indie music

The good music that we want to share with you all piles up like snow during a blizzard; so, it becomes necessary to put together these random mixes to clear off the decks. But these songs are no less worthy than anything else we publish; otherwise we wouldn’t feature them.

Kicking off this playlist is the hauntingly beautiful melancholy, and as a contrast, the fuzzy guitar hooks, of Brooklyn’s Hurricane Bells, evidenced on the tracks, “This Year” and “Monsters” (the latter is featured on the New Moon: The Twilight Saga soundtrack - more songs from that film soon, plus a review of the thrilling, rip-roaring flick, Private Radio).

Following their brilliant pop harmonies-60s style debut LP, Fighting Trees, Philly’s The Swimmers are back with their sophomore release, People Are Soft. The opening track, “Shelter,” sounds more like Joy Division mixed with Echo and the Bunnymen than anything else the band has recorded.

Next up, we present one of the most popular tracks from one of 2009’s best indie debuts from Brooklyn’s Here We Go Magic; plus, the edgy, hip-shaking electro-punk rocker, “My Car is Haunted” by Knoxville’s Royal Bangs; a new pop track from Sweden’s extremely popular El Perro Del Mar; the foreboding harmonies of London alternative pop band, Scanners; New Jersey punk-influenced teenage quintet The Static Jacks (”like The Strokes with a whole lot more twang and soul” - Relix) offer up “My Parents Lied” from their new Laces EP; California’s Furcast present the spooky and theatrical “Grey is Old,” a Concrete Blonde-like track that would have been fitting for the New Moon soundtrack. To close out this random mix is a lesser-known single from the Raveonettes‘ impressive In and Out of Control LP.

“This Year” - Hurricane Bells from Tonight Is the Ghost (2009)
Bonus: “Monsters” - Hurricane Bells from New Moon: The Twilight Saga (2009)

“Shelter” - The Swimmers from People Are Soft (2009)

“Tunnelvision” - Here We Go Magic from s/t debut (2009)

“My Car is Haunted” - Royal Bangs from Let It Beep (2009)

“Change of Heart” - El Perro Del Mar from Love is Not Pop (2009)

“Salvation” - Scanners from Submarine (2009)

“My Parents Lied” - Static Jacks from Laces EP (2009)

“Grey Is Old” - Furcast from Together EP (2009)

“The Chosen One” - Raveonettes from In and Out of Control (2009)

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
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What happens when a band with a major record label deal tosses it away and puts everything on the line in a bold move to return to their independent roots? The answer in the case of the rock band The Sun is simple: they create a masterpiece album.

But The Sun’s split from Warner Bros. was not trouble-free nor fool proof - two band members left as a result, legal battles ensued and major disagreements with management were just some of the fallout in the wake of their decision to sever their contract and go indie.

“We hawked the gear, we sold the van, we squeezed as much as we could out of the label (Warner Bros.) and severed all ties,” The Sun’s singer and guitarist Chris Burney said of the break.

In the aftermath of their former lives as big label artists, the remaining band members teamed up with Spoon producer Mike McCarthy to work on their second - and reportedly last - LP, Don’t Let Your Baby Have all the Fun, which was officially released as a free download on November 10th via RockProper.com. Free is great; but this is one record we’d gladly pay for, so if a vinyl edition comes out (please!), we’ll let you know.

The Sun formed in 2001 after Burney wrote and recorded a tape of slick, gritty garage rock demos. With songs in hand, Burney recruited New Bomb Turks’ drummer Sam Brown and Floatation Walls’ guitarist Carlos Avendano to start a band. All three members dropped out of Ohio State University in Columbus to make music full-time. Eventually they were joined by another FW member, Brad Fosblom, on bass, and Brad Caulkins, on keyboards and guitar. (Subsequently, Avendarno, Fosblom and Arendt left the band to pursue other projects.).

In 2001-2002, The Sun began recording with Wilco’s Jay Bennett in his Chicago. Within in few months time, the band signed with Warner Bros. and released their debut EP, Love and Death, in February 2003, followed two years later by their first LP, Blame It on the Youth. But the LP, despite its solid collection of songs, was a commercial failure, and the remaining band members - Burney, Brown and Caulkins - were uncertain of what would happen next.

Sometime in 2008, McCarthy contacted the band to express interest in producing their next album at his Austin studio. “I was a big fan of their first record,” McCarthy said. “I was surprised [Blame It on the Youth] didn’t become a huge, big, big deal.”

“It was the first time that the band felt natural to me,” Brown said. Even though other labels, including Merge Records, demonstrated interest to distribute the album, the band’s manager deliberately delayed its release, apparently with the hope to elaborately promote it as a self-release - a formula that has worked well for other artists.

Frustrated by the LP’s state of limbo, the remaining band members started giving away Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun at their 2008 ComFest performance, until its official release earlier this month via RockProper. Essentially giving up hope that the LP would be released by a label, Caulkins left to join LA’s Afro-pop band, Fool’s Gold.

The LP’s first single, “So Long Sundays,” blends catchy rhythms, high octane synthesizers, raspy vocals, and edgy lyrics, resulting in an seductive garage rock hit (and probably the most “Spoon-sounding” track on the LP.)

“So Long, Sundays” - The Sun from Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun (2009)

“The Goddess,” is one of the most memorable tracks on the LP, and frankly of the latter half of 2009. The bright guitar riff alone hooks you into the grooves of the song’s T. Rex-meets-Pavement sound. As it marches along enthusiastically for two and half minutes, the song suddenly ends, followed by a 40 second acoustic interlude (”A Prayer Before Dawn”) which ends abruptly with a burp and a giggle.

“The Goddess”- The Sun from Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun (2009)

As you listen to this album, you can’t help but notice how much fun the band is having, and it rubs off, as evidenced by tracks like new wave leaning recording “Cold Hands”; the epic, melodic pop rock of “In Perfect Time”; the danceable, excited, “Watch Out,” and the lo-fi urgency suspense of “Alien.”

“Cold Hands (Clap Louder)”- The Sun from Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun (2009)

“In Perfect Time” - The Sun from Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun (2009)

It’s just too bad the band does not plan to record another album together. During the past year, Caulkins stated he has no interest in playing with The Sun again; Burney started a new band called Adult Fiction, and a record label, Eastern Watts; Brown continues to tour with RJD2 and has embarked on his new power-pop project, You’re So Bossy.

If you enjoy the C86, glam rock and post punk music genres of the 1970’s and early-to-mid 1980’s - all of which paved the way for so much of the alternative and indie rock we enjoy today - you’re probably going to love Don’t Let Your Baby Have All the Fun. This LP is simply a masterpiece, and a decade from now, it will be regarded as a underrated classic. We can only hope that the band will reunite to record more music and set out on tour in the near future; absent that wishful-thinking, The Sun have left us with at least two amazing albums.

The Sun on MySpace

The Sun’s Official website

Get The Sun’s new LP free

Other Recent Popular Posts:

Best New and Recent Indie Releases: Brimstone Howl, Sunset, Tahiti 80, Chromatic Flights and Malaria No More

In Dee Mail: One Man Band Series with Andy Mitchell, Oh Mountain and Wicked Scream

Indie Cover Songs VI of Oasis, Simon & Garfunkel, Vampire Weekend, The Kinks, The Smiths, Radiohead & More

IRC Exclusive: Legendary Producers Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell Team Up with Fiery Furnances and Dresden Dolls

In Dee Mail: Swimming in Speakers, Scott Ryan and Black Mercies

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

New releases today include LPs from Brimstone Howl, Sunset, Tahiti 80, and others, plus recent worthy releases from Doveman, Old Canes, System and Station, and more. Of all of the releases dropping today, the following are definitely cafe favorites. Don’t miss recent (in the past month) releases we recommend that were not previously highlighted in the New Releases series.

“Suicide Blues” - Brimstone Howl from Big Deal. What’s He Done Lately? (2009)

“Pocketful of Debt” - Sunset from Gold Dissolves To Gray (2009)

“Green Truck” - Sunset from Gold Dissolves To Gray (2009)

“Unpredictable” - Tahiti 80 from Activity Center (2009)

“She Cuts His Hair” - Essex Channel from Love is Proximity (2009)

“The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion” - Holopaw from Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness (2009)

Kyle Wyss, better known as one-half of the Kanine Records’ duo Blind Man’s Colour, is the force behind Chromatic Flights. You can download for free Chromatic Flights‘ four-track Sunset Bell EP via Bandcamp. What a deal for summer-lush ambient music.Other CF downloads are available for free at Monotonik. The other half of BMC is Orhan Chettri, who records solo work under the moniker Lucid Bus. Interestingly, CF does a cover version here of Lucid Bus’ song, “Diamond Skull.” Also, check out new tracks from Loney Dear, Doveman, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Old Canes and System and Station.

“Passagrille” - Chromatic Flights from Sunset Bell EP (2009)

“Diamond Skull” (Lucid Bus) - Chromatic Flights, unreleased (2009)

“Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Boy” - Loney Dear from Citadel Band (2009)

“Breathing Out” - Doveman from The Conformist (2009)

“The Sound” - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson from Summer of Fear (2009)

“Little Bird Courage” - Old Canes from Feral Harmonic (2009)

“Love, Etc.” - System and Station from I’m Here to Kill EP (2009)

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

New releases today include LPs from Brimstone Howl, Sunset, Tahiti 80, and others, plus recent worthy releases from Doveman, Old Canes, System and Station, and more. Of all of the releases dropping today, the following are definitely cafe favorites. Don’t miss recent (in the past month) releases we recommend that were not previously highlighted in the New Releases series.

“Suicide Blues” - Brimstone Howl from Big Deal. What’s He Done Lately? (2009)

“Pocketful of Debt” - Sunset from Gold Dissolves To Gray (2009)

“Green Truck” - Sunset from Gold Dissolves To Gray (2009)

“Unpredictable” - Tahiti 80 from Activity Center (2009)

“She Cuts His Hair” - Essex Channel from Love is Proximity (2009)

“The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion” - Holopaw from Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness (2009)

Kyle Wyss, better known as one-half of the Kanine Records’ duo Blind Man’s Colour, is the force behind Chromatic Flights. You can download for free Chromatic Flights‘ four-track Sunset Bell EP via Bandcamp. What a deal for summer-lush ambient music.Other CF downloads are available for free at Monotonik. The other half of BMC is Orhan Chettri, who records solo work under the moniker Lucid Bus. Interestingly, CF does a cover version here of Lucid Bus’ song, “Diamond Skull.” Also, check out new tracks from Loney Dear, Doveman, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Old Canes and System and Station.

“Passagrille” - Chromatic Flights from Sunset Bell EP (2009)

“Diamond Skull” (Lucid Bus) - Chromatic Flights, unreleased (2009)

“Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Boy” - Loney Dear from Citadel Band (2009)

“Breathing Out” - Doveman from The Conformist (2009)

“The Sound” - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson from Summer of Fear (2009)

“Little Bird Courage” - Old Canes from Feral Harmonic (2009)

“Love, Etc.” - System and Station from I’m Here to Kill EP (2009)

The Indie Rocks!: Malaria No More is an excellent compilation for a worthy cause. All the proceeds from your purchase go to help fight malaria in Africa. Music + saving lives = a good thing. This compilation includes songs from The Walkmen, Juliette Lewis, Youssou N’Dour, plus an unreleased track from Third Eye Blind and an exclusive cover track from Peter, Bjorn, & John.

Malaria No More!

“Four Provinces” - The Walkmen

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

Andy Mitchell is a one-man band from Middlesbrough, UK who serves up a remarkably full rock sound for one guy. An unsigned artist, Mitchell writes and records all of his songs himself, as well as sings and plays all of the instruments, including guitars, bass, keyboards and programmed drums. Last year, Ultimate Guitar magazine took notice, naming Mitchell one of the “Top Unsigned Acts of 2008.”

His recordings, he told IRC, were made in his bedroom and bathroom over a number of months. “I had taught myself guitar in 2006, but officially it all started in early 2008 while I was at University. For my final year dissertation I looked at new ways to market music and created an album of my own to use as an example. It earned me a first class honors, and encouraged me to continue making music and albums.” For someone who only started playing the guitar a few years ago, Mitchell’s work proves he has a natural ability to make impressive alternative rock music. We’ll be watching this guy for sure!

“Why Remember Me” - Andy Mitchell from Of Nature & Minimal Means (2009)

“Aspire” - Andy Mitchell from Of Nature & Minimal Means (2009)

Andy Mitchell’s official website
Andy Mitchell on MySpace

Eric Dina is a New Port Richey, Florida musician who goes by the moniker of Oh, Mountain. He a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, banjo, percussion, mandolin and violin. Dina’s unpolished, lo-fi instrumental recordings also include various sound effects and samples with interesting results. Oh Mountain cites among his influences The Books (especially the album “Lemon of Pink”), Dosh, The Microphones and Mount Eerie.

“I favor percussion and the sound of thick drums a lot and in cases more often than not I started a recording with nothing but a simple floor tom beat,” Dina told IRC. “In a sense, its easier for me to hear a melody when I know what the drums will sound like. Through the years I have acquired more and more instruments and recording equipment to sort of expand the way things sound.” We like Dina’s refreshingly original and organic sound very much.

“Bear’s Beat” - Oh Mountain, single release (2009)

“No. 2″ - Oh Mountain, single release (2009)

Oh Mountain on MySpace

Wicked Scream is the moniker of the one-man alternative rock project by Charlie Dorrell from White Lake, Michigan, a rather obscure singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer. Signed on by Coy Boy Records, Wicked Scream is currently in the process of becoming a “three to four-piece ensemble,” Dorrell proclaims with the hope to “inspire anybody influenced by under-produced, raw & gritty rock.” So far, so good.

Wicked Scream’s debut EP, Earwax Casket, contains songs like the hard rocker “Kleptosis” and the Nirvana-like acoustic track “Bluesy.” It will be interesting to see what this one man project that may eventually morph into a full band will deliver for their first full length release, and whether they are able to make progress in their quest to “bring back underground rock and take down mainstream rock.” Unfortunately, neither he, nor his label, have any solid information online (other than non-optimized MySpace page); and therefore we have no artwork or photos to present.

“Bluesy” - Wicked Scream from Earwax Casket EP (2009)

“Kleptosis” - Wicked Scream from Earwax Casket EP (2009)

Wicked Scream on MySpace

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

Brandon Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound highlighted the YouTube video above that features a cover version of a recent Deerhunter track “Rainwater Cassette Exchange,” calling it “fantastically superior to the original. It actually sent shivers up my spine.” It’s not everyday that a popular musician declares a random YouTube cover of his/her own song better than their original version. Here is the original of “Rainwater Cassette Exchange.”

In a live clip of Snow Patrol covering Oasis‘ “Wonderwall” you’ll first notice the loud roar of boos from the crowd when Oasis is mentioned, and yet they sing along to every word of the song shortly afterwards. Interesting.

Kyle Wess of Blind Man’s Colour has just released a very mellow and hazy-like cover version of Simon and Garkunkel’s classic hit “I Am A Rock” and Coconut and The Duke deliver their own subdued version of Vampire Weekend’s otherwise upbeat song, “Walcott.”

The relatively unknown band Holy Ramos present a decent cover of a rarely known yet 1981 great song by The Kinks, although the subject matter did create some stir among some critics at the time, even though Ray Davies said years later it was metaphoric expression, not an actual song about a dirty old man in the park. Also check out cover songs from She & Him, CFCF, Pedro The Lion, M. Ward, Little Girls, Carlos Pesina and Xiu Xiu

“Wonderwall” (Oasis) - Snow Patrol

“I Am A Rock” (Simon & Garfunkel) - Chromatic Flights
The Original: “I Am A Rock” - Simon & Garfunkel

“Walcott” (Vampire Weekend) - Coconut and the Duke

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths) - She & Him

“Art Lover” (The Kinks) - Holly Ramos
The Original: “Art Lover” - The Kinks

“Forbidden Colours” (Sylvian & Sakamoto) - CFCF

“Let Down” (Radiohead) - Pedro The Lion

“Let My Love Open The Door” (Pete Townsend) - M. Ward
The Original: “Let My Love Open The Door” - Pete Townsend

“Heinz” (Artery) - Little Girls

“Little Secrets” (Passion Pit) - Carlos Pesina

“Isobel” (Bjork)- Xiu Xiu

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

Martin Bisi, Bill Laswell, Fiery Furnances, Dresden Dolls and Balkan Beat Box
Martin Bisi is a famed producer who built a recording studio with Brian Eno three decades ago, producing albums for some of the best bands of the 1980’s and early 90s underground rock movement, including Sonic Youth, The Swans, Dresden Dolls and The Boredoms, to name just a few. Bisi, who is also a musician, songwriter and engineer, recently jumped into the sound tank himself to record tracks with folks like Fiery Furnances‘ dummer Bob D’Amico, prolific producer and bassist Bill Laswell (The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger and many others), and members of The Dresden Dolls and Balkan Beat Box. Laswell was also instrumental in creating the studio with Bisi and Eno.

In fact, Bisi and Laswell collaborated with Herbie Hancock to record the 1983 Grammy Award-winning song, “RockIt” - the first hit song to feature turntable scratching. Jumping forward to this year, all of this talent in one room is a combination sure to result in something interesting, which is exactly what these next songs, “Mile High - Apple of My Eye” and “Drink Your Wine,” prove to be. The songs are from the recently released five-track digital only EP Son of a Gun, and were sent to IRC by Bisi himself. The first song featured below is a perfect track for Halloween, or even The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack, while “Drink Your Wine” is more of an uptempo rocker that is fun and infectious at the same time (watch the video above).

“Mile High - Apple of My Eye” - Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell from Son of a Gun (2009)

“Drink Your Wine” - Martin Bisi & Company from Sun of a Gun (2009)

Get Son of a Gun from iTunes.

Of the recording of the EP, Bisi said: “With Laswell, I did the ‘modern’ approach of sending him files, letting him do whatever, and then adjusting. He really surprised me. I was expecting his usual very groove or dub oriented bass, and he gave me something very ambient, laden with effects and trippy. That pretty much sums up the M.O. on this EP…With “Mile High- Apple Of My Eye,” I asked Butterface (the keyboardist on the EP) to give me some programmed rhythms and sounds with a trip-hop vibe, specifically for Laswell to play on, and he turned it around in 30 minutes.”

Martin Bisi’s Official Website
Martin Bisi on MySpace
Bill Laswell on MySpace

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

From their first meeting in October 2008, Swimming In Speakersʼ multi-instrumentalist Chris Clarke and talented vocalist Meadow Eliz of Saranac Lake, New York used a Casio, a laptop and a hodge-podge of analog equipment to begin recording songs together. Here is their lo-fi, dreamy pop as featured on the songs “In Knowing” and “Serve Them Well.”

“Serve Them Well” - Swimming in Speakers from s/t EP (2009)

“In Knowing” - Swimming in Speakers from s/t EP (2009)

Los Angeles singer/songwriter Scott Ryan, along with his band, create experimental, melodic folk and indie rock using a range of instruments, including mandolin, glockenspiel, wurlitzer, organ, mellotron, guitar, violin, bajno, thumb piano, bass and drums. The band’s music is mellow, at times downright somber, as evidenced on the song, “Tree Man.” Another of the band’s songs, “Houndstooth Coat,” has an obvious, but nicely executed, Talking Heads-influence that borders on punk rock. Ryan has opened for artists like Sherwood, Josh Ritter and The Helio Sequence.

“Tree Man” - Scott Ryan from Tree Man EP (2009)

“Houndstooth Coat” - Scott Ryan from Tree Man EP (2009)

Scott Ryan on MySpace

The first time I heard the Black Mercies I thought of U2. Upon further investigation, some of you will disagree, but it’s just what first came to mind. The Portland, Oregon’s band describes its music as “infused with the cosmopolitan swagger of Roxy Music and the rapt melodrama of contemporaries like Muse and The Bravery.” The band features “BB” on vocals and guitar, Colby Hendricks on bass, Caleb Skinner on keys and Eric Storm on drums.

“Ballad Of A Kept Man” - Black Mercies from Murder It Sweetly (2009)

Black Mercies on MySpace

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This Week’s New Releases: Real Estate, Them Crooked Vultures, Arctic Monkeys, Mark Matos & Os Beaches & More

In Dee Mail: New Music from Beautiful Small Machines, Looking Glass, Inkwell, Lemonwilde, Cool Devices & More

New Music Videos from Ash, Surfer Blood, Matt & Kim, Monsters of Folk, Japandroids, Fool’s Gold and Little Comets

In Dee Mail - New Songs from Fearless Vampire Killers and Pope Joan

Bands to Watch: Brooklyn’s Indie Rock Band Low Water

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

Summer still lingers in the musical meanderings of one of today’s best new indie releases. The long-awaited debut LP from New Jersey ‘buzz’ band Real Estate is out today, and for those who received an advance copy last month, we can tell you that it’s one of the best indie rock debuts of 2009. That’s saying a lot in a year in which there have been so many impressive debuts. Band members Martin Courtney, Matthew Mondanile, Etienne Pierre Duguay and Alex Bleeker got the ears of music bloggers and others as far back as last March during Austin’s South by Southwest conference, and they haven’t let go since.

As their ‘buzz band’ status - an admittedly overused term, but which is quite fitting of the band’s warm, hazy sound - increased with the temperatures throughout the summer months, Real Estate began to draw big crowds wherever they performed, and were were one of the most talked, and blogged, about bands at last month’s CMJ ‘fest’ in New York City. Music lovers and others sought them out to soak up some of Real Estate’s summeresque sounds; a blend of carefully baked, ethereal psychedelic pop mixed with a constant slow flow of folky vibes, booming drums, muted, unassuming vocals and ambient electric guitar jams.

The band’s themes and lyrics combine the dreary monotony of castaway suburban life (”Suburban Beverage,” “The Mall,” etc.) with endless aquatic references (”Pool Swimmers,” “Let’s Rock the Beach,” “Green River,” and so on), tie-dyed harmonies, glo-fi reverberations and lazy, understated melodies.

“Beach Comber” - Real Estate from s/t debut (2009)

It is no surprise that Real Estate have been frequently compared to The Clean, The Beach Boys, Galaxie 500 and Jersey’s own The Feelies. Real Estate may be dumped on by some indie lo-fi purists (yes, a contradiction in terms), but hey, Jersey is used to being dumped on. (Real Estate remind us much of Blind Man’s Colour, a trippy Florida psych pop duo we featured earlier this year as a band to watch, and who were quickly signed to Kanine Records only weeks later).

“Fake Blues” - Real Estate from s/t debut via Stereogum (2009)

“Green River” - Real Estate from s/t debut (2009)

Bonus: “Beach Point Pleasant” - Ducktails (the moniker of band member Mondanile’s musical side project)

Other new releases today include the much anticipated debut from the indie rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures - featuring Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones - plus a B-side leak of an upcoming Arctic Monkeys‘ EP, and bands we think you should hear, including Globes on Remote, Bloodsugars, A Grave with No Name; The Chairs; Mark Matos & Os Beaches and 10 great songs from recent LP and EP releases that you may have missed, but we think you’ll enjoy.

“New Fang” - Them Crooked Vultures from s/t debut (2009)

“Fright Lined Dining Room” - Arctic Monkeys from Cornerstone EP (2009)

“D.T. Lipps” - Globes on Remote from The Woo Hoo Hoo (2009)
Double-shot: “Space Camp” - Globes on Remote from The Woo Hoo Hoo (2009)

“The Light at the End of the Tunnel” - Bloodsugars from I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On (2009)

“Open Water” - A Grave With No Name from Mountain Debris (2009)

“Charlotte Pipe” - The Chairs from Nine Ways (2009)

“High Priest of the Mission” - Mark Matos & Os Beaches from Words of the Knife (2009)
Double-shot: “Hired Hand” - Mark Matos & Os Beaches from Words of the Knife (2009)

Random Recent Releases You May Have Missed But Should Probably Hear:

“Terminally Chill” - Neon Indian from Psychic Chasms (2009)

“Day Glo” - Brazos from Phosphorescent Blues (2009)

“Free Energy” - Free Energy from s/t debut (2009)

“In Steps” - Letting Up Despite Great Faults from s/t debut (2009)

“The Sun Ain’t Shining No More” - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour from s/t debut (2009)

“The Economic Chastisement” - Kinch from The Economic Chastisement EP (2009)

“Tunnelvision” - Here We Go Magic from s/t debut (2009)

“Cold Floors” - The Steps from Take It All In (2009)

“Wohlwill” - Friska Viljor from New Beginnings (2009)

“Invisible Forces” - The Fresh and Onlys from Grey-Eyed Girls (2009)

What do you think of these songs? Use the comments link below, Facebook, Twitter or whatever social network you prefer to interact with thousands of music lovers, band members and music professionals every day from around the world.

Putting the “in” in to Indie. Stop by Indie Rock Cafe for the best
bands, MP3s, videos, news, concert listings, festival updates, playlists and more.

MP3: “Joy Kicks Darkness” (sample) - Ash

With the introduction of their unique A-Z singles subscription service last month, members of the indie band Ash have created a new type of music distribution model. For a one-time subscription fee of approximately $20, subscribers will receive 26 vinyl and digital copies of new songs - one every two weeks - until October 2010. Regardless of when subscribers sign up, they will receive all 26 vinyl and/or digital singles. The first single, “True Love 1980″, was released last month.

After deciding they would never again release a traditional LP record, and instead only put out series of singles, Ash devised the A-Z subscription series (see the promo video below). By doing so, the band has set out into a brave new world where the musicians take back more control of their work while simultaneously focusing on building a stronger relationship with their most dedicated and loyal fans.

If you think about it - from a marketing standpoint, and other angles like promotion, fan retention and publicity - the idea is genius. Don’t be surprised if other artists and bands follow a similar path to releasing new music (we’ll have more about this later in a feature called “Is the LP Concept Dead?”).

To find the subscription that works best for you - including iTunes - visit the band’s official web store. Check out the FAQs page for full details.

There are hundreds of new music videos that have come out in the past few weeks and months, but the following are favorites here in the cafe. Included in this installment of New Music Videos are song reels from the awesome ‘buzz’ band Surfer Blood, plus Matt & Kim, Monsters of Folk, Japandroids, Fool’s Gold, The Horrors, Little Comets and an album promo video of Julian Casablancas‘ Phrazes for the Young. First, though, check out this just released (11/16) video of Beck and The Record Club (including Wilco and Feist members) covering former Moby Grape and Jefferson Starship member Skip Spence’s “Little Hands,” followed by an MP3 of the original song.

MP3: “Little Hands” - Skip Spence

MP3: “Swim (To Reach The End)” - Surfer Blood

MP3: “Daylight” - Matt & Kim

MP3: “Say Please” - Monsters of Folk

MP3: “Crazy/Forever” - Japandroids

MP3: “Whole New Way” - The Horrors

Julian Casablancas - Album Preview Video for Phrazes for the Young
MP3: “11th Dimension” - Julian Casablancas

MP3: “Surprise Hotel” - Fool’s Gold

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The Interestingly Eccentric Indie Rock of Brooklyn’s One Man Band Brad Oberhofer

Indie Cover Songs, Vol. V: The Format, Ruby Weapon, Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, Dr. Dog & Band of Horses

Band of The Week: Long Beach Folk Pop Band Avi Buffalo

Today’s New Indie Releases: Orba Squara, The Swell Season, The Whigs, I Love You, Glass Ghost, Pugwash, Lullwater & More

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