Going steady in the 1900s...

This morning when driving to work I suddenly realized that the summer is (almost) over. The leafs have started to switch colors and soon yellow and red will be the new blacks. In some ways my mind is torn, because as much as I love the sun (we didn't see it that often this summer though) and the long summer nights (most of them were depressingly wet this year), I'm also a kind of nocturnal animal that seems to prosper the darker it gets. I've spent many days in my life yawning and waiting for it to end (so I finally could get some sleep), but as soon as nighttime fell all signs of sleepiness suddenly disappeared. So while most people are preparing themselves for their annual depression, I cannot help being a little bit excited.

Several tracks by terrific, wonderful, kind, talented (you probably understand by now that I really like this band) UK indie pop band The Steadies are now available as free downloads over at Last.fm. This is beautiful folk inspired indie pop songs with violins, flutes and stuff.
+ The Hopefuls
+ Two Times Champion

Chicago based band The 1900s is already big in the bloggerworld, but up till now completely unknown to me, as I always seem to shy away from bands being "over-hyped". But the other day I received a promotion mail containing a few songs, so I thought why not give them a listen? I did just that and so far I really like what I've heard. On the band's Myspace profile Fleetwood Mac and The Velvet Underground are listed as influences, and if you imagine an updated mix of the sound of those two classic acts, you're not that far away from the psychedelic pop sound of The 1900s. The band's debut album Cold & Kind will be released October 2 on Parasol Records.
+ When I Say Go
+ Two Ways

Still 3 more weeks to go before the new I Am Bones album The Greater Good will be released, but the band does its best to sweeten the waiting time, by giving away another album track for free.
+ Zeitgeist