Parades | Foreign Tapes (2010)

The Sydney quartet Parades debut Foreign Tapes is really big surprise for me this year. Not best band in 2010 but probably best new band/music last year.

They produced really splendid LP with strong mellodies which you will want to listen again and again. Very fresh and definetely not weary album.

Dead Nationale | the opening track has deft and nervous energic drums/beats as I love whith supporting huge guitar riffs it brings us to the climax at second half. It kicks your ass you bet! ;)

Hunters | angelic co-lead vocals of Rebecca Shave with tinkling piano and than another big energic kick. Probably one of the best song here.

Past Lives | poppy start with strong catchy melody, both vocals are melting together , you hear accoustic guitar and almost as always on this album very energic and happy feelings.

Invaders (Review) - subdued beats at the beginning put over you to middle part where you feel like as tough you be on board of some fast train which running to the unknown but you feel safe though.

Springboarder | in second shortest song with 2.27mins (the first shortest is Tripping Over Your Eyes with lenght 2.03) you can hear analog synths in little bit cold ambient layers but slow speed and murmur voices in background you can get in the right calm mood.

Lung Full Of Light | dominative energic repetitive piano support her voice which is like from distance star. Little bit sad mood but still beautifil.

Loserspeak In New Tongue | I love the rhythm here and Rebecca's "ohh oh oh" immense vocal. Excellent structure and great painting with accoustic and electric guitars almost at the end. I want hear it live but it can you say about whole record.

Tripping Over Your Eyes | relaxing gentle piano and vocals take you slowly to the dreams where you will floating over roofs of your town.

Marigold | this slow-moving 6.37mins long song starts with sound of trumpets wich announce maybe best or most complex song of the album. Especialy there is outstanding final part at 5:03+ sounds as post-rock - so epic, rolling drums and wall of guitar riffs. It's just perfect.

Vulturehood | it sounds like Radiohead but I like it, accoustinc guitars at the beginning grow and grow to psychedelic guitar final with howling vocals in the background.

All songs taste splendidly and they are catchy so I must highly recommend it because it definitely worths listening to. Don't miss this!

Tracklist >

01 | Dead Nationale 02 | Hunters 03 | Past Lives 04 | Invaders (Review) 05 | Springboarder 06 | Lung Full Of Light 07 | Loserspeak In New Tongue 08 | Tripping Over Your Eyes 09 | Marigold 10 | Vulturehood

The National - Tour Dates 2011

JANUARY 2011

02 | Busselton (Perth) | Australia | SOUTHBOUND FESTIVAL || TICKETS | MOSHTIX
05 | Brisbane | Australia | SUNSET SOUNDS FESTIVAL || TICKETS | MOSHTIX

07 | Sydney | Australia | ENMORE THEATRE || SOLD OUT

08 | Sydney | Australia | ENMORE THEATRE || SOLD OUT

09 | Melbourne | Australia | PALAIS THEATRE || SOLD OUT

10 | Melbourne | Australia | PALAIS THEATRE || TICKETS

12 | Auckland | New Zealand | POWER STATION || SOLD OUT
13 | Auckland | New Zealand | POWER STATION || SOLD OUT

14 | Auckland | New Zealand | POWER STATION || SOLD OUT

FEBRUARY 2011

15 | Brussels | Belgium | FOREST NATIONAL || TICKETS
17 | Utrecht | Holland | CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL || w | EFTERKLANG + OWEN PALLETT || TICKETS
18 | Eindhoven, Holland | CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL || w | EFTERKLANG + OWEN PALLETT || TICKETS

19 | Groningen, Holland | CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL || w | EFTERKLANG + OWEN PALLETT || TICKETS

20 | Rotterdam, Holland | CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL || w | EFTERKLANG + OWEN PALLETT || TICKETS

22 | Krakow | Poland | STUDIO || TICKETS | TICKETS
24 | Warsaw | Poland | STODOLA || TICKETS | TICKETS
25 | Berlin | Germany | C-HALLE || TICKETS
26 | Aarhus | Denmark | SCC || TICKETS
28 | Lund | Sweden | FARS + FROSTA ARENA || TICKETS

MARCH 2011

01 | Stockholm | Sweden | CIRKUS || TICKETS
03 | Helsinki | Finland | THE HOUSE OF CULTURE || SOLD OUT
04 | Helsinki | Finland | THE HOUSE OF CULTURE || SOLD OUT

17 | Tokyo | Japan | DUO || EPLUS TICKETS / LAWSON TICKET (L code:78976) / TICKET PIA

MAY 2011

23 | Porto | Portugal | COLISEUM || TICKETS
24 | Lisbon | Portugal | CAMPO PEQUENO || TICKETS
26-28 | Barcelona | Spain | PRIMAVERA SOUND 2011 || TICKETS

source > official website

Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home [Single]

[Warner Bros, November 26, 2010]

Walking From Far Home is three pieces single from the long-awaited new album Kiss Each Other Clean, arrives January 25. So it's single with two non-CD tracks.

Sam Beam partly left his accoustic sound and he is trying to reach more mainstream areas and audiance but still it's Sam Beam so don't expect some craziness and poppy dull stuff. No chance. This is still Iron & Wine as we know them but closer to The Shepherd's Dog than Our Endless Numbered Days. Add bit of electronic and analog sounds and beats in last Bitting Your Tail, be surprised with featuring smooth marimba and excellent saxes in the middle of Summer In Savannah, discover beautiful hymnic melody supported with Beam's choruses in the first track Walking Far From Home and hear typical Iron & Wine feelings and strong melodies with great lyrics in every tracks and you get new Beam's baby :)

.: 8/10 :.

tracklist > 01 | Walking Far From Home [4:49] 02 | Summer In Savannah [4:03] 03 | Bitting Your Tail [3:41]

65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway

If you ever listen something from 65daysofstatic (65dos) you probably start to love them or hate them. For me it was the first possibility. But it was a little bit thorny experience but all the more intense. It broke through when I listened Await Rescue (from album One Time For All Time) to the end there is one of the best climax which I ever heard. And now imagine the moments like this more and you get new 65dos release ;)

Sheffield's 65daysofstatic released their 9 pieces 4th album We Were Exploding Anyway already on April 26th 2010 (I know I got behind with). For the first listening it seems it's more electronic with lots of analog sounds than on previous releases but it's still has a lot of 65dos trademarks: frantic time and beats, sharp guitar riffs and melodies, walls of noises and perfect gradation.

65dos supported The Cure on their North American tour and now they chopped up Robert Smith's vocals in Come to Me. It's a merestone for 65dos because they never used (if I know) any voice or its sample in their tracks. Also it's most post-rock grown track which they ever did.

Debutante is the second one (almost) clasic post-rock piece brings melodic guitars, brisk drums and easy tempo on 7 minutes lenght. Further ingredients are: Vangelis-esque synth pads with heveanly vocals. Just beautiful.

Go Complex in its half turn from "easy listening" dance IDM to a ecstatic lavish finale like old 65dos. Excelent moment. But the moments like this are plenty in this record.

Last Tiger Girl is essencial of the new 65dos style. It starts like techno track which is remelt in epic multilayered sound adventure.

I always considered 65dos to be a crossover of post-rock, math-rock, electronic and IDM but on this record the edges of both styles is more blended together than before. My result is it's the best 65dos record since their debut.

Highly recommend!! ;)
.: 9/10 :.

Tracklist > 01 | Mountainhead [5:33] 02 | Crash tactics [3:47] 03 | Dance dance dance [4:01] 04 | Piano Fights [3:50] 05 | Weak4 [3:54] 06 | Come to me [8:00] 07 | Go Complex [4:04] 08 | Debutante [7:21] 09 | Tiger Girl [10:37]

Tron's Daft Punk Legacy

Have you already listened new soundtrack for Tron Legacy movie? If yes you know our electronic precious Daft Punk made a score. But what the score!

I was completely impressed and pushed back to my seat. Like Daft Punk meets Hans Zimmer. Duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo bring us on a journey through the universe and you will fly around the stars with them. Sometimes they sound as Kraftwerk sometimes like Hans Zimmer (esp. Inception OST) and in next moment you can hear a fragment of Vangelis's Blade Runner (End Titles) in Rinzler (is it tribute?) But the music which they produced is very powerful and very sexy I have to say.

Bold analog sound. Rich strings arrangement. Tech-dreamscapes. Cinematic. Still in movement. Eargasmic. Perfect. And my-music-self has been sinked into it. I am simply exited.

Try it. Taste it. Listen it. It's worthwhile.
.: 8/10 :.

Sufjan's new baby "The Age of Adz" coming in October 12th

I still can not recover my mind and my ears from new-blown EP and now I found on Asthmatic Kitty website that Sufjan announced a full-length record, titled The Age Of Adz will be out October 12th. I am looking forward to his new baby so much ;) And btw. the cover is really gorgeous. Like a lot "The Day The Earth Stood Steel" on it. That it would be a reminiscence of Man of Steel :)
.: 9/10 :.

Tracklist:
01 | Futile Devices 02 | Too Much 03 | Age of Adz 04 | I Walked 05 | Now That I’m Older 06 | Get Real Get Right 07 | Bad Communication 08 | Vesuvius 09 | All for Myself 10 | I Want To Be Well 11 | Impossible Soul

Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP (review)

Sufjan Stevens released last Friday without any previous announcement a new EP which have 60 minutes length(!). First I was really surprised but in good way of course and I was wandering how it is. And I can frankly say it is terrific good :-)) It's my opinion and I am a big fan of Sufjan so ... ;)

This EP is sometimes epic as in "All Delighted People (Original Version)" sometimes gentle with accoustic guitars ("Heirloom") wich can reminds Simon and Garfunkel. Second track "Enchanting Ghost" start with accoustic guitar and during the time Sufjan add banjo, electric guitar and it ends along with piano and as Heirloom it evokes S & G stuffs. Next "From the Mouth of Gabriel" melds piano, chorus and quaint analog synthetizers in very fragile song and you recall on Illions. Truly beauty. The ballad "The Owl and The Tanager" passes very slowly only with piano and echoed Sufjan's voice and back female voice (I don't know who is she..). But it's very hitting lyrics and haunting melody. The most fragile song as fluffy cloud. Second "Classic Rock Version" version of "All Delighted People" is more coherently than original version. But of course the original version is piece from the heaven, a pompous heaven and it's OK. "Classic" version ends with cacophonic synthetizers which is absolutely delightful. "Arnika" sounds like old running but a little bit broken machine which still can do a excellent job. Without any shining pieces but still with strength. Last composition "Djohariah" is strictly instrumental but very well structured with many layers mainly include chorus and solo electric guitar. Piano and drums support somewhere behind of them. And what a excellent gradation. Great song! 17 minutes is shorter than you think ;-)

It's only digital release (320k mp3, FLAC) for only $5! Or you can listen whole album in streaming version which is on his bandcamp site. In physical form as CD will be available for purchase sometimes in the autumn.
.: 8/10 :.

Tracklisting > 1 | All Delighted People (Original Version) [11:38] 2 | Enchanting Ghost [03:39] 3 | Heirloom [02:55] 4 | From The Mouth Of Gabriel [04:03] 5 | The Owl And The Tanager [06:38] 6 | All Delighted People (Classic Rock Version) [08:07] 7 | Arnika [05:13] 8 | Djohariah [17:02]

Arcade Fire Live on Youtube!

Place: Madison Square Garden

Do you want to see them live at the concert? You can!
Tune youtube channel at AUG 5 10PM ET/ 7PM PT.
And it should be at AUG 6 4AM CET (Prague time).

Sgt. - Capital of Gravity

[HearJapan: Youth Inc. ,October 07, 2009]

I've found this incredible band from Japan absolutely accidentally when I was browsing through some mp3 blogs. I read there they are very special and very best of post-rock records this year but what was my surprise when I listened them. Because it's really incredibly good record.

Members of Sgt. and as band's solid backbone are drummer Hitoshi Ono (大野 均) and bassist Kouji Akashi (明石 興司), newly added member to the band, the guitarist, Hironori Taoka (田岡 浩典) and with spicy sweet sound, violinist, Mikiko Narui (成井 幹子).

Their sound is a crossover post-rock, classical music and jazz influence. I enjoy every their tones but during the listening I don't know what will come in next moment. It's really exciting.

Try their last and of course previous records bacause it is really worthwhile.
.: 8/10 :.

tracklisting > 1 | Kalliope 2 | Apollo Program 3 | Tears of na-ga 4 | Ant's planet 5 | Epsilon 6 | Ginga no Shasou kara (remixed by Tyme.)

Radiohead - These are My Twisted Words

Release date: August 17th, 2009

Radiohead officially released their new song These are My Twisted Words.

I've heard a released version and also live version in Prague concert. So I can compare both version. I think the greatest difference is drums. In live version is dominant and of course the energy from live performance is bigger but both have a psychidelic feeling as if they met Velvet Underground. Very nice and atmospheric song with singing after two minutes.

It's for free so you can download it from w.a.s.t.e. website here.

And video from Austria on youtube: