Black Moth Super Rainbow

Somewhere in Pennsylvania, some guy makes trippy records with some of his friends. I do have a few more details about this guy. They won't do you much good though. His name is Tobacco and he lives in or around Pittsburgh. Maybe. He sings through a vocoder, a lot. Guys like this would get my vote for American Idol: write sunshiney melodies, set them to gentle grooves, and then perform from a sitting position, practically out of sight, hoodie or knit cap pulled tight, tinkering with their gadgets like some musical alchemist—the music transforming my mood, my state of mind, putting it at ease.

The new album is produced by Dave Fridmann who's worked with The Flaming Lips and Sparklehorse—a couple bands that BMSR would segue beautifully with. If you're a fan of Air, you'll really dig their new single, "Twin of Me." The Go! Team takes the track and runs with it, adding their signature upbeat beat to the otherwise summerly languid song. Speaking of summer, catch the band on the second leg of their summer tour this week on the East Coast.

From Eating Us (2009):
Twin of Myself [MP3, 4.6MB, 192kbps]
Twin of Myself (The Go! Team remix) [MP3, 3.1MB, 160kbps]
Born on a Day the Sun Didn't Rise [MP3, 5.2MB, 192kbps]

From Drippers rarities EP (2008):
Happy Melted City [MP3, 4.9MB, 226kbps]

From Dandelion Gum (2007):
Forever Heavy [MP3, 4.1MB, 128kbps]
Sun Lips [MP3, 4.6MB, 192kbps]

www.graveface.com
www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com

Luke Top

I am having a hard time filling in the genre field on iTunes for this Luke Top guy. In a word—curious. He plays the field a bit with bands, touring and recording with Cass Mccombs, Papercuts, and Foreign Born. I'm not going attempt a review of the Afro-Hebrew dance band Fool's Gold he co-founded. Discover that on your own. The important part of the story? He's quirky good. The cute-and-personable-brainiac-kid-in-math-class quirky good. Clearly being born in Tel Aviv to an Iraqi refugee and a Russian-born aviator transplanted to Southern California is a successful formula to inspire writing a light sigh of music.

by Emily M.

Friends [MP3, 4.3MB, 192kbps]

www.slowdeathrecords.com
www.myspace.com/luketop

The Raveonettes

I don't think I've been this excited about demos before. The Raveonettes last album Lust Lust Lust engendered exactly that in my aural cavity. Their fuzzy washes of surf guitars and garage rock immediately balmed the ever-present ringing in my ears and Sharin and Sune still lull me to sleep at night with their addictively sweet melodies. They're so good that I don't mind when I awake in the morning wrapped in headphone chord. Dangerous? Yep. Worth it? You bet. The tentatively titled "Last Dance" perfectly captures my fascination with these Danes: from the opening line (which I wish I'd written), "Your lipstick smeared sad," to the Beach Boys-ish woo-woos in the background, to the theme of the song itself (Sune succinctly explains it: "how drug addiction interferes with love"). My addiction to The Raveonettes hasn't interfered with my love life, rather with Alisa's sleep patterns, specifically when the wall of guitars rush in between verses of their track "Hallucinations" and bleed from my ears. It hurts oh so good.

Tune in to this site to access more demos and to take part in the band's live chat today and Thursday at 3 p.m. EST.

Last Dance (demo) [MP3, 4.8MB, 192kbps]

www.viceland.com
www.myspace.com/theraveonettes

Photons

Photons will be releasing three EP's this year, the first of which is Glory!, out tomorrow via Insound.com. "Where Were You Last Night" continues the raucous party, still with bassoon.

Original Post Oct 20, 2008:
In trying to figure out what to write about San Francisco's Photons, I had several paths in mind. Working in the musical history of the city by the Bay, or coming up with something witty about their eclectic pop. Then I remembered the line from the top of their Myspace page that says all you need to know before downloading and listening: "Now with Bassoon!"

From Glory! EP:
Where Were You Last Night

Others:

This Must Be Love [MP3, MB, kbps]
Animals [MP3, MB, kbps]

myspace.com/photonsrock
www.insound.com

Irving

You'd think i'd break five months of silence with some yet-to-be-released, white-label, promo-only B-side REEEEEmix... No. It's a Los Angeles band that hasn't put out a record since 2006. But hey, it's new to me (discovered via Pandora of all places). Irving serve up carefree pop in a variety of flavors - thanks in part to the fact there are five songwriters in the group. My personal favorite is "I Can't Fall in Love," which I can't seem to listen to less than twice in a row.

from Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers [2006]
Situation [MP3, 1.5MB, 48kbps]

from I Hope You're Feeling Better Now [2003]
I Can't Fall in Love [MP3, 3.5MB, 128kbps]

from Good Morning Beautiful [2002]
Turn of the Century [MP3, 3.5MB, 128kbps]

eeniemeenie.com
www.thebandirving.com

Bliss

Guilty pleasure confession time. Culture Club. It was Chuck Davis in my Sophomore health class who told me that that one girl was actually a boy. Chuck knew these kinds of things. Chuck could draw the Adam and the Ants logo better than I ever could, so I trusted him, his judgment. So when he told me Boy George could sing I believed him. And he was right. While I rarely listen to Culture Club anymore and the thrill of freaking out my parents by listening to a band with a flamboyant homosexual singer has likewise faded, Boy George's voice hasn't. His soulfulness remains timeless. Props to these Danes for dragging him out of the tabloids and into this chilled out Morricone-esque duet.

American Heart (feat. Boy George) [MP3, 3.4MB, 128kbps]

www.myspace.com/theblissworldofficial

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker. The man needs no introduction, does he?

Angela [MP3, 7.2MB, 320 kbps]

www.roughtraderecords.com
jarviscocker.net

21 Tandem Repeats

Here's another post from my friend Tim Ortopan:
Listening to 21 Tandem Repeats is a bit of a schizophrenic experience. Each track has its own sound and feel, from the Yo La Tengo flavored "Heidi Stopover" to the female vocals on "Pebbles". They have some tracks that sound like The Mountain Goats and others that recall Simon and Garfunkel's harmonies. Make sure you check out "On Frozen Pond," a nice tribute to growing up in Canada. Their album No Junk Mail Please has something for everyone, and they can really pull off the changes in tone well. Perhaps the more I think about it the thing which unites all of the tracks is not schizophrenia but rather that they are all crazy good.

Robertson's Dream Orchard [MP3, 3.8MB, 192kbps]

www.canadalynxrecords.com
www.21tr.ca