I truly believe that The Boy Least Likely To are one of the most special groups going on at the moment. Based simply on quality there’s a lot of special and fantastic musical artists around of course and I’d rate several of them over TBLLT (excuse me for using the acronym) on my personal “artists that really mean loads to me” list but The Boy Least Likely To is one of the more special in the way that they have really managed to hit their own little niche where no one else really goes, at least not to the same extent, and they’re fantastic at it. Sure there’s a lot of cutesy and twee bands going on but no one really uses as much toy pianos, glockenspiels, banjos and other whimsical instruments as much. That’s not the point though: the point is in the lyrics. The Boy Least Likely To uses the rose-tinted views on nostalgic childhood memories as the basis of their music, a look back to when life was simpler and contrasting it with all the human neuroses we have and the pains of growing up and having to abandon the happy world. It’s their forté, their niche and Jof Owen crafts lyrics about the matter in a very, very brilliant manner.

The long-awaited second album The Law of the Playground sees a slight shift in focus for the band. While the brilliant debut The Best Party Ever liked to contrast happy music with pessimistic, neurotic and insecurity-riddled tales of the more adult world hidden in the guise of kid-like musical imagination, The Law of the Playground focuses more on the child’s side of things. Sure a lot of things here are pretty ambiguous but this time the lyrics – at least to my eyes – are more about the imaginative wonders of childhood and the essentially tiny but personally big we all faced when we were young as well as the loneliness of being the odd one out from the all rest of the kids in the schoolyard.

In essence, The Law of the Playground captures childhood, its ups and downs, into musical format. It’s children’s songs for adults.

(more…)

Well, dangit. Sorry folks! Life has been pulling me every which way. Conventions, starting up a business, file hosts a-changin’. All sorts of things denying you your weekly dose of music! So, to make it up to you guys and gals, I’ve prepared an extra large dose of Indie Paws love! Lots of buzz to catch up on, and this is the best way I think I can pass it on, so ENJOY! :)

Wild Light – California On My Mind (2009, ???, New Hampshire) Wild Light formed in New Hampshire in 2005 after meeting in high school and made their name playing the clubs of Boston. Band member Timothy Kyle was previously a member of Arcade Fire, performing on their early EP. In late 2007 they supported the band on their European tour.

Hotels – Hydra (2009, Seattle, Washington) Hotels is a bit of anomaly, in that from what I can gather, the lead singer splits his time between two sets of musicians in an attempt to make an interestingly diverse musical sound. With members in New York City, and others in Seattle, Blake Madden somehow ties this all together and has made a really stellar sophomore album “Where Hearts Go Broke”, which was released on Valentines Day…coincidence?

Or, The Whale – Call and Response (2007, San Francisco, California) Perhaps a bit country, but what good music doesn’t try it’s best to incorporate what works for a genre into something new? Or, The Whale is a prime example of this, as their sounds a bit country, a bit pop, and just all around enjoyable. This song can be found on their “Light Poles and Pines” (debut) album.

The Kooks – Victoria (2009) This song can be found on one of the two “must get” compilation charity albums released this spring, “War Child – Heroes”. Chock full of indie bands we all know and love, the neat thing about this album is that every song is a cover. Why is this a good thing? Well, the original artists chose which hip new bands they wanted to cover their original works. For example this song, The Kinks chose The Kooks to cover “Victoria”…perhaps because their names sound so similar, but I doubt it. BTW, all the proceeds from this album go towards helping children that have suffered as result of war.

The Picture – Deer Crossing (2009, Brooklyn, New York) After hearing this song, I immediately purchased “The Picture”’s latest EP “Bluebirds” and was not disappointed in it one bit. So far, it’s one of the best EPs, if not albums I’ve heard this year. I fully expect this album to make one of my “Best of” lists at the end of the year.

Vetiver – Everyday (2009, San Francisco, California) Vetiver is a bit folk, and a bit pop and have toured with artist such as Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. This song can be found on their “Tight Knit” album, released last month.

Odawas – Harmless Lover’s Discourse (2009, Bloomington, Indiana) Odawas? Until earlier this week, I’d never heard of them. Now, I own all three of their albums and their debut EP. Ambient, enjoyable music, it reminds me of other bands at times, but definately defining their own niche. You can find “Harmless Lover’s Discourse” on their latest album “The Blue Depths”.

Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (2009, London, England) Another valentines day release, Fanfarlo released their first full length album “Reservoir”. This London based band is known for songs that start out a bit slow, but just grow in complexity as the song ticks the seconds down. If you like this song/album, they released their EP “Look Both Ways” back in 2006.

Sin Fang Bous – Catch the Light (2009, Reykjavik, Iceland) This can be found on the first solo album by Sunbear’s vocalist Sindri Már Sigfússon, “Clangour”, which was released last month. Not heard much from Sunbear or the rest of this album, but I’m definitely marking it on my “to buy” list.

The Books (feat. Jose Gonzalez) – Cello Song (2009) This can be found on the highly anticipated 2 disc charity album “Dark Was The Night”. The folks from “The National” got a bunch of today’s hottest indie bands together to donate a track to this album, whose proceeds go toward supporting AIDS research.

De Rosa – Nocturne For An Absentee (2008, Bellshill, Scotland) De Rosa was formed by main songwriter Martin John Henry in the early 2000’s. With two albums under their belt, De Rosa combines a modern indie rock sound with Henry’s personal lyrics and amazing vocals. You can find this song on their latest album, “Prevention”.

My Morning Jacket – El Caporal (2009) Another song found on “Dark Was The Night”, My Morning Jacket brings us “El Caporal”. I am a total sucker for Jim James vocal styling for a long long time now. The fact that My Morning Jacket (amongst many others) was one of the main reasons for my anticipation of this album.

The Boy Least Likely To – I Box Up All the Butterflies (2009, Wendover, England) Wow. The album art for this release is coated in sugar. Go Tank Bunny! If you love Twee Pop, you won’t be disappointed by “The Boy Least Likely To”’s latest album “The Law of the Playground”. Jof Owen and Pete Hobbs combine all manor of upbeat sounds to produce one solid, enjoyable album.

As already reported before, The Boy Least Likely To’s new album The Law of the Playground is released in early March. News have now come in that if you pre-order the album from Rough Trade, you will be treated to a very special limited edition of the album. This special version contains a bonus album with it titled The Best B-Sides Ever which compiles the b-sides from the band’s first album into one disc. As an extra special treat, there’s a previously unreleased cover of George Michael’s Faith included.

Doesn’t seem to include the early Christmas treat Little Donkey though.

So if you missed those b-sides the first time around, now you’ve got an easy chance to get them.

The Best B-Sides Ever looks as follows:
1. Every Grubby Little Memory
2. Rock Upon a Porch With You
3. Faith
4. When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Boy Again
5. Between Hello and Goodbye
6. Oddballs
7. Cuddle Me

Finally! The amazingsupercute carebearstuffedanimal pop frolickers The Boy Least Likely To have finally announced a follow-up for their amazing 2005 gem The Best Party Ever that brought us such pieces of happygolucky music meets paranoia and mental anguish classics like “Be Gentle with Me” and “Hugging My Grudge”. This past year we’ve been treated with several preview cuts from the album and now the release date, name, tracklist AND cover are clear. So, on March 3rd 2009, a surely wonderful little album called The Law of the Playground will see the light of day.

You can hear a few tracks from the new album on their MySpace already and another (which was released as a free download earlier on this year) will be given to you by me at the end of this post if you don’t have it already. Check also the tracklist after the cut.

In other Boy Least Likely To news, they’re releasing a christmas single. The adorable and sweet “The First Snowflake” is also audible from the Myspace page and its download single release will be on December 15th. It will not be included on the album.

Me, I cannot wait for yet another wonderful mixture of childful innocence and playfulness mixed with paranoia of modern life.

(more…)