New Music: Vaadat Charigim- Odisea

Okay, I might be ignorant, but I can only think of one other band that hails from Israel. That would be the dirty psych garage of Monotonix, the craziest live indie band in the world. Now I know two Israeli bands with the introduction this week of Tel Aviv shoegazers Vaadat Charigim. Their new song "Odisea" could easily qualify for both the best and, despite not knowing what the hell they are singing about, the most beautiful shoegaze song of the year. The shimmering guitars on this track are absolutely magical. Judge for yourself, listen below:

The track is taken from their album The World Is Well Lost, which will be out November 12th via Burger.

New Music: Warpaint- Love Is To Die

California indie rock band Warpaint announced today that they will release their new self tilted LP early in 2014 and the band also shared the first single, "Love is to Die",  from the record. Listen to the haunting new track below:

The ladies got some heavy hitters to help with production duties for the new record. The majority of the songs were recorded with Depeche Mode producer Flood and Nigel Godrich helped out with two other tracks on the album. Should be good.......

Warpaint will release their self titled new recorded on January 21st via Rough Trade.

New Music: Dot Dash- A Light In The Distance + Music Video

Washington D.C. post punk band Dot Dash are back with a new song and accompanying music video. "A Light in the Distance" is a raw punk song with a sound that harkens back to the late seventies and early 80's when bands like The Stranglers, The Buzzcocks and Wire ruled Britain's indie air waves. Watch a live performance of the song and then head on over to Dot Dash's bandcamp to download the track for free.

"A Light in the Distance" is taken from the album Half-Remembered Dream which is out now via Ottawa label The Beautiful Music.





A Light in The Distance from Dot Dash on Vimeo.

Five Star Songs: Lou Reed- Street Hassle

R.I.P. Lou Reed.....

"Street Hassle" is a three part opus about life on the streets of New York City. The track features Bruce Springsteen and is taken from the album of the same name. Eleven minutes of brilliance.

New Music: Los Campesinos!- Avocado Baby

Welsh indie rockers Los Campesinos! are all set to drop their fifth studio album No Blues next week. "Avocado Baby" is the second single to be featured from the LP. Listen to the morbid, but fun, indie pop track below:

No Blues is out October 29th via Wichita but if you want to hear it early you can stream the new album over at Pitchfork.

New Music: Elsa- In Two

Another great new Toronto band that I am more than happy to present to you. This time it is the dream pop four piece group Elsa, a band that Fucked Up's Mike Haliechuk and his record label have taken under their wing. These guys make wonderful hushed, fuzzy indie pop that make the grey autumn days of October and November bearable. Watch the video for their reverb friendly new song "In Two" below:

The band have a 4 track EP titled I Do that is available now via One Big Silence.



Elsa - In Two from Colin Medley on Vimeo.

New Music: Invasions- Rosy

Toronto indie rock band Invasions are set to release their sophomore album this week (September 25th) and if their first single "Rosy" is any indication these guys will be getting a lot more attention in the near future. This song has a definite 60's psychedelic surf rock vibe and it brings to mind classic Canadian groups Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and The Sadies. Listen below:

Five Star Songs: Frightened Rabbit- Swim Until You Can't See Land

Finally caught Scottish indie pop band Frightened Rabbit in concert the other night even though this is the third time the group has played Toronto in the last couple of years. Both of their earlier shows at The Mod Club and The Phoenix sold out quite quickly and it was tough to get tickets. This time the show did not sell out and the vacuous venue The Kool Haus looked only half full. The band played a lengthy 1 hour 45 minute set made up of songs form all of their albums and EPs, not just songs from their recent LP Pedestrian Verse.  They even reluctantly played their biggest hit, the celibacy celebrating song "Keep Yourself Warm" even though singer Scott Hutchinson stated that at the beginning of the tour that they were not going to play it.

One song I was disappointed they didn't sing was "Swim Until You Can't See Land", my favourite track off of The Winter Of Mixed Drinks LP. The track can be interpreted as a redemption song for someone who is trying to forget the past. It's a song that anyone who has ever ended a relationship or hit hard times can appreciate, especially if they are trying to overcome that adversity. Listen to the track below:

New Music: Toy- Join The Dots

Usually at this time of year any new song releases or new album news are few and far between. Autumn is a time for the major blogs and music magazines to get their year end lists together and it is rare for them to preview new music unless it is for a 2014 release. There are always exceptions of course, and this year the UK psych band Toy have announced a late year release that will certainly make some people wait to put out their "best of" lists for 2013.

Toy only released their epic self titled debut a year ago and now they have already returned with the follow up, Join The Dots, which is scheduled to be released on December 10th via Heavenly Recordings. Listen to the monumental eight minute title track below:

New Music: Anna Calvi- Suddenly

Looking forward to Anna Calvi's new album One Breath, which is out this week via Domino. "Suddenly" is her latest single, a track that shows off her powerful singing voice like no other song has done before it. Anna may be shedding the comparisons to P.J. Harvey and inviting new comparisons to Florence Welch. Listen below:

New Music: Brendan Canning- Bullied Days

"Bullied Days" is a serenely beautiful track from Broken Social Scene member Brendan Canning's new LP You Gots 2 Chill. The song features Daniela Gesundheit, lead singer of fellow Toronto band Snowblink. Listen below:

You Gots 2 Chill is out now.

Five Star Songs- Asobi Seksu- Walk On The Moon

So sad to hear that dream pop/shoegazer band Asobi Seksu have announced they are going on indefinite hiatus. The group made the announcement on their Facebook page last week by posting "Thanks for all the memories guys. Hope to make more down the line. We miss you all.” which left fans thinking they were breaking up. However, they later clarified their statement by writing “Saying goodbye for the forseeable future, but we may write for Asobi again in a couple of years…” (Ironically, the last thing the band did was release a cover of Japanese sludge metal band Boris's song "Farewell.") 

Let's hope that they get plenty of rest in the next couple of years and that they come back even stronger.

"Walk on the Moon" is my personal favourite Asobi Seksu song. The track is taken from their 2004 debut self titled album.

New Music: Elephant- Shapeshifter

Last February we were introduced to London indie pop duo Elephant via their masterful, soaring song "Skyscraper". After a quiet few months the couple have just come out with their latest track "Shapeshifter", a song where singer Amelia Rivera commands "take me to your room" despite the fact she is in a bad relationship. The song has an air of nostalgia that is paired with modern day dream pop. Listen below:

New Music: The Forest & The Trees- Putting Down The Gun

Here is another in a long line of Swedish bands to bestow us with indie pop greatness. The Forest & The Trees are set to release their second album some time in the near future. Meanwhile, listen to their new single "Putting Down the Gun" which hopefully be part of the new LP.