THIS MONTH: BANDS TO PUT ON YOUR AURAL RADAR

1. Reverie Sound Revue



They are considered an indie pop group, hailing from Canada. Comprising Lisa Lobsinger(vocalist), John Marcel de Waal(rhythm section), Bryce Gracey(rhythm section), Marc De Pape(guitar) and Patrick Walls(guitar), they only recently released their first self-titled full length album.

Reverie Sound Revue - One Marathon

official, myspace, last.fm


2. Fever Ray



Fever Ray is actually Karin Dreijer Andersson, so while she's not a band, she's one half of The Knife. Her brother, Olof Dreijer, makes up the other.

This is said of her on the official website, "Constantly inventive, restlessly emotive, Fever Ray swaggers, broods, intrigues and dazzles without ever making concessions to the soap opera demands of modern media." And it's hard not to agree, that even in this electronic genre, she serves to make herself stand out with a unique sound that is both compelling and surreal, it draws you right into the heart of it, and I dare say no one does it better than her.

Fever Ray - Keep the Streets Empty For Me

official, myspace, last.fm


3. Moscow Olympics



This will essentially be a re-post of what I've said before, which is nothing much. I can't dig up much information about them, other than the fact that they are a dreampop, 4 piece band from Phillippines. Talk about unknown. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop them from being awesome and I hope they continuing producing more good stuff.

Moscow Olympics - Still

myspace, last.fm

100 days left.

Brooke Waggoner - So-So

Lullatone - Bedroom Bossa Band
Link is a direct download from lullatone's official site.

Air France - No Excuses

this scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin.

Delorean - Deli

Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Feist - My Moon My Man
I love Feist. Period.

having troubles telling how i feel, but i can dance, dance, dance.

Well, this is totally an excuse but a good excuse all the same. Finished Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance a few days ago, and seems like this post will mark that. Left a few more books, before I finish all the books I want to read that's written by him. (sounds grammatically wrong but whatever)

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
No prizes for guessing that this song would feature. It so happened that when I listened to this song, I remembered I was gonna be borrowing the similarly titled book by HM. So I said, why not have such a post? If you read the book, I think the song evokes a similar feeling while reading the book.

The few below are what I feel are very danceable indie songs.
Woodhands - I Wasn't Made For Fighting
Wanted to put Dancers by them actually, but this one's more dancey.

Miike Snow - Animal

Dragonette - Fixin To Thrill (Don Diablo Remix)

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

The Saturday Mix #9 - on buses through the night, we sleep on and on

Seeland - Call The Incredible
myspace site of Seeland. Click on song and listen.

matt pond PA - Amazing Life

Priscilla Ahn - Rain

Feist - Brandy Alexander

Camera Obscura - French Navy

Meiko - Reasons To Love

Au Revoir Simone - Sad Song

i wasn't made for fighting!

Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot
Their latest single, doesn't deviate much from their standard fare, but I'd say this collaboration with Robyn spawned something interesting, in that the voice is different.

Robyn - Bum Like You
Here's some Robyn to sample. Heard this song on one of the later seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. "you could be my king/i would knit you mittens and make you pie" absolute pop fare but neat.

Wilco - Sonny Feeling (Live)

Portishead - Hunter
Always thought they were good, but more like an acquired taste(or hearing for that matter). Gotta listen to their songs several times first.

i tried to escape.

The Killers - A Dustland Fairytale
This is from their latest album, Day & Age, and to me, it doesn't veer too much from Sam's Town. But of course, why should they fix what's not broken? More or less the same anthemic songs, with the emphasis on the drums and real intensity on the chorus. Still like it though.

Reverie Sound Revue - Arrows

Reverie Sound Revue - An Anniversary Away

Reverie Sound Revue - Rip The Universe
This is actually their myspace page, so again, click on the song to play. Coincidentally, I realised the 2 songs I mentioned above are also on their myspace page. But oh well. Enjoy.

This is from the biography page of their official site.
"Your foot hits the pavement, you feel the city and propel into the flow. Negotiate the kaleidoscope of traffic. Sidewalk slipstream. The underground. Reality blurs and you are floating in space. Drifting, you hear the vibration of a future daydream. This is Reverie Sound Revue." It perfectly describes them, and you can totally imagine yourself feeling that way. Wonderful.

RSR is about the "distinctive coo of vocalist Lisa Lobsinger matched with the pulsing rhythm section of John Marcel de Waal and Bryce Gracey, and the catchy guitar interplay of Marc De Pape and Patrick Walls..." And most notably, Lisa Lobsinger is also part of Broken Social Scene. Also, I've realised BSS has so many pretty singers, Emily Haines, Lisa, Feist. And they're good to boot.

I am so totally loving Reverie Sound Revue. You guys would too.

like a surrogate pacman, crunching blindly through a labyrinth of dotted lines. the only certainty is death.

Pretty lazy and blogger seems to have something wrong.

Anyhow, here's Portugal. The Man. Their songs are really varied, can't say that they focus on a certain genre, more on the experimental side, trying various sounds. Well, the outcome's pretty good I'd say, as I'm finding myself liking more and more of their songs. There's John Baldwin Gourley on guitar and provides vocals, while Zachary Scott Carothers and Ryan Neighbors provide the vocals as well, and play bass and keys respectively, lastly with Jason Sechrist on drums. Also, they released their latest album, The Satanic Satanist, from where the first two songs come from. That said, i really love their album covers. It's a RIOT and it's awesome.

Portugal. The Man - Mornings

Portugal. The Man - People Say

Portugal. The Man - And I

Portugal. The Man - Out And In And In And Out

Portugal. The Man - Out And In And In And Out (Live)
It's not live per se, but well it's of them playing the song in some alley. Love the small keyboard/piano(?) correct me if i'm wrong.

The third and fourth link and direct download links, straight from their site (i.e. the links are NOT mine, it belongs to them. They share them cuz they're nice.) And at the same time, check out their entire new album, The Satanic Satanist on myspace.

The Saturday Mix #8

Imogen Heap - Canvas

Clues - Perfect Fit

Blue Roses - I Am Leaving
Blue Roses is just a moniker that Laura Groves uses.

Javelin - Vibrationz
This is their myspace site actually. Click on Vibrationz and groove to it.

La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix)

La Roux - Bulletproof

Santogold - Creator

good out of evil. LONG WEEKEND YALL!

This has been a pretty awful week for me, and what better way to celebrate the start of the weekend and the end of a lousy week but a playlist. Here's a massive playlist, by my standards so far. Got a little lazy at the end, adding remixes only, but I realised the mixes were pretty dope too. So here's the massive 15 songs. Yowza.

Peaches - Mommy Complex

Doves - Kingdom of Rust

Kings of Leon - Closer

CSS - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex

Crystal Castles - Vanished

Pictureplane - Goth Star

Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool

Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke Remix)

Röyksopp - What Else Is There?

Röyksopp - What Else Is There? (Thin White Duke Remix)

Röyksopp - What Else Is There? (Trentemoller Remix)

Great Northern - Houses

Magic Wands - Black Magic

Fever Ray - When I Grow Up

Anberlin - Miserable Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)

anyone up for a gold thong alligator studded leather?

Aeroplane Pageant - Stars Still Pretty
Aeroplane Pageant is Brian Kelly (vocals/guitar), Timothy Watson (bass/vocals), Michael Areephituk (lead guitar), Christopher Aguis (guitar/electronics/percussion), Erik DeAngelis (drums), Nisi Jacobs (video projections). I don't know about you guys, but these guys are good. The song has a nice smooth beat going, and you just gotta love Brian's voice.

Dirty Projectors - Useful Chamber

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge
Like it's title, everything about this song just screams audacity. Especially when you have that honey-dipped tennis wear just for play. I'd like it.

hokay.. here's the earth. nawww, here's WHITE LIES!!!!!

Alright, one of my favourite upcoming new bands, and certainly doing awfully well. White Lies consist Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave and Jack Lawrence-Brown. During live performances, Tommy Bowen complements with the keyboard.

Their debut work, "To Lose My Life" is macabre and dark. Oddly enough, with the darkness, there were subtle glimmers of light that speck the songs. With loss, there was redemption, with despair, there was hope.

Title track "To Lose My Life" poses the question 'to lose my life or lose my love' and that indeed is a hard question. The question is subsequently answered, in that they should grow old together and die at the same time. Simple and ingenious. Yet within this whole nightmare, lies a sliver of hope as a part of him still believes, that his soul will soar above the trees. Strong pulsating drum beats drive this song, which is the recipe for about the whole album. "E.S.T." is personal yet again, disturbingly dark lyrics lead me to wonder what it would really be like to leave my memoirs in blood on the floor, and my fears with the nurse on the stairs. Personally, I feel that "Unfinished Business" managed to show his extended range of vocals for a rock song and thus, him at his best. The lyrics tell a story, of betrayal and forgiveness, and stands out the most in this album. The most telling of what the album's idea is about, "Death" is surprisingly the most mild of all. All that he did was picturing his own grave, and he's frightened of dying.

The songs actually sounds almost the same, it's like there's a recipe, the steps are the same, while the ingredients are different. All they need to do is change the lyrics. It's pretty anthemic and could actually be radio-friendly, which is a double-edged sword. The thundering bass supplements the drum beats which are the driving force behind this album. However, if one would notice, the keyboard and synth could actually be heard lining most songs, adding a difference to this album. Overall, it sounds very clean and crisp, but sometimes a little too much, very methodical.

While this album received mixed reviews, I would like to say I quite liked the album, as it somewhats grows on you and that I'd like to see how they develop as a band. Partly, I don't think they can milk this dark tone anymore for their next album and it would be interesting to see what they can come up with. Ultimately, this may not be a stellar album, but it sparkles in it's own way and certainly makes them one to look out for.


White Lies - Unfinished Business

White Lies - To Lose My Life

White Lies - Death


official site, myspace, wikipedia, last.fm

Here's Beat Radio, with main man Brian Sendrowitz.

Beat Radio - Sunday Matinee

Beat Radio - Stranger Flowers

Beat Radio - Elegy

Right click the above links and Save Target As/Save Link As. Links from Beat Radio's own website. Learn more about Beat Radio there, or go to their myspace.

The Saturday Mix #7 - i'll write you harmony in C

Oh boy, this came in a bit late, but IT'S NEVER TOO LATE FOR GOOD MUSIC. So, here's THE SATURDAY MIX!

Passion Pit - Moth's Wings

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly

Moscow Olympics - Still
A really awesome song from a band from Phillipines. Totally aced it. The guitars and synths were superb.

Moscow Olympics - Second Trace
Just watch the video on fullscreen mode. I found myself drifting and being absorbed by the song playing in the background and this fan made video. If you had to listen to one song, it's this. The video just takes it all. Serious.

Delta Spirit - Trashcan

Shiny Toy Guns - Chemistry of a Car Crash
Probably one of their more mainstream sounding songs.

Metric - Sick Muse

those who say dreams are just dreams

School of Seven Bells - Connjur

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Miike Snow - Animal

Bat For Lashes - Daniel

i could get to know you.. but i just want to dance.

Martin Solveig (feat. Dragonette) - Boys & Girls
This song seems like pure unadulterated fun and whimsical pop. Damn awesome. Sexy and cheeky. Throw in some French, makes this oh so good.

Note the clothes in the video. Screams fashion.

MSTRKRFT (feat. John Legend) - Heartbreaker
And I bring you some MSTRKRFT. AND JOHN LEGEND. Really trippy and wicked video. Love it.

Franz Ferdinand - Can't Stop Feeling
Another awestastic video. Mighty fine day for good videos. This is the third single off their latest album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.


Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move
Dirty Projectors with main man Dave Longstreth should be on everyone's radars soon if not, already registering on the radars. With their latest album Bitte Orca which was mentioned as one of the albums to look out for in June, they sure are making us sit up and take note.


These songs totally made my terrible day so much better. Cheers to you people.

transformers was epic. megan fox and isabel lucas.

secrets from the wind, and burnt stars are crying.

Emmy Rossum - Slow Me Down
She acted in Dragonball Evolution. Personally, I thought it was a terrible decision she made. But oh well. Really nice song, could prolly choreograph a dance to this song.

Late Night Alumni - Hope
I look around to find another day/Hope now it's hard to see/Into eternity

M83 - We Own The Sky

The Saturday Mix #6 - HAVE YOU WATCHED TRANSFORMERS YET?

Ohbijou - Black Ice

Ohbijou - Wildfires

Chanced upon them a few days ago. I must say they're fanatastic. You'd be surprised as to the number of instruments contributes to the layering in their songs. There's the ukulele, electric piano, harpischord, banjo, glockenspiel, synth, mandolin just to name a few(not really a few though). I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they thought of using the harp or bagpipe. Some scottish influence there. Been on repeat these few days. Sweet stuff.

Speaking of scottish, I bring you The Twilight Sad.
The Twilight Sad - Cold Days From The Birdhouse

And here again, are their[The Twilight Sad] friends and fellow label mates, Frightened Rabbit.
Frightened Rabbit - Backwards Walk

Scott Hutchinson - Backwards Walk
Frightened Rabbit lead vocalist, Scott Hutchinson doing a solo. I really love this song. Although his guitar is a tad louder then his singing, the melody is lovely all the same.

Handsome Furs - Radio Kalinigrad
Husband and wife duo = Handsome Furs. Dan Boeckner(the husband obviously) is also part of Wolf Parade. His wife, Alexei Perry looks like she's on dope while on the synthesizer. The quality of the video isn't that good, so those who want the song with better quality can go to their Myspace.

Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meister)
This song's in cos there's Leighton Meister, and I'm an unabashed fan of Gossip Girl. She's apparently signed to Universal Republic. And from it seems, she doesn't have that bad a voice. Sounds suited for the dancey tracks they're priming her upcoming album to be.

few days late.

Bibio - Lover's Carvings
Nice song to play on a sunday morning. Gentle breeze skimming off your face as you lie on a deck chair by the pool. Looking at that lone sunflower in a pot on the other side. It makes me ponderous. Hmms.

Bibio - Fire Ant
Interesting song, pretty neat beats too. Check out the random what-nots of words.

Mice Parade - Double Dolphins On The Nickel