Starry Cat, solo project of Sam Ray from Ricky Eat Acid, Julia Brown and Teen Suicide, have released a self titled album in support of fellow band member and friend, Caroline White. This release was written and recorded during a break from recording for the Julia Brown debut. It was initially going to be kept a secret and be sold as physical copies at shows, however in Sam Ray’s words, “we found out recently that caroline (our viola player/singer) is sick and has to get multiple surgeries soon. that sucks. also she can’t eat cake for like a long time which is awful. caroline’s one of my best friends and one of the most talented people i know and it sucks she has to go through this and it sucks even more because i know it’s a lot of money to get everything she needs done. i wanted to try and help her with everything so i figured i’d release this album now instead of waiting and hope that if you like it (or wanna be supportive) you’d pay for it.”
All the money donated goes into Caroline’s Paypal account to help pay for the surgeries. If you have ever downloaded music from the aforementioned bands, you’ll have noticed they never ask for money, so please this time help Caroline out, thank you.
“if you can’t afford anything you can still download it but it’d be rad if you shared it i guess so maybe other people will see it.” – Sam Ray
[Edit: Cameron Boucher of Old Gray has also released a solo album for the same cause, which you can buy on his Bandcamp page.]
Brave Birdhave put together a sixteen song compilation including full-length demos, covers, the Ready or Not EP and bedroom recordings. You can stream the tracks below, or help the band out by purchasing the album on their Bandcamp page. To hear the tracks from Maybe You, No One Else Worth It stripped down and acoustic provides a sense unrefined allurement that you only get from demos.
Chris of Brave Bird about this release, “A lot of these recordings you can find floating around the internet, but a lot of them haven’t been heard before.These old recordings of Maybe You, Should I Give In, Too Late Now, and I’ll See You at the Ring of Fire really pull on my heart strings. We have a lot planned for this summer and if we get it all done you’ll get blown away. (the art is a design done by our good friend Rachel check out some of her stuff at http://thewackattack.com/)”
Previously mentioned when they announced their forthcoming album, The Greatest Generation, Philadelphia pop-punk outfit The Wonder Yearsare now streaming the first song off of the album. The song is titled Passing Through A Screen Door and is available to stream on AbsolutePunk‘s Soundcloud page. You can now pre-order the album within various bundles from Hopeless Records. Passing Through A Screen Door will be available to purchase on iTunes at midnight EST.
The Strokes have now unveiled their fifth studio album Comedown Machine. The album has already had mixed reviews, as it was streaming on Pitchfork’s website, however the stream is unfortunately no longer available. Critical judgement of this album is inevitable with a band that produced phenomenal earlier releases. You can stream the track All The Time below which sounds more like their roots compared to their synth filled single One Way Trigger
Fans have the chance to enter-to-win an exclusive vinyl test pressing of Comedown Machine by letting them know your favorite track from the album on Twitter using the hashtag #ComedownMachine. More details and official rules about the contest can be found here. To purchase the album you can either buy it from iTunes or order the CD, 12″ vinyl, and T-shirt from their official store.
Dirty Green Vinyl, indie punk three piece outfit from Huddersfield, England have released their third EP accurately titled Another EP. The band’s sound is reminiscent of both the early Arctic Monkeys’ albums and The Modern Age-era of The Strokes. The songs on their previous release, Just Because It Has Tinsel On It Doesn’t Make It Pretty could easily be mistaken for B-sides from Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.
After only being together since September of 2011, this band has produced a lot of exceptional tracks in a short time frame, and are constantly playing shows. It seems as if they are going to have a promising future too. You can stream Another EP below [Edit: Stream no longer available], and download the other EPs on their Bandcamp Page. For tour dates go to their website or their Facebook Page.
Born Ruffians is an indie rock band out of Ontario, Canada. On April 16, they will be releasing their third LP, Birthmarks. Physical copies are now available for pre-order through their website.Birthmarks steers away from the previously more dominant indie rock sound and presents a much more upbeat folk feel with momentary resemblances to Fleet Foxes. Their previous LP Say It, was a beautiful indie record filled with sweet melody and a groovy riffs. With an alter in the vocal ranges of lead singer Luke Lalonde, I’ve become were interested in their progression. You can stream and download “Needle” below, a track that is featured on their upcoming record. Following the release, Born Ruffians will be going on a US tour. Dates and tickets are available on their website or soundcloud. Needless to say, these guys are well deserving of a listen. Check them out.
Old Gray, emo outfit from New Hampshire, after countless EPs and splits are finally releasing a debut LP titled An Autobiography. This LP as expected has heart-wrenching lyrics and is full of twinkly guitar melodies as right from the get go they proved their worth with their initial Demo. The album is available to stream below and after two hundred preorders of the 12″ record it will be available for free download. An Autobiography is being released through Broken World Media and for the European fans by Dog Knight Productions at a later date. You can watch a live performance of Her Tongue Was Tattooed On The Back Of Her Teeth from their previous EP Do I Dare Disturb The Universebelow.
Coma Cinema, lo-fi ontological pop band, have announced the title and artwork for their upcoming full length to be released on May 25th of this year. The album will be called Posthumous Release and will soon be available to pre-order in cassette form via Orchid Tapes and in vinyl from Fork and Spoon Records. From Mat Cothran’s tumblr, “I thank you for your patience, it’s been a sad, weird world to get this record together. Shouts out to tv girl for producing it. Shouts out to all of you for supporting me for all this time.” You can listen to bailey jayone of the tracks off the release by clicking on the title.
Track Listing:
01. white trash vhs
02. she keeps it alive
03. bailey jay
04. lee (columbine high harmony)
05. satan made a mansion
06. partners in crime
07. burn a church
08. virgin veins
09. survivor’s guilt
10. marie (no sleep)
11. posthumous release
In late February T.E.A.M.S released a new album, Sierra City Center (Diamond Club). T.E.A.M.S is the psychedelic/lo-fi project of Sean Bowie. The project shows a lot of similarities to Walsh, through the electronic vibes that have a really soothing yet dazed feeling, which is most apparent in the title track. Although this record is far from a copy of Walsh, it has a very psychedelic and abstract presence in songs like When Jesus Talks To Me and Yuba. This record is ultimately a challenging yet fun listen, with a relatively individualistic sound at times. The record is available for purchase through their Bandcamp page, or you can stream it below.
Last week Pairsreleased, as the title suggests, an album of nine solely piano and vocal tracks. Far from their usual noise rock sound, and even farther from Elton John himself, this collection of songs are commendable. Despite an apology on their Bandcamp page from Australian frontman, Xiao Zhong stating that he is “fucking tone deaf” it doesn’t seem to matter. The lyrics throughout the album would appear out of place coming from the lips of an auto-tuned artist, complaining about the relatable annoyance of promotional texts in Shanghai. The sheer zest and originality of Xiao Zhong’s words on every release so far that Pairs have put out mask all the other critiqued imperfections. Stream the album below and download it from Bandcamp.
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