Category: Indie

  • Four years ago Glasgow art rockers Franz Ferdinand released their third album, which was called Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, and it did not fare very well in most countries. Not with critics and not with fans. It was produced by the renowned Brian Higgins of Xenomania, who’s worked with everyone from Pet Shop Boys to Kylie…

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  • There was a time when I thought Bloc Party could do no wrong. Their first two albums — Silent Alarm (2005) and A Weekend In The City (2007) — were brilliant in my opinion. And, considering the critical acclaim and awards they received, it would seem the world agreed. The B-sides from those albums were…

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  • Kitten’s charming frontwoman Chloe Chaidez grew up in a musical household. Her father was a drummer from LA’s early punk scene and he introduced her to artists like David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Mott The Hoople during their long drives to her gymnastics classes when she was just a kid. They spent an hour and…

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  • I always find it interesting when a musician was trained in a certain style, or with a certain instrument, but then they go and take that knowledge and apply it to something totally different. Such is the case with Atlanta, Georgia’s Joshua Worden, who was trained in jazz guitar but makes music that’s a blend…

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  • White Lies’ impressive 2009 debut To Lose My Life rose straight to number 1 on the UK albums chart and performed well on plenty of other charts as well, although it only reached number 146 on the Billboard 200 here in the States. While it received its fair share of negative reviews, by and large…

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  • According to Wiki, “A paracosm is a detailed imaginary world, or fantasy world, involving humans and/or animals, or perhaps even fantasy or alien creations. Commonly having its own geography, history, and language, it is an experience that is often developed during childhood and continues over a long period of time: months or even years.” The…

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  • The new two song single by Divine Fits is being called “Ain’t That The Way / Chained To Love.” But “Chained To Love” is actually the first track if you download it from Amazon or iTunes. (It’s also available on vinyl!) As you probably know, Divine Fits are often referred to as a supergroup. Their…

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  • If you count her live E.P., Live Take, Way in the World is Scottish singer-songwriter/guitarist Nina Nesbitt’s fifth E.P. Like many before her, Nina began her career informally by recording songs in her bedroom and posting videos on Youtube, where she quickly garnered millions of plays. Early on, she met Ed Sheeran and he asked…

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  • The Joy Formidable’s new Silent Treatment E.P. opens with a William Orbit remix of the haunting ballad, which probably sounds exactly how you’d expect a William Orbit remix of the song to sound. If you’re not familiar with the original, which appears as track two here, it’s a very mellow, acoustic ballad without any percussion.…

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  • Tony Harnell was the lead singer of the hard rock/heavy metal band TNT for 22 years until he left in 2006. If you’re a fan of the genre then chances are that you’re already familiar with him and are a fan of his music. Like Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, Tony has one of those…

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  • “It breaks my heart to love you, it breaks my heart to love you,” croons Editors vocalist Tom Smith matter-of-factly during “Sugar,” the second track on the band’s splendid new album The Weight Of Your Love. Previously, the band have often reminded me of The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, but not so much on this…

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  • Nehedar is what NYC-based singer/songwriter Emilia Cataldo goes by, much the way Natasha Khan calls herself Bat For Lashes or Sarah Assbring calls herself El Perro Del Mar. Let’s face it — it’s trendy for female solo artists to give themselves a cool name these days. But Emilia didn’t just start calling herself Nehedar because…

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  • Austra hail from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but chances are you probably already know that. After all, their 2011 debut, Feel It Break, was listed on numerous critics’ best of 2011 lists, following a year of positive reviews. The Toronto Star and New York even named it the best album of the year. Basically, Feel It…

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  • In 2008 Nouvelle Vague co-founder/musician Marc Collin did a side-project album called Hollywood, Mon Amour. The album featured songs from ’80’s movies covered Nouvelle Vague style, meaning that they were the sort of covers that are often drastically different than the original versions of the song, though care is taken when making these interpretations because…

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  • Produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Killswitch Engage, Soulfly), Eye of the Storm is the new E.P. by New York City’s Eye Ra Haze and it’s mighty impressive. In fact, its three songs are the most potent female-fronted hard rock I’ve heard since Evanescence’s Fallen, which was released 10 years ago. Since then, an awful lot…

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