Duck & Cover :: Indie rock music writing from Arcade Fire to the Zygotic Minci

Download The Paper Boy from The Racoon Wedding's album, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth Sounds Like : they're gonna rip your ribcage out and find your heart RIYL : White Rabbits, Portugal. The Man, Fanfarlo, Rolling Stones ala Beggar's Banquet From the Press Release : Forming from the ashes of Vermicious Knid, and authoring songs in the basement of the all ages not-for-profit art space they own in a nook of the city’s forgotten downtown, frontman Tim Ford and company boast a sense of loyalty to their community that few other bands share. On their debut LP, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth , issued this October via their own Ford Plant Recordings Co., the band enlisted the help of engineer Leon Taheny (of the Final Fantasy recording credit) and hammered out a record that teems with the spirit of long-forgotten roots music. It’s indebted to the history of mighty back porch music: unbridled, unedited, beautifully intense.

Listen to "Ticket Away From Prague" Sounds Like : Ohio is the new black. RIYL : Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yo La Tengo, The Dodos From the Press Release : The World’s Hardest Working Telescope and the Violent Birth of Stars is the much anticipated debut full-length from the ladies of HotChaCha, and follow up to 2008’s critically acclaimed EP, Rifle, I Knew You When You Were Just a Pistol , which provided the band with accolades from the press and shows with bands such as the Vivian Girls, The Coathangers, and more. The full-length finds HotChaCha expanding upon many of the ideas laid out on their debut EP and adding new instrumentation and sophistication to their arrangements. Consequently, the 11 songs presented here coherently run the gamut from staccato sing-a-longs to slowly building atmospheric explorations. While many of HotChaCha’s songs are incredibly danceable and high energy and come in at under the three-and-a-half minute mark, it would be an oversimplification to classify...

Download "Chivalry's Dead" of The Paper Cranes' debut album of the same name Sounds Like: the soundtrack for Autumn Sundays in the park. RIYL: Modern Skirts, The Clash, Portugal. The Man A Few Words: The press release that came with The Paper Cranes has a great line in it. Right off the bat, they moan "Welcome to 2k9, where it’s all about hazy bro-fi detachment, cocktail-soaked dancefloor music, and Hipster Runoff. Stifling . . . ". They continue on to introduce the antidote to all this detachment: Victoria, BC band The Paper Cranes. Artists who, I agree, are kicking out some excellent indie pop hooks. Good enough to open in the past 12 months for The Walkmen as well as Wolf Parade. Also included in that little press release is a great quote from Pitchfork (but I'd read this one before): If you're not afraid to admit your favorite Cure song was "Love Cats"; if you think Paul Weller hasn't written a classic song since "A Town Cal...

A good friend said, "It'll probably sound like all the rest, but I'll still love it." I'm happy to report that she's right on both counts. Listen to "Smoke" off the new album, 1372 Overton Park Sounds Like: Lying drunk on the bar floor with whiskey in one hand, and the other balled into a fist and raised high in some kind of inebriated salute. RIYL: Old 97s, Whiskeytown, Drag the River, Drive by Truckers From the Press Release: Lucero’s sixth studio album and major label debut, 1372 Overton Park , is due October 6 on Universal Republic Records. Produced by Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem) and featuring horn arrangements by legendary Memphis session player Jim Spake (Al Green, John Hiatt, Solomon Burke, Cat Power), the record marks a decided turn toward the Memphis soul sound that has long informed the band’s records from afar. 1372 Overton Park follows the band’s 2006 release, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, hailed by Pitchfork as “the best sho...

1001 NIGHTS is a comprehensive anthology of the ethereal Damon and Naomi, including videos and live performances by the duo from 2001 through 2009, being released via Factory 25 , a new Brooklyn-based independent film and music label. This decade-long road trip includes live footage of the musicians and friends including Michio Kurihara, The Clientele, Ghost, Richard Youngs, Rheinallt H. Rowlands, Thom Revolver, Bhob Rainey, Masaki Batoh and Helena Espvall. Damon and Naomi curated 1001 Nights and included a rare live version of "Blue Thunder," a song originally performed by their legendary first band Galaxie 500. A special, limited edition LP/DVD bundle includes the DVD, Live in San Sebastian on vinyl and a three-dimensional 1001 Nights calendar (seriously, D&N--a calendar?). You can also check out their page on the Factory 25 website to view more video clips from the DVD and to pre-order the LP/DVD.

Download "On Up!" by Vowels Sounds Like: Quantum entanglement dance party RIYL: Four Tet, Neu!, Can From the Press Release: UK producer James Rutledge has taken on many personas over the years, and is now moving his efforts and exploration into the Krautrock realm. Rutledge will release this new music under the name Vowels, teaming up with LOAF records (The Chap, Johan Agebjorn/Sally Shapiro, Pete Fowler), for the US release of Pattern Prism on September 22nd. Previously only available on import, Pattern Prism is an extension of Rutledge's continuing interest in Krautrock, and he cites influences ranging from Silver Apples and SunnO))) to John Carpenter and Black Dice among others. Previously, Rutledge has released music on Domino, Melodic, Moshi Moshi, Warp and Wichita and has worked with artists like Dangermouse, Four Tet, Kevin Shields, The Pastels and Prefuse 73. This past year, he released an album with Mush Records under the name Pedro, and has been doing remi...

Sounds Like: Not quite post punk, not quite new wave RIYL: British Sea Power, Pere Ubu, (early) Joy Division, Hot Cha Cha From the Press Release: At a time when music descended from “punk” and “new wave” has been reduced to it’s most rudimentary and lo-fi elements, Mystery of Two continues to pursue the original artistic aspirations of the genre---believing that art and music can be unfamiliar and challenging, without sacrificing accessibility. Much like their musical touchstones—The Feelies, The Voidoids, Talking Heads, and Pere Ubu—Mystery of Two follow the axiom that the unconventional can be created through paramount musicianship, attention to song-craft, and sonic structuring. Their self-titled follow up to 2006’s Arrows Are All You Know , finds Mystery of Two further traversing the boundaries of experimental pop, and no where is this more evident than in the masterful guitar playing of singer/guitarist Ryan Weitzel. Channeling Robert Quine (Voidoids) and Richard Lloyd (Televis...

download The Wooden Sky’s “Something Hiding For Us In The Night” mp3 here RIYL: Wilco, Allman Brothers, Flaming Lips From the Press: Currently in the midst of their Bedrooms and Backstreets Tour, Toronto-based outfit known as The Wooden Sky are preparing for the release of their second album under the name If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone . The CD drops on August 25th through Black Box, distributed by Fontana North. The band has spent the last few weeks playing unconventional spaces like rooftops, backyards, campfires and parks, but is now pleased to announce a more traditional tour through Canada supporting Elliott Brood starting on 9/26 in Sudbury and ending up in Victoria on 10/8. The album is also now available for pre-order at www.myspace.com/thewoodensky Upcoming Tour Dates 9/26 - Sudbury, ON @ Townehouse 9/27 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ Lop Lops 9/29 - Thunder Bay, ON @ C2 9/30 - Winnipeg, ON @ West End Cultural Centre 10/01 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange 10/02 - Saskatoon,...