Athens66: Pre-Release

Caribou is back for a Swim

We finally found the time to listen to the whole new album by Caribou titled Swim. We've already heard and seen Odessa endless times (it's simply that good), so we weren't surprised by the fact that the rest of the tracks are equally good. Ambient sounds, sporadic lyrics and groovy beats make up the scene for a sound that reminds a lot of the good old days of Royksopp. The record is out on the 20th of April from Merge label. Go out and buy it!

Caribou - Sun

Caribu - Odessa

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A Terrible Love from National

Finally...the National have revealed their first track from their highly anticipated upcoming album High Violet. It was aired yesterday on Late Night with Jimmy Falon and it simply kicks ass (wow...I haven't used this expression in ages). The track is called Terrible Love and the album will be out on the 11th of May on 4AD label.

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PS. Thanks to Dustroad once again for twitting this!

MGMT are back in a Flash

Yesterday MGMT released thefirst track from their upcoming new album Congratulations. They have already played the self-titled track in various gigs around the world and are now offering for free a brand new track titled Flash Delirium. The track has many obvious Bowie influences in it, so I'm curious to see how the album will turn out. Congratulations is scheduled to be released on April 13th from Columbia Records (but I won't be surprised if it's leaked within the next week). Download the track from here.

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Radio Dept. have set Heaven on Fire

One of the best Swedish bands is coming back with a new album release. Radio Dept. are set to release their new record titled Clinging to a Scheme on April 21st, of' course through Labrador label. They released a first single from the album last June and are now offering fans a second one titled Heaven's on Fire (out on March 24th). The track features a cover from Sade's All about our Love and has more British than Swedish elements to it. Enjoy!

The Radio Dept. - Heaven's on Fire

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Errors - Come Down With Me

Never say never! Right after yesterday's review of Hot Chip comes an even better surprise. This time it's from four lads from Glasgow (the music city we love). We've seen Errors in the past, although we did mention back then that they sounded awful lot like Foals (which ain't a bad thing anyway). Now they are back with a new album titled Come Down With Me set to be released next month on Rock Action Records (Mogwai's label).

Their sound remains a mix of electro and progressive rock but with a lighter touch this time around. Tracks like A Rumor in Africa, Supertribe and Germany are simply top notch. There are times in this album where Mogwai clashes with Air and Foals with M83...which is actually much better than it sounds. Yet another rough gem from Glasgow!!

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Vampire Weekend bring on a White Sky

Vampire Weekend are working on their new material, expected to be released in January of 2010 and titled Contra. White Sky is one of the first tracks coming from the new album. Enjoy.

Vampire Weekend - White Sky

PS. Song hosted on our favorite indie rock cafe.

Fuck Buttons are Fucking Back!!

Yeap...it's true. The dynamic electro duo from Bristol that simply suprised everyone last year with their debut Street Horrrsing is finally back. Last year they offered as their pure experimental - electro meets noise - sound. This year they are back with their follow-up titled Tarot Sport (out in October on ATP/R label as always).

Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar

The new album will certainly be more accessible to more people out there since it tends to be more on the electro side rather than the noise side. Nevertheless, it still offers Fuck Button's unique signature of edgy patterns and endless loops. I'll be honest, I just loved their new material but then again I also loved their debut album, so I ain't totally unbiased. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it to everyone with just one small tip. Play it fucking loud!!!

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Logos coming up!

Another lengthy absence due to work (was off to Damascus, Syria for a bit). So until I get back in business, here's a cool song for a laid-back Sunday afternoon. It's Logos from the new Atlas Sound album entitled Logos as well. Enjoy!

Pete and Scarlett are ready to Break Up

It seems that Scarlett's debut last year at the music scene with Tom Waits' tribute album Anywhere I Lay my Head wasn't as successful as she hoped it to be (although it wasn't a disappointment either). Therefore she decided to follow Zooey Deschanel's footsteps and collaborate with pop singer/songwriter Pete Yorn. Their album is titled Break Up and is coming out on September 8th on Atco/Rhino label. After a quick listen I found the album much better than I expected. A mix of pop and folk (following She & Him's successful style) that suites both their voices. However, as opposed to She & Him, Pete is the dominant figure in this duo with Scarlett coming off mostly as a backup voice (with few exceptions like Relator). Then again, Scarlett's voice ain't so vivid and clear as Zooey's, so the choice was more than wise. Nevertheless, we would more than love to see a Zooey - Scarlett music faceoff! But since this seems a bit too far off (at least for reality), we'll just have to stick to what we have. So enjoy Pete's and Scarlett's first single Relator!

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are reaching Higher than the Stars

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have just announced the release of a new EP and a couple of singles for this coming fall. The New York band that managed to bring a fresh new sound into an almost dying scene will be releasing their new single Come Saturday on September 8 and their new EP Higher Than the Stars on September 22. Hopefully we'll get our hands on this material earlier for you, but until then here's a live version of their new song Higher than the Stars. Enjoy!

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When the Reverend's Silence is Talking to The Makers

The Reverend Jon McClure and the Sheffield Makers are back with their second album French Kiss in the Chaos (out July 27th). This is their new (bound to be a brit hit) single Silence is Talking. Enjoy!

Portugal the Man is a real Satanic Satanist

I was first drawn into Portugal the Man due to their name. I quickly however became a fan of them due to their clear indie sound, solid music and pure rock voice ofJohn Gourley. Their music style seems to be progressing every year with the release of new material. After their debut Waiter: You Vultures! in 2006 and my favorite follow-up in 2007 Church Mouth, last year’s 3rd album Censored Colors was a bit more subtle but better produced (reaching my Top 100 list). Keeping consistent, they are now releasing their 4th album on July 21st on Equal Vision label titled The Satanic Satanist.

Portugal the Man - People Say

So how much have Portugal changed on this 4th consecutive outtake? To me, they made the final leap into making it big ; it’s now or never I guess. Their sound once again progressed and is much lighter than on Church Mouth but with more essence. They have shifted into a more pop/folk territory, within reason of course. Similarities to Yeasayer may be made at some points on the record but in general the album retains the rock kick we’ve been accustomed by Portugal. I’ve given the album numerous spins and I like it more and more each time. Everything seems to come together this time and it seems Portugal finally found the right chemistry (that was evident in all their material but always lacked the extra punch for making them big).All that’s missing now is to catch them on stage!

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Arthur and Martha Navigate us back to C86

Arthur and Martha are synth/pop duo from Leeds/London. Their real names are actually Adam and Alice (god knows why they changed them...but all indie bands need to have some wierd story behind them) and their music sounds (as Guardian posted it) like a new take on C86. Sweet melodies are combined with twee lyrics to make up a cheerful debut. Navigation will be available on the 29th of June on Happy Robots label. What can I say...I can't resist a twee meoldy..

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Our Dark Night Of The Soul

This is perhaps the project of the year. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse have combined forces along with cult (and beloved) director David Lynch in a dark, mystical and alluring album. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse provide the melodies, a set of guest artists the vocals and Davil Lycnh the 100+ page artwork, which will be exhibited in the Michael Kohn Gallery in LA.

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - The Man Who Played God (feat. Nina Persson)

Amongst the guest vocal in the album you can find James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel. Quite an impressive list for a more than impressive album. You can order the book online, although it is currently shipped with a blank CD (due to legal dispute of Danger Mouse and EMI label). However, you can stream the whole album for free from here!

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Pain (feat. Iggy Pop)

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The Legends are back Over and Over again

The Swedes are back! (or at least Johan Angergård). The new record by the Legends is coming out in May from Labrador records and a first quick listen to it is more than promising. Johan has shifted style a bit on this one and moves more into noise pop and shoegaze, without losing the swedish pop style(which we all love). Someone commented that it sounds like TPBPH and there's nothing wrong in that in my book. I'll definetly give it a couple of more spins before I make up my mind if I just like it or love it! I surely recommend it nevertheless..

The Legends - Seconds Away

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Back to 1901

The single of the month probably...coming from the superb new album (Wolfgang Amadeus) by French band Phoenix. Their single is free for download from their site here. Thumbs up all the way to France..

Phoenix - 1901

Röyksopp - Junior

The Norwegian electro-pop duo is back after 4 years since their last hit album. You have to give them credit for consistency, both albums since their brilliant debut back in 2001 took 4 years before released. Their latest one is called Junior and is coming out on March 24th on Caroline label.

Royksopp ft. Lykke Li - Miss It So Much

The new album continues on the path set by Melody AM and The Understanding. It is a blend of pop, electro and a bit of retro house. The usual suspects are there; Norwegian singer Anneli Drecker and Swedish singer Karin Dreijer. however, this time the duo also collaborated with Sweden's latest pop idols, Robyn and Lykke Li.

Royksopp ft. Robyn - The Girl And The Robot

The album follows the easy path of The Understanding. Flawless pop with catchy beats and melodic vocals. However, while all these elements blended perfectly on their debut Melody AM, two albums later it sounds like Röyksopp are starting to repeat themselves. There are some good tracks in there and the whole album is quite enjoyable, but that's all there is to it. No hidden gems, no memorable and inspiring tunes like Eple. Hope the guys get back on track soon..otherwise this would be the last record from them that I'll bother to give another go.

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The New Celebrity Royalty

Andy, Tom and David are the three men behind the Celebrity Chimp. A banjo, a set of drums and a bass guitar along with some glances of pop, some pieces of folk and a lot of punk is what you get from the band's debut EP titled Celebrity is the new Royalty (out on the 28th of February on Green Pea Productions). I just received their EP and it ain't half-bad. On the contrary, it was quite fun although it needs some work to make a difference in this overcrowded scene. Their music differs mostly due to the constant use of the banjo and their sparky lyrics; mainly stories about your everyday porn star, murderer or swinger :-) Check out their site for more fun..

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A hand in the Sky (En Hand i Himlen) from Jonathan Johansson

Yes, I got into this one as well. Jonathan Johansson is the new pop sensation from (where else) Sweden and his single En Hand i Himlen is just amazingly addictive (you've been warned). Here is his first official video and we'll be waiting for his album out on the 9th of February from Hybris label (I already pre-ordered it from the links you can find at the end of the post). Will be back with more details once I get my hands on it. God damn Sweden...

Jonathan Johansson - En Hand i Himlen

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are More than Welcomed

Alex, Kip, Kurt, and Peggy make up the New York band the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Together since 2007, the band is releasing on February 3rd their self-titled debut on Slubmberland label and is probably the best debut i've heard so far this year (and the best album for that case). Their music has a nostalgic feel of shoegaze and noise pop, combined with a bit of chamber pop. Something like Belle and Sebastian clashed with My Bloody Valentine!

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Hey Paul

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - This Love is Fucking Right!

Sure there are numberless influences to be spotted on their debut but who cares when it all sounds so beautiful and fresh. I've been trying to find words to describe or explain why I enjoyed this album so much but the plain truth is that this one is simply a joyful record that you want to listen to again and again. I've read a number of reviews while trying to describe this feeling I get from the album, but the best one came from 17 seconds which rightfully states that "the band hail from New York City but this is an album that feels like it’s spiritual home is Glasgow". Yeap...can't help but fall in love with a pure at heart Glasgow album...