AIDS Wolf - March to the Sea

This is an exciting day for me, as well as many other fans of noise rock, AIDS Wolf has just released their new album "March to the Sea" and I just got ahold of it about an hour ago. I've been awaiting a good noise rock release, as the only exceptional one I can recall recently was Lightning Bolt's latest album "Earthly Delights", which blew my face off.

The first thing I noticed was that AIDS Wolf really stepped up the production quality on this album, everything from vocals to the drums, and the distorted, jagged, cacophonic guitars. They kept things aggressive on this album too, something which hooked me into their previous album "Cities of Glass". In terms of structure, there is an underlying one and despite what amateur ears might believe, nothing is played arbitrarily, it's just very, very, very chaotic (in a good way, of course).

The improved clarity of the vocals did make them far more abrasive, which was intended and suits the album. Few people are going to listen to this for it's melodic qualities, as it has none. It's meant to be discomforting, and it really helped AIDS Wolf achieve that.

The only disappointment in this album was it's how few tracks the album featured: 7. Although this is good because the music isn't sticking around longer than it should, and there's nothing thrown ino the album strictly as filler, this seems more qualified to be an EP than an LP. Nevertheless the tracks which were included were still awesome, and the album ended with a 10 minute noise punk extravaganza "Very Friendly".

NOTE: If you aren't into noise music or noise rock you will hate this, so don't bother unless you're willing to try it if you're not familiar with the genre or the band, or if you're already a current fan of noise rock and/or AIDS Wolf.

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Girls - Broken Dreams Club EP

Hey it's me again,

I've been awaiting more music from Girls, after the release of their incredible debut album cleverly titled "Album". If you're expecting this EP to follow up on what made the album so good, then you're in for a treat, as not only does it do exactly that, but it also expands upon it with more instrumentation from different instruments not heard in "Album". It features a lot of horns, which reminded me of Beirut, synthesizers, and even female backing vocals in the track "Substance", something that we haven't seen before. However, Girls did a good job of not letting this new amalgamation of instruments allow the previous aspects of their music to take the back seat, it's still got that surf sound in there.

I feel like the horns, especially in "Thee Oh So Protective One" kind of adds a new Latin sound to the mix. But that's okay. Their sound is expanding and growing, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. This EP sort of to catch of glimpse of what to expect in the future from them, it's a 6 track prediction of what's next.

Of course, Owens kept to his mopey, heartbroken themes in the lyrics. After all, he did choose to name the EP "Broken Dreams Club", and one of the tracks is titled "Heartbreaker", and through careful listening to the lyrics it is clear to see that he's got girl troubles. You'd think putting out a highly acclaimed debut album and touring extensively would cheer him up; apparently not. He's still suffering from severe heartache.

My only issue with this album is that he became less aggressive, and his songs are beginning to slow down. What ever happened to the intensity, fun and passion that I so loved in the amazing track "Lust For Life"? That track played a significant role what made their debut album so awesome. There were no tracks that really pumped me up as that track did, I was really, really pulling for another one of those kind of songs, and they didn't deliver there. Hopefully in their next album they'l include some faster songs.

Also, I don't know why the hell Girls insists on releasing summer sounding albums so close to winter, this EP would've accumulated a lot more fame if released around May-July, that was some pretty poor timing on their part. They did the same thing with their first album if you recall, which was also released in the Autumn. But I guess at the same time, putting this album out in November gives me a taste of summer fun in a time when it seems to be long gone.

8/10

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GIRL TALK - ALL DAY

Today is a very, very special monday, as Girl Talk has just put out his newest album 'All Day' for FREE via Illegal Art. Everyone should check this album out, regardless of what your favourite artists or styles of music are, as it's a blend of pretty much everything into one fantastic party mash-up album. Girl Talk's style needs no explanation, as it has been well defined by his incredible past releases, and he is one of few people can actually make a mash-up that isn't corny or that is painful to listen to. Fun doesn't even begin to describe "All Day", and the best part about this album is that everyone can enjoy it, regardless of musical background, everyone from music nerds to people who only listen to top-40 can listen to it and have a good time. It blends everything from pop and hip-hop, to punk and heavy metal, and everything in between.

I know what I'll be partying to this winter. I really recommend this album. Plus it's free, so what do you have to lose for giving it a whirl.

9/10

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Weekend - Sports

Hey it's me,

So it seems like in the past 4 weeks or so good music releases have been few and far between, since Gold Panda's album was released I haven't seen one album come out which I actually enjoyed, consequently I've had to go back in time to find new music to listen to. Luckily I stumbled across/really enjoyed Jay Reatard's (RIP) really early Lo-Fi albums under "The Reatards" like "Teenage Hate", which was teriffic and if you like Punk music you should really check that out. But this blog is dedicated to new music, meaning music that has been released recently.

Well it's November and my Autumn 2011 playlist has been looking really, really bleak, with little new music to put into it, and a lot of recycled music from last fall. Thankfully, Weekend's new album "Sports" was really good. I really dug the heavy use of reverb on the vocals, and when I mean heavy, I mean heavy. The lyrics are barely decipherable under it, and it just sounds like a stream of lucid, swirly sound, in a good way of course. The guitars and drums are very reminiscent of Sonic Youth's albums Daydream Nation and Goo, sounding rather similar with distorted, somewhat simple guitar which is catchy but not overly melodic, and basic but effective drumming.

But that's also sort of what I disliked about this album, aside from the vocals nothing really struck me as original, however it's still a tried and true sound and I'm A-okay with that.

Finally, something good for my (our) fall playlist(s)!

My favourite tracks: End Times, Coma Summer, Monogah

7.5/10

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Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner

Hey dudes. I'm really sick today, I've been coughing and sneezing all week plus last night I woke up at around 5 AM and could not fall back asleep. So I laid in my bed for 3 1/2 more hours trying to sleep, but I couldn't. So in addition to the sniffles and a headache I was also fatigued throughout my whole body to the point where I couldn't stand for longer than 3 minutes, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm a little better now, but I still feel pretty crappy, so I'm gonna keep this post short so I can go relax a little.

Derwin Panda, more commonly known as "Golden Panda", is an electronic music producer from London, and though I haven't heard any of his music prior to "Lucky Shiner", judging from this I can tell you his music is composed mostly of really vintage synth effects arranged in a manner that sounds more like a modern House song; with a four-to-the-floor beat and a lot of repitition. Another thing I picked up on is that a few of the songs also have a bit of an Asian/Indian vibe to them. The tracks are catchy and danceable, yet still maintain an element of Lo-Fi in them, which I dig, as that is what's gonna probably keep it from entering a lot of cheesy clubs.

What makes this album so good to me is how there is almost nothing like it right now in the current electronic music realm, a lot of groups that use vintage sounds don't make songs that I could dance to (Neon Indian, Ariel Pink) and I'm sick of most of the good danceable electronic music, as it's getting really played out now. "Lucky Shiner" could possibly be my electronic album of this year. So give it a listen, it might be yours too.

9/10

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Salem - King Night

Hey, it's me.

I've finally gotten around to actually making new posts almost every day, how exciting! I feel like over the past few months my writing capabilities have greatly increased. Partly because I've been taking writing courses in school which resulted in me writing a lot more, but also because I've been reading and writing a lot of reviews, so the quality (in my opinion), and quantity of my posts have increased. I can now write a whole review in the time that it took me to write a brief bio for a band in one paragraph. Turns out writing more makes you better at it, who knew?

The album we have here is Salem's debut album "King Night". Salem is an electronic trio from Traverse City, Michigan. They have been garnering a lot of hype with this album because of the band's unique combination of electronic and shoegaze with dirty south rap, resulting in the creation of what could possibly be the most unusual genre of music I've seriously ever seen in my entire life: Witch House (also known as Crunk Shoegaze). In theory, this new style of music seems like it would sound like shit, but you'd be surprised at how differently you'd think it would sound prior to actually listening to songs of said genre.

I actually really enjoyed the first track on the album "King Night", which is also the title of the album, and it gave me a really good first impression on what to expect for the rest of the album: dark, gloomy, atmospheric electronic music backed by what sounds like opera singing, and if the rest of the album sounded like this I'd think they'd really have something going for them. The following tracks "Asia" and "Frost" also really impressed me, keeping to the same characteristics maintained on the first track, with Frost even having some swirly, hollow female singing that really made that particular track that much spookier.

Then it happened. I got to the fourth track "Sick", and I heard those sampled "Yeeuhs" found at the beginning of any hip hop song, only they were slowed down, and then some slowed down, deep voice started rapping over the track, and that's where the album died. The fact that they slowed it down a lot did make it sound a little better as it gave it a sort of more horrifying sound, but it still doesn't change the fact that they just had to throw some rap in there. At first I hated it like sickness, but since I listened to it over and over for the sake of reviewing, I started to like it more and more. So if you don't like it at first, you might like it after a few listens.

I think most of the tracks on this album would kill at a Halloween party, and this album should definitely be on your autumn playlist. I don't think it'll be much of a spring/summer album though, so enjoy it now!

8/10

(I had to take the download link down, the record company complained to blogspot, perhaps it's a sign you should purchase the album instead!)

Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz

I remember when I first heard that Sufjan Stevens was undergoing a "50 States Project" in which he was going to release one album for every U.S State after the releases of "Greetings From Michigan" and "Come on, Feel the Illionoise!". I got really, really excited for further albums as those two are probably still my favorites. I remember wondering which state would be next, would it be California? Or Minnesota? Or Maine? Then he released "The BQE" around this time last year, and suddenly I wasn't so excited anymore. I hated The BQE and I began to dread any further disappointing releases, at that point I didn't care which state was next. To my relief I later learned that the 50 States Project was just a joke, and many months later he released "All Delighted People" this past August, and I liked it. I began to look forward to release of "The Age of Adz", which isn't to be physicaly released until tommorow but has been released electronically to those who pre-ordered it, so naturally now it's all over the internet.

I'm going to get the obvious out of the way and just say that this is his first album with elements of electronics. There's use of drum pads and synthesizers all over the place. Of course in theory the idea of adding electronics to his trademark baroque orchestral/folk music sounds like it only go one of two ways: disastrous or incredible. Rest assured; he incorporates it in very well, as it appears enough for me to be aware of it's existence, however I can tell he still made sure not to allow it to take charge, overpower and become the primary focus of the album (minus the track "Get Real Get Right").

On the other hand, this album really suffered a lot in that it didn't have as many of those grand orchestral moments, where the power of all the instruments coming together wows you so much you feel like it should be the soundtrack to a montage of you trekking through the wilderness of North America. I found those moments were a lot more common in his previous works, this album doesn't feel as full in sound as often as before, with the obvious exception of the 25 minute masterpiece "Impossible Soul", which, despite it's long length (it's a well known fact that I'm not a fan of long songs) is my favourite song on the album. Having both it's quiet, minimal and loud, full moments, of both classical and electronic instruments (even including a vocoder), it was a great way to conclude this album.

I was really liking this album by the time I finished listening to it, especially the introduction of electronic instruments, and it reminded me that despite how bad The BQE was, Stevens has still got it.

7.5/10

Download

Two New Music Videos

Over the past 3 days both Crystal Castles and Japanther have both put out new music videos for two of their most popular songs, Crystal Castles "Baptism" off of the 2010 album "Crystal Castles" and Japanther's "The Dirge" off of their 2008 album "Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt". Check them out:

Grass Widow - Past Time

Since I have a huge soft spot for bands that sound like the Vivian Girls, Grass Widow and their lastest album "Past Time" naturally caught my attention, with catchy female vocals, garage rock/punk instrumentation, and short song durations. Nothing is worse than when you have a song that sounds really good, but then overstays it's welcome by dragging on for 5 minutes. Grass Widow did a good job keeping their songs short, with the longest song punching in at around 3:32.

Grass Widow obviously were obviously influenced by a lot of '80s Post Punk acts, resulting in a lot of stringy guitar and plucked bass, with the former having being a little soft and sometimes featuring a bit of distortion in some songs. They make it work though, as it's not like they're trying to sound like the bands, but rather they're simply drawing inspiration from it, which everyone does.

What really made this album stand out was the strong use of vocal harmonies; the vocalists (all three band members sing) would sing the same notes at all times yet kind of weave their voices together by singing in different octaves. Another thing about the vocals is how much they contrasted the instruments. While the instruments sound like a tranquilized Mika Miko, with lyrics which are softly sung and not yelled.

What I didn't like was how some of the songs on this album felt like they lacked a quick hook and that it took a few listens for me to like it. Usually with songs of this nature it should take a shorter amount of time for me to be hooked in and either instantly know whether I like or dislike it. I also felt like the guitars could have been a little more aggressive, but at the same time their passive sound helped to make this album stand out from it's peers.

I enjoyed listening to Past Time, I really did, it was quite solid throughout, and because of that I'm going to have to give this album a solid 7. I think you should check this album out because I'm looking forward to more releases from Grass Widow.

Download

No Age - Everything In Between

I have been awaiting the release of this album for quite some time, not because I wanted to listen to it (it leaked in August so I've already been listening to it for a while) but rather just to see what everyone else thought about it. Though I wasn't surprised with the ratings it got, which were quite positive overall, it wasn't quite as acclaimed as the ratings the band's previous album "Nouns", which you should definitely check out as that album was amazing. Listening to this album, I can see why.

The thing with Everything in Between is that it isn't nearly quite as aggressive as the previous album, even on the tracks meant to be fierce and loud, such as "Fever Dreaming", "Depletion" and "Shred and Transcend" (which definitely has gotta be a reference to skateboarding, as No Age are avid skateboarders themselves and even designed their own skate shoe for the brand Emerica). Yes they are all good songs, however they pale by comparison to more punk-ish songs that we came to love by No Age such as "Teen Creeps", "Board Burner" and even "Sleeper Hold", all of which were released on "Nouns". Perhaps it was just a result of a poor producer or it was how No Age intended it to sound; either way I didn't like it.

This album does also draw into No Age's more shoegaze-y side, which they really developed in their 2009 EP "Everything in Between", which if any readers can recall I placed in my top 10 for 2009. They definitely delivered in this area. Those songs were very dreamy, swirly, and layered, and were really well written and produced and I really liked them. Especially "Katerpiller" and "Positive Amputation" which were absolutely amazing.

Finally, I felt the album's opening track "Life Prowler" did a fantastic job at setting the mood for the rest of the album. It really gave me a really accurate and good feeling of what to expect from the rest of the album, kind of like: "get excited, because something big is about to happen, but it won't always be fast and exciting." For some reason it also kind of sounded to me like it could've been written by New Order, really early in their career. Like around the time shortly after Ian Curtis' death when they still kind of had a Post Punk sound, before the synths became dominant.

I was generally pleased with this album, it had a decent balance of three-chord-punk songs and shoegaze, keeping the two seperate in different tracks but at the same time having an even balance of both. They didn't go and try anything new with this album, but that's okay because I like what they're doing right now and I hope they stay like this.

I've gotta give this album a solid 8/10. You might be reading this and thinking that I would've thought more of Everything In Between had I not compared it so much to Nouns, but I kind of had to, as that album really set a high standard for them that they didn't really reach at all parts of this album, they definitely did at some parts, but not all throughout.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?9r9ek2dl9s09sm1

PS: Two things. 1: I've decided that I'm gonna start rating the albums,

2: If you liked this album, or any of their previous ones, come see No Age with me on November 18th in Toronto, it'll be a blast! The event page for it on facebook can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159263184089384

Japanther - Rock N' Roll Ice Cream

Hey, it's me.

School kicked off for me on Tuesday, and as a result I've been really busy with homework and trying to get as much sleep as I can. But it's friday now and I finally have the time to make a new blog post. Unfortunately, it seems like I've disliked all of the new albums that I've listened to which have been released over the past two weeks or so, and due to that I decided to post this album, which came out in March, but I didn't get until about 3 weeks ago, and finally got around to posting it now.

Japanther is a lo-fi punk band from Brooklyn who sound like if The Ramones and indie rock as a whole decided to mate give birth to a band instead of a child. Every one of their albums to date has been incredibly solid, I've loved them all, I suggest you go get some of their previous albums too, and I loved this album just as much as I did the former ones. It seems that Japanther picked up a female vocalist to sing alongside them on this album, whos voice appears in almost every track (except for "What the Fuck is the Internet?" and "L.A URA Mystery"), which is something new for them, but they really make it work and the female vocals dont seem out of place at all, she has a good voice.

The songs are all very catchy and hook you in really, really fast. You don't have to listen to it more than once to know that either. Some bands make songs that you have to listen to a few times over to like, but that's not the case on Rock N Roll Ice Cream. The songs are all very catchy, and will get stuck in your head really fast. Japanther doesn't use a variety of instruments either, their songs consist of bass guitar, drums, vocals and a cheap vintage keyboard.

While many of the songs seem to have pop-ish hooks, they still remain true to their roots and can still stick it to the man, which is exemplified on the track "What The Fuck Is The Internet?". Finally, something I've never seen Japanther do on any album before is include an accoustic song. It's titled "Alone In The Basement" and is a remake of the first track "She's The One". I can't say I really liked how they did that though, it isn't appropriate and I didn't get the album to hear an accoustic song. This was a fantastic album, perhaps even one of my favourites so far this year, but 2010 has yet to come to a close, and something may still top Rock N Roll Icecream. But until then, Japanther will be the King of the Beach.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?tdxmgyz2mq1

Cardboard Fox - Cardboard Fox [EP]

Hey it's me, Alex Baird.

I don't normally post much about news and releases from local bands in the GTA/Hamilton area, mostly because 90% of it is crap, too many people are starting bands, and I'm embarassed to talk about it. Cardboard Fox however, is an exception. Being the first band in a very long time to win Burlington's Highschool Battle of The Bands while not being some trite and lame screamo/metal band or a painfully generic rock group that's just absolutely boring as fuck, their sucess garnered the attention of Moneen's guitarist/vocalist Kenny Bridges. The band met Kenny after playing Burlington's Sound of Music festival, a gig they landed after winning The Battle of The Bands. Kenny offered to record the band's EP in his personal studio, and after many days and nights spent in his studio, they were able to finish and release their debut, self titled release.

To be 100% honest, this is the first local band who's officially released something for sale that I really liked and enjoyed. What I really dug about this album was how fun it was. It was just very fun, and positive, and stays consistently positive throughout all six tracks; obviously drawing some influence from Tokyo Police Club, The Born Ruffians, while all the sing along chants reminds me of The Japandroids. Another thing I picked up from this album was how the lead guitars (for reasons unknown) sounded to me like the guitars in Explosions In The Sky's album "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place", in terms of sound of course, not the style in which it is played, as the guitars in this EP are much faster, exciting, and are obviously played for a significantly shorter duration of time.

Sadly, the band didn't print very many copies of their EP, as they didn't expect a lot of people to purchase it. Nevertheless you can stilll listen to all of the songs on their myspace page, and if you like it then speak to the band, I'm sure there's still some copies left, they only cost 5 dollars. Go out and grab one while you still can!

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cardboardfoxband

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cardboard-Fox/246483062140?ref=ts

Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP

Few people would consider sixty minutes of music to be the proper amount for an EP, in fact I believe that many could call sixty minutes of music a full album. However this is not the case with Sufjans Steven's latest EP "All Delighted People", which clocks in at 59:15, and has a total of eight tracks. This album was a great improvement from his previous album "The BQE", which, for lack of better words, was a piece of shit. The best and most exciting feature of this album was Sufjan's integration of the common elements and instruments of electronic music into his well known folky/baroque pop sound, which is something we've never really seen before. He adds it in well, without letting it become too dominant. I first heard it on the track "From The Mouth of Gabriel", where it really took me by surprise, but I really liked it at first listen, and still now, after many listens. Another good thing about this album was its price, which was only five dollars if you buy it online, good price! This EP made me look forward to his next full length album "The Age of Adz", which was something I wasn't really excited for prior to this release (because of how disappointing "The BQE" was). That album will be released in October, so get excited!

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uqq8sssqnpzwwr2

Antarctica Takes It! - Constellations

Hey there cool cats, thanks for stopping by to check out my music blog! In return I present you with great new music. If you like what I post, please subscribe, or let me know that you like what I'm posting!

Antarctics Takes It! is a 6 piece indie pop group from Southern California whose music revolves around it's naivety. Both the somewhat simple songs, and their lyrics, which usually deal with love and crushes, have the innocence of a highschool musical. I made that comparison because after a lot of listening this album sounds like a soundtrack to a musical put on by highschool kids. With light guitar tracks which are dominated by male-female vocals and piano, you'll see why. It truly is an adorable album, and its sound is a breath of fresh air from all of the other beach-themed albums that have been coming out recently.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?12ammclfyofhxmb

Dumbo Gets Mad (A Good New Band To Keep An Eye On)

Dumbo Gets Mad is a psychedelic pop project from Italy that just put out their first track: "Plumy Tale". I really liked this track a lot, it keeps to the summer/beach-fun style that I really like and has been really gaining popularity recently with groups such as: The Drums, Best Coast, Beach Fossils, Wavves, and maybe I'd even go as far as to say Ariel Pink in his newest album "Before Today". I really dug the synth in this track, and the "la-la-la-la" vocals, which reminded me of The Beach Boys. Overall "Plumy Tale" has a strong big 60's pop sound, and it is ruling me right now.

Now this group isn't very popular as of right now, the project is very, very new, and the song has only recieved 40 plays on their myspace page as of when this was blogged. They also only have a little over 20 fans on facebook. Things will eventually pick up for them hopefully though with the release of more tracks and an album, but in the meantime check out his first track, and if you like it, perhaps add him on facebook? I predict great things for Dumbo Gets Mad, and I say give this a listen!

You can listen to the track on youtube or his myspace page, and if you liked it, don't forget to send him a friend request on facebook too!

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8N18diRMVE

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dumbogetsmad

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/profile.php?id=100001330382693&v=wall

Best Coast - Crazy For You

Being a pretty huge fan of the Vivian Girls, it was obvious that I had to check out Best Coast's debut album "Crazy For You". I really dug their singles prior to this album's release, and the former drummer for the Vivian Girls, Ali Koehler, quit the band to join Best Coast. This album features a lot of similarities to the Vivian Girls, very distorted guitars, simple riffs, female vocalists that sound similar, and a lot of lyrics about boys. However Best Coast puts a summer fun spin on it that the Vivian Girls didn't have, and although they do feature a lot of similarities, don't dismiss this simply as a knockoff album. Another thing I really liked about this album was the short duration of the tracks, as I have stated before and will stand by forever: if you have a good song, don't kill it by making the length of it clock in at over seven minutes, that just kills it. My only problem with this album was that there isn't much variation from song to song, they all follow the same general format, but that doesn't really pose a problem if you really like their style (as I do). This album doesn't really re-invent the wheel, but it's a great teenage summer album, and I really like it. Put this in your summer playlist for sure.

The record label contacted blogger, I had to take the download link down. Sorry everyone. However perhaps its a sign that I (and you) should buy the album? hmmm, I think we should.

New Good Stuff, and Stuff.

Hey gang, it's been a solid two months since my last post. But a lot of good music has reached my ears since then from a variety of genres. Every time I make a new post I always say that "blah blah I'll start posting more often" and I never do. So hopefully this time I actually do post on here ore often. You'll need WinRAR to unzip most of the files posted on this fine music blog. Google it and download a trial. The trial mode will last you forever though because you can always just cancel the reminder telling you that it expires in 40 days. I've had my 40 day trial since 2007.

Wavves - King of The Beach

This is Wavve's third album, but his first album not recorded at his parent's house, also his first release since his onstage meltdown at the 2009 Barcelona Primavera Sound Festival. I kind of miss the Lo-Fi qualities of his previous albums, I love that shit. This is a real "fuck it have fun" album, it's really intended to be taken at face value, no deep examination of the lyrics is required. I also noticed that he kind of picked up some oldschool pop punk elements on King of the Beach. This album also has a good mix of tracks that are good for rockin' out ("Super Soaker", "Post Acid", "King of the Beach" and "Idiot"), and some nice relaxed and mellow tracks ("Linus Spacehead", "When Will You Come") with neither being better than the other in terms of quality. I also noticed that the album's name is sort of intended as a joke, where he is sarcastically dubbing himself the 'King' of the Beach (in reference to the countless new bands popping up with beach themed albums, band names, and tracks). Expect to hear tracks from this album in a bajillion skate vids in the near future.

Download the album: http://www.mediafire.com/?zi5zejogng1

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

Ariel Pink has been around for pretty much ever (since 1996) making music spanning so many genres that it's damn near impossible to define his style music. He has recorded over 500 songs in his music career, mostly on cassette tapes in his home. However, like Wavves his new album is studio recorded, however it still sounds rather Lo-Fi to me, and this album will be his first to have commercial success in comparison to his prior releases. I even saw this album at Sunrise Records in the mall. Pink was first signed to Paw Tracks records (the record label owned and run by Animal Collective, which they have made most of their releases on) where he was the first non-Animal Collective artist to have a release from them. I hear a lot of styles of music on this album, from New Wave, to 60's psychedelic, and even Michael Jackson, especially on the track "Fright Night", which is one of my favorites on Before Today. What I really liked about this album was it's use of funk-sounding bass riffs and vintage synthesizers together, which really gave it a true retro sound. And this sound remains consistent throughout the whole album, with the outlier being the track "Butt-House Blondes" which had an '80s glam/hair metal sound, drawing heavily on highly distorted guitars and shridding riffs. I'd definitely recommend this album to everyone, there's so much going and so many genres spanned on in this album that chances are you'll at least like one track.

Download: http://sharingmatrix.com/file/7787557/Ariel_Pinks_Haunted.rar

The Drums - The Drums

Well it's the summer time right now and it's scorching hot outside, it's been over 30 degrees celcius every day for the past while, nevertheless school is still out and it's time for some summer fun! The Drums were obviously wanted some summer fun when they recorded this album, as their first self titled album sounds exactly like what I imagine summer fun would sound like if it were music. However there's also a very mopey side to this album too, with the band drawing some influence from Morrissey. It captures the fun parts of summer in music through tracks such as "Lets Go Surfing" "Forever and Ever Amen" and"Skippin Town" which have a cheery and happy summer sound to them, and there's some summer lovin' sounds in "Down By The Water" and "I'll Never Drop My Sword" with the lyrics drawing on love and that nonsense, and the Morrissey mope can be heard in "Short Stores", "We Tried" and "I Need Fun in My Life". My only problem with this album was the track "Skippin' Town". I really, really, really don't like it at all. It's just very headache inducing for some reason. Overall, this album is basically like Surf Rock meets The Smiths and Joy Division. The songs are very, very melodic, catchy, and appropriate for summer, and I'd strongly recommend you put this album in your summer playlist this year.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?jkjqd5tdom3

Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

Male Bonding is another one of those fast paced heavily distorted noise pop bands, similar to No Age, the Vivian Girls, Wavves, and Best Coast. Coming from Dalston, London, they started out in the DIY community, and eventually released this album which turned out to be a hit. This album is chopped full of that lo-fi noise/punk sound that's become very popular over the last 2 years, albeit Male Bonding does a good job of not sounding too much like any of the other bands that fall under this new category. The tracks on "Nothing Hurts" also have a lot of really good hooks that do the whole indie-punk thing well without going too pop-punk-ish, which is one of the problems I had with Wavves' King of the Beach. Finally, another thing I really liked was the short song durations. Nothing bugs me more than a song that sounds great and hooks you in, then overstays its welcome with the same hook playing over for 5 minutes. The tracks are short and to the point.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uhdwmkw2kww

Little Women - Throat

Before I begin, I must let you know that is album is not for everyone, I reckon maybe one or two of the people who will read this will actually like it, and even then I don't think they'd like it a lot. If you're searching for some melodic happy-go-lucky indie music try one of the albums listed prior to this one. Because you will hate this one. Hate it. Hate it like you wouldn't believe. Anyways, "Throat" is the first full length LP from the Avante Garde Free Jazz/Noise band "Little Women". It's very loud, fierce, and in your face with heavy saxophone dominating over the guitars and drums that don't seem to follow any particular beat or rythym at first listen, though they do, and you'll discover this after multiple listens as I did. Each track doesn't really have a particular name, they're just numbered from "Throat I" through all the way to "Throat VII". This album is like getting punched in the face by sound, but in a good way.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?mqmoejndwdk

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

Not gonna lie - I didn't listen to this album too, too much. Well not as much as the previous ones, but I did enough listening to have the confidence to recommend it, as well as be familiar with all of the tracks. But in a way that's kind of a good thing, because I won't get bored of this album as quickly. This is Tame Impala's first album release and it's a very '60s pshychedelic pop/rock sounding album. Lots of trippy guitar effects loaded onto this album, and the singer even has a voice somewhat similar to John Lennon's. If you love Jimmy Hendrix, or The Beatles or any of that nonsense, you'll really like this. I'm not much of a fan of that music, however I feel like Tame Impala took the common elements of the music of that time and the genre and updated it; made it more modern sounding, while still retaining its '60s roots. Probably would be a good album to get really baked and listen too, it's trippy but it's very chilled, you won't get bad vibes while listening to this.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?iyvg4t0ejin

Sleigh Bells - Treats

This is a real love-hate album. Certain music reviewers (such as the lovely folks at Pitchfork, jk lol) loved this thing probably as much as I did. While many other reviewers found this album to be weak, and dismissed it simply as simple no-talent Hipster pop music. To be honest I could see where they're coming from. The songs are very, very simple, but loud and feature heavily distorted guitar over very loud drums with a lot of bass, and vocals that are delivered in a manner almost similar to rapping (I don't mean real rapping, more like Uffie rapping). However I thought this album was fuckin' cool. It's very, very, very loud. It's fun as hell to listen to, and sure it's simple, but it's very effective. It's easy to tell how this sound was formulated, the guitarist Derek Miller spent his music career prior to Sleigh Bells in a Hardcore band, while the singer Alexis Krauss (who's incredible good looking, might I add) was in a teenybopper pop group called "Ruby Blue", it's evident that they fused dumbed-down metal-breakdown style guitar riffs, with pop drum beats and vocals and came up with this masterpiece. There's really been no other album like this before. The track "Crown On The Ground", my favorite on the album, is potentially also one of my favorite songs of the year as well. Check this out, it's a lot of fun.

Download: http://sharingmatrix.com/r000216945/14139901/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Sleigh_Bells_-_Treats_(2010).rar

Caribou - Swim

This one came out a while ago now, but I haven't posted since it's release so it needed to be included. I think Caribou went back to his electronic roots a little on "Swim" in comparison to his two previous albums "Andorra" and "The Milk of Human Kindness". Daniel Snaith, the man behind Caribou is actually from Dundas, not too far off from where I live!

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ewomyinnljr

Future Islands - In Evening Air

I first heard about Future Islands because they opened up for Dan Deacon in 2009 in Toronto. They put on an excellent performance, and I became a big fan of them and their previous album "Wave Like Home" ever since. Well they just put out their new album "In Evening Air", and it is fantastic. Future Islands likes to combine New-Wave style synths, Post-Punk bass guitar hooks, and very, very passion filled vocals, provided by a man whose face resembles a mix of Jack Black and Lou Costello, but he rocks. I really don't believe this album got as much attention as it deserves, but I believe it didn't because Future Islands likes to tour with very obscure artists (excluding Dan Deacon, of course). Perhaps one of my favorite albums of the year, is this New New Wave masterpiece.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?gmyut2wqgzj

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)

I was debating about whether or not I should feature Crystal Castles' second self-titled album in this post because I thought everyone probably already knows about it, and its been out for a while, but then I thought "Fuck it" and I'm gonna put in in here anyways. Crystal Castles is perhaps one of my favorite artists ever, being an avid fan of all of their songs, even the ones that aren't on any legitimate album or EP, I've always loved them, both because of their music and because of their on and offstage personalities. Onstange they're absolutely crazy, they put on aggressive live shows with intensely fast strobe lights and Alice always manages to destroy something, yet once their set finishes they dissapear into thin air, they lead very mysterious lives. I'm not gonna lie though, did not like this album as much as the first one, I felt like they dropped a lot of their frantic 8-bit sound for more calm and collected electronic sound. Alice even sang in a few songs, what the fuck was up with that. However they still retained a lot of the things I liked in the first album in tracks such as "Baptism" , "Intimate", "Vietnam" and "Pap Smear". Ironically enough, despite my reasons for liking Crystal Castles so much, my favorite track on this album was actually the only one to be mainly non-electronic, "Doe Deer". Although I was kind of disappointed with this album, I understand why they didn't want to make the same kind of album again, it wouldn't have been a step forward for them, but rather more of a sidestep, and this album really updated their sound.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?fjqzv5zmjjn

PS: I'll try to post new albums as they are released, as opposed to a big bulk of albums every few months,

ttyl,

Alex.

Doe Deer - Crystal Castles

New Crystal Castles track named 'Doe Deer' was released off of their limited edition EP also named Doe Deer, which is being released this weekend (only 500 copies being printed, and no digital downloads though!) Luckily I have managed to get a download for you guys! Sounds nothing like their usual 8-bit stuff, it's just as cool though, you will not be dissappointed

Download: http://rs527.rapidshare.com/files/376346074/Crystal_Castles_-_Doe_Deer.mp3

Some Good New(ish) Albums

I haven't made a new post in a while, and I really apologize! So to make it all up I have decided to post some great new albums that I have really enjoyed that have been released so far this year. Even though only 3 months have passed since the dawn of this new year, a lot of great new albums have been released, and even more are to be released soon! Here are a few albums that I think you will enjoy, I really liked them! (You will need WinRar to download most of these albums, google it and download a free trial, you can use the trial forever without having to pay for it, trust me I've been using my 40 day trial version since 2007.)

In no particular order:

Astro Coast - Surfer Blood

I don't care much for plain alternative guitar-bass-drum-vocals bands, I am fond a few, but not many. Surfer Blood's debut album 'Astro Coast' really jumped out at me because of it's catchy surf-esque hooks that can't help but make one think of R.E.M and the beach. The songs are very catchy and do not take much listening to get addicted to. My favorite tracks on the album were 'Floating Vibes', 'Twin Peaks' and "Catholic Pagans', so I'd recommend giving those particular songs a listen first.

Tracklist:

1. Floating Vibes - 4:00
2. Swim - 3:18
3. Take It Easy - 3:56
4. Harmonix - 4:45
5. Neighbour Riffs - 2:08
6. Twin Peaks - 3:37
7. Fast Jabroni - 3:03
8. Slow Jabroni - 6:05
9. Anchorage - 6:25
10. Catholic Pagans - 3:12

Download: http://hotfile.com/dl/25663990/d576f75/Surfer_Blood-Astro_Coast(2009).rar.html

Carve Out The Face of My God - Infinite Body

I would not recommend this album to many people, as I expect few like it, however those that like Drone or noise music will love this. Each track is basically a sound that gains and loses momentum and volume as the song progresses and eventually later declines into complete silence as the song finishes. I found this album to be very relaxing to listen to, very dreamy.

Tracklist:

1. Dive - 5:30
2. A Fool Persists - 1:58
3. What They Wanted To Be Was Useless - 3:59
4. Out To Where I Am - 5:09
5. On Our Own To Fall Off - 1:20
6. Beside Me In The Dawn - 2:59
7. Sunshine - 7:13
8. Lived On It's Knees (For Matt) - 1:43
9. He Runs Without Feet and Holds Without Hands - 1:30
10. Drive Dreams Away - 6:58
11. Carve Out The Face Of My God - 2:38

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?mtzmqrmywmz

Rough Frame EP - The Art Museums

Lo-Fi music is the bees knees, I don't know what it is about terrible recording quality and cheap instruments, but I love it. It makes me feel more in-touch with the artists, as if they recorded the songs 20 minutes ago just for me. Combine cheap instruments and recording with catchy riffs and hooks and you've got one hell of an album in my opinion, and that is exactly what The Art Museum's debut EP is. I also picked up on the fact that the lyrics within each track in this EP seem to follow one general theme, which is to poke at hipsters.

Tracklist:

1. We Can't Handle It - 3:02
2. Sculpture Gardens - 1:53
3. So Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore - 3:01
4. Paris Cafes - 1:50
5. When Amber Melts - 2:36
6. Oh Modern Girls - 3:45
7. Rough Frame - 2:46
8. Sing A Song Of Stacie - 3:05
9. 30 Seconds - 4:01

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?3lxgdn3ylzo

Dear God I Hate Myself - Xiu Xiu

If I were to say that Jamie Stewart (of Xiu Xiu) was the modern day Morrissey I think shit would hit the fan really fast as Smiths fans would line up to bend my ear for an hour about how great his lyrics are and how great the Smiths were. And hey, The Smiths just as much as the next guy, but if you really compare Jamie Stewart to Morrissey, they're not too far off from each other. They both have fantastic singing voices, they rank nearly the same on the mope-scale (look at the title of this album, as well as some of the lyrics in the tracks contained within). Not to mention that Jamie Stewart is a bisexual and Morrissey most likely is too, although he claims to be asexual, but who is he fooling? Dear God, I Hate Myself takes Xiu Xiu's usual unusual style and added some 8-bit keyboards to it, which I reslished, being a huge Crystal Castles fan. This album is nowhere near as ear-catching as the former albums I posted, I don't think many people will like this album, but you might, who knows? The best way to describe it would be: Radiohead's 'Hail To The Thief' meets Morrissey.

Tracklist:

1. Gray Death - 2:56
2. Chocolate Makes You Happy - 3:55
3. Apple For A Brain - 3:24
4. House Sparrow - 2:39
5. Hyunhye's Theme - 3:31
6. Dear God, I Hate Myself - 3:06
7. Secret Motel - 2:07
8. Falkland Rd. - 3:06
9. The Fabrizio Palumbo Retaliation - 3:00
10. Cumberland Gap - 1:34
11. This Too Shall Pass Away (For Freddy) - 3:34
12. Impossible Feeling" - 4:10

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?rxumgm2jzyy

Enjoy!

Love,

Alex.

Odessa - Caribou

Caribou, otherwise known as Daniel Snaith, who grew up in Dundas, Ontario, recently released a new track from his unreleased album 'Swim' which is to be released on April 20th (Snaith must really enjoy his drugs, as he also chose the name 'Caribou' while on an LSD trip with his friends in the woods). Judging by this track, the album is going to be something to look forward to in the near future.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?yy2ym4wejzm

PS: Go check out his previous albums if you already haven't, they're teriffic.

My 10 Favorite Albums of 2009

Hi everyone,

I was very pleased with the vast amount of good albums/singles/EPs that were released in 2009, it was a fantastic year for music, arguably the best of the decade. A lot of newer artists released highly acclaimed debut albums (Girls, The XX, Neon Indian, Major Lazer) and many bands and artists who were already popular released new albums this past year which saw their music grow (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, The Antlers, HEALTH) and I, for one, enjoyed every moment of it. I was really happy with the music of this past decade, as it didn't just focus on a few genres of music as we have seen in previous decades, but on almost every style of music that we have seen in the past 50 years; they were brought back to life by countless bands/artists under one umbrella term which is now used to describe most of them: "Indie". We also did see some new kinds of music emerge recently that we have never seen before, such as Dubstep.

This whole Indie music craze is most likely what we will remember the '00s for when we're old, it is a strange word because bands which are naturally very different are both labelled under that term. Take Sufjan Stevens and Wavves for example. Sufjan Stevens is a singer-songwriter who has recorded many albums in a studio with lives orchestras, while Wavves, who is also somewhat popular, recorded their debut album in a bedroom, and for a period of time the album was only avaible on cassette tape. Despite their differences, they both fall under the same classification, that one very strange word. Though I admit using that word does save a lot of time when asked what kind of music a certain band plays by a person who doesn't know much about music.


Hopefully 2010 will be just as good as 2009. There are already a few announced albums for this year, including: Xiu Xiu, The Album Leaf, Crystal Castles, Hot Chip, Uffie, Crookers, Future Islands and Justice, and I'm sure many more that escape me at the moment.

I thought I would compile my ten favorite albums of the past year, and include download links so you can all enjoy them (you will need WinRar to extract the songs from the file, if you are not very computer savvy and don't know what that is, google it and find a trial download, the trial downloads are supposed to only last 40 or so days however I've had mine for almost 2 years)

11. Cass McCombs - Catacombs

I probably listened to 'You Save My Life' 200 times on the way to and from Lollapalooza. it didn't hook onto me instantly, but after i listened to it a few times it really grew on me, I fell in love with it, every time I listen to it I think of Lollapalooza. I also really liked the music video, where he's at a street party in Chicago and he's walking around alone in a crowd with his back to the camera, it made me feel sad, it was appropriate for the song. The video is on Youtube if you want to see it. I also enjoyed "Don't Vote", which was about choosing not to vote at elections

Tracklist:

1. Dreams-Come-True-Girl– 5:20
2. Prima Donna – 4:53
3. You Saved My Life – 5:24
4. Don't Vote – 5:26
5. The Executioner's Song – 4:21
6. Harmonia – 6:06
7. My Sister, My Spouse – 5:14
8. Lionkiller Got Married – 5:34
9. Eavesdropping on the Competition – 3:53
10. Jonesy Boy – 4:44
11. One Way to Go – 2:55

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VUIYPGKT

10. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns

The first time I heard this album was the day before this school year started, I then synced it onto my Ipod and listened to it religiously throughout the first few weeks of school. If you've ever listened to only one thing a lot and almost nothing else for any period of time, the moment you click play and re-listen to that song or those songs your mind will be brought back to that time. I love albums and songs that give you that feeling, and that is exactly what Hometowns did for me. This album will also make you think of the prairies a lot and I don't know if it's the acoustic guitars or the lyrics, but it seems suitable for a band called "The Rural Alberta Advantage". The singer has a really nasal voice which you might imagine to be annoying but it's fits into the songs well. Most of the tracks are acoustic, with the exception of a few tracks, my personal favorite on the album was "The Ballad of the RAA".

Tracklist:

1. The Ballad of The RAA - 3:28
2. Rush Apart - 1:54
3. The Dethbridge in Lethbridge - 2:13
4. Don't Haunt This Place - 2:35
5. The Deadroads - 2:41
6. Drain the Blood - 2:48
7. Luciana - 2:55
8. Frank, AB - 3:25
9. The Air - 3:24
10. Sleep All Day - 3:44
11. Four Night Rider - 1:53
12. Edmonton - 3:50
13. In the Summertime - 2:36

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?cyxttnniyzj

9. HEALTH - Get Color



If you're expecting this album to be like their first then you will be in for a bit of a surprise, they went from being chaotic with songs that have almost no structure to songs that are chaotic with...structure. They have intros, verses, choruses, and outros, which I was not expecting considering the first album consisted of a unorganized noise (in a good way). Best track on this album was easily the albums single: "Die Slow". It seems like on Get Color HEALTH took their usual weird style and tried to make it more dance-able, the result was very successful and unprecedented. Also, I can never get enough of the vocals and the drums. The vocals are so spooky and the fact that it's nearly impossible to decipher what the hell he's singing just adds to the feeling, while drums sound like very like something out of a tribal dance. They plan on releasing another album, and they also are planning on releasing their own clothing line, no I'm not kidding. but if you've ever seen how cool their band tees look, you'll wanna get in on whatever they hell they plan on designing.

Tracklist:

1. In Heat - 1:47
2. Die Slow - 3:12
3. Nice Girls - 3:10
4. Death+ - 2:39
5. Before Tigers - 3:26
6. Severin - 4:09
7. Eat Flesh - 4:02
8. We Are Water - 4:15
9. In Violet - 6:14

Download: http://rapidshare.com/files/266087805/HEALTH_-_Get_Color__2009_.rar

8. No Age - Losing Feeling EP

A much higher ranking would've been given to this release if it had more tracks, but since it's only a four track EP it doesn't get any higher than seven. Nevertheless those 4 tracks were very different from No Age's usual Lo-Fi Punk approach. They took an unexpected turn and went for more of a shoegaze/noise pop sound. I was sort of expecting it to sound more like their 2008 album "Nouns" however I was still very satisfied with this. They are currently recording in studio, and hopefully we will see another album in the near future!

1. Losing Feeling - 3:55
2. Genie - 3:25
3. Aim At The Airport - 3:17
4. You're A Target - 3:22

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YO3BGKXX

7. Mika Miko - We Be Xuxa

In 2009 no other band I knew of looked like they were having a better time at their performances than the all female indie punk band Mika Miko, they were probably enjoying themselves more than the crowd. They were just out here to enjoy themselves, they played a lot of Backyard shows, as well being regulars to Los Angeles' famous indie venue "The Smell". This band was probably the best punk rock band of the '00s, as they weren't moping over relationships that no one cares about, complaining about being a teenager, puberty, hormones, or giving the finger to the man etc etc, but they were just thinking "Fuck it, let's have fun" when they recorded their albums which is evident if you read the song titles and song lyrics, most of them dealing with sex and food.'

Tracklist:

1. Blues Not Speed - 2:07
2. Turkey Sandwich - 1:44
3. I Got A Lot (New New New) - 1:50
4. Wild Bore - 1:38
5. Sex - 1:05
6. Totion - 2:16
7. On The Rise - 1:48
8. Beat The Bush -1:58
9. Johnson R. Cool - 1:35
10. Sex Jazz - 3:06
11. Keep On Calling - 1:46
12. Turky Barnyard Mix - 1:48

Download: http://rapidshare.com/files/227195180/Mika_Miko-We_Be_Xuxa-2009-FNT.rar

6. DOOM - Born Like This

The only hip hop album to make the list, DOOM's Born Like This was probably my favorite hip hop album of the past few years. He has very intellectual lyrics that flow very well, which are complemented by his very deep, raspy and intimidating voice. His tracks have been remixed by the likes of Dave Sitek (of TV on the Radio) and Thom Yorke (of Radiohead). I also really like how he plays on the whole supervillain schtick, he always wears a Dr. Doom mask while performing, and sometimes he sends imposters to performs his shows, like something a real super villain would do. Although he better not send one to the show in February at the Kool Haus, as I will be attending and I will not be pleased if I had to pay 40 dollars to see some strange man impersonate him.

Tracklist:

1. Supervillain Intro - 0:54
2. Yessir! feat. Raekwon – 2:34
3. Absolutely – 2:43
4. Rap Ambush – 1:28
5. Lightworks 1:53
6. Batty Boyz – 3:16
7. Angelz feat. Tony Starks – 3:06
8. Cellz – 4:21
9. Still Dope feat. Empress Sharhh – 2:40
10. Microwave Mayo – 2:26
11. More Rhymin’ feat. Kurious – 1:39
12. That’s That – 2:15
13. Supervillainz – 2:49
14. Bumpy’s Message – 1:36
15. Thank Yah – 1:14

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YV0CAM7N

5. Neon Indian - Phsycic Chasms

I'd like to start off by saying that I hate MGMT with every fibre of my being. I don't know what it is about their songs that just really annoys me. I just hate them so much, their songs remind me of cheap ringtones. I don't know why people compare MGMT to Neon Indian because Neon Indian is much better. This album sounds like something a huge fan of Daft Punk in the '90s would record using synthesizers and cheap recording equipment in his basement, it also reminds me of lava lamps. Most of the tracks are relaxed, at roughly a walking speed. Every track of this album is the same, but different at the same time. I really enjoyed listening to it, and I think you will too.

Tracklist:

1. (AM) – 0:25
2. Deadbeat Summer – 4:03
3. Laughing Gas – 1:43
4. Terminally Chill – 3:33
5. (If I Knew, I'd Tell You) – 0:47
6. 6669 (I Don't Know If You Know) – 3:21
7. Should Have Taken Acid with You – 2:21
8. Mind, Drips – 3:09
9. Psychic Chasms - 4:06
10. Local Joke – 3:27
11. Ephemeral Artery - 2:52
12. 7000 (Reprise) - 0:57

Download: http://www.filestube.com/3a886d44aee37c9a03e9/go.html

4. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

I think I might be one of the only people on the planet who didn't put this in my top 3 albums of 2009. It was a fantastic album, but it definitely was not my favorite of the year. This album was incredibly psychedelic and I think the album cover could not have been more appropriate for the tracks contained within (staring at it for an extended period of time will result in a migraine). I think it was a little bit overrated, but this album is perfect to bring along with you if you're ever travelling through space, or tripping out on any form of hallucinogen.

Tracklist:

1. In the Flowers - 5:22
2. My Girls - 5:40
3. Also Frightened - 5:14
4. Summertime Clothes - 4:30
5. Daily Routine - 5:46
6. Bluish - 5:13
7. Guys Eyes - 4:30
8. Taste - 3:53
9. Lion in a Coma- 4:12
10. No More Runnin - 4:23

11. Brother Sport - 5:59

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UVMW940S

3. Girls - Album

Christopher Owens of Girls has had a hard knock life, his mother and him were members of the Children of God cult for a long time, never knowing his real father, but eventually he ran away from home, ended up in San Francisco and is the front of a successful rock band with a '60s sound that really makes me want to take up surfing. This album was an overflow of his emotions packed into love songs which if written and recorded by any other band, would be considered corny. But the way Christopher Owens does love songs is very refreshing.

Tracklist:

1. Lust for Life - 2:25
2. Laura - 4:51
3. Ghost Mouth - 3:11
4. God Damned - 2:17
5. Big Bad Mean Motherfucker - 2:15
6. Hellhole Ratrace - 6:56
7. Headache - 4:00
8. Summertime - 5:39
9. Lauren Marie - 4:58
10. Morning Light - 2:36
11. Curls - 2:08
12. Darling - 2:59

Download - http://www.mediafire.com/?kxtmjtxhqmn

2. Japandroids - Post Nothing

You know you've gotta give the Japandroids credit, their tour for the release of this album which was released last April is still going on right now, and won't end until this April, and by they finish the tour, they will have played a total of 149 shows. These guys do not know the meaning of rest. You will feel right at home with the Japandroids if you're a fan of No Age, Wavves, The Vivian Girls or Times New Viking, as they seem to have a sound that is very comparable to those bands, the difference being in the lyrics which are short, but sweet, and focus mostly on topics including running away, and going to France to french kiss some french girls.

1. The Boys Are Leaving Town – 4:01
2. Young Hearts Spark Fire – 5:05
3. Wet Hair – 3:12
4. Rockers East Vancouver – 4:32
5. Heart Sweats – 4:25
6. Crazy/Forever – 6:04
7. Sovereignty – 3:34
8. I Quit Girls – 4:55

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?hfznek2zgm2

1. Dan Deacon - Bromst

Most teenage boys spend their 16th birthday drinking cheap booze they found in their kitchen cabinet in their friends basement, I however, was able to see a Dan Deacon show, and I wouldn't trade that experience for all the alcohol in your parents liquor cabinet, ever. It left me in such awe for the next few weeks I listened to nothing but Dan Deacon all the time, over and over. It's a combination of his impressive light shows, his equipment, his ensemble of 15-ish people and his crowd participation activites (go watch them on youtube, it's awesome). This album was also very creative and unique, I cannot compare it to anything because there's nothing out there like this, Dan Deacon is a genius. I bought a shirt at that show, but I washed it and now the words 'Dan Deacon' aren't visible, but I'm still gonna hold onto it for memories, Probably the best 16th birthday ever. You will love this, I promise.

1. Build Voice — 5:28
2. Red F — 4:38
3. Paddling Ghost — 4:06
4. Snookered — 8:04
5. Of the Mountains — 7:16
6. Surprise Stefani — 7:46
7. Wet Wings — 2:53
8. Woof Woof — 4:44
9. Slow with Horns / Run for Your Life — 6:35
10. Baltihorse — 6:22
11. Get Older — 6:30

Download: http://megaupload.com/?d=PIBJGBN1

Let me know if any of the downloads don't work well for you, again you'll need WinRar to unzip most, if not all of the albums. I hope you enjoy these albums as much as I did.

Love,

Alex.