I love stumbling across great acts by mistake. Recently, elsewhere, I posted a brief rant on the Joy Division film about Ian Curtis called Control. In the post, I noted that my true introduction to Joy Division’s music stemmed from a cover of “Celebration” Xiu Xiu included on Chapel Of The Chimes. Well, when I saw a post by Railcars titled Xiu Xiu fans rejoice… I had to check them out.

World Premier. You could call Hermas Zopoula, a West African musician whose songs reminisce of Seu Jorge, a premier world artist. There’s a double meaning here; this is also the World Premier of Zopoula’s video for the outstanding “Alpha Et Omega” off his upcoming double LP Espoir.

I could tell you the reason I’m writing about Immaculate Machine today is because their lead vocalist, Brooke Gallupe, has a cool mustache (I have a bizarre obsession with the things). That, however, would only be partly true. Ever the fan of a cool mustache, it was the first item that drew me to the band. The second, was the catchy melody in “Sound The Alarm”.

It’s hard to capture the imagery behind a band like Chairlift. It’s always just out of sight, both the glimpse of meaning and the meaning behind the words. There are so many little message, tiny metaphors, hidden meanings and cute phrases. But it’s all a wash; Chairlift’s music is uplifting and fun, and it’s injected with a cool — even hip — dose of pop.

When I discovered BOAT (MySpace), I pre-ordered Songs That You Might Not Like and started a FensePost feature article on the band within ten minutes of initial discovery. Still, when I received the album, it took a while for me to give it a full listen and it took a few weeks to really appreciate the music. A week and a half ago I drove to Spokane and finally gave it a good spin. Multiple listens, a few coffee stains, and two worn edges later, the result was miraculous.

Windy & Carl dawned on the radar for many with last year’s subdued masterpiece Songs For The Broken Hearted, but what probably came as a surprise to many first-time listeners — myself included — was that this mellow, shoegaze duo already had a pretty impressive library of released material under their belt.

Written by bob_vinyl
I have long believed that artists are only half of the creative force behind art. The other half of the creation is the interpretation. Often, the greatest art allows for significant breadth of interpretation even as it guides the very same. Most often though, the artist errs on the side of doing too much and closing too many doors.

Celebrating the bizarre and ever changing spirit of the bottom society is not a new idea at all. In this age of less is more, to be more than you really are is a state of humanity; it is convenient that Marykate O’Neil celebrates these ideas by naming her latest release, Underground. But, few can match the genuine artistic reality of this angel and poet of the modern day New York singer songwriter’s spectrum.

Once again Austin delivers, this time with the recent release of The Lovely Sparrows‘ Pulling Up Floors, Pouring On (New) Paint on Abandoned Love Records. And with this five-song debut EP, the Texas town continues to pump out quality artists. The Lovely Sparrows take folk music in a new direction, adding a unique abundance of percussion and a few non-traditional instruments, like the flute. I raved about “Chemicals Change” when I wrote the feature article on The Lovely Sparrows, and the rest of the EP continues with more cymbal heavy, …

I get needs, you know? Sometimes I just need an ice cold microbrew. Sometimes, after a long and stressful day, I need to drink a glass or two of red wine (generally a cab-sauv or a cab-merlot) while listening to old jazz on vinyl. But there’s one thing I need more than all: to discover the catchiest pop music available. Enter The Lovekevins, a delightfully upbeat pop group from Sweden.