Metal Hearts, Suicide Squeeze’s latest and most promising signing, are about to release their debut album
Socialize on February 21st. The record has already picked up a couple of good reviews, including one, oddly enough, from
MSNBC.com:
Metal Hearts relies on the gentle wisps of classic folk guitar, a synthesizer and rickety drum machine beats dropped inconspicuously over the duo’s mish-mashed vocal melodies, to create a beautiful collection of dreary-day tunes well ahead of its time.
I have to admit, these songs are pretty good. Something to listen to passively rather than actively it seems, but very enjoyable nonetheless:
[MP3] Metal Hearts – Socialize
[MP3] Metal Hearts – Foothills
[MP3] Metal Hearts – Disappeared
If the new album wasn’t big enough news, Metal Hearts also have a pretty lengthy tour lined up, including playing the Suicide Squeeze Showcase at SXSW with Minus The Bear and Headphones, among others.
Metal Hearts’ Official Site, their MySpace Site, and a metal heart. You can pre-order their album here.
Reed KD is a solo act.
Reed KD is from Sant Cruz, CA.
Reed KD enjoys skateboarding.
I could tally up a bunch of facts for you, but none would help to convey the music he makes.
The type of music Reed KD makes is a modern twist on folk – a cross between
Beck and
Elliott Smith. If Elliott Smith was a skater and lived on a beach, his music may sound more like this. I’m not going to bombard you with a ton of comparisons between Reed KD and other artists, because his sound is
very different than a lot of other solo acts circulating right now. Although he has been making music for quite sometime, in the form of various garage/basement recordings, he is releasing a studio album sometime in the coming months. After hearing him from a garage, I’m pretty excited about his
official studio release.
[MP3] Reed KD – Seventeen
[MP3] Reed KD – Last Goodbye
[MP3] Reed KD – Please Forgive Me
He was recently featured on a This Is Indie Rock compilation of unsigned bands. Check out his site, MySpace, and purevolume.
Check out the new political activism group M.A.N. and try not to laugh…too hard. Oh, and Happy Birthday to Elvis.
Firstly…yes, I did put those birds there…he looked lonely (and his nose is a good perch). Secondly,
Richard Ashcroft (of
Verve fame) is set to release his newest solo album, entitled
Keys To The World, on January 23rd. Based on what I’ve heard so far, the album sounds amazing, and has already picked up some favorable words from
Mojo:
“Here he reflects on the state of the world, love, and music, wrapping it up in muscular grooves, Southern soul shadings, and astutely placed strings…Very focused and quietly anthemic…Raucous and optimistic, it cuts through the soul-searching with a survivalist swagger.” – Mojo Review
Ashcroft’s also got the album’s first single, Break The Night With Colour, ready to roll in stores tomorrow! Now, I obviously don’t expect you to swallow before you chew, so here’re a couple of tracks off the new LP, as well as the b-side to the new single:
[MP3] Richard Ashcroft – Break The Night With Colour
[MP3] Richard Ashcroft – Cry Till The Morning (iGIF Exclusive MP3!)
[MP3] Richard Ashcroft – The Direction (B-Side)
Richard Ashcroft’s Official Site, his Unofficial Site, and his unfortunate namesake.
I’m sure you all remember
GvB posting
Beck‘s cover of
Pink Moon about a week ago. It was a great cover but the stream rip was pretty bad. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about that, as the song is no longer streaming from Beck’s site, but there
were two other streaming Nick Drake songs that he covered that no one ripped…
Parasite and
Which Will. So here they are, ripped in excellent quality:
[MP3] Beck – Parasite (Nick Drake Cover)
[MP3] Beck – Which Will (Nick Drake Cover)
In case you missed it yesterday, Starsailor performed an acoustic set on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. You can listen to the set here:
[STREAM] Starsailor – Live Acoustic MBE Set
Ted Leo posted a blog update, which is always a pleasure to read.
Vice Records will release a DVD that chronicles Bloc Party’s second tour to the United States to support last year’s Silent Alarm. The DVD, God Bless Bloc Party, is scheduled for a Jan. 17 release. You can pre-order it here.
Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy’s side project, Box Codax, will release its debut single into UK stores next month. Box Codax features McCarthy and his wife, Manuela, moving away from the rock stylings of FF to explore synth-based pop. Their first single, Naked Smile is slated for a February release on Thin Man Records.
The Vines, after a long hiatus, will put the finishing touches on its next album this month. The album, which should be in stores this summer, has yet to be given a title. Here’s a good cover they did of Outkast‘s Ms. Jackson:
[MP3] The Vines – Ms. Jackson (Outkast Cover)
That’s all for now, I’ve got some good stuff for you tomorrow, so stay tuned!
