Although Generationals debut record and debut Los Angeles performance didn’t make my Top 10 last year, I really enjoyed both. They are back with their second release, a 4 track EP being lead by this ridiculously good track, “Trust.” It’s a perfect mix between ’60s influenced girl/boy jangle pop and ’80s new wave. Keep your eyes peeled for them as they are touring the midwest and west coast the next couple of weeks opening for Two Door Cinema Club.
Download: Generationals – Trust
Earlier this year I extolled the greatness of Alex Winston’s track “Choice Notes”. Since then, the minions of the interweb have caught on and I now have found 3 new remixes of the track. Though none of them come even close to the excellence of the original, I thought I would put together a post compiling all the remixes I’ve been sent over the past month or so. Also, I see she’s playing a couple of shows this week at CMJ. If you happen to catch her, I would love to hear a review.
The brother and sister team of Eux Autres are back with a brand new record coming out at the end of November. They have added a bassist and drummer to the lineup but still have managed to keep the same ’60s pop sound that first caught my ear. I got a hold of a copy of the record last month and it hasn’t left the cd player in my car yet. The track “Queen Turner” is the standout track on the record and finds itself coming in a close second to my favorite track of theirs “Other Girls.” They recently went on tour, but unfortunately skipped Los Angeles, so I’m hoping there’s a second tour in the works to support the record. Look for this record to make it on Top 10 lists everywhere this year.
Download: Eux Autres – Go Dancing
Despite the best laid plans to have a week’s worth of posts ready to go, time got away from me so you’ll have to wait a week for your indie fix. In the meantime, hopefully the archives will tide you over (have you heard this live Flin Flon track from the archive? I was listening to the show this evening and it’s so great). Don’t worry about me, I’ll be busy hanging with Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Quintron.
Though I came late to the game when it comes to my appreciation of Vic Godard, I’ve had a great time tracking down a lot of his back catalog. With a musical style varying wildly from release to release, I’ve always found myself attracted to Vic’s jazz standards-esque songs from the early 80′s. In his latest endeavor, Vic teams up with author Irvine Welsh to release this EP from their 2003 musical of the same name. I am first and foremost not a “musicals” fan, but I’m really enjoying this track. Vic also has a new LP coming out October 11th, so be on the lookout for that as well.
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Download: Vic Godard – Blackpool
Yesterday was the legendary decision declaring California’s Prop 8 ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. People here in Los Angeles are celebrating it in different ways. Some are going to parades, some are eating vegetables longer than 2″. I decided to celebrate by doing the most gay thing I could think of, listen to the entire Aluminum Group discography. While going through all the their songs I had (and supplementing them with a few on the Hype Machine), I had forgotten that they were on the “Reproductions: Songs of The Human League” compilation. Check out this fantastic cover of one of my favorite Human League songs and if you’re still in the mood for more Aluminum Group covers, look back in the archive for their take on Sweet Child O’ Mine.
Download: Aluminum Group – Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Human League Cover)
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I have a soft spot for anything that’s ’60s pop or soul and sung by a female. This amazing track by Alex Winston sounds like it could have come out on any of the many Motown-influenced labels back in the day. She captures the exact flavor of ’60s soul but with an updated sound. I would best describe her on this track as the female counterpart to Raphael Saadiq, definitely someone to watch.
A very limited run of 250 7″s for this single is being released next week, but you can pre-order them now.
Download: Alex Winston – Choice Notes
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Along with the brand new layout and features of our site and our brand new Twitter feed, The Sound Of Indie is bringing it to you even more high-tech with our brand new Facebook page. Feel free to “Like” us here. And who knows? Maybe your mug will end up in the fancy Facebook widget on the left-hand side of our page. But what we do know is that if you do “Like” us, you will have a badge of honor telling the world that you, in fact, have impeccable taste in music.
Here in Los Angeles it’s finally hit 80+ degrees two days in a row, so I declare summer has finally started. And with the start of summer, I gotta find my summer jam. Fortunately this track from Keepaway fits the bill perfectly. This song “Yellow Wings” with it’s indie meets 90′s era-4AD feel is by far the stand-out of their Baby Style EP which was released earlier this year. I would describe the other tracks on the EP as if Modest Mouse traded in their guitars for synths. A bit discordant at times, but it still works. All in all, a stellar debut from this Brooklyn trio. You can pick up the vinyl at the Lefse Records site here, or the inferior quality digital tracks at iTunes.
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Download: Keepaway – Yellow Wings
We are excited to announce that the “Bands Featured on TSOI” module on the sidebar is now completely populated with all the posts from the archive. You can now easily browse TSOI by band as well as by month/year!
Interview: Ruby Isle – It’s So Easy (GnR Cover) TSOI Exclusive
Interview: Johan from The Legends Answers Our Questions
Interview: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Natural Light