked him more when he used my words back to me.
Maybe Art World Artists from all over are doing this thing, this repeating thing, copying others, to get somewhere. Maybe it works. Maybe it works.
“Beppo’s Room,” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995; Smarten UP!, 2009) (download):
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Nashville’s Wild Cub just hooked up its fan base with a free download of a Noah Hyde remix of the quintet’s track “Summer Fires/Hidden Spells.” The original song is off last year’s Youth (Big Light). Download the new remix below.
“Summer Fires/Hidden Spells (Noah Hyde Remix)” (download):
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Wesley Bunch, the brains behind musical project Suburban Living, just put out his Always Eyes seven-inch via the Dialog label. It’s the follow-up to the southeastern Virginia artist’s Cooper’s Dream EP from last year. Download the track, which exudes tasteful doses of synth, glam, and shoegaze, below.
“Always Eyes” (download):
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It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a decade since MAGNET favorite Broken Social Scene released standout LP You Forgot It In People via Arts & Crafts. To commemorate and celebrate 10 years of the label’s innovative releases, Arts & Crafts just issued a deluxe, four-LP compilation package. Included on Arts & Crafts: 2003-2013 is a Broken Social Scene rarity from the You Forgot saga, “Deathcock.” Download the seven-minute gem below.
“Deathcock” (download):
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GRMLN, the dream-gazer who recently turned indie rocker, will be putting out his debut full-length, Empire, via the Carpark label on June 4. Yoodoo Park, the Southern Californian behind the curtain, has made a lot of genre and style changes since his last EP, Explore. Check out the progression of GRMLN by downloading his cover of Vampire Weekend’s “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance” below.
“The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance” (download):
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Growing up in the rampant artistic pocket of Omaha, Neb., Denver Dalley has been involved in the music scene since his punk teenage years followed by being in Desaparecidos with Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst for the band’s only LP, Read Music, Speak Spanish, in 2002. Flash forward to 2013 and Dalley will be releasing an album under the name Statistics, titled Peninsula, which is out June 25 via Afternoon Records. Download album track “Nineteen Ninety Nine,” below.
“Nineteen Ninety Nine” (download):
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Shaun Hettinger has been involved in varied music scenes since he was in Los Angeles synth troupe the Squares a decade ago. The latest musical outlet of Hettinger is an NYC-based, ’80s-influenced electronica expression called Memoryy. His debut under this moniker, Electric City, will be self-released June 4. Download the title rack off the album below.
“Electric City” (download):
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Hailing from the same Virginian lands that Thomas Jefferson strolled in the colonial era, married synth-driven pop artists Dave Gibson and Renee Reighart are Weird Mob. They just released their debut EP, They’re A Weird Mob, via the Hibernator Gigs label. Below, download EP track “School For Akters,” a song that would even make the dirty-toothed Mr. Jefferson crack a grin.
“School For Akters” (download):
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Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 29-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
“How well do you know me?” questions at the end.
Something larger than a mouse ran under the stove when I walked into the kitchen at 5:00 a.m. by the half-light of the bathroom down the hall. Larger than a mouse where I come from. No idea how big a Miami mouse is. I backed up fast, clocking the wine thermador unit with my left hip, water sloshing out of the tumbler I was taking to the sink; yesterday’s coffee mug in my other hand, the dried residue of Pilon decaf on the bottom (a damn good Cuban roast).
I went back to my room to put on my socks and shoes.
“How well do you know me?” questions: Do I return to the kitchen and eat the almond encrusted pastry ring that a group of visiting art collectors barely touched (left out all night, unprotected, on the table)? Do I also eat the portion of almond encrusted pastry ring in the garbage can, unscathed, resting on junk mail?
“Pamela Makes Waves,” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995; Smarten UP!, 2009) (download):
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Mellow troubadour Louis Matteo will be dropping new album Patchwork Pattern on April 30 via Neon Castle. The 10-track effort is Matteo’s sophomore release that showcases Matteo’s progression as a singer/songwriter. Stream or download the NYC artist’s song “Finish Line,” below.
“Finish Line” (download):
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The brainchild behind seminal, defunct Seattle indie-rock band Harvey Danger, Sean Nelson will be putting out an album titled Make Good Choices on June 4. The LP features contributions from Nelson’s network of musician friends including Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie), Rachel Blumberg (Decemberists) and Dave Depper (Menomena). Download the title track off of the album below.
“Make Good Choices” (download):
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The gritty rockers in Cosmic Suckerpunch have been stirring the pot in the L.A. music scene since they self-released debut album Good Morning. The quartet keeps the rock rolling by just releasing the Breathe EP. Download opening track “That Voice” below.
“That Voice” (download):
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