MP3s of the Week: What do you get when you cross Kanye West, Wilco and the ‘85 Bears?
Starting off with an old favorite. Okkervil River, who featured on A Free Man’s Top 10 last year is back next week with their fifth full length record, “The Stand Ins”. I’ve heard a bit of it and it sounds as good or better than last year’s gem “The Stage Names”. If you’ve not heard these Texas troubadours, the time is now. Preorder “The Stand Ins” from Jagjaguwar for an early download and cover art poster.
MP3: Okkervil River - “Lost Coastlines”
Mash-ups and remixes are getting more and more compelling these days. I couple of weeks ago I featured a great remix of Oxford Comma and this week I’ve got a bizarrely enchanting mash up that sounds like the start of a geeky Gen X joke that inspired the title of this post. What do you get when you cross Wilco, the 1985 Chicago Bears and Kanye West? Well, apparently you get The Hood Internet. I don’t know much about these guys (girls? robots?) but they’ve got a whole website of mash-ups that’s worth a visit.
MP3: The Hood Internet - Superbowl Jesus (Kanye West + 1985 Chicago Bears vs Wilco)
David Vandervelde is the latest artist coming out of Secretly Canadian’s stables to get my attention. The Nashville based singer-songwriter has thrown down one of those guantlet-esque sophomore records. It’s ballsy, swaggering distorted guitar rock but with clever compelling songwriting. He’s a bit reminiscent of Mark Bolan at times and what I’ve heard of “Waiting for the Sunrise” puts Vandervelde squarely in a group of up and coming artists to be reckoned with. “Waiting for the Sunrise”is available from 
MP3: David Vandervelde - “Nothin’ No”
I love Country music. I don’t mean the shit that you’re likely to hear if you’re unfortunate enough to tune in a commercial C & W station in North America. I mean that lineage of music that comes out of the Deep South in the 30’s and is channeled through folks with names like Williams, Cash, Perkins, Owens, Harris, Jones and Yoakam. Caitlin Rose is making this kind of country music - it’s not alt.country, it’s Classic Country. Her song “Answer in One of These Bottles” pays tribute to the some of the greats. Check out this interview with Rose at Setting the Woods on Fire. Her EP, “Dead Flowers” is available here.
MP3: Caitlin Rose - “Answer in One of These Bottles”
Plucky and ethereal Chicago duet Aviary Ghost is the latest “making music in your bedroom” act to catch A Free Man’s attention. “Somewhere Else”, from their recent LP, is disturbingly addictive - upbeat and well crafted. Check out “Memory is a Hallway” from
MP3: Aviary Ghost - “Somewhere Else”
Omaha’s Series Two records has got a real handle on the Swedish indie scene. I’m almost regularly getting good tracks from these guys and the latest they sent my way was Uppsala’s Peace In Our Time. Johan Regner is making homemade lo-fi pop in the vein of Tafra and some of Series Two other acts. Get “A Glimpse of Happiness” directly from the label.
MP3: Peace In Our Time - “Some Nice and Decent Thoughts”
Oh, those Swedes. They just keep on churning out the great music. It’s like they’ve got some sort of breeding program going on up there. The Tallest Man on Earth is the latest Norseman to get my attention with wonderfully understated indie folk. His debut LP “Shallow Grave” is out and available on .
MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth - “Pistol Dreams”
While we’re talking about boys with acoustic guitars, it’s worth mentioning Victoria, British Columbia’s Jon & Roy. The simplicity and humility of their name is reflected in their nicely crafted music. Their sophomore LP, “Another Noon” came out in May and the more I hear of it the more enchanted I am. Have a listen to that album’s title track and if you like it, buy the whole record from the band or on .
MP3: Jon and Roy - “Another Noon”
Getting away from the whole simplicity thing is Miracles of Modern Science. The Brooklyn quintet is making string heavy pop that deftly avoids the trap that so many before them have fallen prey to - sounding like pretentious twats. It’s spacey, quirky and fun. No recordings out to date, but watch for these guys.
MP3: Miracles of Modern Science - “Eating Me Alive”
Texas is represented at the top and bottom of this post today. Closing things out this week is Dallas’ The New Frontiers. The hardest rockers of this week’s post, The New Frontiers are making music that’s fuzzy, churning, redemptive - a little Ryan Adams at his heavier end. Their latest LP, “Mending” is out and available from .
MP3: The New Frontiers - “Man Down”
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Photos
Okkervil River from the Austin Chronicle
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