This Thread Is For Indie/Pop'ers (singer, country, house, pop)

[hookers with machineguns]

Electric President



This is a Florida duo with a hint of simple computer-aided electro added to their very soft guitar, vocal, and drum parts. They are still essentially an acoustic pop band. I keep reading comparisons to the Postal Service, maybe more so with lyrical content, rather than the overall feel of the band. The "major" 'debut' album is not anywhere near the production quality of an album like Give Up, although it's still good enough to the point where you would probably not even notice. In fact, the album was recorded in a toolshed and bedroom. Not to mention, the label that finally signed them is in Berlin! So these guys are still trying to get all their **** together.

Unfortunately, thus far, the band's only claim-to-fame is the play of "Insomnia" and "Grand Machine No. 12" on some ridiculous TV show called the O.C. that 99/100 Americans apparently watch. I guess for some of you, that is enough to tell you that Electric President can at least catch a tune.

Favorite Tracks: Good Morning Hypocrite, Insomnia, Grand Machine No. 14, Grand Machine No. 12, and We Were Never Built To Last.

http://www.myspace.com/radicalface
http://www.radicalface.com/6928/22173.html

[Piss Me Off]

Its impossible to be unhappy listening to The Go! Team and Teagan and Sara...

[hookers with machineguns]

Ambulance LTD.



Someone recently asked me about them, so I’ll briefly talk about them. They’re a NY (almost hard to believe that they are from there) rock band who seem like they decided to ditch new wave at the last minute to become a dream pop, shoegaze-ish band. They claim that their main influences are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elliott Smith, and The Smiths, among others. Based on appearance alone, you’d think they were a second away from being an iPod commercial band, while some of their songs are pop-y enough to be in a teen movie.

Their debut self-titled turned out with more than a handful of catchy, pleasant and sometimes heartwarming tunes. The album starts out with an instrumental track (“Yoga Meets Union”), and followed by two definitive tracks (“Primitive” and “Anecdote”) that give you a true feel for what this band is all about. Similar tracks like "Stay Where You Are" and "Ophelia" are included in what turned out to be a 12 song LP, finishing off with an interesting cover of Lou Reed’s “Ocean”.

Ambulance LTD also released an EP earlier this year that contains some familiar songs (“Heavy Lifting” and “Sugar Pill”) and the single “New English” which you can listen to on their homepage. According to the group, the EP is just something to indulge in before the release of a new LP later this year.

Favorite Tracks: Primitive (The Way I Treat You), Anecdote, Stay Where You Are, Ophelia, and New English.

http://www.ambulancenyc.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ambulanceltd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMfAu...mbulance%20LTD

[Urban Hat€monger ?]

Good list of bands.

Somebody told me about Ambulance LTD ages ago & I thought they were OK , I just sort of forgot about them. Electric President look interesting.

[IndiElectronica]

some great bands here! Will add a couple when i get some free time

[hookers with machineguns]

Azure Ray (featuring Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink)



I made an attempt to bump an old thread in order to get some feedback on Azure Ray a few months back, but I’m not sure if anyone bothered to check them out.

Well, Azure Ray is Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (wife of Todd Baechle of The Faint), both of whom have respectively put out solo albums (both girls are fully capable of holding their own as full time solo artists if they chose to). Todd actually chose to take the last name of Orenda after the marriage (what’s even more odd…I can’t imagine Orenda listening to the Faint). Much like the Faint, Azure Ray are based in Omaha (although originally from Georgia) and are on Saddle Creek Records. Unlike the Faint, they are very much a lo-fi folk group, with emphasis on their piano loops, violas, and ethereal acoustic guitars or sometimes the occasional electro beat. Both girls have very soft, quiet (almost whispering), and intimate voices, which works perfectly with their slow harmonies. Their voices (particular Maria’s) are so tender that the girls sound as if they are…lonely and lost…maybe hopeless…or even shy. The music comes off very romantic and melancholy, but too beautiful to be depressing.

Their debut self-titled was released in 2001 on Warm Records, and for a debut, it was a very strong record, one worth your dollars worth (at least for the first half of the album). Burn and Shiver was also released on Warm Records, although honestly I’ve never heard the album (with the exception of “The New Year”), so I cannot comment. If it’s anything like their other albums, it’s probably a great record. They went on to sign with Saddle Creek in 2003 and released Hold On Love, debatably their strongest effort. Several of their most well-known singles are off of this album, and really, from top to bottom, I have nothing negative to say about it.

As I mentioned earlier, both Maria and Orenda released solo albums. When you listen to both, (no offense to Orenda) you can tell how important Maria is to Azure Ray. Maria’s solo album 11:11 sounds basically like Hold On Love, but even more intimate… if that is possible. All I gotta say is, if you like Azure Ray, you’ll love Maria Taylor’s 11:11…maybe even more.

They’re also in another Saddle Creek project called Now It’s Overhead…couldn’t tell you a damn thing about them though.

Favorite Tracks: If I Fall, Rise, November, We Are Mice, Drinks We Drank Last Night, and Sleep
Favorite Tracks (Maria Taylor): Two of Those Too, Speak Easy, Leap Year, and Xanax

http://www.azureraymusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/azureray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H3m0...ch=Azure%20Ray

[IndiElectronica]

Don't know these bands - will check them out over the next week and report!
Tilly and the Wall
Mates of State
Tegan and Sara
Azure Ray (have a couple songs - will get more)

All of these I very much like
Archtitecture in Helsinki
The Go! Team
Electric President (think postal service)
Ambulance Ltd (best brit-pop of 2004/5... but from the US!)

[IndiElectronica]

Grandaddy - Jason Lyttle and co.




You can't have an indie/pop thread and not include these guys! Modesto Califronian band that have just release their 5th and final album. The lead singer is now in isolation in Montana, but we hope for music in the future... Grandaddy's best moments came with their 2nd and 3rd albums - Under the Western Freeway and The Sophtware Slump but their last two albums, Sumday and Just Like the Fambly Cat should still be found in everyone's cd collection.

The music style is loosely called 'Space-pop'. It's indie pop with a bit of synths and catchy tunes in other words. They are definately a band that have created their own sound as even I have a hard time thinking of similar bands... but I assure you it's good!

Best songs include AM 180, Elevate Myselft, I'm on Standby, Miner at the Dial-A-View, Now It's On, Ok with My Decay, Summer Here Kids (and many more!)

[hookers with machineguns]

^ AM180 was on the 28 Days Later Soundtrack (*loved that soundtrack...and the rage zombies*). I'll have to check them out closer, they sound pretty good. And, they've been around for a while too.

Of Montreal



Of Montreal is NOT a Montreal band, in fact, they are from Athens, Georgia. The founder apparently named the band after a Montreal girl who broke his heart (aww...how cute ).

Much of their earlier work can be described as psychedelic pop and new-wave influenced (also heavily influenced by the Beatles and 60s pop in general), with each release escaping further away from being overly rock influenced. They are a giddy, playful...can I say zany even? Sometimes you’ll hear their lyrics referred to as clever “childlike nursery rhymes”, although on other occasions, they can be quite melancholy and complex. Frontman Kevin Barnes displayed his storytelling abilities on the first couple of albums (The *** Parade and Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse) which can be interpreted as “concept” albums with even more clever song titles. Another distinguishing feature is Barnes’ near-the-brink-of-spazzy opera-esque voice, which some will find appealing, while others will be disgusted and then some.

Nothing up to this point was really anything special until they left Kindercore Records and jumped ship to Polyvinyl to release Satanic Panic in The Attic (2004), which probably brought them a little more exposure to the world. Unlike the others, this album was more disco funk and synth based, while blending psych and power pop, more danceable, as well as being better produced overall. In 2005, Sunlandic Twins, believe it or not, was their 7th album, once again gearing more towards the synth sound. This, in my opinion, is probably the most listenable album to the average pop fan, but not necessarily the most accomplished lyrically or in terms of creativity (that is, compared to their earlier albums).

Favorite Tracks: I Was Never Young, The Party's Crashing Us Now, Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games), Penelope, Oslo In the Summertime, and Disconnect the Dots [all the songs, except the latter, are from Sunlandic Twins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PoJv...=Of%20Montreal
http://www.ofmontreal.net/
http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal

[IndiElectronica]

damn you - of motreal was my next band to add! will be back with another soon!