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The Shins will be releasing their first single off their upcoming album Port of Morrow next week (on Valentine’s Day no less. That’s cute James) on a 7″ – you can already check out that single here . James Mercer and company, meanwhile, just released the B-side to that single yesterday, and it’s a lovely, slower tune that, along with “Simple Song,” is really amping up expectations for Port of Morrow. Check out the video below.
The lovely Cate Le Bon is an English/Welsh singer-songwriter whose been around since 2008, most notably in support of Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, but it’s her sophomore record Cyrk that is just starting to get some attention stateside. It came out January 17 and is a wispy bit of Nico-influenced dark pop with a tinge of St. Vincent. RIYL: indie pop, accents.
Cate Le Bon – “Puts Me To Work”
Certified indie-pop nutjob Kevin Barnes and his constantly metamorphosing band of Montreal are releasing their eleventh album, Paralytic Stalks, February 7th, although a leaked copy has already found its way onto the web. It’s been a long, wild, occasionally annoying journey with Barnes and company, who rose from the ashes of the Elephant 6 record label and their peculiar brand of conceptual twee into increasingly oddball lyrical journeys and increasingly divergent musical tastes, culminating with Barnes’ role as a fictional transsexual musician named Georgie Fruit. 2010′s False Priest eased up on the weird throttle and got back to what drew me to of Montreal in the first place, namely Barnes’ penchant for melody and an appreciation of genres not normally seen in the indie pop game. Paralytic Stalks is sufficiently bizarre to qualify as another of Montreal release, but is firmly grounded in a colorful pop tradition. “Ye, Renew the Plaintiff” even has a pretty sick guitar solo that rips along before an extended outro takes things to outer space and beyond.
Check out the song if you’re an of Montreal fan and ready to subject yourself to another Kevin Barnes roller-coaster ride. And check out Pitchfork’s interview with the outlandish Barnes below.
Of Montreal – “Ye, Renew the Plaintiff”
New albums coming out like gangbusters in January so far – iPod ad darlings Chairlift plan on releasing their second proper LP Something on the 24. Although I have no idea what “Amanaemonesia” means (less a real thing and more a cool collection of syllables for , the sound is very ’80s and in line with Chairlift’s electronic tendencies, who now only consist of silky singer Caroline Polacheck and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wimberly.
It’s been almost five years since the Shins released an album (the superb Wincing the Night Away - one of the first records I ever reviewed), and the wait is almost over. Not only are they playing at Coachella 2012 (whose lineup has to be seen to be believed ), but their new album Port of Morrow is slated for a March release. “Simple Song” is the first taste off of it, and it’s vintage Shins – James Mercer’s time in Broken Bells doesn’t seem to have dulled his indie pop chops at all. 2012 is looking to be a good one…
Back on the schneid – happy 2012! One of my favorite bands, Nada Surf is releasing their seventh album The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy on Barsuk January 24. “When I Was Young” is the first single, and is just the kind of soft-loud slow grower that the trio have been perfecting since their excellent 2005 album The Weight is a Gift.
Nada Surf – “When I Was Young”
Nick Thorburn, leader and general indie savant of Islands, the Unicorns, Mister Heavenly, and God knows what else, has been a bit depressed lately. A Sleep and A Forgetting is the band’s fourth album, set to be released February 14 of next year, with the somber, theatrical “This Is Not A Song” the first taste off of it. Thorburn has stated in an interview that the album’s creative process was the direct result of a difficult break-up, a fact easily ascertained from “This Is Not A Song.” Here’s to hoping it hasn’t tampered with his quirky songwriting habits.
Islands – “This Is Not A Song”
Slow week – aside from the Black Keys and the Roots, the rest of 2011 is all Christmas albums and best-of lists. So here’s another one of my favorite songs from 2011, the best off St. Vincent’s excellent Strange Mercy (although I’m sure Robin Smith would pick a different tune from that album). “Cruel” is deliciously weird like the best Annie Clark songs, but its heart is that wonderful bridge and follow-up chorus and the way Clark’s beautiful vocals and the playful guitar motif work in concert. Great stuff.
North Highlands is the latest in a series of buzz bands to come out of that hipster-infested borough of Brooklyn, and it too has a secret weapon – lead singer Brenda Malvini, who sounds uncannily like a mix between Zooey Deschanel and St. Vincent (this is a good thing). It’s distinctive and gives their frantic brand of guitar-based pop some spice, although based on the melody in “Steady Steady,” they don’t really need much spice. Check out their debut LP Wild One, which just dropped this past October (self-released).
North Highlands – “Steady Steady”
Welsh ADHD rockers Los Campesinos! haven’t slowed down their output in recent years, despite inner band strife and lead vocalist Gareth’s continuing shift from sunny pop lover to depressed (but still quite energetic) yelper. Last year’s Romance is Boring was well received, and the upcoming Hello Sadness takes their darker tones and expands on it. The band is still quite adept at bright pop melodies and frantic rhythm work, and Gareth’s high-pitched vocals can still tend towards the grating, but the songs feel more fleshed out, the lyrics more relatable than ever. “The Black Bird, The Dark Slope” is a good example, and it’s nice to see another female vocal part since Aleksandra left the band in 2009. Hello Sadness drops November 14.
Los Campesinos! – “The Black Bird, The Dark Slope”
One of the best songs from one of the best albums of the year. Get Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming now if you haven’t had the chance and you love pop music.
Few bands have surprised me more this year than Brooklyn post-punkers the Drums and their sophomore record Portamento. Their 2010 debut was fun, if a little derivative, and the quick follow-up reeked a bit of milking the bandwagon for all they could before it left the station. Portamento, however, is leaps and bounds above the self-titled debut, with stronger lyrics, more full-bodied arrangements and melodies that put much of their (quite catchy) first album to shame. Check it out if you like poppy, new wave inspired bands (think Surfer Blood).
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