Death Cab For Cutie's Newborn

The new released album of DCFC is called ' Narrow Stairs'. There's no change of style since their last album 'Plans', but still every album of theirs is worth the attempt of listening and when the simple melodies open up, they won't leave your head. Hail to the thief, grab it!


Death Cab For Cuty - Narrow Stairs (album in mp3)

The password is: nodata.tv. If you type that in your internet browser, you'll find a very fine blog!

Young, Fresh & New

Der Jugend is zurück: De Jeugd van tegenwoordig – Hollereer (mp3)

Post-Postal Service-before-there-was-a-Postal Service: The Notwist – Good Lies (mp3)

80's synths and Miami Vice drums, isn't that really all you need? M83 – Kim & Jessie (mp3)

Zoot alors: Zoot Woman – live in my Head (mp3)

Hmmm, maybe there's still hope for Chinese Democracy too: Portishead – Machine Gun (mp3)

They only want you when you’re seventeen part II

For some mysterious reason 'youth' seems to be a theme these days. Check MGMT's 'Kids' and 'The Youth', seventeen year-old Laura Marling who sings on Mystery Jets' 'Young Love' or M83's new album 'Saturdays=Youth'. And now Ladytron (best known for their hit 'Seventeen') have released a new single as well as Dutch electro hip-hoppers De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig ('Today's Youth').

Hollerate: De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig - Hollereer (stream)

Ladytron - Black Cat (mp3)

Ladytron - Seventeen (mp3)

They only want you when you’re seventeen

Laura Marling, you know, the ultra-talented seventeen year old girl with the amazing voice and the catchy folk-pop songs? She played in Paradiso in Amsterdam yesterday. Dressed in one of her bear-sized grandpa’s shirts and fresh from the blind lady next door who cut her hair she awkwardly played some songs. And she must have practiced a lot, since they sounded exactly as they sound on her (quite excellent) debut album. I guess she had to concentrate real hard to reproduce those songs so well because she kept looking at her shoes or her microphone. Well done, Laura!

Afterwards I had a couple of drinks with some seventeen-something girls (and no it wasn’t like that at all) who knew what being seventeen is all about. Hot fashion, juicy gossip (‘you know Chris and Janine…well, they totally did it!’), bitchfights (“bitter is not a good color on you honey”) and even throwing drinks in someone's face (I thought that only happened on tv). Suffice it to say; I prefer my seventeen year-old girls that way.

Laura Marling – Ghosts (mp3)

Mystery Jets – Young Love (featuring Laura Marling) (mp3)

Go pique yourself

dEUS will release a new album in april. And if that fact alone isn't enough to pique your curiousity how about the guest vocals from Lies Lorquet from Mitzkov, Guy Garvey from Elbow and Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife? Still not piqued enoug? There are not one but two singles. 'The Architect' for Belgium and 'Slow' (featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson) for the UK, Scandinavia and The Netherlands. Need some more Piqueing? How about the video for Slow? If you still need more you can just go...

dEUS - The Architekt (mp3)

dEUS - Slow (featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife) (video)

MGMT live = barren

Kylie Minogue without 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'. Hot Chip without 'Over and Over'. Justin Timberlake without 'Rock Your Body'. Feist without 'Mushaboom'. Whitney Houston without 'I Will Always Love You'. The Postal Service without 'Such Great Heights'. Sinead O'Connor without 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. The White Stripes without 'Seven Nation Army'. Fischerspooner without 'Emerge'. New Order without 'Blue Monday'...no wait, Joy Division without 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. Nirvana without 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. The Knife without 'Heartbeats'. Annie without 'Heartbeat'. MGMT without 'Kids'.

Hot Chip

All bloglove and hyperbole aside, the new Hot Chip is actually very good. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it to be that good. Thanks for dissapointing me though.

By the way; is it me or is anyone else also hearing a bit of Dan Deaconism in some of the new songs?


No. 1 guys: Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor (mp3)

Not so danceable, not not so great: Hot Chip - One Pure Thought (mp3)

A remix of a bonus track that's a cover: Tracy Thorn - Kings Cross (Pet Shop Boys cover) (Hot Chip Remix) (mp3)

This is one of their more interesting remixes: Caribou - She's The One (Hot Chip Remix) (mp3)

Kevin Barnes's management

As a devoted follower of everything produced, touched or even mentioned by Of Montreal, I recently put my hands on MGMT, formerly known as The Management. In 2005 this group, consisting of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden (I guess both of Dutch descent?) went on a tour with His Royal Godness Kevin Barnes And The Band, which I cannot imagine having done any harm to their music.

Having peddled their Time To Pretend EP for three years, nowadays they're definitely for real.

MGMT's debut album was released January 22nd and it's definitely the first release of 2008 I'm really, really excited about. Think Of Montreal, add some eighties panache and maybe even a little Broken Social Scene.

MGMT - The Youth (mp3)

MGMT - Time To Pretend (video)

Guillemots return

After the release of their most recent single Annie, Let's Not Wait in January last year, and the following months of touring during last summer, Guillemots migrated south. Or north, I'm not quite sure, since they're literally from all over the world. Whatever they did, they most certainly did not hibernate.

Their new clutch contains eleven eggs, two of which have already hatched! Get Over It, the first little offspring to fly out in the UK on March 17, and Kriss Kross, placed for adoption right here!

The remaining little brothers and sisters are expected to fly off on March 24. Let's hope these eggs are just as well fertilized as those of the aforementioned early birds!

Nine times more!

One of my favorite records in 2005 (and 2006) was Swedish indie pop band Love is All's 'Nine Times That Same Song'. Jumpy rhythms, chaotic saxophones and charmingly energetic vocals by the charismatic lead singer Josephine. It took some time before the record caught on and recently they released a remix album to simmer down the angry mobs demanding a new album (which was gasoline on the flames for some since the remix album wasnt very good). But the follow-up seems to be in sight, rough drafts of new songs are streaming on their myspace! If you ever get the chance, go see them live, trust me, you'll thank me for it.


Of Montreal - Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up (Love Is All cover) (mp3)

Love Is All - Felt Tip (Hot Chip Remix) (myspace)

Love Is All - Busy Doing Nothing (myspace)

And that's how people grow down

Morrissey is releasing a greatest hits album with two new tracks. One of them's called 'That's How People Grow Up' and it's...well, it's no 'Irish Blood, English Heart' and it's no 'You have Killed Me'. It sounds a bit...bleh to me. Later this year will see a completely new album though, we'll see if he still has it then.

Morrissey - That's How People Grow Up (mp3)

Well, do you?

I had listened to British Sea Power’s second album ‘Open Season’ quite a lot in 2005. It’s a melancholic ‘old-school’ indie album. Now they've returned with an album that asks the rethorical question ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’. If your answer’s negative you had better stay the hell away from this album, because rock is what it is! If your looking for subtlety just find yourself an old Dire Straiths LP somewhere. If you’re not, listen to BSP’s epic new single.

British Sea Power – Waving Flags (mp3)

Xiu Xiu

I have a lot of love for Xiu Xiu. I think I love them as much as I hate trying to describe their music. Xiu Xiu is Jamie Stewart and his cousin Caralee McElroy with percussionist Ches Smith. That was the easy part, now comes the hard part.
The best way to describe their music is perhaps 'experimental indie' but that's not really a description at all. Sometimes it's noise, but some tracks are just sparse percussion with spoken word (or whispered word). Some tracks might be folky and accoustic while others might be full-on electronic guitar and dissonant beats. Vocals can be raw pasionate and often scary screams but could also be disturbingly desperate whispers or a even a misleadingly sweet girl.
Having said all that Xiu Xiu does have a clear and unique sound and feel (dark and disturbing).

Just give them a listen (if you have the heart that is). Their new album is now streaming here but will only be there untill januari 10.


One of their 'easier' songs with a great video: Xiu Xiu - Boy Soprano (video)

New Order cover: Xiu Xiu - Ceremony (mp3)

New single: Xiu Xiu - I Do What I Want, When I Want (mp3)

Lovely to Spree you? Strict Aerial machine?

Ride a White Hound of Love? Ooh La La La La? Black Cherrybush? Together We're Utopia? Okay, I'll stop now.

But who could've thought that a Goldfrapp record could sound so much like The Polyphonic Spree with vocals by Kate Bush? The new Goldfrapp album 'Seventh Tree' basically sounds like a cross between Polyphonic Spree's 'Together We're Heavy' and Kate Bush's 'Aerial'. Not really sure yet if that's a good thing though. I'll let you know. Or you let me know. The new record is out in february.


Could be on Kate's 'Aerial': Goldfrapp - Clowns (mp3)

Could be on The Polyphonic's 'Together We're Heavy': Goldfrapp - Happiness (mp3)

11 best shows of 2007

Yes puny humans, cheer for us!
I would like to use this 100th post (!) to congratulate ourselves. And to continue the listing. If it wasn't for the surprise act of the year the number one of this list would be the act I posted about first.

I've seen quite a lot of shows in 2007. My goal was to see all the artists that ended up in my top 15. But a good record does not necesarily mean a good show of course, and there were some surprises this year.
The best supporting act of 2007 was Patrick Watson...thrice! First he opened for Loney, Dear which kinda made me lose interest in the main act. Right after that we were treated to him supporting Interpol (again more interesting than the main act) and he had a double-headline gig with The Besnard Lakes.
The Biggest let-down was The Field. As much as I love his album the 'live act' was anything but live. He just stood there behind his laptop and flicked some switches. Boring! Lo-Fi Fnk at Pukkelpop also were a bit...sad and someone needs to tell Justice that a glowing cross is not an act, it's just a glowing cross.

But what were the 10 shows that made me dance, scream, cry or pee (not really!)?

10: Bjork at Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek (july 8)
I was and still am a bit disappointed by her last album. It features some good songs but it's just not that special somehow. The concert was however. She played the crowd like a Japanese flute. She danced like a little elf-troll on speed accompanied by brass-girls, lasers and flags. She ju-jitsu'd to the beat of Hunter and finally destroyed everything with the anthemic 'Declare Independance' (I still hear her shrill voice scream "raise your flag!" sometimes).

9: Pukkelpop in Hasselt (august 16, 17 and 18)
Although Arcade Fire didn't convince at all (because the sound was crap) Spoon (made me want to dance), Architecture in Helsinki (made me want to dance even more!), Sonic Youth (but not the entire set) and Fujiya & Miyagi (funky!) did. Seeing Low and Besnard Lakes again was also very nice but the true winner of Pukkelpop had to be Patrick Wolf. What a show, what a crowd, what a showman! The first beats of Accident and Emergencies were spectacular.

8: Stars in Paradiso (september 29)
Stars revolve around Amy Millan and Toquil Campbell who proved to be even more charming live than on record. The instant-hit 'Take Me To The Riot' got everyone going, the funky 'Genosha Heights' kept everyone moving and the cathartic duet 'Your Ex-lover is Dead' moved eryone even more. And as if that wasn't enough 'In Our Bedroom After The War' topped it all of (best last song on an album ever?).

7: Soulwax in Club 11 (october 21)
Simian Mobile Disco?...pfff! Justice?...bleh. Soulwax really proved they are the coolest of the cool. They invented cool, threw it away, invented a new cool and reinvented that. They played the remixes they did for other acts...live. To have enough good remixes to be able to do that is one thing, to come up with the bloody genius idea is another, but to make it work so incredibly well is....well....Cool.

6: Spinvis in Theater Kikker (september 23)
Spinvis is really Eric de Jong and played by himself in the small and charming theatre Kikker. I didn't really think it was going to be that special without his band but just him, a guitar, piano and lots of electronic tricks proved to be enough. Escpecially since he posseses a unique talent for uncovering big emotions from 'small' urban situations. I'm not ashamed to say that my eyes filled up a bit.

5: St. Vincent in Theater Kikker (december 8)
Annie Clark was so fragile it looked like whe was made of porcelain. But despite her appearance she really knows what she is doing. And what she's doing is nothing less than brilliant. She plays the piano and the guitar like she was born to it, has such a clear and beautiful voice AND writes incredible songs. An entire album full of them in fact. During the concert I was so close that I had to restrian myself from stepping on stage and hugging her. A savant with looks and charms.
St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

4: Of Montreal in Paradiso (december 11)
Ridiculous costumes, psychedelic (and sometimes downright psychotic) visuals and opening your show with a 15-minute song? A recipy for disaster. But Of Montreal got away with it, and how! Their music features lots of rhytmn changes and breaks but my attention never wandered for a second. I dind't really consider myself a fan before, but now I'm converted. A paradoxically great show. You can watch all of it here.
Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal (mp3)

3: The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso (may 28)
Nobody wanted to go with me to see The Besnard Lakes in Paradiso. Understandable if you try to describe their music; "well, it's kinda 70's rock, with male falsetto vocals and a shrill female voice, it's really loud and the songs last about 8 minutes...". They played their entire album and created that magical feeling that you sometimes get when everything just comes together... twice! It happened with 'And Tonight' and with 'And You Lied To Me'.
The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied To Me (live video)

Since I was foolish enough to finish this list before seeing my last show of the year:
2.5: Dan Deacon in Melkweg (20 december)
Just imagine a world where a fat bald-ish sweaty American loops Woody Woodpecker, uses raw techno-beats and sings and screams over it in a helium voice. Then imagine it being the coolest thing ever. COngratulations, you're living in that world! A dance-of, holding hands in a circle and a sing-a-long have never been this cool. The anthemic 'Wham City' was the highlight of the night.
Dan Deacon - Wham City (mp3)

2: Low in Paradiso (may 7)
I've had the pleasure of seeing Low twice this year. The first time was in Paradiso and I have to say that I was not at all prepared for that much subdued beauty. They've learned that less IS more. Highlight of the show was 'Take Your Time', a track that brims with tension and when the harmonic release comes it goes from the gut to the heart. The second time at the pukkelpop festival made me want to see them again a few days later in Utrecht. I really should've gone again.
Low - Take Your Time (live video)

1: The Ark in Waterfront (october 1)
A big fan of The Ark took me to see them. They're huge in Sweden but this was their first time in The Netherlands and they played in quite an unknown venue for some mysterious reason. Not that they seemed to notice because they played as if the crowd consisted of 150.000.000 people instead of 150. We had to endure two lame supporting acts but were treated to THE BEST CONCERT OF THE YEAR! A glam-rock show that spits on the Scissor Sisters from such great heights that it isn't even funny anymore. Cried from enjoyment and peed from exitement. I get all barfy even thinking about how great that show was.
The Ark - It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane (video)

Breaking news

New songs!

Kate Bush – Lyra (preview)

Destroyer – Foam Hands (mp3)

Magnetic Fields – California Girls (mp3)

M83 – Couleurs (stream from Stereogum)

Zoot Woman – We Won’t Break (mp3)

Fischerspooner – The Best Revenge (mp3)

Top 15 remixes of 2007

The season to be jolly? ‘Tis not! ‘Tis the season to be finishing the lists! So get to it!
I’ll start with a relatively easy one; the remixes. The 15 remixes that got me dancing, prancing and romancing (and in some cases even necromancing).

Feist shows that she does not only have a great taste in men (she’s dating Kevin Drew) but also in remixers since she’s in the list twice (and there’s the Chromeo remix that didn’t make the list). Caribou is also in the list twice. D.A.N.C.E. surely has to be the most remixed song this year but it wasn’t the MSTRKRFT, Diplo or Soulwax remix that got to me, it was the impressive epic (11.22 minutes!) remix Jackson and His Computer Band did that was my favorite. Muscles lends his trademarked screams of joy to the Bitch from Sweden and in turn gets the disco treatment from Van She. Xiu Xiu surprised me this year with a surprisingly listenable remix and cover album which features the lovely Eau Claire getting electro-fied. Another Remix album worth mentioning is Soulwax’s collection. I’ll say it one more time: go see them play those remixes live if you get the chance (because your worth it!). Remixers of the year for me are The Teenagers who turned everything they touched into gold (the kind with a really good bass).

Feist – 1 2 3 4 (Van She Technologic Remix)

Lo-Fi Fnk – City (Teenagers Remix)

Grizzly Bear – Knife (Girl Talk Remix)

Interpol - The Heinrich Maneuver (Paul Epworth Phones Remix)

Malle Pietje en de Bimbo’s – Tienerhoer (Seymour Bits Remix)

Xiu Xiu - Hello From Eau Claire (Gold Chains Remix)

Bloc Party - The Prayer (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Jackson & His Computer Band Remix)

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry (Hostage Remix)

Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Caribou - Melody Day (Four Tet Remix featuring Luke LaLonde, Adem & One Little Plane)

Robyn - Cobrastyle (Muscles Remix)

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)

Caribou - She's The One (Hot Chip Remix)

Muscles - One Inch Badge Pin (Van She Tech City Gym Remix)

The shows just go on

I started to get worried a while back. Something happened to me that never happened before. I was starting to get kind of tired of concerts.

The National was...bleh (and don't get me started on the scroteless supporting act Hayden!). Then there was Caribou who gave a decent show I guess but the sound was horrible and ruined the show. I still had high expectations for Ed Harcourt but those weren't fully met. Í wouldn't even have felt like going to the show I was gonna see after Ed if it wasn't for the surprisingly good supporting act.

Ed brought along singer/songwriter Jonna Lee from Sweden. She apparently gets compared to Feist a lot, not a bad thing of course. Her voice was beautiful and even got to me despite of the largely uninterested crowd. The highlight was an incredible duet she did with Ed Harcourt who produced her debut. After seeing Ed and Jonna in Amsterdam I traveled back to Utrecht to see St. Vincent. And boy am I glad I did!

Annie Clark was as lovely as I imagined she'd be. And what an incredible talent! She knows how to play the piano and especially guitar and has a fantastic voice to boot. A truly captivating performance. for a crowd of about 50 people. Thanks to Annie I actually got exited about seeing Of Montreal. And they definitely put me back on the right track, because they were....profound.
Next up is Dan Deacon who is supposed to rock the hell out of his crowd. I'm up for it.


Jonna Lee - And Your love (with Ed Harcourt) (myspace)

St. Vincent - Marry Me (mp3)

Dan Deacon - Wham City (Lempel Remix) (mp3)

Let's pretend we don't exist

The past is a Grotesque Animal. Not at all grotesque is taking five whole minutes for a completely ridiculous costume change. I guess performing in blue fishnet stockings and tight boxers just takes away the extra tension one must have bringing songs like Gronlandic Edit in what used to be a church (“Oh, the church is filled with losers, psycho or abused”).

I would call this song the soundtrack to my life. To an extent, I would compare Of Montreal’s performance last Tuesday in Paradiso, Amsterdam to the moment you see your life flashing by, with the tunnel and the lights… All your life you’re afraid this moment will turn out to be a great disappointment, though people who have had the experience keep telling you they actually did not want to go back. Well, they were right. Paradiso wasn't all that bad.

Of Montreal has been my religion for about a year now. The performance they gave last Tuesday has strengthened my belief. Their songs sound even more convincing when performed live on stage, though I discovered it’s hard to lose oneself in the music with all its rhythm changes and unpredictable emphases. It takes more than a peppermint to stay focused on the profound greatness of Of Montreal’s three most recent albums, and sometimes it seemed like Minister Kevin Barnes had a hard time acknowledging this.

While praying for a new album to come out in 2008, here’s some bible study material:

Of Montreal – Gronlandic Edit (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?)

Of Montreal – Rapture Rapes The Muses (Satanic Panic In The Attic)

Of Montreal – Forecast Fascist Future (The Sunlandic Twins)

Let The Inlets In!

Sometimes you find an album that feels to be made personally for you. The Vestibule EP of Inlets is such a record for me. Inlets is Sebastian Krueger, who also plays guitars, clarinets and bells and sings falsetto in My Brightest Diamond. This time Sebastian is accompanied among others by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and Marla Hansen, who are both also playing with Sufjan Stevens. The names of his friends tell something about the music, but it is still rather unique. There is the banjo of Sufjan Stevens, the falsetto of My Brightest Diamond, the loops of Steve Reich, the folk of Marla Hansen, but also a lot of his own. The sphere of the Vestibule EP is intimate and special. I can still listen to it daily, a year after getting to know the music. There are close harmonies on this record, layered upon Fender Rhodes, banjo and guitars. Sparsely drums, bells, violins and clarinets are played. Everything was recorded in the bedroom, but it sounds extremely warm and close. Maybe you should download the EP for free and let yourself be overwhelmed in a positive way. Watch out: when you let it in, it won't go out!
You can also watch cool boat performances on blogotheque!