Sep 16, 2009

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Swedish Italo-disco singer Sally Shaprio just released her sophomore full-length, My Guilty Pleasure. Today she gave the world another clip of eye candy, this time for the epically melancholic “Miracle.” In the Will Joines-directed video, an Asian girl daydreams on a bed, walks through a field and city, all while remembering her ex-boyfriend. How sad…

Johan Agebjörn and Roger Gunnarsson’s icy production meshes well with the visual storytelling. My Guilty Pleasure is out now, via Paper Bag. We interviewed Shapiro and Agebjörn in our Summer ‘09 issue. (via Stereogum)

Sep 15, 2009

Sufjan Stevens has built a career on being civic pride so a classical song/video suite about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is right up his alley. As we reported earlier, the highway beautification CD/DVD package comes out on October 20th via Asthmatic Kitty and October 19th on Rough Trade in the U.K. The thirteen-movement project was commisioned for the 2007 Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival.

Stevens, who now resides in Brooklyn, just released “Movement VI: Isorhythmic Night Dance with Interchanges,” the first song from The BQE. This comes shortly after the indie-classical musician gave us a video preview with “Interlude I-Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation.”

The instrumental cut bring some bombast, pomp and circumstance to the notoriously ugly freeway. Fluttering flutes and jazzy trumpets are probably not the sounds you usually hear while in traffic but this is coming from a guy that made Detroit sound majestic. (via Spin)

Sep 15, 2009

All this week we’re bringing you exclusive premieres from each of the first three volumes of Asthmatic Kitty‘s recently released Library Catalog Music. The slightly ambient instrumentals that make up the first installment are supposedly, “designed for possible use in films and television, as background sounds for home or office, or sundry personal needs, such as relaxation, stimulation, meditation, concentration or elevation.” From the first few moments of 900X’s “Carlsbad, 1982,” off Vol 1: Music for Lubbock, 1980 that description holds up.

The chiming and whirring track is fairly minimal and could possibly soundtrack a retro-futuristic film. It’s also a dead ringer for some of Air’s quieter releases. This, and the other songs on Lubbock are not available anywhere else.

In case you didn’t know, 900X is James McAlister, Yuuki Matthews, Casey Foubert, Andy Myers and Andrew Rudd. They’ve all played with artists/bands such as Sufjan Stevens, Richard Swift, Crystal Skulls and Ester Drang.

The second installment of the series (Vol. 4-6) comes out in December with some big names from the AK roster on board. There are more volumes slated for 2010 as well.

Sep 14, 2009

Noah Lennox is busy with Animal Collective but that didn’t stop him from playing some Panda Bear tunes for fans at All Tomorrow’s Parties New York this weekend. Gorilla vs Bear posted mp3’s of the entire set but here’s a interesting version of Person Pitch‘s best song, the Brian Wilson-esque “Bros.”

The ATP tracks come courtesy of the AC message board, Collected Animals. During the performance Lennox performed a mesmerizing reworking/cover of The Notwist’s “Boneless,” a solo take of the Zombies-sampling AC cut, “Guys Eyes,” and a few untitled new tracks. Download the full set here. (Photo: Abby Braden)

Sep 14, 2009

As we reported in July, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will release Higher Than the Stars EP September 22nd on Slumberland and November 9th, via U.K.‘s Fortuna POP!. It will contain four new tracks. The C86-like title cut “Higher Than the Stars” gets a re-rub from fellow dreamscapers Saint Etienne. Naturally, the indie dance mavens turn the track into a shimmeirng house cut. The new EP is being released within the same year as their stunning self-titled debut.

Sep 14, 2009

NYC group Suckers, who we interviewed in our Spring issue this year, release a four-track debut EP for IAMSOUND. Now “It Gets Your Body Movin’” is slated for a single release in the U.K. on October 5th through Make Mine.

Here’s an aural taste of the waltz-like B-side “Out on the Water.” The heavy-lidded track also features slurring trumpets and vocals for a perfect late-night drinking track.

Suckers are also touring soon wth Titus Andronicus and White Rabbits.

Sep 11, 2009

We could easily play the influence game with the Austin, Texas indie rock foursome Wiretree. There are traces of Britpop’s cool factor and The Shagri-Las’ lilt and sway on the piano-tinkler “Satellite Song.” Despite these tap roots, this quartet of misfit lovers craft pretty dang solid pop tunes, regardless of their touchstones. Now Wiretree’s preparing the way for Luck, the follow-up to 2007’s quietly disarming Bouldin. That’s Luck‘s digitized water (read: abstract) cover to the right.

Kevin Peroni (guitar, keys, lead vox), Rachel Peroni (bass), Joshua Kaplan (guitar), Daniel Blanchard (drums) carve up some mean ‘60s-esque songs that bop to the beat of a lover’s heart. Yet again, the band’s self-releasing the melancholic tunes on their indie label, Cobaltworks Music. The tracklisting is below:

Luck:

01 Across My Mind
02 Back in Town
03 Rail
04 Days Gone By
05 Falling
06 Information
07 Satellite Song
08 Luck
09 Heart of Hearts
10 Falling (demo)