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05 May 2004 by Matthew Linderman
Missed out on Coachella? Not tuning in to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic? Well if ya need a fix of good newish tunes then come right this way (btw some of these groups on tour now too):
The Sleepy Jackson - Lovers: recommended if you like George Harrison…Retro vibe and killer melodies = one gorgeous record. These Perthites (Perthers? Perthians? What do you call people from Perth?) are on to something big.
Radio 4 - Gotham: riyl the Clash…I can take or leave the politics but ya can’t argue with the groove — and they bring it live (new record out soon too).
BRMC - Take Them On, On Your Own: riyl Jesus & Mary Chain…Check it out even if you thought the first record was only so-so. The new one is really a giant step forward.
The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows: riyl U2 meets the Strokes (or Julian meets the Edge to be more precise)…Great rock moments don’t come too often anymore. When “The Rat” kicks in with a raging “You’ve got a nerve to be asking a favor” it’s one of ‘em.
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand: riyl Roxy Music…Euro-suave lounge lizard disco w/ sharp rock guitars. Heads will bop.
And a couple of old under the radar favorites…
Jorge Ben - Africa Brasil: riyl Sly Stone…Afro-Brazilian-Samba-Funk that gets it going.
Lori Carson - Everything I Touch Runs Wild riyl Elliott Smith…Mellow, dark, and powerful, it’s a great record that no one seems to know about it.
And if all that is old news to you then I’ll recommend some Chicago acts on the way up. The M’s, on tour now, have a juicy Beatles-T. Rex vibe (MP3s at site) and the Assassins rock it with Brit-flavored dance-pop (love the drummer). And Matt Ruby has some sweet new tracks too (MP3s at site). Rock on.
17 comments so far (Post a Comment)
05 May 2004 | me said...
re: Lori Carson - also check out her work with Golden Palaminos (specifically Pure and This is How It Feels). More electronic and groove oriented -- with Bill Laswell, Anton Feir, Nicky Skopelitis, Bootsy Collins -- but still with Carson great voice. Worth finding.
05 May 2004 | Keith said...
Been meaning to check out Radio 4 -- thanks for the reminder. Got to say The Walkmen are great and I've really been digging Franz Ferdinand. I tried to catch them at SXSW, but wasn't able to. I think they're back in Seattle soon -- they're supposed to be a great show.
05 May 2004 | kev said...
what's with the amazon links? iTMS! and BRMC rules.
05 May 2004 | ML said...
what's with the amazon links? iTMS!
Still a long way to go for iTMS. Only two of these records are available there (Walkmen and Franz Ferdinand).
05 May 2004 | Gordon said...
Can I chuck in Four Tet and The Postal Service (possibly Amp Fiddler too).
05 May 2004 | Jonny Roader said...
"what's with the amazon links?"
Have to agree. Surely you coulda linked to some local record shops or something? A mate of mine runs a small indie label/mail order and Amazon hurts his sales bigtime. They may be convenient to use, but Amazon sure as hell aren't ploughing any of their huge profits back into the independent music scene that gives bands like BRMC a break in the first place.
05 May 2004 | Jonny Roader said...
Oh, and while they're hardly an up-and-coming band I've been listening to alot of The Brian Jonestown Massacre recently. They've thoughtfully provided all of their songs (plus a heap of other stuff) in mp3 on their site. Smart or dumb? You decide.
06 May 2004 | Jordan Brock said...
The Sleepy Jackson: Sweet. Seen them a couple of times here in Perth. Great band.
Perthites is what we call ourselves, but we are open to suggestions.
06 May 2004 | rik said...
ooh, i love music lists!
my current favourites:
"sung tongs" - animal collective
"young liars ep" - tv on the radio
"alcachofa" - ricardo villalobos
"here comes love" - superpitcher
"fabric 13" - michael mayer (and most anything else on
kompakt, despite the very annoying website...)
"wonderful rainbow" - lightning bolt
"seven days of falling" - esbjorn svensson trio
"you forgot it in people" - broken social scene
06 May 2004 | Don Schenck said...
Old guy here. I'll never grow tired of The Rolling Stones or Steely Dan. I also like Cake.
Thanks for the list ... sheesh ... all I need, yet *another* reason to drop a couple hundred on new music.
:-)
06 May 2004 | Tim said...
I second the votes for Four Tet and Amp Fiddler!
Can I just say that I love BBC Radio 1's weekly archive of shows? I can hardly keep up with the good music...and forward-thinking taste-makers like Giles Peterson get me through many a-workdays...
06 May 2004 | Jamie said...
The new Iron and Wine is excellent as well. If you're in Chicago, they're playing July 2nd at the Abbey Pub.
06 May 2004 | Sean said...
KCRWs Morning Becomes Eclectic site has a bit on Devendra Banhart, who is fantastic. He just released his 2nd album and he's on the verge of a 45+ city tour. More info on him.
12 May 2004 | Christian Santiago said...
This is a great site for non-mainstream music:
http://www.insound.com
13 May 2004 | J said...
Yeah, what with tthe amazon links ?
Give me mp3s or give me death by silence.
19 May 2004 | Joe Murphy said...
More worthwhile albums from 2004:
The Elected: Me First ( couple free mp3s of 'em here)
And 2003:
M. Ward: The Transfiguration Of Vincent (
a free mp3 of him here)
And 2002:
Okkervil River: Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See (
a couple free mp3s of 'em here [I recommend "red"])
....thanks for reminding me of Lori Carson, that takes me back ...
19 May 2004 | oops said...
I should add, all these bands are indie-rockish, folksish, a tinge of countryish too.
