So Long 2011

It's the last day of the year. No plans for the evening, as yet. Probably gonna stay in, as it's amateur night, really. So anyway, here's a little something I heard this morning. I am looking forward to hearing more from this Manchester act.

Murder Mystery announce new indie pop EP

I heard from indie-pop act Murder Mystery today. On January 16th they are digitally releasing a 6 song EP of indie pop gems called "Problems." For a week starting on January 9th they are selling advance copies of it for $2 on Groopease.com.
I play the track "Problems" quite frequently on Turntable.fm and always receive a positive response. Download "Problems" to get hooked! This is a band to watch in 2012.




murdermysterymusic.com
myspace.com/murdermysterymusic
facebook.com/mmtheband
twitter.com/mmtheband

Melodies In Mono

My obsession with Swedish synthpop continues. Melodies In Mono have that less-dense, clean sound that I like. Vocals are unique, not some Dave Gahan or Andy Bell clone. Even the cover art is clean works for me! The Facebook page is here.
When I Fall by melodiesinmono

The Drums - How It Ended (Add n to (x) 7 Remix)

Found this on FaceBook this morning: "The Drums are thrilled to have collaborated with extremely influential and legendary band Add N to (X) on a remix of the latest Drums single How It Ended. This is the first creative endeavor from the band since they split in 2002."
The Drums - How It Ended (Add n to (x) 7 Remix) by WorkItMedia

Friday Find: New Lions

This lovely release arrived in my in-box today. I was immediately captured by the sound of With Lions. I hate to give sounds like comparisons, but sometimes the similarity is striking enough, and in this case, a huge compliment. I guess I'll say they remind me of Glasvegas. That's just my first impression and enough to want to share With Lions (Facebook link) with you! Buy the album via iTunes here.

Sun God by Cut Copy: free remix

Cut Copy are offering a free download of "Sun God (Andrew Weatherall Remix)" over on SoundCloud.

First Day of Christmas: Haberdashery

Six free synthpop tracks by Haberdashery. This year's addition is "The First Noel".
"Haberdashery (Stephen Pearlman) has been crafting synth-pop since 2004. Strongly influenced by Erasure and Björk, his productions are lush and incorporate multi-layered cinematic sounds with pop sensibilities. With an array of software and hardware, Stephen writes, arranges, and records all of his music."

The Magnetic Fields will be releasing a new album

The Magnetic Fields will be releasing a new album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, on March 6, 2012, on Merge Records in North America, and Domino Records overseas. After putting out their "synth-free trilogy," The Magnetic Fields are returning to their signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds. Read more here.

Some Dark Dance From Tim Carr

Something wonderful hit my Inbox and I felt I had to share it. Even if it's copy-and-paste lazy bloggerizim on my part, the tracks are worth getting into.

"If you ask Tim Carr to describe his music you will find a consistently pure answer. His music is a portrait of the world through his eyes. He's not going for anything in particular - not melodrama, certainly not vanity, and not fame. He's just sharing his experiences and observations. He's just being Tim.

Having been drawn to the stage early in life, a theatrical influence transmits through Tim's music (one that is glaringly evident in his live shows). His upcoming release, "The Shadows", plays on this whimsical nature while also crossing in darker territory. Tim admits that "My music shows two sides of me. One that is playful and energetic (I love to dance). But one that is also introverted and dark. It's really just about the things that I experience in everyday life... happiness, tragedy and all of that."

For Tim this clarity was forged from past musical tribulations. In his early 20's he moved to Los Angeles and began working in mainstream music with the likes of Chris Field and ELO. However he quickly grew frustrated with the overproduced mentality and overbearing industry aspect of the LA music scene. Emphatically he sought refuge in San Francisco where he began writing and composing music with the simple idea that music should be about art first and industry last.

For the new release, "The Shadows", Tim teamed up with indie engineer and drummer Chris Crawford (French Miami) who recorded and performed on his last project. However this time he also enlisted the talents of veteran guitarist and mixing engineer Phil Manly (Trans Am, The Fucking Champs). The resulting sound is a perfect blend of flavors... it's dancy, dark, silly, fun, angry... it's Tim."

The Shadows releases February 7, 2012
Anymore
Cast The Line

Synthpop Keeps Coming

I guess I am in a mood for this specific genre. I particularly like the work of !Distain and I am happy to share this newish video of recent material. It does seem to aim for And One's crowd, and I am not sure they need to do that.

Leaning Back Toward Synthpop

Well, I have only recently been well into The Big Pink. Now, I find a remix from them and I have to say, I do like this. This has enough fun synthpop and a little alt-guitar to keep me satisfied. You need to read the blurb on this one, where the author writes: "were they "hipster shit to listen to while you're sipping Starbucks in your stupid Ugg boots posting Twitter updates on your newest Macbook?"

Peter Murphy B Sides

B-sides from Peter Murphy's new studio album "Ninth" are being released as a "Secret Bees of Ninth EP". Four of the tracks are unreleased non-album tracks and "Seesaw Sway" in thrown into the mix. Bee sure to pick it up!
Track-list
1. Gaslit
2. Rose Hunter
3. Good Works
4. Secret
5. Secret Silk Society (Full Version)
6. Seesaw Sway

Love In December

I almost had it, but it ended November 30. Still, I love Club 8.
Note, the column on the right now has many of my past, and still relevant, podcasts available in a new direct download format. No pop-ups or ads. Please listen and drop me a line at djtalbotlikesugar@gmail.com.