Barzin-"Just More Drugs"

Anyone whose had a subscription to Magnet magazine knows that their Best New Music CDs are hit or miss. Some songs suck and some are just boring, but every so often you find a song like Barzin's "Just More Drugs." It's a soft lo-fi folk ballad. It oddly reminds me of a slow mo-town type song; the way the bass steadily rocks back and forth and still stays interesting. It's really chill song that holds your attention the entire way through. Coming across a song like this can always brighten my day.

After doing a little research on the band, I found out the band has already released two full-length albums and they're working on a third. It started out as solo project, but has evolved into a full band, including Tony Dekker of the Great Lake Swimmers. I checked out some more of their stuff and they're actually quite good. See for yourself!

Just More Drugs_MP3 Magnet
BarzinWebsite Myspace

Brazos

Brazos is a rock quartet out of Austin, Texas. I first learned of this group through the solo works of band member Martin Crane. Martin Crane's "We're Interlocking" is simple song that you can't help but sing along to with fun lyrics like, "It's a bitter conflict/Yeah it's staring contest." The song has a constant chord progression with jungle like drums and a tambourine; basically everything I could ever want in one song.

Brazos sound a little more like main-stream rock than Martin's solo works, but their still, none the less, very enjoyable. "Mary Jo" is jaunty rock song full of catchy hooks and lively synth. It's a fun song.

Interlocking MP3.
Mary Jo MP3.
Martin Crane.
Brazos.

Unicorns Are People Too

Before Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? the Unicorns released an album called Unicorns Are People Too. This first release is one of my favorite lo-fi pop albums. It's much flatter than Who Will Cut Our Hair, but it's just as melodic and poppy. Though the songs lack the over-tone of Jamie Thompson's drumming, they still bring the full presence of the Unicorns. It complimentars to their Alien8 debut in a way that Nick Thorburn's project Islands cannot. It shows the two writers Alden Penner and Nick Thorburn's collaboration at best, yet it you can still see the distinct differences between the too.

Many of the songs are early versions of Who Will Cut Our Hair songs. These repeats are worth having because of their minute, but still important differences. "I Was Born(A Unicorn)" is so cute on this record; it features sections that the other version does not and it omits the creepy talking part the Who Will Cut Our Hair version has. It also features non Who Will Cut Our Hair tracks like "I Do It" and "52 Favorite Things"(2 of my favorites.) You can really see what Alden added to the group with songs like "William, Clap Your Hands" and you can see how Nick evolved into the song writing that has become Islands-Return To The Sea. One of my favorite components of this album is the song "Thunder&Lightning", which is a primitive version of the Islands song "Swans." I highly reccomend early Unicorns recordings, especially this album.

P.S If you download Three Inches of Blood EP, "Do The Knife Fight" is one of my favorite songs of all time. :)

Unicorns Are People Too, Three Inches of Blood EP, and bootlegs are up for download here.

A soothing seizure

Today while looking around for new music a came across some refreshing new sounds. First is my new favorite song "The Flowers Are Blooming" by Froggystein. It starts out as a simple lo-fi pop tune with a steady beat. More noise is added in until an abrupt eruption of drums and noise until it decomposes, exposing the musical roots of the song writing. It's a refreshing, yet familiar sound.

Dreamburger. Their myspace is a seizure. Be prepared. Best song = Pit bull terrier.

The Flower Are Blooming MP3
Froggystein.

Dreamburger.

Alden Penner

Since the break up of the Unicorns, Nicholas Thorburn and drummer Jamie Thompson have went on to form Islands and Th' Cornn Gang; but whatever happened to the third unicorn? The answer is he's been making beautiful music. Alden Penner has recorded a bundle of great lo-fi tunes, scored the 2005 film The Hamster Cage, and taken part in various Canadian indie projects. His solo stuff is quite pleasing to me and I highly suggest a download, but his latest indie incarnation is the quartet Clues. Clues made their live debut this month at the Montreal Pop Festival. The live set was amazing and the new group looks promising. They plan to get their debut out as soon as possible. Check em' out!



Alden Penner bootlegs.

First Post

Hello and welcome to my blog. My blog is dedicated to mainly new music and basically whatever else I feel like posting. I'm very interested in independent and innovative music. There's too much crappy stuff out there to complain about so I'll only be writing about good thing. Please Enjoy.