M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming (2011)





TRACKLIST:

DISC ONE
01 - Intro (Ft Zola Jesus)
02 - Midnight City
03 - Reunion
04 - Where The Boats Go
05 - Wait
06 - Raconte-Moi Une Histoire
07 - Train To Pluton
08 - Claudia Lewis
09 - This Bright Flash
10 - When Will You Come Home?
11 - Soon, My Friend

DISC TWO
01 - My Tears Are Becoming A Sea
02 - New Map
03 - OK Pal
04 - Another Wave From You
05 - Splendor
06 - Year One, One UFO
07 - Fountains
08 - Steve McQueen
09 - Echoes Of Mine
10 - Klaus I Love You
11 - Outro



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The Embassy - Life in the Trenches (2011)



THE EMBASSY - LIFE IN THE TRENCHES


TRACKLIST:
01 - You Tend To Forget
02 - Puttgarden
03 - Information
04 - Flipside Of A Memory
05 - New Plans
06 - Heathrow
07 - Make Me Sad
08 - ST8
09 - No Thanks
10 - C'est La Vie
11 - E6
12 - I Lay Awake
13 - Who Put The Ass In Embassy




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Aug 18, 2011

VA Lonely Is an Eyesore: 4AD Compilation (1987)



 
 
In a certain sense, Lonley Is an Eyesore functions as a time-capsule, a snapshot of Post-Punk circa the mid-Eighties, albeit a snapshot saturated with the particular shades and tinctures of the Goth-informed Dream-Pop of the 4AD stable. As a result, there is an aesthetic cohesiveness to this album that is unusual for a compilation, which stems from that fact that, to some extent, 4AD was pushing a particular (Ivo Watts-Russell produced) sound rather than the bands themselves. This approach was taken a step further with the This Mortal Coil releases, in which various 4AD artists were thrown together in the studio (under the control of Watts-Russell) to record cover songs dressed up in 4AD-style gloom. Despite this overriding emphasis on style over substance, Lonely Is an Eyesore holds up quite well 25 years later because it contains an intriguing mix of the influential (Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses) and the obscure (Dif Juz, The Wolfgang Press, Clan of Xymox), all at the height of their powers. With the exception of the badly dated Colourbox contribution, this album still sounds fresh, dark, and revelatory, even if it is not quite the manifesto it was clearly conceived to be.

TRACKLIST
1. Colourbox- Hot Doggie  (2:57)
2. This Mortal Coil- Acid, Bitter and Sad  (5:26)
3. The Wolfgang Press- Cut the Tree  (5:35)
4. Throwing Muses- Fish  (5:28)
5. Dead Can Dance- Frontier  (2:58)
6. Cocteau Twins- Crushed  (3:16)
7. Dif Juz- No Motion  (4:49)
8. Clan of Xymox- Muscoviet Musquito  (4:03)
9. Dead Can Dance- The Protagonist  (8:47)




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Aug 15, 2011

Linus' Blanket - Show Me Love (2011)



Tracklist
01 RAG TIME
02 SHOW ME LOVE
03 GARGLE (Feat. 조휴일)
04 MISTY
05 PICNIC
06 LABOR IN VAIN
07 순간의 진실
08 고백
09 MUSIC TAKES US TO THE UNIVERSE
10 STOP LIKING, START LOVING
11 WALK 





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The Happy Balloon - The Fine Art Of Ballooning(2001)



The Happy Balloon, another musical dilemma? Let’s use the time machine by courtesy of H.G. Wellls. Terra incognita. Twentieth century. What is true is that this record is a delightful collection of contagious 60’s style flower pop, sunshine pop, acoustic soft pop, bossa nova and memorable spiritual obscurities. The Happy Balloon -in the daring and singular romanticism of the true mavericks- allow you to discover less well-known works of the past. All of them are real anthems for freedom of all kinds. The world is open! Be free and fly like a happy balloon!

The fine art of ballooning pays respects to the fresh songwriting of the 60’s era but in true 80’.s pop idiom. Simple and pop are a potent mix so this is a quintessential collection of obscure 60’s soft pop covers (The Harmony Grass, Philamore Lincoln, Gentle touch, Charles Fox, Chamaeleon Church, Armageddon Experience, The Sunshine Company, Liz Diamond’s Orient Express, The Sunshine Trolley, Sundowners or Orange Colored Sky) but with a treatment close to the style of Aztec Camera, The Legendary Jim Ruiz, Prefab Sprout, Orange Juice or The Crooner. Puzzled? Certainly this record defies times and ages. Like a diamond this record is for ever.

This easy eternal sounds of yesteryear were introduced to the public in our compilation “Sombrero”… Z., is an eccentric spiritual inheritor of the creative muse of Paul Williams, Roger Nichols, Jim Webb or Chris Dedrick. Some years ago Z. was obsessed by a meticulous striving for perfection and found his universe too rigurously structured. He moved to a Greek island and started cultural activities with natives.



 The Fine Art Of Ballooning(2001)
track list:
01. Temma Harbour
02. Among The First To Know
03. I Think Of You
04. People In Motion
05. Love Has A Way
06. In A Kindly Way
07. Happy
08. You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice
09. Always You
10. Cover Me Babe
11. Orange Colored Sky
12. 1900 Yesterday




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Aug 10, 2011

Buffalo Moon



Ecuador/Minneapolis’ Karen Freire, and her band Buffalo Moon’s Wetsuit cassette tape definitely delivers on the promise of sunny, Astrud Gilberto/Stan Getz-inspired “bossanova/light psych” (see “Poolside Dreaming” + “Jamba Samba”), album closer “Beach Boy” is a classic, lovelorn ’60s pop gem.






WETSUIT (2010)

1 Rat Song
2 Iowa's Got A New Strip Club (Cat Song)
3 Jamba Samba
4 Nocturnal Admissions
5 Tropical Multiplication
6 Walking
7 Pajaro Perdido
8 Money, Pussy, Weed
9 Penpals
10 Poolside Dreaming
11 Beach Boy




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Jul 25, 2011

Brilliant At Breakfast Performing At Esplanade Outdoor Theatre







Indonesian indie pop band, Brilliant at Breakfast (http://www.myspace.com/brilliantatbreakfastmusic), will be performing free shows in Singapore at the Esplanade outdoor theatre on 29 and 30 July 2011. Their debut album is available for sale at the newly-setup indie online distro, Happy Teardrop Music @ http://happyteardropmusic.com.

You can preview the band's album @ http://paperplanerecording.bandcamp.com/album/brilliant-at-breakfast-being-verbose-is-easy-being-verbose-aint-easy.



Happy Teardrop Music focuses on indie pop music from the region and beyond. Currently the store features two indie bands from Indonesia: Brilliant at Breakfast, and Annemarie (split EP released by Dufflecoat Records). From Singapore, there is My Writes. Check out Brilliant At Breakfast and other bands at the Esplanade outdoor theatre at the following dates and times:

Friday 29 July
7:30pm - 8:15pm Paint The Sky Red
8:45pm - 9:30pm Harmacy
10pm - 10:45pm Brilliant At Breakfast

Saturday 30 July
7:30pm - 8:15pm Brilliant At Breakfast
8:45pm - 9:30pm Brilliant At Breakfast

10pm - 10:45pm Harmacy

Sunday 31 July
7:30pm - 8:15pm Harmacy
8:45pm - 9:30pm Paint The Sky Red
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Jul 8, 2011

Sondre Lerche - Sondre Lerche (2011)



Sondre Lerche - Sondre Lerche (2011)


1. Ricochet
2. Private Caller
3. Red Flags
4. Go Right Ahead
5. Coliseum Town
6. Never Mind The Typos
7. Domino
8. Living Dangerously
9. Tied Up To The Tide
10. When The River


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VA Bend it Japan 98 (Trattoria records)




01. Ball In - Kick Off - Cornelius
02. Colo Colo Meets The Stripes - Citrus
03. Hunting On Paris (Tecno Jacno Zero - Return Rec.) - Salon Music
04. 48 (’98 version) - Seagull Screming Kiss Her Kiss Her
05. Aquarela Do Brasil (Lopes) - Yoshie
06. Gimme Gimme Captain Wings - Wack Wack Rhythm Band
07. It’s Only Rock’n roll (But I Like Football) - Horie Hirohisa & Higurashi Aiha
08. Booed Leather - Freedom Suite
09. Kamo Feels The Noize - Pate + Genta
10. You Can Work It Out - Hideki Kaji avec Yugostar
11. Back Home - Fantastic Everlasting Gobstopper





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Aerospace



AEROSPACE


Aerospace is: Torbjörn Thorsén, vocals and guitar; Kristian Rosengren, guitar; John Boqvist, piano and organ; Christer Nilsson, bass; Fredrik Balck, drums.

At the outset, Aerospace was all about playing live. All about playing live and all about going on tours. Little surprise, then, that the blondest {and friendliest, possibly} band in the business embarked on their first three-date jaunt to Malmö and back a mere month after forming in Toby’s living room, one of the last days of January 2000. The first ‘practice’ was more about deciding who should play which instrument than grinding the same song for hours on end and the resulting line-up was Toby on vocals and guitar, Kristian on electric guitar, John on organ and Wurlitzer piano and Christer on the bass {Fredrik joined a little later on drums}.

Sticking to their unorthodox ways {unorthodox in a world where bands are half-expected to spend five years in a tiny basement before even considering playing live, at least} the fab five lined up shows in their native Sweden, slowly gaining a reputation among fans of their brand of breezy-but-energetic, melodic guitar pop, and an ardent following wherever they went, celebrating their six month-anniversary by touring the west coast of America for half a month. Rising to the occasion, Aerospace played larger venues than ever before, taking in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle as part of the New Modern Tour, featuring premier American indie pop bands Majestic, My Favorite, The Fairways and others.

Recording always seemed an afterthought, but the sessions that eventually surfaced on »The Bright Idea Called Soul« were just as spectacular as the live shows, still the number one priority of Aerospace.

The fall meant more concerts and the band perfecting their craft through playing all over Stockholm and the rest of the country, with the first birthday crowned by the award for “Best Newcomer” at the prestigious Benno Awards early 2001.

The year that followed saw the band again supporting some of their musical heroes: The Aislers Set and The Lucksmiths on their respective tours of Sweden, and another summer of love was spent in San Francisco where Aerospace “blew away most of the other bands” {Peter Hahndorf, TweeNet} at the four-day Popfest 2001.

One year later, Aerospace can add an album and twenty-odd shows to their resumé {including first-time trips to Norway, England and Scotland and playing with Belle and Sebastian in Stockholm} and are getting ready to record the follow-up to »The Bright Idea Called Soul«, set to take their music to the next level.





THE BRIGHT IDEA CALLED SOUL (2001)

01 - hey boy! (a song for kenji)
02 - summer still reigns supreme
03 - the only things we share
04 - I should have stayed asleep
05 - the caroline I know
06 - the world revolves around her
07 - summer days are forever
08 - all fall through
09 - summer bliss
10 - better days
 





 IN A PLACE OF SILVER EAVES (2003)

01 - december slow
02 - the great divide
03 - debutante love affair
04 - my love don't care about time
05 - (you're) much too young
06 - tenderness is the plight of the weakerthan
 


  
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A Minipop Mixtape - 50 Minutes of Solitude




TRACKLIST:
01. Air - Alone in Kyoto
02. Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
03. Bjork - Hyperballad (Fluke Mix)
04. Wilco- How To Fight Loneliness
05. The Smiths - There is A Light That Never Goes Out
06. Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over
07. Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat
08. (bonus track)
09. Audrey Hepburn - Moon River
10. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
11. Lou Reed -  Satellite Of Love
12. Sondre Lerche - Goodnight




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Answer Sheet



ANSWER SHEET


Answer sheet, the ukulele duo consisting of Wafiq Giotama (Ogi) and Mas Gilang Karebet (Rebet). 2 Javanese youngsters from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Met at the same class on high school, chatted around until they found some similarity, music. Rebet at first was already interested with mixing, as he had a self electro project. Ogi was a drummer for a Deathcore band. One day, there was an intern art festival at their school that they have chosen to take participation in. They decided to gather together with another friend but then ended up being only the two of them. They tried the two man band format with only guitar and drums. It didn't work out so the project disbanded.

After several months, Ogi found his lover over the internet, the ukulele. His curiosity about ukulele made himself as the co-founder of Indonesia Ukulele Community (with his two other friends). Interested along the way, Ogi spreaded the virus. Rebet got something called "UKESYNDROME" and decided to re-unite as Answer Sheet. The name "Answer Sheet" comes from like when you're on an exam, sometimes you get a good mark, sometimes awful. That's the way their music is: Sometimes good and sometimes awful, but they're trying the best they can.

Maybe you can describe their music as an Indie/Pop/Folk, even it isn't exactly the best name to describe their music. Influenced by musicians (most of them ukulele players) such as Zach Condon (Beirut), Jake Shimabukuro, Christofer Drew (Nevershoutnever), Stephen Jerzak, Forrest Kline (Hellogoodbye), Jens Lekman, Billie The Vision & The Dancers,The Trees & The Wild, and millions more.




Answer Sheet EP

Track List:
- The Pleasant Drink of United Ink
- Stay, Leave
- A Love Beach, Sadranan
- Summercat (Billie The Vision & The Dancers Cover)



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These Trails



THESE TRAILS


'These Trails was an Honolulu, Hawaii group that was privately pressed on Sinergia Records in 1973. Their eponymous debut is an album that skillfully combines a keen sense of melody with otherworldly vocals from the enigmatic, late 'Margaret Morgan' and innovative sonic experimentation that over 30 years later has stood the test of time. What's more, the band furnished each of its tracks with the colours, scents and atmospheres of the botanical treasure of the volcanic Pacific island paradise that birthed them.

These Trails incorporate the synthesizer and multiple vocal tracks into something rich, moody and magical - with warbling frequency modulation complimenting Morgan's amazing slow vibrato, fleshed out by graceful acoustic guitars. The songs are full of simple beauty and the power of the performances will never diminish over time.

Each track stands out: "Psyche I & Share Your Water" is a 5 minute track begins with a calm, soothing Folk feel highlighted by some fine acoustic guitar work. Eventually it descends into bad trip territory with ghastly vocals and spooky electronics – an outstanding track, very trippy and worth the price of admission alone. 'Garden Botanum' is another strong highlight that hits like a ray of Hawaiian sunshine, the arrangements are free and green with lots of interesting twists, the vocals are beautifully exotic. 'Rapt Attention' is short, perfect ditty with a twee, joyful feeling and an incredible vocal performance. This is an unbelievably wonderful piece of music and one of the greatest albums of the 70s.'

Location is very often everything when it comes to great folk music, whether it be the tranquil green countryside of home-counties England that informed the pastoral moods of Nick Drakes legendary albums, or the heather-clad moorland and Neolithic sites of Northern England used today as backdrops to the avant-folk experimentation of Xenis Emputae Travelling Band. In the world of psychedelic folk there are few better examples of this than the sole self-titled release from 1973 by These Trails, a then little known folk act from Hawaii, that is now held up, with deserved reverence, as a cult-classic of the genre. It is an album that skillfully combines a keen sense of melody with otherworldly vocals from the enigmatic late Margaret Morgan and innovative sonic experimentation that over 30 years later has stood the test of time. What’s more the band furnished each of its tracks with the colours, scents and atmospheres of the botanical treasure of the volcanic Pacific island paradise that birthed them.
~by Simon Allen




These Trails (1973)

01. These Trails 1:24
02. Our House In Hanalei 1:51
03. Of Broken Links 1:40
04. El Rey Pescador 3:07
05. Psyche I & Share Your Water 5:22
06. Hello Lou 3:47
07. Rusty's House & Los In Space 5:49
08. Psyche II 2:30
09. Sowed A Seed 2:17
10. Rapt Attention 2:15
11. Waipoo 2:36
12. Garden Botanum 3:31




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