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: October 2011

A look at October's most interesting new album and single releases:

Albums

HIGH PLACES - Original Colors
SUMMER CAMP - Welcome to Condale
REAL ESTATE - Days
SPECTRALS - Bad Penny
STILL CORNERS - Creatures of an Hour
THE BATS - Free All the Monsters
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
XENO & OAKLANDER - Sets and Lights
JANE'S ADDICTION - The Great Escape Artist
BJÖRK - Biophilia
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND - All Things Will Unwind
FEIST - Metals
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - Ceremonials
BIG TROUBLES - Romantic Comedy
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Wolfroy Goes To Town
RYAN ADAMS - Ashes & Fire
THE WALKABOUTS - Travels in the Dustland
VUM - Night Sun
LONEY DEAR - Hall Music
CASIOKIDS - Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen
SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN - Tape Club
MODESELEKTOR - Monkeytown
THE CHURCH OF SYNTH - The Church Of Synth
DJ SHADOW - The Less You Know the Better
JUSTICE - Audio, Video, Disco
ROOTS MANUVA - 4everevolution
NEW LOOK - New Look
PRINCE RAMA - Trust Now
CROOKED FINGERS - Breaks in the Armor
TOM WAITS - Bad as Me
NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
JEFFREY LEWIS - A Turn In The Dream-Songs
FUTURE ISLANDS - On the Water
ACID BABY JESUS - Acid Baby Jesus
FEATHERS - Hunter's Moon
STEREO SOUL FUTURE - Ghost in the Night

Singles & EPs

FRIENDS - I’m His Girl
ARCTIC MONKEYS - Suck It and See
THE HORRORS - I Can See Through You
REAL ESTATE - It's Real
TRASH TALK - Awake EP
CEREBRAL BALLZY - On The Run
THE SOFT MOON - Total Decay EP
ANIKA - No-one's There
THE KILLS - Baby Says
THE JOY FORMIDABLE - The Big More EP
WHITE DENIM - Takes Place in Your Work Space EP
THE DECEMBERISTS - Long Live the King EP
MAZZY STAR - Common Burn / Lay Myself Down
ESBEN AND THE WITCH - Hexagons II EP
ASOBI SEKSU - Hmm Hmm Him
THE DRUMS - How It Ended
GIRLS - Honey Bunny
SURFER BLOOD - Tarot Classics EP
GOITIA DEITZ - Romance / Coma
IT SOUND - Air Tosses EP
LITTLE DRAGON - Little Man
KATE BUSH - Wild Man
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - Shake It Out
COLD SPECKS - Holland
CASIOKIDS - Det haster!
GRUFF RHYS - Space Dust 2
JAMES BLAKE - Enough Thunder EP
KINDNESS - Cyan
HARD-FI - Bring It On

(mp3s via pitchfork, stereogum)

New Releases: September 2011

September was loaded with cool new releases. Below we have collected some of the most intriguing ones for your listening pleasure:

Albums

WILD FLAG - Wild Flag
DUM DUM GIRLS - Only In Dreams
ST. VINCENT - Strange Mercy
THE DUKE SPIRIT - Bruiser
VERONICA FALLS - Veronica Falls
ZOLA JESUS - Conatus
HTRK - Work (Work Work)
THROWING MUSES - Anthology
BIG SEXY NOISE - Trust The Witch
WILCO - The Whole Love
THE DRUMS - Portamento
CYMBALS EAT GUITARS - Lenses Alien
CLAP YOUR HANDS, SAY YEAH - Hysterical
THE RAPTURE - In the Grace of Your Love
LADYTRON - Gravity the Seducer
MATES OF STATE - Mountaintops
JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD - We Are The Champions
TEETH - Whatever
†‡† (RITUALZ) VS. F8STERCARE - †‡† (Ritualz) vs. F8stercare
S.C.U.M. - Again Into Eyes
GIRLS - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
HOWLING BELLS - The Loudest Engine
PEGGY SUE - Acrobats
CAGED ANIMALS - Eat Their Own
NEON INDIAN - Era Extraña
GRIMES - Geidi Primes
THE FIELD - Looping State of Mind
DEATH IN VEGAS - Trans-Love Energies
SPANK ROCK - Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar
CANT - Dreams Come True
BLACK FRANCIS & REID PALEY - Paley & Francis
RICHMOND FONTAINE - The High Country
BLITZEN TRAPPER - American Goldwing
MEGAFAUN - Megafaun
JACUZZI BOYS - Glazin’
GROUPLOVE - Never Trust A Happy Song
ANOMIE BELLE - The Crush
SLOW CLUB - Paradise
BIG DEAL - Lights Out
HANNI EL KHATIB - Will The Guns Come Out
KASABIAN - Velociraptor!
MISFITS - Devil's Rain

Singles & EPs

ANNA CALVI - Suzanne & I
TUNE-YARDS - Gangsta
THE DUKE SPIRIT - Surrender
WARPAINT - Undertow (Night Plane / n!c Remixes)
OKKERVIL RIVER - Your Past Life As A Blast
BJORK - Moon
JANE'S ADDICTION - Irresistible Force
FOO FIGHTERS - Arlandria
WHITE DENIM - Is And Is And Is
THE FRESH AND ONLYS - I Would Not Know The Devil
WEEKEND - Red EP
WAVVES - Life Sux EP
JENS LEKMAN - An Argument With Myself EP
BON IVER - Holocene
PEGGY SUE - Song & Dance
FEIST - How Come You Never Go There
CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG - Terrible Angels
DJ SHADOW - I'm Excited
TORO Y MOI - Freaking Out EP
MOGWAI - Earth Division EP
PURO INSTINCT - Stilyagi
ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI - Witchhunt Suite for WWIII
FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Helena Beat
GROUPLOVE - Tongue Tied
FRIENDLY FIRES - Hurting
KASABIAN - Days Are Forgotten
MILES KANE - Come Closer
LAURA MARLING - Sophia
AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR - 7 Billion All Alive At Once
JUSTICE - Audio, Video, Disco

Without a doubt, in 2011 the girls have all the best tunes. Wild Flag, the indie supergroup featuring Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney, Mary Timony from Helium and Rebecca Cole from The Minders has finally released its highly anticipated debut album in America (the European release is next week) and it's everything we have been waiting for: passionate punk-rock songs full of dizzying guitars, wild rhythms and melodies that stick to your brain for weeks. Here's the video for "Romance" plus the title track from the 1999 EP "The Age of Backwards", the fruit of the first collaboration between Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony as The Spells - just effortless cool:

Wild Flag - Romance

The Spells - The Age of Backwards

Listen to the Wild Flag album on MOG here.

(mp3s via stereogum and pitchfork)

New Releases: July - August 2011

Now that we're all back to business, it's time to catch up with all the latest interesting album and single releases of the last couple of months, just to make sure that nothing important slipped under the radar while we were all too busy with our summer plans:

Albums

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS - Mirror Traffic
THE HORRORS - Skying
ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER - Last Summer
BEIRUT - The Rip Tide
MOONFACE - Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped
WOODEN SHJIPS - West
MALE BONDING - Endless Now
SHE KEEPS BEES - Dig On
THE COOL KIDS - When Fish Ride Bicycles
WASHED OUT - Within And Without
CSS - La Liberacion
CRYSTAL ANTLERS - Two Way Mirror
SCREAMING TREES - Last Words: The Final Recordings
CEREBRAL BALLZY - Cerebral Ballzy
WIDOWSPEAK - Widowspeak
BALAM ACAB - Wander / Wonder
SOFT METALS - Soft Metals
MARIA MINERVA - Cabaret Cixous
THE WAR ON DRUGS - Slave Ambient
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
I BREAK HORSES - Hearts
LITTLE DRAGON - Ritual Union
KANYE WEST & JAY-Z - Watch the Throne
LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter IV
WU-TANG - Legendary Weapons
ZOMBY - Dedication
DIMBLEBY & CAPPER - Choose Your Head
MIRACLE FORTRESS - Was I The Wave?
RICHARD BUCKNER - Our Blood
WOLF GANG - Suego Faults
GOLD-BEARS - Are You Falling in Love?
BRILLIANT COLORS - Again and Again
ARMY NAVY - The Last Place
BROWN RECLUSE - Evening Tapestry
THE MEN - Leave Home
ARAABMUZIK - Electronic Dream
RAZIKA - Project 91
PURE X - Pleasure
CUT OFF YOUR HANDS - Hollow
MEDDICINE / ASSS - Split
PICTUREPLANE - Thee Physical
SLEEPER AGENT - Celabrasion
HARD-FI - Killer Sounds
AZARI AND III - Azari and III

Singles & EPs

CULTS - Go Outside
HTRK - Eat Yr Heart / Sweetheart
GRINDERMAN - Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man
ARCTIC MONKEYS - The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
VERONICA FALLS - Bad Feeling
HOLD KISS KILL - Neon Girls / Death Pleasures
TOM VEK - Aroused 
WILCO - I Might / I Love My Label
BRIGHT EYES - Jejune Stars
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH! - Same Mistake
BATTLES feat. GARY NUMAN - My Machines
BEASTIE BOYS - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win
BJORK - Cosmogony
CAT'S EYES - Over you
CSS feat. BOBBY GILLESPIE - Hits Me Like A Rock
THE VACCINES - Norgaard
THE JOY FORMIDABLE - Heavy Abacus
YUCK - Shook Down
WASHED OUT - Eyes Be Closed
VONDELPARK - NYC Stuff And NYC Bags
SPANK ROCK - Energy
BLACK MILK - Brain / Royal Mega
XENO & OAKLANDER - Staircase
DANGER MOUSE & DANIELLE LUPPI - Season's Trees / Rose With A Broken Neck
STILL CORNERS - Cuckoo
BLEEDING KNEES CLUB - Have Fun / Bad Guys
GRASS WIDOW - Milo Minute EP
PYLON / DEERHUNTER / CALVINIST - Cover + Remix
BRAID - Closer to Closed EP
LOVE OF EVERYTHING - Sooner I Wish
DOM - Family of Love EP
S.C.U.M. - Amber Hands
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Gizzard
AUTRE NE VEUT - Body EP
RAZIKA - Why Have We To Wait
HOLLIE COOK - Remember (Walkin' in the sand)
JENNY & JONNY - Animal
RICHMOND FONTAINE - Lost In The Trees
SOCIAL DISTORTION - Gimme The Sweet And Lowdown
THE FLAMING LIPS feat. LIGHTNING BOLT - I Wanna Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage

And as a fall preview, here's the track that made my week: listen and download below "Bedroom Eyes", the first proper single off "Only In Dreams", Dum Dum Girls' sophomore album. The track, according to Dee Dee, is "a special sort of confusion and frustration brought on by lack of sleep". Enjoy:

   Dum Dum Girls - Bedroom Eyes by subpop

(sound files via stereogum, altered zones)

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)

New Releases: May 2011

Round up of the month's most interesting album and single releases:

Albums

EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
CULTS - Cults
GANG GANG DANCE - Eye Contact
BEASTIE BOYS - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Codes and Keys
OKKERVIL RIVER - I Am Very Far
WHITE DENIM - D
THURSTON MOORE - Demolished Thoughts
DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI - Rome
FLEET FOXES - Helplessness Blues
MY MORNING JACKET - Circuital
URGE OVERKILL - Rock & Roll Submarine 
THE ANTLERS - Burst Apart
FRIENDLY FIRES - Pala
TYLER THE CREATOR - Goblin
SHABAZZ PALACES - Black Up
ART BRUT - Brilliant! Tragic!
WILD BEASTS - Smother
AUSTRA - Feel It Break
LOVE INKS - ESP
PLANNINGTOROCK - W
31KNOTS - Trump-Harm
JOAN OF ARC - Life Like
PETE AND THE PIRATES - One Thousand Pictures
THE FELICE BROTHERS - Celebration, Florida
THE SEA AND THE CAKE - The Moonlight Butterfly
FORD & LOPATIN - Channel Pressure
HYETAL - Broadcast
13 & GOD - Own Your Ghost
MILES KANE - The Colour of the Trap
CHAD VANGAALEN - Diaper Island
EDDIE VEDDER - Ukulele Songs
MICK HARVEY - Sketches From the Book of the Dead

Singles & EPs

HUSBAND - Love Song / Slow Motion EP
DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI - Two Against One
THE DECEMBERISTS - This Is Why We Fight
R.E.M. - All the Best
SMITH WESTERNS - Weekend
TOM VEK - A Chore
CAT'S EYES - Face In the Crowd
LYKKE LI - Sadness Is a Blessing
EMA - Soul on Fire
WEEKEND - End Times
WHITE DENIM - Bess St.
OKKERVIL RIVER - Rider
MY MORNING JACKET - Holding On To Black Metal
FLEET FOXES - Battery Kinzie
MOGWAI - San Pedro
BLACK LIPS - Family Tree
ART BRUT - Lost Weekend
PETE AND THE PIRATES - United
TY SEGALL - I Can't Feel It
THE NAKED & FAMOUS - Girls Like You
JJ - No One Can Touch Us Tonight
FORD & LOPATIN - Emergency Room
OH LAND - Sun of a Gun
DEERHOOF - Behold A Marvel in the Darkness
FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS - That Postcard
CHRISTIAN AIDS - Stay Positive
CASHIER NO 9 - Goldstar
GRUFF RHYS - Honey All Over
MILES KANE - Rearrange
JOSH T PEARSON - Woman, When I’ve Raised Hell
EDDIE VEDDER - Longing To Belong
CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Around My Head

One of May's best releases came from ex-Gowns frontwoman Erika M. Anderson, aka EMA. Above you'll find a link to download "Milkman", one of the highlights of her debut "Past Life Martyred Saints", while below you can check out its dizzying video:

EMA - Milkman

(mp3s via Pitchfork, Stereogum, Fader, Sub Pop)

New Releases : April 2011

Time for our monthly round up of the most interesting new releases with useful audio/video preview links:

Albums

TV ON THE RADIO - Nine Types of Light
THE KILLS - Blood Pressures
tUnE-yArDs - Whokill
CRYSTAL STILTS - In Love with Oblivion
VIVIAN GIRLS - Share the Joy
THE FEELIES - Here Before
MEAT PUPPETS - Lollipop
LOW - C'mon
BILL CALLAHAN - Apocalypse
PANDA BEAR - Tomboy
MOON DUO - Mazes
COLD CAVE - Cherish the Light Years
FOO FIGHTERS - Wasting Light
THE RAVEONETTES - Raven in the Grave
TIMES NEW VIKING - Dancer Equired
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
CAT'S EYES - Cat's Eyes
ALELA DIANE - Alela Diane & Wild Divine
HOWE GELB & A BAND OF GYPSIES - Alegrias
GLASVEGAS - EUPHORIC / / / HEARTBREAK
METRONOMY - The English Riviera
PREFUSE 73 - The Only She Chapters
ATMOSPHERE - The Family Sign
BRAIDS - Native Speaker
CRAFT SPELLS - Idle Labor
AN HORSE - Walls

Singles & EPs

PJ HARVEY - The Glorious Land
WILD FLAG - Future Crimes / Glass Tambourine
FACTORY FLOOR - ~ (R E A L L O V E)
GANG GANG DANCE - Glass Jar
RADIOHEAD - The Butcher / Supercollider
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - You are a Tourist
ARCTIC MONKEYS - Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
BEASTIE BOYS - Make Some Noise
UNKLE - Only The Lonely EP
ESBEN AND THE WITCH - Chorea EP
FLEET FOXES - Helplessness Blues
DEERHUNTER - Memory Boy
BLACK MOUNTAIN - Rollercoaster
YUCK - Get Away
THE JOY FORMIDABLE - Whirring
THE GO! TEAM - Apollo Throwdown / Voice Yr Choice
COLD CAVE - Villains of the Moon 
FRANZ FERDINAND - Covers EP
DANGER MOUSE / DANIELE LUPPI - Two Against One / Black
URGE OVERKILL - Effigy 
WAVVES - Thorns
TWO WOUNDED BIRDS - Midnight Wave
METRONOMY - The Look
OF MONTREAL - Controller Sphere EP
DIRTY BEACHES - No Fun
KAREN ELSON - Vicious
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN - Nervous
BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY and MATT SWEENEY - Must Be Blind
MIDLAKE / WILL SELF - Am I Going Insane?
BUILT TO SPILL - Ripple
THE FLAMING LIPS / NEON INDIAN - The Flaming Lips With Neon Indian
JUSTICE - Civilization
UFFIE - Wordy Rappinghood
OH LAND - Voodoo

Summer's just around the corner! Get on your surfboard and catch the "Midnight Wave" with Two Wounded Birds: 

(audio via pitchfork, stereogum, soundcloud or the relevant record labels)

New Releases : March 2011

Round up of the most interesting albums and singles released in March 2011:

Albums

THE STROKES - Angles
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - Belong
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
THE DEARS - Degeneration Street
RELIGIOUS TO DAMN - Glass Prayer
ELEVENTH DREAM DAY - Riot Now!
OBITS - Moody Standard and Poor
KURT VILE - Smoke Ring for My Halo
DIRTY BEACHES - Badlands
THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - Passive Me, Aggressive You
THE VACCINES - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
BUFFALO TOM - Skins
J MASCIS - Several Shades Of Why
MIKE WATT - Hyphenated-Man
POLY STYRENE - Generation Indigo
RIVAL SCHOOLS - Pedals
RAEKWON - Shaolin vs Wu Tang
LUPE FIASCO - Lasers
ELBOW - Build A Rocket Boys!
NOAH & THE WHALE - Last Night On Earth
ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL - Nightingale
PETER BJORN AND JOHN - Gimme Some
THE DODOS - No Color
MOUNTAIN GOATS - All Eternals Deck
THE BASEBALL PROJECT - Volume 2: High and Inside
MATTHEW FRIEDBERGER - Meet Me in Miramas
CORNERSHOP feat. BUBBLEY KAUR - Cornershop And The Double 'O' Groove
RISE AGAINST - Endgame
THE BELLRAYS - Black Lightning
EXENE CERNENKA - The Excitement Of Maybe
DAVID DONDERO - A Pre-Existing Condition
MORNING TELEPORTATION - Expanding Anyway
PARTS & LABOR - Constant Future
HYGIENE - Public Sector
TEEPEE - Morals (free download)
SAY HI - Um, uh oh
DATAROCK - Music for Synchronization
MUSHY - Faded Heart
THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE - Departing
THOSE DANCING DAYS - Daydreams and Nightmares

Singles & EPs

ANNA CALVI - Blackout
R.E.M. - Uberlin
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - Belong
CRYSTAL STILTS - Through The Floor
THOM YORKE / BURIAL / FOUR TET - Ego / Mirror
THE NATIONAL - Conversation 16
ARCADE FIRE - City With No Children
GRINDERMAN - Palaces of Montezuma
FOO FIGHTERS - Rope
THE VACCINES - If You Wanna
ALEX TURNER - Submarine EP
BROKEN BELLS - Meyrin Fields EP
THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - Young Blood
BURIAL - Street halo
FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Sixteen Shades Of Black & Blue
LADYTRON - Ace Of Hz
PANDA BEAR - Surfer's Hymn
CROCODILES - Mirrors
TAME IMPALA - Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind
FRIENDS - Friend crush
CLOUD CONTROL - There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight
BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG - Island Brothers
OKKERVIL RIVER - Wake & Be Fine / Weave Room Blues
PAPERCUTS - Do What You Will
STANDARD FARE - Suitcase
RIVAL SCHOOLS - Wring It Out
CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Shake Me Down
THE PRIMITIVES - Never Kill A Secret EP
EDWYN COLLINS feat. THE DRUMS - In Your Eyes
ELBOW - Neat Little Rows
GLASVEGAS - Euphoria, Take My Hand
CUT COPY - Sun God
ACTRESS - Harrier Attk / Gershwin
TERROR BIRD - Outside / When I Woke Up
JAMES BLAKE - The Wilhelm Scream
DIMBLEBY AND CAPPER - Let You Go
ANOMIE BELLE - How Can I Be Sure
THOSE DANCING DAYS - I'll Be Yours
PATRICK WOLF - The City 
DATAROCK - Catcher in the Rye
SCUMBAG PHILOSOPHER - Scumbag Philosopher
EXPOSED BY OBSERVERS - Fake Stories 3

And here’s one of the most enjoyable (and naughty) videos that made its premier in March: "Two Girls" is taken from the recently released album "Colour Trip" by Texan neo-shoegazers Ringo Deathstarr and makes the sort of sexy noise that will make My Bloody Valentine proud - a bit like Lush used to sound circa 1990.

Ringo Deathstarr - Two Girls (NSFW)

New Releases: February 2011

A selection of some of the most interesting releases of February 2011:

Albums

PJ HARVEY - Let England Shake
RADIOHEAD - The King of Limbs
THE TWILIGHT SINGERS - Dynamite Steps
BRIGHT EYES - The People's Key
LYKKE LI - Wounded Rhymes
LA SERA - La Sera
THE BABIES - The Babies
YUCK - Yuck
…AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD - Tao Of The Dead
MOGWAI - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
ASOBI SEKSU - Fluoresence
FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS - Hunger
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - Go-Go Boots
CHAIN AND THE GANG - Music's Not for Everyone
RAINBOW ARABIA - Boys and Diamonds
TORO Y MOI - Underneath The Pine
DEMDIKE STARE - Tryptych
NICOLAS JAAR - Space Is Only Noise
JAMES BLAKE - James Blake
THE STREETS - Computers and Blues
CUT COPY - Zonoscope
PURO INSTINCT - Headbangers In Ecstasy 
YOUNG GALAXY - Shapeshifting
TELEKINESIS - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
GRUFF RHYS - Hotel Shampoo
PAPERCUTS - Fading Parade
AKRON/FAMILY - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
EAST RIVER PIPE - We Live In Rented Rooms
THE LOW ANTHEM - Smart Flesh
DAVID LOWERY - The Palace Guards

Singles & EPs

DUM DUM GIRLS - He Gets Me High  
VIVIAN GIRLS - I Heard You Say
LA SERA - Devil Hearts Grow Cold
THE BABIES - The Wilds
THE STROKES - Under Cover Of Darkness
THE KILLS - Satellite
LYKKE LI - I Follow Rivers
THE DUKE SPIRIT - Kusama EP
BRIGHT EYES - Singularity
BEACH FOSSILS - What a Pleasure EP
CAT’S EYES - Broken Glass EP
HOLD KISS KILL - Our last waltz
YUCK - Holing Out
J MASCIS - Not Enough
OKKERVIL RIVER - Mermaid
THE THERMALS - Not Like Any Other Feeling
MOGWAI - Mexican Grand Prix / Slight Domestic
CHRISTMAS / SELECTOR DUB NARCOTIC - Namiot
KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS - Hauntin' Me
TORO Y MOI - Still Sound
CUT COPY - Sun God
GRUFF RHYS - Sensations In The Dark
GLASVEGAS - Euphoria, Take My Hand
MILES KANE - Come Closer
YOUNG BUFFALO - Catapilah / Only We Can Keep You From Harm
RINGO DEATHSTARR - So High
MONA - Teenager
PETER BJORN AND JOHN - Second Chance
KANYE WEST - All Of The Lights
LUPE FIASCO - The Show Goes On

The big event of the month in the singles department was the return of The Strokes with their first new track in five years "Under Cover Of Darkness", a first taste from their eagerly anticipated comeback album "Angles", which surfaced as a free download for a couple of days for subscribers of their mailing list.

But as you might expect if you've been following this blog for the past year, the highlight of the month for us is the release of the brand new Dum Dum Girls EP "He Gets Me High", out this Monday for Europe and Tuesday for America from Sub Pop. The band who was at the top of our year-end Singles list for 2010 with the awesome "Jail La La" is returning with 4 new tracks including a stunning cover of The Smiths' classic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". Production duties were handled by front-woman Dee Dee along with girl group sound expert Richard Gottehrer (best known for composing the classics "My Boyfriend’s Back" and "I Want Candy" but also the co-producer of Dum Dum Girls debut LP "I Will Be") and Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes (their new album is coming in April). Get it here.

Another girl-related highlight in February's single releases is the first offering from Vivian Girls forthcoming album "Share The Joy". The track "I Heard You Say" is one of the girls' best moments so far and it certainly raises our expectations for their third full length which is expected in April from Polyvinyl (get the free mp3 here). But that's not all the Vivian Girls-related fun in store for us this month! La Sera, Katy Goodman’s side-project, just released a fine self-titled debut LP accompanied by the 7" "Devil Hearts Grow Cold", while Cassie Ramone along with Woods’ Kevin Morby just released their first full length as The Babies, a  lo-fi supergroup of sorts which also includes Bossy drummer Justin Sullivan and Stupid Party’s Nathanael Stark on bass.

Here's the video for "I Heard You Say" via P4K:

Vivian Girls - I Heard You Say

(audio via stereogum, pitchfork , altered zones, spin and the relevant record labels)

New Releases: January 2011

Round up of the most interesting albums and singles released in January 2011 with useful preview links:

Albums

ANNA CALVI - Anna Calvi
IRON & WINE - Kiss Each Other Clean
WIRE - Red Barked Tree
FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Ventriloquizzing
THE GO! TEAM - Rolling Blackouts
ESBEN & THE WITCH - Violet Cries
THE DECEMBERISTS - The King is Dead
COLD WAR KIDS - Mine is Yours
GANG OF FOUR - Content
SOCIAL DISTORTION - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes
TAPES 'N TAPES - Outside
THE JOY FORMIDABLE - The Big Roar
BRITISH SEA POWER - Valhalla Dancehall
CLOUD NOTHINGS - Cloud Nothings
DEERHOOF - Deerhoof Vs. Evil
ROBERT POLLARD - Space City Kicks
MATTHEW FRIEDBERGER - Napoleonette
JOHN VANDERSLICE - White Wilderness
DESTROYER - Kaputt
SMITH WESTERNS - Dye it Blonde
BARDO POND - Bardo Pond
CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Thank You Happy Birthday 
TALIB KWELI - Gutter Rainbows
THE GET UP KIDS - There Are Rules
THE DIRTBOMBS - Party Store

Singles & EPs

PJ HARVEY - The Words That Maketh Murder
GLASSER - Mirrorage - Lindstrom Remix
BEST COAST / WAVVES - Summer Is Forever
CLOUD NOTHINGS - Should Have
THE GO! TEAM - Buy Nothing Day
SONIC YOUTH - SYR9: Simon Werner A Disparu
DAVID LYNCH - Good Day Today / I Know Remixes
THE JOY FORMIDABLE - Austere
BRITISH SEA POWER - Living Is So Easy
THE VACCINES - Post Break-up Sex
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - Photoshop Handsome
FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS - Hunger
GROUPLOVE - Colours
DESTROYER - Kaputt 
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN - The Deep Field
BEACH FOSSILS - Calyer
SIX SIX SECONDS - She can't say
RAEKWON - Shaolin Vs. Wu Tang
BETH DITTO & SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Do You Need Someone
HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR - My House
RICHARD ASHCROFT - This Thing Called Life
FIRST AID KIT - Universal Soldier / It Hurts Me Too
DUNGEN - Oga Nasa Mum/Highway Wolf

And a taste of things to come: At the end of February we're expecting Lykke Li's sophomore album "Wounded Rhymes", produced by Peter Bjorn & John's Bjorn Yttling. The first two singles from the record, last year's awesome "Get Some" and the brand new pop gem "I Follow Rivers", have raised our expectations and if the rest of "Wounded Rhymes" is cut from the same cloth then it'll definitely worth it to shell out about 40 euros or 55 dollars to get the limited edition collectors set. Here's the great looking video for "I Follow Rivers", directed by Tarik Saleh and starring a barefoot in the snow Lykke Li and Swedish Lebanese actor Fares Fares. It was shot on the island of Gotland, Närsholmen, the same place where Andrei Tarkovsky filmed "The Sacrifice":

Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers

And here's David Sitek's remix:

(mp3s via pitchfork and stereogum)