Angus & Julia Stone

Siblings Angus and Julia Stone's sophmore album, Down The Way, is pure folk sweetness. Angus' vocals could be compared to Colin Meloy of Decemberists at times, while sister Julia channel's Corinne Bailey Rae - together it's reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkle and The Swell Season's simplistic poetic harmonies.

Download:
Paper Aeroplane

www.myspace.com/angusandjuliastone

If I WAS going to SXSW

Yet another year is passing by that I am not going to go to SXSW....sigh.

IF I was GOING, here are some of the bands I would try and attend. Some I have seen, some I have wanted to for years....If you are going, go and enjoy them for me.

Holly Miranda
Black Angels
Temper Trap
Toro Y Moi
Band of Skulls
Russian Futurists
Voxhaul Broadcast
Local Natives
Metric
Fanfarlo
Broadcast 2000
Princeton
Mayer Hawthorne
Neon Indian
White Denim
Miike Snow
Walkmen
Adam Green
Spoon
Frightened Rabbit
Dr. Dog
The Veils
Findlay Brown
The XX
Bajofondo
Oh No Ono
Jeremy Jay
Born Ruffians
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
The 88

Harlem

Texas garage band Harlem bring lo-fi goodness to your collection. I checked them out, played them for a fellow coworker, and he liked them so much he made them a music video that should be released soon. Silly fun with a flip camera, as silly fun as they are to listen to. On par with San Francisco band Girls or youngin's Smith & Western.

Download:
Friendly Ghost

http://www.myspace.com/harlemduh

She & Him

Volume 2 is finally out! My girl crush Zoey Deschanel and M.Ward have finally released their second album together of nostalgic tunes. He plays, she sings. She plays, he plays, they sing. Together they write, together they make beautiful melodies and cover oldies worthy of being new again.

While I primarily love her in movies where she sings (Elf, Yes Man) and other she doesn't (500 days of Summer) - her style and sweet voice are so adorable you just want to put a bow on it.

Download:
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here

http://www.sheandhim.com/

Shout Out Louds

I think when I first heard of The Shout Out Loud's, was around the time that Say Hi To Your Mom and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah all came out. I remember a friend mentioning these band names over IM and I was so confused what she was trying to telling me. I was clapping my hands and saying "yeah", I was like, ok, sure - I'll say "hi" to my mom. You want me to shout out loud? Well, I have since falled in love with their past albums Our Ill Wills and How How Gaff Gaff, and now their latest album Work has sealed it for me.

I just adore the Swedes. How is it that such a small country with such cold weather and creators of Pipi Longstocking could bring such great music to me? (I digress, but I was a HUGE Pipi fan...and even she too had a great catchy song!)

Ok. So if you are a fan of Swedish bands, (Jens Lekman, Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn & John, The Knife, The Teddybears, The Cardigans, etc etc) and you REALLY love Phoenix - well then You'll fall hard like their song for their latest effort. Asked by someone which songs out of the album did I like and I stated rattling off the numbers on the cd...it turned out I listed about all of them. Muah - can't wait til they come so I can dance and sing with them. Happy happy, joy joy.

Download:
Walls
Fall Hard (Passion Pit Summertime Radio Remix)
Tonight I Have To Leave It

http://www.myspace.com/shoutoutlouds

Princeton & Kisses

So long overdue. I have been talking about posting about Princeton for months now, that it almost felt ridiculous to do anything - but that wouldn't be right as I have really taken a liking to this local Santa Monica band. What pains me is that they had a residency for the month of February at Spaceland and I missed 4 Mondays. I was busy with work. Oh, and they would go on at 11PM on a Monday. Sorry boys, I'm just unable to do that for you. Too old I guess for these youngsters who all grew up on Princeton Street in Santa Monica. Cuter? Lucky for me, and I better fricken make it this time, to their show with Active Child at The Troubadour, another favorite I blogged about.

Their Sound naturally caught my attention with their Jens Lekman-like sound...or if Jens wasn't born in Sweden, but instead in Southern California.

Oh, and if you happen to love their hand clapping pop songs like I do, check out Kisses, from Princeton's singer Jesse Kivel and girlfriend Zinzi Edmindson.
http://www.myspace.com/blowkissess

Download:
Calypso Gold

http://www.princeton-band.com/music/
http://www.myspace.com/princetonmusic

Broken Bells

Broken Bells in two parts.

Part one: Experiencing the listening party of a lifetime...or at least of 2010. On a rooftop in downtown LA, Music Supervisor's and a select few of other music guru's gathered to take a listen to the release of Broken Bells. A drive in/laser show complete with 3-D glasses and a station for people to snuggle in their car to tune into, and chairs for those wanting to sit under the stars and gaze at the swirly images accompanied by the bands release. Apparently they gave out limited edition lithos....I didn't get one. WAH.

Part two: A week later performing their second show for the album, (first time was at the Bootleg Theater for friends and family). But, I got lucky enough to score myself ONE ticket to their sold out Troubadour show. Aside from the chatty Cathy's around me (rude), they were solid with a backdrop of psychadelic images inspired from their album cover. THAT time I picked up their print, not numbered. Double WAH. Oh, but they did hand out matchbooks with their logo. Not a bad gift with purchase.

The project with Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shin's, has different peaks and valleys. Some songs resembling a song Air would have produced, to mysterious tracks that could have come off of The Last Shadow Puppet's album to a song Thom Yorke could have released. A magnificent album getting lots of attention.

Download:
The High Road

Buy Stuff:
http://www.sonymusicdigital.com/broken-bells/pages/5437030/

http://www.myspace.com/brokenbells

Holly Miranda

Boys, this girl likes girls. So don't get too swept away by her beauty and her gorgeous voice and think she's yours. Detroit girl, and now Brooklyn girl, Miranda's newest album, The Magician's Private Library is dynamic with lush songs to go to sleep to.

My favorite track of the album is Forest Green, Oh Forest Green. Her sound feels like a cross between Sia, Florence & The Machine and Thao Nguyen.

Download:
Forest Green, Oh Forest Green
Waves

http://www.myspace.com/hollymiranda
http://www.themagiciansprivatelibrary.com/

Spoon

Last night Spoon played a "secret show" at El Cid. I have never been to El Cid...and I have never been to a "secret show". I'm never on top of hearing about secret shows and acting on them...that sort of information tends to miss me usually. Thankfully the label let me know it was happening - so I was able to have two firsts in one night, and it was great fun.

Transference is officially available to the public to buy as of today, but last night music insiders and fans got a peak at what the fuss is all about for their latest album, following the success of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. This time around there is less of the horns and claps, replaced with an echo effect. There are some gems on the new album - and while I only own three at the moment, they deliver what I want from the 16 year old band.



Download:
Is Love Forever (live)
Written In Reverse (live)

http://www.myspace.com/spoon

Hockey

The last time I saw Hockey they were opening at The Troubadour for The Friendly Fires. The young band had us dancing...and when I saw them on Saturday headline at Spaceland, that was all I wanted to do. Dance.

In reading reviews online and trying to find out more about them than their Oregon roots, I keep seeing comparisons to the Strokes. ???? There's a bit more Phoenix mixed with LCD Sound System - new wave pop songs with an electronic back beat that take you on a wild roller coaster. They start big, dipping low and taking you back up. There is never a lull. With each twist and turn their songs have an energy that lead singer Ben Grubin conducts his audience into a frenzy with. He's flamboyant light, sporting a feathered earing,and his high pitched voice that makes me wonder is he even old enough to have hit puberty?

http://www.myspace.com/hockey