June 12 is the date for the new LP, There's No Leaving Now, from Kristian Matsson, aka the Tallest Man On Earth. his first since 2010's The Wild Hunt. His gorgeous guitar and the dulcet tones are unmistakable, and the first taste off the new album is a beauty. '1904' has been kindly offered as a free download and will whet the appetite for the June release. He has some live shows coming up soon but you better get your tickets organised if you plan to see him. Five of the first six gigs are sold out already as he plays his native Sweden starting May 31, before heading to LA, Toronto, NYC, the Hop Farm Festival in Kent UK, London, Amsterdam (also sold out), Berlin, Dachau, Lollapalooza Chicago, and ending with the Green Man Festival at Brecon Beacon, UK. Not a bad trip. Settle back and have a listen to this great track below, and good luck to you if you can score a ticket to see the Tallest Man live.
1904
Tallest Man On Earth (USA)
From the forthcoming album, 'There's No Leaving Now', Dead Oceans
There were two big moves on the chart this week from Twin Shadow's 'Five Seconds' 18 to 9 and Doldrums' 'Egypt' 17 to 7. There were three new entries this week. Brighton's Fear Of Men enter at 17 with their new single 'Green Sea' (more of that below). Helsinki's indie popsters Big Wave Riders return with the first single off their forthcoming EP, 'Waiting In The Wings (27) and Los Angeles via Chicago White Blush sneaks in at 30 with her new track among three new ones, 'Without You'. The top four is as you were with PS I Love You moving to 2 with 'Don't Go' and Phèdre remaining at number one with 'Cold Sunday'. Check out free downloads of two of the new ones below and click on the image above to access the whole chart.
Having rubbed shoulders with the likes of The Antlers, Iceage and Best Coast and released a warmly received single, 'Doldrums' last year, Brighton/London outfit Fear Of Men are set to release a new single, 'Green Sea' that will be released as a limited edition single on June 18. Boasting an old school sound that comes courtesy of of recording in a basement and filtering backing vocals through an echo chamber together with a backwards guitar break, the song strangely has a polished and lush feel courtesy of the sparkly yet spartan instrumentation. The 'Green Sea' bw 'Born' seven inch can be pre-ordered from Sexbeat right here and if you are in London, Brighton or Manchester you can catch them live throughout June with two of the dates supporting Best Coast.
Green Sea
Fear Of Men (ENG)
From the single, 'Green Sea', Sexbeat. 7" vinyl out on June 18
Chilled out echoed vocals reminiscent of Radio Dpt. stand out in the gorgeous tracks from UK producer Orlando Higginbottom, aka TEED aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. With his professor father being the conductor of the New College choir at the University of Oxford, he has made a name for himself as a remixer, producing since 2008 the likes of Darwin Deez, Crystal Fighters, Friendly Fires and most recently Jonquil's 'It's My Heart'. In reverse fashion his track 'Tapes And Money' has had a working over from John Talabot and MJ Cole, the former you can check out below. This young DJ and producer has a huge future ahead, and with smooth tunes as nice as this it's going to worth listening to.
Tapes And Money
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosoars (UK)
From the forthcoming album, 'Trouble', Polydor. Out on June 12.
Canadian experimental act Phèdre, whose track 'Cold Sunday' currently holds the number one spot on our Top 30 chart, have just delivered the video for 'Aphrodite' off their self titled Indie30 AOTW recently released via Daps Records. If you caught their last video for 'In Decay' featured here a month ago, you know the weirdness exuded from this close knit circle of musicians is of a gold standard. While there are no buckets brimming with goat heads, it does feature a nightmarish group of choreographed dancers painted up like characters from Japanese 'Noh' theatre in what looks like a karioke room with a game of mahjong on the go. Front-man Daniel Lee has called the band an 'imagination project' in a recent interview with Spinner, and with the combination of found sound and performance art style theatrics, the decadency of Phèdre harks back to the days of Warhol's Factory, indeed they would have fitted right in. This eclectic trio will be playing Sneaky Dee's in Toronto June 15, as part of the NXNE Festival, now in its 18th year. You can check out the Daps Records showcase here. Check them out if you are lucky enough to be in the vicinity next month.
It's been a long and frustrating road travelled for main Cats On Fire protagonist Mattias Björkas and company. The now five piece pop troubadors had their beginnings in the then somewhat small and isolated west coast Finnish town of Vaasa where in late 2002/early 2003 as an 18 year old Swedish speaking Björkas, Kenneth Höglund and initial members Kim and Johan put out a couple of demos and a debut EP, Solid Work, on vinyl to heartening reception in the Finnish big smoke, Helsinki. However, like many good starts, the initial buzz turned out to be a false dawn and despite moving to Turku, gaining Ville Hopponen and Henry Ojala (now the mastermind behind Burning Hearts) and despite releasing two more EPs over the next three years, the Cats On Fire project failed to make the right connections and stalled.
Slowly though, a collective around Björkas began to take shape. Finally in a position where they could get people taking notice they were rejuvenated in the summer of 2006 and released their first album proper, The Province Complains, to deserved acclaim among the indie pop community throughout Europe. Two years later, they released the equally impressive Our Temperance Movement. Two prominent shows at NYC's 2008 and 2009 Popfest, alongside Ojala's Burning Hearts and Sweden's The Radio Dept. and it seemed things were starting to fall into place.
The last three years then seem to have seen the band tread water again and you only need to do a quick English language search of the band on the web to understand that Cats On Fire, for some bizarre reason, haven't exactly set the English language world on fire over their long journey. It is hoped then that their new record All Blackshirts To Me will change all that.
Once again incorporating traditional melodies with sparkling jangly pop that spans the ages, All Blackshirts To Me builds on the work done on previous releases but overall is more exploratory and diverse both in approach and sound. Still prevalent though is the intellectually and politically piercing lyrical content that has always characterised Cats On Fire, no better illustrated than on '1914 and Beyond', a track that contains pointed criticism for the European elites financial penchant for imposing austerity in the wake of the 2008 GFC, policies that serve to insulate and reward them from their fuck-ups while they fuck over ordinary people, policies so widely rejected by popular forces in both Greece and France in recent days. Bjorkas advises, "Greece don't pay your debts, don't bother with debts, Iceland, go on and cover us in ashes". Also present again are doses of withering self-criticism, clever self-deprecation and more than a flirtation with obtuse laden reality, lyrical qualities that Björkas has come to be renowned for.
Throughout the album's eleven tracks, there's almost an encylopedic sense to Björkas's pop knowledge. While his vocals have always had a little Edwyn Collins about them, that's about where the similarities with bands like Orange Juice and other c1980 British bands end. Opener 'Our Old Centre Back', an example of Björkas's prediliction for playing the part of the one that loses out begins with a traditional flavour and combines old folk vocal stylings with laconic six string work. It also sets the tone of the record, that is Cats On Fire seem determined to deliberately play within themselves; the sum of its parts making up the whole.
'My Sense Of Pride' is a joyous listen with chiming guitars but lyrically is an example of the self deprecation aforementioned, "Takes courage to say I’ve been mistaken, I’ve been an idiot for years, Now I speak in a lower voice to blend in, I try not to dress up queer". 'A Different Light' is an absolute pop gem that begins with a soaring hook before settling down in a disciplined fashion before rising to flourishing finish.'There Goes The Alarm' is a sparkly ballad that hums away beautifully as intricate guitar arrangements dominate both in idea and execution throughout. Bjorkas completes the delicate nature of the track by vocally almost nursing his lyrics through. 'After The Fact' bounces along with angular bass prominent with gorgeous harmonies surrounding its chorus.
'The Sea Within' continues the trajectory and follows a traditional bent vocally and the melancholic, yet defiant European history lesson, the aforementioned, '1914 and Beyond', completes the middle section. 'Well Well What Do You Know' features Bjorkas and Iiris Viljanen, not for the first time delivering exquisite harmonies together in another irresistable traditional arrangement.
'Smash It To Pieces' evokes a mixture of a little bit of Belle And Sebastian at times together with good British and Irish nineteenth century folk. Standout track, 'A Few Empty Waves' is a sweeping statement of intent in terms of what All Blackshirts To Me is about - a band determined to keep relevant and vital. The track contains much power in its own restraint musically as Bjorkas uses the pitfalls of being at sea as a metaphor for the mixed experiences of Cats On Fire thus far. Closing track, the instrumental accordion dominated 'Finnish Lace' could almost be seen as a muted musical celebration, the culmination of a great record by artists that are satisfied but fully aware that music is but just one part of life.
Throughout All Blackshirts To Me, Cats On Fire never overplay their hand. Each track stays firmly within itself, allowing the listener to come to each of them on his or her own terms. This has been something that the band have been known for throughout their career and perhaps one of the reasons they haven't 'cracked' the English language independent music world. One hopes this record will change that and early signs are that it will. The most pleasing thing out of that is the fact this very special pop band have always marched to the beat of their own drum. That they are producing their best work after eleven long years is testament to the band's timeless ability to add social and political intelligence as well as musical virtuosity to the full spectrum that pop has to offer. It may have been a long and hard road travelled over the past decade for Cats On Fire, but I for one hope that All Blackshirts To Me simply stands at the centre of another decade to come.
James Stocker - May 10, 2012.
A Different Light
Cats On Fire (FIN)
From the album, 'All Blackshirts To Me', Soliti/Matinee.
Eccentrically talented Canadian electronic trio Phèdre take the number spot this week with their crazy, lazy, yet infectious pop/hip hop hybrid 'Cold Sunday'. The track, incidentally bagged by Pitchfork, or should that be 'Pitchfuk' (their words not ours), in that leviathan's lukewarm review of the self titled debut album the track comes from, is an absolute ripper and we reckon this is what all doses of hip-hop should sound like; underdone, minimal, with it's tongue firmly in its own cheek and not up its own commercial arse. We can only handle doses and we can't handle commercial.
The big move this week comes from another Canadian act, PS I Love You with their new single, 'Don't Go', a atmospherically heavy, hook laden piece of modern rock brilliance. Hard to believe it's just the two of them.
There are four new entries this week. One third of the aforementioned Phèdre, Airick Woodhead, aka Doldrums enters at 17 with his new 12" single, Egypt, out on vinyl on June 4. It's been said if you're not up with Doldrums, you're irrelevant; a fair comment we reckon - an at once weird and refreshing simultaneous industrial beat fest. Parts of the excellent female vocal arrangements remind of Blondie's 'Rapture' but tail off to some out there place only Woodhead could possibly know of.
Another new entry comes from new Cascine signing, Stockholm electronic duo Ditt Inre with the laid back Washed Out and Korallreven inspired 'Månljus (saknad)', in English 'Moonlight (Missing). It's in at 29.
The two new entries were featured last week on Indie30. Virginia trio Eternal Summers are in at 20 with the first single, 'Millions' off their debut album to be released in late July, Correct Behavior and the much anticipated first track off the new Twin Shadow album, Confess, 'Five Seconds' enters at 18. Listen to the Doldrums track and download the Ditt Inre equivalent below and go to the entire chart here.
17. Egypt
Doldrums (CAN)
From the forthcoming 12" single, 'Egypt', Souterrain Transmissions. Out June 4.
New York's nihiti have dropped a dirty and wickedly great tune, 'Ghosts And Lovers', their first since last year's LP Faced With Splendor, via Lo Bit Landscape. A simple beginning belies what is to come on this track, as it grows heavier and harsher by the second. There are two surprising aspects to this track and band, one it's a cover of a Marissa Nadler song (read our article on her here) and secondly, its predecessor couldn't be more different, with its grim folk acoustic sounds. The diversity from this New York outfit is astounding as both musical styles are delivered with ease and grace. Check out the clip for 'Pinko Morning' below from Faced With Splendor, and stay tuned for more on nihiti as it surfaces.
Ghosts and Lovers
nihiti (USA)
From the single, 'Ghosts And Lovers', Lo Bit Landscapes
Fans of George Lewis Junior have waited a while now for something new from Twin Shadow, well the wait is now over. A brand new track, 'Five Seconds' has been kindly released as a free download, along with a spiel, as he likes to do, about the inspiration behind it. "One Winter I crashed my motorcycle, with a friend on the back. I shouldn't have been riding that day, but I was young and fearless of the black roads, fast and easy in my ways. As the bike slipped from under us my head filled with words. The slow motion moments of calm just after surprise and just before regret are bliss". With words like that it's little wonder his songs are so good. The poet of Brooklyn has captured the spirit of the 80s again in 'Five Seconds', new wave and up-tempo, and a bit harder than his previous work. It is a real teaser of what is to come on Confess. Produced by Twin Shadow and Michael H Brauer who has worked legends McCartney and Dylan. It's out in the Uk July 9 and US July 10.
Roanoke trio Eternal Summers are set to put out their second album Correct Behavior this coming July and have just released the first single off it, Millions. The noticeable aspect of the first single and indeed the whole record reflects the fact that over the past year the indie rock outfit have added a beefed up dimension to their sound.
Consisting of duo Nicole Yun and Daniel Cundiff on their first up lo-fi and spare effort, Silver, both their yearning for a bigger low end and circumstances forced their hand and they added bassist, Jonathan Woods to the line-up. The move is a masterstroke as Correct Behavior contains more complex tunes without losing the immediacy and casual air of their initial forays. Correct Behavior is out through Kanine Records on July 24. Download 'Millions' below.
Tracklist
1. Millions 2. Wonder 3. You Kill 4. I Love You 5. It’s Easy 6. Girls in the City 7. Heaven and Hell 8. Good As You 9. Disappear 10. Summerset
Millions
Eternal Summers (USA)
From the forthcoming album, Correct Behavior', Kanine.
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