Here’s the found-footage style reel for International Waters’ “Green Lights Forever,” an Atlas Sound-y dream-pop jam from the band’s debut album, 1994. The Austin act was my favorite discovery of SXSW 2010; if there’s any justice, they’ll be playing one of those Strokes-style headline gigs next year. Stream/buy the album after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

After four days of tweeting, St. Vincent’s “Surgeon” is finally here. The synthesizers and electro breaks aren’t too removed from the chillwave and PBR&B influences that have washed over indie rock lately, but as always, Ms. Clark remains one of our last hopes for worthwhile individualism. Strange Mercy is due September 13 on 4AD.

St. Vincent – “Surgeon”: mp3

Photo by David Greenwald

photo by David Greenwald

For its first few bars, “Darren” offers a heavier new look for U.K. twee-pop act Allo Darlin’, all sharp hand percussion and a lead guitar with as much bottom as Cee Lo. But it promptly, happily breezes into the band’s usual brand of melancholy pop, that lead tone the only sign that anything’s changed since last year’s excellent debut. The song’s title is a nod to Darren Hayman, the former Hefner frontman, a musician whose catalog probably deserves a few more odes to “listening to Darren.” (The tribute continues on the single’s b-side, a cover of his The French track “Wu Tang Clan.”)

(The Darren 7″ is due August 22; pre-order it on Bandcamp)

Previously: Videos: Allo Darlin’ – “Europe,” “Neil Armstrong” | Live at the Echo, 10.25.10

St. Vincent is launching the first single from her September-due Strange Mercy with a clever Twitter campaign: tweet the #strangemercy hashtag and eventually it’ll unlock what looks like a debut MP3. But her label may have set the count a bit too high, given that it’s now Day 3 and we’re, uh, still tweeting. Let’s knock this one out, Internet! Until then, enjoy the tongue-in-cheek promo videos, which reflect Annie Clark’s skewed sense of humor perfectly and can be found in full on StrangeMercy.com. (Open letter to the universe: get Annie to score the Arrested Development movie. Maybe Michael Cera can make this happen?)

Here’s our first look at ARMS’ sophomore effort/full-band debut, Summer Skills. (And by “our first look,” I mean, “This album is fantastic and I can’t wait for everybody else to hear it, but this will do until then.”)

Fred Thomas has a thing about the season. While in garage-pop torchbearers Saturday Looks Good to Me, he titled an album All Your Summer Songs, after all. The prolific Michigan musician’s latest project, Swimsuit, yearns as usual for warm weather and sandy shores, giving his latest songs the sort of urgency that California kings of the beach may never understand. The band’s self-titled new album is full of sweet melodies turned bitter by ragged vocals and major chords and surf guitar leads played a touch too fast. In that sense, it’s a darker effort than last year’s largely acoustic Mighty Clouds album, if one more indebted to the Vitamin D riffs of the early Beach Boys and their colleagues. As more gimmick-driven bands sail around the world and smoke pot with their cats, for Thomas, any coast is the best coast. He’d just like to be there.

Swimsuit – “Sunlight”: mp3

Swimsuit is out now on Speakertree Records; stream it in full after the jump.  Read the rest of this entry »

Friend of Rawkblog Andrew Hall interviewed hero of Rawkblog Jens Lekman, his first sit-down in as long as I can remember. The details:

* The An Argument With Myself EP, due Sept. 20, will include the title track, “Waiting for Kirsten” and “New Directions,” all live favorites, as well as two more songs.

* He’ll play the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Sept. 28.

* It sounds like he’s re-recording his whole album, arghhhh! Read the full interview at Secretly Canadian.

To call “Pericles” the best song named after a Greek statesman either showcases a sad deficit in Classical-minded indie rock or means I’ve somehow never heard the Mimsies classic “Themistocles.” So let’s just call “Pericles” one of the most thrilling indie rock songs of the year, an utterly enthusiastic guitar effort that’s mostly Harlem Shakes, maybe a little bit Hold Steady and entirely worth your time.

Out Go the Lights – “Pericles”: mp3

(Find more Out Go the Lights on Bandcamp)