Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: french pop, playlist, rdio, spanish indie, swedish pop
Most of my friends have probably heard me sing the praises of Rdio so much that they’d think I get a commission. I don’t. I just really love everything about it — its UI, its perfect merging of social and music discovery, and especially the fact that it’s introduced me to so much great new music.
If you’re on Rdio I invite you to follow me (code name esKIMo), or at least check out the new Songs From Other Countries playlist where I frequently add my favorite tunes from France, Sweden, Spain, and beyond. And as always, if you have any music to suggest please get in touch at songsfoc at gmail dot com. Enjoy!
Years ago (20, to be exact), I was into a band from the UK called The Charlatans (or The Charlatans UK to those of us on this side of the pond). A quick look at the band’s Wikipedia page clued me in on the fact that they’ve had many albums since 1992’s Between 10th and 11th, but that’s the only record of their’s that I remember owning. I loved that record though; it was danceable, catchy, and fun, and featured snotty British vocals courtesy of one Mr. Tim Burgess.
Fast forward 20 years and I’m browsing Rdio looking for new releases. It was a pretty slow Tuesday, with nothing much catching my eye (and ears) other than new releases from The Mountain Goats and Beth Orton, both of which I had already heard. Then suddenly, like a beacon in the night, there was Tim Burgess. OK, maybe it wasn’t quite like that. But something about the album cover caught my attention, as well as the title (Oh No, I Love You). The artist’s name seemed slightly familiar but I couldn’t place why. I clicked play. I won’t say I was instantly blown away, but something kept me listening. By the end of the record I was pretty much obsessed. To my ears, there’s not much better than combining a British croon with country-tinged music. Burgess does just that, along with tapping into a 60s-ish, Bacharachian feel at times (quite a departure from The Charlatans), no doubt thanks in part to the influence of Kurt Wagner of Lambchop, who wrote the lyrics for the record. (Check out an in-depth and very interesting interview with the two of them over at The Quietus.)
Do your ears a favor and give it a listen; if you’re not sold at first, stick with it through the third track, “A Case for Vinyl,” which breaks my heart every single time. It wouldn’t have been a bit out of place on Beck’s brilliant Sea Change, if that gives you an idea of its tone. Truly beautiful. Mr. Burgess, welcome back into my musical life. It’s been far too long.
From somewhere between the city of Paris and island of Malta hails The Shh, who wins with a great band name and even better pop tune. “So Over” packs a heck of a lot of punch into a mere three-and-a-half minutes, covering indie rock, surf, and “Summer of Love” territory with their guy/girl vocal melodies. The band is truly going global, with a recent Japan release and airplay on MTV Japan. Great stuff; listen for yourself over at Soundcloud or check out their debut EP, The Burning Love, over at CDBaby.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bark bark disco, berlin, let's do this, the concretes
Firstly, apologize to the few fans of this blog for abandoning it over the last few years. It’s back!!! This was always my favorite of several blogs that I’ve started and stopped over the years. I fell in love with the idea of sharing music and art from other countries a few years back while running my label eskimo kiss records (you can read the full history here if you’d like). While I never actually released any music from anyone outside the U.S., I’ve always tried to promote good music from other countries whenever I can. This blog is a way for me to continue to do that.
SO… without further adieu I bring you “Let’s Do This,” the new EP from Berlin’s Bark Bark Disco, who I profiled back in 2010. The new EP continues what they started with four very catchy, garage-influenced indiepop tunes. I get a Concretes vibe from some of this, due in part to the production. This is a very good thing. Seriously awesome stuff, my favorite being the third track “Give Me Back My Heart,” which makes me chuckle because I misheard at first as “Give me back my pants.” Hee hee. You can download this for FREE from their bandcamp, so get to it.
Filed under: Introducing... | Tags: australia, camera obscura, hello saferide, sally seltmann
Note – This entry was cross-posted from Pretty New Songs. Enjoy!
I was first exposed to Sally Seltmann through a recent Paste sampler I picked up at this year’sSXSW. Her catchy “Harmony to My Heartbeat” instantly got stuck in my head and I had to hear more, so I downloaded her album, “Heart That’s Pounding,” last weekend. I was not disappointed, as it’s a wonderful collection of sunny, 70s-influenced pop that will likely go down as one of my fave releases of this year.
I’ve read reviews that compared Sally to Camera Obscura, which is definitely accurate, but some of her lyrics in particular remind me of one of my favorite unknown (at least in this country) bands, Hello Saferide. If you know me you know I’m a sucker for great lyrics; a catchy melody is tops, sure, but for something to really move me it has to bring it lyrically. “Heart That’s Pounding” definitely does this, as Sally has a great way of mixing just the right amount of lightheartedness (“Get yourself out of bed, this is a new day today”) with introspection (“I’m shy and I do not want you to see my thoughts because they’re tangled in a web”).
Sadly, I completely missed Sally at SXSW, and given that she’s Australian I can’t imagine another opportunity to catch her live will come up any time soon. Keeping an eye on her dates just in case though. In the meantime, you should check out “… Pounding,” and get lost in her lovely video below, which totally makes me want to ditch work, throw a pool party, eat cake, and listen to beautiful music.
Showstar is an indierock band from Belgium; their new single “Gold Mine” is a high energy, very catchy pop/rock song in the vein of Franz Ferdinand, Ra Ra Riot, and perhaps the more straightforward “rock” moments of Sigur Ros. I even hear a little bit of Los Campesinos! in the backing vocals and instrumentation. Good stuff. Enjoy the download below, and be sure to check out the video also!
Showstar’s upcoming album “Think Ringo” features “Gold Mine” and will be released in January on Vespasonic/Munich records.
Showstar – Gold Mine (radio edit) mp3
Doctor Leaves (who we recently profiled for their new, self-titled EP), recently released a new video, this one for “No Step Forward,” the first track off the EP. It’s a fun song with an even funner video, that features some nice scenery from a drive the band took to Lahinch, Ireland.
Perhaps it’s because it brings back memories of my childhood (or maybe because it’s just GOOD), but I love 70s pop music. The rich orchestration, the introspective lyrics, the smooth harmonies … dare I say it, but they just don’t write ’em like that anymore. Although occasionally, they do. Take Warm Morning, an indiepop band of brothers from Italy, who wears its influences boldly, making you think for a moment that you’ve been transported back to the early 70s (or if you’re like me, to the dentist’s office … my childhood dentist always had the radio set to easy listening, so in that respect, it brings back some not-so-fond memories … but I digress).
Fans of artists such as Burt Bacharach (and who isn’t a fan of Bacharach, really?), Paul Williams, The Carpenters, Carol King, etc. will fall in love with Warm Morning’s mellow songwriting, adorned with strings and vocal harmonies aplenty. Their new 14-song release, “Too Far from the Stars,” which I was fortunate enough to obtain a 5-song promo copy of, is out now on 12″ vinyl (a format perfect for these songs, and something I’d really love to get my hands on!). Assuming that the promo contains the strongest songs from the LP, I’d say the album’s standouts are the upbeat “Sleepy Again,” with its nice piano and string interplay, “What a Nice Day,” which incorporates a banjo for an interesting touch that comes off like Mojave 3 channeling the Carpenters, and “Catch the Thrill,” which kicks off the promo with its tasteful, understated guitar lead and minimal drumming.
Certainly some of the best music to reach my PO box, Warm Morning is worthy of a wide audience here in the States. Shelflife Records, a fine indiepop label out of San Francisco, seems to have taken note of that and released the band’s “Silver Rain” CD/7″ combo back in 2007. Here’s hoping “Too Far from the Stars” can find a U.S. home as well. In the meantime, you can visit Shelflife for the band’s previous release, or purchase their EP “Edition 59” (which appears to contain three songs from “Too Far…”) from Vollwert Records out of Berlin.
I recently signed up for a LimeWire account (they got me with their “Live at Lime” series); so far I’m really digging it, largely because it’s turned me on to some new music from bands I likely would not have been exposed to otherwise. Case in point: Doctor Leaves. Doctor Leaves was featured on the LimeWire homepage recently (which I think just rotates through new releases) and something about the cover art intrigued me enough to check it out. Really glad I did, as it’s been on heavy rotation at my house since.
Serving up a modern take on quirky, catchy, 80s pop (think XTC meets Pelle Carlberg), this Dublin duo recently released a self-titled 4-song EP that showcases their various strengths—GREAT lyrics, lovely instrumentation (string and piano flourishes that are perfectly tasteful), and tuneful melodies. The EP starts strong but no doubt saves its best for the finish, making for a nice pacing that has me wanting to listen again and again to see what subtle embellishments I might have missed on the previous listen. It’s hard to pick a standout track; as mentioned, I think due largely to the pacing of the record, I find myself most enjoying it towards the end. But there’s a lot to like here, from the second track, “When Darkness Turns to Light”‘s mellow acoustic flavor and sweet, introspective lyrics (“I don’t care where we end up with darkness turns to light, as long as I’m with you”… awww … and “I don’t think you like me as much as I think I like you, but I hope that we can still be friends”) to the closer “Small Fish, Small Pond,” with its tasteful, understated guitar leads and catchy chorus that swells into a full-on indierock guitar solo at its conclusion.
Fans of good pop, like the aforementioned Carlberg and XTC, as well as Peter Bjorn and John, will definitely appreciate these guys. Dare I say they’re just what the doctor ordered?
Songs From Other Countries 