Place Indieface Artist - February 25th

Hollerado all grew up on the same tiny street in Ontario, Canada. The band is pure energy about 90% of the time but the other 10% consists of setups to the production of energy. They sound like a good time 100% of the time.

Their full length release Record In A Bag, out since last month, follows in the tradition of their Demo In A Bag series of album releases, most of which can be found on iTunes. "On My Own" carries a heavy drum beat over a catchy lyrical sing-along. "Americanarama" is a very hard song to stop listening to for the mere head-bobbing and "do-do-doing" it induces. "Juliette" talks about the idiosyncrasies of the title character while featuring heavy guitar riffs and a chill, medium toned melody.

You can download the whole album for free at their website through a zip file. Actually, everything you might want to hear, know and see about Hollerado can be found at their website. Be sure to send in your most awesome nacho recipes!

Live Music Best Served Hot . . . and Black

Critics love the Black Lips. You can see it here (Spin Magazine), here (All Music Guide), or even here (Entertainment Weekly). What made them stand out as they first entered the scene at the beginning of the "Aughts" is also what keeps them going. On their latest effort, 200 Million Thousand, Black Lips merge no frills lyrics with the distinctive hippy garage rock sound they are known for.

If you haven't heard Black Lips perform live, here's a taste of what you're missing in "Bad Kids". Also check out 2007's Good Bad Not Evil and 2003's Black Lips! for one of the most distinctive sounds in indie rock today.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

Indieface Band to Watch: Gentleman Reg

Fusing catchy pop-rock hooks with melodic tones and an electro rock feel, Gentleman Reg is indie rock at its best. Throw in a mellow, acoustic jam and an upbeat, bouncy dance number here and there, and this band might be all you need for a busy week ahead.

Gentleman Reg is actually the work of Toronto singer-songwriter Reg Vermue on vocals and guitar, while featuring performances on his latest album from Greg Millson (Great Lake Swimmers) on drums/percussion, as well as Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk) on backing vocals and Kelly McMichael on piano/keys. Out next Tuesday (February 24th) is his first release, Jet Black, off the same Canadian label, Arts & Crafts Records, that produces such indie stalwarts as Broken Social Scene and Feist, as well as need to know bands like Land of Talk, The Dears, Stars, and The Stills. This will be Gentleman Reg's fourth album in total, his first full length release since 2004's Darby and Joan.

The entire album is currently playing on Gentleman Reg's MySpace page. Some of my personal favorites include the percussion intro and beachy feel of "To Some It Comes Easy", the melodic strumming and head-moving tune, "You Can't Get It Back", and the club-pumping, dance diddy that is "We're In A Thunderstorm", but the whole album doesn't seem to disappoint; find out for yourself! The band will be making it's presence known at SXSW this year in Austin so check them out if you can!

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

Music Making A Difference

New Releases - Feb. 17, 2009

If you need a reason to listen to M. Ward, you may be missing the point. He can make a difference in your mood and your attitude towards your daily interactions. M. Ward has been praised highly by critics for his dazzling guitar-strumming and singer-songwriter style. His latest effort, Hold Time, continues the earthy, acoustic love fest with which he has reeled so many admirers in. The riff heavy love song "Never Had Nobody Like You" features Zooey Deschanel (his She & Him counterpart). "To Save Me" is more upbeat than some of the other tracks on the new album, but still reflects the introspective nature M. Ward dishes out in his music. "Fisher of Men" is a rockabilly, alt-country diddy that sits heavy on the soul much like the guitar licks and lyrics of "Oh Lonesome Me" featuring Lucinda Williams.

After signing with Merge Records, M. Ward released Transfiguration of Vincent in 2003, Transistor Radio in 2005 and Post-War in 2006. His fourth Merge album is out this Tuesday.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

In saving the world, one song at a time news:

Ready to make a difference just by enjoying some good indie music? Red Hot Organization, an international charity focused on HIV/AIDS related awareness and fundraising, will release Dark Was The Night on 4AD Records this Tuesday. The compilation was produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner from Brooklyn indie rockers The National and John Carlin, founder of the Red Hot Organization. This album is not only well worth the cause it supports, but the artists and bands alone are stellar! Some of my personal favorites are Fiest and Ben Gibbard's cover duet of Vashti Bunyan's "Train Song", the brief, but beautiful, "Die" by Iron & Wine, and Spoon's bouncy tune, "Well-Alright". Here's the complete track list:

Disc One:
1. Dirty Projectors and David Byrne, "Knotty Pine"
2. The Books featuring José González, "Cello Song"
3. Feist and Ben Gibbard, "Train Song"
4. Grizzly Bear, "Deep Blue Sea"
5. The National, "So Far Around the Bend"
6. Yeasayer, "Tightrope"
7. My Brightest Diamond, "Feeling Good"
8. The Kronos Quartet, "Dark Was the Night"
9. Antony and Bryce Dessner, "I Was Young When I Left Home"
10. Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner, "Big Red Machine"
11. The Decemberists, "Sleepless"
12. Iron and Wine, "Die"
13. Grizzly Bear and Feist, "Service Bell"
14. Sufjan Stevens, "Blood"

Disc Two:
1. Spoon, "Well-Alright"
2. The Arcade Fire, "Lenin"
3. Beirut, "Mimizan"
4. My Morning Jacket, "El Caporal"
5. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, "Inspiration Information"
6. Dave Sitek, "With a Girl Like You"
7. Buck 65 remix featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti, "Blood Pt. 2"
8. The New Pornographers, "Hey, Snow White"
9. Yo La Tengo, "Gentle Hour"
10. Stuart Murdoch, "Another Saturday"
11. Riceboy Sleeps, "Happiness"
12. Cat Power, "Amazing Grace"
13. Andrew Bird, "The Giant of Illinois"
14. Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch, "Lua"
15. Blonde Redhead and the Devastations, "When the Road Runs Out"
16. Kevin Drew, "Love vs. Porn"

Please go purchase this benefit album to support the cause of the Red Hot Organization. Your ears will thank you!

Overall Rating: 9.5 out of 10 (for all the talent!)

Folk Over Your Ears to Canada!

Today's indie music galaxy includes a brand of folk music ranging the likes of Jenny Lewis to M. Ward to Fleet Foxes. Canada represents nicely with The Acorn, who play an "experimental" sect of this kind of folksy acoustic indie pop. The Acorn hails from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The evolving project of a band currently consists of Rolf Klausener, Jeff Debutte, T. Jeffrey Malecki, Pat Johnson, and Howie Tsui. They first made a name for themselves in a mostly instrumental tribute to the Outaouais region of Canada with an album called The Pink Ghosts in July 2004.

After moving over to a Canadian indie stronghold label in Paper Bag Records, The Acorn first released the Tin Fist EP in November 2006 ("Dents" is spectacular) then Glory Hope Mountain in October 2007, which they say is “part biographical narrative, part surreal fairy tale", in hopes of reaching a wider range of listeners. The album stands as a primarily acoustic piece of indie flavored folk music aimed at honoring Klausener's mother. "Flood Pt. 1" and "Crooked Legs" are excellent tracks to gauge your level of interest in the band. The flavor entering your ears will cause you to bob your head along or reflect openly on the movement you feel within your being. This is what good indie folk is supposed to do.

Newly out this Tuesday (February 17th) is an all-live compilation featuring "hard-to-find" tracks, older demos of LP songs, and a couple of blog radio, in-studio performances. Heron Act is for fans of The Acorn who have not had the opportunity to hear them live, but want to experience the folksy goodness any way they can. Keep an ear out for their live shows coming back to the States after they complete a winter UK tour.

Pop! Goes The Indieface

It all started on the Internet. Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You is the second act in her rise to indie and mainstream pop fame after the release of her 2007 debut LP, Alright, Still. The new album combines influences from jazz to dance to a bit of country. Produced by The Bee (Greg Kurstin), It's Not Me, It's You once again features Allen's witty, yet biting lyrics all packaged in a cutesy electro-britpop present. The lead single, The Fear, reviews Allen's own insecurities about fame and relationships in general with a catchy dance beat. Other must hears include the hoedown-inspired, "Not Fair", the mellow but introspective, "I Could Say", and the self-explanatory, "F*ck You". The album was released this week.

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10

On the indie pop tip:

Also worth checking out is Brooklyn's own Matt & Kim's new joint, "Daylight", off their album, Grand, which came out last month. I had the good fortune of seeing Matt & Kim at Lollapalooza 2007 when they were asked to fill in for CSS who had missed their inbound flight from NYC. I was one of maybe 100 or so peeps that dropped by to listen on their impromptu side stage performance (they had previously played earlier that morning). Having heard their music before, I stayed to enjoy a raucous two-piece indie pop-rock powerhouse deliver some of the most memorable songs I experienced that summer. And this is a big PJ fan talking here; I remembered Matt & Kim when all I wanted to hear was Vedder belt one out!

Take some time to discover Matt & Kim if you haven't already. Their live performance (THE show I saw) will captivate you!

Dance Indie-d You Will!

Image courtesy of http://www.flosstradamus.com/

"Big Bills" by Flosstradamus ft. Caroline Polachek.
This synthpop, indietronica groove will get your feet a-tapping. Take it with you before heading out to the club or bang it in your place while cleaning. Either way, you're guaranteed to bounce! It features Polachek who is the lead singer of a band Chairlift you may know from that iPod commercial. Yeah, addicting!

Place Indieface Artists - February 4th

Sometimes bands come along and you just wanna tell everyone you know how great they are, why they should be known, and where you can see them live! Both of these bands just happen to be from our neighbor to the North, but future posts of PIA (Place Indieface Artists) will feature multi-continental music. You may already know about these two acts below, but if you don't, take some time to visit the links and learn why you should place these artists in YOUR face.

The Weakerthans
These lyrically deep Canadian indie rockers from The Peg have been around for about 10 years, but have produced only four albums in that time. They seem to have a solid fan base but need your help to stay relevant. Trust; they're worth the investment! The Weakerthans straddle the indie rock fence involving post-punk, power pop, and alt-country. Two of their best tracks are "Sun In An Empty Room" and "Civil Twilight" from their most recent full length release Reunion Tour out since September 2007. Reconstruction Site features a chill groove title track you can jam out to; this downloadable version was released in January 2008.

The Dears
Inconsistently consistent? However you look at The Dears, the newest lineup of orchestral rock from Montreal mixes power pop elements with harder rock passions to produce a melodic sound sure to peak your interests. Read about their journey at their website. Their most recent release, Missiles, out since October 2008 contains the single "Money Babies". Another haunting-like track with soul searching lyrics worth checking out is "There Goes My Outfit" off the 2006 release Gang of Losers. The video included in this post shows the new formation of The Dears playing their first gig and the joys of life traveling across the Great Northwest [language may be inappropriate for some viewers ;-)]