Albums in 2005

got an early copy of E.Joseph's "Absinthe Minded" by my favorite charm city singer/songwriters Ed Neenan. Will get a MP3 or two up on my blog this weekend.

my favorite lyric from the record "Something about low flying aircraft, makes me think bad things" - Low Flying Aircraft.

Starsailor Get Political
British band draws inspiration from Wainwright, Oasis on topical new album

British rockers Starsailor are wrapping up work on their third album, due for release this fall. Written in Wigan, England, and recorded in Los Angeles with producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith), the follow-up to 2004's Silence Is Easy is the young band's first politically charged work.

"Getting married and having a kid was a huge influence on [Silence]," says singer/guitarist James Walsh. "[The new record] is more outward-looking, more influenced by what's going on in the world."

The album's dozen tracks touch on war victims in the Middle East, the true account of a Jewish boy who died mysteriously after crossing paths with a neo-Nazi organization, and the ongoing Protestant-Catholic conflict in Walsh's adopted home of Belfast, Northern Ireland. This last clash comes to life on the lyrical song "Get Out While You Can," which tells of a family member's experience being bullied because of her religious persuasion.

"I'm very aware of the fact that there are people who've been living here a lot longer than me and have a much better grip on the situation," Walsh says. "But there was one [instance] where my sister-in-law came back shaken up because she'd been verbally abused while waiting for a train for being on the 'wrong' side of Christianity. It was just fascinating, coming here and your political stance and religion becoming so important to people."

Sonically, Walsh, keyboardist Barry Westhead, bassist James Stelfox and drummer Ben Byrne sought, are returning to the big choruses and raw emotions of their 2002 debut, Love Is Here. For Walsh, that meant taking inspiration from a host of critically acclaimed contemporaries. "You go into the vocal booth and think that this has got to be as pure and pristine as Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley – but with the aggression and rock & roll attitude of [Oasis frontman] Liam Gallagher," he says. "Trying to find that balance can be like trying to achieve the impossible, but you've got to go for it."

Having just turned twenty-five, Walsh says the new album represents a more mature Starsailor, no longer burdened by being labeled the "next big thing" in the U.K. press four years ago. "It's really bizarre to be so well-established [in Britain]," he says. "At times you feel that you're not allowed to progress, but now we feel confident that we're up there with the best of them."

Death Cab for Cutie's new release, Plans, hits stores on August 30th.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
I have all of their albums, and I thought Welcome Interstate Managers far exceeded their other albums. Their other albums had 3-4 great songs and a lot of filler. Welcome Interstate Managers was excellent all the way through until the last three songs or so, when it tailed off. I'm expecting an album filled with B-sides and other oddities would feel like an album full of filler to me.

Holy Moly, I agree with every single thing you said. Actually, I thought their first album had 5 or 6 great songs, and their second only a couple…

I'd be happy for a new album, but though I know there are some cool rare finds on the B-sides album, I don't need as I think much would be just okay.

As promised I've added some MP3s from the E.Joseph release on my blog, check 'em out if you are so inclinded.

www.micropop.net

July 12, 2005

Solid PR Presents (Volume 1): A Benefit For The Multiple Sclerosis Society:

Disc 1
1. The Unicorns - "I Was Born A Unicorn"
2. Jesu - "Tired Of Me"
3. Hella - "Song from Uncle"
4. Man Man - "10lb. Moustache"
5. An Albatross - "Lets Get on With it"
6. Vanishing - "Cuckoo Spit"
7. Year Future - "Nature Unveiled"
8. Upsilon Acrux - "Ballet Instructor/Dracula (Slow Version)" *
9. The Great Redneck Hope - "Pssst! Hey, the Lord is awesome, pass it on"
10. S - "Falling"
11. The A-sides - "Everybody Knows the Way"
12. The Broadway Project - "I believe in Superman"
13. The Post Office Gals - "Right Click My Heart, Save as Broken"
14. Angel of the Odd - "The Loved Ones"
15. Paper Lions - "Line Up"
16. Lewis & Clarke - "Dead and Gone"
17. Scouts Honor - "Nowhere is Always Somewhere" *

Disc 2
1. Crystal Skulls - "No room for change"
2. I Am The World Trade Center - "Shoot You Down (minority report remix)"
3. Discordance Axis - "Sega bass fishing"
4. Mixel Pixel - "At The Arcade"
5. Mommy and Daddy - "Street Cleaner Demeanor"
6. Subtitle - "Subtalk"
7. Ponies in the Surf - "Little Boy Lost" *
8. Aqui - "Eye of The Battle"
9. Oxbow - "The stick(live)"
10. Shortstack - "El Saboteur" *
11. The Static Age - "Vertigo"
12. Rockethouse - "Lock 'N Load"
13. My Epiphany - "Body Talk"
14. Thunderball Fist - "G-G-Gotta G-G-Get" *
15. Flashlight Arcade - "Dead to The World"
16. All Parallels - "Work"
17. The Braves - "Noble of Me" *

The Lovemakers new album "Times of Romance" will be released August 23 on Cherrytree / Interscope.

Have a very 80's/synth-pop sound and are getting compared to New Order and Berlin.

New Boards of Canada in October.
Warp Records

Originally posted by slappy:
New Boards of Canada in October.
Warp Records

yay

Guided By Voices : Suitcase II â?? American Superdream
Wow

The second set in the unearthing of recordings from
Robert Pollardâ??s Suitcase project. #37 in the Fading
Captain Series. Like the previous Suitcase, each song
here (100 of them) has been credited to a different
band name, depending on the players involved. The
recordings featured here date all the way back to the
late 70's and are as current as Spring 2005. Demos,
full band, live in the studio, discarded finished
tracks, sketches of ideas…they are all here. The 4
CD set will ship first week of October and will be in
stores October 31st. They are very special deals for
people ordering through LUNA. The first 900 copies of
the box set will be hand signed by Bob.

For more details and pre-ordering through Luna Music:

http://robertpollard.net/luna.html

Tracklisting to come!!


And as with the previous Suitcase, there is also
another Briefcase release!!

#38 in the Fading Captain Series â?? Briefcase 2 â?? The
Return of Milko Waif; a vinyl only â??best ofâ? Suitcase
release. This time Briefcase features TWO tracks that
have never been released and are not on Suitcase.

Track Listing

SIDE ONE 1. HEADACHE REVOLUTION 2. I AM DECIDED 3.
MANNEQUINâ??S COMPLAINT 4. YOUR CHARMING PROPOSAL 5.
SUPERSONIC LOVE FUNKY LOVE GUN 6. SINISTER INFRARED
HALO 7. PERCH WARBLE 8. WHAT ABOUT THE ROCK?

SIDE TWO 1. LION W/ THORN IN PAW ** 2. INVISIBLE TRAIN
TO EARTH 3. YOUâ??RE NOT THE QUEEN ANYMORE 4. METRO XVI
5. DAUGHTER OF THE GOLD RUSH 6. SORDID FORST 7. LONELY
TOWN 8. MY DREAM MAKING MACHINE 9. SUPERWHORE ** 10.
BYE BYE SONG
** Exclusive to the vinyl release
For more details and pre-ordering through Luna Music:

http://robertpollard.net/luna.html

Originally posted by SPARX:
Guided By Voices : Suitcase II â?? American Superdream
Wow

saw this, should be good, there were some great tracks on the last suitcase, I cant believe there have been 7 releases since the band broke up now

Originally posted by general grievous:

Originally posted by SPARX:
Guided By Voices : Suitcase II â?? American Superdream
Wow

saw this, should be good, there were some great tracks on the last suitcase, I cant believe there have been 7 releases since the band broke up now

Yep, I don't see him running out of tunes for a long long time.

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
July 12, 2005

Solid PR Presents (Volume 1): A Benefit For The Multiple Sclerosis Society:

Disc 1
1. The Unicorns - "I Was Born A Unicorn"
2. Jesu - "Tired Of Me"
3. Hella - "Song from Uncle"
4. Man Man - "10lb. Moustache"
5. An Albatross - "Lets Get on With it"
6. Vanishing - "Cuckoo Spit"
7. Year Future - "Nature Unveiled"
8. Upsilon Acrux - "Ballet Instructor/Dracula (Slow Version)" *
9. The Great Redneck Hope - "Pssst! Hey, the Lord is awesome, pass it on"
10. S - "Falling"
11. The A-sides - "Everybody Knows the Way"
12. The Broadway Project - "I believe in Superman"
13. The Post Office Gals - "Right Click My Heart, Save as Broken"
14. Angel of the Odd - "The Loved Ones"
15. Paper Lions - "Line Up"
16. Lewis & Clarke - "Dead and Gone"
17. Scouts Honor - "Nowhere is Always Somewhere" *

Disc 2
1. Crystal Skulls - "No room for change"
2. I Am The World Trade Center - "Shoot You Down (minority report remix)"
3. Discordance Axis - "Sega bass fishing"
4. Mixel Pixel - "At The Arcade"
5. Mommy and Daddy - "Street Cleaner Demeanor"
6. Subtitle - "Subtalk"
7. Ponies in the Surf - "Little Boy Lost" *
8. Aqui - "Eye of The Battle"
9. Oxbow - "The stick(live)"
10. Shortstack - "El Saboteur" *
11. The Static Age - "Vertigo"
12. Rockethouse - "Lock 'N Load"
13. My Epiphany - "Body Talk"
14. Thunderball Fist - "G-G-Gotta G-G-Get" *
15. Flashlight Arcade - "Dead to The World"
16. All Parallels - "Work"
17. The Braves - "Noble of Me" *

cant believe i missed this… Angel of the Odd finally gets some recognition. a pity they broke up not long ago.

Oranges Band. "The World And Everything In It," is up to a 76 metascore on metacritic. That's damn good.

From Urb: "Somewhere between the Plimsouls and The La's, this should keep your top down throughout the summer. [Jul/Aug 2005, p.109]"

Anyone heard it?

Oranges Band. "The World And Everything In It," is up to a 76 metascore on metacritic. That's damn good.

From Urb: "Somewhere between the Plimsouls and The La's, this should keep your top down throughout the summer. [Jul/Aug 2005, p.109]"

Anyone heard it?

it's damn good. hell, it's fuckin' great. i can't recommend it highly enough. they've long been a favorite of mine, but i never thought they'd pull off an album this strong.

a few months ago I was wondering what happened to the oranged band, will have to get the new album, i am surprised they havent been playing lots of shows around

Originally posted by El Tee:
Stellastarr* plans a summer release.

Sweet Troubled Soul from the upcoming album.

From NME:

BRIT STARS AIM TO RECORD 'FASTEST ALBUM EVER'

RADIOHEAD, GORILLAZ and RAZORLIGHT are amongst the bands who will contribute to a new album being put together in aid of WAR CHILD.

'Help: A Day in the Life' will mark the 10th anniversary of the â??Helpâ?? album in 1995.

The project aims to compile the best bands of this generation and give them one day to record a new piece of music, which War Child will make available on www.warchildmusic.com on September 9. A CD release will follow a few weeks later.

Other bands already confirmed include The Zutons, Manic Street Preachers, Bloc Party, Hard-Fi, The Coral, Elbow and Maximo Park.

War Child boss Mark Waddington said: â??As a music fan, I know what the original â??Helpâ?? album meant and as the present CEO of War Child I know what it achieved. It was my intention that any new album we made in 2005 should match up to the feats of the past. Thatâ??s why we have set ourselves the challenge of remaking history and releasing the fastest album everâ?¦ again! Itâ??s a tall order but we feel with the support of amazing artists we can make it happen and help a new generation of children affected by war.â?

War Child was launched in 1993 as a response to the affect of the Balkans conflict on children. In 1995, 20 of the UKâ??s bands and artists went into studios across Europe to each produce a track for â??Helpâ??, the fastest-ever number one album in British music history.

For more on this story, see this weekâ??s NME, which is out today in London (August 9), and nationwide tomorrow.

Finally!!!!!


The Detroit Cobras - Baby
(Release Date: September 27, 2005)

http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/detroitcobras/182

THE DETROIT COBRASâ?? Baby throws down a groove so river deep youâ??ll need thigh high leather boots to get through it and so mountain high youâ??ll need a half pint of the good stuff to get over it. Possessing a vocal vixen at the midpoint between the nasty-girl romance of Ronnie Spector and the "donâ??t EVEN mess with me" growl of Tina Turner, the Detroit Cobras know how to uphold their rep as THE top shelf rock & soul band – a thrashy, sexy powerhouse that can raise the rafters, coo and purr you into a trance, bring the Hully Gully into the 21st century soaked with sweat, and do justice to the legacies of both Motown and Detroit Rock City.

Baby is the Cobrasâ?? third full length CD and first US release in four years. Produced in part by Greg Cartwright (of the Reigning Sound, who will also be a touring member of the band), Babygives props to the lost stars and misfits of soulâ??s hey day. Songs by Hank Ballard, Bobby Womack, and Spooner Oldham, among others, are roughed up with wrenches – customized, chopped down, serial numbers filed off, and given chrome plating and new paint jobs. Itâ??s like discovering your missing old bike has been re-built and used in a bank heist; it gives you a thrill and even makes you kind of proud.

For the US release of Baby, Bloodshot Records is including the "Seven Easy Pieces" EP (originally released in 2003 on Rough Trade and previously available only as an import) and the US debut of the video for "Cha Cha Twist."

What's going to happen when this cover band runs out of songs to cover?

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
Finally!!!!!


The Detroit Cobras - Baby
(Release Date: September 27, 2005)

http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/detroitcobras/182

THE DETROIT COBRASâ?? Baby throws down a groove so river deep youâ??ll need thigh high leather boots to get through it and so mountain high youâ??ll need a half pint of the good stuff to get over it. Possessing a vocal vixen at the midpoint between the nasty-girl romance of Ronnie Spector and the "donâ??t EVEN mess with me" growl of Tina Turner, the Detroit Cobras know how to uphold their rep as THE top shelf rock & soul band – a thrashy, sexy powerhouse that can raise the rafters, coo and purr you into a trance, bring the Hully Gully into the 21st century soaked with sweat, and do justice to the legacies of both Motown and Detroit Rock City.

Baby is the Cobrasâ?? third full length CD and first US release in four years. Produced in part by Greg Cartwright (of the Reigning Sound, who will also be a touring member of the band), Babygives props to the lost stars and misfits of soulâ??s hey day. Songs by Hank Ballard, Bobby Womack, and Spooner Oldham, among others, are roughed up with wrenches – customized, chopped down, serial numbers filed off, and given chrome plating and new paint jobs. Itâ??s like discovering your missing old bike has been re-built and used in a bank heist; it gives you a thrill and even makes you kind of proud.

For the US release of Baby, Bloodshot Records is including the "Seven Easy Pieces" EP (originally released in 2003 on Rough Trade and previously available only as an import) and the US debut of the video for "Cha Cha Twist."