Russian Red - I Love Your Glasses (2008)

01. Cigarettes
02. No Past Land
03. They Don't Believe
04. Gone, Play On
05. Hold It Inside
06. Nice Thick Feathers
07. Kiss My Elbow
08. Take Me Home
09. Walls Are Tired
10. Timing Is Crucial
11. Just Like A Wall
12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

She's from Madrid and has a bit of a Regina Spektor feel to her, but less nuts. I can't find too much information about her. Outstanding tracks are "Cigarettes" and a srsly beautiful cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Also she's really really pretty, so there's a higher chance of her gaining some popularity this year with this album.

myspace (to check out her pixXx)
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Santogold - Santogold (2008) Advance

01. L.E.S. Artistes
02. You'll Find A Way
03. Shove It
04. Say Aha
05. Creator
06. My Superman
07. Lights Out
08. Starstruck
09. Unstoppable
10. I'm A Lady
11. Anne
12. You'll Find A Way (Switch & Sinden Remix)

"The future of music, today" - Rolling Stone 10 Artists To Watch. "Singing in a haunting, sensual wail...she adds a layer of softness to an unusual mix of synthesizers, dance hall rhythms, and percolating new wave" - NY Times. "Future-pop princess...next big thing" - Spin. "Santi White is Santogold...the collaborators and players may change, the sounds may shift, but at the center is one woman's indelible vision" - The Fader. SXSW / Coachella shows, 2007 tours with Bjork, M.I.A., songs featured in Entourage, Grey's Anatomy, Grand Theft Auto.


Edit: Sorry, Mediafire took it down :(

Yelle - Pop Up (2007)

01. Ce Jeu
02. A Cause Des Garcons
03. Dans Ta Vrale Vie
04. Tristesse/Joie
05. Mal Poli
06. Les Femmes
07. Tu Es Beau
08. Je Veux Te Voir
09. Amour Du Sol
10. Mon Meilleur Ami
11. 85a
12. Jogging
13. A Cause Des Garcons remix
14. A Cause Des Garcons remix

She's french, obv. This came out in August of '07, but it's a French import so it's taken awhile to gain popularity in the US. You should probably get this if you're trying to stay on top of what cool songs are playing at dance parties. You may have already heard "Ce Jeu". It's all in French and surprisingly that doesn't bother me at all. RIYL: Crystal Castles, Justice, New Young Pony Club.

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The Billionaires - Really Real For Forever (2008)

01. The End of Summer Song
02. High School High
03. I Love You Mother Nature
04. Eighties Movies
05. Pass the Bottle
06. NY Cab
07. Butterflies
08. Cold Day
09. Trophy Home
10. Confidence

Cool songs about cool stuff like summer, nature and drinking booze. Girl/dudes singing. Great happy springtime music. Despite my inability to describe how good music is, this is a really good album that I highly recommend.

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The Matches - A Band In Hope (2008)

01. AM Tilts
02. Their City
03. Wake the Sun
04. Darkness Rising
05. To Build A Mountain
06. We Are One
07. Point Me Toward the Morning
08. From 24C
09. Clouds Crash
10. Between Halloweens
11. If I Were You
12. Future Tense
13. Yankee In a Chip Shop
14. Proctor Rd.

This is really catchy shit. They remind me of Tally Hall in the way that every song has a different sound to it and it's all really fun. A standout track is "Wake the Sun". It's one of those songs I'd want to put on every mix cd I make, if I made mix cds.

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Langhorne Slim - Diamonds and Gold (2008) (Advance)

01. Spinning Compass
02. Rebel Side of Heaven
03. Restless
04. Sometimes
05. She's Gone
06. Colette
07. Hello Sunshine
08. Diamonds and Gold
09. The Honeymoon
10. Tipping Point
11. Oh Honey
12. Worries
13. Hummingbird

This album doesn't come out until April 28th. Amazon is calling it a self-titled album, but I have it as "Diamonds and Gold" so who the fuck knows, Amazon is probably right. Sorry, whatevz. I saw Langhorne Slim open up for Rocky Votolato and he was fantastic. His wardrobe led me to believe he was teleported from the 1880's.

"You could write 2,000 words on Langhorne Slim's banjo and upright bass wizards alone. His tracks are so down-home cracklin', as is his voice (in an extraordinarily wonderful way). Slim's fun, gospel-fied, punk-grass will move you and get you movin'. Cameos from the Pedal Steel, the Accordion and the Trombone elevate the songs. In addition to Slim's furious strumming, the listener is treated to heavy doses of Rhodes, Hammond b3, Ragtime piano and drums!!"

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what

"I'm honored to have Heidi's support and I want to assure her that I never miss an episode of The Hills, especially since the new season started." Presumptive Republican nominee for president John McCain, folks.



what?

White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (2007)

01. Kid On My Shoulders
02. The Plot
03. Dinner Party
04. Navy Wives
05. While We Go Dancing
06. I Used To Complain Now I Don't
07. Take A Walk Around the Table
08. March of the Camels
09. Fort Nightly
10. Reprise
11. Tourist Trap

Pitchfork gave this album an 8.1 (if you care what Pitchfork has to say, which most people don't). They're on tour with Spoon right now and this album rules.

I'm posting this mainly because they're playing a free show at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, thanks to WXPN. It's on April 10th and completely free if you RSVP HERE.
I didn't hear about it until last night, word didn't spread as fast as the free Matt Pond show. Download the album, see them for free next week if you live around here, drink tons of booze, sounds good.

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The 88 - Over and Over (2005)

01. Hide Another Mistake
02. All 'Cause of You
03. Nobody Cares
04. Bowls
05. Head Cut Off
06. Battle Scar
07. Coming Home
08. You Belong to Me
09. Haunt You
10. Jesus Is Good
11. Everybody Loves Me
12. Not Enough

Bands with numbers as their name are generally annoying, but I'll look past this one mistake. Their songs are used for a bunch of tv/ads (The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, Target, etc.) but are still unknown to the general public. It's pretty gay to admit that most of the songs used on the O.C. are really enjoyable, but it's true, and we all know it.

"The 88 have a lot of believers on its side, causing a big enough stir in the local LA scene to attract the attention of TV shows like The O.C. and Jimmy Kimmel as well as KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Singing with a sensual Marc Bolan-like set of pipes, singer Keith Slettedahl has a long list of ex-lovers who fuel his caustic muse. Doing the majority of the songwriting as well, Slettedahl's music leans toward mid-'60s power pop filled with hooky choruses and taunt riffs that recall early Kinks. "Hide Another Mistake" is a prime example of this aesthetic, and it's already been picked as a single, yet "All 'Cause Of You" has an emotional vulnerability to the vocals and a jaunty riff that rams the equally strong song home. Well-balanced with a few quieter acoustic songs, this sophomore effort is an assured and altogether catchy work from a band that deserves all the attention it gets." -Tad Hendrickson review

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