new arrivals: holly miranda, efterklang

(image by laurent p_ap)

A smattering of interesting titles today that I’ll call out quickly here. Above that, tho, I wanted to announce that we’ve officially resuscitated the too-long-dormant 17 Dots Twitter account. Though it’s been sporadically operational for the last few months (thanks mostly to Alex), we’re going to try to be a little more ’round-the-clock about it. I’ve even overcome my paralyzing fear of social media to contribute. I sent my first tweet ever from last night’s NYC Tanya Morgan show.

I mention this because we’re starting a new feature on the 17Dots Twitter: Real-Time New Arrivals. Every morning, as we comb through the new arrivals, we’ll post any interesting finds to Twitter as we find ‘em.

We’ll still be posting the roundup here, too, starting right now:

Holly Miranda, The Magician’s Private Library: I love this thing, but I also loved This Mortal Coil, early Dead Can Dance and the first Lush record. And I have Lonely is An Eyesore on 2xLP. Yeah, I was a popular kid in high school. No big deal. Holly Miranda and Dave Sitek team up to make eerie, moody pop songs — that black & white cover is no joke. This is some stark ghost music right here.

Fang Island, Fand Island: p-clark rightly calls out the giddy debut from Fang Island. Bruising guitars, bratty vocals and lovely harmonies — trash-pop in the best possible way.

Charades, Revolucion Solar: Molly pointed this one out and I’m glad she did: playful, female-fronted indie pop recalls all that was right about Tiger Trap and Heavenly. I was sold from the first sample.

April Smith & the Great Picture Show, Songs for a Sinking Ship: I have a real soft spot for April Smith, though I wish she’d gone with a different album cover. These are the kinds of songs Fiona Apple would have written if she made music in the 1930s. Trivia: Smith wrote the song “Terrible Things” with the show Dexter in mind. If there is a Showtime Executive reading this: this song is perfect for a promo.

the Som Livre label: Well, this is gonna require some digging. Brazil’s mega-label Som Livre has blessed us with an odd cross-section of stuff, some of which sounds awesome, some of which sounds less so. Plus side: there is a band on this label called Brazilian Octopus. It almost doesn’t matter that they’re basically easy listening. Brazilian Octopus, man!

High on Fire, Snakes for the Divine: HIGH ON FIRE RETURN and not a moment too soon. Haven’t gotten to listen to this one yet, but samples sound satisfyingly brutal, even if the album cover looks like leftover Meat Loaf.

Jawbreaker, 4/30/96 and Etc: Gone-too-soon scrappers Jawbreaker bless us with two items from their catalog, with more to come in the future. The first is a document of their final live show, the latter an odds-n-ends comp, both of which a) make me nostalgic and 2) find Jawbreaker still head and shoulders above their rivals. God, I miss this band. Jawbreaker/Promise Ring Coachella 2012? MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Clem Snide, The Meat of Life: 7th album from Clem Snide. eMusic’s Peter Blackstock sez:

“Punched in the heart, in the throat, in the kneecaps too” is the opening line of The Meat Of Life — fair warning that Clem Snide’s seventh album will deal predominantly with various trials and tribulations of romantic relationships. Appropriately enough, three of the 13 tracks are named after specific women (“Denise,” “Anita,” “Song For Mary”), who may or may not have been real-life inspirations for Clem Snide songwriter Eef Barzelay. Elsewhere, the focus shifts from people to places: “I Got High” discusses goings-on in Normal, Illinois, and it’s immediately followed in the track-sequence by “Denver,” about yet another heartache in another faraway town. The common thread throughout is the band’s effortless indie-rock tunefulness; piano plays as much of a role as guitar in shaping Clem Snide’s sound, which gravitates toward moody spells and swells.

She & Him, “In the Sun”: New She & Him single. Not my thing, but that doesn’t much matter since it’s a whole lot of other people’s thing. This one sounds a little lusher than what I heard of the last one.

Efterklang, Magic Chairs: Latest from Efterklang. eMusic’s Andy Battaglia is all:

Efterklang is a Danish band that makes parade music for people who like French horns and Twin Peaks. Or maybe it’s a shifty post-rock outfit with a soft spot for high harmonies and orchestral drum rolls. Or maybe it’s a string group with a mind for all the things that can make decorous strings sound purposeful and raw. Or maybe… Maybe Efterklang is all of the above, with lots more left to sift through still. Parts of it sound as soft and doe-eyed as Sufjan Stevens, but then parts of it roil with some of the heat and friction of bands like Frightened Rabbit.

Bambu, …Paper Cuts…: No idea who this guy is, but this sounds like some extremely solid throwback rap. He’s got a great, bouncy flow, and the beats are spry enough to propel him from one syllable to the next. I’m having a hard time finding much hip-hop that resonates with me so far this year, but this one sounds like a keeper.

French Cowboy, (isn’t my bedroom): Man, I don’t know who the hell this is, but it sounds fascinating. Weirdo minimal pop, some of it with a small backing chorale. The songs pull weird sounds from all over the place, and the French Cowboy himself has got a basso profundo croon. I am wondering if this is the same French cowboy from Innerspace. Was he French? Are Jayson and I the only ones who saw Innerspace? THE WORLD DEMANDS ANSWERS.

The New Dress, Where Are Failures Are: I haven’t listened to this in full yet, but the samples seem OK: bratty, guitar-powered indiepop, guy/girl vocals, charming and ramshackle in that old-skool K Recs kinda way.

Shake Some Action, Fire and Ice: Nice, unassuming modest jangle-pop from a band called Shake Some Action. Warning: this does not sound like the Flamin’ Groovies — it sounds like older R.E.M., the dB’s and Aztec Camera. Which, come to think of it, for some of you might also be a warning.

Parenthetical Girls, Privilege, Pt. 1: First part of an EP song cycle that sounds perpetually 16, clumsy and shy — like so many music fans I know.

So Cow, Meaningless Friendly: Smartass Irish band sound like the Lucksmiths with muscles. And I used the Lucksmiths, because they’re the only other good band from Ireland. I am an idiot. The Lucksmiths are from Australia. There are no good bands from Ireland.

Quasi, American Gong: OK, first things first: has anyone else notice that Quasi’s masterpiece Featuring “Birds”, doesn’t seem to be available digitally? What’s up with that? Anyway: American Gong finds Sam & Janet pissed, which is exactly how I like ‘em. eMusic’s Chris Weingarten goes:

American Gong is a completely different Quasi — none of the demented piano-pop of When The Going Gets Dark or smeary indie-jangle of Hot Shit — this is their debut as a big, ugly, crunchy, old-time rock ’n’ roll band. Much, like Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods, R.E.M.’s Accelerate, or the entire Thermals catalog, this is the indie-rock version of wearing your old denim jacket, embracing the big dumb riffs you loved as a teen, but injecting them with an adult’s cynicism.

Butch Walker, I Liked it Better When You Had No Heart: New one from power pop tunesmith Butch Walker — dude knows his way around a melody, and his endless collaboration with Top 40 chart-toppers is further proof of his knack for a hook. His solo stuff is significantly less-varnished than his work with, say, Katy Perry, and would probably appeal to fans of Army/Navy and Sloan.

Alan Licht & Loren Conners, Into the Night Sky: Lovely new mood piece from sometime eMusic contributor Alan Licht sounds gorgeous and moody.