Lisa Mitchell plays the lolita of the launderette in her new music video for “Coin Laundry”. It's a delightful folk-pop song, and one of the best music videos I've seen all year.
The song is from her latest album Wonder, released a few weeks ago.
Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry Download MP3* (zshare)(YSI) *For sampling purposes only. If you like the music, support the band!
It feels like the first time I heard “Walking On a Dream” by Empire of the Sun. Seriously, wow. It only takes one run through the video to see the gorgeous scene behind the Vanilla Ice guy. Modern dreamy synthpop with an emphasis on magnificent visuals.
Here's The Sound of Arrows' video debut, “Into the Clouds”. The single releases on vinyl and download September 21.
The Sound of Arrows - Into the Clouds Download MP3* *For sampling purposes only. If you like the music, support the band!
Fun is an indie pop band from New York, and one of the best new bands this year. I've written about them a couple times already, but now we're two weeks away from their debut album release, so here's a new track to ignite your excitement!
Teenage dreams in a teenage circus. Running around like a cloud, on purpose. Who gives a damn about the family you come from? No giving up when you're young and you want some.
Mika is back, and looking as flambiguous as ever. His new video puts him in white boxers, romping around his teenage bedroom trying on all his favourite chromatic costumes. Curiously, where we would expect provocative and uncomfortable, he gives us fun and amusing.
I'm a sucker for big, flashy pop songs, and this one has it all in excess!
The We Are Golden single is out September 6, and Mika's sophomore album of the same title releases September 21.
All the hot new indie pop is coming from Cali this week. Butterfly Bones are on the verge of releasing their debut Pretty Feelings EP, a synthlicious selection of summery songs to be your sonic serenade whilst you sweat, swim or sit back and sip a strawberry margarita. Whatever your sunshine activities are, by now you know that I love to add to my neverending summer soundtrack.
TOUR Butterfly Bones are taking a house party tour across the states in September. Check their MySpace if you want to see them live, or even host them in your house!
Ghostbird is a new rock band from San Diego. Their genres of choice on MySpace are 2-step, Dutch pop and glam, none of which seem fitting for a new SoCal indie rock band, but those descriptions are, in fact, fairly accurate. The drum beat is a bit unusual, which is what 2-step is known for, and their style does have a touch of glam. Dutch pop, like Scandinavian pop, has a rustic, enchanting feel to it, as does Ghostbird.
The Ghostbird EP begins with “Toy Soldier”, an indie pop tune that reminisces upon a time when war was make-believe and battles were fought between plastic figurines. This song is obviously made to be a single, although it's a lot more pop than the rest of the EP.
My favourite track is “Night Kills Day”, a swaggering ballad that gives glimpses into an affair of love and deception. The song begins under the guise of a common indie rock ballad, even to the end of the first listen, but unexpectedly blooms after a few minutes of listening. The 7-track EP contains a few more gems, but I don't want to spoil them all track-by-track this time.
An EP usually has a different feel than an album, sometimes with a more direct theme, or the raw sound of a new band making its debut, or a well-established band branching off briefly in a new direction. Ghostbird's debut EP sounds more like an album than an EP, well-polished and brimming with memorable rock songs. Their style does not diverge far from that of the biggest indie and alternative rock bands of recent years, but that's not so important when their music is simply better than most of those bands.
