Owner: mp3hugger URL:http://mp3hugger.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 10:20:37 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: mp3hugger is an indie music blog that features at least one new band per day. Besides describing the music that has shook our world you also get a piece of music to listen to or download. The intention is to spread the world about the underground sounds t Site statistics:Click here
Cloud Cult - Chain Reaction 2008-04-14 13:47:00 According to reputable publications Cloud
Cult have released a new album. It comes barely a year after ‘The Meaning of 8’, a sprawling affair that I’ve yet to fully tame. If that album (their 7th) is anything to go Cloud Cult appear to have its fingers in lots of different pies. The result is enjoyable but you really have to work hard to appreciate where they are coming from. There are some moments of lucidity though like on opener ‘Chain
Reaction’ which while quite dense has a fine sugar coating. Initially you could be forgiven for thinking that you are listening to the Album Leaf but Craig Minowa’s voice slowly takes centre stage and not even the presence of several sharp strings can detract from it. Cloud Cult may have their roots in the 1990’s but their environmentally co
Pyramids - Sleds 2008-04-17 09:18:00 Noise or shoegaze’s glorious redefinition? You decide, but whatever you do don’t give up on ‘Sleds’ too hastily. It is a piece of work whatever your viewpoint and even those completely enamoured by its hazy constructs may require several listens to get to the kernel. To these ears it is a blissful return to the days of yore or that last Belong record if you are younger than I. Pyramids eponymous LP will be with us in a couple of days but for those who can’t wait the whole thing can be streamed straight away. ‘Sleds’ is the perfectly beautiful opening track, industrial frequencies pummel your senses and it’s left to the drifting out of reach vocals to reason with that finger of yours that hovers over the delete button. This may well be impenetrable to most but if you can mak
Wir sind Helden - Labyrinth 2008-04-17 07:58:00 If you are ever in Dresden, the indie disco of choice (DJ dependent) is Hebedas. The night I was there, on the tiny vertigo-inducing dancefloor, we were treated to ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’, ‘Sexuality’ and ‘Electronic Renaissance’, as well as sets of Brazilian funk, 60's crooner fodder and half an hour of German pop songs the locals launched into with gusto. Wir sind Helden (We Are Heroes), a four-piece from Berlin are a favourite. Here's ‘Labyrinth
’ from their latest album, ‘Soundso’. It won't get a spin on the indie dance floor but it's one for the headphones late at night. Cyclic and introspective, it builds to a calm wash of guitars, with singer Judith Holofernes's voice sounding ever more plaintive, lost in a maze. TKWir sind Helden - LabyrinthWatch The Video To Von
The Story Of - After Just A While 2008-04-16 14:38:00 Another week, another cherishable band from Austin, Texas. Must be the sun or SXSW’s influence but that city really throws up more than it fair share of quality bands. And that’s where 5-piece The Story Of currently call home, a band without a label but with the conviction to self-release their own album ‘The World’s Affair’ last year. When the LP hits its stride like on ‘After Just A While’ you get to see what they are capable of. It is a multi-dimensional ditty with contrasting vocal turns and a beautifully uneven momentum. Nearly calls to mind the majestic Delgados after they’ve been sprinkled with a pinch or two of the Arcade Fire actually. A cursory glance around the internet reveals very little press about the band which is surprising given what they have to offer. Su
The New Year - Gasoline 2008-04-16 13:31:00 This is great, a slow undertow of boiling tension as the frontman plays it straight for all he’s worth. But, for all the subdued antics there is about a million other things worth investigating. Thickets of jangling chords brighten up certain corners, frisky beats hang from high ceilings and a bass rumbles under floorboards hiding nasty secrets. ‘Gasoline
’ is taken from the New Year’s 2001 debut album, which was produced by Steve Albini. Their conception came after the breakup of Bedhead in the late nineties but to date New Year records have been decidedly thin on the ground. A new album is planned for this September but this will only be their third LP in 9 years. Budda and Matt Kadane have been constants throughout and their vocals are responsible for much of the understated dram
The Balfa Brothers - Parlez-Nous A Boire 2008-04-17 16:54:00 For a time all that went around my head was the atmospheric rumble of Ry Cooder’s slide guitar. More specifically his turn on the Southern Comfort soundtrack which both exhilarated and scared the bejaysus out of me. And if his mood pieces weren’t enough there was the hypnotic Cajun music to be getting on with. The piece included here is ‘Parlez-Nous a Boire’ from the Balfa Brothers
which arrived at the crux of Walter Hill’s movie when the threat of malice and the death of a domestic animal played out in a masterful montage of scenes. It may lack the scorching unforgiveness of Deliverance but Southern Comfort and its haunting soundtrack is the one I return to time and again. KDThe Balfa Brothers - Parlez-Nous A BoireWatch The Balfa Brothers In Southern ComfortMore Info: The Balfa
Empty Rooms - We've Been Waiting For You 2008-04-19 08:41:00 Going by this and I really hope it is indicative of their talent we could yet have a brand new Pale Saints on our hands. EmptyRooms
are from San Francisco and may or not be aware that Gary Moore (once of Thin Lizzy) wrote a song of the same name. ‘Empty Rooms’ the song was dire but Empty Rooms the band are entirely brilliant. ‘We’ve Been Waiting
For You’ starts out all hallucinogenically dream pop before turning completely instrumental about 4 minutes through in what sounds like the smoothest segues of the year. Interpol are probably as close a contemporary as you’ll get but Empty Rooms specialise in a finer sense of guitar shimmer and sport altogether sweeter vocals. The bands debut EP ‘Lacuna’ is out now and can be purchased directly from their myspace page. KDEmpty Room
The Perishers - My Heart 2008-04-19 04:53:00 Maybe I’d underestimated this Swedish band, first impressions had me bracketing them in a mainstream setting. The more I listened, however, the more I realised they had a deeper creative spark that could operate just as capably with an alternative audience. ‘My Heart
’ comes from their second last LP ‘Let There Be Morning’ and has already featured on a car advert. Didn’t do the Velvet Underground any damage and a similar profile injection for the Perishers would surely see them rocket. ‘My Heart’ is low key and jangly, simplicity itself but about as easy to execute as a hole-in-one at St. Andrews. Seems like certain medical drama's have recently taken a shine to them so jump aboard before granddad starts whistling their latest #1. KDThe Perishers - My HeartWatch The Video To
The Field Mice - Five Moments 2008-04-18 13:30:00 If any band defined the sound of Sarah Records it was Londoners the Field
Mice. At the time they sorta passed me by except for ‘If You Need Someone’ which appeared on one of those ubiquitous indie top 20 compilations from the early nineties. While that tune leaned towards electro pop ‘Five Moments
’ displays the pleasant jangly chords for which the Field Mice are best remembered. There is also an unmistakable shoegaze drift to Annemari Davies vocals highlighting how the Field Mice were one of pop’s chameleons. So much so that if you closed your eyes and dreamt of Sarah Cracknell you could almost think you were listening to St. Etienne. If you are intrigued, and you should be, then try on the Field Mice’s glorious retrospective titled ‘Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way?’ or
Elika - Let Down 2008-04-20 11:44:00 When the coffee stops working I find an uplifting blast of incandescent pop can do wonders when attempting to reengage with the world. And as the weekend draws to a close the medicine has to be of a very fine vintage indeed to counter the upcoming gloom of the Monday to Friday routine. This week my pill of choice comes from Brooklyn duo Eva Maravelias and Brian Wenckebach and is taken from their debut album ‘Trying Got Us Nowhere’ which was produced by Starflyer 69’s Jason Martin (more of which later). The list of influences on their bio includes Slowdive, Nico and Flying Saucer Attack which immediately grabbed my attention. Elika swing from soft ambient soundscapes to crashing guitar routines which means you never quite know what is about to come around the corner. ‘Let Down’ di
Amnion - Praise God For The Light Within Me 2008-04-20 03:32:00 Forget Whale sounds, this is as soothing as several Paracetamol on a Sunday morning. If only Spiritualized had used this template for all those Gospel tinged albums they produced after they ditched the sound of Spacemen 3 (thankfully ‘Song in A&E’ appears to be a return to form). Amnion is the work of husband and wife team Nikki and Aaron Embry (who toured with Elliott Smith in 2000) and a host of other contributors. The collective have already recorded an album called ‘AmenNamO’ despite only being officially together for just over 6 months. ‘Praise
God For The Light Within Me’ really reminded me of an EP from Lovebabies called ‘Blue Earth Angel’ which came out a decade ago. It won’t sweep you off your feet like a whirlwind romance, instead it gnaws away at your affection
Elbow - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver 2008-04-21 06:08:00 I became a bit concerned lately hearing Elbow
being bandied about in the same sentence as Coldplay. Can’t remember where I read it exactly and in what publications but there were several references to insipid craftsmanship and snotty noses. Oh no, I internally screamed, had Guy Garvey’s band of Mancs lost the plot and would ‘The Seldom Heard Kid’ be their assault on the Chris Martin adoring masses. I needn’t have worried because Elbow’s newbie is nothing of the sort. The album may be easier on the ear (in that it doesn’t take a dozen listens to make sense) than previous efforts but Elbow have lost none of their sense of epic mournfulness. In fact after a week in the company of ‘The Seldom Heard Kid’ I can confidently say that this is their best work since ‘Asleep At The Read more:Tower
, Driver
Panda Riot - Northern Automatic Music 2008-04-21 04:10:00 Panda Riot do vocals, in fact Rebecca Scott is a very fine singer, but for the moment let’s just concentrate on this Spirtualized/My Bloody Valentine hybrid instrumental. ‘Northern
Automatic Music
’ has the early nineties written all over it, takes me back but if things work out it should also be taking Panda Riot forward. Shoegaze is back in vogue you see and this trio from Chicago should be well placed to profit from the insurgence. ‘She Dares All Things’ from last year collected their pretty singles together and is a must if colourful words like slowdive tends to send a tingle down your spine. KDPanda Riot - Northern Automatic MusicWatch The Video To Paper AirplanesMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Songs: Panda & Buy Songs: RiotYear: 2008 Read more:Panda
Martina Topley-Bird - Valentine 2008-04-22 11:54:00 Martina Topley-Bird is probably best known for her vocal turn on Tricky’s ‘Maxinquaye’ album. At the time she was only in her mid-teens but her remarkable vocals defined what is now regarded as a classic of its kind. Over the intervening 13 years Topley-Bird has sung on several other Tricky albums as well as making a guest slot on David Holmes underrated ‘Bow Down To The Exit Sign’. Her second solo album ‘The Blue God’ is due out next month and includes ‘Valentine
’, a smoke filled room of a song full of languid textures and topped off by Topley-Bird’s husky vocals. You could just picture this slipping onto a discerning collection of schmoozers. I quite surprised myself in liking it, perhaps the rough edges are finally beginning to wear down. KDMartina Topley-Bird - Vale Read more:Martina
Champagne Riot - Scandinavian Warfare 2008-04-23 16:56:00 How about this for advance publicity, Champagne
Riot have neither a record nor a gig to their name. In fact if one was to be pernickety you could say that Champagne Riot don’t even have a band together yet, because it remains the work of one man named Casper. Casper flits spirit-like between London and Copenhagen recording 80’s inspired pop numbers in small studios along the way. Some of these recordings are available for download from his myspace page and even a casual listen will confirm the wise choice Shelflife Records have made in agreeing to release his debut EP (later in the summer, it’ll be called ‘Paris & I’). ‘ScandinavianWarfare
’ is the pick of a ripe bunch, full of perfectly realised A-ha airs and graces, a proper pop song in other words. The first ever Champagne
The Sound Of Animals Fighting - My Horse Must Lose 2008-04-23 12:21:00 Don’t be put off by the electronic bleeps and misdemeanours early doors on ‘My Horse
Must Lose’ as it matures quite beautifully. With that on board I better give you some background details, oh wait, according to their website TSOAF are made up of the Walrus, the Lynx, the Nightingale and the Skunk. Hmm, this mystery collective (check out the all knowing wikipedia for a more in depth zoological background) already have 2 albums to their name and a third is due to drop this autumn. I guess the best definition of them would be experimental but not so out there so as to make the job of listening a chore (wha?). See, this is the sort of drivel us bloggers have to dream up when we're not privy to our accustomed A4 promo fact sheet. Terrible ain’t it, well you hardly come here for the wr Read more:Sound
, Animals
, Fighting
Random - Dream 2008-04-25 13:29:00 One of the things Vinyl, CD and even ye olde Cassette Tape have over the less traditional media like mp3 is that they normally come fitted with a smidgeon of information about the band in question. The problem with these bitrate ridden objects is that their ID Tags are more often than not as barren as a Samantha Mumba gig. So from time to time I'll happen across a tune that offers little in the way of clues. 'Dream
' by Random
(!) is one such orphaned ditty. Normally I couldn't give two hoots about a family-free-mptree but this particular effort is too good to be senselessly deleted and promptly forgotten about. The issue is exasperated by the fact that Google has failed Random completely and if Google can't find it (and Poirot, Marple and Holmes are all dead - Fletcher doesn't really count
Condor Moments - Lord Protector, Milk Collector 2008-04-24 16:14:00 Because this is Thursday evening I am going to give you something a little bit different to wrestle with. Hidden in the valleys of the rolling hills that is the greatest song Super Furry Animals never wrote are the strangest of jamborees, oddly shaped passages of audio that could have crept in from the next doors studio while Condor Moments
supped on a warm brew. This band has been together for over 2 decades and they released an album last year with a title that could take just as long to recite. It is an extraordinary work that tears up the rulebook and writes its own using a language that nobody except themselves understands. I’d imagine it to be the sort of album that ‘Trout Mask Replica’ could be were it to have a greater empathy for the listeners time and patience. Give of your Read more:Collector
Pavement - Gold Soundz 2008-04-24 12:12:00 Flippin hell, apologies for being so remiss. Imagine this blog has been dishing out mp3s like a good thing for 2 and half years and has yet to wax lyrical about the genius that was Pavement. If one was to look for a champion for the indie masses this band would be very high up the list (with perhaps the Wedding Present at the summit). Here was yet another case of the should-have-beens, they may have been musically idiosyncratic at times but if you were to examine the pot of gold that is their back catalogue you'd uncover gilded pop gems strewn in every brightened corner. The purest distillation can be found on 1994's ‘Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’ with sumptuous melodies and memorable riffs being the order of the day. ‘Cut Your Hair’ even became a minor hit and its barber shop video
The Old Believers - No More 2008-04-27 11:33:00 Alaska to Portland seems like a long way but I haven’t looked at a map so I could be completely wrong. Nelson Kempf and Keeley Boyle recently made the trip and haven’t budged since. The duo call themselves the Old Believers
and could become the most ridiculously cute new act of 2008. They remind me of Elephant Parade, for obvious reasons, but lean more heavily (if that is the right word) towards alt country. Most of their dispatches are acoustically set which means that nothing can detract from the sweet home cooked vocals. Their first record came out last year and was called ‘Some Song By The Old Believers’ (to avoid confusion), this years effort is titled ‘Eight Golden Greats’ (you can bet your bottom dollar they will be if this tune is anything to go by) but won’t be relea
Young and Sexy - Conventional Lullabyes 2008-04-27 03:07:00 Remember, not too long ago actually, when every time you heard a vibrant new band you discovered they came from North America, Canada to be precise. It may have cover a huge landmass but in terms of population there are quite a few relatively dwarf-like European countries that eclipse. It seems the Canadian Government wisely decided to invest in the Arts and the result was an explosion in stellar outfits (2005 being particularly impressive). Things have certainly slowed but every few weeks something interesting tends to appear from that neck of the woods. Young and Sexy are from Vancouver and have recorded 3 records since 2003, the latest of which ‘The Arc’ will appear next month. ‘Conventional
Lullabyes’ is taken from 2006’s ‘Panic When You Find It’ and reveals the soft indi
May or May Not - Stationary Motion 2008-04-26 09:31:00 Here’s a confident prediction, in 5 years from now music will be free. Free as in you will be able to download it legally from official sources. Some people have cottoned on to this already and are fully focused on making a living from alternate sources. I’ll let you work out what those other revenue streams are. May or May Not go one step further by posting their favourite recipes to their website and in one fell swoop mamma’s greatest culinary secret’s are unleashed on the world. Lucky then that she’ll probably be too busy taking in the music that this Chicago quartet makes to hardly notice. And if you decide not take the free-way and plump for hard product instead you’ll be rewarded by imaginative artwork that can be gazed at as the indie pop plays out in the background. All Read more:Stationary
, Motion
The Little Ones - Boracay 2008-04-26 04:21:00 This is only the Little Ones second release but they already find themselves dressed for success. Sunny pop this good don’t come along too often and smiling faces are the order of the day throughout the bands latest ‘Terry Tales & Fallen Gates’ EP. ‘Boracay
’ is the second track and takes no time at all to whip itself into a frenzy of jumbled hooks and melodies. And when is the last time you heard the sound of the Caribbean so naturally integrated into a full on pop sensation? Christ, I'm starting to sound like Smashie and Nicey but it seems all sense of reason goes out the window when the sound of summer is blasting from nearby speakers. The Little Ones are currently on tour but sadly won’t be landing on our shores; there are several UK dates however. KDThe Little Ones - Boraca
The Electric Pop Group - I Could See The Lights 2008-04-28 13:45:00 With Sweden’s Electric
Pop Group
you pretty much know what you are going to get. And in many ways this predictability is what makes them so loveable. This is a quartet that has swallowed the rulebook on how to make the coolest jangle pop imaginable. So it comes as no surprise that the lead song from their latest ‘Sunrise’ EP is as a chipper as a postman after a recent cull of all the neighbourhood hounds. Martin Aamot vocals are perfectly pitched with the requisite spoonfuls of twee considerately pushing the focus back on the softly tilted chords. In other words ‘I Could See The Lights
’ is impossible to dislike and in many cases it will be about as welcome as the first warm day in early summer. Precious. KDThe Electric Pop Group - I Could See The LightsMore Info: Official & Myspa
No Age - Eraser 2008-04-29 16:37:00 The football didn’t exactly work out according to plan and already the MU heads are getting their digs in. Ah well, time for a head cleaner of a tune to wipe away the unhappiness. And ‘Eraser
’ fits the bill perfectly with its scuzzy atmospherics, non-liner architecture and just below a scream vocals. You’re probably already thinking it sounds like a complete nightmare on wax but despite its dishevelled appearance ‘Eraser’ somehow works superbly. No Age are Los Angelus dwellers Dean Spunt and Randy Randall (ex wives) who released their ‘Weirdo Rippers’ debut just last year. ‘Eraser’ is a cut from the follow up ‘Nouns’ and calls on lots of genres over its short journey. It is to the credit of the duo that such an explosive rump of noise can somehow wield a lofty gravi
I'm From Barcelona (You're From Barcelona) We're From Barcelona 2008-04-29 12:30:00 If you are into football then you are probably aware that at this moment in time there are no greater exponents of the beautiful game than FC Barcelona
. Of course it could all fall apart this evening, with their La Liga ambitions already in tatters a win for Man Utd could signal the end for Frank Rijkaard and his expansive style of football. We all know they are pretty ropey at the back but can there be anything more magical in sport than witnessing a 15-pass Catalan move that culminates in a perfectly executed finish? Messi, Zambrotta, Deco, Xavi and Bojan are simply spellbinding to watch, much like I'm From Barcelona are to listen to. 'We're From Barcelona' is so triumphantly happy, so freewheelingly gifted yet so simply conceived. Funny then that the band actually come from Northern Eur
The Delgados - Aye Today 2008-04-30 13:28:00 You know I still miss them, sure we still have Emma doing her solo thing but it seems so sad that we’ll never get to hear her in cahoots with the rest of this precious Glasgow band again. John Peel loved them so much he got them to play at his one of his birthday bashes. They have a scatter of brilliant albums to their name but ‘The Great Eastern’ from 2000 is plain old genius. The album was produced by Dave Fridmann, was bathed in lush strings and gloried in the Delgados
trademark off-kilter delivery. Up to this point the band had produced some killer tracks (like the incomparable ‘Everything Goes Around The Water’) but ‘The Great Eastern’ was their first flawless long player. There are so many highlights it is really hard to pick one moment so by closing my eyes and running Read more:Today
Art Of Fighting - Break For Me (+ her) 2008-05-02 04:33:00 I’ll be away from the rain and general non t-shirt wearing climes of Dublin for a couple of days. The wonders of the Nou Camp, Las Ramblas and Barri Gotic await but I’m not trying to make you jealous – pretty soon I’ll be back and you’ll be packing your suntan lotion. If that doesn’t cheer you up then why not sit back and wonder at the mournfully sumptuous sound of Melbourne’s Art of Fighting
. It’s a sonic holiday worth taking. KDArt Of Fighting - Break
For MeWatch The Video To Free YouMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Songs: The Art of FightingYear: 2004
Motocade - Soap Opera 2008-05-02 03:47:00 Spiky guitars eh, a thorn in your side? Only when you’re on a spiky guitar 24-hour bender in my opinion. And you can probably blame the Arctic Monkeys for the current proliferation of sharp riffs and even sharper word volleys. So in a crowed market is there room for another band of this ilk I hear you ask. Motocade certainly give a good case for the defence, the New Zealanders are busy getting the word out on their upcoming debut album and ‘Soap Opera’ speaks a language I am fully conversant in. They’ve been here before but this time there's more meat on their bones and the ragged riffs seem a tad more focused and slinkily joined at the hip with the swaggering vocals. A nice way to spend 3 minutes of your day. KDMotocade - Soap OperaWatch The VideoMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy S
The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock - In Country Dark 2008-05-01 16:45:00 You know I am barely into the Spook of the Thirteenth
Lock’s self-titled debut album and already I am stuck on endless repeat at track 2. ‘In Country
Dark’ is deliciously put together you see, a spark of experimentation goes a long way in my book and the tail end of this ditty provides it in spades. I mean at one stage I really felt like it was going to burst into My Bloody Valentine style molten chord exchanges. Before all that though there is a lively folk jamboree to be savoured, which comes complete with the sweetest of vocal melodies. Taken in an Irish context the Spook of the Thirteenth Lock are reminiscent of Horslips but they tend to take on more of the contemporary which often obscures the traditionalists within them. It’s early days yet but lead man Allen Blighe has all t
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