Balto – October’s Road
I needed something relaxing and simple this morning, and this felt like a good fit. I hope you all enjoy this album, but it is different from my usual posts. Balto came into being when Daniel Sheron abandoned his life in Moscow, Russia and went alone into Siberia. Against an ever-shifting backdrop of railways and desolate wastes, he wrote a cycle of folk songs to tell the story of what had happened in that strange country, why he had exiled himself, and why he thought it mattered. On the morning of December 15, 2010, six friends entered Grand Street Recording in Brooklyn, New York and emerged that night with an album that no one had expected: October’s Road.
- The Railyard5:17
- Self Portrait4:44
- The Tin Man3:54
- Kirov Factory5:15
- Elizabeth the Bumblebee2:29
- Long Time Coming4:00
- Don Quixote4:34
- October’s Road4:25
- The Lover5:55
- Home November Shore4:50
I wasn’t sure how good this album was going to be, but man this album has been great to wake up to when feeling groggy. The Wombats are a three-piece indie band from Liverpool, England. They are composed of two native Liverpudlians; front man Matthew Murphy, provider of voice, guitar and keyboards, drummer and b-vocalist Dan Haggis and bass and additional vocalist Tord Øverland-Knudsen, a Norwegian who has made his home in the city. The three met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The school gave them the chance to play gigs to over 20,000 people in China. This was one of the band’s first trips to play outside the UK.
Peter Bjorn and John (unofficially abbreviated as PB&J) are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band’s members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriksson (drums, percussion and vocals).
This album just came out in March and I accidentally found it while looking for some albums from the female street punk band The Devotchkas. After looking them up I asked a few friends about them, and only a couple people were listening to them. DeVotchKa is a four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, and Bolero, music with American punk and folk roots. They take their name from Anthony Burgess’ Nadsat (the language used throughout ‘A Clockwork Orange’) word for “young girl,” which is itself derived from the Russian word devochka(девочка) of the same meaning. Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano…
Sorry for the delay, Grooveshark wasn’t getting along with my uploads. This is a new album from Tokyo Police Club which I was excited to hear. Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The band consists of Dave Monks (Vocals, Bass), Josh Hook (Guitar, Percussion), Graham Wright (Keyboards, Vocals) and Greg Alsop (Drums, Percussion). In 2005, Tokyo Police Club started by accident one day in the ordinary suburb of Newmarket when Greg, Josh, Dave, and Graham decided that they missed playing music together, their previous band having broken up several months before.
The Dead Weather is an alternative rock band which formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 2009. They consist of Alison Mosshart (vocals, guitar), Dean Fertita (guitar, organ), Jack Lawrence (bass) and Jack White (drums, vocals). All members of the band are from other, well known alternative rock groups. Mosshart is a member of The Kills, Fertita is a member of Queens of the Stone Age, Lawrence is a member of The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs and White is a member of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.
LCD Soundsystem is the musical side project of producer James Murphy, co-founder of New York City dance-punk label DFA Records. Formed in 2002, the music of LCD Soundsystem can also be described as a mix of alternative dance and post punk, along with elements of disco and other styles. During live performances, Murphy is accompanied by Al Doyle (guitar, percussion — also of Hot Chip),Tyler Pope (!!! / Out Hud) (bass), Nancy Whang (keyboards) and Pat Mahoney (drums) Previous members include Phil Mossman (guitar, percussion) and 
Dr. Dog is a psychedelic rock group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which formed in 1999. The current lineup consists of Scott “Taxi” McMicken (vocals, guitar), Toby “Tables” Leaman (vocals, bass), Zach “Text” Miller (keyboards, guitar), Frank “Thanks” McElroy (guitar) and Eric “Teach” Slick (drums). “There’s a little folk, blues, indie rock, soul, bluegrass–and a whole lot of down-home harmonizing. It conjures images of old friends sitting on a porch swapping instruments and just letting the tape recorder run.” – Doug Wallen
Harlem is an American garage rock band comprising vocalist/guitarist/drummer Michael Coomers, vocalist/guitarist/drummer Curtis O’Mara and bassist Jose Boyer. Harlem started in Tucson, AZ before relocating to Austin where they generated a mountain of attention, both with their live shows and their self-issued 2008 album Free Drugs. They are on tour now, so be sure to check their myspace for tour dates.
The Postelles are part of an ideological bloodline that connects The Velvet Underground to the Ramones to Blondie and Television to the Walkmen, artists with unique and varied sensibilities, certainly, but who have in common an allegiance to the unabashedly unadorned rock song. If you like this EP look for their EP ‘White Knight’. Both EPs are pretty elusive, so good luck. Considering Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes is producing their new album, I expect this band to gain some more traction.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
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