Oh how yee young’ins grow. Way back in my grad school days, I remember picking up a copy of Ballads Of Living And Dying, what I believe was Marissa Nadler‘s first LP, from the KZUU promo rack. At the time she was just another new artist in a sea of new artist albums. What intrigued me to pick up her album was the cover (like various people and animals to shiny things, I’m drawn to catchy album art). Read More »Marissa Nadler: River Of Dirt [Video]
I’ve made a decision: come end of year 2009, I’m going to re-visit my 2008 best of list and repopulate the list based on a year with what I’ve deemed the top albums. Why? Simple, Albatross by Fishboy should not have been my number 2 album of 2007. No, it should have been number 1. Read More »Fishboy: The Making Of Fishboy [Video]
I’ve been planning to write about La Blogoteque’s Take Away Show series, of which I’ve been familiar with for quite some time, since their early days. But I had a plan. It was this: cover the release of The Lovely Sparrows’ spin-off Take Away Show, filmed in Seattle. You see, I was present and thus there may be a Fense cameo. Cool. But then I stumbled upon Soy Un Caballo (MySpace) playing “Robin” and I just couldn’t resist. Read More »Soy Un Caballo: Robin [Video]
It hasn’t been all that long since reviewing Jean On Jean‘s self-titled release. Despite a mass of great songs, there was still a clear winner: “Tonight”. The ex-Out Hud cellist now has a video for the single; it’s fitting, filled with leaves and colors masterfully added to compliment her sometimes folky style of soft, soothing pop. Read More »Jean On Jean: Tonight [Video]
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A drum/vocals only group is a rare thing. But, before you dismiss the theory behind such an oddity, you’ve gotta check out Wildbirds & Peacedrums. This Swedish duo is aptly titled – wild vocals on par with (and this may be a bit of a stretch), say, Nina Simone and soothing, hypnotic tribal-like percussion. Read More »Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Doubt/Hope [Video]
Upon discovering Young And Sexy in the preview rack at KZUU last year, “The Curious Organ” became a quick favorite of mine, topped only by “Conventional Lullabies”. Panic When You Find It also made my personal top 20 albums of 2006. “The Curious Organ” begins with lyrics Time of the Season which immediately draw reference to The Zombies as the instrumentation has similarities to the group, though not the song.
Read More »Young And Sexy: The Curious Organ [Video] 
The video for “Not In A Million Lovers†is apparently an intimate portrait of Beangrowers (MySpace) frontwoman Alison Galea. The title itself marks a potential heartbreak and evokes an ellipsis: Not in a million lovers… what? It could go either way, but ultimately the romantic in me concludes the phrase as follows: Not in a million lovers will I find someone as great as you. Read More »Beangrowers: Not In A Million Lovers [Video]
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Sin Fang Bous is the most promising electro-pop artist I’ve heard in a very long time – probably since Morr (SFB’s label) released the self-titled debut by Electric President. This group hails from Iceland, but you won’t hear much of Sigur Ros or Bjork here. It’s tailored more to the likes of their label’s German headquarters. Read More »Sin Fang Bous: Clangour And Flutes [Video]
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Today may be the inauguration, but the “magic” doesn’t start until January 28. That’s when The Sound Of Arrows (MySpace) will debut and release their new record, Magic, on Labrador Records. Below is a little video preview of the album, in true retro-Disney-ish style. For the full track, you can click the little stream “Play” button, or download it by right clicking the linkable text. Read More »The Sound Of Arrows: Magic [Video]
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Check out this lovely little video by Sweden’s Sweet Sweet Concorde. It features stuffed bears and paper cutouts of trees. The group comes to us via a FensePost favorite, Series II Records, and their recent release is called Life In The Canopy. Read More »Sweet Sweet Concorde: The Picnic [Video Review]
