New Future Islands

Another reason to love this Band.

Wild Nothings

Jack Tatum aka Wild Nothings as made the album of summer 2010; Gemini. This twelve track LP is full of lush Robin Guthrie guitar dream pop on top of rockin' Flock Of Seagulls's sheer catchyness. Its hard not to be upbeat and freewheelin' in it's presences. The album is more than just homage to the pastel shoegazing forefathers of the 80s, JackTatum has carved out bewitching and endearing song after song that rewards with every repeat spin.
The video for album opener "Live In Dreams" with its datomoshed film fragments of past youth merges with the song beautifully. It's certainly up there with Xui Xui's video for best pop promo Ive seen so far this year.



The Witching Hour.mp3
Chinatown.mp3
Buy It At Your Local Record Store Before It Closes Down.

Dirty Beaches

Montreal's Alex Zhang Hungtai aka Dirty Beaches has been sending me in a daze recently. Eerie soundings like Colder's weirdo younger brother who only listens to B/Film's night surfing anthem "Night Running" on repeat. Dirty Beaches certain help fill void till both said artists release something new (Although Im not holding my breathe for B/Film). Night cycle cinematic loops unpinned by Alan Vega-esque ghostly do wop vocals which groove over the course of his six song enchanting Self Titled Ep. With a extensive back catalog already, include two great 7"s, two releases on my favourite label "Night People", the already mentioned S/T Ep and a full length album "Night City". I (You) have a lot of material to get obsessed over.


Buy both "True Blue" and "Golden Desert Sun" 7"s here.
Shangri-La.mp3
Golden Desert Sun.mp3

So It's The Summer

Slow Down. from Scott Foley on Vimeo.

The music is from the lush "Evenings" who are simple brilliant in every usage of the word. The dialogue stuff was put in Scott Foley which is originally from Linklater's 95' effort "Before Sunrise".

Galaxie 500 - Fourth Of July

These Happenings Are Happening Tomorrow

Lucky Dragons's "Dream Island Laughing Language" LP was one of the best albums of 08. Copy and paste tribal gamalen magic from start to finish. His interactive live show are pretty intense, I had an outer body experience at his last one, (a house show after he played earlier supporting Dirty Projectors), he passes out touch sensitive tentacles and shaman rain sticks in to the audience for them to make the music, ethereal chakra drones and clicks ebbing me up and up till I opened my eyes and saw two lads hitting each other in their heads with the sticks; oh well.
In support for the night is lucky old me (School Tour) and hurdy gurdy druid folk troupe "Woven Skulls".

Lucky Dragons - Givers.mp3
Lucky Dragons - I Keep Waiting For Earthquakes.mp3

The Joinery Gallery,
Arbour Hill
Stoneybatter
B/Y/O/B/
Doors 8.30pm
Adm: 10e

Atlas Sound - Quick Canal

Laetitia Sadier is right at home on this new Atlas Sounds track from his latest LP; Logos. All in all this Spacey krautrock TUNE could sit neatly into Stereolab's 1999 underrated "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night", without you knowing it was made 10 years later by an hyper productive young American. Bradford Cox has really outdone himself with this stellar track.

Atlas Sound - Quick Canal (Feat. Laetitia Sadier).mp3
Oh his last Micromix is pretty deadly, download it from his blog here.

Ducktails and Julian Lynch

More cosmic sweetness from our man Matt Mondanile aka Ducktails taken from a split 7" with the also rightous Julian Lynch. Ducktails releases have been coming thick and fast recently, but the quiality has certainly now driped. His Self Titled Debut Lp is nearly sold out, only 500 copy were made and she contains one of my favourite songs so far this year "Dancing With The One You Love". Get it before it gone.
Download Ducktails - Parasailing.mp3
Buy Ducktails/Julian Lynch - Split 7" via Underwater Peoples (US)
Buy Ducktails - S/T LP via Bis Aufs Messer (DE)
Buy Ducktails - Backyard CD via Norman Records (uk)

Cosmic Charlie - The Invisible College (They're Giving It Away No.19)

"Smoked out child star tape anthems, songs to hold his hand too".
"This is Cosmic Charlie 11 in a series of 25 tapes made to be the secret soundtracks to my summer of love... music for brotherless children."
"PROOF A BOY CAN BE A SIREN TOO" - Thurston Moore
More joyous fuzz ambientance from a truly wonderful label "Night People Records". Cosmic Charlie is a one man tape jams, thats part D. Johnston, part C. Manson. He mostly goes by the name The Savage Young Taterbug and has a super sweet tape out under that moniker.

Download Cosmic Charlie - The Invisible College
Buy The Savage Young Taterbug - "Boys of the Feather" C20

The Caretaker - A Stairway To The Stars (2001) [They're Giving It Away No.18]

"The Caretaker project began in late 1996, undoubtedly inspired from the ballroom scene in Stanley Kubrick's "Shining". The first release played and extended this theme of altering 1920's and 1930's ballroom music creating an eerie and haunted soundworld. Subsequently the sound has become darker and often more abstract over time, moving away from the initial idea of a haunted ballroom into territories involving the mind and its abilities to recall memories." - Last FM

As expected from anything connected to Vvm, its slowed down and full of ring mod. On recent trip to "festering fescos", they turned a mundane outing into a magic carpet ride, full of wonder, dread and toilet cleaner.You can get it for free from Vvm test recordings site below. Wonderful stuff indeed.

Download The Caretaker - A Stairway To The Stars LP (2001)

Ducktails - Landrunner

Every release by Ducktails is radder than the next, and this song of an incoming record is another joyous guitar jam.
In case you aint been keeping your eye on the ball, more Ducktails here.

Things I Fell In Love With Last Year: AU - Verbs (2008)

I spend the summer with one mp3 disc in my walkman, and I never got past the first two albums cycling around our "dirty old town". The two albums in question were A Faulty Chromosome's As An Anorexic's Six Sicks Exit and Portland AU and their orchestral soaring odyssey "Verbs". Its minimal but yet burst with energy, it ebbs and flows from gentle wanderlust guitar to a forrest roar of twenty strong choir (featuring members of Yellow Swans and Parenthetical Girls). Its understated but hypnotic like all my favourite Moondog pieces. Luke Wyland has made an album that I don't think will sound dated in ten,twenty or fifty years time, which can't be said about the majority of the highly praised albums that came out last year, if any.

AU - RR vs. D from Rainbow Dropshadow on Vimeo.

AU - Are Animals.mp3

Buy it HERE or in Europe buy it HERE.

AU are playing Europe in the end of April and May, no Irish shows yet,
If any one has the means to bring them over contract their EU booking
at "MARIE@JULIETIPPEX.COM"
Shit, if no one does maybe Ill get them to play in my concrete box shed.

Things I Fell In Love With This Year: Iron Curtain

Wonderful U.S. minimal electro from 82 till 88'. For all those how didnt take notes, I put the stalking soundtrack masterpiece "Terror Story" on the "Hollowing Mixtape", which is only a taster from their dark cannon. The band only release a couple of super sweet eps which now have been collected together in one tastey collection by Pylon Records. Here is a couple of tracks that are still more cutting than any pop tracks of the nowaday.
Iron Curtain - Tarantula Scream.mp3
Iron Curtain - Love Can Never Die.mp3
Iron Curtain - Like a Family.mp3
Get it before it gets you.

The Library Tapes this Wednesday in "The Cobblestone"

Sweden's ethereal pianist David Wenngrenis plays in Smithfields Wonderful Cobblestone on wednesday 12th. To celebrate here is one track from the gorgeous "Fragment" EP and one from his new album, "A Summer Beneath The Trees".
The Library Tapes - Fragment II.mp3
The Library Tapes - Above The Flood.mp3
Supported from Kill Krinkle Club and Children Under Hoof.
Here's a video for Above The Flood

Jimmy Behan - In the Sudden Distance EP (They're Giving It Away No. 9)

Delicate haunty chimes ring out above your pillowed young head. In bed, waiting for your parents to drive back in the dark. Each passing car's headlines leaving douglas furs trances on the wall. You think something could have happened in the dark snow, leaving you and your bother behind. But they come back, safe. Door a jar, "Just checking to see if your asleep".
Another amazing release which is available for free from the artist themselves.
Download Jimmy Behan - beautful EP "In the Sudden Distance" from the Zymogen label.

Daily Misconceptions - If I Hug Your Sweaters Will They Get Their Colour Back? EP (They're Giving It Away, No.6)

Daily Misconceptions have made a collection
of sweet delicate electronica. The one man band
from Portugal is culled from the same herd as
Sigur Ros and their voice sampling ways and
Mum's glitchy glitch with a pinch of accordion to
soothe away any woes.

Download If I Hug... EP from their record label here

A Sunny Day In Glasgow + Suburban Lawns

They are playing Whelans in a months time. Our Friend MP3 Hugger
is giving away tickets for the show also he's got a new download compilation
called Indiecater No. One out which is full of musically goodness and as he
says "Income from the sale of the album will go directly back to the artists
involved". Which Is Nice.


A Sunny Day In Glasgow - A Mundane Phonecall To Jack Parsons MP3
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Our Change Into Rain Is No Change At All MP3
Myspace

The photo of A Sunny Day In Glasgow reminds me of this Image of
Suburban Lawns, So heres some of them to.



Suburban Lawns - Not Allowed MP3
Suburban Lawns - Protection MP3
Suburban Lawns - Janitor MP3
Suburban Lawns - Green Eyes MP3
Myspace
The last track was completely rip of by the dire Warp Records
homeboys Maximo Park in the hit shit song "Our Velocity".

Patrick Kelleher - Coat To Wear (Duffy's Ditties No.12)

As the tag says Ethereal Dream Pop from Patrick Kelleher
accompanied by wonderful super 8 video. Coat To Wear
bounces around the stereo like a malevolence spawn of
Shockheaded Peters and Kate Bush. Taken from his excellent
6 track EP "You Look Cold". With only 75 numbered hand
cut and hand glued cdr made they are sure to be snapped
up quickly. Available from Road Records or though his
myspace, I think for the pauperly price of €5. Or
alternatively you can pick it up if you catch him playing a
stripped down show tomorrow night with his backing band
"The Wet Dreams" at The Bernard Shaws on Richmond St.
Portobello, where he will be unleashing new material or
Supporting God Is An Astronaut in a brand spanking new
theatre in Greystone on Saturday the 7th of June.
Myspace
Patrick Kelleher - Coat To Wear MP3

Au - Boute (Duffy's Ditties No.11)

Au - Boute MP3
Myspace

The Late Cord - Lights From The Wheelhouse (2006)

An ethereal collaboration between John-Mark Lapham (The Earlies) and Micah P.
Hinson. "The Late Cords debut EP, Lights from the Wheelhouse, is certainly prayerful,
a deep, contemplative blend of the acoustic and electronic, the traditional and
experimental, the lyrical and abstract. Here, a slow, simmering organ shares the space
with a jack-in-the-box thumb piano, crackly synth loops and incantatory choruses.
There, a tentative guitar and droning organ frame the mood for a world-weary voice
while electronic droplets patter like moisture in an abandoned building." -
The Late Cords's Myspace

I found it on vinyl nearly two years ago and didn't even know it existed and what a
find it turned out to be. I ended up buying it again on cd so that I could have it on a
digital format. So here it is, the most beautiful thing you will hear this week
(hopefully).

Myspace
Buy it for £4.50 from 4AD records themselves
Link In Comment.