With a buzz in our ear we'll play endlessly - Sigur Rós

Our friends in Sigur Rós will release 'Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust' the 24th of june. The title translates into 'with a buzz in our eyes we will play endlessly' and features 11 new songs. One of them is called Allright and Jonsí does that one in, yes, english. Interesting!

About the album it's said: "SR adopts a looser approach in the writing and creation of með suð. the material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after its completion. the album glows with the perfect imperfection of live takes, the sounds of fingers playing guitar strings, cracked notes, and a stark, upfront presence not found in previous sigur rós recordings, moving away from reverb-soaked guitar sounds towards something altogether more affecting. the record also contains some of the most joyous music the band has ever recorded."

The artwork is done by visual artist Ryan mcginley. Mcginley first met the band when he photographed jónsi six years ago; the album cover was taken from a flyer for mcginley's most recent exhibit i know where the summer goes, which happened to find its way into jónsi's inbox just as the band was deciding on how to best visually represent their new collection of songs.

Someone on Stereogum said about first song Gobbledigook: "Like Animal Collective covering Dave Matthews Band's "Grey Street." In Icelandic. In a good way." I must agree. Very different. Very wild, playful, joyous and truely a new style. I'm looking forward to more!

First video of the album, song Gobbledigook

Gobbledigook - Sigur Ros

Bon Iver - Emma and a civilised habitat

Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver is a lonely lumberjack. But a loveable one.

The short version is that Vernon - Wisconsin - were getting tired of bandmates and set up a home in a remote log cabin. He lived a self-imposed primitive lifestyle, chopping firewood and hunting wildlife and that awesome man-stuff you do when you'd want to be completly authentic and in touch with your innerself. In three month he did that while writing and recording - often in ten- to twelve-hour blocks - ensued, the process only being able to continue at times thanks to Vernon's self-taught hunting skills: some of his prey could be exchanged for recording equipment or guitar repairs.

By early 2007 the album, For Emma, Forever Ago was pretty much complete, in demo form at least, and Vernon, now back in a civilised habitat, with a record really worth listening to. It's realllyy good.

Bon Iver - Blindsided

Bjørn Svin - Modular Noia

Sometimes noise is just what you need. I quite enjoyed exploring the sounds in this piece by danish electronic-engineer Bjørn Svin. I'm not sure it's good, but it's different. I need that sometimes.

And the prayers are finally heard... Tom Waits 'Glitter and Doom Tour'

Holy Halloweenhead. He is coming! Tom Waits has announced a US tour and a European ditto is in the works. Check out details at Pitchfork and watch his hilarious "press conference" where also reveals the hidden meaning of "PEDHTSCKJMBA". Enlightening stuff, indeed.

Radiohead & MTV campaign Against Human Trafficking

Our beloved Radiohead have joined forces with our not so beloved MTV in the struggle to put focus on slavery. Thom Yorke & co have made 'All I Need' - my favorite track of 'In Rainbows', well probably of the entire 2007 - available for a simple but chilling video made by Oscar-winning cinematographer John Seale and director Steve Rogers. As Yorke puts it: 'Quite powerful'!

New sounds from New York

For a long while I've been meaning to round up on some very exciting bands that have appeared for New York in the last half year or so. Great stuff ahead:

First up is Yeasayer (pic). An absolutely mind-blowing quartet from Brooklyn. Their debut album 'All hour cymbals' has quickly become a firm favorite of mine. It's bubbling with what they themselves describe as "Middle-Eastern-psych-snap-gospel". In any case, a lot of very different references comes to mind when listening. A few exs: Talking Heads, Black Sabbath, Crosby, Stills & Nash - but most importantly, Yeasayer sounds very original and unique - a quality that is very rare nowadays.

Yeasayer - '2080' (1st single)

Yeasayer - 'Final Path' (non-album track yet brilliant)

Now we turn to also Brooklyn based MGMT who already has a bit of a radio hit with their first single 'Time to Pretend' of the album 'Oracular Spectacular'. This is poppy disco-flavoured indie with just enough creativity and experimentation to make it interesting. They don't knock me off my feet quite like Yeasayer but is certanly an enjoyable experience.

MGMT - 'Time to Pretend'
MGMT - 'Electric Feel'

Finally, I present Vampire Weekend who - like Yeasayer - takes inspiration from the world music scene, at least in a way similar to Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. I also detect a slice of the softer side of The Clash in there somehow. Mainly it's just top notch indie and their self-titled album is packed with catchy tunes and clever arrangements. I've seen them being criticized for being "too clever" - I guess I'm not clever enough to know how that could be a problem.

Vampire Weekend - 'The Kids don't Stand a Chance'

Vampire Weekend - 'A-Punk':

Dear diary, for days i've been peaking

Dear diary,

Today is the day where I've been reading Ryan Adams' blog, for God know how many days! I simply love his art even more (not his paintings though) now that I've been following his ados on his blog. First off this blog was written by himself, then his computer Foggy, then Ryan with another haircolor etc...

Well, unfortunately his blogging from the past weeks has been taken down. It was way funny. Small low-fi-cam videos with Ryan guiding you through his NYC-apartement, but also quite a lot of namedropping. Then the blog died, but now it's back in a more heavy metal-like themestyle. Still interesting, still Ryan... He write about pentagrams, how heavy he is and that he snorred a lot of coke (surprised... naaa...) and how he love Danzig. You will learn more about his heavy metal fetish. (He just luve Slayer). He also writes that he mental holiday in Paris ended up with him reconsidering his thoughts about his new album. Well, is this man never gonna release something? His blogging shows a troubled person, so I guess we should wait a little. While you are waiting, follow the process on his site and enjoy. This dude is lightyears from the rest of his fellow so-important musician-types, in fact so much that he now is my guru.

Danzig absolutely rocks. I listent quite a lot to this band in high school, so check out the video Mother below... Amaaaaazing mistfits! But more important, be a follower... read Ryan.

BTW. He writes this about Celtic Frost: This was the OK Computer of serious metal. Some would say ‘Operation Mindcrime” by Queensryche was, but seriously, it is teetering on Styx that record.

Blitzen Trapped!

A collegue at work introduced me to this fantastic band. I think they introduce themselves quite well: "From outerspace to down at the farm, campfire singalong to dystopic atonal deconstruction, Wild Mountain Nation [newest album] presents a raucous and varied constellation of favorite souvenirs from the Trapper’s musical adventures. Brought forth in a spasm of creative mania, Nation is rough-hewn but lush, crackling (sometimes audibly) with a weird and lucid energy. The album was recorded and arranged by the band themselves, using a dizzying variety of techniques and media, including a secret process learned from friendly extraterrestrials."

Blitzen Trapper: Coutry Caravan

Scout Niblett minimalism

No doubt P.J. Harvey comes to mind when listening to Scout Niblett. But with minimalistic songs (often only her and her guitar) she structures a much more intimate listening experience. It really suits those sundays where even melancholy seems beautiful, where cracks is letting light in.

Enjoy Wolfie and Baby Emma served in the form of a Vincent Moon Take Away Show


Or Scout teaming up with Bonnie "Prince" Billy in Kiss

No question about Why?!

I am falling in love with Why? It's a weird indie-meets-rap band at from the normally hip-hop-based label Anticon . The deeply original band has a lot of hip-hop feel to it, but without the braindead lyrics and clichés of that genre. And still it's rock. Really really cool. Rumors say they are great live - check them out at Loppen, Christiania, Copenhagen 14th of may. Their new album Alopecia is maybe even better than Elephant Eyelash. Stream the album-opener The Vowels pt.2 here or download

Why? Song Of The Sad Assasin

Crimes against fashion

Priceless.


Crimes Against Fashion-Episode 1 "revenge of mouth" from Ryan Adams on Vimeo

Death Cab wheeling in at Roskilde? Surely!

Death Cab for Cutie is just about ready to release their sixth proper album, called 'Narrow Stairs'. A glance at their tour plan makes a promising sight for people hoping for a repeat of their brillant performance at Roskilde '06. This year Roskilde Festival takes place from July 3rd - 6th and the indie rockers from Seattle play in Norway on the 3rd and Sweden on the 5th. Do the math...

'I will possess you heart' is the single of the upcoming album and it shows a band ready to explore new ground. It's a bit more moody than their last couple of albums but most noticeble it take off with a 4+ minute instrumental intro. This is always a sign of a band with confidence but not always a good idea. Judge for yourself:

Itchdork.tv

Pitchfork has now launched a pitchfork.tv channel. It's really indie, so we are by nature really scared that this only will target people between 13-21. We will follow the situation closely and report back if anything good happens there.

The Teenagers and human pacmen

Sorry for our stupid lazyness according to our lack of updates here on Indie Laundry. This is The Teenagers and they might not be the usual recommendation, but your musical sommerlier is so busy these days. But this song Homecoming is kind of fun and some fans even wants to get killed by them. Their awesomeness is so cool that the proportions of this band exceeds epic grandness. If you are in doubt, check this blog to witness the tens of thousands of words connected to this li'l band. It's nice and below you can comfort yourself in these spring times with some japanese gameshow, which I personally believe is better than the real thing. Have a nice weekend - hope it won't really eat you. Indie Laundry will be back.

The Teenagers - Homecoming

Hola Shica!

Trying to use a day of fever in a good way. Then why not put some alternative flamenco on our indie-blog? Why? Because I saw this video in Spain last spring, an was caught by the flamenco-beat. I tried to find the cd i Granada, but no luck. Now I see they are playing this summers Roskilde Festival. I really hope to be chilling out to their concert this summer. Give it a go - La Shica: Zingara Rapera.