Leah Abramson

"Leah sings songs that are haunting, intelligent, and beautiful, like the long lost love-child of Jason Molina and Joni Mitchell"
--New Music Canada


Leah Abramson

Thanks to Matthew for the heads up on Leah Abramson and her album, Bedroom/City, a beautiful collection of songs perfect for a winter night. Not that we have winter here in Dallas, but I'm just saying.

Leah Abramson Waterworks mp3

win a copy of Leah Abramson's bedroom/city from i heart music

also:

Watch Out For Snakes points us in the direction of this cover of my favorite Beach Boys song, by my favorite Decemberist, Petra Haden:

Petra Haden God Only Knows mp3

the original, on the off chance you don't have it:

The Beach Boys God Only Knows mp3

good afternoon

Here are a couple tracks that I'm undecided on...both are beautifully bizarre and extremely interesting, artistically. I think I like them both, because I've listened to each numerous times this afternoon. Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my uninformed opinion on each track:


Natalie Rose Lebrecht

Natalie Rose Lebrecht has an otherworldly quality to her voice. I believe she's performed with Devendra, but I'm not sure. This track, recorded under the Greenpot Bluepot moniker, has definitely piqued my interest in her upcoming LP, Imagining Weather.

greenpot bluepot untitled track 6 mp3


Kemialliset Ystavat

Kemialliset Ystavat sounds sort of like the Animal Collective might, if they were Scandanavian forest-dwelling hippies instead of Brooklyn hipsters.

Kemialliset Ystavat Kelsomiinanaama mp3

also:

As I believe I've mentioned before, I'm extremely excited about the new Ghostface album, Fishscale (March 14?). Well, Glassheads has 3 tracks from the album, including this MF Doom produced track:

Ghostface Charlie Brown mp3

Bishop Allen & Another Contest

I know Matt and Dodge already posted this new Bishop Allen track, but the band dropped me a line and told me to check it out too. I'm a huge Bishop Allen fan (thanks solely to Matt), and this song, a touching love letter to an orphaned piano, does not disappoint. The song can be found on the January EP, the first EP of 12 (one for each month of 2006). The EP even has a song about my hometown, Big D (that's Dallas).

Bishop Allen Corazon mp3

Buy the January EP here (best 5 bucks you'll spend all week). The band only pressed 1000 copies, and I'm pretty sure those will sell out, so act quick.

also:

From the same people who brought you the Cat Power Digipack contest comes this:



Enter in the comments to win what has been described to me as "a really, really limited edition Belle & Sebastian "The Life Pursuit" digi-book (seriously, it's like a book) with a live BBC session bonus disc." Man, I want one of these for myself, but alas, this will go to the person who can guess my middle name (i'm running out of contest ideas). Those who already know my middle name are not eligible. If there's a tie, I'll select a winner at random.

gorillavsbear.net Showcase: March 10

poster by Garrison (click for larger image)

The Lovely Sparrows

One of the coolest perks of having a blog is that you get advance copies of clear vinyl 7-inches sent to you in the mail. Matt from Skatterbrain posted on these guys last week (he's been known to be a step or two ahead of me), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I love this track. It's been sitting on my turntable all week, getting occasional spins whenever I need a shot of pop perfection. The 7" also makes a comfortable place to sleep, says my cat Stella:



The Lovely Sparrows Glad Rangers mp3

I can't figure out where you would buy a copy of said 7", but I highly recommend you try to find it. Maybe Abandoned Love Records website?

Go become friends with The Lovely Sparrows, and while you're there, download another track

also:

I know I posted on her earlier today, but here's one more from Marissa Nadler...I can't get enough of that voice:

Marissa Nadler Ballad to an Amber Lady mp3

Finally...the other Matty has an mp3 from The Raconteurs, and it is fu**ing genius...go get it. now.

The Raconteurs Unveil New Songs!

Thanks to the anonymous reader who gave me the heads up that two new tracks from The Raconteurs are available to stream on their website. The site is super cool, and the songs do not disappoint. The album, entitled Broken Boy Soldiers, comes out in May. Check it out...

Marissa Nadler

"As a vocalist Nadler is considerably less idiosyncratic than such peers as Joanna Newsom or Josephine Foster, and here her dusky, lived-in soprano settles diffusely between contemporaries like Hope Sandoval and Chan Marshall, and 60s-era folkies like Vashti Bunyan or Mimi Farina"
--Pitchfork Media



I have a new obsession (musically speaking, of course) and her name is Marissa Nadler. Her voice is at once both achingly beautiful, and eerily haunting. I honestly purchased her album, The Saga of Mayflower May, after only hearing this one track:

Marissa Nadler Old Love Haunts Me in the Morning mp3

Also highly recommended is her rendition of this traditional folk classic. Gave me goosebumps:

Marissa Nadler Glory Glory Hallelujah mp3

Marissa Nadler is playing SXSW, and will release her new album in Spring 2006. Peruse her audio page for more downloads. All highly recommended.

also:

check out Matt's post on a band I'm becoming quite fond of, Sing Sing. Apparently, Matt and I have been on similar wavelengths lately. This song is pretty much perfect pop:

Sing Sing Come, Sing Me a Song mp3

Palms Out Sounds has the Diplo remix of the YYY's new single, "Gold Lion". Very cool...this track should be added instantly to any party mix you're assembling.(via Dreams of Horses)

Finally, in less than one year of existence, gorilla vs. bear saw its 1,000,000th page view over the weekend, which far exceeds any expectations I had starting out. This was originally intended only as a way to share music with my friends, so thanks to everyone who stops by to read.

shapes and sizes

I'm super busy with work this morning, but I have to implore you to check out Shapes and Sizes. I'm sure many of my Canadian readers already know about this band, but these songs are wonderful. Listening this morning has made my transition into the work week quite a bit more pleasant than usual.

Shapes and Sizes Island's Gone Bad mp3
Shapes and Sizes The Taste in My Mouth mp3

Download a couple more tracks here

also:

Thanks to reader Karl for pointing me in the direction of this gorilla vs. bear mention, in the London Sun, of all places.

Finally, I've added a new section to the links in my sidebar: Bands' Blogs. This is a new trend I stand behind 100%...it's really cool to read about the behind the scenes stuff, and I think it's great that bands are doing this. Let me know if there are any bands I should add.

Best of January

This post is specifically designed for those of you who don't have the time, nor the desire, to read my incessant ramblings every day. I hope to make this a regular monthly feature, in which I'll post my 5 or 6 (or in this case, 7) favorite tracks from the month, in an attempt to draw as much attention as possible to my favorite artists. Obviously, these are all highly recommended.


Sparrow House

• Sparrow House When I Am Gone mp3

This is the first track from Voxtrot's Jared Van Fleet, under the Sparrow House moniker. Many have commented that this track would feel right at home on the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson film, and I agree. The best song I heard this month, and one of the best I've heard in quite some time.

• Midlake Roscoe mp3

This Midlake song blew me away the first time I heard it, and it's still growing on me, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that the first few bars are reminiscent of the M*A*S*H theme song. Jason Lee's favorite band will be releasing their new album sometime in the next couple months.

• Band of Horses The Funeral mp3

Rarely does a song conjure as much emotion as this one, taken from the band's new LP, Everything All The Time (out March 21).


Sibylle Baier

• Sibylle Baier Tonight mp3

If you're a fan of Vashti Bunyan and her story, you'll love this track from Baier's upcoming album, Colour Green (out Feb. 7 on Orange Twin) Gorgeously understated folk, recorded in the early '70's. (Thanks to Moka for introducing me to Ms. Baier)

• Ghostface feat. Raekwon Kilo mp3

This year is shaping up to be infinitely better for hip hop than '05 was, with new records due from Wu alums Ghostface and Raekwon. This track is taken from Ghostface's Fish Scale, due out Feb. 28.

• Head Like A Kite Noisy at the Circus mp3

This track, taken from Head Like A Kite's Brian Deck-produced LP Random Portraits of the Home Movie (Feb. 21), features the vocals of Aysa from Smoosh, everyone's favorite pre-teen indie rockers.

• Love Is All Used Goods mp3

I can't get enough of these Swedes lately. Their album, Nine Times That Same Song, is genius, and I can't wait to see them at SXSW, along with fellow Swede Jose Gonzalez, at the Pitchfork Showcase.

• SOUND team The Fastest Man Alive (iTunes-ready short film)

Also available in a streamable version, this is the best video I've seen so far in '06. Filmed by the band and edited with the help of Peter Simonite (Spoon, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), you're not getting the full mileage out of your iPod video if this clip isn't on it.

************************
also:

If you're in Dallas tonight, go check out Red Monroe and The Black Angels at The Cavern. This track, from Red Monroe's upcoming EP, The Governor's Ball, really gets going at about the 2:45 mark. Recommended:

Red Monroe Blue Mountain Air mp3

The Raconteurs have a Myspace Page

The Raconteurs

How does this shit get past me, only coming to my attention after it's too late? The Modern Age reports that The Raconteurs first limited-edition 7" will be released on Jan. 30 (i think), but apparently it's already sold out. I will be forever indebted to anyone that can point me in the direction of a copy. (thanks to David for the info)

New Neko Case

I know this came out a couple days ago, but just in case you missed it...



Here's a new track by the stunning Neko Case, taken from her new LP, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, due out March 7th:

Neko Case Star Witness mp3

also:

check out this gorilla vs. bear mention by the great Luke Winn, in his Power Rankings column on Sports Illustrated.com.

a love supreme

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and it's no secret that bloggers aren't always that smooth when it comes to wooing the opposite sex. Luckily, Guava knows this, so she hooks you up with her Valentine's Day Mix, complete with cover art, that's sure to improve your game. A very eclectic mix, featuring contributions from TV on the Radio, The Velvet Underground, Atmosphere, and Jeff Buckley, among others.

Download it here

bonus:

A track from the new Casiotone For The Painfully Alone record, Etiquette:

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Young Shields mp3

Used Goods

Sweden's Love Is All

I'm seriously loving the new Love Is All record, Nine Times That Same Song. Neighborhoodies says the band "sounds like a Swedish combination of The Arcade Fire, Suicide, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with saxophone", and that's pretty much the best damn description I've heard in quite some time.

Love is All Used Goods mp3

buy Nine Times That Same Song from Neighborhoodies for only $9.99

also:

Check out Who Needs Radio?, a new blog that, after about 3 posts, is already one of my favorites. The girl has taste.

Harmony Trowbridge

"Slightly reminiscent of Joanna Newsom's quirkiness - though less shrill - and of a younger Joni Mitchell, Trowbridge is nonetheless an original"
--Now Magazine



I was instantly drawn to these songs by Toronto-based singer/songwriter Harmony Trowbridge. Both instantly endearing and engaging, they validate those "young Joni Mitchell" comparisons that seem to be oft-mentioned when discussing Trowbridge's considerable talent.

Harmony Trowbridge No Photographs mp3
Harmony Trowbridge Flat Bottomed Boat mp3

Harmony's EP, Amoraphobe, was just re-released by Festival. A full-length will be available in the fall.

Andrew Morgan

I figured I should hit you guys with at least some music today:

"The Oxford educated, Elliott Smith protege builds a baroque-soundscape loaded with lush string-laden melodies, colorful lyrical images, and jazzy interludes. It's the perfect soundtrack to both lingering 3 am sadness and a sunny afternoon walk through a green forest."
--Delusions of Adequacy



Forgive my ignorance to the greatness that is Andrew Morgan. I don't know how I missed Dodge's post on him back in November, but he escaped my attention until I posted on Smallwire, a band that calls Morgan a friend. All four songs highly recommended for fans of Elliott Smith:

Andrew Morgan Aligned on the Steps mp3
Andrew Morgan Misadventures in Radiology mp3
Andrew Morgan This Awful Room mp3
Andrew Morgan Supine on the Covers mp3

buy Morgan's album, Misadventures in Radiology, here

Akron/Family: Live in Denton

Sorry for the late post today...here are some photos from the Akron/Family show last night in Denton. These boys are bizarre, dabbling just as much in death metal as in freak folk during their hour-long set. Their tribal anthems were rousing, to say the least, but I would have appreciated at least some semblance of melody. I'm not complaining though...enjoy the pics (most photos taken by the bloggie-nominated Garrison):

To Hide This Way

I'm always hestitant to post songs I know nothing about, but I found out Johanna Berhan is from Sweden, so that's something, right? Man, I love Sweden.

Johanna Berhan To Hide This Way mp3

I also found out she's in a band called Taxi, Taxi! w/ her sister, Miriam.

Taxi, Taxi! Old Big Trees mp3

also:

A reminder for my West Coast readers: SOUND team begins their California love showcase tonight. Be there:

1/24: Cinespace, Los Angeles, CA
1/25: The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Film School)
1/26: Bottom of Hill, San Francisco, CA (w/ Film School)
1/27: Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
1/30: Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA

Tonight

I will be making the trek up north to Denton (yeah, it's a trek) with the Bloggie-nominated Garrison to see Akron/Family, Mi and L'au, and Okkervil River side-project Shearwater at Andy's.

Justin saw Akron/Family a couple weeks ago, and called it one of the best shows he's ever seen, so needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

Akron/Family Raising the Sparks mp3
Shearwater Turn Your Transmitters Off mp3
Mi and L'au They Marry mp3

bonus:

Here's the title-track from the new Shearwater album:

Shearwater Palo Santo mp3

also:



The Polyphonic Spree has started a blog, chronicling the recording of their new album, The Fragile Army.

I Was a Real Fast Runner

I know absolutely nothing about Dorian Hatchet, except that she has a myspace page, and that she lists "The World Wildlife Fund Endangered Animals List, Intensive Snow Fort Building, all-time greatest NASA bloopers, and unrealized childhood fantasy" among her many influences.

I found this song at Said The Gramophone, who imagined that the song was being sung by a guppy, "and that this stuff is happening to a family of guppies". As ridiculous as that sounds, it makes perfect sense, once again illustrating the fact that Said the Gramophone is the most eloquently written blog around.

Since I'd imagine StG and gorilla vs. bear have somewhat different audiences, I thought I'd share. Highly recommended:

Dorian Hatchet Fast Runner mp3

also:



As I'm sure you're aware, tomorrow is a huge day for new releases, and one that hopefully won't get lost in the Cat Power/Jenny Lewis shuffle is the new Ester Drang record, Rocinate. Jade Tree has made two mp3s available for your listening pleasure, and both are very good:

Ester Drang Come Back Alive mp3
Ester Drang Valencia's Dying Dream mp3

When I Am Gone

Sparrow House is Voxtrot's Jared Van Fleet. By my own conservative estimate, I've played this song about 50 times this weekend, and it gets better with each listen. Just perfect...

Sparrow House When I Am Gone mp3

Despite being ridiculously busy with his other band, Jared promises that the Sparrow House recordings will see a release sometime soon.

Be Sparrow House's friend, and while you're there, listen to a track Jared recorded w/ Red Hunter

Also:

Speaking of Red Hunter...

He's got a new band called The Silver Age, and he needs some musicians:

"It's the most celebratory, rejoiceful, jump for joy music. it's about salvation and the big party at the end of the world.

i need four or five folks who can come on tour and all that. drums bass guitar horns fiddle banjo whatever and hobos who will clank along on pots, pans, and any junk they can find --=> austinites only for now."

Smallwire

Smallwire

Chicago's Smallwire has shared the stage with gorilla vs. bear favorites Magnolia Electric Co., Biirdie, and Tapes 'n Tapes, and that's pretty much all I needed to hear before giving them a listen. I was instantly won over by the swirling melodies and the ethereal vocals of the beautiful Kristina Dutton...highly recommended for fans of Stereolab and Mazzy Star.

Smallwire Dodging Traffic mp3
Smallwire Death of a Snowflake mp3

be smallwire's friend

Los Super Elegantes

"A theatrically vibrant blur of thrash-mariachi, psychedelic distortion, histrionic vocals, performance art, punk rock, surrealism, Mexican telenovelas and five-dollar-store fashions."
--LA Weekly


Los Super Elegantes

Forget for a second about the fact that Los Super Elegantes' collection of press photos is unparalled in its awesomeness, and that Milena Muzquiz is ridiculously hot. After listening to the tracks streaming on their website, I have decided that the band, whose name loosely translates to "The Super Elegantes", is unclassifiable in its greatness. Each song seems to dabble in about 3 different genres and multiple languages, and yet it somehow comes together perfectly.

Los Super Elegantes por que te vas mp3

check the band's website for info on buying the LP and home-made t-shirts

be the band's friend here

I Sing Your Praises Like a Bird

Eux Autres

I don't know about you guys, but I totally judge bands on myspace by whether or not they have cool friends in their "top 8" thing. And Eux Autres has Voxtrot so I knew they'd be cool. Okay none of that is true, except the part about Eux Autres being friends with Voxtrot. Plus Gina loves them, and she's cool too.

Under the Radar called Eux Autres' 2004 album, Hell is Eux Autres, "one of the more exciting independent releases of the year...a veritable cult classic." The band is a brother-sister duo from Portland via Omaha, but sound like the The White Stripes might if they were from Paris instead of Detroit. Highly recommended:

Eux Autres Ecoutez bien mp3
Eux Autres Other Girls mp3

Bonus:

view an animated short for "Ecoutez bien" here

the band is currently recording their new LP, but in the meantime, buy Hell is Eux Autres here

be Eux Autres' friend

Recommended activities tonight in North Texas:

Bosque Brown + Lowry + The Bowmans @ Rubber Gloves (Denton)

Downtown and Mazinga Phaser II @ The Cavern (Dallas)

Contest Winners

Thanks to everyone who played, and here are the winners:


dylanclub can't wait for Danielson Famile's Ships

In the Merge contest, 1st place goes to dylanclub because...i'm not sure why, but he wins. Perhaps because he had the audacity to put Danielson Famile at the top of his list, and also because he included Voxtrot and the Shins, and those are two I can't wait for. The two runners-up are Stl. Ben (The Raconteurs, Black Keys, Radiohead, runner-up TVOTR) and Joe, for going straight hip-hop (Gnarls Barkley, Ghostface/MF Doom, Raekwon).

In the Cat Power digi-pack contest, Carrie wins by a landslide for her word, "Sheed". Michael gets a special prize for last place for choosing the word "moist". I hate that word.

If you're a winner, please email me with your contact info so I can start your prizes on their way to your mailbox. And if you didn't win, check MOKB and YANP for similar, and in some cases, identical, contests.

Also:

If you like The Kinks or the Deathray Davies, you'll like The M's:

The M's Trucker Speed mp3

Finally, if you haven't already, be sure to check out Dodge's posts on Jed & Lucia and Schooner. Both are excellent finds that have been getting much play in my headphones today.

Bosque Brown--Live at the Cavern

The contest winners (Merge and Cat Power) will be announced this afternoon, but in the meantime, people keep hooking me up with amazing exclusives, and this one is very special:



Bosque Brown plays Rubber Gloves tonight in Denton, along with Lowry and The Bowmans, and if I didn't have a birthday party to attend, I'd be there front and center. This, however, is the next best thing:

This is an exclusive, near-perfect recording of Bosque Brown's performance last Friday at the Cavern, personally bootlegged through the Cavern's soundboard by Mr. Sam Machkovech. If you are unfamiliar with the impossibly talented, beautiful Mara Lee Miller (aka Bosque Brown), here's your introduction before she takes over the world at SXSW.

I attempted to select one or two specific tracks to recommend, but these are all equally amazing. Her voice is so starkly beautiful that I have to just insist you download every track, burn them to a CD, and play them straight through:

1. Silver and Gold mp3
2. Fine Lines mp3
3. Went Walking mp3
4. Still Afraid mp3
5. A House mp3
6. Texas mp3
7. Israel mp3
8. Red Roses mp3
9. Hwy. 377 mp3
10. No. 6 mp3
11. That Door mp3
12. Fire Fight mp3

Bosque Brown's one-sided LP, Cerro Verde, comes out soon on Burnt Toast Vinyl.

Yet Another Contest

Remember Matt's Cat Power contest? The one in which you can win a limited-edition, gold embossed Cat Power The Greatest digi-pak, which includes a non-album bonus track? Well, us bloggers get the same emails from the same promo companies, so I'm offering the same thing. But it won't be easy, my friends: leave a one-word comment, and the word I like best wins. No cheating by leaving two words, or words with hyphens.

The contest ends tomorrow morning at 9 am central standard time, so act fast.

SOUND team, Cali Showcase, the Big Double Pod & YOU

Okay, my file-host is working as I'm typing this, and I can assure you these are working files, so if you have trouble viewing/downloading, just check back throughout the day. Enjoy:



As if the band wasn't already generous enough with their crackshot
tunes and good-natured joshin', SOUND team just provided me with an exclusive iPod video-ready short film for "The Fastest Man Alive," one of my favorite tracks off the much-lauded Work EP. I must say that everything about this exclusive is pretty sick, so if there are any tech-cynics out there, let me just say the short looks and sounds perfect on the new iPod, as well as your little Quicktime viewer.

For those keeping tabs, too, the short film was shot by the band on a Super 8 over the past couple of years and later edited by frequent Spoon collaborator, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre camera man, Peter Simonite.

And because you're now hungry for more good news, well, SOUND team has passed on some tour dates for what appears to be a full-fledged California showcase. Make your way to one or all if the time is right, which it usually is:

1/24: Cinespace, Los Angeles, CA
1/25: The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Film School)
1/26: Bottom of Hill, San Francisco, CA (w/ Film School)
1/27: Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
1/30: Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA

Fastest Man Alive (for iPod/iTunes/Quicktime)
Fastest Man Alive.mov (streamable)

File-hosting Problems

I have something really cool/exclusive to bring you guys as soon as ezarchive gets their shit together, I promise.



But in the meantime, listen to something not so cool: the gorilla vs. bear/indie interviews/torr.org podcast on TexasGigs.com, featuring Cat Power, the ridiculously good new Midlake song, and my cat, among others...help us pick a name for our podcast by leaving a comment here, and you could win a really super-fabulous prize pack consisting of a bunch of yet-to-be-determined prizes.

Best Song of 2006? (so far)

Midlake

Yeah, I know we're less than 3 weeks into the year, but this is one of my favorite songs I've heard so far in '06. This is definitely my favorite Midlake song, and it has piqued my interest in their new LP, due out in March(?):

Midlake Roscoe mp3