What's spinning?

The Knight In Plaster - A Nasty Piece Of Work
I downloaded quite a few songs yesterday and this was the only decent one I found.

F - Shoegazer
Great one posted by Peter. Reminds me a bit of Up On The Downside by Ocean Colour Scene. Just better!

Statedlife - Gone
A very nice and beautiful instrumental piece. If vocals were added this could be a relly great one.

We Are Trees - Piece Of Plastic
Described as dark, melodic pop influenced by the Stones (Roses and Rolling). Not a bad description really!

The Greens - Didn't Like The Feeling
Nice acoustic pop song from this UK band.

Washhouse - All I Want
Brilliant and catchy acoustic pop song from another UK band. 80 Kbps only, which is quite a shame!

Duels - Potential Futures
Catchy indie rock song from yet another UK band. For a moment the UK has overtaken the throne from the Swedes!

Tjeklisten

It's been a while since the last time I voted for Tjeklisten, but this week I had to do it again. My 5 votes went to:

Leisure Alaska – Return Of The Power (MP3)
Grand Avenue – After The Rain
Mads Langer – Breaking News
Kent – Dom Som Försvann
Alpine – Mondays Look The Same

Arctic Monkeys

If you check the dictionary for the word ”hype”, you’ll probably see a picture of Arctic Monkeys next to the definition.
The hype and expectations for the debut album Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not have been enormous and commercially the band has met every expectation and now officially holds the record for the fastest selling debut album in the UK.
In general I don’t let hypes influence my purchasing behaviors (normally I wouldn’t give a damn), but for whatever reason I was tempted by the media hysteria and decided to buy the album myself to check it out. And I guess you are a bit more trustworthy when you start ripping the album, because you’ve actually listened to it!
Now I’ve given the album its first spin and these are some of my immediate thoughts:

-If the energy on the album could be transformed into electricity, there probably would be enough to supply central London for a week or two.
-The energy prevents the album from being a complete waste of time (and money), because the great and truly memorable songs are sorely missing. It's impossible NOT to start tapping your feet, but the catchy melodies are just not there.
-Best song is the last track of the album; Certain Romance. It’s probably the closest the band has gotten (so far) to write a melody that you’ll end up humming in the shower.

Am I disappointed? Not really, because I pretty much got the album I expected.

A couple of Friday evening "discoveries":

Luxembourg - Succes Is Never Enough
Pretty nice rocker from this British indie 5-piece.

Indigo - Something New + Get In There
Another really great sounding indie band. Got stuck listening to this band, so no more discoveries tonight! More songs by the band can be found here or here.

The Fridaynight Club - Aeroplanes
I'm very, very busy at work today so there really is no time for posting anything new. Instead I strongly recommend that you download the above song, which is my favorite of the moment and probably the best new song I've heard so far in 2006.

Moi Caprice

You Can't Say No Forever by Moi Caprice was in my Top 15 of the best albums of 2005 and now the band (finally) has set up a Myspace profile thus giving me (and others) the chance to link to a few and legal songs.
The songs available are nice, uplifting and very catchy pop songs (Chris called it the Dreampop-album of 2005) and really should appeal to a much larger audience than the band has been able to reach so far. So download the songs, lean back, start tapping your feet and enjoy!

Myspace
Moi Caprice - My Girl You Blush
Moi Caprice - To The Lighthouse

I only know these two things about Pete White:

He's from the United Kingdom.
He has written (at least) 2 very nice acoustic folk/pop songs.

Hopefully more information (and songs of course) will be available one day, but this doesn't stop me (and shouldn't stop you either) from enjoying those two beautiful songs!

Myspace
Webpage
Pete White - Go
Peter White - Hold Your Hand

It's a quiet Saturday evening. I'm sitting by the computer with a nice glass of stout from the Danish microbrewery Skands in front of me, so I'm as ready as ever to listen to some music. So let's see if I find something interesting!

The Picture - It's Alright
I found this band in Chris' friends list. Good one Chris!

Ten Percent Less - Burn Brighter
If you trust everything you read this band is a legendary indie-emo band from Isle of Wight. Never heard of them and to me this sounds like a rock band inspired by the music of the 70's. I might be wrong, but who cares as long as the music is really great? And this stuff is!

The Anxious Animator - The First Act
This one fits the category "interesting" perfectly. Not sure whether I really like it or not, but the song sure caught my attention!

The Fridaynight Club - Aeroplanes
However there is absolutely no doubt that I like this one! The only information I can find about the band is that it is a indie/alternative/rock band from the UK. That's all I know!

Decoration - Intercom
A really nice pop song, by this UK band!

I've finally updated my list of Current Favorites. 4 new songs by Barfly, Currents, Division Day and The Fridaynight Club have been added!

Friday ramblings:

It's snowing a LOT today, so this morning while driving to work I listened to Snow Fell (It's Night) by The Consultants.

When will the music industry ever learn that free MP3's aren't such a bad thing? One of the most played songs on Danish Radio is Destroy Everything You Touch by Ladytron, which has been available for free on the web for a long, long time. Maybe this means that the artist will sell fewer copies of the single (who buys those anyway?), but it certainly helps the artist to reach a much larger audience! And I very much doubt that it will hurt the number of copies sold of the album! You can download it for free here if you haven't done so already!

I really need to update my Current Favorites list. Hopefully I'll find the time to that during the weekend!

Doesn't the piano/keyboard on Tell No One About Tonight by Swedes Le Sport sound a lot like the early stuff by OMD?

If you're feeling bored tonight, I suggest you spend your time listening to these two great bands instead:

Barfly seem to be mighty popular at MySpace, but as the ignorant person I am this band is completely new to me, so I thought it was OK to mention these guys after all! If you mix the music of Puressence and JJ72, there should be a good chance that the result will be something sounding like Barfly. So obviously I think this is really great! Apparently a debut album is being/has been recorded, which definitely is something to be looking forward to!
Unbreakable
Don't You Move
Something Good Again

Indie pop performed by a band from Finland might not sound as a tempting combination, but Cats On Fire easily proves that there is absolutely nothing to "fear". Actually it's quite nice for a change that a great sounding indie band isn't Swedish!


Higher Ground
The Smell Of An Artist
Never Land Here

This morning I've been listening to:

Currents - You Are The Bridge
Sounds a LOT like The Editors.

Irene - Baby I Love Your Way
Short, but nice and catchy. A typical summer song. Labrador rules indeed!

The Karelia - Love's A Cliche
Apparently the former band of Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. I probably like this one better!

Decibully - Love Of Everything
Influences: "all the good 90's indie rock. pop & bubblegum. classic rock & reggae. country boys in cuban heels. big beat! jazz chords hanging. bebop ala trip hop via hip hop from the rooftop shout it out!"

The Whetherkings? have recorded a song called Nice Surprise and this is exactly what this indie/rock inspired band turned out to be! I have downloaded the 4 songs available at Myspace and all of them are easily worth "wasting" a few minutes on!

Nice Surprise
Bubbles

I've had a pretty busy day at work and it's not quite over yet! But here are a few songs that I think you should give a try:

I mentioned Colorguard by Division Day in my post Friday and if you haven't listened to this song yet, you really should do so now. It's just brilliant and it'll be added to my Current Favorites list very soon.

A new track by Electric President called Metal Finger is available at Myspace.

If you like the song by Electric President there should be a good chance that you'll like Largs Hum by Scottsmen Swimmer One.

A quartet of nice ones for the weekend:

Division Day - Colorguard
A brilliant song from the forthcoming debut album Beartrap Island by LA band Division Day. Influences are multiple, but doesn't this sound a bit like Grandaddy?

The Boyfriends - Once Upon A Time
With their own words they sound like "4 men in a room. There is only one place to sit". The music is not as chaotic as this may sound, but this song rocks pretty nicely.

Like Honey - Airport
A new day and another band from Sweden pops up!

Elefant - Lolita
This is the new and very good single by Elefant.

The number of bands out there waiting to be explored seems endless. But sometimes the unfortunate situation occurs that you discover them a little too late! Last year it happened quite a few times when Peter introduced me to bands like Mary Goes Round, My Favorite, The Field Mice etc. and this week it happened again when I came across Autumn Thieves.
For (unspecified) personal reasons the band decided to split up at the beginning of this year (so it’s actually a little less than two weeks ago), so there might still be a fair chance that the decision isn’t final. And I'm probably not the only one who's a bit puzzled, because apparently a single is to be released this month, but the farewell message at webpage doesn't really leave much room for discussions!
However the voice of Courtney Hutcheson, the drums and the My Bloody Valentine influenced guitars would make a reunion great news for lovers of classic shoegaze, because everything I’ve heard so far sure indicates that this band has (or more accurate; had) a lot of potential.
The band only released a one EP (I'm not quite sure, but I think it was just one) and most of the songs recorded can be found at the webpage or at myspace.

Downtown
Decline and Fall
Trees

Today I've been humming while listening to:

Budapest - 1979
A fairly decent cover version of the brilliant original by The Smashing Pumpkins.

IKO - Hologram
Fronted by ex-Buffseeds singer Kieran Scragg, IKO delivers a nice, quiet and beautiful first output from debut album I Am Zero (to be released in March).

The Radio Art - Let Go
Not a day without some Swedish Indie pop in my playlist! And once again this is a really great one!

Anubia - Goodbye Now
I've mentioned Goodbye Now by Danes Anubia before and the song is definitely good enough to be recommended one more time!

The Monday Photo origins from the US (Miami to be more specific) and describes their music as "a beautiful blend of heartfelt vocals, emotionally charged lyrics, gleaming guitars and a solid rhythm section". Influences are many, but fans of the post-punk genre and bands like New Order and The Stills should have very few problems getting into this truly amazing band.
Somehow it feels almost too good to be true that the band's entire catalogue of 8 songs is available for free from the band's webpage, because these guys are just brilliant!!


Allies (No Tomorrow)
Hide (this one is my favorite!)
Without A Sound
More songs

Today I will be marching along to:

Francis 7 - Splitting In Two
I haven't added much to my Current Favorites list for a while, but this song quickly changed that. The band describes the music as "atmospheric dreamy new wave post-punk dreampop shoegaze" and it's difficult to add anything! 6 minutes of utter brilliance!

Tales Of Jenny - Noone Appreciates The Sky
A catchy one from this bunch of young English lads. The rest of the stuff the band has recorded can be found here.

Second Language - In A Little While
Another song added to my Current Favorites list. If you haven't guessed it already this is (for a change) a Swedish indie/pop/folk band. And a great one I should add! More songs can be found here.

The Elderly- Wellington
Yet another Swedish indie band. Need I say more?

The Skydivers - If You Want
This band is not from Sweden and sounds more like U2 than indie! Listening to something else is nice every now and then!

Pale Sunday - The White Tambourine
Finally I'm heading for Brazil to get back on the indie track. Once again an almost unknown band surprises me with a brilliant song! Rounds up today's post very nicely indeed!

Coast Is Clear strikes once again.......listen to the brilliant 71705 by Americans Alcian Blue.

Pumping through the speakers today:

Something old and something new......

Kiona - In This Car (Remix) (MP3)
Danish powerpop. I'm having difficulties getting into the rest of their stuff, but I'm working on it!

Celestial - Lake Como (MP3)
This is one of my "new" Swedish favorite bands. I've mentioned the band before, but this is simply wonderful indie pop, so I'm not finished recommending it!

The Book Of Daniel - 3rd Of December (MP3)
Another Swedish band playing indie music. Lots of those bands around these days!

Phonodrive - Up And Away (MP3)
This German band is really, really great. Lots of songs can be found here.

I Am Bones - Replica (MP3)
This band seem to be mighty popular in Denmark among critics and other musicians. Not bad at all, but not really that fantastic either.

Tiger Baby - Chinese Fairytale (MP3)
I mentioned this Danish band a long time ago and if you are not already familiar with Chinese Fairytale, which is a nice danceable pop tune, you should give it a try!

The Whacked Band - Jenny's Gone (MP3)
A have quite mixed emotions towards this rather primitive recording. The melody is catchy in a Pulp kind of way, but once the singing begins the whole thing pretty much turns in to a novelty!

What's been playing on the jukebox today:

Palo Alto - Catalan (MP3)
Another band from Leeds/Manchester. Plays a kind of shoegazed influenced rock and though I'm not really high on the rest of their songs I must admit that I like this one a lot!

The Radio Dept. - Pulling Our Weight (MP3)
It's quite difficult finding decent information on this band, but I think this is an "oldie". Still very, very good though!

The Trembling Blue Stars - The Ghost Of An Unkissed Kiss (MP3)
Nice indie pop band which I believe has been mentioned by (more or less) every blogger in the world already!

Popgun Pillow - Wake Up (MP3)
Recommended by Coast Is Clear. The band name is terrible, but the song is very catchy!

Early Day Miners - All Harm (MP3)
I sort of like the guitar on this one. Not too impressed with the other songs I've heard by this band though!

Clockwork - I Know You (MP3)
This one reminds me a bit of the early Manic Street Preachers.

It's Monday morning and time to take a look at Tjeklisten.

This week my votes go to the following 5 songs:

1. Mads Langer – Breaking News
2. Alpine – Mondays Look The Same
3. Kent – Dom Som Försvann
4. Kashmir – Cynic
5. Coldplay – Talk

British band (they are from Leeds like every second band seems to be these days) YSN takes the 80's revival to the next level and blends the sound and looks of legendary artists like ABC, David Bowie and Roxy Music (you can easily add Adam & The Ants to this mix, though they don't really deserve the legendary label!). The idea/concept is absolutely great and the songs are surprisingly strong!



YSN
One Look It's Love (MP3)
Trouble With Girls (Stream)

A list of some of the better (not necessarily good) MP3's I've listened to so far today (no comments/descriptions, because they take far to much time to write - just music):

Anotherstory - Do I

The Attorneys - Stay + The Way I Want

The Lodger - Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion
"Stolen" from Coast Is Clear.

Smackwater Jack - Shark In My Sock + 4 more

Models Inc. - Who'll Put the Goblet on My Grave

Hinterland - Sirens
Another one "stolen" from Coast Is Clear.

Page France - Junkyard

Talking To Teapots - Come On Common Sounds

Two albums that I'm impatiently looking forward to:

EPO-555: Mafia (source)
Release date: 13 March 2006

The Radio Dept.: tba (source)
Release date: 29 March 2006

I've mentioned talented Danish newcomers Ruined By Martin a few times before and since the band has now created a Myspace profile I think it's time again. 3 songs are available as free downloads, so there are no longer any excuses for not checking them out!

Ruined By Martin (Webpage/Myspace)
In Search Of (MP3)
CC Delight (MP3)
Burn The Sun (MP3)

Return Of The Power will be the third single of debut album The Deja In My Vu by Danish band Leisure Alaska. Return Of The Power is great haunting rock song and is clearly the second best track on the album (only trailing the brilliant Hey There Mr.), so it really must have been a no-brainer picking it as the next single.

Leisure Alaska
Return Of The Power (MP3)

Swedish band Celestial is heavily influenced by bands like The Jesus And Mary Chain, Field Mice and My Bloody Valentine. So maybe their music should be described as a mix of alternative indie with at twist of shoegaze? Listen for yourself, because this is really, really great!

Celestial at Myspace
Lake Como (MP3)
Dream On (MP3)

I Am Jack

If you prefer a more grand and epic sounding band than those Indie bands I normally love to mention in my posts, I suggest you try to give ambitious UK band I Am Jack a listen. They mention Doves, Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine a.o. among their influences and even though I Am Jack (in all honesty) is not quite as good as those bands (at least not yet), I still think that the CD single Stockholm/Subside is worth checking out.


I Am Jack
Stockholm (MP3)
Subside (MP3)

I mentioned John Vanderslice a couple of days ago! Thought I should add They Won't Let Me Run, because in my opinion it is the best of the songs available.

Busy or not; there is always time to recommend a couple of nice ones:

Kicker - Blue

The Ladybug Transistor - Song For The Ending Day

The Airfields

One of the bands I expect a lot of in 2006 is The Airfields from Canada. A rough and very simple demo-version of a new song called The Long Way Home is now available from Myspace. Not as good as the other songs I've heard by the band, but the Sarah Records' influence is still obvious.

The Airfields
The Long Way Home (MP3)