Live: Anna Calvi @ Acro (Athens, March 16th, 2019)

The timing of Anna Calvi's first ever appearance in Athens couldn't have been better as her most recent full-length effort, the exquisite "Hunter", is her most potent work so far and one of the best albums of last year.

With the help of just two musicians, a drummer and a keyboardist, Anna Calvi with her guitar was a force of nature on stage, unleashing lustful, primal rock energy. She opened the set with the slow burn of "Hunter" and "Indies or Paradise", building up the tension and reaching the first climax with "As A Man". Several more were to follow in a masterful hour-long set, which also included "I'll Be Your Man", "Suzanne & I" and "Desire" from her debut, "Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boy", "Swimming Pool", "Wish" and "Alpha" from "Hunter", the last two being my highlights of the evening, while the encore ended with a powerful rendition of Suicide's "Ghost Rider", a much fiercer version than the one we know from the "Strange Weather" EP.

Undoubtedly a unique live experience from one of the most talented performers of the current decade, who we hope to meet again soon on a stage somewhere!

Check out below a few more photos from Anna Calvi's performance at Acro, plus videos of "Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boy" and "I'll Be Your Man":

 

Anna Calvi - Don't Beat the Girl out of My Boy (live in Athens)

Anna Calvi - I'll Be Your Man (live in Athens)

Listening Habits 09-10.2018

It won't be long until the endless scroll of the "Albums of the Year" lists for 2018 begins on your screens and as we consider our own two cents on the matter, here are the latest new albums with the most spins on C.M.C.'s record player for the first couple of months of the fall season:

Anna Calvi's "Hunter", her third and probably best album so far, is at the top of our list and is certainly a strong candidate for 2018's year-end Top 5, while Martin Phillipps continues his songwriting rejuvenation with "Snow Bound", the second album for New Zealand's legendary The Chills after their comeback in 2015.

Six years ago Cat Power claimed the top of our 2012 Albums of the Year list with "Sun". Her return with "Wanderer", the 10th album in her amazing 23-year career, finds her returning to a more acoustic sound with minimal arrangements where her voice is the center of attention and shining as always.

Other notable releases this fall which also deserve prominent positions in the coming year-end lists are "Possible Dust Clouds", Kristin Hersh's latest solo release and first for Fire Records, where her electrifying sound reaches the fever pitch we usually find in her Throwing Muses records, and "Marauder", Interpol's sixth album who have collaborated with producer Dave Fridmann to give us perhaps their best work in this decade.

Add to these five excellent new albums, the strong releases by newcomers Bodega from New York, who have one of the best debuts of 2018 with "Endless Scroll", Australia's The Goon Sax who share some of the same DNA with The Go-Betweens (both literally and metaphorically as Robert Forster's son Louis is one of the founders of the band), Bristol's positive punks Idles, Denmark's Iceage and Japanese-American songwriter Mitski and you have a pretty solid Top 10 for September-October 2018. And, of course, there's more...

Check out our Top 15 below and listen to a playlist with some of the standout tracks from these albums:

Top 15 Albums

1.   Hunter - ANNA CALVI
2.   Snow Bound - THE CHILLS
3.   Wanderer - CAT POWER
4.   Possible Dust Clouds - KRISTIN HERSH
5.   Marauder - INTERPOL
6.   We're Not Talking - THE GOON SAX
7.   Endless Scroll - BODEGA
8.   Joy As An Act Of Resistance - IDLES
9.   Beyondless - ICEAGE
10. Be The Cowboy - MITSKI
11. Sparkle Hard - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. The Church of Simultaneous Existence - THE AINTS!
13. Pinned - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
14. Hell-on - NEKO CASE
15. Goners - LAURA GIBSON

Top 15 Tracks

1.   As a Man - ANNA CALVI
2.   You Get  - CAT POWER
3.   Make Time 4 Love - THE GOON SAX
4.   Complex - THE CHILLS
5.   Breathe In - KRISTIN HERSH
6.   The Rover - INTERPOL
7.   How Did This Happen?! - BODEGA
8.   Danny Nedelko - IDLES
9.   Pain Killer - ICEAGE
10. Nobody - MITSKI
11. Refute - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. Last Lion of Albion - NEKO CASE
13. Domestication - LAURA GIBSON
14. Never Coming Back - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
15. Red Aces - THE AINTS!

New Releases: August 2018

Round-up of the most interesting albums, singles and EP's released in August 2018:

Albums

ANNA CALVI - Hunter
MITSKI - Be The Cowboy
INTERPOL - Marauder
IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance
GABE GURNSEY - //Physical//
OUR GIRL - Stranger Today
THE BETHS - Future Me Hates Me
WHITE DENIM - Performance
OH SEES - Smote Reverser
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Thank You For Today
WILD NOTHING - Indigo
STILL CORNERS - Slow Air
THE CORAL - Move Through The Dawn
MARK LANEGAN AND DUKE GARWOOD - With Animals
MASS GOTHIC - I've Tortured You Long Enough
CULLEN OMORI - The Diet
THE LEMON TWIGS - Go to School
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Tangerine Reef
JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD - Magick Songs
SPRING KING - A Better Life
SLAVES - Acts Of Fear And Love
SPIDER BAGS - Someday Everything Will Be Fine
THE NECKS - Body
BLOOD ORANGE - Negro Swan
DEATH GRIPS - Year of the Snitch
UNIFORM - The Long Walk
NOTHING - Dance on the Blacktop
TUNNG - Songs You Make At Night
JUANITA STEIN - Until The Lights Fade
LOLA KIRKE - Heart Head West
MILES KANE - Coup De Grace
MOGWAI - Kin
BIG RED MACHINE - Big Red Machine
THE LOVE LANGUAGE - Baby Grand
WARM DRAG - Warm Drag
TERRY - I'm Terry
HER'S - Invitation To Her's
BC CAMPLIGHT - Deportation Blues
TOMBERLIN - At Weddings
ROY MONTGOMERY - Suffuse
ETHAN JOHNS WITH THE BLACK EYED DOGS - Anamnesis
GIANT SAND - Returns To Valley Of Rain

Singles & EPs

IRON AND WINE - Weed Garden EP

JACK WHITE - Ice Station Zebra

DJANGO DJANGO - Marble Skies

MADONNATRON - Mermaids

THE SHACKS - My Name Is... / Sand Song

ALYNDA SEGARRA AND THE SPECIAL MEN - Don't Tell Me That It's Over

AVERAGE SEX - Melodie EP

WAVVES / CULTURE ABUSE - Up and Down / Big Cloud

THE FORTUNA POP! ALL STARS - You Can Hide Your Love Forever

JUNGLE - Heavy, California / Cherry

CULT PARTY - And Then There Was This Sound EP

CHAIN CULT - Isolated

SADGIRL - Breakfast For 2

ESYA - Absurdity of Being EP

ZUZU - Made On Earth By Humans EP

STONE FOUNDATION - Standing At The Top

ANDREW COMBS - 5 Covers and A Song

THE SCIENTISTS - Braindead (Resuscitated) / Survivalskills

TSOL - Low Low Low / Nothing’s Ever Right

THE PRIMEVALS - So Extra

 Anna Calvi - Don't Beat the Girl out of My Boy

Listening Habits 11-12.13

The top of our last "Listening Habits" album list for 2013 is shared by Arcade Fire and Throwing Muses, the world renowned alternative rock superstars hand in hand with the revered indie rock survivors who never got the commercial success they deserved.

Nevertheless, Throwing Muses have managed to make their comeback a full decade since their last record, with the impressive book/cd "Purgatory / Paradise", an album recorded with the help of Strange Angels, the band’s dedicated fans who financed the recordings. In a year with several great comebacks (we’ll get back on this subject very soon), "Purgatory / Paradise" certainly stands out with its 32 "fractured" songs, "imperfect in its imperfection" as was the band’s catchphrase during its making. The brief songs are often divided in parts, but each of these song "fragments" never sound unfinished, instead they complement each other and become the building blocks of a whole that is greater than its parts. Some of these parts, though, certainly shine brighter than others and tracks like "Sunray Venus" or "Slippershell" are testaments to Kristin Hersh’s unique songwriting craft. Some 30 years down the line, her muse never fails to inspire and amaze!

In the ten years between the last two Throwing Muses albums, Arcade Fire have risen to fame thanks to their infectiously anthemic songs. With "Reflektor", the Canadians' fourth effort, the band has teamed up with James Murphy to try a more rhythmic, dance floor-friendly sound, without straying too much from their rock roots. The experiment is a successful one, producing a solid double album that balances the band’s new dance-rock influences, showcased by the recent singles "Reflektor" and "Afterlife" (indebted not only to the LCD Soundsystem man, but to the '80s sound of Talking Heads and New Order as well), with their tried and tested sound which is improved upon by tracks like "Normal Person" and "It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)".

The music of 2013 is not marked only by the many notable comebacks, but by the strength of certain sophomore records as well. Anna Calvi, Cults and Polica started the current decade with impressive debuts and with their recent, equally strong second albums are providing us with proof that they can live up to their high promise. Pay no mind to certain reviewers who seem to think that it’s mandatory to make a radically different second record in order to give praise to an artist. More often than not, in order to grow you’ve got to fully explore the possibilities of your current sound first and this is exactly what these three are doing with their sophomore works.

Among the rest of our recommendations for November - December '13, a special mention is necessary for Courtney Barnett’s amazing debut "The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas", a record that collects the first two EPs of the Australian singer-songwriter. A listen to "Avant Gardener", "History Eraser" or "Lance Jr." will be enough to convince you of Barnett’s musical talent and story-telling prowess. Looking forward for her proper debut LP sometime in 2014.

Check out below our 15 favorite albums and tracks of the last couple of months of 2013 and take them for a spin in our spotify playlist:

Top 15 Albums

1.   Reflektor - ARCADE FIRE
2.   Purgatory / Paradise - THROWING MUSES
3.   One Breath - ANNA CALVI
4.   Static - CULTS
5.   Shulamith - POLICA
6.   The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas - COURTNEY BARNETT 
7.   Dream River - BILL CALLAHAN
8.   Defend Yourself - SEBADOH
9.   Last Night On Earth - LEE RANALDO AND THE DUST
10. Back To Land - WOODEN SHJIPS
11. Nature Noir - CRYSTAL STILTS
12. Herein Wild - FRANKIE ROSE
13. Fade Away - BEST COAST
14. Girls Like Us - PINS
15. The Bones Of What You Believe - CHVRCHES

Top 15 Tracks

1.   Sunray Venus - THROWING MUSES
2.   Avant Gardener - COURTNEY BARNETT
3.   Eliza - ANNA CALVI
4.   High Road - CULTS
5.   Chain My Name - POLICA
6.   Reflektor - ARCADE FIRE
7.   Javelin Unlanding - BILL CALLAHAN
8.   I Will - SEBADOH
9.   Sticks & Stones - CRYSTAL STILTS
10. Sorrow - FRANKIE ROSE
11. Back To Land - WOODEN SHJIPS
12. Blackt Out - LEE RANALDO AND THE DUST
13. Get With Me - PINS
14. Who Have I Become - BEST COAST
15. Lies - CHVRCHES

Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener

New Releases: July - August 2013

Time for some virtual crate diggin' - here's what you might find if you look in the "New Releases" section of a good record store:

Albums

Loud City Song

JULIA HOLTER - Loud City Song
SPEEDY ORTIZ - Major Arcana
SUPERCHUNK - I Hate Music
GRANT HART - The Argument
NO AGE - An Object
FUCK BUTTONS - Slow Focus
FOREST SWORDS - Engravings
FRANZ FERDINAND - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
LAURA VEIRS - Warp and Weft
ALELA DIANE - About Farewell 
CROCODILES - Crimes of Passion 
POP. 1280 - Imps of Perversion
WEEKEND - Jinx
DRENGE - Drenge
THE ICARUS LINE - Slave Vows
TY SEGALL - Sleeper
ROBERT POLLARD - Honey Locust Honky Tonk
JULIANNA BARWICK - Nepenthe
ZOLA JESUS - Versions
SOFT METALS - Lenses
RUN THE JEWELS - Run the Jewels
KANYE WEST - Yeezus
ALUNAGEORGE - Body Music
EDITORS - The Weight Of Your Love
SIX BY SEVEN - Love And Peace And Sympathy
DAVID YOW - Tonight You Look Like A Spider
POND - Hobo Rocket
WHITE HILLS - So You Are... So You'll Be
MEDICINE - To The Happy Few
SCUD MOUNTAIN BOYS - Do You Love The Sun
THE PROPER ORNAMENTS - Waiting For The Summer
THE DODOS - Carrier
DISAPPEARS - Era
DIARRHEA PLANET - I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
DESTRUCTION UNIT - Deep Trip
GOLDEN SUITS - Golden Suits
KING KRULE - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
EARL SWEATSHIRT - Doris
WASHED OUT - Paracosm
PURE BATHING CULTURE - Moon Tides
IKONIKA - Aerotropolis
MAPS - Vicissitude
LAWRENCE LINDELL - Life is Intelligent

Singles & EPs

Eliza

ANNA CALVI - Eliza
ARCTIC MONKEYS - Do I Wanna Know?
FRANZ FERDINAND - Right Action / Love Illumination
PRIMAL SCREAM - Invisible City
SPEEDY ORTIZ - Tiger Tank (mp3 via stereogum)
P.J. HARVEY - Shaker Aamer (mp3 via soundcloud)
HANNI EL KHATIB - Family / Penny
WIDOWSPEAK - True Believer
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - Theme From PSB
THE KNIFE - A Tooth For An Eye
KANYE WEST - Black Skinhead
BLOC PARTY - The Nextwave Sessions EP (Ratchet video)
DRENGE - Backwaters
WEEKEND - Mirror
FIDLAR - Awkward
WOODS - Be All, Be Easy (mp3 via kexp blog)
MAJOR LEAGUES - Endless Drain
SUMMER CAMP - Fresh
ALUNAGEORGE - You Know You Like It
DISCLOSURE - F For You
MAPS - A.M.A.
LOCAL NATIVES - You and I
DEAN WAREHAM - Love is Colder Than death
JOHNNY MARR - New Town Velocity
MILES KANE - Taking Over
DAUGHTER - Youth
ATOMS FOR PEACE - Before Your Very Eyes
ANNIE - The A&R EP
THE BUG - Filthy EP
FUTURE OF THE LEFT - Love Songs For Our Husbands EP
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH - Little Moments EP
VIVA VIVA - Dead In Yr Tracks EP

Anna Calvi - Eliza

5 years on Blogger!

Exactly five years ago Cool Music Central made its debut on Blogger.com with this post. Although C.M.C.’s online presence in one form or another goes all the way back to 1999 (click here for a glimpse of the past - our February 2003 homepage!), I think a little celebration is in order for the occasion.

And what better way to celebrate our blog’s birthday than with the music of the artists that have been featured the most in the 372 posts that we’ve managed since March 6, 2008. At the bottom of the page you can see a cloud of all the labels we have used for our posts. Based on these indisputable facts that reveal our musical infatuations of the past five years, we present you a special playlist with killer tracks from the 12 most blogged about artists and bands in our five year presence on Blogger:

CMC's Cloud Playlist: The first 5 years

1. The Fall (17 posts)

My all-time favorite band, still going strong after 37 years. Album number 30, titled "Re-Mit", will be out in April - expect the post-count to rise even further. By the way, happy birthday to renegade genius Mark E Smith who turned 56 yesterday. Here's "Bury" (the parts 2+4 version) off "Your Future Our Clutter", our 2010 Album of the Year:

The Fall - Bury pts 2+4

2. Dum Dum Girls (16 posts)

If Dum Dum Girls didn't exist, I'd have to invent them myself! The sound, the style, the melodies, the vocals - all the elements of my ideal noise pop group present and correct. "Jail La La" off their debut album "I Will Be" was our 2010 Single of the Year:

 Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La

3. PJ Harvey (14 posts)

"Let England Shake" was the only PJ Harvey album to be released in the past 5 years (not counting the '09 collaboration with John Parish), but not only did it become our Album of the Year for 2011, it also gave us the top single of that year, "The Words That Maketh Murder". Of course, PJ Harvey was also on the top of several other lists we have published here, including Best Album of the '00s for "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea". As you can understand, this is not a passing fling, this is love...

PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder

4. Nick Cave (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds & Grinderman - 6 & 5 posts)

Another long-term relationship of ours going all the way back to the pre-internet era. In the past 5 years we have covered gigs from both Nick Cave outfits and declared the previous Bad Seeds record "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" as our 2008 Album of the Year. With the recent release of the fine "Push the Sky Away" LP, the number of Nick Cave-related posts has already started to go up.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

5. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (10 posts)

OK, this is more of a fling than the band that I would take home and introduce to the parents. 2011’s "Belong" was a fine record but the main reason for being included in this esteemed company was our infatuation with their near-perfect self-titled debut album from 2009 that took the C-86 indie pop sound and updated it for a new generation.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction

6. Sonic Youth (9 posts)

I cannot tell if Sonic Youth’s hiatus is permanent or not, but without a doubt this band’s influence on the guitar rock sound will remain eternal. Here’s "Sacred Trickster" off their last studio album, 2009’s "The Eternal":

Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster

7. A Place To Bury Strangers (8 posts)

One of Sonic Youth’s most talented disciples, true believers of the "plug in and destroy" noise tactics. "To Fix The Gash in Your Head" off their self-titled debut album was the single with which they made their C.M.C. debut.

A Place To Bury Strangers - To Fix The Gash in Your Head

8. Telepathe (8 posts)

Our favorite new band of 2009 that earned Album of the Year with their excellent (and, may I say, criminally underrated in other esteemed publications) debut "Dance Mother". A new, long overdue album is expected this year.

Telepathe - So Fine

9. Anna Calvi (7 posts)

She is one of the most promising new artists to emerge from the UK in recent years and her eponymous debut album was at the top of our 2011 Best Debuts lists.

Anna Calvi - Blackout

10. Mark Lanegan (7 posts)

The magnificent voice of grunge-days favorites Screaming Trees, has been ever-present in recent years thanks to his numerous collaborations. "The Gravedigger's Song", one of our top-rated singles of 2012, is off "Blues Funeral", the record with which Lanegan made his triumphant solo return.

 Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song

11. Cat Power (7 posts)

2012 was the year of the Cat with both Album and Single of the Year going to Chan Marshall. Here's the latter:

Cat Power - Ruin

12. Metric (7 posts)

And finally, with another seven posts dedicated to them, we have Metric who scored Single of the Year in 2009 with "Help I'm Alive" off their awesome fourth album "Fantasies":

Metric - Help I'm Alive

Here's to the next five!

Top 10 Debuts of 2011

Cool Music Central's "Albums of the Year" week starts here! The first installment, as usual, is dedicated to the best debuts of the year and between Wednesday and Saturday we'll unveil our Top 60 Albums of 2011 in two parts.

So let's start our year-end list-fest by giving props to the emerging new artists who offered us the most impressive debuts of 2011. For this Top 10 the focus is on newcomers who are starting to establish themselves with their first full-length efforts this year. New groups by already established musicians (Wild Flag or Shabazz Palaces for example) or first solo efforts by members of well-known bands (hello Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces) are not eligible for this list, although it's no less admirable to reinvent yourself and make a new beginning. Here's what we think are the ten most promising debuts of the year (click on the names of the first five to find out what we had to say about them during the past 12 months):

Top 10 Debut Albums of 2011

1.   Anna Calvi - ANNA CALVI

2.   Past Life Martyred Saints - EMA

3.   Cults - CULTS

4.   Veronica Falls - VERONICA FALLS

5.   Soft Metals - SOFT METALS

6.   Creatures Of An Hour - STILL CORNERS

7.   Yuck - YUCK

8.   The Big Roar - THE JOY FORMIDABLE

9.   Glass Prayer - RELIGIOUS TO DAMN

10. Violet Cries - ESBEN AND THE WITCH

Honorable mentions: Colour Trip - RINGO DEATHSTARR, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? - THE VACCINES, Passive Me Aggressive You - THE NAKED AND FAMOUS, Badlands - DIRTY BEACHES, Living In Patterns - POLLYN (new entry! - more about them soon).

Anna Calvi was by far the most blogged about new artist in Cool Music Central this year. Her debut album already sounds like one of this decade's classics to my ears, a timeless record that expertly combines classic rock 'n' roll with modern classical music influences to create a unique sound dominated by Calvi's powerful voice and her imaginative guitar playing. Here's the video for "Blackout", one of the highlights of her debut and also one of our Top 10 Singles of the year:

Anna Calvi - Blackout

For a trip down memory lane, check out below our "Best Debuts of the Year" lists from the past three years:

Top Debuts of 2010

Top Debuts of 2009

Top Debuts of 2008

New Releases: November 2011

With so many year-end lists around perhaps I should be starting this first December post by wishing you all a happy New Year! Yes, there is a first draft of our very own "best of the year" list somewhere in My Documents, but before finalizing anything, let's take a look at some of the latest interesting new releases and keep in mind that although December's release schedule is littered with useless festive compilations, we are expecting in the next few days new records by The Black Keys and The Roots.

Albums

THE FALL - Ersatz G.B.
ATLAS SOUND - Parallax
LOS CAMPESINOS! - Hello Sadness
THEE OH SEES - Carrion Crawler/The Dream
POLLYN - Living In Patterns
DRC MUSIC - Kinshasa One Two
BLOUSE - Blouse
OH LAND - Oh Land
CASS McCOMBS - Humor Risk
BLACK BELLES - Black Belles
WHITE HILLS - H-p1
KATE BUSH - 50 Words for Snow
LAURA VEIRS - Tumble Bee
OWEN - Ghost Town
TOM THE LION - The Adventures Of Tom The Lion
HALLOWEEN, ALASKA - All Night the Calls Came In
EVANGELISTA - In Animal Tongue
DAVID LYNCH - Crazy Clown Time
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - Replica
DOOMTREE - No Kings
A$AP ROCKY - LIVELOVEA$AP
DRAKE - Take Care
SEPALCURE - Sepalcure

Singles & EPs

THE BLACK KEYS - Lonely Boy
THE FALL - Laptop Dog
EMA - Marked / Angelo
FACTORY FLOOR - Two Different Ways
KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS - Our Own Dream EP
SALEM - I’m Still In The Night EP
CRYSTAL STILTS - Radiant Door EP
GUIDED BY VOICES - The Unsinkable Fats Domino
GUIDED BY VOICES - Doughnut For A Snowman
KURT VILE - So Outta Reach EP
THE DUKE SPIRIT - Don't Wait
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Stay Young, Go Dancing
THE RAPTURE - Sail Away
THE BIG PINK - Stay Gold
WASHED OUT - Amor Fati
ATLAS SOUND - Parallax / Oh Ricky
SILVERSUN PICKUPS - Seasick EP
RINGO DEATHSTARR - Shadow EP
FUTURE OF THE LEFT - Polymers Are Forever EP
MARK STEWART - Children Of The Revolution / Nothing Is Sacred
2:54 - Scarlet EP
THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE - Mallory
J. MASCIS - Circle / I've Been Thinking
WILCO - Speak Into The Rose
RYAN ADAMS - Do I Wait / Darkness
TOM VEK - Someone Loves You
WILD BEASTS - Reach a Bit Further
OH LAND - White Nights
WU LYF - We Bros
EGYPTRIXX - Old Black
KING KRULE - King Krule EP
PHANTOGRAM - Nightlife EP
SNAKADAKTAL - Snakadaktal EP
K-X-P - Easy EP
PANDR EYEZ - Eyes on You EP
BLEEDING KNEES CLUB - Teenage Girls
GROUPLOVE - Lovely Cup
ZOMBY - Nothing EP
MARIA MINERVA - Sacred & Profane Love EP
BIG DEAL - Distant Neighborhood
GONJASUFI - The 9th Inning EP
CRAIG FINN - Honolulu Blues
ALABAMA SHAKES - Alabama Shakes EP

While on the subject of year-end lists, check out here the lists of more than 100 Greek bloggers who are voting for their 20 favorites LPs, revealing one album per day between the 1st and 20th of December. The first draft of our Top 20 has been submitted for inclusion in the final collective list which is expected on December 22, around the time that our complete Top 50 will be revealed here.

To close this post with something truly awesome, here's a brand new Anna Calvi video covering TV On The Radio's "Wolf Like Me". The studio recording of this track is available for free download here.

Anna Calvi - Wolf Like Me

(mp3s via pitchfork and matablog)

New Releases: June 2011

Just before we get down to the business of presenting our favorite albums for the first half of the year, here's the list of the latest new releases that got on our radar:

Albums

ARCTIC MONKEYS - Suck It and See
HANDSOME FURS - Sound Kapital
FUCKED UP - David Comes to Life
BLACK LIPS - Arabia Mountain
BATTLES - Gloss Drop
TOM VEK - Leisure Seizure
BODIES OF WATER - Twist Again
VIVA VOCE - The Future Will Destroy You
BON IVER - Bon Iver
THE ROSEBUDS - Loud Planes Fly Low
TY SEGALL - Goodbye Bread
ONEIDA - Absolute II
SONS AND DAUGHTERS - Mirror, Mirror
JUNIOR BOYS - It's All True
MEMORY TAPES - Player Piano
FORD & LOPATIN - Channel Pressure
FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Torches
KAISER CHIEFS - The Future Is Medieval
DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR. - It's a Corporate World
WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
ICEAGE - New Brigade
SCUMBAG PHILOSOPHER - It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing
JACKIE O MOTHERFUCKER - Earth Sound System
THE COATHANGERS - Larceny & Old Lace
CASHIER NO 9 - To The Death Of Fun
SBTRKT - SBTRKT
YACHT - Shangri-La
ATARI TEENAGE RIOT - Is This Hyperreal?
THE APPLESEED CAST - Middle States
VETIVER - The Errant Charm
GILLIAN WELCH - The Harrow And The Harvest
ALINA SIMONE - Make Your Own Danger
EMMY THE GREAT - Virtue
OH LAND - Oh Land
THE ELECTED - Bury Me in My Rings

Singles & EPs

ANNA CALVI - ‎Desire
THE KILLS - Future Starts Slow
TELEPATHE - Throw Away This
THE RAPTURE - How Deep Is Your Love?
THE HORRORS - Still Life
BEIRUT - East Harlem / Goshenf
BON IVER - Calgary
ARCADE FIRE - Speaking In Tongues
AVI BUFFALO - How Come
YUCK - The Wall
FOO FIGHTERS - Walk
THE VACCINES - All In White
BJORK - Crystalline
JAMIE XX - Far Nearer / Beat For
THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - Girls Like You
//TENSE// - Escape
DIVORCE - Love Attack / Meating
OH LAND - Sun Of A Gun
PLANT PLANTS - Plant Plants EP
SCUMBAG PHILOSOPHER - God Is Dead So I Listen To Radiohead
FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Pumped Up Kicks
HARD-FI - Good For Nothing
RODDY WOOMBLE - Leaving Without Gold / Old Town
MOUNT KIMBIE - Carbonated EP
FOREST SWORDS - Fjree Feather EP

"Desire", one of the standout tracks off Anna Calvi's excellent eponymous debut, was released as a single at the end of June - check out the official video below:

Anna Calvi - Desire

(mp3s via stereogum and pitchfork)

On The Radio: Moon Duo, tUnE-yArDs, Anna Calvi in Session

Fresh off the radio waves for our audio-visual pleasure: check out below Moon Duo and tUnE-yArDs performing live on KEXP highlights from their recent fine albums ("In The Sun" off "Mazes" and "Bizness" off "Whokill" respectively), plus Anna Calvi performing "Desire" on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic (the full session can be found here):

Moon Duo - In The Sun (live on KEXP)

tUnE-yArDs - Bizness (live on KEXP)


Anna Calvi - Desire (live on KCRW)

Stream Anna Calvi's show at Le Trianon, Paris

An Easter present for Anna Calvi's fans - her amazing performance at Le Trianon in Paris on April 22 is streaming in its entirety on Arte Live Web - check it out here:

CMC Radio: Blackout

We haven't done it in a while, but I feel it's time for another CMC Radio web-broadcast, the seventh in the series and the first one for 2011. The latest 12-song mixtape has a running time of 49:02 and if we are to believe the genre descriptions given on the artists' MySpace profiles then you're about to listen to an eclectic mix of tango, alternative rock, experimental blues, post punk, gothic grunge, easy listening garage, southern rock, religious glam, electro and minimalistic new wave. In other words some really cool music from mostly new names that came to my attention recently and I believe that they deserve your attention. Click the link below to find the playlist on MySpace and keep on reading this post to find out what's on offer in our seventh mix:

CMC Radio: Playlist 7 - Blackout

1. Blackout - Anna Calvi

As you may already know, Anna Calvi is one of our favorite new artists of the year, and the title track of our playlist is one of the highlights of her excellent self-titled debut as well as her latest single release. It is out on March 21st and is backed by a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "Surrender".

2. Glass Prayer - Religious To Damn

A very new and exciting discovery; Religious To Damn's debut "Glass Prayer" was  Rough Trade Shops' "Album of the week" this week and as they put it in their newsletter it is "a must hear for fans of Zola Jesus, Siouxise and Fever Ray". I haven't listened to it yet, but both tracks that are available for streaming here are excellent. The title track features an ethereal vocal performance from singer Zohra Atash which brings to mind Cocteau Twins' Elisabeth Fraser while the bass-line sounds like a tribute to Japan's late, great Mick Karn.

3. (Bounce House) Demons - Chelsea Wolfe

An impressive track from Wolfe's blood-chilling album "The Grime and the Glow" released at the end of 2010 on Pendu Sound. A beautiful gothic nightmare.

4. Lick My Fins - Clara Engel

And speaking of beautiful gothic nightmares, here's Clara Engel and one of the standout tracks from her 2009 release "Secret Beasts", an intense, dark folk-blues record with influences ranging from opera to Diamanda Galas. The track is available for free download here, where you'll also be able to stream her quite impressive discography.

5. Philadelphia - Standard Fare

The track that topped 2010's Festive 50 at Dandelion Radio. It's from their 2010 debut "The Noyelle Beat", while here you can check out their brand new single "Suitcase".

6. Belong - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

The title track from the upcoming, highly-anticipated sophomore album from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, which adds a surprising Smashing Pumpkins influence to the mix.

7. Austere - The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable's formidable debut "The Big Roar" offers more evidence that the big rock sound of '90s bands like the Pumpkins is about to make an impressive comeback.

8. White Horse - Cold In Berlin

More '90s influenced gothic grunge-punk from Cold In Berlin who released their debut "Give Me Walls" at the end of last year.

9. Wooden Bones - Follow That Bird

My favorite band from last year's excellent Matador compilation "Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010" offers a new (?) track on their MySpace page and promises a full length some time this year according to their website. Fingers crossed!

10. Stilyagi - Puro Instinct (ft. Ariel Pink)

Puro Instinct are sisters Piper and Skylar Kaplan and this dreamy single featuring Ariel Pink is taken from their recently released debut "Headbangers In Ecstasy". Fun fact: the title "Stilyagi" is Russian and translates to "style hunter" or "hipster". Check out here the brand new video for the song.

11. In 20 Years - Void Vision

For the electro finale of our playlist, two highlights from the excellent "Rough Trade Shops: Synth Wave 10" compilation, notable for their sensual female vocals. Void Vision's offering was originally released as a limited 7" on Blind Prophet in 2010 while Cosmetics' kinky "Black Leather Gloves" comes from the "Soft Skin" 7" which came out the same year on Captured Tracks.

12. Black Leather Gloves - Cosmetics

Bonus track: Religious To Damn's "Drifter" from the album "Glass Prayer" on M'lady's Records - here's the video: