This is Represents Many Indie Artists That I Think Are Doing A Great Job... So this Is Just To Promote Their Music. We Apologize Whole-Heartedly To The Artist for any inconveniences. One More Thing is That The Mp3's Are Not My Uploads but I Will Remove The Link upon Request at portastylor@gmail.com, And I also never Re-upload Links. So Enjoy My Blog, And Don’t Forget To Support The Artists by Buying The Cd's and erasing the mp3's in 24 hours or less...
Soko- Not SokuteIn the second installment of our vin rouge et camembert week of French follies, we'd like to introduce to you the latest folk two-piece that has stolen our hearts: Soko. Sounding kind of like The Bird and The Bee (with more than one good song), Stina Nordenstam, Karen Ann and Bjork, Soko's anti-torch song "I'll Kill Her" TOTALLY blew our minds when we first heard it a few weeks back. If you've ever crushed on someone so much you kind of wanted to take a pneumatic drill to their face, this is the song for you. "I'll kill her/she stole my future and broke my dream" coos lead singer Soko Girl with the sort of nonchalant drawl that makes Isabelle Huppert sound like Roseanne. In case you hadn't noticed yet, WE APPROVE.
I haven't been introduced songs for quite a while. Today, I bring you someone really special. Her voice is so attractive. I really like the way she sings! Who is she? She is SoKo, a French singer and actress. The current song playing at my blog is SoKo's 'take my heart'. A sweet song.
I haven't been introduced songs for quite a while. Today, I bring you someone really special. Her voice is so attractive. I really like the way she sings! Who is she? She is SoKo, a French singer and actress. The current song playing at my blog is SoKo's 'take my heart'. A sweet song.
"I will recommend more songs from SoKo in the following weeks."
Enjoy!
Pelle Carlberg - The Lilac Time (2008)We're very happy to announce the arrival of Pelle Carlberg's 3rd and undoubtably best album to date "The Lilac Time". The first single "1983 (Pelle & Sebastian)" was a seductive breeze of a melancholic Swedish summer, borrowed percussion from Rio de Janerio and late nights with Love's "Forever changes" in the headphones, and the rest of the album follows the same lovely path. Pelle has managed to write his finest melodies to this date and his lyrics are so full of exact everyday observations and wry humor its close to deadpan.
GREAATT!!
Rod Thomas - Until Something Fits EP (2009)In the last two years, Rod Thomas has played over 300 gigs,done a run of UK festivals including latitude and Glastonbury,and received glowing reviews from radio 1, radio 2, 6music and xfm. he also released four sold-out limited edition singles,which are brought together here alongside b sides, an exclusive track, and remixes by James Yuill and Daley Smith(from the sunshine underground). with amazing artwork by regular designer martipants, 'until something fits' is a limited run mini-album paving the way for his album proper due late 2009. mixing up folk roots, disco beats and strong pop melodies, rod's songs have littered blogspots and taste maker djs' play lists throughout 2008, as well as picking up plays on mtv2. this is set to continue in 2009 with a slot at sxsw,welsh and full UK tours, and rod working with boom bip on new material.
GOOD!!
The Besties - Home Free (2009)On The Besties sophomore record Home Free they have lost the drum machine and become a full fledge band, which has helped them create an album that sounds completely focused, more mature and has a much fuller sound. This shift is not a bad thing for the band because they are able to retain the important characteristics that made their debut Singer [2005] so endearing which were the sweet lead vocals of Marisa Bergquist and the infectious harmonizing help from childhood friend Kelly Waldrop. The Besties play it fairly straightforward on Home Free and never leave their comfort zone of surreal indie pop song structures but at the end of the day that is what you tune in for so who can blame The Besties for doing what they know and doing it well!
Funnn..!!!
My Little Pony - Think Too Much (2008)My Little Pony is a pretty new band on the friendly Oslo pop scene. Sometimes they play pop, sometimes it’s afrojazz, sometimes it’s bluegrass, and once in a while even reggae, but it is always within the generous framework of the genre known as indiepop.
Although having existed for only a year, My Little Pony, has already become an experienced live band, playing over 50 shows the past year. In Norway, Sweden, and even Spain, where they are the winners of this years Premio Pop-Eye for “European Revelation”.
Their first EP, “Songs in A major”, was released in October 2007 and is available from a lot of record stores. The maxi-single “MacGyver Blues” has only been released as a CD-R, and in a limited edition. The compilation “Around the world with My Little Pony, vol.1” was also released by Spoon Train Audio this spring. It contains one new track from My Little Pony and nine tracks by My Little Pony’s Myspace friends, including bands like Red Pony Clock, Cola Jet Set and Snippet.
October 2008 saw the release of My Little Pony’s long awaited debut album “Think Too Much”. It has been produced by Sjur Lyseid of Monzano and The Little Hands of Asphalt, and the video for “Skipping Down the Street” has been directed by Sigurd Fandango
GOOD!!
Gentleman Reg - Jet Black (2009)Toronto songwriter Gentleman Reg will see the release of his Arts & Crafts debut, Jet Black, on February 24. The fourth overall full-length from Gentleman Reg is his first since 2005’s acclaimed Darby & Joan and marks his first official release outside of his native Canada.
Jet Black was recorded in Ottawa, Ontario with producer Dave Draves (Kathleen Edwards), and features guest appearances from long-time drummer and collaborator Greg Millson (Great Lake Swimmers), Bryan Webb (Constantines), Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk) and Katie Sketch (The Organ). The eleven tracks are Reg’s strongest and most diverse collection to date. The first single, "You Can’t Get It Back", released on 7" in November, had the Toronto Star say "Once the chorus kicks in, all bets are off" and URB declared the track an "irresistible pop confection".
COOL!!!
Findlay Brown - Love WIll Find You (2009)'Love Will Find You' is the stunning second album from Yorkshire man Findlay Brown, produced by former Suede guitarist turned uber producer Bernard Butler, and it heralds a dramatic change in musical direction.
The booming echoes of the Ronettes in the drums of the opening title track immediately lay bare this album's debt to vintage pop, but Findlay's Orbison-esque vocals create a more sumptuous emotional swell that make this so much more than an exercise in retro stylistics.
Elsewhere the gorgeous 'Everybody Needs Love' and 'I Had A Dream' offer the warm familiarity of melodies you think you know and love, but can't quite remember where from, as if they have already become weaved into your DNA from years of being lost in music. 'Holding Back The Night' is an upbeat, beautifully arranged track with Findlay's trademark sonorous vocals enhancing a magical song, while 'Nobody Cared' harks back to The Righteous Brothers, a vintage, melodic song at its best. More esoteric are the Joe-Meek-produces-The-Righteous- Brothers sweep of 'I Still Want You', punctuated with 'Telstar- style electric organ, the weary waltz of 'If I Could Do It Again' and the urgent jive of 'That's Right'.
So there are tales of the unexpected here if you want them, but lyrically as well as musically, this is an album which is happy not to reinvent the wheel. 'I wanted the words to be simple and straightforward too,' Findlay admits. 'Both records I have done have been romantic records, but the first album was more personal, whereas I wanted these to be universal themes, which are love songs but are also spiritual, reflecting my feelings about the world in general. It sounds daft but I do feel like I'm on a spiritual journey, and this is just the next step.' And it's not just a small step, it's a giant leap. On one level, you could be forgiven for regarding this as a very conservative record, steeped as it is in songwriting values as old as rock'n'roll itself. But regarded in context alongside his previous work and the musical climate that surrounds him, you realise Findlay Brown has made the kind of radical creative departure that few mainstream artists ever dare to attempt.
Most importantly, you'll soon realise they don't write songs like this any more. Another piece of hoary old wisdom that we're not afraid to throw out there, and another cliche which will seem truer than ever the more you listen to this bold,
"refreshing and beautiful album."
YAAYY!!
The Beatifics - The Way we never Were - (2002)A full six years after the release of 1996's How I Learned to Stop Worrying and following an extended period of personnel instability that left singer/songwriter Chris Dorn the only full-time member of the band, the Beatifics returned with an equally strong second album. The Way We Never Were was completed with friends and former bandmates helping out in varying combinations, but since Dorn's appealing voice (he's one of the few power pop singers who isn't constantly aping the Big Star top-of-the-range tremulousness trick) and muscular songwriting have always been the Beatifics' strengths, the shifting casts don't distract. His songwriting has grown more consistent in the intervening years, with all of the songs barring the fragmentary instrumental "Part Two" (which is just a funky, homemade-sounding coda to the dreamy, strings-enhanced "Between the Lines," sounding like one of the filler tracks on the McCartney album) featuring memorably catchy choruses, inventive arrangements, and the occasional sharp-tongued line. The immediate highlight is the brilliantly hook-filled "In the Meantime," which marries a killer up-and-down fuzz guitar riff to the most instantly unforgettable chorus on the album, but the gentle acoustic "Outro" sounds like Elliott Smith without the self-pity, and the opening "Sorry Yesterdays" actually recalls the poppiest elements of Flip Your Wig-era Hüsker Dü. Though only the likes of Peter Gabriel can get away with regular six-year gaps between albums, The Way We Never Were is worth the wait
GOOD!!
Sara Lov - Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming (2009)Sara Lov seems to have emerged from the Hotel Café generation. Her light and fuzzy singer/songwriter songs are similar enough to Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareillis, and Lenka that it’s like they all decided at a slumber party in the late 80’s that they would be grow up to be famous singers and be best friends forever and Sara Lov is just the dark horse of the ranks (and I have no idea if they’re all BFFs or not). Lov hails from Los Angeles by way of Israel and Hawaii, and is a former member of the Devics, a dream pop band with a number of albums to their name. Here Lov ventures only a little ways from her dream pop roots and presents a lovely piano-based EP and full-length that is worth repeated visits.
Lov’s The Young Eyes EP opens with “New York”, a typical forlorn love song – we all have that friend from college we visit in New York and reminisce with about “the long ago.” Lov’s songs are relatable and though mellow in sound are not entirely made of despair and longing, though she does touch on those subjects. She breaks up the mellow with “Timebomb”, a perky but less discothèque Beck cover. While an excellent take, her Arcade Fire cover of “My Body is A Cage” is fabulous enough to overtake the rest of the EP. It has the same amount of emotion as the original without the need for much added instrumentation. Absolutely gorgeous.
Her follow-up full-length Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming (to be released in March) turns it up just a notch. It contains a more produced sound, but in essence retains the same spirit as her EP. The album starts out with “Just Beneath the Chords”, a very 1970’s-sounding ballad. “A Thousand Bees” has the feel of a lost George Harrison song with its arrangement and sage message. “Old Friends” is an obscure Simon & Garfunkel cover that is done so well and thoroughly claimed by Sara Lov it seamlessly flows with the rest of her original work. The title track is more updated and modern in sound, much more akin to the ladies of the Hotel Café, but doesn’t detract from the work as a whole. By the end track, “Fountain”, made familiar by it’s inclusion on an episode of “Bones”, one feels satisfied and enlightened.
This is a woman whose voice isn’t as affected as so many current female singers. She knows music and knows how to convey it properly. She has an almost child-like voice, but more commanding with her adult years. It’s not the over-powering wail so favored today, but a croon, a siren in the mythical sense. The frequent cello mixed with her voice give the EP especially a haunting feel, but not enough to make it dark cabaret or goth. Lov’s records are a lovely example of modern folk rock, with soothing instrumentals and vocals that portrays a certain mix of emotions, a certain maturity.
Overall there’s a retro feel to Sara Lov’s music. Her gentle use of slow chord progressions, light drums, and echoed riffs bring to mind early solo Beatles and the era of classic pop singer/songwriters. She doesn’t produce a full-on copy of the sound, but rather a revival and reference out of love for it. Her music reflects her voice – she is a girl who is emerging as a woman, and is coming to realize the differences of perspectives she thought of life from before. Lov has crafted a wonderful album of inspirational and relaxing songs that don’t jar or cajole but ease and comfort.-By: Amanda Mae Monson
Lov’s The Young Eyes EP opens with “New York”, a typical forlorn love song – we all have that friend from college we visit in New York and reminisce with about “the long ago.” Lov’s songs are relatable and though mellow in sound are not entirely made of despair and longing, though she does touch on those subjects. She breaks up the mellow with “Timebomb”, a perky but less discothèque Beck cover. While an excellent take, her Arcade Fire cover of “My Body is A Cage” is fabulous enough to overtake the rest of the EP. It has the same amount of emotion as the original without the need for much added instrumentation. Absolutely gorgeous.
Her follow-up full-length Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming (to be released in March) turns it up just a notch. It contains a more produced sound, but in essence retains the same spirit as her EP. The album starts out with “Just Beneath the Chords”, a very 1970’s-sounding ballad. “A Thousand Bees” has the feel of a lost George Harrison song with its arrangement and sage message. “Old Friends” is an obscure Simon & Garfunkel cover that is done so well and thoroughly claimed by Sara Lov it seamlessly flows with the rest of her original work. The title track is more updated and modern in sound, much more akin to the ladies of the Hotel Café, but doesn’t detract from the work as a whole. By the end track, “Fountain”, made familiar by it’s inclusion on an episode of “Bones”, one feels satisfied and enlightened.
This is a woman whose voice isn’t as affected as so many current female singers. She knows music and knows how to convey it properly. She has an almost child-like voice, but more commanding with her adult years. It’s not the over-powering wail so favored today, but a croon, a siren in the mythical sense. The frequent cello mixed with her voice give the EP especially a haunting feel, but not enough to make it dark cabaret or goth. Lov’s records are a lovely example of modern folk rock, with soothing instrumentals and vocals that portrays a certain mix of emotions, a certain maturity.
Overall there’s a retro feel to Sara Lov’s music. Her gentle use of slow chord progressions, light drums, and echoed riffs bring to mind early solo Beatles and the era of classic pop singer/songwriters. She doesn’t produce a full-on copy of the sound, but rather a revival and reference out of love for it. Her music reflects her voice – she is a girl who is emerging as a woman, and is coming to realize the differences of perspectives she thought of life from before. Lov has crafted a wonderful album of inspirational and relaxing songs that don’t jar or cajole but ease and comfort.-By: Amanda Mae Monson
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware (2009)His most recent (very good) album as Bonnie "Prince" Billy is called Lie Down in the Light, but we seriously doubt Will Oldham has had much time to relax since its release, because here he is ready to release its follow-up already.
The next Bonnie "Prince" Billy record is called Beware! UPDATE: No exclamation point!, and it comes out in the UK on March 16 (via Domino) and in the U.S. on March 17 (via Drag City).
In addition to Oldham's band (Josh Abrams of Town and Country, Jennifer Hutt, Emmett Kelly of the Cairo Gang, and Michael Zerang), the guest list on Beware! includes Dee Alexander, Leroy Bach (ex-Wilco), Jim Becker, Robert Cruz, DV DeVincentis, Jon Langford (Mekons), Greg Leisez, Rob Mazurek (Chicago Underground/Isotope 217, Exploding Star Orchestra), Nicole Mitchell (Exploding Star Orchestra, Frequency), and Azita Youssefi.
Around the time Beware! comes out, Oldham will head out on a full tour. For now, he's got that tree-saving benefit in Kentucky and a handful of Brazilian dates this month.-Pitchforkmedia
So much time gazing out over the Atlantic, observing Salvador de Bahia from the other side of the ocean, when it turns out that the most exotic sun shines on this side of the Mediterranean, in Italy, where Giorgio Tuma has just released his second, marvelous album, “My Vocalese Fun Fair”.
Starting with fibers as solid as the delicacy of Caetano Veloso at his most Bahian, the elegance of Burt Bacharach, the jazzy approximations of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the circus-like psychedelia of the BEATLES at their highest, the Californian soft pop and a touch of sweet soul in the style of Terry Callier or Marvin Gaye, Giorgio Tuma builds a source of imagination with “My Vocalese Fun Fair” that makes his inseparable band mates, OS MUTANTES (as a tribute to the Brazilian psychedelic pop group OS MUTANTES), reach their highest level. This album is able to bring together the different influences of all these artists and fit them together with their own personality. Sunny melodies, bright arrangements, a production with echoes of the sixties, deep Brazilian influences, and above all, a highly inspired artist with clear colorful inclinations, as the album cover, designed by the internationally renowned artist, Davide Zucco, perfectly portrays. And the lysergic aspect, the one required by music with so many tonalities, the one which painted the submarine yellow, is found in lyrics that are authentic space voyages, a spirit that is perfectly defined in the lyrics of “Musical Express”, where it says “I’ve singable dreams”. Giorgio Tuma is the artist that turned the daily journey of the summer sun into music. But it is not a yellow, monotonal or monotone sun, but a sun that has a complex shine, complete, full of nuances, one we believe in and that, as such, manages to irremediably affect our state of mind. Giorgio Tuma, the man who turned the colors into notes. [Read More/Elefant.com]
Starting with fibers as solid as the delicacy of Caetano Veloso at his most Bahian, the elegance of Burt Bacharach, the jazzy approximations of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the circus-like psychedelia of the BEATLES at their highest, the Californian soft pop and a touch of sweet soul in the style of Terry Callier or Marvin Gaye, Giorgio Tuma builds a source of imagination with “My Vocalese Fun Fair” that makes his inseparable band mates, OS MUTANTES (as a tribute to the Brazilian psychedelic pop group OS MUTANTES), reach their highest level. This album is able to bring together the different influences of all these artists and fit them together with their own personality. Sunny melodies, bright arrangements, a production with echoes of the sixties, deep Brazilian influences, and above all, a highly inspired artist with clear colorful inclinations, as the album cover, designed by the internationally renowned artist, Davide Zucco, perfectly portrays. And the lysergic aspect, the one required by music with so many tonalities, the one which painted the submarine yellow, is found in lyrics that are authentic space voyages, a spirit that is perfectly defined in the lyrics of “Musical Express”, where it says “I’ve singable dreams”. Giorgio Tuma is the artist that turned the daily journey of the summer sun into music. But it is not a yellow, monotonal or monotone sun, but a sun that has a complex shine, complete, full of nuances, one we believe in and that, as such, manages to irremediably affect our state of mind. Giorgio Tuma, the man who turned the colors into notes. [Read More/Elefant.com]
GOOD!!
Modern Skirts - All Of Us In Our Night (2009) Ordinary music tends to get classified by genre. Some of this stuff is quite exciting, really. It does what you expect it to, but it follows the formula well enough that its derivative nature doesnt matter. We call it indie, or pop, or modern rock, and we recommend it to listeners who enjoy those styles. But every now and then, a band reminds us that when the songs are good enough, and innovative enough, genre is the last thing that matters. You dont need to be a music major to recognize that the twelve tracks on Modern Skirts sophomore album, All Of Us In Our Night, are unusually constructed. They have unexpected twists and turns, chords that startle with their novelty, and melodies that feel refreshingly original. And you dont need to be an aficionado to get excited by such infectious choruses theyll get stuck in the heads of neophyte listeners and super-hipsters alike. So call it pop, call it rock, call it indie, call it classic if you must. Better yet, call it what it is- a collection of fantastic, irresistible, entirely unclassifiable songs.
Its been an inexorable rise to prominence for the Athens quartet, and one that will only be accelerated by the release of All Of Us In Our Night. Since the group formed five years ago, Modern Skirts have sold out shows at the legendary 40 Watt Club and are regulars at Chapel Hills Cats Cradle and NYCs Mercury Lounge. This past summer, they traveled to the UK for a second time on a successful two week tour, first appearing at the Glastonbury Festival before crossing the channel to open for R.E.M. in Amsterdam and joining them in Belgium alongside Vampire Weekend and The National at Rock Werchter. They followed these shows with a performance on the MTV Stage at the 02 Wireless Festival in London. Furthermore, they landed their debut album Paste Magazines Best of 2005 list, placed a track on a Q Magazine radio sampler, performed on the Mountain Stage radio program, and showcased at the In The City music festival in Manchester, England. Catalogue Of Generous Men, their debut, remains one of the best-loved underground records from the Athens scene in years, and the video for their song Pasadena, directed by New Slang Films, received airtime on 40 different networks.
Its been an inexorable rise to prominence for the Athens quartet, and one that will only be accelerated by the release of All Of Us In Our Night. Since the group formed five years ago, Modern Skirts have sold out shows at the legendary 40 Watt Club and are regulars at Chapel Hills Cats Cradle and NYCs Mercury Lounge. This past summer, they traveled to the UK for a second time on a successful two week tour, first appearing at the Glastonbury Festival before crossing the channel to open for R.E.M. in Amsterdam and joining them in Belgium alongside Vampire Weekend and The National at Rock Werchter. They followed these shows with a performance on the MTV Stage at the 02 Wireless Festival in London. Furthermore, they landed their debut album Paste Magazines Best of 2005 list, placed a track on a Q Magazine radio sampler, performed on the Mountain Stage radio program, and showcased at the In The City music festival in Manchester, England. Catalogue Of Generous Men, their debut, remains one of the best-loved underground records from the Athens scene in years, and the video for their song Pasadena, directed by New Slang Films, received airtime on 40 different networks.
HHMM!!
Gregory Pepper - Gregory Pepper & His Problems (2008) & Old and Moldy (2008)"Gregory Pepper is one of Guelph’s most ambitious and quietly prolific songwriters. Despite trolling around without much press attention, Pepper put out one of the more inventive, eclectic and downright difficult pop records in recent memory. 'Gregory Pepper and his Problems', released independently by the singer himself is a sprawling, 17 track opus of ideas spat out in an idiosyncratic and beguiling manner, creating a record that sounds more confusing than enjoyable at first. Yet, the sheer vastness of ideas Pepper toils with, the bits and pieces of sound implanted into each parting melody and the strength of his core song structure reward the listener with multiple listens, finally revealing a brilliant record, one this writer wished he discovered when it was released, rather than over a year later. This is a long, perplexing set, not perfect by any means, but exemplifying, in its core, the beauty of the indie aesthetic.
AAHH
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