Oddbox Offers 45-song Compilation

To celebrate their impending 4th Birthday, Odd Box Records has collated a 45 song compilation - that's nearly a song from every release they've put out over the past 4 years.
It's available to download from the label's bandcamp page on a pay what you want deal (including zero!).

DIYPOP - Not Part Of Your Scene

 

01. The Give It Ups - Hey Shaggy 03:24

02. Sarandon - Expecting Joe 01:34

03. Sock Puppets - Because I Told You So 01:26

04. The Humms - No One Wants To Be Alone On Valentines Day 03:40

05. Anguish Sandwich - Leave My Brain Alone 01:41

06. The Hairs - Feeling A Lot Of Feelings 01:50

07. The Manhattan Love Suicides - I'm Not A Young Man Anymore (Mono) 07:04

08. PinkShinyUltraBlast - Blaster 03:24

09. The Crack Babies - America 02:43

10. The Vignettes - Baby Angel Boy 01:12

11. Martha - Standing Where It All Began 02:15

12. One Happy Island - How To Hurt 03:12

13. T.O.Y.S - Mirror 02:51

14. Ace Bushy Striptease - My Hand Could Be Your Wife 02:24

15. Falling and Laughing - Roly Poly 02:40

16. The Blanche Hudson Weekend - To Be That Way Again (Single Edit) 04:39

17. Liars Beware - Sofa Bed 03:22

18. Bracelettes - Those Days 02:51 \

19. Proto Idiot - Release 02:11

20. Baaneex - Weird Dance 2 04:14

21. The Millipedes - Shake Your Bones 02:05

22. The Monorals - Surf On 03:59

23. Lovelust - Love On The Higher Planes 06:16

24. The Give It Ups - Knives Chau 03:13

25. Ace Bushy Striptease - Children's Eyelash Trimming Device 02:00

26. The Blanche Hudson Weekend - Some Kind Of Freedom 03:56

27. The Rosie Taylor Project - The Last Happy Writer 04:27

28. One Happy Island - White Collar Disco 03:04

29. Baaneex - Medieval Times 01:40

30. Chapter 24 - Spindle 01:44

31. Gold-Bears - You Don't Want A Boyfriend 02:50

32. Proto Idiot - When I Fall Asleep 02:08

33. Ace Bushy Striptease - EchoeseChoesecHoesechOesechoEsechoeS 00:59

34. Santa Monica Swim and Dive Club - False Start, My Heart 03:33

35. The Kick Inside - Oh, Vanity! 03:20

36. Pocketbooks - Sound Of The Carnival 04:23

37. Horowitz - Get Cleansed! 02:30

38. The Wednesday Club - Steven's House 02:28

39. The Smittens - The Garden (Mesclun Mix By Greg Davis) 03:55

40. Sarandon - Piglet 02:47

41. The Medusa Snare - I Saw You Look The Other Way 03:33

42. Ace Bushy Striptease - Good Ass, New 01:24

43. The Humms - Don't Think About Death 03:42

44. One Fathom Down - Breaking The Law 02:15

45. The Understudies - A Girl I Used To Knock About With 02:45

The Bennetts (Indie Pop)

Thought I'd switch it up after several synthpop posts and offer some indie pop. This duo is from Athens, Greece and their record will be on Manic Pop!. This Minnesotan label (Facebook page / Twitter) is new to me, and I look forward to exploring more of their releases.

Synthpop for your Saturday

Another spectacular one from New Arcades. This was just made available yesterday. That's three winning tracks from them. Let's hope for more!


I don't know anything about Racetrack, but I do know all the material on Soundcloud is worth a listen. I love this kind of sincere synthpop.

Let Em Riot: more top-notch synthpop

 More insanely good synthpop. Reminds me of the best of the A Different Drum label's output. Let Em Riot are exactly what I want in the genre!

Introducing JP Rose (Synthpop)

The "Seascape EP" by Los Angeles artist JP Rose (Twitter) arrived in my in-box this morning. I had some paperwork to do, so I streamed it via Soundcloud. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and the adherence to classic synthpop. I hope you'll take a listen! Two more excellent tracks are available on Soundcloud.

Synthpop For Your Saturday

Some synthpop for your Saturday. First is New Jersey's "Only You" (Facebook)



Here is the newest Paper Plane Pilot song "Close Your Eyes". It's available for free.

Mesh announce new single

Mesh is back with "Born To Lie", the first single from the new album "Automation Baby" due out next February. The single is to be released January 18 via Dependent in Europe and pre-orders of the single are already available.

1. Born To Lie (Single Version)
2. Born To Lie (Club Version)
3. Black Dog (Exclusive Track)
4. Born To Lie (Rotersand Re-Work)
5. Born To Lie (Remix by Blitzmaschine)

Listening...

Came across this from The New Division today and I find it particularly beautiful. Dreamy, atmospheric and bursting with that nostalgic energy.



Some other tunes I can recommend:

New Esther Video: Scandinavia

A new video of the second single "Scandinavia" by Swedish band Esther.



facebook.com/esthersister
myspace.com/esthersister
esthertheband.tumblr.com
twitter.com/esthertheband
vimeo.com/esthertheband

New Arcades: must-listen-to modern synthpop

Here are couple wonderful synthpop tracks from London's "New Arcades" (Facebook, Website). Sometimes, my in-box has a gem like this nested amongst the mediocre PR release. The band is Dean Canty (Synth, vocals, writing, guitars, Production) and Adam Sullivan (Production, Backing vocals, synth, Mixing). They are recording their first EP, and eventually will do live shows next year.

New Ocean Blue

Two new tracks from the beloved The Ocean Blue. Taken from the Korda Records compilation. The band will be appearing in Milwaukee and Chicago.

Girls Names

"The New Life" will be released on February 18th, 2013 on Tough Love (UK) and February 26th, 2013 on Slumberland Records (US). I like this new single "Hypnotic Regression" much more than the 8-minute opening track. Plenty to read about the band here.

New Mogwai Remix Album

The new Mogwai remix album "A Wrenched Virile Lore" is out in the UK, EU (US version is on Sub Pop and will out on December 4th) on CD, 2xLP (w/download code) and digital download. You should also be able to find a link to the iTunes version of the album by clicking here.

The tracklist for the album is as follows:

George Square Thatcher Death Party - (Justin K Broadrick Reshape)
Rano Pano - Klad Hest (Mogwai is My Dick RMX)
White Noise (EVP Mix by Cylob)
How To Be A Werewolf - (Xander Harris remix)
Letters To The Metro - (Zombi remix)
Mexican Grand Prix - (reworked by RM Hubbert)
Rano Pano (Tim Hecker remix)
San Pedro - (The Soft Moon remix)
Too Raging To Cheers - (Umberto remix)
La Mort Blanche - (Robert Hampson remix)

I am Exploring Canada: TangoCharlie

A friend in Canada has been sharing a lot of great acts from her country. I think I am adding Canada to my search list! Check these guys out. My pick is "The Fourth Member".

The Bilinda Butchers - "Boyfriend" video

Yea! A video from a band I can't shut-up about! The music kicks in after a minute ("Secrets" is playing as the intro).


thebilindabutchers.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/pages/The-Bilinda-Butchers/132547843451845
soundcloud.com/the-bilinda-butchers
thebilindabutchers.tumblr.com/

New Division release "Night Escape"

A nice little collection from The New Division. It's something like dreampop with electronic beats you can dance to. Available for purchase on Bandcamp.

Johnny Marr To Release "The Messenger" Solo Album

 

Straight from the announcement: Johnny Marr has recorded "The Messenger", a solo album which is scheduled for release on February 25th, 2013. The album was recorded in Manchester and Berlin and mastered at Abbey Road.  Johnny has contributed writing, vocals, guitar and production on the album, songs titles include: I Want The Heartbeat, The Right Thing Right, Upstart, Word Starts Attack & European Me.
Johnny will be touring the UK in March 2013 and playing festivals worldwide. (photo by Dan At Elstudio)

Love and Radiation

My inbox was kind today. This single really must be heard. The band is Love and Radiation, out of Chicago. From their bio: "During the day, Adele works as a civil rights lawyer and Lakshmi as a doctoral student at the University of Chicago. By night, they become Love and Radiation. Their songs feature dark lyrical imagery against a backdrop of propulsive dance beats, distorted guitars, and melodic synths."
I offer the Soundcloud player here so you can stream it. Bandcamp has the track for free downloading. Be sure to visit them on Facebook.

More Disoveries: The New Division and Née

Lush number from The New Division.




Came across this today and thought I would share. The band is called Née and they are from St. Louis.Their second ep is called Finches and was released in September of this year. 

What Can I Do - new from Sally Shapiro

This blog has been around long enough that I can say "readers may recall earlier posts" featuring Sally Shapiro. I quite enjoyed the act's recent work with Johan Agebjorn. I say act because Sally Shapiro is not the singer's name. Or is it? Sally Shapiro is band or possibly a stage name. It's an interesting mystery. Here's something new from the album to be released in February, 2013.

Upcoming Sambassadeur B-Side

Something about the bass-line makes this especially appealing. This is one act that sounds better (to me) as they age.

Rue Commines - "Pilot" Video

This song is in heavy rotation at home and on my iPod. I decided to look for a video and found one! Let's hope for more from Rue Commines. Perfect pop.


Download "Pilot" for free: http://soundcloud.com/ruecommines/pilot

Synthpop For Your Saturday

 
Darker synthpop stalwarts Provision have released their fifth album. As a fan from the early days, I can say this great act has their own sound; you know a Provision track when it comes on. The notes I read say "This is the first Provision album ever, to have been written, recorded, and produced by the same writing team for 2 consecutive albums within the band – Jen, Matt, and Breye". 

“You love pop songs about love more than...

"...being in love." - The opening line on This Many Boyfriends’ debut album.

I have been meaning to post something about This Many Boyfriends, especially because I haven't shared many indiepop things lately. This band capture the essence of what I still love about indiepop, both in the lyrics and the music.
Their self-titled debut record came out about a month ago (on Angular Recordings , so here are a few to listen to:





A great review can be found at DiS.

Happy Halloween

Want a good Halloween soundtrack for October 31? Just loop this one song:

Like Sugar - PopCast 40 now available

Like Sugar PopCast #40 is now available. See above for the track-list.
This is so very late. I think #39 went up at the end of June 2012. #41 is coming much sooner, as I have a lot I want to play.
Download the hour-long .mp3 file here.

Saint Etienne announce remix collection

Saint Etienne wrote: "We've now gathered together as many of our favourite mixes that will fit onto 4 CD's - from Foxbase Alpha right up until London Conversations - and packaged them into a beautiful DVD sized hardback book. The 4 disc set also gives you access to download a further 10 mixes that we just couldn't squeeze in.
For those of you on a more focussed trip, there's a cream-of-the-crop 2CD set available too.
So get your best dancing shoes and pay homage to art of the remix with our best known songs transformed into floor-fillers and club classics."

The compilation is titled Casino Classics and can be ordered here (the 4 disc). Same link has a full track listing.

Junica related synthpop project

Junica posted this today, and I thought I'd re-post. A generous offering of fine synthpop! It's too good to be free. My favorite track is "Siren".

"Here you can download an album I made in late 2009 with my good friend Ale Cohen. Our band is called Psychic Powers. It's free too. Or you can pay if you like :)"

New Junica Video

I adore this song! Now there's a video too!

Synthpop for your Saturday

Some Desperate Glory is a Synthpop and Electro band out of San Francisco, California. Their favorite bands are Depeche Mode, Erasure, and the Pet Shop Boys. That's pretty obvious from their music. Find more material for free download at: http://somedesperateglory.bandcamp.com

Twin Cabins

It's mid-October and it's 94 out. No air-conditioning in my studio, so the fans are on full-blast. These are not bonfire-scented Autumn days. I was looking through a free local weekly called the Reader and came across a small article about an area musician. You can read it here.
I decided to check his work out and after a few songs, I thought it was worth sharing here on the blog. I feel bad about not featuring more local music, but I am too lazy to search them out. Also, there are other bloggers that do nothing but post local music and show information. I don't even read those myself, so perhaps I am just not finding a reason to promote San Diego-based music.My world is much bigger with the Internet.
Why the author uses the term "chillwave" is beyond me. I have never labeled anything with that term. I am with the artist, Nacho Caño: this is dreampop.

Making Marks - Ticket Machine SKWBN remix

 Johan Hedberg, of Swedish indie legends Suburban Kids With Biblical Names (Labrador Records) has remixed the a-side of Making Mark's Ticket Machine single, out on 7" vinyl on Monday the 15th of October. Johan describes it as "sample based laid-back". Be sure to check out the label: Fika Recordings.
Making Marks - Ticket Machine (Johan Hedberg remix) from Fika Recordings on Vimeo.

10-10

♫Dreamy one I heard last night on Turntable.fm (thanks TripSeven):


♫I know I post a lot of Azure Blue related tracks, but I love their work!


♫Pains + covering Magnetic Fields? Gotta love it.

Slow by Pontoons

"Slow" is the first full-length album release from Pontoons, a New York City-based indie band. Recorded over a two-year period, the album’s 10 tracks include the driving single “Antidote,” which was released and featured here earlier this year. "Slow" was released on October 1, 2012.

Sharing

Here are a few more I thought I'd share:

♫Some Dreampop:


♫A little Synthpop:


♫And some Depeche Mode Covers / Remixes:

Letting Up Despite Great Faults

This is essential listening. Letting Up Despite Great Faults (Facebook, Twitter) "Untogether" album is out this week!
Listen:

"Darkest Dreams" by Grey Gardens

More focus on this blog coming soon. I am DJing tonight, so I will leave you with little gem I came across today (thank-you Skatterbrain!)

Another Blog Fades Away

I have been taking some time off social media. I haven't been checking my usual blogs, so it came as a late, sad surprise to read that It's A Trap is over. You can read the farewell post here. I am bummed out, as that was a major source of great music for me. A to the point "I like this" or "not my cup of tea" kind of blog. Thanks for the great music!

The Bilinda Butchers

I have yet to hear a track that I don't like. I hope The Bilinda Butchers get some deserved notice! Below is a new 5-track collection released a few weeks ago.

Here's a dreamy remix of "Tulips", which is a free download!

KieTheVez make 1991 cassette available

I heard from KieTheVez today:
"There were only 100 copies made of the demo tape Undressed
Confessions from 1991. After more than 20 years, the old demo
tape is now available for download as MP3 - or via YouTube.
The sound quality is really poor, but this was back in 1991, and
it was recorded it on a 6 track tape recorder at home. No
mastering, no compressors, no effects - nothing but a crappy
Alesis Reverb. And four teenagers taking the first steps in
exploring electronic music."
The band's generosity is incredible here. You'll recognize some tracks in their early stage. My favorite is "Perfection". KieTheVez is the quintessential 1990's modern synthpop act. Hope you'll take the time to look back at their work.

Go here to download individual tracks from "Undressed Confession".

Neil Halstead's latest solo album

Neil Halstead's latest solo album Palindrome Hunches is now available.
Neil Halstead: Hey Daydreamer on Nowness.com.

Sugaring Season

Hear the new Beth Orton "Sugaring Season" before the October 2 release date:

Four on the Floor

♫ A couple downloadable tracks from the wizards called Paperfangs. I like the first track, but the remix featured is playful electronic fun.


♫ A remix from Stars. I had something from Diamond Rings on here before, and then I received a submission from an electro act. It was totally outside of what I share on this blog.


♫ Another excellent track from down under! Clubfeet continue to live in my music queue.


♫ Something not new, but oddly not dated. Indie-pop that is sure to please from The Sugargliders. Thanks to Matinee Recordings (again).

Catching Up With E.T.

♫ Mazzy Star gets a modern cover with vocals by Steffaloo:


♫ This track by Toronto's Old English caught my ear today. The vocals remind of  great Britpop and the music is warmly electronic, with hand-claps and horns. "We've Been Here Before" is a real winner! Get the track and a fun remix at Bandcamp for free.


♫  Another great track (with video) arrived via submission to the blog: "Are You Dancing (Now)" by Yesterday is Tomorrow. French! For some reason, the video will only load the entire playlist. I've spent too much time on this already, so I hope you'll check them out.

Happy Goths Without Make-up Monthly Mixer

A group of Turntable.fm DJs got together last night to play covers and remixes (only) of 80's, 90's and modern tracks. It was a blast to hear new takes on old favorites. I am inspired to find more! Here's a free 4-track covers release from Glowbug:

Synthpop for Your Saturday

New official video for the And One track "Killing The Mercy". If I can't figure out how to correct the formatting, you can see it at the exclusive Dark Asylum video hosting page. I used the "embed" code, so...

Ladyhawke

I like dance remixes and I like them even more when they are closer to three minutes long. Here's one from Ladyhawke. She's on tour in North America in September to support "Anxiety".

On Tour With De/Vision: ELACE

 
De/Vision has released Rocket and Swords. I see they are touring in Europe with a band called Elace (which is usually capitalized). I don't know much about them, and this is one of two videos I found on YouTube. I want to find more. They are good enough for De/Vision, so there must be some good synthpop stuff out there.

More Suzy Blu

A follow-up to yesterday's post. I wanted to add Suzy Blu's work under her own name.

DIIV

♫ Great remix of DIIV's "Follow" by Memory Tapes!

Meet Suzy Blu

Noel Bones has produced this amazing version of Syd Barrett's "Golden Hair", with Suzy Blu on vocals. Thanks to Dead Penny Records.


Suzy Blu is the vocalist for Vacant Kiss (for fans of Pixies, Blondie, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Gun Club, The Bangles) and Insect Guide.


My favorite Insect Guide track:

Indie-pop: from Canada to Australia

♫ You can stream the whole (or individual songs) new Stars album "The North" over at N.P.R. this week.

♫ I am really into two new indie-pop ep releases from Bart and Friends. Shelflife records has "It's Not The Words That You Say" here  and Matinee has "There May Come A Time" here. Bart is a founding member of the legendary Cat's Miaow. Now he returns to the scene with his cast of indie pop ambassadors from around the globe including Pam Berry (Black Tambourine, The Pines, The Castaway Stones, etc), Scott Stevens (Summer Cats, The Earthmen), Mark Monnone (The Lucksmiths), Louis Richter (Mid State Orange, The Lucksmiths), and Jeremy Cole (The Zebras).

Big Wave Riders

I've been playing these guys a lot on turntable.fm and so I thought I'd post I video from them to get the word out. Big Wave Riders hail from Helsinki, Finland. Their debut album "Life Less Ordinary" came out August 24, 2012.

Shoegaze - Dreampop Saturday?

I usually post a few synthpop selection every Saturday. Today, this struck me as a nice change. I strongly encourage you to check out Kanine Records. There's a lot to like from them.

Bleeding Rainbow - "Pink Ruff" from stereogum on Vimeo.

DeVision Video

De/Vision's new video for the first single off "Rockets & Swords". I think it's very well edited. Can't wait to get my hands on the new CD.

Sweden

Are you from Sweden? Do you know what is happening in the music scene there? I have some friends that will be visiting that country in September. Please comment or email me if you can recommend some venues or shows to see in Sweden in September! djtalbotlikesugar@gmail.com  Tack!

Synthpop for Your Sundae

I forgot to post on Saturday, so here's something for your Sunday.
This one came via my submission inbox and I rather like it:

Interpol Vocalist Paul Banks

 
(photo by Helena Christensen)
From my inbox "On October 23, Matador will release the 2nd solo album from Interpol vocalist/guitarist Paul Banks. With "Banks" (LP/CD/digital), Paul ditches the Julian Plenti alter-ego, and the resulting 10-song album is a tour-de- force of exhilarating minor-key intensity." Here's a nice mp3 too!
The Base (192 kbps MP3)

Cover Me On Friday

This week, I came across this one: a cover of Whitetown's version "Your Woman". Apparently, the 1997 version is a "reworking". Read more here if you're interested. Everything I have heard from Cats On Fire has been great.




This is not a cover, but I haven't posted many songs with this kind of beat, so enjoy! Be sure to read the interesting bio from Denmark's Slowolf.

Cosmic Boxer: Broke As F--k But Happy

A great track from Cosmic Boxer. Show 'em some love by liking on Facebook here.
Download a free 7 track ep here. Your ears will thank you.

Synthpop For Your Saturday

Wow. I was immediately taken with this outstanding synthpop track by Argentina's Calcomanias. Listen, then read more below...

ROCK EN LA BIBLIOTECA es la aventura musical de un grupo de amigos que se van de vacaciones en un colectivo viejo que en algún momento del viaje los abandonará para siempre. Se encuentran en un pueblo fantasma que esconde una Feria Mágica, que descubrirán cuando oscurezca. Todo comienza con El Escape…

♫ A video for Eternal Summer's "You Kill"


♫ Stars offer a third song before the albums is out! All three have been fantastic. I am looking forward to seeing them again.

Starboard by Phantasms

Nice electronic composition from Phantasms. The band consists of Darren Tablan, and husband and wife Jesse Atchison, and Sarah Atchison. This is the latest indie electronic pop project from ex-members of Minty Fresh band Floraline. The band was started pretty much by accident when Jesse was listening through some old unfinished tracks from a previous band Private Lessons with Darren and asked if Sarah would try singing on a few. It's been a few months and they are now sitting on about 20 tracks they are busy recording.

Synthpop for Your Saturday

♫ This is a nostalgic synthpop piece from GliGli:


♫ More from Sydney's John Rowley. He writes to say his track "Guilt Trip" has been selected as a Big Song on Popjustice. Listen here:




♫ I can say the new Peter Heppner (Wolfsheim) is very much an improvement over his last effort and I play it often. He's posted a medley from the new album "My Heart of Stone" on his page.

August Company

A few things to share to start off your August:

♫ A dreamy song from Chicago's The Sea and Cake:



♫ A track that will make you happy or maybe sad. I feel both somehow:


♫ Something more upbeat: synthpop from Twitch The Ripper off the new record Colorblind. Coming August 14, 2012 on Metropolis Records.

Stream Ice Choir in full

♫ AOL Spinner is hosting a free full album stream of The Ice Choir here.

Synthpop Saturday

Seems I didn't post last night's entry, and I forgot what I had to offer. I can say that this is superb synthpop from Some Desperate Glory:
   Devil's in the Details by Some Desperate Glory

Free Vitalic .mp3

Synthpop for A Sunday

This Soundcloud user (Andrew Sega, a member of Iris) has posted a nice collection of rare and unreleased synthpop tracks. I am particularly excited to share the ones from Iris.

Two Door Cinema Club free mp3

♫ Two Door Cinema Club are offering a free .mp3 of their new single "Sleep Alone" but you have to grab it in the next 21 hours!

Stars With Lions Future Islands

♫ A free .mp3 from the debut With Lions album "Equipo" is available from Alarm Magazine here. The track is "Our Great Rise".

♫ Diamond Rings and California Wives will be joining Stars for US shows this Fall, September 20 - October 20. Get your tickets and pre-order the album at http://youarestars.com/ . All tickets purchased for headlining US shows this Fall include a digital download of the new album which will be emailed to you on the album's release date, September 4, 2012.


♫ New single from Future Islands. It's part of the Less Artists More Condos series.

Stream Eternal Summers "Correct Behavior"

Stream Eternal Summers. “Correct Behavior” is out July 24th. I love this band!

XX Junkie Churches

♫ The Pop Cop has a great entry on CHURCHES and it includes an .mp3 of the killer "Lies".

♫ I received another take down notice today. This time, it was for posting a legal remix of Foster The People in 2011. What does that mean? No more Foster The People news here, ever again. WGAS?

♫ I am no fan of "preview" tracks, so I am not embedding this. While I love Junkie XL, I am sad to hear him dip into the dubstep bucket of sounds for teens on this "The Dark Knight Rises" track.

♫ I posted a 20 minute mix preview (didn't I just say I don't like previews?) of Like Sugar PopCast 40. Download it here.

♫ Another MNDR track to share!


♫ This is everywhere now, but I'll hop on the bandwagon in case you missed this new one from the XX:

Everybody's Searching: That Classic Synthpop Sound

♫ Another perfect synthpop gem from Some Desperate Glory (twitter: @SDGsynthpop; Bandcamp page):


♫ Purity Ring's full length "Shrines", due out July 24, is streaming in full over at NPR's First Play page.

♫ I have been getting more and more into this Swedish act, as I find more tracks from them:

A Cornucopia

♫ Rolling Stone is hosting a free .mp3 download of "You Kill" by Eternal Summers here.

♫ Several Legendary Pink Dots albums have been remastered and are available on Bandcamp. Edward Ka-spel has completed a new album entitled "This Saturated Land" and it is also on the Dot's page.

♫ This is a great dance remix of MNDR's "Sparrow Voices" by Dominique Keegan (Plant Music):


♫ Earlier this week, The Cure played live in Spain. The live-stream cut out a few times and the band's equipment failed. Robert kept the show going with some acoustic action.

Saint Etienne: I've Got Your Music

Official video made with fan submissions. Are you in it?

Video: "Alan Life" from Westkust

 A new video by Westkust was posted today. It's a nice little piece of rock n' roll.

Stripmall Architecture: free 6 track album

Stripmall Architecture just released a new six track mini-album. The digital version is available as a free download. The limited edition CD version is already sold out.

The Killers: new single "Runaways"

 I really like it! A new studio album "Battle Born" will be released on September 17th. A series of producers worked on the album, including Madonna collaborator Stuart Price, Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor and Brendan O'Brien. It is the band's first album in over four years.

Bloc Party: new single "Octopus"

 The first single from Bloc Party's new album "Four" available now.

Summer Singles

Summer Singles, courtesy of Matinée Recordings:

Cosmic Boxer

It's nice to find a great electronic pop song in my inbox. This is one that I knew I'd want to share after just one listen. Find out more about Cosmic Boxer here.

Lilla Sällskapet video

New video for Jag Vil Ut.

Synthpop for Your Saturday

I'm glad this one is up on Soundcloud, as I wanted to share it when it was released.


My friend, DJ Narcolept, suggested "Celeste" the debut album by My Tiger My Timing. It's streaming in full on the band's page.

New Music from Stars

 You can download the song at http://youarestars.com by entering your email address. It's well worth it. I have been playing it since June 22. The new album called "The North" will be out in North America on September 4th and right around that date in other parts of the world.

If I Found Love

 A great track from London's [Strangers] :

Eternal Summers

Something for your Summer. It's Eternal Summers on Kanine Records.

Stream new Twin Shadow Album "Confess"

 Twin Shadow‘s new album, "Confess", is available to listen to in full, below.

Girly

It's July! It really is Summer, somewhere.
This is probably my favorite song by The Machine Room. Please follow them on Soundcloud!

Podcasts are now back up and ready to download

I am steadily uploading past podcasts to a new server. At this time, #33 through #39 and #1 of Like Sugar are available as direct downloads of the .mp3 (most are about 75 or so megabytes in size). I am really behind in publishing new ones, but I am overwhelmed with new music!

Echo Lake, Chapel Club, Purity Ring Tracks

From RCRD LBL: "Londoners Echo Lake mix dreamy texture with crisp tempos and a strong backbone on “Even The Blind” — a fantastic emotional song from their debut LP Wild Peace (out this week on Slumberland)."

Chapel Club are offering a free download of their new track "Sleep Alone".


If you can get into Grimes, you might try Purity Ring. They have unveiled the new single from their forthcoming debut album. "Fineshrine" is the second song to be taken from their highly anticipated album Shrines, which will be released on July 24th. Download the song for free here.

christopher ANTON releases new Synthpop

Christopher ANTON has released new work in the form of the 5-track album "Spaceships and Dreamers". You can listen over at his Bandcamp page. "Spaceships and Dreamers" is a three part endeavor inspired by what Anton himself describes as “songs about choosing to look at the positive in everything.” The aesthetic theme of the release pays homage to the classic science fiction serial films of the 1930s and 40's, such as Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.
The first single from the album entitled “Tonight” describes turning a sour relationship into something positive beneath it's metaphors of space travel missions.
 

New Melody Club

I have always been a fan of these guys. I still play them as DJ and I am happy to hear some new material! You can't take them too seriously.

Charlie Big Time - Dishevelled Revellers CDEP

Splendid Matinée debut from admired English band Charlie Big Time! Originally a duo of Matthew Pendlebury and Chris Tiplady. Recently, the two met former Aberdeen and Trembling Blue Stars vocalist Beth Arzy and invited her to the north of England to add some vocal magic to their latest creations.

801st Post!

 
Labrador Records is offering a free mp3 from Acid House Kings here.

Watch/listen to this:

3 New Releases Today

The new Metric album "Synthetica" is out. I'll be giving it a listen in a few moments. You can listen to it here.

With Lions album is playing in full over at AOL Spinner as well.

 
Skinny Puppy's "Bootlegged, Broke And In Solvent Seas" is now available across U.S. & Canada. Buy it from their blog links here.

Swedish

Moar Musik!

Found a few more songs worth sharing with you.

A New Label, A New Track, Some Classic Skinny Puppy

Robotberget is the new label from Miike Snow's Karlsson & Winnberg.
EP1 is now available as a free download from this site.


I came across what might be a more accessible Grimes. She's providing vocals on this Blood Diamonds track. Dance pop to start your Summer off.



Bootlegged, Broke and In Solvent Seas, is the new Skinny Puppy live album. It will be available on June 12 in both physical and digital format. The track-list:
01. Prelude (Warsaw)
02. Rodent (Warsaw)
03. Dead Lines (Bratislava)
04. Dogshit (Warsaw)
05. Addiction (Bratislava)
06. HateKill (Warsaw)
07. Worlock (Hildesheim)
08. Morpheus Laughing (Warsaw)
09. Assimilate (Warsaw)
10. Shore Lined Poison (Budapest)

New Electronic Indie Piano Pop Announced

Color Theory announced the release date for the new album "Adjustments Pt. 1". It is the first collection of original material in nearly two years. The 10-track EP will be released on June 12, but you can pre-order it now for $6.99. Better yet, pre-order all three Adjustments EPs to get them one week before their release dates, plus exclusive progress reports and demo snippets by email along the way.

Suzy Blue - Won't Be The Girl

 Armed with just an 80’s drum machine and keyboard, Suzy Blu (Insect Guide/Vacant Kiss) has a brand new sound and lots of songs to add to her ever amazing catalogue of dark pop hits! Here is the first of her new tracks: 

Patterns "Blood"

I saw a new (?) song from Patterns on Soundcloud today and, of course it's very good. Felt I must post it for you. It will be released on July 9th, 2012.

Synthpop for A Sunday: Moonlight Cove

 
I haven't been posting enough synthpop, so here's a lovely modern piece by Moonlight Cove.
If you want to buy, please use A Different Drum here in the U.S.

Cover Me On Friday: The Machine Room "Small Town Boy"

I'm a few hours late on this weekly posting of covers, but it was worth the wait! The Machine Room have yet to disappoint. Highly recommended act.

Chase Away Your Case of The Mundaze

Trasspassers makes brightly colored, squiggly keyboard jams. Check them out here.

Swedish electronica producer Moist (aka David Elfström Lilja) offers a brooding electronic single "Me And You (feat. Smith and Thell)" for free here.

My Woshin Mashin provide some fun electropunk over on Soundcloud or listen here:

Zshare File-Hosting Service Disappears Without Trace

 
Zshare disappeared without a trace, so all of my podcasts / mix-tapes are no longer available from that service. Read more here.

The Machine Room: new song "Making Babies"

 
Like Sugar favorites The Machine Room has posted another track on Soundcloud. Free download of "Making Babies". The excellent "Love From A Distance" ep is available on Bandcamp.
   Making Babies by the machine room

The band is on tour for you lucky UK people:

• Friday, 18 May 2012
  

  Edinburgh, UK

  Sneaky Pete's- The Machine Room with Still Corners, Magic Eye, Honeyblood

• Saturday, 26 May 2012
  

  Glasgow, UK

  Art School, Glasgow- The Machine Room with Vigo Thieves

• Sunday, 27 May 2012
  

  Glasgow, UK

  Stairway

Essential Buy: Violens "True"

This is an essential album for 2012. You can stream it here and read the band's reasoning behind each track. Violens manages to bring the early 90's feel to today's short-attention-span ear-bud music fan.
   Violens - True sampler by Slumberland Records

MP3: Meiko "Leave The Lights On (The Crystal Method Remix)"

 
I thought this had enough synthpop elements to warrant sharing. Interesting to hear The Crystal Method holding back and not making this track all them. Shipping of Meiko's "The Bright Side" album begins next week. The whole album is streaming on MySpace.

mp3: Superhumanoids - "Too Young For Love"

 Superhumanoids are offering "Too Young For Love" as a free download.
   Too Young For Love by Superhumanoids

First Listen: Best Coast's new one on NPR

 
NPR is hosting a full streaming of the new Best Coast album "The Only Place" one week before the May 15 release date. Click here to listen at NPR.

New Passion Pit track: "Take A Walk"

 
New Passion Pit from the new album Gossamer, available July 24th. This track available on iTunes on May 8th.

   Take a Walk by passionpit

Camera Obscura music on Yo Gabba Gabba!

For fans of Camera Obscura and for those with little ones: