Last year, Their Bated Breath listed Elfin Saddle’s Asian-tinged, beautifully hyperkinetic song “Running Sheep” (click song name to see watch must-see video) as one of the best tracks of 2009. Emi Honda, Jordan McKenzie and Nathan Gage are back with a new multi-media offering, “Wurld” — a package which includes a 23-minute film on DVD,…
ARTISANS IN JAPAN: There’s something about Japan’s Lullatone that makes you love the world. The Lullatone duo is made up of Shawn James Seymour, the maker of delicious melodies, and the childlike vocal exuberance of lead singer Yoshimi Tomida. I first heard Lullatone, years ago, when I saw one of their songs was used in…
Los Angeles’ Jonathan D. Haskell is the orchestrator behind the mostly-instrumental band Seven Saturdays. He makes dreamy symphonies of noise, synth organ, bass, drums, and electronica. His songs create drifts of mood, from longing and passion to heartbreak and quietude. “Lost Mammals” is the first single released this year by Seven Saturdays, which was followed…
The sweet label EardrumsPop will be releasing singles on the 10th and 20th of every month, which will include two songs from a band and one cover-version of a song that the band thinks needs more attention. Well, one of those bands is Paperfangs, a Finland trio featuring two siblings and their friend. They’ve chosen…
COOL NIGHTS: Suddenly Sunshine are a French trio, who make a contemplative style of ornate European 70s pop with an orchestral feel. They are releasing a four-track EP, “Summer Days/Isan Remix”, via Wool Recordings. The last track on the record is an Isan remix of the first song, “Summer Days”. Robin Saville and Antony Ryan…
GOING SOLO: Australia’s Julia Stone, sans brother Angus, released a free single, “This Love”, available at amazon.com. (Listen below.) The album has the title ,”The Memory Machine”, and features artwork of a woman with a scratched-up face like a pulp-novel cover. The song is a lonely visioning of a relationship, dripping with the dark romance…
Article: David D. Robbins Jr. | Artist/Album: Yellow Ostrich “The Mistress” Will the real Alex Schaaf please stand up, please stand up, please stand up? You can’t help but marvel at the musical compositions this Maine artist makes as the surreal-named Yellow Ostrich. It’s safe to say, his recent record, “The Mistress”, isn’t like anything…
WITH PASSION: Francois Peglau has his new record finalized, and showing his wonderfully dark sense of humor, entitled it “The Imminent Failure of Francois Peglau”. It’s the same modest, and fun twist of humor he shows on his bouncily beautiful 70s-styled Beatlesesque track, “Everybody Loves Me”: “I say Everybody loves me / Everybody loves a…
UNLIMITED TALENT: It doesn’t take long after hearing Porcelain Raft’s (aka Mauro Remiddi) music before you realize this Italy-born songwriter does things his own way. On his bandcamp site he has two EPs, “Curve” and “Gone Blind”, a single entitled “Stained Glass” and an online album, “Collection of Porcelain” that has become a temporary repository…
SO GOOD: Our friends at La Blogotheque posted two lovely videos today of one of my all-time favorite musicians, Chocolate Genius Inc. Of course, Chocolate Genius Inc. (aka Marc Anthony Thompson) is hanging up the gloves in regard to his latest project. The videos are of the journeying song, “Polanski”, and one of the best…
NEW TRACK: I’ve always been a big fan of Chicago’s Joan of Arc, because of the sheer experimental fun they seem to have trying to create different types of sounds, layers, and rock outs. So, it’s cool to hear the band has a new track out, in anticipation of a release set for sometime in…
By David D. Robbins Jr. | Warpaint “The Fool” (Rough Trade, October 25) or Warpaint’s opener, it’s switchblades preferred. Their debut LP, “The Fool”, begins with Emily Kokal’s ghostly vocal sighing on “Set Your Arms Down”, a song that embodies the dueling sides of the record — one sweet with love, the other looking to…
TROPICAL RHYTHMS: Clive Tanaka’s album “Jet Set Siempre 1°” is divided into two halves with four songs each. The first part is the “dance” half, the second is the romance half. Tanaka and his orchestra (which may very well be an inside joke) mix auto-tuned vocals, heavy dance-club beats and a repetition of choruses like…
ON YOUR RADAR: The Poison Tree is the project of Steve Salett, who will be releasing his debut in March of 2011 via Embarque Records. Until then, he’s giving out a single, “Come On Come On”, which sounds a bit like a more pop version of Bill Callahan or Leonard Cohen. The label says the…
GOOD NEWS: I actually thought The Weather Station was breaking up, but it’s so good to see lead singer and songstress Tamara Lindeman creating new tracks. Once again, the lovely Southern Souls video site, run by Mitch Fillion, have released a couple of diamonds. The site posted two gems of Lindeman with her guitar. The…
DYNAMIC DUO: I’ve written about the Denver, Colorado duo, Gauntlet Hair, before — but their music is quickly becoming a Their Bated Breath favorite. (Read an archived post here.) Andy R. and Craig Nice have released two tracks, “Out Don’t … ” and “Heave”, a pair of lo-fi reverbed-out songs. Their sound is in-the-red and…
TIME LOOP: Manchester soulster Star Slinger has a new video out for his track “1987”, and it will take you back. Star Slinger (aka Darren Williams) creates a slick groove circling around sweet loops. The song is featured on the compilation “Seeing Suge” EP, which also contains tracks by Blackbird Blackbird and Emay. The video…
SOUTHERN SOULS SESSION: Toronto singer-songwriter Donovan Woods recorded a new video for his song “Lawren Harris” at a Southern Souls session. The song is off his newest release, “The Widowmaker”. The video is filmed and mixed by Mitch Fillion. Read an archived Their Bated Breath review of Woods’ new album here. — David D. Robbins…
FAKE MUSKET EP: Finland’s Neufvoin are releasing a free song, “Polar Song”, from their newest five-track EP, “Fake Musket”. The album was recorded in nine days at Kulttuuritalo. “Polar Song” begins with hushed vocals, synth, and soft guitar melodies that gradually build with pace and horns. It’s melancholic and pop-rock infused with lyrics about wanting…
A TENDER MOMENT: Breathe Owl Breathe have been touring in support of their new full-length LP “Magic Central”, released September 28th ovia Hometapes. They’ve released a free download for you called, “Across The Loch”. The band says the track “is a tender moment we’ve all lived through, a hand reaching to help another hand, or…
This is the new official video for “Half-Truth”, the first single from Dead Leaf Echo’s album “Truth” released two days ago by 2&1 Records.
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