new album from 'the moondoggies'

it's out. the much-awaited honest-to-god Tidelands by The Moondoggies. and that indie sound's is giving it a ten (out of ten). they've shed their country infuences of the previous album Dont be a Stranger and have put out a better set of tunes. listen to their music not the critics for this muchly underrated band is coming into their own force. their easy americana harmonies fall into one another seamlessly and make for a great uninterrupted listen.


that indie sound loves the stupendous acoustic tunes of 'It's a Shame, It's a Pity', 'Empress of the North', 'A Lot of People on My Mind' and 'Cant be in the Middle.'


trust me on one thing: this is a band that's only going to get bigger with their music.




the sound:
Kevin Murphy: lead guitar, vocals
Caleb Quick: keyboards
Bobby Terreberry: bass
Carl Dahlen: drums


'it's a shame it's a pity'







'empress of the north'

a short post about a tall man

that indie sound is back with the tallest man on earth. he's what's been keeping me busy. sounds naughty neh. but not.


on a serious note, go, people, go, listen to this new-age bluesy bob dylan. he's the best alt-folk we have right now. multi-intrumentalist Kristian Matsson from Sewden has two fantastic albums - Shallow Grave and The Wild Hunt - under his tall hat, and another much-awaited - Sometimes the Blues is Just  a Passing Bird.


The Wild Hunt is a lovely treasure that makes you realise why you fell in love with music in the first place - lucid fingerpicking, to the beauty of the acoustic guitar; it's all there, washing your transgressions clean and just waiting to take you back in.


end of short post. let the tambourine man take over now.


 'King of Spain'





'Pistol Dreams'





'Where do My Bluebirds Fly'

reviving rockability: kim lenz and the jaguars

'there's no god, just rock n' roll.' rightly said by pater a long time ago. if you feel even remotely touched by the sentiment then this short post will rock thy boat. 


all those who've come to my place will have seen my shrine to elvis. yeah, yeah it runs in the family. so much so that pater had named our dog, King (god rest his soul),  after the southern rock n' roller. King the german shepherd hadn't been south of the Mississippi and had big shiny shoes to fill. but fill them he did brilliantly - bit our driver four times. once in the rear.


i digress. point is that, the sun's out, the skies blue, the chilled beer flowing and that indie sound was feeling like a bit of rock n roll. so it dug up Kim Lenz and the Jaguars's 2009 album It's All Right.


if you hadn't heard of them before here's what the Rolling Stone said about them:


'If Elvis had been a woman, he probably would have sounded just like Kim Lenz.'


you get the idea. this LA-based, red-haired songstress is on fire in this album. her sassy growls are stronger and the songs, super energetic. songs such as 'Ramblin' Feeling', 'Touch Me', 'Zombie for Your Love', 'Shined Up and Ready to Shout' make you want to get up and dance or maybe just have another drink.


keep that rock n roll alive. 


the sound:
Kim: vocals
Nick Curran: guitarist
Jake Erwin: bassist 
Scotty Tecce: drummer  

fresh intro

i think that indie sound has been misunderstood and needs a fresh intro. its been getting questions about why there's no mention of some of the biggies such as Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors. that's not totally true (see post on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

but essentially this space features bands that are more that indie sound's style, mainly americana and alt-folk. but that indie sound is always open to suggestions and different genres. and tis doesn't diss bands that it doesn't dig (although on an after thought, way too experimental rock, Kings of Leon, The xxs, and Animal Collective are just boring).

so there it is.

cheers       

horse feathers

the lovely Thistled Spring album cover 

this evening i thought i caught a wiff of the onset of winter in the air. and i came home to play Horse Feathers. this one's for that space just between autumn and winter. it's apt because this elegant indie folk band is fantastic at doing just that - creating beautiful spaces in their songs for listeners to breathe and take it all in before they go on to the next verse. no, it's not music for the dying. that indie sound would never do that to you. point is that you've got to take time out to listen to Horse Feathers. but listen you must.


Horse Feathers is led by songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Justin Ringle and supported by multi-instrumentalists Nathan Crocket, Catherine Odell, and Sam Cooper. and each one is f****** talented. that indie sound strongly suggests getting both their albums Words are Dead (2006), and their latest Thistled Spring (2010).


afterword:


that indie sound's good friend - an electro-trash, acid jazz junkie (god save his soul) - was holding on to Thistled Spring to pass it on to me. the sealed cd and the eloquent words (thistled spring) were slowly eating him up alive. then one day he ripped it open and put it on. i gave him the raised eyebrow when i finally picked it up from him and saw the plastic gone. he turned back to his computer but not before muttering, 'breathless'. enough said.


songs to look out for 'Starving Robins', 'Thistled Spring', 'Cascades', 'Cur in the Weeds', 'Belly of June', 'As a Ghost', 'Hardwood Pews', oh just go and listen to them all.


curs in the weeds





starving robins

 



thistled spring

big echo by the morning benders

twentieth reason why california rocks:
The Morning Benders


that indie sound had given their first album Talking Through Tin Cans the good nod. and they still have that indie sound nodding with their new album Big Echo.


there's brilliance in this album. a pop record where every song is laid out beautifully with sonic brilliance. this will be on top of everybody's list this year (maybe after the black keys). the tiny, hidden melodies is what got that indie sound. there are very few numbers that have that genius. for example that indie sound had the Big Echo playing on for a week. end of week, it discovers two layered harmonies in 'Excuses'. dont you love these tiny surprises?


song picks would include 'Wet Cement', 'Excuses' (of course), 'Stitches', and 'All Day All Night'.


here's what that indie sound's favourite reviewer had to say about the album:


'Remember that line in As Good As It Gets when Nicholson’s character used one of the greatest panty-dropper lines of all time, “You make me want to be better man.” The Big Echo makes me want to become a better reviewer of music.'


the sound:
Chris Chu: vocals, guitar
Julian Harmon: drums
Tim Or: bass
Jon Chu: guitar, keys