Indie Band Guru

The upcoming album by Seattle progressive-pop rockers Minus The Bear is now available for a free listen here at Indie Band Guru thanks to KCRW.  The new album, OMNI, is the bands fourth album, but first with new label Dangerbird Records.  It will be officially released on May 4th, 2010.

Formed in 2001, Minus the Bear earned immediate attention with their distinctive prog-pop hybrid, featuring swirling synths and multi-layered guitar acrobatics. The band was prolific from the start and let loose with a series of EPs and albums, each drawing acclaim and a host of new fans. They embraced the road and began touring extensively, building up a dedicated fan base and discovering the powerful connection they could make when playing live.

The new album features the quirky time signatures, hyperactive riffs, and prodigious hooks characteristic of the band’s earlier work.  OMNI may be the album that helps them crossover to an even larger audience.  There are some indie-pop darlings in there. 

What do you think?

Well it seems as if LCD Soundsystem and their record label have given up trying to hide the new album ‘This Is Happening from the leakers and now have made the entire album available as a free stream on their website:

 Click here to listen to This Is Happening

Give it a listen but don’t fret because I was a little alarmed for the first minute and a half into the album as well.  But when the synth beat kicks into the first song ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ you will know LCD Soundsystem is back. The second song is the 1st single ‘Drunk Girls’ that you have probably heard all over the radio already. It is a song that will be staying in your head for a while.
Listen and Enjoy!

PS. I was having trouble with the website on Internet Explorer but it worked just fine on Firefox.

http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com/thisishappening/

Let us know what you think about the album.

We see many actors try to crossover into the music world, especially in the pop genre where they can have their voice so overproduced that nobody will notice that they can not sing. That is why I took notice when Zooey Deschanel entered the indie music world with M. Ward to form She & Him.

She had shown some singing chops in her movies before, most notably in Elf with Will Ferrell and The Go-Getter where she met M. Ward.  Now She & Him have released their second album Volume Two back on March 23rd and it seems to be another good one, I believe even better than the first. 

She & Him have announced tour dates for the spring of 2010.  They dazzled at SXSW again and will perform at music festivals such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, Savannah and Sasquatch. 

Above is a live recording of She & Him at the Sirius XMU studios from a couple weeks ago.  Stripped down i think her voice sounds even better.  It reminds me a little of June Carter Cash which is always a good thing.  She is living up to the new ‘Omaha Sound’ label and I feel will be singing for years to come.

Bottom Line:  This cute chick can sing!

In our exhaustive, yet constant search for great new independent music to introduce you to, we came across another winner.  Lil Daggers, a psychadelic garage rock band from Miami, FL.  They are relatively unknown as of yet, but I don’t think that will be for too much longer.  And they are coming up to NYC this weekend to visit you and me. 

Listen first:

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Then get out to see them this weekend:

• -Friday, April 9th, ‘Midnight til Death Party’ @ Don Pedros- Lil Daggers -with- Medication, White Mystery, and Girls at Dawn
• -Saturday, April 10th @ Don Pedros- Lil Daggers -with- Brown Ghost, Naked Beach, Estrogen Highs, and Wild Yaks
• -Sunday, April 11th @ Glasslands – Lil Daggers -with- Dream Diary, White Mystery, and Shark?

These guys crowd the stage with interesting musicians, including an organist (something that always excites me a little), and work hard to put on one hell of an interesting show.  The Indie Band Guru will be there, will you?

I just love when I like side projects better than the music of the band that they are spun off from.  Let me introduce to you Neon Indian.  Alan Palomo of the band Ghosthustler, and also known as the artist VEGA has spun off some of his recordings that just weren’t right for either of his other two personas into new moniker Neon Indian. 

Here is ’Sleep Paralysist’.  use the download link to have the song for yourself as well.

Neon Indian came to be in 2009 after a few of Palomo’s ‘extra’ tracks were posted around the internet and picked up by some influential indie music taste-makers.  Pitchfork gave credit to the debut EP Psychic Chasms as Best New Music of 2009. 

Neon Indian is also getting a big push now after being picked up by Mountain Dew and their Green Label Sound promotion to introduce great underground music to the masses.

Welcome to another edition of music you should know. Today’s band is Sleigh Bells with the song ‘Crown On The Ground’.

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The Noise-pop duo from Brooklyn has been getting a lot of hype throughout the blogosphere.  Maybe too much considering that their debut album Treats isn’t scheduled to be released until May 11th.  They are getting a lot of support behind them though recently inking a contract to release the record on M.I.A.’s NEET imprint of Mom and Pop Records.  ‘Crown On The Ground’ does show some influence by M.I.A. 

The band will also be getting their live show out there this spring and summer with performances at  SXSW, Coachella, and the Pitchfork Music Festival.  Not sure if I love them yet but they definitely bring something different to the indie rock table.

This week’s Music You Should Know is the song ‘Rome’ by Yeasayer.

Rome is one of my favorite tracks off of the Brooklyn, New Yorkers sophmore album Odd Blood. The way lead singer, Chris Keating, uses his voice in the chorus really sticks with me and has me trying to sing the song hours after hearing it.  The experimental yet dancey beat keeps you interested throughout the 3:53 of the song waiting to see where it will take you next.  I definitely can see this song, or the slightly more pop friendly, ‘Ambling Alp’ making it onto mainstream radio.

Take a listen and please share your thoughts with us.

One of the main goals of this website is to introduce our readers to music that they may never have heard of. 

We call it ‘Music You Should Know.’ 

Midlake – ‘Rulers, Ruling All Things’

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Midlake's new album - The Courage of Others

Today we wanted to introduce MIDLAKE, an American band from Denton, Texas.  Midlake’s first full album, Milkmaid Grand Army, was released in 2004, but as with most experimental indie rock, they gained popularity in Europe before catching on in America. 

Starting with a background in jazz, Midlake moved toward indie rock and thier songs seem heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, and Grandaddy, artists who experiment, while still remaining accessible to the masses.

The new album ‘The Courage of Others’ was just released on February 2nd, 2010 in the US.  The song featured here “Rulers, Ruling All Things” seems to be the 1st single.  Enjoy it and please share your comments.

For more on Midlake go to thier website www.Midlake.net  

-Midlake will be in New York at the Bowery Ballroom for 2 shows in April.