Dan Mangan - Troubled Mind

Dan Mangan is an indie rock/folk musician from Vancouver, Canada. His music is similar to Great Lake Swimmers, Arkells, and Wintersleep. Dan Mangan's main influences are Nick Drake, Van Morrison and The Beatles. Troubled Mind (June'18) is the second single from an as yet unannounced fifth album. He said that Trouble Mind might be his most upbeat and danceable song yet. Trouble Mind is fast-paced, but melancholic; a synth-led, indie pop song about struggling to deal with the 24/7 bombardment of news. It was produced by Simone Felice (Bat For Lashes, The Lumineers).

“Are we the beautiful future?

I can’t figure it out”

Ladybug and The Wolf - Have A Bite On Me

1.    Who are these mutts?

Ladybug and The Wolf are a deep folk rock band from Saint Etienne, France. They started playing together in 2013. Have A Bite On Me (Oct’16) is the second single from their debut album Mammatus (Oct’16).

2. What's Have A Bite On Me about then? 

Have A Bite On Me is a languid folk-pop song with sweet harmonies and a choral chorus.


3. Who do Ladybug and The Wolf sound like?

Great Lake Swimmers, The Avett Brothers and The Strumbellas.


4. What's the good word from the press? 

“A refreshing voice and sound” – YouTube Comments. 

“Awesome I just love it!” – YouTube Comments.

“A new work of art” – YouTube Comments.

5. Who put the sincere in Ladybug and The Wolf's music?

Ladybug and The Wolf were influenced by The Do and The Lumineers. 


6. Why should I give Have A Bite On Me a listen?

Have A Bite On Me is like missing a love from afar. Sweet sorrow. Earthy folk-pop without the cheesy insincerity that comes with the likes of The Strumbella's and the Avett Brothers. 


7. Do Ladybug and The Wolf have any more good songs?

Don't Pretend has a snappy shuffle. A good 'un.


8. Any more words mon amie?

Diddly squat. 

“Well I fell from my tree”

Christine and The Queens is Heloise Letissier from Nantes, France. She has been making electronic pop music since 2008 and has recorded one album and a string of E.P.’s. Her album Christine and The Queens (2014) was a top ten album around the world, reached number 2 on the U.K album charts, and was equally loved by critics rating a 85% on Metacritic. Spin Magazine described the album as, “brilliant in it’s quiet confidence, it’s willingness to intrigue rather than stun.” The most popular English single from the album wasTilted (2015) a sparse synth-pop tune with an emotive centre and a word to say about sexual identity. 

“I’m actually good,

Can’t help it if we’re tilted”

The Courteeners - The 17th

     1.    Who are these indie rock heroes? 

     The Courteeners are an indie rock band from Manchester, England, and have the finest band name in the world. The band have described themselves as the biggest underground rock band in the world. The 17th (Aug'16) is the lead song from The Courteeners' fifth album Mapping The Rendezvous (Oct'16).  

     2. What's The 17th like then? 

     A slow brooding song with an 80's synth pop feel and melancholic Morrisey-esque vocals cranks into life in the third minute and hits an expansive, joyful crescendo, with a guitar assist at the three and a half mark and a jubilant, scream-it-to-the-heavens, chorus. Special. An absolute belter.

    3. Who do The Courteeners sound like? 

     The Smiths. Catfish and The Bottlemen. Euphoriazine compared The 17^th to The 1975. The Guardian found general similarities with The Enemy and Hard-Fi. 

    4. What have the lords and ladies of the fourth estate said about The 17th? 

“A seductively cool night-stalker” – Vanya Land. 

“Sleek and sexy pop vibes” – Euphoriazine.

“Absolutely fucking sensational” – Gig Slutz. 

    5. Which bands have added to The Courteeners' magic? 

     The major influences on The Courteeners are Oasis, The Smiths and The Kinks. They have some love for M People, Simply Red and The Killers too.

    6. Why should I give The 17th a lash? 

    It's an epic tune. The Smiths for a new century. You can't help but love it; despite trying.

   

   

    7. Do The Courteeners have any more rousing fare?

     Sure they do. Has He Told You That He Loves You Yet, How Good It Was and Are You In Love With A Notion? to name but a few. 

    8. Any more words?

     The new album Mapping The Rendezvous was recorded by long-time Courteeners' producer Joe Cross (Kid Astray, Prides and Hurts).

“Everybody can hear you but nobodies listening”

    

   

    

     AWOLNATION are an electronic rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band started in 2009 and have two albums on their roll of honor. AWOLNATION’s debut long player, Megalithic Symphony (2011) went platinum and the hit single from it Sail sold five and a half million copies.  THISKIDSNOTALRIGHT (2012) was released on a video game soundtrack. The tune is a rip snorter that reminded Ear Milk of Nine Inch Nails and The Black Keys. Wrap up tight, shits about to get real...

“You can follow them to hell”

The Lumineers - Ophelia

     1.  Who are they?

The Lumineers are an indie folk pop band from Ramsey, New Jersey, who fight out of Denver, Colorado. Playing together since 2002 their debut album The Lumineers (2012) found mainstream success selling 3.5 million copies worldwide and reaching number 2 in the Billboard charts. Ophelia (Feb’16) is the lead single from their second album Cleopatra (April’16) that debuted at number one on both the UK and Billboard charts.

2. What’s the tune like?

Ophelia opens up with whiskey wistful vocals and lyric but sprightly piano and rhythm propels the toe tapping folky goodness forward out of the maudlin memories. The tunes light whimsy grows on you with a few listens. 

3.  Who do The Lumineers sound like?

Of Monsters And Men, Vance Joy, The Avett Brothers, The Oh Hellos and even Imagine Dragons all swim in the same pool on occasions.

4. What have the wise scribes said about Ophelia?

“Plenty percussive, full of repeated vowels and a driving piano part” – NPR.

“Familiar stomps, claps and harmonies” – Rolling Stone.

“A bluesy stomper” – Consequence Of Sound.

      5. Which bands have influenced The Lumineers?

      The main influences are Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, The Cars and Talking Heads.

     6.    Why should I give Ophelia a spin?

Ophelia’s juxtaposition of melancholic lyric and jaunty piano worms it’s way into your affections; intended or not. Given the The Lumineers' phenomenal success you’d be churlish not to give Ophelia a crack.

7.    Do The Lumineers have any more good tunes?

The new album’s title track Cleopatra is top shelf, the advertiser’s dream Hey Ho is instant love and Stubborn Love is as the title suggests. Hey diddle, diddle, head straight up the middle.

8.    Any more words?

The band started as a cover band called Free Beer in an attempt to make punters think 

there was an open bar.

“Ah, ah when I was younger

I, I should have known better”

Ages and Ages are an indie folk band from Portland, Oregon. They started playing together in 2009 and have two albums on their roll of honor. Diversionary (Do The Right Thing) (2013) was the best indie folk pop song of 2014 and is a song that NPR described as “a jubilant plea for unity and understanding” that “restores your faith in humanity.” Diversionary is a song with the campfire sing along quality of Stand By Me and a message even more valuable. The tune is a fucking knockout.

“Do the right thing, do the right thing

Do it all the time, do it all the time”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Vita Bergen

There’s a symphonic feel to Vita Bergen’s Curtains (Oct’14). It's an epic trip from more than slightly sad to ecstatic. And that's just the opening bars. And the song in it's entirety too is cerebral and passionate and magnificent.They’re definitely a bit of strange on the side and they make it hard to love because they don’t put out easy. Something in the singers voice calls to mind Ian Curtis of Joy Division, not the timbre of voice but because of the searching question without an answer.

That answer is out of reach until it's right fuckin there. Curtains is two full minutes of building, introspective tension before the climatic all in. And three minutes before the joyful bounce. And it is a joy, a sublime, sweet release. An electric indie rock song with variations; massive rewards are here for the patient.

 

 

Vita Begen are a Swedish electronic indie band that have been composing masterpieces for more than three years. They are two friends, two brothers and four more onstage musicians. Curtains comes from their self-titled short player Vita Bergen (Oct’14).

 

Shit you didn’t need to know:

Vita Bergen translates as White Mountain and refers to a park in Stockholm.

Vita Bergen have been compared to Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket by fucking lazy journos.

Need another movement? Try Run, A Picture of Before or Mirror Blind.



 
Awesome Swedes huh? Just the fuckin excuse I need to give these funny fuckers a listen.

A Swedish garage rock band with no small dose of Americana this is Get A Little Lovin' (1990) off their most successful and accessible album Blue Tomato. And it's glorious.