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Right. Am not gonna name every letter for you but here are the important ones that every ASH fan should know.

A is for A Lifeless Ordinary

G is for Girl From Mars

J is Jackie Chan

K is Kungfu

N is for Northern Ireland

S is Starwars

Rather than fighting it, Tim Wheeler and his storm troopers has embraced the way the internet revolution has come about and how inherently it has changed the music industry.

I quote,“The way people listen to music has changed, with the advent of the download the emphasis has reverted to single tracks. It hasn’t helped that most people have forgotten how to make a decent album. I’m constantly disappointed with records I buy,” unquote.

IMHO, Ash has been guilty of their own words: forgotten how to make a decent album. Ever since 1977, the subsequent albums the band has produced have been substandard. Notwithstanding the  one or two songs of course (Jesus Says from Nu clear sounds, Shining light from Free all angels, Starcrossed from Meltdown and Polaris from Twilight of the innocents).

It’s things like these that make you just want to buy the “best of” instead.

Hence the band decided to ‘go with the flow’ and release 26 single-format songs aptly titled, A-Z series, which started in October 2009, right through until the end of this year. Ash kicked off with “Return of White Rabbit”- a mix of klaxons/bravery. Although a mixed reception was received, RWR is definitely good enough for me.

It’s evident that ASH are venturing into the electronic side of things;not surprising in this day and age. The next single (which is also the first radio single of the series), True Love 1980, definitely marks the return of a band that has come a long way since the early 90s. Catchy hooks and brilliant sing-a-long choruses are the hallmarks  of great ASH songs. This is one of them.

True love 1980

True love 1980 (Timothy Allen remix)

2nd radio single, SPACE SHOT

First of all, a happy new year to all out there.

Apologies for the belated one and the lack of music recommendations for the past few months. 2009’s just ended and I am sure each and everyone of you would have had your top ten indie albums for the year all decided by now. So I was having a chat with Mark (who is as picky as pitchfork when it comes to music) and comparing our fav albums for 2009 just before the brilliant Yeah Yeah Yeah concert on Tuesday night. Right up there we had The Girls, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The XX, Animal Collective and Phoenix (this where our opinion differed, haha). He then brought up one more band in his top ten: The Big Pink.

“The Big Pink?” I exclaimed.

Ironically the band consisted of 2 straight men (no, I have nothing against our friends with alternative lifestyles) from London. Signed to 4AD (Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, The Breeders,Camera Obscura, TV on the Radio), The Big Pink won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act. Previous winners include: Glasvegas (2008), The Long Blondes (2006) and Kaiser Chiefs (2005).

TBP sounds shoegazed married with electronic beats, hence the genre, nu-gaze. So if you’re looking for something to slit your wrists to, this might work. Try the song “Love in Vain”. “Tonight” starts off sounding like a La Roux track but Robbie and Milo’s vocals and random noise distortion changes the overall tone (remember, they’re shoegaze meets electronic). Still no clue? Imagine JAMC with more noise and electronic beats.

Listen to our recommended tracks on their myspace site: “Velvet” (best track of the album for me), “Count Backwards From Ten”, and “A Brief History of Love”.

7.9 pinks out of ten from me.

Check out Big Pink’s cover of The Cure’s lovesong —>here

ONETTES. yes you got it right. When I first chanced upon them, I was thinking along the lines of the fictional band in That Thing You Do!, The ONEders. While sounding absolutely nothing like them, the Onettes have preserved the dark indie elements of 80s (the church, new order, echo and the bunnymen, the cure) and updated it for our current consumption. Well, not really an update but more of a revisit; I love how this swedish export marry the dreampop.shoegaze echo-y vocal elements with the new-wave drumming style of new order/joy division.

One criticism though: The mary onettes style of music make for at the most, 2 albums worth of listening. What happens in the 3rd (if there is a 3rd)? I cannot forsee/tolerate them having one more album that sounds almost identical as the first 2. Not unless you’re Interpol or Teenage Fanclub. But in the interest of good music history appreciation, most successful bands are able to retain their meaning and sound in the most different ways possible. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that The Mary Onettes do. For now, allow Philip Ekström and the boys remind you of how of wonderful the dark 80s sounded.

Free downloads:

Void (from S/T debut album) (right-click “save as”)

Lost (from S/T debut album) (right-click “save as”)

Puzzles (from upcoming album)

myspace

To be released 3rd November 2009.

During my sophomore year in Western Australia, I depended on Eirik and Erlend’s music to quell the sickness of boredom and misery. It didn’t help that Perth was mostly oh-so-slow moving and dreary. And I remembered when I listened to the songs with my eyes closed, I can almost imagine them playing in the same room I was in. ‘Quiet is the new Loud’ became my staple make-me-feel-happy-when-I’m sad music. I had hoped to see them perform live in a intimate setting like a pub or a recital hall.

I eventually got my wish - 5 years later at the Esplanade. Those guys at Mosaic did one-better. They got the Kings to play at a concert hall instead; in front of a full house of 1,600.

3 years on (thankfully we had Erlend help fill the gap with his solo electronic dance album and side project, Whitest Boy Alive), they are back with their 3rd studio album, Declaration of Dependence, to be released on the 2nd October by EMI.

IMHO, there is nothing groundbreaking about D.O.D., but it is just comforting to know that are 13 more new aural pleasures for us to ponder our lives with, to sit through rainy sundays with or to end a heavy Partying night with. One song struck me particularly though: Track number 13,’ Riot on an Empty Street’. It was a previously recorded song from their ‘Magic in the Air’, limited 3-track Ep.

The song is probably describing a situation where the boy knows that his relationship with his girlfriend  is coming to an end because of the distance between them. Something we all can relate to, at least at some point in our lives.

Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street (song)

florence + elly

I think 2 is better than 1, because ‘2 becomes 1′ is the oh-so-awful song by spice girls. Pardon the corny-ness ‘cos this week we’ve got a double-bill recommendation lined up: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE and LA ROUX.

Similarities: Both Florence Welch and Elly Jackson were both born and bred in London. Both bands were voted in BBC’s Sounds of 2009, of which FATM came in 3rd and LR came in 5th (If you must really know, Little Boots came in 1st and White Lies came in 2nd, with Empire of the Sun coming in at 4th between FATM and LR).

Both were nominated for this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize.

That’s where their similarities end.

Florence + The Machine - Lungs

Lungs is a pretty delightful album to listen to, all the way from the first to the thirteenth song. Especially when you’ve heard it way before all your other friends have, and you’re thinking of boasting your brilliant find. Described as ’soul inspired indie”, I couldn’t agree more. Try to picture Sinead O’Connor, Sarah Mclachlan or even Paula Cole singing at double the speed, backed by “indie-ish” harp, piano and hard-thumping drums. In fact, if I’m allowed to, I’d like to call Florence Welch today’s Kate Bush.

Tracks we love: Dog Days are Over, Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), You Got The Love.

Bigbeat electronica version of

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (P.E.S.T. Remix)

LA ROUX

80’s synth-pop has never gone away and with Elly pushing the case further with La Roux, I don’t see how will we ever forget the likes of The Eurythemics, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode or the Human League. Citing them as her major influences and coupled with the brilliance of co-writing partner, Ben Langmaid and Dubstep maestro, Skream (who produced the album), La Roux, I feel can be immediately placed alongside the other brilliant synthpop bands who are currently the epitome of the genre: Passion Pit, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, etc. AND mind you, this is much better-written pop than Lady Gaga’s!

Tracks we love: Quicksand, In For the Kill, Bulletproof, Tigerlily.

A lil’ something for the dubsteppers: In for the Kill (Skream’s let’s get ravey remix)

It’s been awhile since we at poptart gave our listening recommendation (besides our monthly top ten tunes) and for today’s, we have Fanfarlo. Based out of London, this 6-piece indie-folk band brings to our ipods and ipod touches 13 whole new refreshing, easy-listening, feet-tapping aural pleasures. Using mostly acoustic guitars and besides the sounds of mandolins, glocks, accordions and saxophones, the band also uses other everyday household items such as keys and saws!

Dubbed as Britain’s Arcade Fire, ‘Reservoir’ instantly packs that familiar punch, for anyone that remembers the impact ‘Funeral’ had upon its release. Produced by Peter Katis (The National and Interpol), Fanfarlo sold a digital-only version of its album for $1, in order to, I quote,

“Hello. Because we want everyone to hear our album, and in the spirit of “why not”, we are now letting you download it, along with 4 exclusive bonus tracks, for a mere one dollar until July 4th (or, if you like, Independence Day.) After that, the madness will end and you will be able to get the CD, the vinyl and a beautiful new special edition at normal prices.”

We at poptart hereby apologise for not informing you of this earlier.

Sounding like a mish-mash of Decemberists and Arcade Fire, coupled with Alec Ounsworth-ish (Clap your hands say yeah) sounding lead vocals, every song on this album sounds so complete, lavishly arranged and epic. But if I had to choose 3 songs as favourites, they would be, ‘Finish Line’, ‘Harold T. Wilkins Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time’ and “Ghosts”.

myspace

A little trivia for you: See the 2 girls on their album cover? One of them is the younger sister of Jón Þór Birgisson (Sigur Ros).

(None of the files linked here were uploaded or hosted by the author of this site. The links are not tested and are found simply by searching the net. The author of this site doesn’t take any responsibility for the usage of the files you may find. This blog is intended to popularize the music of independent artists and to give you the latest info on their activity. Any music file you acquire following provided links, use only for your own evaluation purpose, and delete it within 24 hours. If you like anything of the music presented here, please buy it.)

Currently on repeat for the 11th time, I just had to recommend this brilliant album to those out there who haven’t heard it yet. And because Adrian and I both had Joy Formidable songs (2 different ones at that!) on our June playlists, it definitely says something about this little gem of an album.

Despite having only 8 songs (5 already available for download, all 8 for streaming on myspace) on their debut, A Balloon named Moaning was sold out during the online pre-sales; this and between making it a freedownload on NME’s music blog. Radiohead started the whole free-download-or-pay-how-much-you-think-it-is-worth thing and so many bands have caught on since. Fighting piracy with a little guilt trip, perhaps?

The Joy Formidable are a 3-piece band, originally out of North Wales, but currently residing in London. They are catchy, poppy and rocky, all at the same time. I’d like to classify them as punkpop or dreampunk, since someone classified them as dreampop. The band consists of nothing less than: Rhydian - Bass/Vox, Ritzy - Guitar/Vox, Justin - Drums/Vox.

The JF has 2 singles to date; they have put out their second single “Cradle” on February 2nd of this year, and their previous single, “Austere”, which was released during the summer of 2008, had its video banned from youtube because it features people’s faces as though they were masturbating (you can still watch it on the official website :)).  “Cradle” takes that same epic pop sound that TJF create so well and cranks it to another level.  But IMHO, even the other 6 songs are good enough to be released as singles. And since they have offered free downloads, we’re not gonna be giving you samples to listen this time round.

Links —> myspace | joyformidable.com | Freedownload! (just give them your e-mail address and you can download 5 of their songs)

Formed in late 2007, 5 barely-legal guys from Cambridge, Massachusettes, have brought to the table yet another electronic-synth-indie-pop offering called Passion Pit. You must be wondering, when is this trend going to stop/how long more of this going to continue? Not anytime soon I reckon. BUT, my advice to you is, “if you can’t beat em’, join ‘em!”

Thankfully, the Pits make that bitter medicine easy to swallow. Or rather, quite enjoyable, really. On the first listen, they sound very much like a mish-mash of Chromeo and MGMT. Michael Angelakos’ eunuch-isque vocals sound very much like Andrew VanWyngarden’s. Coming off a rather so-so debut EP, Chunk of Change, Manners is very much a more accomplished effort:

The Reeling’s intro sounds very Big Beat-ish in a Chemical Brothers kind of way. It then breaks into a disco-indie rhythm, packed with loads of beautifully-layered synths. Not forgetting the extremely catchy singalong, feet-tapping chorus, of course.

“Look at me, oh look at me

Is this the way I’ve always been

Oh no, oh

noanekatips

Now I’m dreaming somebody

Would simply come and kidnap me

Oh no, oh no

Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today’s the day

Oh no, oh no

Here I am, and here I am, when will someone understand

Oh no, oh no”

Another favourite track of mine, ‘Little Secrets’, sound like a Jackson 5 song infused with synths and a modern beat (As Pitchfork puts it, it sounds like D.A.N.C.E.). On a side note, I was quite pleasantly surprised that the stingy folk at Pitchfork actually gave Manners a 8.1 out of 10 rating. Not bad for a debut eh?

The Reeling Video

Myspace

Passionpitdotcom

The Reeling - Passion Pit

Let your Love Grow Tall - Passion Pit

There is only one answer for the question: The Golden Silvers!

I don’t know if it’s the dreariness of the credit-crunch driven depression or the lack of self-worth from not working, it’s times like these when we all could do with a little cheer in our lives. Listening to these guys do just that.

Despite forming in 2007, this London-based trio has only released their debut album, “True Romance”, 2 weeks back. True romance indeed, because I have fallen in love with brit-pop all over again. The album kicks-off with their previously independently-released single, “Another Universe”. Pretty mellow at the start, but the piano-driven song has such a melodic chorus and brilliant dramatic end to it:

‘Now i feel my powers fading

As the blueprints and diagrams and history books hold me to their hip

and my limbs start trembling as my vision starts fading

and my spirit starts to slip

and i see them wave goodbye

their left hands were casting a curse

while singing songs of a paradise from another universe’

Underlying the Golden Silvers’ song-writing/playing style is the “doo-wop-ish” backing vocals that accompany Gwilym Gold’s distinctive laid-back vocals. In addition, the piano work done on their songs give off the same kind of vibe when you listen to your old Ben Folds Five records. All in all, the record has an excellent amalgamation of pop-ish, disco upbeatness and slow-mellow in the right proportions. I mean, how often can you listen to a record from start to finish these days - We would pick two songs from each of our favourite CD’s and put in an iTunes playlist, or if the you have the newer updated version, Genius does that for you.

Here’s To True ROMANCE!

Magic Touch - Golden Silvers

Please Venus - Golden Silvers

True Romance (true no. 9 blues) - Golden Silvers

myspace

“Random photos of the band”

Is Karen O to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs what Billy Corgan is to the Pumpkins? I think the answer is yes.

No matter how you try to change the sound, or the song writing angle of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O’s voice is the key to retaining the underlying essence of the band. Looking at the varying success of other bands who have survived over the years, the only ones that are still doing well are the ones who keep refreshing their songs, tweaking them a little, but still enabling them to be recognised by their die-hard fans. Of course, at the same time, winning new ones over. Radiohead is a fine example.

Back with their third studio album, the NY trio have decided to swap their amps for synthesizers, angst for pop. Thankfully, they haven’t gone all totally indie-disco-nu-rave on us, but ‘It’s Blitz‘ sounds like an art punk record given a slightly more upbeat, dance-y facelift (Art Punk as a genre was derived from noise rock and no wave bands such as Sonic Youth).

Definitely more accessible to a wider audience now, songs like ‘Soft Shock’, ‘Heads will Roll’ and ‘Zero’ feature that new synth-driven sound. “Less rough round the edges, more engineered and accomplished,” were my first thoughts on the virgin listen. For those who love the raw-ness of ‘Show Your Bones‘, ‘Dull Life’ and ‘Shame and Fortune’ are the tracks to listen to.

Give a listen to ‘Hysteric’, my recommended track for the album. A mid-tempo, mellow track that reminds me so much of ‘Turn Into’ (minus the high hats). Late into the song, about 2.45, you will hear some trumpet-section work resembling TV on the Radio’s - evidence of David Sitek slick production work on the record. A little something for that stay-in rainy day, perhaps?

myspace

Hysteric - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Heads Will Roll (DIGIRAATII Dance Til You’re Dead Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

We will giving out a few copies of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s - It’s Blitz CD during the next Poptart party on Sat 9 May. Details of the party will be out very soon!