Get People // Away

We blogged about Get People a while back as some of our local faves, and the guys were back this week with this dreamily tropical cut from their forthcoming Rain Tears EP. A great track in itself and tailor made for remixes, Away shows a somewhat poppier side to Get People than previous tracks and one that promises much for the rest of the EP.

Away by GET PEOPLE

Toro y Moi // Absolutely :: Lately :: Before I'm Done

Toro y Moi stopped off at the Rolling Stone studios the other day for a chat and acoustic run through of Absolutely, Lately and Before I'm Done, all of which are quite beautiful and available below.


via Rolling Stone

White Denim // D

White Denim release their fifth full length record today, and Spinner are offering you the chance to listen in full before you pull your shoes and socks on and head to the shops to get a copy. Lucky you!

On first listen, the familar psych-rock jams are accented with what seems to be an extended percussion section, leading to a distinctly more mellow feel to D than previous outings. Let us know what you think.

Check out the video to Drug here.

White Denim - Drug from One Story Productions on Vimeo.

Gardens & Villa // Black Hills

Secretly Canadian just don't sign up bad bands. They don't even consider bands without artistic verve and un-checked ideals. And so it is with Gardens & Villa, the label's newest roster addition and a band preparing for its debut album release in July.

The video for freely downloadable single Black Hills recalls ET or The Goonies as much as 50s noir, while the song itself brings to mind an amped up Cat Power over pulsing Germanic synths.

Gardens & Villa Black Hills by INDIGENOUSPromotions

Black Hills by Gardens & Villa from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti // Koko

A varied selection of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti snaps from their show at Koko, taken for The Fugitive Motel.

Friendly Fires // Pala

We posted about the brilliant and bold Live Those Days Tonight back in March, and here now is the full record for you to stream (and then go out and buy) in full.

The band have also discussed their 80s rave, Aldous Huxley and ham sandwich related inspirations with Dummy which you can check out here.

Twin Shadow // Scala

Twin Shadow were pop perfection at Scala last week. Here's what I thought in so many words for The Fugitive Motel, followed by more Jamie Harley magic.

Twin Shadow w/ Chad Valley
Scala, London
May 11 2011

The 80s synth-pop revival path is in serious need of a break. The saturation of copyists and bandwagon limpets, filling our ears with ‘new’ music run through an Instagrammatic filter, is beginning to grow mind-numbingly tiresome. Twin Shadow, however, the project of the New York via Dominican Republic raised George Lewis Jr, is defying this trend. Their 2010 debut Forget, a work George describes as “a future lived in past tense”, managed to be both referential and ambitious and led to the band deservedly selling out the Lexington back in January and Scala tonight.

From the punk funk get-go of opener Shooting Holes, it’s clear why the band have quickly built a fervent following, as their live show is immeasurably more raucous than the record. Through the slow burning Tyrant Destroyer into the love-blushed, Orange Juice-d riffs of When We’re Dancing, George lets his inner rock icon loose with stadium sized shreds reminiscent of Prince in their intricate grandeur. Such comparisons are not loosely made: while there’s value in the boisterously macho front man of your Gallagher, the introverted mystery of your Smith, or the sinewy arrogance of Morrison or Gillespie, there’s something even more absorbing in the elegantly composed and sartorially refined presence of a front man at home on stage, and there’s no doubting George is that man tonight.

What’s perhaps most impressive is, far from hiding his vocal under swathes of feedback and reverb, it’s way up in the mix throughout tonight, with new song Circus Is Gone and the R&B touched album highlight Castles in the Snow showcasing George’s David Byrne-like range. After drawing a choral backing out of the crowd on Slow and describing Scala as sounding like it’s full of Americans (“that’s a compliment”, he says), the band sign off with mini-epic album closer Forget, before being hounded back on (George having swapped his blazer for rock mode denim jacket) for a blistering version of At My Heels, the single even Phoenix couldn’t match for pop infectiousness. All in all it’s a pristine return to London, sending me off to book festival tickets based solely on whether Twin Shadow will be there. I suggest you do the same.

Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow Directed by Jamie Harley from Twin Shadow on Vimeo.

Two Bicycles // Moon Colors

Two Bicycles : 'Moon Colors' from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.

When Teen Daze isn't being Teen Daze he's being Two Bicycles and making angelic, evocative concept albums about a night spent at sea, the approach of darkness and the loneliness and fear it brings.

Recorded in his bedroom in Chilliwack, British Columbia, you can listen to and download the full record here. In the meantime, above is Moon Colors, beautifully accented by Jamie Harley's vivid collage video.

When Teen Daze is being Teen Daze, he's producing dreamy yet propulsive chillwave gems like this new track, The Bluest Water I'd Ever Seen, below.


MP3 (Bandcamp): Teen Daze - The Bluest Water I’d Ever Seen

Teen Daze - The Bluest Water I'd Ever Seen from teen daze on Vimeo.

Wild Beasts // Smother

Having caught Wild Beasts at Rough Trade East for Record Store Day a few weeks back, anticipation of Smother has been feverish round these parts.

On first listen, there's an experimental, electronic edge which sees the boys branching beyond their art-folk staples, while the lush production only enhances the ever pitch-perfect vocals, particularly on pulsing, Kate Bush-like Bed of Nails; a definite next single contender. Let us know what you think.