Spring is in the air. I know I mentioned this last week, and even made a post dedicated to “warming the hearts of our readers from cold places”, but still, I love this time of the year. :) And what better way to celebrate Spring than through some new music? I’ve put some extra tunes in this one as it was a good week for finding new tunes that I really liked. So, sit back, relax and enjoy.

The Milk & Honey Band – Disappear (2009, Brighton, England) My curiosity was immediately piqued when I first heard that this band was inspired by XTC. Andy Partridge is in fact the owner of the record label used by “The Milk & Honey Band”, and hints of his style are quite evident all throughout their album “Dog Eared Moonlight”. With their first album released in 1994, “The Milk & Honey Band” have four released albums, and a few EPs, one of which features Partridge on backing vocals and guitar.

Still Flyin’ – The Hottchord is Struck (2009, San Francisco, California) More of a collective than an actual rock band, Still Flyin’ is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Sean Rawls, who formed it in late 2004 in San Francisco after relocating there from Athens, GA. Rawls was inspired to put the group together by a song he had written while a member of Je Suis France, “Never Gonna Touch the Ground.” To jam on the song, he invited a wide range of friends to rehearse, resulting in an ever-shifting personnel of upwards of 15 musicians and singers at a time, performing locally.

Thieves Like Us – Drugs in My Body (2008, Berlin, Germany) I’m gonna dedicate this one to my friend Kaoru who’s told me in the past that “he can’t find any decent music from his home country”. While I realize that that’s probably an exaggeration, I do want to make his quest a bit easier finding some music that rocks close to home. ;) Thieves like us is a relatively new band, having relocated to New York City to cut their first album..or, the re-recording of their first album. I swear the vocalist of this band is Bernard Sumner of “New Order”. Even their sound is a bit 80s electronic. *shrugs* Good stuff, enjoy.

Big Fresh – W.L.U.V. (2008, Lexington, Kentucky) After an eight year silence, Big Fresh has released their sophomore album “Big Fresh Forever”. With a sound hinting of “Apples in Stereo”, Big Fresh blends wonderful musical hints from the past with a modern indie pop sound. Honestly, I don’t know much about this band, or what they’ve been up to for the past eight years, but if you know, feel free to leave a comment!

The Juan MacLean – One Day (2009, New York City, New York) After performing synth and guitar duties for “Six Finger Satellite”, John MacLean has started releasing his own solo work under the name “The Juan MacLean”. This was not as easy as I’ve made it sound. When the “Six Finger Satellite” broke up, Maclean’s aggravated emotional state and long-term drug addiction took him low enough to provoke a move from New York to New Hampshire and a drastic change in lifestyle. James Murphy (”LCD Soundsystem”) and Tim Goldsworthy, who were getting the DFA label off the ground, provoked Maclean to become interested in making music again. Using the name the Juan Maclean, Maclean took the sound of his defunct band to the dancefloor, retaining flashes of post-punk and ’70s experimental electronics. It’s good to see John releasing music again, and the Satellite’s even have a new album coming out this year. Enjoy this track, which you can find on his latest album “The Future Will Come”

Hosta – Jupiter (2009, Fayetteville, Arkansas) Hosta is a three piece indie pop ensemble performing throughout the Midwest United States. They create an exciting, high-energy show fusing the classic sound of 60’s Garage Rock and the Velvet Underground with electronic pop and experimental flourishes. Hosta was nominated for a 2009 Northwest Arkansas Music Award in the category “Best None of the Above,” which perfectly describes the band’s genre-bending music. I’m not sure if they’ve released this track on an album, other than the “One Dream, One Night” compilation, but they do seem to have at least one full length album released to date.

Wye Oak – Take It In (2009, Baltimore, Maryland) I always love finding musical talent from Baltimore. Why? Well, I grew up north of this great city, and as a kid, I’d listen to “WHFS” or “98 Rock”, and wonder what awesome bands came from Baltimore. Now, I can give you a whole list: Animal Collection, Arbouretum, Dan Deacon, Adventure, just to name a few. Today, I’m adding “Wye Oak” to your radar, as this duet from Baltimore is about to release their second album “The Knot”. Wye Oak (formerly known as Monarch) are Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Jenn & Andy have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore, MD, and chose their name from the honorary state tree of Maryland. If you dig this track, be sure to pick up “The Knot” and their debut release “If Children”.

The Most Serene Republic – Heavens To Purgatory I was first turned onto “The Most Serene Republic” when I heard “Present of Future End” off their “Population” album (2007). Coming this July 14th, you can enjoy their latest album “…And the Ever Expanding Universe” featuring 11 new tracks of love. This band has always been one that can cram in a lot of sound into a song, but do it brilliantly, making the final product both overwhelm and satisfy the listener. I’ve also heard they put on an awesome live show, filled with dancing an other fun surprises. Be sure to check out their latest album and see them on tour when they come around your town.

Great Lake Swimmers – Pulling On a Line (2009, London, Ontario) Oddly enough, “The Most Serene Republic” and “Great Lake Swimmers” both come from London, Ontario..and both are quite awesome. Another one of my favorite bands come from this Canadian town, “The Gandharvas”, but I’ll talk them up another day. Great Lake Swimmers are a bit more folk than the previous mentioned bands today. This song can be found on their latest album “Lost Channels”. Interestingly enough, a lot of the songs on this album sing about forgotten/hidden history around the Ontario/New York great lakes region.

Telefon Tel Aviv – Immolate Yourself (2009, New Orleans, Louisiana) Telefon Tel Aviv is a music collective started by Josh Eustis and the late Charlie Cooper of New Orleans, Louisiana. The two originally met in high school, but did not begin working on music together until after university studies. Since 1999 the two have been working to cultivate their sound, one that is based largely in electronic music, but that also shows flourishes of classical, vintage soul, ambient drone, and noise, among other things. Over the past few years, together and separately, the duo have completed production work for many other artists, including Marc Hellner/Pulseprogramming, L’Altra, The Album Leaf, Apparat, Belong, The Race, and others. They have built a studio in Chicago where they currently work on all of their projects.

Tags: Big Fresh, Great Lake Swimmers, Hosta, Still Flyin', Telefon Tel Aviv, The Juan MacLean, The Milk & Honey Band, The Most Serene Republic, Thieves Like Us, Wye Oak

This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Friday Fix. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.