with Muse, 311, Slightly Stoopid, Phoenix, The Bravery, Metric, Vampire Weekend, Cage the Elephant, White Rabbits
Gibson Amphitheatre

I heard about Vampire Weekend this summer, and didn’t really paid enough attention to them. After a few listenings of their debut album, they got me hooked. They are an American rock band, who formed in 2006. The name Vampire weekend comes from an independent film that Ezra (lead vocals, guitarist) and his friends filmed over one summer.  The band first appeared on blog posts like Stereogum’s Band to watch in spring 2007. They have released a few EPs and singles. When they  released their self-produced debut album in January 2008 at XL Recordings they were already old news on the net.

I’m not going to tell you how they sound like, because it’s something really special and I can guarantee you never heard anything like them. Mix together African rhythm, indie rock, quick guitar licks, violin, bells, great vocals with four enthusiastic boys and you get Vampire Weekend. My favorite songs include A Punk, M79, Campus, I Stay Corrected, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa… (I had to stop before I write down all of their songs).

In September they announced a new album named Contra that will be out in January 2010 at XL Recordings (XL recordings also cover Friendly Fires, Radiohead, The White Stripes…). On October 5th they released their first single from their second album for free download, the name of the son is Horchata and you can get it here. Just over a week ago they released music video for a song from Contra titled Cousins, you can watch it on their official website or on youtube.

Contra is most likely one of the most anticipated albums for 2010, I know I’m really looking forward to hearing it. Of course if you like the music, buy it and let the band know they’re doing a great job. And let me know what you think of them!

P.S. They are rockin’ Futura typeface like no one else

Yeah. It’s a year late. So shoot me.

1. Metallica – Death Magnetic – Melts faces.
2. Girl Talk – Feed The Animals – Make sure and get the real one, not the fake one that’s floating around. The fake one is poop. Follow the link for the right download.
3. Ida Maria – Fortress ‘Round My Heart - Norwegian pop punk. Imagine Bjork + Sex Pistols.
4. TRV$DJAM – Fix Your Face - Just a great DJ dance mix… accompanied by Green Day’s drummer. Follow link for free download of Fix Your Face one and two.
5. The Black Keys – Attack & Release – More classic rock, less blues, than their earlier releases, but still very good. A band matures… I’m so proud!
6. The Presets – Apocalypso - Is it heavy metal? Is it trance? Is it new wave? Is it emo? I can’t tell.
7. Steve Aoki – Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles – Just another DJ dance mix.
8. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend - I listened to this CD about a million times without even realizing it.
9. Portishead – Third - uhhh… IT’S FUCKING PORTISHEAD!!!?
10. Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal - Standard rock and roll fare, but you can only listen to so much Tom Petty, sometimes you gotta change it up.

Name Check Central:
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Steinski – What Does It All Mean?
TV On The Radio – Dear Science
Blitzen Trapper – Furr
Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
Fur Bearing Animals – Fur Bearing Animals
Drive By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
Calexico – Carried To Dust
Morcheeba – Dive Deep
Sam Phillips – Don’t Do Anything
Jim – Jamie Lidell
Cat Power – Jukebox
Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days
Ghostland Observatory – Robotique Majestique
Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
The Courteeners – St. Jude

With bands like Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys making mediocre follow-up albums, will the same happen to Fleet Foxes?

Vampire Weekend just came out with a new single “Cousins” — and what a disappointing pile of shit! You’d figure that after making their debut album with so many great tunes, they’d be bound to make a more brilliant follow-up album. Unfortunately, with “Cousins” it sounds like the sun just rose on a Monday morning for this skeleton crew. To be fair, Vampire Weekend are not the only band that seem to be facing this problem. Throughout the decade a whole lot of new Indie bands with brilliant debut albums have been popping up—where they have barely been able to create a worthy-enough follow up.

The list goes on and on with bands and artists that got their big break this decade on both sides of the pond. In Britain, bands like The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys each released debut albums that were universally adored by critics and new fans alike: Up The Bracket and Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not—the latter of which is currently the UK’s fastest-selling debut album (note:  Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle recently topped this accolade with her I Dreamed a Dream album). Nevertheless, these two bands–led by the apparent songwriting genius’ Pete Doherty and Alex Turner – never seem to have been able to top their debuts with their later works. Even the most recent Arctic Monkey’s release Humbug still sounds more-or-less the same despite the incorporated Americana tinged sound and their longer hair, which I guess is supposed to make them look more mature both personally and musically.

The same has also occurred with North America-based bands. Arcade Fire is a shining example of this… or perhaps more a murkily shining example — since their brilliant debut is entitled Funeral. Nearly every single track on the album is unique in its own way with rich, atmospheric mix of instruments and especially the songwriting. From the quietly swaying “Crown of Love” to the mildly-demented rocker “Neighborhood # 3 (Power Out)” to the uplifting “Wake Up,” this band of Canadians probably created the best album of the decade. Unfortunately, this would make it nearly impossible for them top their debut–as they would release Neon Bible –an album which did have its charm but nowhere near the inspired power of Funeral.

The Fleet Foxes are currently facing this conundrum. With their impeccably produced and written self-titled debut album and their Sun Giant EP, the band no doubt recognizes that these works will probably be the bane of their music career. The Fleet Foxes album is just as good, if not better, than Arcade Fire’s debut. However, it is clear that there has been no report of their recording a new album’s worth of material, despite their performing new songs on their seemingly never-ending tour. Fortunately the band seems to acknowledge this with their cautious approach, as they have stated in their latest MySpace blog entry that they won’t be recording for a while. With this in mind, I have faith that this band will somehow be able to successfully reinvent themselves and pull off another brilliant album –unlike the aforementioned groups.

There is no doubt that fame and the sleazy music industry machine, as well as the over-exposure these groups get because of our era of YouTube,have led to the follow-up disappointments that these bands have produced. With the immediate fame that comes with making a classic debut, the hunger to continue pushing the musical boundaries is gone. There are little-known bands out there with followings that should be bigger like Rubblebucket, who, through constant touring and writing of new songs have proven to be constantly growing musically and performance-wise. This is something all the great artists have done ranging from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to guys like Radiohead and Wilco.

Great artists start out decent and then they develop and become great.

–Charlie Weeks

Un video para comenzar la semana con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja. Canción corta pero intensa.
Se trata del adelanto del nuevo album de Vampire Weekend que lleva por título “Contra” y que estará a la venta el 11 de enero de 2010.
Este primer single se llama “Cousins” y aquí tenéis su original video clip.

+info: Vampire Weekend Myspace

Highly energetic video. I love these guys.

1. TBA – Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was working with the likes of Will I Am and Akon right before his death but the album had been in the works for many years before that. It was planned to be released ages ago but Jackson kept pushing it back, but now we may fnaly get to hear it in 2010. This is the most anticipated album of next year because everybody is interested to see what Jackson was up to in his final years of productivity and how he would sound in the 21st century, working with some of the coolest names around. Who knows in what form we will hear material, we just want to hear it as he would have wanted.

2. TBA – The Strokes

We have been waiting for the next Strokes album for so long there is an almost certainty that it won’t live up to expectations. That said, ‘Phrazes For The Young’ was unexpectedly good and hopefully the next Strokes album (If it comes next year) can be even better. The chances of them pulling of another Is This It, or even ‘Room On Fire’ may be slim but most people would be happy with something more thought out than ‘First Impressions of Earth’ which wasn’t as bad as some people remember but hardly set the world on fire.

3. TBA – The Drums

Easily the most anticipated debut of next year, The Drums ‘mini LP’ released a few months ago was a breath of fresh air and hopefully the album will build on that. It’s not been said whether fan favourites such as ‘Lets Go Surfin’ will appear on the record but new songs including ‘Forever and ever amen’ almost certainly will.

4. Astro Coast – Surfer Blood

A great new band who combine surf punk and weezer-esque anthems, this album is out in January and is already getting a lot of buzz. Set to include the awesome ‘Swim to Reach The End’.

5. TBA – LCD Soundsystem

The follow-up to the best dance album of the noughties can’t be as good as ‘Sound of Silver, can it? The cynic in me says no way but if anyone can do it then LCD Soundsystem can.

6. Congratulations – MGMT

They have previewed a few tracks from congratulations and they all sound like classic MGMT. The album may be a double, with one disc dedicated to pop and the other psychedelia, or that may have been a massive joke. Either way this is going to be a big, crazy event.

7. Contra – Vampire Weekend

Cousins didn’t really live up to my expectations, it sounded too similar to what I have heard from VW before. Hopefully this isn’t too representative of the album because it would be a shame if ‘Contra’ is just a retread for the band. I really look forward to finding out.

8. TBA – British Sea Power

‘Do You Like Rock Music’ was so much better than I could have hoped, and it’s true follow up is due next year. No hint yet on which direction the band are going in but I doubt we will see much of a departure from the art rockers.

9.  The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack

At the beginning of the year The Soft Pack seemed to be the most exciting band in indie. At the end of the year they still haven’t released their debut and bands like Girls and The Drums have stolen their thunder. But finally The Soft Pack will be releasing their LP in January and I can’t wait.

10. TBA – Arctic Monkeys

‘Humbug’ split fans down the middle but it seems that their next album will see Arctic Monkeys repeating it’s hard rock and long hair formula. They say they want to record it fast and keep it heavy so it’s perfectly possible that we will get to hear the album late next year.

11. Odd Blood – Yeasayer

Yeasayer are one of the most innovative bands of recent memory, their sound is a combination of vocal harmonies, world music, tribal chants and electronica. ‘Ambling Alp’ was the first taste from album number 2 and if the rest of the record is as good then ‘Odd Blood’ should be one to look out for in 2010.

12. Gershwin/Disney projects – Brian Wilson

The Beach Boys genius has got two projects lined up for 2010. He will be reworking the music of Gershwin in the traditional Brian Wilson style and then he will be having a go at the Disney classics. Both albums will be released on the Disney label next year and whilst they could be disasters, if anyone can pull it off then Brian Wilson can.

The band will rock night 2 of KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Gibson Amp on December 13th. Tix are also on sale now for Vampire Weekend at the Fonda January 12th.

Check out their new single “Cousins” in this crazy video. Warning: if you are feeling woozy from your Thanksgiving you might want to wait a while before viewing this clip.

A review of the decade’s most important albums.

The noughties are being recollected with mixed reviews from musio-snobs, either it has been the new 1960s, filled with revolutionary changes and groundbreaking albums, or else a decade littered with manufactured pop and throw away acts. The fact is, it has been both, just as the ninties was, but whether you are a cynic or not you must realise that we have been graced with some of the best albums of our time in the last time years. Each of the albums below with forever hold their place in the realm of musical excellency.

Absolution- Muse

Muse are without doubt the most remarkable band of the decade. As a three piece band they are often praised for the enormous sound they emit, and Matt Bellamy has been regarded as the best front man since Freddie Mercury. Absolution is the band’s third album and was a powerful follow-up to the album that broke them, Origins of symmetry. The album, released in 2003, transformed the rock ballad from something we cringe at, to something by which are blown away and which  we embrace, particularly with the track that inspired the album’s title, Sing for absolution. It set the musical standard for the remainder of the decade, but it would become nigh-on impossible to reach the sound levels or vocal talents of Muse.

Elephant- White Stripes

The White Stripes have had plenty of impressive albums over the last 10 years, ranging from different styles and levels of maturity, but Elephant was the album that made them sore from quaint and interesting two piece band, to modern day living legends. They recorded the entire album on 8 track and pre-1960s recording equipment in the space of two weeks. It includes a song fronted by Meg White and several raucous and retro sounding rock tunes such as Girl, you got no faith in medicine. It will definitely go down in music history and be stored alongside Chuck Berry’s Roll over Beethoven LP.

This is it- The Strokes

Rough Trade records were the most innovative record company in Britain during the 1970s and 80s, but eventually everything crumbled and it seemed as though the music industry would be dominated by mainstream labels. Until they discovered The Strokes at the beginning of the decade, and in 2001 they released their debut album, This is it. The album was like nothing we had heard before, 11 songs of smug New York Rock and Roll, it  was as though the sound of The Big Apple was being fed into our bedrooms. With the heavy, distorted guitar and bass, disillusioned lyrics and Julian Casablancas gruff vocals, they were the sound of the new slightly drunken and dishevelled generation. The band created the scruffy, yet some how well kept image that would soon become known as “the indie look”, you’d be a fool to argue against the point that The Strokes made a near-unsurpassable impact on music with this album.

Up The Bracket- The Libertines.

Rough Trade records continued their reinstatement into the music world with the band that launched a thousand carbon-copies. The Libertines released their debut album in 2002 and although it was far from a storming chart success, it will forever remain the prime example of Indie Music as we now know it. Marking the revival of British music, the power of this album is heavily underestimated and not at all rated as highly as it should be. Perhaps too many people focus on Doherty’s personal life, rather than his undeniable lyrical talent. Not only did the band reinforce the music industry in Britain after Oasis’ spiral into meritocracy, they invented “bromance” before the term was even coined. Carl Barat and Pete Doherty’s very close relationship endeared a lot of people to the concept the band represented almost as much as the music. If any album of the decade was given the title of “Soundtrack to the new Indie generation”  it would undoubtedly be this one in particular.

Vampire weekend- Vampire weekend

The final and most recent of our most remarkable albums of the past ten years, Vampire Weekend, was released in 2008, and therefore too late to actually influence the music of the decade. The album was however, completely different to everything that had come before. American Indie music had not been as prominent, or indeed as inspiring as its British Counterpart, and Vampire Weekend enhanced the entire concept of Indie. Their music is fast, fun and above all else happy. The amalgamation of lead singer,  Ezra Koenig’s seamless and high-tuned vocals and the high pitched guitars and keyboards lends an otherworldly atmosphere to the album. It is the epitome of Indie music, which was once described by spin magazine as “any music to which  a so-called Indie Head can bop and sway”, which is something the body feels compelled to do as soon as the first track, Mansard Roof, plays in. What other accolade could they want other than their most popular song to date, A-punk, being the anthem of every well-respected Indie club in Dublin city?

El proper dissabte 27 de Febrer els Vampire Weekend actuaran a una sala encara per determinar de Barcelona, presentant el seu darrer disc “Contra”.

Seguirem informant.

http://www.vampireweekend.com/shows.php

Stereogum released a list of their 25 Most Anticipated Albums of 2010. There are a lot of exciting records coming up next year including albums by Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, and Vampire Weekend. The list is definitely worth a browse.

Well, this has most definitely proven to be the best Thanksgiving I’ve spent with my family in my “adult” life. I made everything but the turkey (boooo turkey) and nothing was overcooked or “not quite right,” in fact, it was all pretty spectacular. I even made my first pie and it was GOOD! I know, right? Look at me, look at ME. After stuffing our faces and napping through a Barbie movie, my sister, niece, mother and I  went to see “A Christmas Carol.” If you ever, for whatever reason, end up watching this movie please let me know so we can discuss how WEIRD the Christmas past ghost was. I couldn’t handle it. My sister gave me a raised eyebrow/grin several times throughout his part.

Now, the fam is gone and I have nothing to do. I halfheartedly attempted to round up some folks to go see Fantastic Mr. Fox with me post-family hang, but noooo, everyone is familying still! I haven’t been this excited to see a movie in a long time. Wes Anderson’s take on a Roald Dahl book? Yes please. Mr. Fox’s whistle click click thing is something I am going to try very hard to not reference and abuse to the point of annoyance. I am bad with those kinds of things.

Ugh, maybe I WILL go by myself. I just got so excited about it!

We’ll see what happens when 10:10 DOES roll around. I’ve got a thermos of hot apple cider/cap’n morgan to sneak in. Things may get W I L D.

The NME got in on the act early. This Sunday the Observer Music Monthly publishes its top 50. So I thought I might as well have a go. I wanted to get mine done first and see how much common ground I’ve got with the OMM seeing as its my favourite music mag. It’s harder than you’d think to select just 50 albums that span 2000-2009. I’ve had to leave out some records I really like. But here we go… Please comment as you feel necessary!

50 – Daft Punk: Discovery.

49 – Bob Dylan: Modern Times.

48 – Camille: Le Fil.

47 – Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

46 – The Blue Nile: High.

45 – New Order: Get Ready.

44 – Mercury Rev: All Is Dream.

43 – R.E.M.: Accelerate.

42 – Fionn Regan: The End Of History.

41 – The Beatles: Love.

40 – The Avalanches: Since I Met You.

39 – Badly Drawn Boy: The Hour Of Bewilderbeast.

38 – Roots Manuva: Awfully Deep.

37 – Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever ago.

36 – Mark B & Blade: The Unknown.

35 – Coldplay: Parachutes.

34 – Malcolm Middleton: Into The Woods.

33 – Seafood: When Do We Start Fighting…

32 – Doves: The Last Broadcast.

31 – Duke Special: Songs From The Deep Forest.

30 – Morrissey: You Are The Quarry.

29 – Guillemots: Through The Windowpane.

28 – Bruce Springsteen: The Rising.

27 – The Gaslight Anthem: The ‘59 Sound.

26 – Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

25 – Richard Hawley: Coles Corner.

24 – Fleet Foxes:  Fleet Foxes.

23 – Athlete: Vehicles & Animals.

22 – Spin Doctors: Nice Talking To Me.

21 – Sigur Ros: Takk…

20 – Goldfrapp: Felt Mountain.

19 – Maxïmo Park: A Certain Trigger.

18 – Delirious?: Glo.

17 – The Shins: Wincing The night Away.

16 – Ben Folds: Rockin’ The Suburbs.

15 – Green Day: American Idiot.

14 – Neil Young: Living With War.

13 – Ray Lamontagne: Til The Sun Turns Black.

12 – Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs.

11 – Idlewild: The Remote Part.

10 – Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around

An extraordinary achievement for a man in his final year. Johnny Cash’s last ‘proper’ album has the power to bring me to the edge of tears. I bought it the week he died in 2003 and played it a lot. A mixture of originals and covers, Rick Rubin’s brilliant production means there’s pathos dripping from every track. ‘Hurt’ is one of the songs of the decade which couldn’t even be ruined by that dire Nike advert. When I first heard ‘I Hung My Head’ it stopped me dead in my tracks. Just like most of the rest of this awesome album.

9 - Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights.

I think there’s a good case to be made for Interpol as the band of the decade. To my shame I’m yet to see them live but their three dark, brooding and melodic albums demand that I get round to it soon. I think their debut is the pick of the bunch. Starting with ‘Untitled’ which takes its cues from the shoegazing bands of the early 90’s, the album goes onto channel the best of My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division and classic Krautrock. I suppose it can be said about all the records in the list but I can’t listen to this album too many times. It sends me to sleep, it wakes me up and generally soundtracks my life.

8 – Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend.

The drums alone deserve some kind of award. Chris Tomson is, for my money, the best drummer in a rock band at the moment. But this isn’t Keith Moon fury, or John Bonham theatrics. He sees the drum kit as a melodic and harmonic instrument. The kit is a lead instrument here and when allied to fantastic songwriting, it’s a winning combination. The African influence if overstated (this isn’t even the noughties’ Graceland, let alone Fela Kuti or Ali Farka Touré). However, the hints of afrobeat are enough to make this stand out from the crowd. Walcott is a great track – but there aren’t any duds here.

7 – Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump.

This outstanding record is often compared favourably with ‘OK Computer’. Well, I’ll put my cards on the table. There’s only one winner; and it isn’t Radiohead. Grandaddy are impossible to categorise, but this record combines the best bits of alt-country, electronica and post-rock. The audacity of a 9 minute opening track has been matched by many bands. The difference is they’ve not made a song as arresting as ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot’. ‘The Crystal Lake’ is among the best songs of the decade while ‘Undreneath The Weeping Willow’ showcases a brilliant knack for melancholy. Released at the start of the decade, very few records have got anywhere near matching Grandaddy’s Magnum Opus.

6 – The Hold Steady: Boys And Girls in America.

‘Best bar band in the world blah… blah… blah’ said the music press. Talk about damning with faint praise. The Hold Steady are one of the greatest bands of the 21st Century, full stop. And though their earlier albums are packed with gems, this breakthrough album sees their manifesto fulfilled. How many bands could start a record quoting Jack Kerouac but never fail to be fun? The sound was compared to classic E Street Band and that’s probably as close as you can get to describing this joyous racket. Craig Finn’s lyrics are always interesting and frequently brilliant. So looking at our checklist we’ve got superb music, superb lyrics and some guys that seem delighted just to be playing rock and roll. It’ll do for me.

5 – Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid.

I suppose too much has already been written about this album. It’d be easy to include ‘Asleep In The Back’ to prove I’ve liked Elbow since I used to play them on student radio in 2000. But that would miss the point: for once, the awards committees, journalists and hype-merchants got it right. This is an amazing album. There’s not an average track in sight in an hour’s running time. Picking highlights almost seems crazy, but ‘Grounds For Divorce’ and ‘On A Day Like This’ have deservedly grabbed the headlines and soundtracked a million daytime DIY programmes. But some of the less well know tracks contain stunning music and lyrics. When Guy Garvey croons ”We kiss like we invented it” on ‘Mirrorball’ it’s enough to melt your heart.  We await their next move with eager anticipation.

4 - Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther.

Take a moderately successful Texan indie band and give them a copy of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’. Stand well back and light the blue touch-paper. Doesn’t sound promising does it? How wrong could we be??? This was THE album of 2006. Inventive harmonies, layered synths and lyrics pining for the antebellum South came together to produce a stunning record. The guitar solo that comes halfway through ‘Head Home’ is one of my favourite musical moments of the decade, but this album contains several contenders for that title. The real genius of ‘…Van Occupanther’ is its ability to keep you on your toes. Just when you think it may slip into mid 70’s FM rock pastiche, the band pulls out a track like ‘Young Bride’ which forces you to admit this is a record which is far more than the sum of its considerable parts.

3 – Damien Rice: O.

David Gray is a perfectly decent singer songwriter. The same can’t be said for the likes of James Morrison and James Blunt. But how any of them came to be spoken of in the same breath as Damien Rice is beyond me. The irishman deserves to be in far better company (Jeff Buckley for example). This debut album was a slow-burning word-of-mouth behemoth that managed to retain artistic dignity while being offered on 2-for-1 deals in Tesco. Its strengths have been repeated endlessly, but any blogger who can’t find room for Lisa Hannigan’s beautiful vocals, the stunning string arrangements or the strange re-working of Silent Night is a fool. If this album has a flaw, I’m yet to find it. I can’t pick one track as a highlight because the others simply look at me reproachfully and say ‘actually we’re all rather lovely’. And they truly are.

2 – My Morning Jacket: It Still Moves.

This album sounds like the best party you’ve ever been to. If you want to label it I suppose it’s alt-country. But what on earth does that matter when the music is as much fun as this? Don’t get the idea this is some kind of comedy record though. Howling vocals, squealing guitars and pounding drums fuse together to create a brilliant racket. ‘One Big Holiday’ has a guitar hook to die for, but this isn’t an album of simple pleasures. The genius of the songs reveals itself slowly. The first time you hear it, it sounds like these are well crafted and edited jams. But like Led Zep at their peak, the tracks are more cunningly moulded than that. Crazy Horse are another reference point and when talking about a rock and roll band there are fewer bigger compliments than that. It’s a long record (71 minutes) but unusually for an album of that length, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Superb.

1 – Stephen Fretwell: Magpie.

I’m annoyed I couldn’t find a decent picture of this album without the parental advisory sticker on it. Ok, maybe it doesn’t make an ideal present for a toddler, but any parent who’s doing their job properly should be investing in this if their child shows any kind of serious interest in music. It’s as close to a perfect record as its possible to get. At the start of the decade, Scunthorpe’s Stephen Fretwell found himself in Manchester as a promising singer-songwriter. A little while later, he was in a recording studio creating some of the most beautiful music that great city has ever produced. By 2004 it was ready for release. In reality, the Manchester thing is a bit of a red herring. Fretwell owes little to the genius of the Smiths and Joy Division or the more prosaic talents of Oasis. He’s just a good old-fashioned acoustic troubadour. So who are the key influences here? I’d guess Neil Young, Bob Dylan et al. But that doesn’t tell you much about this record’s greatest strength. Fretwell’s gift for melody is astounding. Songs like ‘Emily’, ‘New York’ and ‘Rose’ are beautifully crafted and sung. But there isn’t a track here which leaves you cold. You may know ’Run’ as the Theme of ‘Gavin and Stacey’ but don’t stop there. Investigate it immediately. Buy it and love it. There’s only one album of the decade after all; whatever the Observer says!

A strew of new leaked, early and preview singles have been coming out from artists which I really love, most of which are very good. But don’t get too excited, none of these albums or EPs are coming out until next year.

Audience – Cold War Kids

I adored their first album, their second not so much. Cold War Kids’ newest single is their poppiest track to date, but as usual, the vocalist really pulls the track through with those bluesy, depressing lyrics. It’s definitely a return to form.

Colours Fade - Blood Red Shoes

A perfect first release from their second album; it leaves the listener wanting so much more, but makes sure that he or she gives it five stars on their music playing device, straight away. The initial riff is still Blood Red Shoes, but it’s harsher and more raw. Dare I say, I was shocked? If the second album is anything like this single, expect something a lot darker and with a lot more experimentation (the last minute of this track is just playing with feedback), than on their basic indie rock debut. Thanks to It’s Getting Boring By The Sea for this one (no it’s not a Blood Red Shoes fansite, it’s actually a fantastic blog).

Horchata and Cousins – Vampire Weekend

Horchata didn’t blow me away, but the different sounds on it made me so excited for their second album. It’s just weird enough to make me desperate to hear what else is on the album. Fortunately, Cousins came out shortly after, and it was the complete opposite. Horchata is a slow track based around harmonious xylophones, while Cousins is like an aggressive take on A-Punk.

Vampire Weekend have a new video. This time for the second promotable track from their upcoming full-length Contra (due out Jan. 12). Watch it here:

Their first single was “Horchata,” and they once had a free mp3 download of the track on their website. Now the same video above dominates their site (a large file that may load slow on some computers, so the link above moves best). You can still download the “Horchata” mp3 at We All Want Someone to Shout For. Check it out, here, with lyrics included.

I’m still kicking myself for missing them at the Gleason Center in Miami Beach during their last tour. I had not given their debut album a proper chance at the time. All the critics couldn’t stop talking about their African roots music, which grated my sensibilities while listening to the album via Napster. The influence really is not as pronounced as most critics might have you think (although they sing “Peter Gabriel” in their track ”Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” that doesn’t mean it sounds like “Biko.”*). Needless to say, the album later grew on me and I picked up the vinyl at Sweat Records. Here’s to hoping they return to South Florida for their second album!

*By the way, you can hear Peter Gabriel’s version of the song here (thanks again, Will). It’s a collaboration with Hot Chip.

Went to see Vampire Weekend on Saturday at Art Factory. It was a super fun gig. Their play was very tight. Great to see them live. The new album Contra is set for release next January.

This cool video clip was filmed in a single shot. Love these types of videos. This example shows great styling, timing, choreography, lots of extras, nice details and quirks, subplots, distractions, slight of hand, travelators, etc. When all put together it appears to be quite a basic video but is actually an extremely complex technique. It would be nice to see what the storyboards looked like. And the thing that I probably love the most is the “Get Low” references in Oxford Comma.

New album Contra out Jan. 11

PREVIEW: WATCH Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins”

Unless you really have been under a rock for the past year or so, even if you don’t follow the indie music scene, chances are you have heard of Vampire Weekend. This extraordinary foursome released a self-titled  debut in early 2008 and immediately grabbed nationwide attention.

Finally, after what only seems like forever, they will be releasing their sophomore piece Contra. Due out in January the band has released a free download of the first track “Horchata” available on their official web page. Like the deal wasn’t sweet enough already, just a few days ago Vampire Weekend released the video for their first single “Cousins.” Full of bells, confetti and motion sickness, the video has Vampire Weekend written all over it. Don’t believe us? See for yourself.

– Irina Dvalidze, Multimedia Editor

For whatever reason, there are no particularly exciting LP releases coming up in the pre-Christmas season. Weezy is busting out Rebirth in December, if you’re into that, and Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster is out soon.  A couple of reality-show runners-up are releasing debut albums (Billboard yelled in my ear this morning that Susan Boyle is projected to sell 550,000 copies in her first week).  But in terms of releases with new things to say, not much.  (Tom Waits does have a live album coming out, which I’ll be checking out shortly.)

However, for whatever reason, the Indie Rock Powers That Be have aligned themselves to dash out a few exciting-looking EPs.  We’ve got Deer Tick and Animal Collective coming up most noticeably, and Spoon just put out a disc called Got Nuffin in support of their January album.  That EP, I have to say, feels more like a single–the title track is pretty edgy, B-side-of-Gimme Fiction stuff with heavy drums, but the supporting tracks mostly feel like filler (“Stroke Their Brains” is growing on me).  Hell, here’s the title track.  See what you think.

I guess what I’m saying is gear up for a month or so of few interesting national releases.  Snag the EPs, bust out some old stuff (when did you last listen to the Sonics?) and wait for January, when Spoon, Vampire Weekend, and Flying Lotus will provide us with some juicy new stuff.

(Portland music fans, however, should probably pick up Brown Bird’s The Devil Dancing right the frig now, and also probably download Wesley Hartley’s album fo’ free.)