HEY MUSCLES, I LOVE YOU, I WANNA HAVE YOUR BABIES

The day Muscles decided he would pursue his dreams of being a musician was the best day in the history of pop music since the day Serge Gainsbourg was born. His album ‘Guns Babes Lemonade’ (I know!) has been out now for a while, and it is truly AMAZING. Muscles is just one humble Australian, but every song on the record sounds like a group of sweaty people – who have synthesizers and are superfun and your new best friends - is screaming at you about ice cream, marshmallows and hammocks, and you never want them to stop. Never. Because when they stop, they leave you cold, alone, lost and out of breath. And for some reason, every time, completely naked.

Muscles - Hey Muscles, I Love You [mp3]
Muscles - Marshmallow [mp3, sendspace]

Until the day after tomorrow then?

Ryan Adams' productivity, Tom Waits' sitting-in-a-barr-iness, Sufjan's multi-instrumentalism modesty, Jarvis Cocker's charm and an continous stream of quality. An EP and four albums long (see, I'm not even counting the download only 2-CD b-sides collection) the English troubadour Ed Harcourt has given his fans his own brand of up-beat songs (All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed) and melancholic ballads (This One's For You).

Although he still hasn't had his break-through and probably never will he released a Best Of, ironically titled 'Untill Tomorrow Then'. The best of features favorites like the jazzy title-track 'Untill Tomorrow Then', the near-perfect popsong 'Loneliness' and the melancholic 'Visit From The Dead Dog'. The Best Of doesn't just have two new songs, there's an entire bonus disc with 15 previously unreleased songs! That bonus disc could have very well been an official album, quality-wise. As Always, Ed doesn't disappoint. It's good to be a Harcourt fan, you should try it.


From album 'Here Be Monsters': Ed Harcourt - Beneath The Heart Of Darkness (myspace)

From album 'From Every Sphere': Ed Harcourt - All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed (video)

From album 'Strangers': Ed Harcourt - Loneliness (video)

From album 'The Beautiful Lie': Ed Harcourt - Visit From The Dead Dog (video)

From Best Of 'Untill Tomorrow Then': Ed Harcourt - Untill Tomorrow Then (myspace)

What actually IS free to a good home?

Okay, I think we can all agree that Feist has gotten enough attention (deservedly so by the way) and the same can be said for Stars’ new record. I’ve also recently covered Amy Millan’s solo work, but there is one more female vocalist in Broken Social Scene.

I’m talking about the ever-lovely Emily Haines of course. And although a Metric post is long overdue (their first album has recently been re-released) I wanted to talk about her solo work (well, together with her backing band The Soft Skeleton).

June saw the release of her album 'Knives Don’t Have Your Back' in Europe and the UK and in July the outtakes EP ''What Is Free To A Good Home?' (I don’t know, what is? No seriously, I have no idea) was released. 'Knives Don’t Have Your Back' is a criminally overlooked record full of dark nocturnal piano-driven songs with beautiful lyrics (her father was an admired poet) that cut you like…well…knives. And the incredible part isn’t that the album is quite far removed from the rock-attitude and cleverness she shows in new wave band Metric. The impressive thing is that the 'What Is Free To A Good Home?' EP is EVEN BETTER! Seriously; I listened to it two times a day for at least two weeks and still come back to it frequently. Do yourself a favor and listen to this:


The video for Our Hell is as disturbing as the song: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – Our Hell (video)

Take her to the bank, take her to the bar: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – The Bank

Also from the EP: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – Bottom of the World (mp3) (mypsace)

The Madd is b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

The Madd is definately both wicked and massive.

The Madd is the shit.

The Madd is b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

Everything about The Madd just rubs the right way. It's rock 'n roll. It goes down like chocolate. It has an organ that makes you dance around in your living room and scare the cat. The band members are well-dressed and look thoroughly un-Dutch, in a good way. Singer Dave van Raven bluntly checked out chicks and tits during their gig and the invitation for their release party proudly boasted 'after the show: free fucks', but my mom would still welcome them as her sons-in-law because they're too charming not to.

The music is a sixties-best-of in the best way possible. It's an appropriate tribute, but manages to surpass being just that. It's fucking energetic. They totally get away with choruses like "Heyheyheyheyhey - jump now" and I love the Beatlesque vocals on Roughy The Beatles Man. Even the slight Dutch accent of the singer just adds to it instead of it being annoying. Releasing 'Ongeneeslijk Beat' ('Incurably Beat'), The Madd's first full length album, has just been another bull's eye for the Excelsior label. Go out and buy the damn thing, it's worth it.


And please don't do the "But Hera, they sound just like The Who"-thing. I know. But I don't mind. I'm incurably beat. To hear what The Madd themselves sounds like, try their show at Motel Mozaïque. Hear some more at their Myspace or Last.fm.

Breaking news

New Roisin Murphy record 'Overpowered' is her best record…wait…THE best record…of all times…ever. It’s like she was bitten by a radioactive Annie, who was bitten by a radioactive Madonna, who was bitten by a radioactive Spice Girl, who was…etc.

New Sigur Ros track: Sigur Ros – Hljomalind (myspace)

New Xiu Xiu tracklisting revealed. Includes titles like: 'In Lust You Can Hear the Axe Fall', 'You Are Pregnant, You Are Dead' and 'Under Pressure' which features Michael Gira (see Melvinbloodyhand’s previous post here). They also posted this as ‘their new album’…they obviously lied.

New Final Fantasy single: Final Fantasy – Hey Dad (myspace)

all the leaves are brown

These days the weather in Holland is the best you can get in the autumn! The sun shines through the colored leaves, making every moment a flickr possibility. Some records for me are connected to a certain season. Beth Gibbons (Portishead) and Rustin man released ‘Out of Season’ in 2002 and it’s still my favorite autumn record. Even though it’s not done to post about albums older than 3 weeks and younger than 20 years, I feel the urge to do so. The music is acoustic, slow, contemplational and sometimes jazzy. Her voice is enchanting (sorry for mentioning this inevitable word again on Ulkedoof!) and full of the depths of life. Check this:

Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Sand river (mp3)
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Show (mp3)

Music is what separates humans from apes.

Music is the doorway into our tiny human brains. We can't keep ourselves from connecting music to events, feelings and memories. And that is why we speak of summer songs, love songs, party songs, nostalgic songs from when we were young and so on. There's certain songs that I will never play again in my life because they were played at the funeral of someone I loved. There's songs that make me smile, cry or feel in love just by hearing them. I just wanted to share a few of them with you.

Ella Fitzgerald - Dream A Little Dream
Louis Armstrong - Wonderful World
Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life
Belle and Sebastian - Funny Little Frog
Johnny Cash - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Radiohead - Karma Police
Chavela Vargas - Paloma Negra
Tindersticks - Another Night In
Cat Power - Werewolf