2010FM - December Edition Three

It's the final 2010FM roundup of new and recent music, this December has seen the new music keep on coming without let up and it's been a bit of a struggle to keep on top of sharing the songs that have grabbed out attention. So as always in no particular order here is the last batch we are featuring this year!

We are told that for Seafarer, music’s always been an unremitting cycle of altering parts; that is, until most recently. The fact that their self-released EP, Hiding Places, is now being re-released to a larger audience is testament to the band’s hard-working state of mind. A mentality and strategy that has kept them grounded since their inception two years ago, Seafarer have fully embraced the craft of being dissimilar and still, engrossing gripping. As for the album, front man, Patrick Grzelewski, states, “It taught us so much about ourselves and the music we were creating, and allowed us to step outside of it in a way we never had before.” Pieces change and shift with the passing wind and for all of the golden nuggets that Seafarer have hidden throughout this charming EP, the pay-off will surely be worth it.

The six track EP 'Hiding Places' is set for release on January 18th, 2011, and having heard a couple of tracks from it we have yet another band to keep a watch for in the coming year with a mix of psych pop through to folk and rock Chicago's Seafarer may well soon make their mark.

Featured Track: The Archipelego.
Website: MySpace.
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OK shameless copying of the promo stuff (again) but it gives the background - Meeting in New York City in late 2005, the members of Bridges and Powerlines realized a common love for intricately arranged three-minute pop songs. The debut EP that followed met with critical acclaim, described as "an exhilarating racket," (sixeyes) and "a taught example of why Bridges and Powerlines should be added to your list of bands to watch." (IGN.com). The success of their EP attracted producer Chris Zane (Passion Pit, The Walkmen, White Rabbits), and the band spent much of 2007 writing and recording their debut album “Ghost Types”.

The album then enjoyed a seven-week run in the CMJ top 200 and received favorable nods in multiple influential outlets from Pitchfork (“Now that’s power”) to Yahoo Music (“Incontrovertibly fun”) to Popmatters (“A solid, catchy debut”). The lead singles from the record, “Uncalibrated,” and from their self-titled debut EP in 2006, “Carmen,” have been downloaded over 100,000 times.

For the last year, however, they have been recording their follow-up album ‘Eve’, the culmination of their thoughts on life prior to the changes of 2001. With producer Kieran Kelley (known best for his work on Sufjan Stephens’ ‘Illinois’) and a host of guests including members of Antony and the Johnsons, indie troubadour Will Stratton, and even their friend Steven Harris of 80s arena-legends the Cult, the band spent 3 months painstakingly creating the record “they wanted to make their whole lives.” January 25th, 2011 is set for the release of ‘Eve’ on Stunning Models on Display records.

The bottom line is the music which we reckon should see the band gain greater recognition through 2011.

Featured Track: Blue Sky.
Website: MySpace.
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The Sleep-Ins released 'Songs About Girls & Outer Space' back in October 2010, however we only picked up on the band a couple of weeks back and think them well worth a mention, as they have a raunchy thundering rock sound that has some fine melodic hooks seeping through the songs to raise them above the crowd.

Some background - The Sleep-ins began when Chad Corley, five days into his new Australian life, met Englishman Stefan Pope at a Sydney guitar shop. "I was there to meet the owner for a job, but he wasn't in," recalls Chad. "I talked to Stefan for a while, and was immediately impressed. It was obvious from the start that we were on the same wavelength." That wavelength — the sound that would define the Sleep-ins — is a soaring, melodic and often thundering indie rock with a cerebral nod to the Pixies, Polvo, Shellac and The Shins.

Chad got the job, and in the ensuing days met Australian and fellow employee Josh Schuberth [Josh Pyke, Stella 111]. The Sleep-ins would rehearse for the first time a few weeks after that, and played their first show a month later. Says Josh, "we had to be careful about the guitar shop owners not knowing four of their employees were in the same band...it gets quite suspicious when we all show up for work a bit dreary-eyed because we were out late gigging the night before; but we all knew what we wanted to do, so it's no surprise we got right to it."

Featured Track: Silver State.
Website: MySpace.
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As music genres go blind indie rock was a new one on us! JP Corwyn has been 'legally' blind since birth. Born with a degenerative condition, he has been legally blind since birth, with the shades pulling ever tighter throughout his as-yet-brief-but-potent life.

His own website bio states "JP Corwyn isn’t quite “Stevie Wonder blind”, or “Ronnie Milsap blind”. But then, those icons would have made music regardless of what their eyes were capable of. Maybe they did it a little better than those who can see; maybe their intuition is stronger and their sense of the click-click-clicking of the world around them is more keen. JP Corwyn makes excellent music, of which you should really be aware, without his eyes, and with his hands, and with his mouth, and with his mind, and his hips, and his spine, and his legs and fingers and toes and nerves. Yep, he’s blind. But he’s hardly unaware. So why should you be? 

Comparisons with Pearl Jam, Creed and even Jeff Buckley have all been made, this guy really does know how to rock, it's gritty, ain't pretentious just good old rock and roll performed with a heart and soul. 'Look' out for his latest album 'The White Cane Conspiracy', which is releasing in January 2011

Featured Track: Dire.
Website: Official.
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Mike Stout is described as The World’s Grievance Man. We are told that Mike Stout is a socially conscious singer song-writer and community leader. He leads crusades against local and global economic injustice, rallying people with his music to take action. His sound and lyrics are influenced by his musical heroes Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Jackson Browne and Bruce Cockburn.

John Hayes of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote of Mike "In the Woody Guthrie tradition, his songs reflect contemporary issues without resorting to journalism. They're more like partisan op-ed columns that grab political opponents by the throat and don't let go." Mike tells his stories from the heart about people who are affected by unemployment, social injustice, environmental hazard, or war.

Mike has performed at concert halls, clubs, picket lines, union conventions, protest rallies, and schools across the United States and Europe with his message of human solidarity and peace. A Duquesne University grad student took one of Mike Cd's to the People to People book store in Germany and played them Mike’s song “People to People”. Impressed with Mike’s message, the book store stocked Mike Cd's and sponsored several concert tours in Germany and Poland. Mike has performed for thousands at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and the Whitsun Youth Festival. He has sold thousands of Cd's in Germany. With each new recording and every performance Mike sings his message of human solidarity to overcome the injustices in this world.

Listening to his music is a joy, the songs that carry messages don't 'preach to you' but just help raise your consciousness towards contemporary issues and the mixture of folk, Americana and even pop styles just adds to the positive effect.

Featured Track: Maida and Annie.
Website: Official.
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Martin England has more than 350 songs to his credit, penned over 30 years of making music. Even so, he considers himself a late bloomer and feels like he’s just now coming into his own in a time of transition from band member to solo artist. For 17 years England was part of the Northeast regional powerhouse Pondering Judd, writing and recording six records, rocking a national tour in 2006, and receiving a constant stream of nominations and awards. Having had his musical experience so deeply entrenched in being one of four in a band, it was a massive switch to understand himself as a solo artist, a process tipped off when Lost Sailor Records offered him a contract as a solo artist and called him up to a new level of confidence in his work.
Martins solo music sits comfortably within the Americana, alt country genres and he is clearly a singer songwriter who knows his craft. However beyond the mechanics of writing and performing you surely need heart, something I think he puts into his music in abundance.

Featured Track: Do What The Man With The Gun Says.
Website: Official.
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Brooklyn's merriest 3 piece, Holiday Holiday are set to release their debut 7" cleverly titled 'AllOneWord' early in the New Year. But in the spirit of the season they couldn't resist giving you one present to open early.

'Hanged' which will appear on the upcoming 7" is a bona-fide ray of sunshine, with cherry sweet vocals, bouncing keys and a smile inducing doo-wop doo-wop chorus line. This song is sure to warm the cockles on even the coldest winter night. Having heard a couple of other songs by this fine trio all I can say is add them to your list of bands to put on your 2011 radar.

Featured Track: Hanged.
Website: MySpace.
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Luciano Sprovieri is a singer - songwriter living in Los Angeles. He was born and raised in SãoPaulo, Brazil where his family still live.

His personal bio tells us that (and we quote) "I was always involved with music and performing through high school and college (and even after college). But I’ve always fantasized about living abroad and pursuing music in a more grand way. In 2005 I came to California to visit my older brother and loved it so much I decided to stay and do what I’ve always wanted to do. Within the first couple of months I met my friend Allen Copeland who's been my main songwriting partner since".

Luciano contacted Beehive Candy directly and having listened to a couple of his songs, we are more than delighted to include him in this edition of 2010FM. For us the music sounds both personal and sensitive without being indulgent, well worth a listen at the very least.

Featured Track: Ocean Iris.
Website: Official.
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Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign to release a gatefold, 180g vinyl record for the new release coming out in February on Pro.Con records, one contributor donated for Goddamn Electric Bill to cover Feliz Navidad for the holidays.

We are told that - The sounds of Goddamn Electric Bill were never meant to leave Jason Torbert’s San Diego, CA bedroom. But the one-man band, a propulsive blend of ambient electronic, folktronica and post-rock music, made its way out to the world anyway.

Jason Torbert wasn’t always an electronic music aficionado. He spent his childhood playing trombone in high school band and college jazz ensembles. After a stint in pop-punk outfit, Cigar, he struck up a working relationship with Roger O’Donnell (The Cure) that resulted in the first bits of Goddamn Electric Bill. Torbert’s knack for creating expansive and cinematic compositions has landed him numerous TV and film placements.

Fourth album, "Jazz" coming out February on Pro.Con Records - CD/Vinyl. 

We have featured quite a lot of 'electro' music in recent months, this edition seems to be more guitar and singer songwriter based so the inclusion of this fine track is a pleasure, along with opening up the musical styles somewhat.

Featured Track: Feliz Navidad.
Website: Official and Kickstarter.
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We featured Rich Bennett back in August 2010 on the strength of his superb album 'On Holiday'. So the following from Hidden Shoal a week a go was a nice surprise.

Today, Hidden Shoal Recordings found an old VHS cassette stuffed down the back of a sofa in their label office. Delighted to discover a playable copy of the movie Buddy Cop, the label is now proud to share its soundtrack, for free, with the world. The back of the tape reads:

Dan Lyman (Rich Bennett, star of Badge of Fury and Miami Lockdown) is a classy, refined cop from uptown. When the Deckard Crime Syndicate steals a mysterious mineral, Lyman teams up with streetwise colleague Timothy Sanna (Rich Bennett). Together, travel to the Andromeda Galaxy before syndicate boss Xavier Graffin (Greg Hoy) can turn the minerals into a gateway to a mainframe computer game, from where he can rule all communications of the universe. When Marilyn Miranda (Pam Yawbus) comes into the picture, the question of who is an enemy and who is a friend threatens to unravel the whole mission …

Discover how the whole slippery can of worms unravels by downloading the album and checking out the Buddy Cop trailer on YouTube. The download includes a code for 50% off Rich’s other releases, including the much-praised Music for Underwater Supermarkets and this year’s gorgeous album On Holiday.

Featured Track: Chase Scene.
Website: Hidden Shoals.
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A new band for Beehive Candy and we are advised that - Two If By Sea is the brainchild of London, Ontario, Canada's Teresa Daniele (formerly of The Haircuts). Also featuring Lisle Mitnik (Fireflies, Very Truly Yours) and Kevin Clark (Homeville Circle, Wodden Owls), the three formed a long-distance songwriting collaboration. The result is nothing short of spectacular. "Staysail" features five pop masterpieces; lush soundscapes brimming with ethereal vocals, swirling strings and jangling guitars.

Two If By Sea has been compared to such bands as The Field Mice, The Softies and early Lush. Two If By Sea's debut 7" EP "Staysail" (FEB016P) will be available to order through February Records on January 10th, 2011.

The music is both charming and soothing without being to laid back, the vocals work so well with the music that at times they almost merge into the instruments.

Featured Track: Apron Of Flowers.
Website: MySpace.
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Phoebe Legere, is a jazz composer, pianist, singer and multi-instrumentalist of French Canadian, Mayflower Pilgrim and Native American descent.

She has played with Warren Vache, John Zorn, Don Cherry, Cecil Payne, Charles ‘Bo Bo’ Shaw, Frank Vignola, Earl May, Dennis Charles, Greg Haynes, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, Rufus Thomas, John Hartford, Ikue Morie, Morgan Powell, Howie Smith, Jim Staley, Larry Rivers and David Bowie. Legere studied composition with Morton Subotnick, Dinu Gezzo, and Milton Babbitt protege Wayne Oquin; and jazz with John Lewis of MJQ, Ira Newborn, and Rich Shemaria.

Beehive Candy just love her and others have been impressed to!

PHOEBE LEGERE is the female Frank Zappa...
Roman Kozack, Billboard

Gorgeous, blonde bombshell with a dynamite body, a magnificent voice, a wild sense of humor...(She is) an extremely intelligent Vassar graduate who can play four or five instruments and challenge every premise you might have about her as she zips through her set - her song selections are impeccably chosen. (She has) a dazzling voice - a superb singer miles above most of the rock stars of today ...a comic mind...She turns excess and extravagance into an art form and anchors it with stunning simplicity.
New York Post

"PHOEBE LEGERE is the female Beethoven..."
Joey Arias, Paper Magazine

Legere is an expressive and versatile singer whose voice ranges from a dark and earthy alto to a gorgeous dazzling high soprano.... she combines intelligent lyrics and a fusion of French musette, Cajun, pop, rock and jazz into a stew she calls, "roots alternative."
John Pitcher, Washington Post

Enough said? Check her music out beyond the featured track, if you like anything with a jazz vibe you will be over the moon or in love, we are still trying to work out which one applies to us!

Featured Track: Hot Sicilian Pizza Boy.
Website: Official.
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And finally - Portland, Oregon's Melodic Pop Sweethearts Derby unveil a long awaited new batch of songs, including limited edition 7" vinyl, revealing a new approach for the band plus a Spring Tour.

The band’s new material departs from the well-orchestrated pop of their sophomore release Posters Fade - which saw success on college radio and gained visibility with placements in Coca-Cola commercials, MTV’s The Hills and a variety of film and commercial exposure. This time, the band decided to keep things more raw and frayed around the edges, while still retaining their signature brand of catchy rock built on hooks and harmonies. Expect releases in similar size and nature from Derby -- and with greater frequency in the coming months .Breaking from tradition, the band is forgoing an LP and will be releasing a new group of songs on a limited edition 7″ paired with a digital EP.

Madeline was recorded and engineered by Jordan Leff at Secret Society Studios in Portland, Oregon. The record was mixed by Elton Jordan and Derby, and was mastered by Jeff Saltzman (Death Cab For Cutie, Menomena, Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney).

Record release shows are set for the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland on January 28th and in Seattle (Location TBA) in February, plus Spring Tour dates to be announced soon.

Great band to finish this roundup with, if you like the featured track you will definitely love the forthcoming EP - superb!

Featured Track: Don't Believe In You.
Website: Official.
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Featured Tracks:

2010FM - December Edition Two

We have been swamped again by new music these last couple of weeks, and there are just so many good songs to cover, so we are doing this edition of 2010FM a little differently. Quite a few singer songwriters in this edition however once again we are covering alot of different styles and genres, all in our opinion worthy of a feature to say the least.

First up is Tristen from Nashville, who has been compared to Jenny Lewis and has a really nice mix of folk, pop and rock in a distinctive and "wanna hear more" style.

Featured Track: Baby Drugs
Website: Official.
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Billy Schafer's promo states that he soars into the chorus of "The Dream is Alive" filled with infectious passion and conviction. This song and the others from his debut CD, First to Believe, introduce Billy as a singer-songwriter with an intuitive and confident grasp of song-craft. Fueled by accessible melodies and emotive lyrics of romantic depth, wit, and uplifting inspiration, these recordings showcase a versatile vocal delivery of powerful but pure tones.

Billy’s album was helmed by producer Michael Winger, president of the Northern California Grammy Chapter and known for his live recordings for KFOG San Francisco. The album captivates listeners with story songs that unabashedly and poetically reveal Billy’s private moments. These chronicles unfurl in his clear, earnest vocals while Billy's acoustic guitar sometimes drives, sometimes caresses his tunes. Luring the listener to join him in reflecting on paths of self-discovery, these messages of empowerment and relationship dynamics are effectively voiced with understated and unpretentious band arrangements.

The featured track demonstrates his melodic voice and songs extremely well and fans of artists from Neil Finn to Elliott Smith are I am sure going to enjoy this guy.

Featured Track: Wondering.
Website: Official.
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Pam Shaffer wrote to us recently stating and we quote I'm an LA based artist who just released my debut album! It is entitled "As We Are" and is based on the diaries of Anais Nin. I've been compared to Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom. My favorite quote called my songs "lullabies from a sunken pirate ship" and I think that's about spot on. I thought it best to send out my album for reviews to better entice more listeners!

Well the comparisons ticked all the right boxes for us and the music did a lot more! We are delighted to have received this album because it is quite simply wonderful! Lets hope a lot more folk get to discover Pam in 2011 and please do give her a listen the comparisons above are only part of the story, recommended!

Featured Track: Henry.
Website: Official.
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Songs Out Here is the new album from Santa Rosa, CA songwriter That Ghost aka 20-year-old Ryan Thomas Schmale. It is an album full of melancholic and atmospheric songs inspired by nostalgia, forgotten places and the hills and trails of Sonoma County’s "Valley Of The Moon." Written partially on the grounds of Jack London's estate, Schmale hearkens the spirit of the deceased author. Also a lonesome adventurer, a young Schmale turns to one of our all-time great authors for solace.

This record, That Ghost's 5th release -- and 4th on twosyllable records -- is more introspective than most. It's more somber, more heartfelt. The sentiments of Schmale's previous garage sound are there, but mutated into something more subdued, yet familiar. His lyrics, almost painfully obvious, illuminate the 20-year-old social situations akin to this scenario. With each song, a mention of stolen alcohol bottles, "An Only Son," a lost friend, "The Older," or just utter solitude, "To Like You." And yet it's neither frivolous nor prudent. Songs Out Here has a strong sense of honesty and a feeling of empathy that can't be denied and shows Schmale in new light -- prolific troubadour, stirrer of emotion, folk alchemist. Songs Out Here is available March 1, 2011 on twosyllable records. The above was the promo words and seems pretty much spot on, intriguing music which draws you back for another listen.


Featured Track: To Like You.
Website: MySpace.
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The first entry in Gold Robot's ongoing split series which pairs artists from different geographic regions together. This limited edition 7" on colored vinyl features:

The Good Fear (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Colossal Yes (Oakland, California) - side project of Comets on Fire drummer Utrillo Kushner

Each band submitted barn-burner 5 minute tracks which capture both their unique sounds and a general reconstruction of their respective towns. Artwork is provided by photographers from each region (Elise Irving from California, and Rett Peek from Arkansas).

Featured Tracks: The Good Fear - Be Like Us.
Website: MySpace.
Collosal Yes: Backbiter Blues.
Website: MySpace.
Buy It: Gold Robot.
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The promo tells us "For Cal Payne, it truly is all about the music. Far beyond the cliche and deeper than a casual flirtation with melody and sound, Cal Payne is a player to his core. With a jazz/instrumental style that combines elements of R&B, Latin, fusion jazz, and rock, his performance and presence invokes a combination of Grover Washington Jr. and Santana. Driven by an unceasing desire to compose and perform, he is most alive when engaged in the emotional and spiritual experience of making music. Music: this is the essence of the Cal Payne Project".

Beehive Candy reckon The Cal Payne Project are everything Jazz that rocks should be and the sax playing is just sublime. Superb! If you don't quite get Jazz then start here, you will not look back.

Featured Track: Again and Again.
Website: Official.
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With Know Touching, Sore Eros have crafted a record that is simultaneously dense and soothingly melodic, fulfilling the considerable promise of their debut, 2009’s Second Chants.

For this record, the band (Robert Robinson and Adam Langellotti) made a conscious departure from its debut, recording the album direct to a ½ inch 8 track reel-to-reel without the aid of computers. From this the band emerged with a record that blooms with melody and innocent joy that bring to mind such similarly spaced out artists as Atlas Sound and Kurt Vile. When patched together, this detailed attention to arrangement and dreamy melodic sensibilities combine to make Know Touching an effortlessly beautiful record.

Whatever the method we love the result!

Featured Track: Giraffes Kiss.
Website: MySpace.
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Moroccan-born, Paris-based Hindi Zahra can speak to mountains or whisper in your ear. She can turn rustling plastic bags into Berber beats and Parisian kitchens into soul incubators. Playfully savoring East and West, she writes infectious and hip songs, plays any instrument she can get her hands on, and records her own voice in the middle of the night to capture that perfect spark of intimacy.

Hindi’s spontaneous yet long-honed debut, Handmade (Blue Note; February 22, 2011), bursts with maturity and vigor, rich in jazz, soul, and Arabic sounds but with a gritty, bluesy Berber pulse. “I wanted a space where I could break all the barriers, where I could put all the music I knew and loved together. Where I could mix it all,” Hindi explains.

For Beehive Candy Hindi's music really does mix incredibly diverse musical styles and cultures in a simple refreshing manner that in part disguises the complexities that make up some of her songs, and as the introduction to her puts it "The Constantin Prize winning album is a mix of global urban beats and sultry jazz that reflects the cultural melting pots of her both her current home of Paris and her birthplace of Morocco".
Featured Track: Beautiful Tango.
Website: Official.
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Wagga Records are really excited to announce that they will be releasing Pandit’s debut full-length Eternity Spin February 22nd! Pandit combines elements of shoegaze and chillwave making for a perfect dream pop listening experience. The record features the music of Star Slinger as well as Foxes in Fiction.

Pandit is the musical outlet for Texas singer/songwriter/producer Lance Smith.

Beehive Candy is kinda excited to as the preview track has a really cool groove to it and reminds of the Cocteau Twins in part!


Featured Track: Artichoke.
Website: Wagga Records.
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And now some songs that came our way recently and that we do not want to miss out because we think they are more than worthy of a feature. So with unashamed cut and pasting of bits of the bios we give you our one and only 2010FM mega-fast roundup! And to keep it interesting I reckon a couple of the best songs (certainly my favorites) are in amongst this bunch so check em all out!

David Gergen

David Gergen's music development has always been about striving towards that euphoric moment where everything can join together in unity. His latest effort, The Nearer It Was... The Farther It Became offers up suggestive streams of consciousness with thoughtful titles like "Seven Miles To Sunset" and "Thru A Fairy's White Cloud". For Gergen, who’s been performing since the late '90s, music has always been a passion that he’s never compromised.

Where there is always a reference in remaining somewhat topical, Gergen is at a stage where everything seems to be converging at the right point. In a musical sense, his strengths sound equally balanced between a stunning amount of skillful storytelling and expansive musicality. Whether it’s about growing into your clothes, or simply maturing through it all, Gergen offers his view of the world in hopes that we can see it as rich and vibrantly as he does.
Featured Track: The Streets I'm Walking. Website: MySpace.

Brian Huber.

For Brian Huber, hard work has always been at the fore front of his agenda. Throughout past failures and countless moments where everything seemed to pulse in a negative direction, Huber made sure his positive outlook continued to beam. Growing as a songwriter and being able to instantly write songs at will, Huber has now hit a stride that seems poised to impress. There's been plenty to look forward to and in preparing his newest album, a DIY project that was created and seen to fruition in Huber's apartment with the help of a laptop, Huber presents a varied portrayal of pop sensibilities.

Featured Track: Snuggies. Website: Official.

The Handsome Family.

The Handsome Family record all their songs in a converted garage studio at the back of their Albuquerque house. Their seventh CD, Last Days of Wonder (June 2006) earned the title of Mojo’s top ten American Albums for 2006 and was called “an unqualified triumph” by Uncut. Singing Bones, their sixth CD, left the UK’s Independent stating, “Rarely, even in the fatalistic world of country music, has the precarious mystery of mortality been captured with such poetic grace as on Singing Bones.”

Featured Track: Drinking Beer On The Roof. Website: Official.

John Shipe.

As he sings on “Some Hidden Things,” John Shipe knows that life isn’t always easy. In a career spanning various bands, living in different parts of the western United States, with a singer-songwriter devotion that vividly displays his open-book world, Shipe introduces Villain to awaiting ears. “I’m not interested in changing the world, but I’m interested in adding quality pieces to the better part of America’s body of work,” remarks Shipe, and with a streaming wave of consciousness that showcases a worthy musician willing to share his insight, these quality pieces come in strength.

Featured Track: Love Belongs To Everyone. Website: Official.

Enjoy Your Pumas.

Enjoy Your Pumas is a female-fronted indie pop/rock quintet that blends powerful soaring vocals with atmospheric guitars and a punchy, energetic rhythm section. Their infectious, genre-defying music has fans of all styles jumping out of their seats. Their sound is akin to Emily Haines fronting Bloc Party covering Radiohead.

Lead vocalist Rosie Blais’ voice has been compared to the likes of Karen O, Lizzie Powell, and Bjork. Her vibrant, energetic stage presence and powerful range leaves listeners mesmerized. When matched with the intricate, yet engaging melodies of guitarists Josh Benoit and Zach Allard; the impeccably pop-sensible bass grooves of Marc Gomez; and the dance-ready, beat-explosion machine that is Luke Janzen, the Pumas create a soundscape that is really beyond comparison and must be heard to be understood.

Featured Track: Weight Of The Circles. Website: Official.

The Morning After Girls.

The upcoming Morning After Girls album alone dropping 1/11/11 on Xemu Records (Dead Meadow, Spindrift).  Recorded in a revamped Church turned recording studio in Australia the affair takes melodic and shimmering music and captures it in cavernous reverb.  The Morning After Girls have toured with such artists as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Keys, The Church and more. 
“in the world today there are so many distractions that there are no chances to be alone, truly alone. Not in a lonely place but to experience things purely without a filter. This is the head space we were in when we wrote the record” says vocalist/guitarist Sacha Lucashenko of the morning after girls. alone is the band’s new full-length for xemu records (Dead Meadow, Spindrift) and their first official output since 2005’s self titled album. recorded in a church in the outback of Australia and mixed by Alan moulder (my bloody valentine, Interpol, Jesus and Mary Chain) in London and in part inspired by their time living in new york, alone seems like an album out of time and space.

Featured Track: Alone. Website: Official.

Jef Barbara.

Montreal-born Jef Barbara likes to make statements. His debut LP Contamination stakes his claim as an heir of pop music's golden age. With a wide array of influences, Contamination falls within the tradition of 80s landmarks such as George Michael's Faith, and alternates nods to French New Wave, soft rock, Kosmische Musik, and synth disco. Contamination also sees the glam pop poet bridging his native Canada's two solitudes by crooning in both official languages equally, something that has been done, although not as thoroughly, on his two previous EPs. Contamination is also an ode to pop music's contagious powers, a force to reckon with especially when armed with catchy hooks, which make up the Barbara's core songwriting asset. Lurking somewhere between Scott Walker and Sébastien Tellier by way of Little Richard, Jef Barbara aims to annihilate his genre's conventions, with guerrilla-style music videos and live karaoke performances.

Featured Track: Larmes de Crocodile. Website: MySpace.

Savoir Adore

To celebrate the holiday season, Brooklyn's adventure-pop duo Savoir Adore is giving away a free download of their new single "Loveliest Creature". Recorded in upstate New York at the band's home studio, "Loveliest Creature" is a bumpin' tale of a monster love. In other news, Savoir Adore was recently featured on MTV's The Seven, as well as NYC electro-pop blog Neon Gold.

Featured Track: Loveliest Creature. Website: MySpace.

Lawrence and Leigh

Lawrence and Leigh are two artists on a mission: to create work that’s beautiful and bold, with refreshing originality and an infectious sense of style. Music is their medium of choice, but their unique and specific point of view expands to everything they touch. Like some kind of wondrous blend of Dirty Projectors and the haunting richness of Fleet Foxes, the female/male band of Andrew Kalleen and Kristin Stokes fill their music with dazzling styles of pop, colored with a dream-like nostalgia, and realized to their fullest potential in the studio.

Featured Track: Chelsea Nights. Website: Official.
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This Editions Featured Tracks:

2010FM - December Edition One

December is upon us and the backlog of new music has built up once again, so apologies but this is going to be a rush through the music that has grabbed our attention. There is a reasonable amount of copying from the promo material we have received to provide background so apologies for some of the 'loved up' words but the one thing I will say is everything featured is here because we reckon it's well worth a share!

The first entry in the Designed Entropy series features exclusive tracks by 4 different artists inspired from a common starting point - a book titled "Atlas of Novel Tectonics" by Jesse Reiser. As a cohesive unit, this EP explores the relationship between design, structure, and humanity. Released as a limited edition (run of 500) 7" EP on colored vinyl, one could loosely categorize the genre as electronic. However, each artists incorporates sounds and samples to independently build the landscape. Participating artist include:

Bomarr (of Restiform Bodies) [San Francisco, CA]
Meanest Man Contest [San Francisco / Los Angeles, CA]
Copy [Portland, OR]
Roman Ruins (drummer for Beach House & Papercuts) [Oakland, CA]

We have already covered Meanest Man Contest recently so we have a track from Bomarr which is powerful electro and Kraftwerk fans through to modern electo should check this out.

Featured Track: Exchanges Among Systems
Website: MySpace. Gold Robot Store.
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Put five musicians together in a room and let them improvise. Hit the record button. What will you end up with? It could be a litany of shopworn clichés. Blind, bland stabs by hacks more interested in showing off their chops than in listening to each other, or challenging themselves. But what if the quintet in question is Mojo Mancini, five of the most diverse and in-demand players in the business, total pros who eat and breathe music even when they’re away from the studio or stage? Artists who between the five of them have worked with—and this is just a partial list—Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Al Green, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, David Byrne, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, Charlie Haden, Levon Helm, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, Joan Osborne, Madeline Peyroux, and Regina Spektor?

This is superb music don't just take our word for it...

Like Sasquatch, the five crack musicians who call themselves Mojo Mancini have seldom been captured on film…NY Magazine
New York noir doesn’t get any better than this..
Lucid Culture
Something this deep, evocative, complex and beautiful will NEVER get played on Top 40 radio.
Rosanne Cash
"Really cool vibe y stuff from some of the best players in the business.."
Rita Houston, WFUV
"What a great band! World class musicians who just got together and improvised a great record!"
Eric Cocks, WPKN

Featured Track: Carbulator.
Website: Official.
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I know very little about Keith Canisius except that he is from Denmark and has a psychedelic dream pop vibe and he also has a new album 'This Time It's Our High' out now on Darla Records. Only thing to add is the song we received is really cool and well worth a listen as are the songs on his MySpace site!

Featured Track: The Beach House.
Website: MySpace. Darla Records.
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And we quote - globalFEST (www.globalfest-ny.org), the preeminent springboard for global music in North America, has been exploring and presenting a deeply rooted, sonically diverse world to influential  North American arts professionals and avid music fans for eight years. Keen to find global performers—both veterans and newcomers—perfectly poised for wider notoriety, globalFEST throws one of the year’s best international music parties while expanding the horizons of musicians and audiences alike.

This year’s globalFEST comes to New York City’s Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St.) on January 9th, 2011 at 7pm. The one-night festival features;

-Chamber Music: Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal (U.S. debut)
-Creole Choir of Cuba
-Diblo Dibala
-Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole (NY solo debut)
-La-33
-Mustafa Özarslan (U.S. debut)
-Novalima
-Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda
-Pedrito Martinez Group
-RAM
-Red Baraat
-Rhythm of Rajasthan
-Yoro Ndiaye (U.S. debut).

 Having checked out some of the acts I think those who manage to attend are in for a real treat. Novalima’s Afro-Peruvian electronica, is just one dimension of the musical experience in store.

Featured Track: Ruperta Zeb Remix.
Website: Official.
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OK some background - Verity, Equity, Acuity.

These are the meanings of the symbols in the Kressin family crest, and also the foundation of Neon Legion, the rock band based around German-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Philip Kurt Kressin. In a music landscape where many artists are concerned with shiny veneers over artistic content, Kressin demands that his work stand for something. With Empire, the debut Neon Legion album, he seeks to honor the values of his forefathers while crafting a sound that brings together elements of rock, electronic, and classical music, honoring his own personal tradition.

The Neon Legion philosophy is shaped in large part by Kressin's roots, as a descendant of German knights. He sees it as part of his mission to reemphasize values derived from the knights' code of chivalry.

Down to the music and this is really electronica meets indie rock and performed with a mixture of passion and precision. The vocals add a new wave element and the hole thing cries for being played loud!

Featured Track: The Sun.
Website: Official.
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Bleu McAuley (better known simply as Bleu) is a well-documented early adopter of direct to fan initiatives, raising a massive $40,000 via Kickstarter to fund his recently released album, entitled Four. To reward his legion of dedicated fans, followers and friends, Bleu has partnered with American Songwriter to bring you the ‘Bleu Writes A Song for You” Contest.

Starting on Monday, November 15th American Songwriter (www.americansongwriter.com) will be hosting the contest, where fans are invited to enter by simply submitting their contact information. This acknowledges that the entrant wants to be considered for the grand prize of having Bleu pen and record a song solely for him or her. Three runner-ups will also be chosen for an autographed copy of the new album, Four.

Featured Track: Singin In Tongues.
Website: MySpace.
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Phaseone is a producer from St Louis who is putting out a release on Lefse's 'Way Slow' series that finds him covering Soul For Real & Keith Sweat. The EP is released on December 14th and is yet another electronica piece that has gained our attention in the last few days.

Featured Track: Being With You
Website: Lefse Records.
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Mixpak Records brings together influences from the worlds of club music, rap and indie rock under the shared roof of a common home.

Keeping with the label’s mosaic-like roster of genre-dipping artists, December 7th will mark the release of the all-girl Japanese post-punk quartet Hard Nips’ self-titled EP. This exciting addition to the Mixpak roster is just another example of the label’s inimitable reputation and diverse repertoire.

Hard Nips have arrived from the Far East, brandishing a riff-heavy, post-punk sound laced with the angelic straining from vocalist Yoko Sawai.

Whether playing parties for Vice Magazine or CMJ gigs alongside the likes of Sean Lennon and TVOTR’s Tunde Adebimpe, this Brooklyn-based four piece commands the attention of any room they play. Known for their magnetic stage presence and rowdy antics (on stage and off), these women are living breathing personifications of rock n’ roll. Along with the release of their four-song EP, Hard Nips will be holding a record release show at Cake Shop in NYC on December 7th.

These girls can rock, expect to hear them some more!

Featured Track: Release It.
Website: Mixpack Hardnips.
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LA-based Holly Conlan just finishing up a national tour with Sara Bareilles. Here's what Sara had to say about working with Holly this year - "I met Holly a few years ago and fell in love with her as a person, immediately. Then I got to hear her music.  I was blown away by her songwriting as well as her smooth-like-honey voice. I knew she'd be a great fit for this tour because her songs are the perfect balance of whimsy and intellect... delivered by one of the coolest voices I've ever heard...and she's one of the hardest-working and sweetest people I've had the chance to meet. She's the real-deal."


We are also informed that 'Conlan, whose emotionally resonant album 'Fascinator' (Cloverbird) is out now, creates syncopated piano-driven songs with simple, yet deeply meaningful lyrics. With an affecting alto voice, Conlan uses her training in classical composition to write unusual string voicing and surprising rhythms. "Take the Blame" and "One Two Three" from 'Fascinator' are just a few of Conlan's latest songs that have appeared in hit shows such as 90210, Drop Dead Diva One Tree Hill, and Ghost Whisperer'.

I love the track we have to share this time around and I for one will be checking Holly's music out some more.

Featured Track: Stay.
Website: Official.
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We have already featured Gwyneth and Monko this year with regards to their July release 'Good Old Horse' EP however their new record, Gwyneth & Monko, which was recorded at Old School Studio in Caspar, CA, will more accurately reflect what the duo sounds like live, which is somewhere between folky acoustic and indie rock. And it’s no wonder their new work sounds this way, as they’ve been on the road for most of 2010, taking weekends here and there to record. Guest artists Scott Southard on bass, Jimmy Gallagher on drums and Matt Cooper Borkenhagen on pedal steel and dobro, join Gwyneth and Monko on their self-titled album which will be released on February 15th, 2011.

Having had the chance to listen to the new album I can whole heartily agree with the promo that came my way, fans of Lucinda Williams, Jenny Lewis, Patty Griffin should love the new album. I have a feeling I will be reminding you again about them nearer the release date.

Featured Track: Get In The Sun.
Website: Official.
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We are reminded that - Tummy Touch Records has been defying convention, resisting categorization and generally causing a scene, since their first record release 15 years ago in 1996. From the pioneering Balearic dance music of Groove Armada to the ultra hip indie pop of Tom Vek and cosmic disco rock of The Phenomenal Handclap Band the label’s unique sound is hard to pin down. The attitude, however, is obvious - a commitment to eclecticism, excitement and a having a bloody good time.

Tummy Touch welcome back Los Chicharrons, one of their very first artists back in the warehouse party days in London’s East End, for a brand new Afro Funk album to help celebrate the label’s 15 year birthday!
Roots Of Life (out 25th January 2011) is the fourth Los Chicharrons album from dance music’s own odd couple, Ramon Santana and Morten Hansen. They are both musicians, DJs and producers but their backgrounds couldn’t be more different.

Ramon was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up within earshot of the voodoo drums of Haiti (the birthplace of real trance). Relocating to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the mid ‘60s, he gradually steered a course towards Corona, Queens, where a period of a rich musical development began.

In the early ‘80s Ramon’s DJing progressed apace, with regular shows in Dancetaria (where Mantronix were resident) leading to the inception of a club called Boomba Makao, operating out of three NYC venues: Giant Steps, The Soul Kitchen and Great Jones.

Morten Varano’s rich background is something of a contrast to his musical spar. Born in Copenhagen, he started playing piano at age 6, and at 14 began playing ‘indie-rock-techno-pop’ in his first band. Morten’s interest in dance music and sounds of a left field persuasion led him to the start up of a club called Lust in Copenhagen which formed the missing link in the evolution of Los Chicharrons when Ramon’s international DJ'ing excursions took him there.

The idea of Roots Of Life came to them when Morten traveled to Bamako in Mali. Mali might be one of the poorest countries in the world but it is rich with music and a great philosophy of life. They hooked up with local musicians and recorded some songs in Mali and in Paris with finishing touches applied in Copenhagen and London. The truly international culture clash that is Roots Of Life, with its irresistible blend of Bass Music, Afro Funk and House, will be filling dance floors around the globe in 2011.

OK loads of words - I defy you not to want to dance or at least jig about in your chair to the featured song!

Featured Track: Ma Do Nar.
Website: Tummy Touch.
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Paul Dempsey has been the front man of one of Australia’s most successful bands, Something For Kate, with multiple Aria awards and nominations, who have released 5 gold and platinum selling albums.   Last year, Paul released Everything Is True in Australia, and received tremendous response.  The album was given 4 stars by Rollingstone, voted iTunes’ Album of the Year in Australia, and certified Gold.  Paul then packed up his guitar and traded the sold out shows and his Melbourne address for Brooklyn, and the intimate stages of New York and the US.

His award-winning debut solo album, Everything Is True, is out now digitally in the US and Canada. I am to late to mention his recent USA tour dates but give this guy a listen, this is evocative and classy folk rock music.

Featured Track: Fast Friends.
Website: Official.
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Not long ago, Sonny Smith (Sonny & The Sunsets) survived a near-drowning off the coast of Northern California. The experience affected him profoundly and led to a wealth of output including a play, a novel, and a stack of songs. Sonny's critically acclaimed "100 Records" project is itself a direct product of Sonny's fight with the sea. A novel he began, Adelard the Drowned, broke into 100 pieces. Four of those pieces come as songs on this 7" e.p., each bound to the next by a twisted braid of water and death.

Through the fog and the haze, however, there lies in these songs a shared sense of redemption, transformation, or reawakening. Featuring appearances by Heidi and Grace of the The Sandwitches and a long-lost band called The Transients, this record features Sonny's songwriting at its strongest, staring death in the face. Perhaps, this is in part why the ocean gave him back. Recorded in San Francisco and mastered by Paul Oldham, each record includes a comic book, four full-color album covers, and a high-quality digital download.

The record will be available December 11th via Endless Nest, and the track we have to share may just draw you in to finding out more.

Featured Track: Throw My ashes from this pier when I die.
Website: Endless Nest.
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Lets do the promo background first as it say's it better than I can - For Patty, Melissa, Scotty, and Travis, it really is a family affair. This foursome stretches their biological connections through to their creative tissue as the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band (DFJB), an incomparable collective with a Jazz/Americana/Soul/Folk sound that, by all reasonable accounts, functions quite nicely, thank you. As the history of their marvelous and complex family relationships comes out in their music, it is clear that this is a community, a truly relational organism. The way they work, the way they live, and the way they make music is an expression of family, through and through.

The high-functioning dysfunction began when Patty Carpenter and Scotty Shetler were high school sweethearts a billion years ago, and, in 1972, had a daughter, Melissa Shetler. Then they split, and Scotty married Jill Gross, a lead singer in the band he was playing with. Now, Jill sometimes sings with them both live and in the studio. Patty married Charles Light, who manages the band, and, in 1990, they had a son, Travis Light, who at 17 moved to New York City to live with his sister Melissa and her husband Alan McCarthy. True to his family roots he is now living in California attending Jazz School.

What really matters as always is the music itself and with DFJB I am simply blown away. I just love the vibe these people create, the harmonies, the musicianship the whole thing is wonderful. If this is dysfunctional then I need never fear being regarded as dysfunctional ever again. Wonderful music.

Featured Track: Waterfalls.
Website: Official.
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Again first of all the promo words - Alt-world songstress Manisha Shahane unwittingly launched her career as a performing songwriter when she hung posters around Central Square and invited friends to hear some of her original songs at the Cezanne Café & Bakery in Cambridge, MA on November 21, 1999. The coffee shop ran out of bread for sandwiches during what turned out to be a standing-room-only show. Afterwards, she sat on the piano bench and sheepishly passed around a mailing list “just in case I perform my songs again sometime.”

With dedication and consistency, Manisha has since made over 175 appearances as a performing songwriter and countless more as a guest or band member of other groups. Following the 2004 release of her debut album, "Peace in Progress," her shows garnered audiences in numerous cities in the US, as well as in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and London. Combining a coming-of-age in southern Virginia with her Maharashtrian heritage, Manisha’s performances are a musical collage of folk, jazz, and Indian traditions, featuring her original songs & compositions, as well as covers and special arrangements. She is especially drawn to the sound of the tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, which her father plays.

After shoveling more than 40 inches of snow following a Boston blizzard, Manisha (wisely) relocated to sunny Los Angeles at the end of 2005. Established clubs at which she has appeared in the Los Angeles area include The Coffee Gallery Back Stage, Genghis Cohen, The Mint, and Temple Bar, among others. She is equally comfortable performing in family-friendly environments such as schools, nursing homes, religious halls, & community centers, including LA’s Grammy Museum at which she performed twice in 2009. Manisha has also performed on college campuses, such as that of Wellesley College, Brandeis University, and Brown University.

For me the music is quite captivating, taking the featured track for example where the mixture of rhythms and the soothing and soulful vocals should clash but somehow work beautifully together. Her music is a little bit of Folk, Jazz, World, Pop, Rock however Manisha has her own distinctive and dreamy vocals that give her music it's overall identity.

Featured Track: Girls Gone World.
Website: Official.
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Featured Tracks:

2010FM - November Edition Two

Papercutz are new to me and I have been really charmed by their music. Atmospheric, moving and gently reminding me of Goldfrapp and the Cocteau Twins at times, the most recent release: "Do Outro Lado Do Es­pelho (Lylac Am­bient Reworks)" is ambient at it's best. Some other reviews have stated - ":Papercutz has commissioned a remix album of his work which reads like a who’s who of contemporary drone. Remix records are often, by their very nature, frustratingly inconsistent, but thankfully Do Outro Lado Do Espello represents a notably coherent and engaging exception." Drowned in Sound

"delightful ambient" Record Collector

"Lovely set of shoegazy ambient remixes" Boomkat

"Here are twelve amazing tracks by masters of ambient and modern classical composition!" Headphone commute

"Soundscapes developed into lush new ambient forms or retract into spacious drones, while the voice is in turn wrapped in textures and treated as just another sound source, or isolated as primary organic element to increase its impact." The Milk Factory

"It's wonderful to see Bruno Miguel's :papercutz project receive newfound exposure through the Audiobulb imprint and to see his electro-acoustic pop re-interpreted by an impressive cast of kindred spirits." Textura.

Featured Track: Lylac (Helios remix).
Website: Official. Buy.
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White Mountains is the project of producer and composer Peter James. Exploring texture, space, and melody, James creates electronic music with an organic feel that often reaches blissful heights.

He is currently based in New Hampshire. His White Mountains LP, Wilderness will be released November 9th.

The featured track is all I have had a chance to listen to from the new album and I am really impressed. The electronic music genre has become a crowded place and stand out music such as this is always welcomed.

Featured Track: Bells.
Website: MySpace.

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The Radio Dept, have achieved some notable success through this decade. They become Labrador Records best selling band; the first to reach the sales charts in Sweden, end up on NME's albums-of-the-decade-list, enter the Billboard Heatseeker chart and serve as soundtrack to an odd costume drama by Sophia Coppola. Quoting Johan from Labrador records "The Radio Dept. are adamantly uncompromising, ridiculously self-critical, vastly independent and, not least importantly, constantly moving forwards". The album Passive aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 is a voyage through the first eight years on Labrador. 

The album is due out on January 25th (2011) on Labrador/Caroline Records and tour dates have been announced for February 2011 (NYC exclusive shows November 30 & December). The EP "Never Follow Suit" is now available and the featured track is an incredible dub version by Pistol Disco from the new EP.

Nov 30 NYC Knitting Factory
Dec 01 NYC Bowery Ballroom
Feb 01 Washington D.C.  Rock N Roll Hotel
Feb 02 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Feb 03 New York, NY Webster Hall
Feb 04 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs
Feb 05 Montreal, QC Petit Campus
Feb 07 Toronto, ONT Lee's Palace
Feb 08 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Feb 09 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
Feb 12 Seattle, WA Crocodile Café
Feb 13 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Feb 15 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Feb 16 Los Angeles, CA  El Rey Theatre
Feb 19 Mexico City, MX Teatro de la Ciudad

Featured Track: Never Swallow Fruit Dub
Website: Official.
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OK some PR words by way of an introduction. Danika Holmes is a rising star in the heartland!” says Bill Sullivan of The Rock and Roll Report. Mike Wolfe of The History Channel’s American Pickers says “She’s a true American talent… I couldn’t stop listening!” Music critics agree that Danika is charming and energetic with a welcoming tone in her voice, which is as gentle as a breeze.

As Holmes plays shows, fans tell her how they can relate to her lyrics, which is exactly what she is hoping for. “At first that was really scary for me. I felt like I was standing on stage and unzipping my soul!” Currently, Danika’s music is being broadcast on independent radio stations, blogs, and podcasts around the world. She performs regularly with her band, has opened for The Nadas, and her show was aired on Iowa Public Television and Radio.

“Second Chances,” Danika’s debut album, was released in March of 2010. The title track is a reflection of Danika’s dogmatic belief that everyone benefits from a second chance, or even a third, along life’s way.

Danika's music is a mixture of Americana, pop and country rock, her songs are strong and the vocals works across a range of styles. Splendid music that can both lift you up and move you, without being overly melancholy or indulgent. Recommended.

Featured Track: Lock Me In Tonight.

Website: Official.

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The introduction Beehive Candy has for Leslie Cours Mather reads better than we can write them so here it is - It can be hard to remain hopeful when times are dark. But out of even the darkest, most testing times can come great art- profoundly moving works that give us faith and let us know we aren’t alone in our hardships.

Singer-songwriter Leslie Cours Mather has certainly endured some dark times recently. At the age of four her daughter Stefani was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully, Stefani, now eight, has been treated and is doing just fine. But it was a tough patch there for a bit. Out of it all, however, came an added bonus. As she and her family passed through this emotionally wrenching period, Leslie found solace and release in writing songs. Several of these songs are found on For My Children, her astonishing new album.

Given all that Leslie endured, For My Children somehow doesn’t sound sad. Vulnerable at times, yes. And soul-searching. But sad? Not at all. Instead, it’s an album that’s uplifting. Affecting. And, most of all, comforting—all qualities you don’t seem to find enough of in today’s world of overly shallow, short-attention-span music.

Having listen to the songs I was impressed that this is indeed a wonderful album that would stand the test of music critics regardless of the background story. Recently, Leslie joined with a team of doctors from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where Stefani was treated, to establish the Parents’ Advisory Council of the international consortium TACL (Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma). Together, they are working diligently to develop new treatments, support families and raise money to eradicate these diseases. Fifty percent of the purchase price of each For My Children CD will go to TACL.

Featured Track: I'll Run.

Website: Official.

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Beady Eye are Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock. Beady Eye have made available ‘Bring The Light’, the first track to be heard from their debut album, as a free download worldwide to their fans as from now. The album was recorded over the past summer in London and will be released next year. So there is life after Oasis for Liam and if the song and accompanying video featured on their website are anything to go by things are looking up. The video shows the band as they will appear on tour with Liam on vocals, Gem and Andy on guitar, Chris on drums accompanied by Jeff Wootton on bass and Matt Jones on piano. 

Musically the addition of female backing vocals and the use of piano make this song sound clearly different from Oasis and although Liam's distinctive vocals will always link him to his former band I would say at this stage that Beady Eye look set to make their own mark on the world of music.

Featured Track: Bring The Light.

Website: Official.

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OK the background first - Brian Franke is an award-winning folk-rock singer/songwriter residing in the Washington, DC area. An up-and-coming artist with dynamic vocals, his music provides subtle commentary on life events, social issues, and politics, spanning such genres as rock, indie pop, and folk rock. With a sound that’s raw, contemplative and often edgy, his music appeals to fans of Elliott Smith, Pete Yorn, Vertical Horizon, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Brian’s debut album ‘Six Blocks Down’ was released in the fall of 2010. ‘Six Blocks Down’ navigates through swells of hard rock, over meandering streams of rootsy folk, with an undercurrent of mellow indie pop. Lyrically he meditates on life, love, politics and social issues, blending lively folk-rock arrangements with colorful chord progressions and rich, raw vocals. The album’s award-winning title track is a breezy pop-rock number whose sound belies the serious nature of the song’s lyrics, about a couple struggling to find purpose in their relationship. Currently he is touring in support of the album making stops in such cities as New York City, Nashville, Johnson City, and Philadelphia.

Brian was born and raised in Fair Haven, New Jersey, where he joined his first band, Visitors Only (a fusion of acoustic rock and pop). After earning degrees in economics and public policy, Brian worked in the non-profit sector before starting his full-time music career in late 2009. Always seeking to engage others in his music, he collaborates often with local artists and involves his fans in his music career.

Today he is a permanent fixture on the music circuit in Washington, DC, with numerous residencies, and invitations to play top venues in the area such as Jammin’ Java, Iota Club and Café, and the Washington Nationals Ballpark.

The music is a mixture of indie rock and pop and stands out as both crisp and sharp musically, however what really makes it for the Beehive are Brian's vocals which suit perfectly the punch and delivery of his songs.

Featured Track: Never Let Your Guard Down.

Website: Official.

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This is one band that have really grabbed my attention this month and their album has been played more than any other since I received it! Official words state - With only an aim to create emotive music, Exit Calm channel a wall of immense and anthemic sound that evokes the mood and spirit of 90’s shoegaze heroes like the millennium never happened.  However not a nostalgia act, hipster music site Drowned In Sound said that “Exit Calm are so far out in front of the rest of the competition at present it's frightening. In fact, you can almost imagine bands forming in their wake as we speak.” This band of Northern Englishmen have also been embraced by UK alternative heroes like Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Alan McGee of Creation Records who tapped the band to play events they hosted in October.  Clint Boon of Inspiral Carpets and David Francolini of Levitation and Dark star are regular attendees of their shows as well. 

“Exit Calm are the best British Indie band we’ve heard in years” - UNCUT

“Pure Genius-The assembly of iron and wood because temples must be made. And the avoidance of all that whiny, sexless bullshit passing for rebellion at the moment” - Todd Eckhart, producer of the JOY
DIVISION film "CONTROL"

“Proper f##kin’ music” –Mani of Primal Scream/Stone Roses

We can only add that this band are awesome and that's not a word we use often. Exit Calms S/T debut full-length on Sonic Unyon has now been released for the U.S. and Canada. Tour wise the band have supported such artists as Echo & The Bunnymen, The Charlatans and Modest Mouse. They have played through Europe and Japan and plan to hit up the U.S. in the coming year.

Featured Track: Youve Got It All Wrong.

Website: MySpace.

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I love the way the intro for this band has been written so being ever so lazy right now as we finish this edition here it is - Yes, Acid House Kings are back. Finally! Almost six years since the release of the highly acclaimed album, Sing Along with Acid House Kings, Sweden’s #1 pop perfectionists are ready to release new material.

The first single “Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?” is a drive in the Swedish countryside with nothing planned and a feeling that anything can happen. The radio is playing lush and heavily orchestrated 70s soul with huge arrangements and a distinct sentimentality. It's a blistering pop explosion inspired by the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, Tommy Körberg and flamenco percussionists with a chorus that will stay with you.

Stemming from huge elitist’s pop record collections and a slightly embarrassed admiration of ABBA, Stock Aitken Waterman and Swedish “dansband”, Acid House Kings have continued their slow, but steady fine-tuning towards perfect pop music. And with half a decade of song writing the fans are in for something extraordinarily fabulous.  “We’ve allowed ourselves to be extremely self-critical. Songs good enough for any of our other albums have been singled out repeatedly”, says Niklas Angergård.

Acid House Kings are brothers Johan and Niklas Angergård and Niklas’ sister-in-law Julia Lannerheim. “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?” is taken from Acid House Kings’ forthcoming fifth album Music Sounds Better with You, out on Johan's birthday, March  22nd, 2011. An album that during a short period was tentatively and logically named A Family Affair. According to the band, the new album is “sharper, catchier and livelier”, a “goodbye to genre obligations” and “it’s got castanets on every single song”.

This is just a wonderful pop song and I love it!

Featured Track: Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?

Grab It: HERE.

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Featured Tracks:



For reasons beyond me the White Mountains track needs a separate player to work properly, these mp3's can be as fussy as A list celebs at times, anything to get noticed....