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SHAPES - Math Rock You Don't Need a Calculator For

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:03:00 -0500

Been pretty hooked on the international sounds of a band that does what people often call “math rock” very right. Leaving a lot of the genre’s signature confusion behind, UK trio Shapes make some intricate guitar licks, group shouting, and heavy-hitting songwriting way more palatable than say Dillinger Escape Plan ever would.

http://www.myspace.com/weareshapes

Shapes, formed in recent years out of the UK, blossoming out of a friendship between the band’s 3 members: Steven Bachelor, guitarist; Richard Buckley, bass; Gavin Filmer, drums. The band doesn’t expressly give anyone the title of “vocalist” because most of their tracks are instrumentally driven. The math rock-ness I mentioned is truly evident in almost all of their tracks, spurred on by Bachelor’s agile riffing and quickly followed tightly by the band behind him. If you like your music to groove, this isn’t your cup of tea. If you like your music to be really sick, however, then check out their latest “mini-album” The Pasture, The Oil. (How it differs from an EP, I don’t know, but that’s how they advertise it.)

This type of music is susceptible to a lack of diversity, repetitively spitting out one ridiculous song after the next, all of which go right over your head on first listen. Conversely, what I like about Shapes is that they’ve clearly put time into giving each of the 6 tracks on The Pasture it’s own identity. Most notably, I think, is the album’s closer “You Butcher,” rich with the aforementioned group yelling making for a really effective and I think very unique sound. Shapes is only 2 years old now, with a small number of EPs under it’s belt, but I have a feeling their next release will be mighty cool if its any improvement on the already mighty cool The Pasture, The Oil.

thedailywhat: New Music! MGMT - “Flash Delirium” First single...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:35:00 -0500

thedailywhat:

New Music! MGMT - “Flash Delirium”

First single off the band’s second studio album, Congratulations, currently slated for release April 13.

[whoismgmt.]

Anybody a fan of MGMT? I am (or at least was before hearing this). I’m hoping the entire new record doesn’t resemble this first single…

1000xpm: LCD Soundsystem | All My Friends Best song of...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:56:21 -0500

1000xpm:

LCD Soundsystem | All My Friends

Best song of ‘07.

[d/l]

(via mymusicalmind)

hypem: copycats: The Final Countdown by The Social...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:05:25 -0500

hypem:

copycats:

The Final Countdown by The Social Services
originally by Europe
(via chamberlain)

Unfortunately, I know this song best as Gob’s Magic Act theme song on Arrested Development - this version, however, isn’t totally cheez-status. It’s actually really nice - reminds me of mewithoutYOU’s latest record.

polyvinylrecords: Aloha’s new record Home Acres hits stores...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:27:06 -0500

polyvinylrecords:

Aloha’s new record Home Acres hits stores today!

The mailorder exclusive maroon vinyl looked so stunning that we decided to set up a little photo shoot for it.

Being it’s first time on camera and all, the vinyl was understandably a little shy. But with a little coaxing, Andy was able to get it to peek out from behind the gatefold jacket.

The Morning Bender’s Big Echo has officially been released...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:34:06 -0500

The Morning Bender’s Big Echo has officially been released today (March 9th). I’ve been posting a lot of media up by these guys in the past several weeks (in anticipation of the new record). If you like what you hear, you may want to consider catching them live now through the end of April because they have a slew of tour dates coming up (which can be viewed here).

chelseadallas: mustachemaniamusic: PS 22 Children’s Chorus...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:11:13 -0500

chelseadallas:

mustachemaniamusic:

PS 22 Children’s Chorus singing “Lisztomania” by Phoenix.

Really gotta give those kids props, it’s hard to understand what the lyrics are just by listening to the song and their performance is perfect.

Person L makes their music video debut with “Goodness...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:40:30 -0500

Person L makes their music video debut with “Goodness Gracious” off of their latest record The Positives. Not familiar with Person L? Check them out on PFW or myspace.

polyvinylrecords: Hail Social - Track #1 (from: Hail...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:41:04 -0500

polyvinylrecords:

Hail Social - Track #1 (from: Hail Social)

Fun Fact: Hail Social frontman Dayve Hawk now records under the name Memory Tapes.

(All this week, I’ll be streaming songs with lengths that match the date. So, for example, this song is 3 minutes, 8 seconds long and it’s March 8th.)

This track corresponds to the post on Kleenex Girl...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:06:35 -0500

This track corresponds to the post on Kleenex Girl Wonder’s new record. The new album, Accept the Mystery, was released this week in digital form via http://kgw.me. As a favor to PFW readers, the man behind the project (Graham Smith) has graciously provided us with a 20% discount code that can be used when downloading the album! That code is ‘pfwatm’ and can be used at any time. Spread the word!

New Kleenex Girl Wonder Album + 20% Discount for PFW Readers!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:55:00 -0500

Not only does indie-rock outfit Kleenex Girl Wonder (aka KGW, aka Graham Smith) have a new record available on http://kgw.me, but he’s also graciously provided PFW readers with their very own discount-code for downloading it!

website/album: http://kgw.me

Kleenex Girl Wonder’s new nine-track record (entitled Accept the Mystery) is the tenth album associated with the man behind the project(s), Graham Smith. Graham notes that this time around it was less of a full-band effort, as he wrote/recorded/mixed the entire thing on his own. I haven’t had an extensive amount of time to even stream the album in its entirety yet, but from what I’ve heard so far I’m very pleased. Don’t be surprised to see a track or two being streamed on here in the coming days.

As I mentioned in the title of the post, Graham Smith has graciously created a discount-code specific to PFW readers that can be used to download Accept the Mystery at 20% off! The code is “pfwatm” and can be entered when prompted to purchase the record via http://kgw.me. If you haven’t taken the time to listen to KGW yet, now is your chance to do so with a great deal. Spread the word!

themorningbenders: can’t believe BIG ECHO is actually coming...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:24:36 -0500

themorningbenders:

can’t believe BIG ECHO is actually coming out tomorrow….. whew!!!

In the next few months, pop/rock(et) scientists In Gratitude...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:56:00 -0500

In the next few months, pop/rock(et) scientists In Gratitude will be pushing an official release of their very short and first ep simply named Demos (which they may or may not be changing). Until then, please wet your whistle with the opening track entitled “Moving On.” It’s like they sat down with pen and paper and said “alright so we want tot get this song stuck in their head…”

EDIT:
http://ingratitude.bandcamp.com/
for name-your-price-no-minimum download of Demos

http://www.myspace.com/ingratitudeuk

Tunng is a UK based “folktronica” group notorious...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:55:24 -0500

Tunng is a UK based “folktronica” group notorious for both their use of electronic and found sounds as well as a wide variety of eclectic acoustic and percussion instruments. This video is for their single “Hustle” from their forthcoming album …And Then We Saw Land (which was released in the UK this month, and is scheduled to be released in the US this April). It’s certainly not their debut record, as this group has been around for quite some time now and has a very impressive collection of releases (more of which I’ll be sure to post here on PFW in the coming days).

This track corresponds to the feature on Tubelord posted earlier...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:52:53 -0500

This track corresponds to the feature on Tubelord posted earlier this week. It’s another track off of their Our First American Friends debut. There’s also a very pretty acoustic version of this song, which I wouldn’t be surprised to see on here in the coming days.

This video corresponds to the feature on Tubelord that I posted...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:13:50 -0500

This video corresponds to the feature on Tubelord that I posted earlier this week. It’s a video for their single “Propeller” from their debut record Our First American Friends. I would post some more mp3s from these guys but I’m not at my own machine right now - so keep an eye out later this weekend.

Tubelord: Indie-prog-pop-rock from the UK

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:46:16 -0500

Earlier this week, Joey introduced me to UK-based indie rock outfit Tubelord. After listening to their debut record, Our First American Friends, I was confused to say the least. Satisfied, but confused.

twitter: http://twitter.com/tubelord

myspace: http://myspace.com/tubelord

Tubelord is a band known notorious for “writing pop songs for rock kids.” Nearly every track on their first major debut (Our First American Friends) is catchy in one way or another. However, nearly every track is also a blend of odd time signatures, quirky prog-rock guitar licks and an overall sense of personality disorder.

In other words, their sound is a bit of a cluster of rock sub-genres (hence the confusion). I may find myself hearing Relient K in the verse of a song and get thrown off when the chorus quickly shifts to something more reminiscent of Thursday (or other emo bands of the past). As sloppy as I’m probably making this group out to seem, I genuinely enjoy this record. Perhaps it is the fact that it’s capable of reminding me of so many different bands I may have clung to back in high school, or just the fact that it’s talented, well produced and cleverly done. Either way, I’m not complaining.

Tubelord - “Propeller” (off of Our First American Friends):

yyoyoma: TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | THIS IS THE LIFE (LIVE) (via...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:52:44 -0500

yyoyoma:

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | THIS IS THE LIFE (LIVE) (via twodoorcinemaclub)

This is the incredibly awesome music video I mentioned in the...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:39:59 -0500

This is the incredibly awesome music video I mentioned in the February ‘10 Podcast for Fang Island’s track “Daisy.” Very entertaining.

Algernon Cadwallader // "Fun" - Dirty, Happy, Underground Indie Pop/Rock

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:31:13 -0500

If you’re like me, then finding new music can be a tedious chore. You’ve grown to despise your now 10+ year old iTunes library and everything reminds you of high school, and lets face it, that’s not something we want to dwell on on a daily basis. For me, Algernon Cadwallader are a throwback to why I fell in love with music in the first place, while offering me something entirely new to listen to. There’s nothing better than sing along, slightly off-tune group choruses from a couple of guys who want nothing to do with the commercial music world. Their latest release, a short EP entitled simply Fun, embodies the band’s personalities and offers fans another collection of tracks to fall in love with.

http://www.myspace.com/algernoncadwallader

The EP kicks off with a lo-fi diddy between guitar and drum, insinuating another independent sounding record ahead, but shortly drops into what’s some killer production and exciting playing. Guitar is more or the less the showpiece of the band - if you asked any number of fans what they think of first when they hear the name, they’d tell you that Joe Reinhart’s charmingly dirty guitar intricacies are a big pull for listeners, along with vocalist Peter Helmis’s signature strained sing-yelling and Tank’s beautifully simple, powerful and driving drum beats.

Fun differs from the band’s previous release, Some Kind of Cadwallader (which is truly an “indie” rock gem by the way) in that its slightly less poignant on first listen. SKoC has been notorious for getting stuck in my head on a regular basis, and this was before I’d even owned a copy. Eavesdrop listens were so gripping and memorable that I had to find out where it was coming from. Fun, while still exciting, uplifting, and altogether in support of youthful people having fun, is not as conventionally addicting as Cadwallader’s other stuff. I had no problem, however, pressing play for repeat listens and you’ll no doubt find that the EP is worthy of your ears if only requiring a few extra listens to settle in.

Algernon Cadwallader, from what very little I know of them, is one of those groups insistent on not selling out and they surely haven’t. In fact, a friend told me the group was approaching a break up brought on by increased popularity. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but the sounds and atmosphere created by the trio is without a doubt a testament to this mindset. Unique, uncompromising, happy, we-dont-care pop/rock from a group of guys that simply love to play. So, whether or not you like Fun as much as previous releases is inconsequential to the idea that the band haven’t begun to lose their step, even if they’re changing things up a bit. They do what they love and it’s nice to listen to that love, whatever the context.

I picked up this EP at one of their shows, opening up for them and a few other cool bands in south Jersey. $4 for a bleach white 7” sporting 3 of the album’s songs as well as the CD and some cool, artsy, seemingly hand-drawn paper paraphernalia. Go to a show, these boys are all energy and they certainly won’t break the bank either.