na: Selects! and more!

(photo by Neumos)

Huge day at eMusic today — two new Selects bands, plus new arrivals from Stars, Love is All, Deastro and many more!

We couldn’t be more excited about our two latest eMusic Selects acts, The Rural Alberta Advantage (who were recommended to us by tlmcula on the message boards) and Blue Giant.

As always, we’ve got a pair of interviews to help you learn a little more about the bands. Yancey had an insightful back and forth with RAA, which you can read here, and I had a good chat with Kevin from Blue Giant, which you can read here. For those looking for just some quick shorthand on both bands — here’s Yancey on RAA:

Hometowns, the RAA’s spectacular, doe-eyed debut, isn’t the stuff of teenage love, sappy love letters or rapid infatuation. The band sees love in its soup, for sure, but it’s the very best kind: earnest and sincere, and honest in its limitations. Take the gorgeous “In the Summertime” and its heart-skipping refrain: “And once in a while/ I know our hearts beat out of time/ And once in a while/ I know they’ll fall back in line,” all of it delivered in a soft, stoned coo that summons aorta butterflies and eye grins.

One of the first things that will undoubtedly jump out after you download Hometowns is how Neutral Milk Hotel it is. And it’s true. Jeff Mangum has obviously impacted this album; he and Nils have similar vocal tones (”non-singer singers” was how Nils described it in our interview) and a similar urgency. Mangum always sounds on the verge of death, each word potentially his last. The RAA doesn’t go that far, but the spirit is there. Maybe every sixth word is a “Rosebud” rather than each and every one, but when you hear it, you know it.

And here’s Jayson on Blue Giant:

For a country-rock outfit, Blue Giant boast a pretty serious indie pedigree. Their lineup includes Kevin and Anita Robinson, the husband-and-wife duo (and what’s more indie than a husband-and-wife duo?) behind Viva Voce, on drums and guitar/vocals; Chris Funk (guitarist for the Decemberists) manning the pedal steel; Sam Coomes of Quasi on organ; and guest vocals from Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker. Throw in Bradford Cox (put him on tambourine duty, maybe) and you’d have a straight flush.

As it stands, this might look like an unlikely crowd to tackle No Depression-style alt-country, but it seems every indie-rockers’ inner Gram Parsons will out, and the Robinsons, thankfully, aren’t using country-rock to play dress-up. There are no Carter Family covers here, no songs about pushing plows or “drinkin’.” They seem more interested in country-rock’s purposeful timelessness, the pointed way it strips away frivolities and forces economical songwriting.

Needless to say, we couldn’t be more excited!

As for today’s non-Selects releases:

Deastro, Parallelogram: New Ghostly signing apparently. Don’t know much about this kid. Could be huge, I guess.

Baby Charles, Baby Charles: Ok, this is an old arrival that I’m just getting to now but holy cow. AWESOME. A Must for fans of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.

Love is All, A Hundred Things That Keep Me Up At Night: They’re back! They’re brash! Everyone’s favorite Swedes return with more great, giddy pop songs. Alex sez:

Two-plus years have passed since Nine Times, and as the new album begins you get the sense that the band has been locked in a cage for that time, clawing with pent-up energy. The first three songs are raucous blasts, brimming with crashing, desperate energy, breakneck tempos and booming, enveloping reverb. Although the crazed start is a thrill of its own, Hundred Things really picks up with the (relatively) clean “Last Choice,” a ringing tune with punchy swells.

From there, LIA tend to let the songs stand on their own, angling the focus from massive-sounding to massively hooky. The propulsive pop of “Sea Sick” could inspire (at least) three different singalongs as it shifts and dips between swinging and stomping. “Wishing Well,” which might as well be the Clean’s “Tally Ho” part two, is giddy, fizzy perfection — if there’s one moment on Hundred Things that will stick with you for weeks, it’s this keyboard riff.

Illa J, Yancey Boys: When J Dilla died in 2006, he left behind a treasure trove of unused beats. Here, his younger brother rescues some of Dilla’s choice rhythms for a hip-hop record that would have done his older brother proud. Think late-period De La Soul (which some people would inexplicably read as a diss). I’ve been specifically instructed to inform you that this record has nothing to do with eMusic’s Yancey. So if that’s what you’re looking for, save your downloads. And maybe seek therapy.

Kissey Asplund, Plethora: I can tell you this does not sound like what you think it’s going to sound like based on the cover. Spacey, super-druggy R&B, like Erykah Badu on drugs. Yeah, I know. I wrote that on purpose. If you like this, you’ll also love Muhsinah, The Oscillations:Sine.

The Foreign Exchange, Leave it All Behind: This came out a while ago, but I’ve been really getting into it — producer Nicolay teams with Phonte from Little Brother for a straight-up D’Angelo-like R&B record. Have been playing this non-stop. Some people have been dissing Phonte’s singing. Those people should get themselves one pair of ears and a libido, stat.

Franco, Francophonic Vol. 1: Too late for our Afropop hub but indispensable nonetheless, this compilation showcases the best of awesome Congolese guitarist Franco. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Jonas Reinhardt, Jonas Reinhardt: New on kranky, space-age synth music, recalls the best spooky ’70s movie soundtracks.

Stars, Sad Robots: Everyone’s favorite moody Canucks return with six more songs about heartache. Sounds a bit more sedate than their recent work, but track 2 still brings that classic Stars longing.

Various Artists, Digger’s Delight: 10 International Psychedelic Freakouts: This album rules. 10 Psych songs from countries other than America. Every time I play this, my eyes turn into multi-colored pinwheels. Though, in fairness, it might not be the record. Far fucking out.

The Nerves, One Way Ticket: Alex is a big fan, and I can see why: Anthology of awesome Peter Case(!)-led jangle-punk band, as lo-fi as it oughta be and crammed to the gills with hooks and (shoulda-been) hits.

Iran, Buddy EP: Side project of Kyp from TV on the Radio, kinda moody and introspective.

Final Fantasy, Plays to Please: New Final Fantasy single. Sounds a lot more Showtuney than the last one, whose title I still refuse to acknowledge.

The Sight Below, Glider: I don’t really connect with electronic music, but this is way up my alley: dark electro-ambient, spooky and unsettling and kinda awesome.

Now Now Every Children, Cars: OK, I love this. Female-helmed guitar-pop, almost reminds me of Headlights in a way. Strong melodies, dour vocals — I am an instant fan.

The Wedding Present, El Rey: Remember Seamonsters? That record was awesome.

Edie Sedgwick, Things Are Getting Sinister: Ex-Supersystem turns out jittery, rubbery dance-punk. I am iffy, but that’s just kind of a general state-of-being for me.

Au Revoir Simone, Reverse Migration: One track on here is credited ‘Au Revoir Simone ft. Keith Murray.’ That says more about this record of remixes than I ever could.

Longwave, Secrets Are Sinister: Sprawling arena-pop — does anyone besides me remember this group? Epic guitar pop.

The Postmarks, By the Numbers: Compilation of the covers the Postmarks had been releasing one-at-a-time on eMusic for a while. So if you snoozed, you may not have necessarily….losed.

Right Away Great Captain, The Eventually Home: Lovely acoustic-based pop songs, almost like Bright Eyes at times.

True Widow, True Widow: Very into this. Dark guitar-pop, slowed-down shoegazey kinda. The cover appears to be a skull wrapped in a blanket. So that’s kinda badass.