Dreamy and surreal, Faunts new EP Leave Here Alone has echoing guitars and a wispy airiness to the vocals. The songs have a darkness to them, an ethereal, hypnotic haze like the reflection of sound in a foggy canyon during the wee hours of the morning. You don’t know where it’s coming from, and it’s frightening. But at the same time, it doesn’t seem real so it’s, in a way, OK. Read More »Faunts: Left Here Alone (Album Review)
I am not typically one to enjoy music videos that merely show a band performing their work, but “No Death” by Mirel Wagner is something else entirely. Featuring Wagner plucking her guitar, the video is as simple as they come; what sets it apart is the darkness. Barely lit, barely moving, she performs. Her song is stark and personal, sombre and haunting. Read More »Mirel Wagner: No Death (Video)
Friendly Fire Recordings has always been good about seeking out and introducing the states (i.e. the U.S.) to great foreign… Read More »Regina: Unessa MP3
I recall enjoying Elk City‘s last release, but boy do I dig “Jerks On Ice”, the band’s new single off the upcoming House Of Tongues. Again the band combines traits common to folk, pop and even jazz for a sound unique with a hint of contemporary and a fair share of originality. “Jerks On Ice” is a laid-back pop song with a light bounce and an awesome electric guitar solo during the bridge. The lyrics are simple but memorable and filled with plenty of rhyme and hook, and an added warble treatment to Renée LoBue’s smooth vocals during the chorus enhances the tune in ways unimaginable. Yeah, I may have enjoyed New Believers, but for me “Jerks On Ice” tops everything on that previous release to the point of being absolutely stunning. Read More »Elk City: Jerks On Ice [mp3]
Danish experimental psychedelic pop group Oh No Ono recently signed to Friendly Fire Recordings for their upcoming release Eggs. The first single is “Swim” and its accompanying video is one part disturbing and another inspirational. Featuring a young boy (what an eerie resemblance to the boy in The Shining!) who acts as the observer of all things within the hospital in which his mother works, he blurs reality with fantasy. Life, death, sex; they all happen in this somewhat risque video by Adam Hashemi.
Read More »Oh No Ono: Swim [Video] 
Your first impression of Camphor‘s latest video may simply be that it seems slightly childish. I mean, the thematic elements behind the “Castaway” video include pirates via toys. Despite the somewhat childish Lego-like element, this video with an actual cast would be horrid. But with the toys it works just fine; in fact, add the foggy smoke and it’s pretty damn cool. Read More »Camphor: Castaway [Video]
This self-titled EP by David & The Citizens may have preceded Until The Sadness Is Gone only by a few short months, but the debut extended play holds definite traces of an earlier, less mature group. One would think the short amount of time would leave little room change—yet the songs found encased here vary greatly from each other, and many from the long play that followed. Read More »David & The Citizens: David & The Citizens
The Phenomenal Handclap Band mixes synth-heavy dance vibes with traces of experimentation. The combination is somewhat psychedelic, partially disco, and… Read More »The Phenomenal Handclap Band: You’ll Disappear
It appears this little album by David & The Citizens was originally released in 2003 under the BMG Music Publishing Scandinavia label and was licensed to Friendly Fire via Adrian Recordings in Sweden. It is good to know the history of an album—the roads it has traveled to reach its current destination here in my hands. Listening to Until the Sadness is Gone, it is apparent why the album was released here in the states. It’s pretty good. While it probably won’t hit mainstream, it definitely has the potential to stick in the independent pop scene. Read More »David & The Citizens: Until The Sadness Is Gone [Album Review]
How surprising is it that the name of The Whitsundays’ keyboardist is Doug Organ? Then again, the jokes that could be made are put to rest when Organ steps up to his vintage instrument—his ability to channel the 60s greats like Rod Argent [The Zombies] and Ray Manzarek [The Doors] is stunning, stemming beyond the mere sound to mimic their ability to whip out sections of quick, catchy improvisation. There is no question of whether or not Organ lives up to his name. Read More »The Whitsundays: The Whitsundays [Album Review]
