Best New Releases from Ra Ra Riot, Eels, No Age, Abner Trio, Magic Kids, The Torches, Dead Confederate, !!!, Foxymorons + a Chill Mix
As summer winds down, this last week of August brings with it a truck load of great new releases, and free and legal MP3s, from a virtual crop of new LPs, EPs, and singles from artists and bands like Ra Ra Riot (#1 in Amazon), Eels, No Age, Abner Trio, !!!, Dead Confederate, The Torches, Magic Kids, The Foxymorons, Capstan Shafts, Brad Laner, Dan Mangan, Neil Nathan, New Ideal Society, Pale Sketcher, Atlantic at Pacific, Coil Sea, Bill Baird, James Blackshaw, Capstan Shafts and others.
“Boy”- Ra Ra Riot from The Orchard
“Glitter” - No Age from Glitter
“Run from The Gun” – Dead Confederate from Sugar (stream)
“Spectacular Girl” - Eels from Tomorrow Morning
“Future Thunder” - The Dashing Suns from Really Like You
“Thank You For Your Love” – Antony And The Johnsons from Thank You Your Love EP
“Somehow Keep It Going” – Cotton Jones from Tall Hours in the Glowstream
“You’re Gorgeous, Believe It!” - Abner Trio from The Giant Crushes You
“AM/FM” - !!! from Strange Weather Isn’t It?
“Mr. Vampire” – The Torches from The Torches
“Superball” – Magic Kids from Memphis
Bonus: “Summer” - Magic Kids from Memphis
“Automobile” – The Fumes from from s/t debut
“Skinny Cow Blues” – The Foxymorons from Bible Stories
“Eyes Close” – Brad Laner from Natural Selections
“Heart Your Eat Out” - Capstan Shafts from Revelation Skirts
“Road Regrets” - Dan Mangan from Nice, Nice, Very Nice
“Let’s Get Out of Here” – Les Savy Fav from Root for Ruin
“California Run” – Neil Nathan from The Distance Calls
“Disappearing” - New Idea Society from Somehow Disappearing
“Eyes Close” - Brad Laner from Natural Selections
New Songs That Are Chill
“Cloud Breath” - Bill Baird from Silence
“Part 7 (edit)” -James Blackshaw from All Is Falling
“Plans That Fade” – Pale Sketcher from Jesu: Pale Sketches Demixed
“Lattice of AUM” – Coil Sea from Coil Sea
“Weddings” - Atlantic at Pacific from Weddings
“In The Stream” - S. Carey from All We Grow
“Unseen Ticket – Imbogodom from Unseen Ticket
2010 Releases We Almost Missed, Vol. XI: The Polyamorous Affair, Vehicle Blues, Living Days, Wartime Blues, Woven Bones, Jaill
With the new music coming in from all directions non-stop all year long, we miss great new releases when they come out for one reason or another. That’s what this playlist mix series is for – to save face. Haha. No, really, it’s just a focused way to say, “hey, there’s great, new music we almost missed, and you probably should hear.”
Check out sweet 2010 tracks from The Polyamorous Affair, Vehicle Blues, Clock Opera, Wartime Blues, Woven Bones, Icarus Himself, a split single from Band in Heaven and Weird Waves, a pair from new buzz band Jaill, plus singles from 2010 releases by rising band Living Days, The Golden Dogs, Alex Kemp, Mock and Toof, Christopher Smith, No Second Troy, and The Lucky Dip Escapade.
“Bright One” – The Polyamorous Affair from Strange Bedfellows – August 16th
“Changer” - Vehicle Blues from Changer EP – June 7th
“Go Oblivion” - Living Days from Make Out Room EP – July 21st
“Youth” - Wartime Blues from Doves and Drums - Feb. 14th
“Your Way With My Live” - Woven Bones from In and Out and Back Again – May 18th
“Digging Holes” - Icarus Himself from Mexico EP - August 16th
“Seen It Coming” - Icarus Himself from Mexico EP - August 16th
“Summer Bummer” - Band in Heaven from 7″ split single – August 18th
“Suicide Pact” - Weird Waves from 7″ split single – August 18th
“Moonshine” - Corey Booth Project from Hurry Up & Wait – July 8th
“Everyone’s Hip” – Jaill from That’s How We Burn – July 27th
“New Noise” – Jaill from That’s How We Burn – July 27th
“Permanent Record” - The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms – July 27th
“Building Bridges” - Carta from An Index of Birds - Jan. 20th
“On Your Side” – Alex Kemp from Rat D’Hotel – May 22nd
“Suppress Your Feelings” – Mock and Toof from Tuning Echoes – May 24th
“Farewell to Wendo” – Mock and Toof from Tuning Echoes – May 24th
“Gently Gently” – Christopher Smith from The Beckon Call – May 11th
“This Is The End of Me” – No Second Troy from Colors – April 27th
“Campfire Song” – The Lucky Dip Escapade from Camp Fire Songs – July 16th
“A Piece of String” (Radio Edit) – Clock Opera from 7″ single – June 7th
Best New Releases: Elsinore, The Budos Band, Lost in the Trees, Burnt Ones, Kathryn Calder, Landing on the Moon, Women
With all of the buzz surrounding last week’s release of Arcade Fire’s their third album, The Suburbs, it has a way of overshadowing other new releases. Nonetheless, there are some worthy new releases this week that you may want to sink your teeth into. Most notably in our eyes (well, ears) is the debut LP from an Illinois band no one has heard of, and who convincingly has made our ‘bands to watch’ list.
The Champaign-Urbana pop quintet, Elsinore, self-released their second EP, The Chemicals, earlier this year, and we were intrigued right away. Now, six months later, the band has dropped their debut LP, Yes Yes Yes, via the understated Parasol Records label. The LP contains a remix from Gentleman Auction House frontman Eric Enger. Elsinore have previously opened for St. Vincent, Headlights and The Generationals. We absolutely love the new LP, and recommend snatching it up, as well as their EPs, if you dig the tracks below. It’s time this band broke out.
“Yes Yes Yes” - Elsinore from Yes Yes Yes
“Even’s Basement Recording” - Elsinore from The Chemicals
“Lines” - Elsinore from The Chemicals
“Breathing Light” – Elsinore from The Chemicals
The Budos Band, a Staten Island, ten-piece afro funk band who’ve toured relentlessly over the years, and built somewhat of a following, dropped their aptly named LP, III. Plus, check out new music from Burnt Ones, Lost in the Trees, The Budos Band, Burnt Ones, Kathryn Calder, Titles, Bottomless Pit, Landing on the Moon, and more.
“Unbroken, Unshaven” - The Budos Band from The Budos Band III
“Burnt to Lose” – Burnt Ones from Black Teeth & Golden Tongues
“Walk Around The Lake” - Lost in the Trees from All Alone in an Empty House
“Arrow” - Kathryn Calder from Are You My Mother?
“Comeback” – Roman Ruins from 7″ single
“Lover of Mine” (Romain Ruins Remix) - Beach House
“38 Souls” - Bottomless Pit from Blood Under The Bridge
“Bleeding Hearts” - Landing on the Moon from We Make History Now
“Road Regrets” - Dan Mangan from Nice, Nice, Very Nice
“More & More & More” - The Mountain and The Trees from I Made This For You
What’s Coming Up:
- Rising band Women will release a new LP on August 23 in Europe and Sept. 28 in U.S. On September 25, The Rattles will release the LP, Rattle On.
“Eye Sore” – Women from Public Strain
“Wavy Lane” – The Rattles from Rattle On
Best New Releases: Arcade Fire, Wavves, Candy Claws, Air Conditioning School, Mt. Saint Helens Vietnam Band, Versus, Autolux
For a limited time, you can download the 16-track Suburbs from Amazon for only $3.99
For a lot of indie rock fans, today marks the official release of one of the most anticipated albums of the year. That would be Arcade Fire’s first album in three years, and the Montreal’s band third studio LP since forming in 2002, The Suburbs.
A few advance singles from the LP have been making the rounds on the web for the past three months, but the rest of the tracks on the The Suburbs were kept under tight wraps, except for some live versions of other songs on the album recorded at recent Arcade Fire shows.
As with their previous records, the band returns again – as they had with Neon Bible and their debut, The Funeral - to the themes of suburban sprawl, the utter dystopia of modern life, a longing for another time and place, and constant critiques of the spread of strip malls, with the omni present disenchantment imposed by commercial monopolization that has over taken the American, and apparently, Canadian, landscape, forever dismantling the infrastructure of thousands of communities that once took pride in their autonomy and unique character, and a longing for a dream that slips further away with the passing of each decade. The suburbs were supposed to be a good thing.
Arcade Fire, probably more than any other rock band we know of, appears to be hell bent on documenting the history of the rise and fall of suburban life. In fact, every song on The Suburbs contains the word suburbs in some form, making the LP much like a modern day “soap opera”, or concept, album, a comparison the band has reportedly dismissed.
“The Suburbs”– Arcade Fire from The Suburbs
So far, reviews of the album have been largely positive. However, The New York Daily News gave it 2.5 of 5 stars; writer Jim Farber summing it up as a “new-wave symphony gets lost in musical sprawl.” Pitchfork went in the other direction, giving The Suburbs a 8.6 out of 10, observing: “The bulk of The Suburbs focuses on this quiet desperation borne of compounding the pain of wasting your time as an adult by romanticizing the wasted time of your youth. As bleak as the lyrics are, though, they’re buoyed by the band’s leanest, loosest songwriting yet.”
In using MetaCritic as a guiding light for the overall opinion of The Suburbs, it scores an impressive 95 out of 100, making it likely to be a huge success. Many critics are calling it the band’s best album – in totality – and that’s saying a lot.“Sprawl II” – Arcade Fire from The Suburbs
“Half Light I” – Arcade Fire from The Suburbs
- Stream The Suburbs via NPR; Buy The Suburbs, for limited time, on Amazon for only $3.99.
While The Suburbs is Arcade Fire’s most rocking, and in other respects, most new wave work to date, with less emphasis on orchestra pop that propelled the band to international fame, it is also one of those albums that you wonder what how you will feel about in the years to come.
Is it possible to love this album even more a year from now, after the hype machine finally winds down? Absolutely. But, at this moment, there is no question that the three year time-span without fresh material from the band has been well worth the wait. The Suburbs is likely to be the album of the summer, if not the year.
Wavves – King of the Beach
It wasn’t long ago that some bloggers, musicians and fans were writing off one of the fastest rising one man bands of the past few years. But, after a year of rebuilding and rehabilitating – following a disturbing string of of public incidents involving drugs and alcohol, bar fights with other rock musicians, scuffles on stage with fellow band members, and a storm of bad publicity – San Diego musician Nathan Williams, the founding member of Wavves, has recruited a new band that includes former members of Jay Reatard’s band, and seems to be getting his shi*t together.
“Post Acid” – Wavves from King of the Beach
Candy Claws – Hidden Lands
Candy Claws is a Colorado-based indie duo (Ryan Hover and Kay Bertholf) that is not just another band of young guys playing around on keyboards and Macbooks to create fuzzy, amniotic dream pop. The friends who met in church have now apparently turned their attention from religion to music and science.
The duo’s second LP, Hidden Lands, is a musical companion piece to Richard M. Ketchum’s 1970 plant-life book, The Secret Life of the Forest. In fact, there is so much happening in the music that the band has had to expand to eight members for live shows.
“Sunbeam Show” - Candy Claws from Hidden Lands
Air Conditioning School – General Mountain Time
Minneapolis band Air Conditioning School is a solo project of Chris Heidman (Sukpatch), whose releases on Sub Pop, Grand Royal and Moshi Moshi have brought him much acclaim from critics and music lovers alike. Now, Heidnam has released his anticipated debut LP, General Mountain Time, and from the little bit we’ve heard so far, it’s sounding pretty sweet.
“Up On” – Air Conditioning School from General Mountain Time
More Releases We Like This Week:
“Hurrah” – Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band from Where The Messengers Meet
“Invincible Hero” - Versus from On the Ones and Threes
“Supertoys“ – Autolux from Transit Transit
“Gone Without Feeling” – The Black Ryder from Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
“Stay Gray” – Bambara from Dog Ear Days
“Unveiled in Sequence” - The Poison Arrows from Newfound Resolutions
“# Zero With a Bullet” – David Dondero from # Zero with a Bullet
Best New Releases: Japandroids, Panda Bear, The Books, Lower Dens, K-X-P, Woods, Secret Cities, plus Vinyl Drops
This week’s new releases include new singles from Japandroids and Panda Bear, plus new LPs from Secret Cities, K-X-P, The Books, Lower Dens, Goodnight Loving, Woods, and vinyl releases.
“Younger Us” – Japandroids from new 7″ single
Japandroids on MySpace
“Slow Motion” – Panda Bear from new 7″ single
Panda Bear on MySpace
K-X-P is a drums, bass and synth trio from Helsinki, Finland, born out of the ashes of the seminal Op:l Bastards and The Lefthanded, led by the gifted musician Timo Kaukolampi, Tuomo Puranen, on bass and keyboards, and drummers Anssi Nykänen and Tomi Leppanen. K-X-P mixes electronics, krautrock, noise, and even rockabilly into a hypnotic and minimal motorik groove inspired by Raymond Scott, Moondog and Martin Rev.
“18 Hours (Of Love)” – K-X-P from K-X-P
Fargo, North Dakota has a glimmer of light in the indie music world thanks to its hometown psychedelic electro-acoustic indie band, Secret Cities. In January, the band signed with Western Vinyl Records in Austin to record their debut LP, Pink Graffiti, out officially today. Maybe it’s just coincidence, but the album title is interestingly close to the name of one of our favorite bands – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Hmmm.
“Pink Graffiti” – Secret Cities from Pink Graffiti
“Beautiful People” – The Books from The Way Out
Hospice Gates- Lower Dens from Id
Lower Dens on MySpace
“The Pan”- Goodnight Loving from The Goodnight Loving Supper Club
Good Night Loving on MySpace
“I’m Not Gone” – Woods from Welcome Home / Diggin’ The Universe
Woods on MySpace
“Judgement” – The Gentle Guest from Cast Off Your Human Form
Vinyl (via BooBooRecords):
Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot – The Son Of Chico Dusty 2xLP (Def Jam)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl.
Eric Clapton – Journeyman [Reissue] 2xLP (Reprise)
Vinyl reissue of Clapton’s 1989 album.
Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse – Present: Dark Night Of The Soul 2xLP+2xCD (Capitol/EMI)
Deluxe vinyl+CD box edition includes: 2xLPs, a copy of the album on CD, a bonus instrumental CD, poster, lobby cards and a 48-page 12×12 booklet.
Dirty Three – She Has No Strings Apollo [Reissue] LP+MP3 (Touch & Go)
Vinyl reissue of Dirty Three’s 2003 album.
Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle LP (American)
Recently released on CD — now available on HQ-180 vinyl.
Indian Jewelry – Totaled LP (We Are Free)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. Totaled comprises the swamp electro of 2003′s We Are The Wild Beast, the nightmare throb of 2005′s Invasive Exotics, and the sonic angel dream of 2008′s Free Gold.
Japandroids – Younger Us b/w Sex And Dying In High Society 7”+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
New Japandroids track backed with an X cover.
The National – Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers LP (Brassland)
The National’s sophomore album — originally released in 2003 — is available for the first time on vinyl.
Rachels – Selenography [Reissue] 2xLP+MP3 (Touch & Go)
Vinyl reissue of Rachel’s fourth album. Recorded between 1997 and 1999, Selenography is a collection of songs that have been staples of the band’s live shows.
School Of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire 2xLP (Vagrant)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl.
Saint Vitus – Live [Reissue] LP (Southern Lord)
Reissue of this essential album from the premiere American doom metal act of the ’80s.
Best New Releases: Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, The Love Language, School of the Seven Bells, Panda Bear, The Spires
Dark Soul of the Night, with its star-studded indie line-up, is Amazon's No. 1 at only $3.99
The album recorded last year with Danger Mouse, David Lynch and Sparklehorse finally sees the light today, a full year since legal battles prevented the original release of the album, Dark Night of the Soul, last summer. Since that time, the producer, singer-songwriter, musician and indie icon Mark Linkous (aka, Sparklehorse), and another Dark Night collaborator, and long-time friend of Linkous, musician Vic Chestnutt, both took their own lives in separate incidents in the past seven months. Other guest appearances on the LP include The Flaming Lips, James Mercer, Black Francis, and Julian Casablancas.
“Little Girl” – Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse & Julian Casablancas from Dark Night of the Soul – (stream album)
“Revenge” - Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse & Wayne Coyne from Dark Night of the Soul – (stream album)
Who's the next band to put a 70s Polaroid of a woman no one knows on their album cover?
Last year, The Love Language’s self-titled lo-fi debut was a spectacular album that did not get the love it so deserved. If the band were not a band to watch in 2009, they surely are in 2010 thanks to the release today of their gorgeous, genre-bending, orchestra-synth retro, lo-fi pop album, Libraries. If this album doesn’t propel the band into another realm of notoriety and critical acclaim, then we have no idea what’s up with that.
We’ve spun Libraries numerous times in recent weeks, and it an accomplished work, and definitely one of the best albums of 2010. Libraries is full of glorious, upbeat, sunny songs, and has its share of more sombre moments. Yet it doesn’t matter, this band is so fuc*ing amazing. In fact, there is not one song from their now two albums that we could possibly delete from the iPod; file under, ‘Must Have.’
“Heart to Tell” – The Love Language from Libraries
The song arrangements are genius, the musical talent stunning, and the impressive lyrics and vocals of Stu McLamb make him, in our book, one of the most important indie singer and songwriters of 2010. The LP is a wonderful experiment (without sounding experimental) where a confluence of music styles, genres and eras are so well woven together that it’s mind-blowing: there’s compelling psychedelic rock (“Horophones”), lo-fi synth folk (“Wilmont”), indie retro ballroom music (“This Blood Is Our Own”) and a perfect summer 2010 love song (“Summer Dust”). Is it obvious yet that we love this album and are urging you to get it?
“Horophones” – The Love Language from Libraries
“This Blood is Our Own” – The Love Language from Libraries
The Love Language on MySpace
Probably (because it’s impossible to listen to them all) the second best album of the week is the School of Seven Bells‘ sophomore LP. The band was formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines with twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza. The trio broke through in 2008 with one of that year’s best debut LPs, Alphinisms, and are now back with the equally rewarding follow-up, Disconnect From Desire. Still have not had enough spins to absorb this LP, but it’s another contender for the end of the year lists. The band embarks on a mini tour of Europe and Australia this Thursday, followed by a massive, six-week cross-country U.S. tour that kicks off September 9th at the Brooklyn Bowl.
“Windstorm” - School of Seven Bells from Disconnect from Desire
School of Seven Bells on MySpace
“The Happy Mondays” - The Innocence Mission from My Room In The Trees
“God Is Love” – The Innocence Mission from My Room In The Trees
“Tomboy” (Live in Belgium) – Panda Bear from 7″ single
“Orange Yellow” – The Spires from Curved Space
“I Heart California” – Admiral Radley from I Heart California (stream album)
“The Mirror” – Back Ted N Ted from The Mirror
“Johnny Utah” - Futurebirds from Hampton’s Lullaby
“Consider” – Backseat Dreamer from The Color of Dreams
“Gold Dust” – Backseat Dreamer The Color of Dreams
“Die” – Carissa’s Wierd from They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave
“The Color That Your Eyes Changed With the Color of Your Hair” – Carissa’s Wierd from They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave
Best New Releases: Fol Chen, Au Revoir Simone, Crocodiles, Big Boi, The Stone Foxes, Jay Bennett, Thieves Like Us, Loom, Mystery Jets
Unlike most of the weeks of 2010 so far, this week’s new releases are not stacked with big-time, highly anticipated works, but there’s plenty of great MP3s to download online for free from new singles, LPs and EPs out this week.
The LA band Fol Chen continue to explore their mysterious, sinister musical pursuits, building on an on-going narrative established with their debut, Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made. Expect thick synth keys and steady beats immersed in electro-pop and garnished with new wave influences. Fol Chen has won praise from Los Angeles Magazine, SPIN, NPR, Brooklyn Vegan, LA Times and many others. Add us to the list.
“The Holograms” – Fol Chen from Part II: The New December
An amazing line up of artists came together to create remixes of Au Revoir Simone’s 2009 LP, Still Night, Still Light, including Neon Indian, Jens Lekman, Max Cooper, Aeroplane, Punches, Tanlines and more.
“Likely Story” (Aeroplane Remix) – Au Revoir Simone from Night Light
There are also some interesting new releases this week from lesser known, but very talented, musicians who sent music in for review. First to catch our attention was the band Mobile Wash Unit from New York. The band is the moniker for what was originally the one man music outfit Andy Snyder, who currently teaches philosophy at City University in New York.
The two tracks here are from his fresh album, Tent, which officially drops today via Astraea Records.
“Second Glance” - Mobile Wash Unit from Tent
“Hybrid Killers” – Mobile Wash Unit from Tent
Mobile Wash Unit on MySpace
San Francisco rock band The Stone Foxes release their second album today, Bears and Bulls, DIY style. The band have previously opened for The Mother Hips and been hailed in publications like LAist, San Francisco Chronicle and Classic Rock Magazine. The Stone Foxes’ influences include The Band, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
“Killed Robert Johnson” – The Stone Foxes from Bears and Bulls
“Stomp” – The Stone Foxes from Bears and Bulls
“The Acrobat” - Lee Butcher from All in Good Time
Well, who knows what these folks had in mind when they named their band, but it’s not exactly one that a booking agent would have an easy time with. Perhaps the single from Richard Laviolette & The Oil Spills‘ new LP, “Funeral Song”, is fitting, all things considered. And of course one more semi oil related reference, the title of the band’s new album, out today, is Raw Materials.
“Funeral Song” – Richard Laviolette & The Oil Spills from Raw Materials
Other singles we like from new releases this week include fresh tracks from Crocodiles, Big Boi, Jay Bennett (RIP), Modern Skirts, What Laura Says, Loom, Mystery Jets, Luke Wesley and more.
“Sleep Forever” – Crocodiles from Sleep Forever 7 inch
“Shutterbug” – Big Boi from Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
“Twice a Year” – Jay Bennett from Kicking at the Perfumed Air
“Forget Me Not” – Thieves Like Us from Forget Me Not 7″ inch
“Quetzalcoatl’s Ship” - Loom from Muu’s Way
“Rebecca St. Claire” – Modern Skirts from Happy 81 EP
“I Hope You Like This Song” – Luke Wesley from Because We Never Talk About It
“Flash a Hungry Smile” – Mystery Jets from Serotonin
Next week: New releases from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, School of Seven Bells, The Innocence Mission, MIA, Sun Kil Moon and The Love Language, to name a few.
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul [EMI, July 13]
School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire [Vagrant, July 13]
M.I.A. – /\/\ /\ Y /\ [Interscope, July 13]
Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises [Caldo Verde, July 13]
The Love Language – Libraries [Merge, July 13]
Blue Giant – Blue Giant [Vanguard, July 13]
Best New Releases: Wolf Parade, Wavves, Map & Atlases, Electric Tickle Machine, Harvey Girls, Hey Marseilles, Cap N’Jazz
The best new album releases for the week of June 29th features Wolf Parade’s Expo 86, Wavves, Maps & Atlases, plus Electric Tickle Machine, Hey Marseilles, Cap’n Jazz, Invisible Elephant, Alejandro Escovedo, Philip Clark, and Avi Wisnia.
The diversity of styles and sounds are remarkable, and yet all of the songs fit together when you listen to this mix as one, uninterrupted stream – sort of like how folks listened to LPs from start to finish in the old days. Just in case you may not know this, it is possible to stream this entire mixtape simply clicking on the first song – then you can go back to whatever you were doing and let it play like a radio broadcast without the commercials.
We’ve listened online to this mixtape a few more times today, and love it. Perhaps a lot of people will be amazed by the talent of some of the lesser-known, more obscure bands featured below. First, though, some great new tracks from the more well known, popular bands.
“What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” – Wolf Parade from Expo 86
“Ghost Pressure” – Wolf Parade from Expo 86
Perhaps taking advantage of the relatively few number of ‘big’ new releases this week, San Diego buzz band Wavves moved the digital release date for their new album, King of the Beach, to this week, specifically, Thursday, July 1st. For all we know, word of this change in release date of an anticipated release has not been well covered by the blogs and music press. Here are two tracks from the LP, lead single, “Post Acid”, plus the track, “Idiots”. So far, the new Wavves sound is pretty sah-weet.
“Post Acid” – Wavves from King of the Beach
“Idiot” – Wavves from King of the Beach
Wavves on MySpace
“Solid Ground” – Maps & Atlases from Perch Patchwork
Maps & Atlases official website
“Part of Me” – Electric Tickle Machine from Blew It Again (stream)
Electric Tickle Machine on MySpace
“Smile Like Gywnplaine” – The Harvey Girls from I’ve Been Watching A Lot of Horror Movies Lately (stream)
The Harvey Girls on MySpace
“Rio” - Hey Marseilles from To Trunks and Travels (stream)
Hey Marseilles official website
“Communication (Part II)” – Invisible Elephant from The Lights Go Out
Invisible Elephant on MySpace
“Little League” – Cap’n Jazz from Analphabetapolothology
Cap N Jazz on MySpace
“New Year” - Avi Wisnia from Something New
Avi Wisnia on MySpace
“Big Blue Sky” - Philip Clark from The Dreamchilde Suites
Philip Clark on MySpace
“Street Song” - Alejandro Escovedo from Street Songs of Love (stream)
Alejandro Escovedo official website
Want more? See all Best New Releases playlist mixes for 2010
Below, you will see our alphabetized list featuring our favorite albums of 2010. The bolded text indicate albums in the running for our best of 2010, and italics indicates a debut release.
You might also be interested in checking IRC’s weekly Top Ten Songs list, Best New Releases, Artists and Bands, Summer Mixtapes and Anticipated Summer Releases 2010.
Keep checking back as we add songs, links to the best albums of 2010 (so far), and more goodies. We’ll be updating this page a couple times of week to add more of our favorite 2010 releases from bands you have heard of, and others you haven’t. Get instant access to dozens of the playlist mixes featuring hundreds of songs, album artwork, profiles and reviews, videos and more by browsing in thumbnail format all of the best new releases of 2010 (so far).
Best Albums of 2010 (So Far):
Adam Green – Minor Love – “Castles and Tassels”
Alkaline Trio – This Addiction
Animal Collective – Campfire Songs
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
Beach House – Teen Dream
Black Tambourine – Black Tambourine
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Born Ruffians – Say It
CoCoRosie – Grey Oceans
Cold War Kids – Behave Yourself EP
Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
Damien Jurado – Saint Barlett
David S. Ware – Shakti
Delorean – Sk – /
Devo – Something for Everyone
Dinowalrus – %
Dios – We Are Dios
Drake – Thank Me Later
Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
Eels – End Times
Excepter – Presidence
Film School – Fission – “Heart Full of Pentagons”
Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
Foals – Total Life Forever
Four Tet – There Is Love in You /
Free Energy – Stuck on Nothing /
Freelance Whales – Weathervanes /
Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Fucked Up – Couple Tracks
Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continential Hustle
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Groove Armada – Black Light
Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday
Harlem – Hippies
Here We Go Magic – The Champ /
High Places – High Places vs. Mankind
Horse Feathers – Thistled Spring
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Jaill – That’s How We Burn
Jamie Lidell – Compass
Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away
LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
Liars – Sisterworld
Light Pollution – Apparitions
Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
Los Campesinos! – Romance Is Boring
Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts
Massive Attack – Splitting the Atom
Melvins – Chicken Switch
MGMT – Congratulations
Midlake – The Courage of Others
Mike Patton – Mondo Cane
OK Go – Of The Colour of The Blue Sky
Owen Pallett – Heartland
Pantha Du Prince – Black Noise
Parenthetical Girls – The Scottish Play
Paul Weller – Wake Up Nation
Phosphorescent – Here’s To Taking It Easy
Quasi – American Gong
Radar Bros. – The Illustrated Garden
Retribution Gospel Choir – 2
Roky Erickson – True Love Cast Out All Evil
Sam Amidon – I See the Sign
Scuba – SUB:STANCE
She & Him – Volume Two
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
Shout Out Louds – Work
Skullflower – Strange Keys to Untune God’s Firmament
Sleigh Bells – Treats
Spoon – Transference
Suckers – Wild Smile
Stars – The Five Ghosts
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
Tama Impala – Inner Speakers
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks
The Album Leaf – A Chorus of Storytellers
The Black Keys – Brothers
The Brian Johnstown Massacre – Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?
The Brunettes – Paper Dolls
The Dead Weather – Sea of Cowards
The Delta Mirror – Machines That Listen
The Drums – The Drums
The Golden Filter – Voluspa
The Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
The Marching Band – Pop Cycle
The Morning Benders – Big Echo
The National – Violet
The New Pornographers – Together
The Strange Boys – Be Brave
The Whigs – In the Dark
The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights
Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime
These New Puritans – Hidden
Tindersticks – Falling Down a Mountain
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
Tobacco – Maniac Meat
Tokyo Police Club – Champ
Toro y Moi – Causers of This
Ty Segall – Melted
Vampire Weekend – Contra
Very Be Careful – Escape Room
White Hills – White Hills
Wild Nothing – Gemini
Wolf Parade – Expo 86
Woods – At Echo Lake
Wye Oak – My Neighbor/My Creator EP
Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself
Yeasayer – Odd Blood
Yellow Swans – Going Places
Zu – The Way of all Animal Powers
Arcade Fire's third LP, The Suburbs, will drop Aug. 3.
If you missed any of our popular playlists mixes, best new releases posts, band profiles, festival updates or best new artists posts, you can find many of them in just a click or two from this page.
Best New Releases - Each week we put together a huge playlist of singles from our favorite new releases, making it one of the most popular on-going series on IRC.
In Dee Mail - The best music sent to us from artists and bands you should hear.
Summer Mixtapes – Access popular, mega playlists mixes of songs that are about summer, remind us of summer, or just seem to fit a summer mix, featuring MP3s from indie rock, classic rock, hip hop, electronica and other genres.
Feet to Da Beatz – We thought it would be cool to have a playlist mixtape series with some of our favorite current dance/electronica/pop songs that make you wanna move your feet.
Recent Releases We Almost Missed – Playlist mix series that focuses on presenting tracks from recent releases that must not go unnoticed but where not previously published on IRC for whatever reason.
One Man Bands – Impressive releases from people who write, play all instruments, record, mix, etc.
Ears To The Music – This was an extremely popular 12 part playlist mix series spotlighting the best indie songs of 2009.
Singer/Songwriter Spotlight Series – Sometimes there is nothing more personal and organic as a magnificent song featuring great lyrics, good vocals and an acoustic guitar.
Songs About New York, Vol 1 & Vol 2 – Almost 50 carefully selected songs related in some way to New York from established, indie and obscure artists and bands.
