Welcome to the second Friday mixtape from GIITTV. A weekly trawl through some of the best new downloads, streams and videos of the week! Enjoy our selection!
RE:PEATER RECORDS have announced that the critically acclaimed debut album from Scottish swaggering noise makers She’s Hit are now available from all major download sites and to stream on Spotify.
To mark the occasion, Sheʼs Hit have made a video for the awesome album track ʻPart Oneʼ (“… has that dark guitar twang that would herald the black-clad Johnny Cash slowly riding into a deserted Wild West town” – Loud Horizon) which features a guest vocal from Jen Paley of the much missed Paper / Astral Planes.
With a sweeping female fronted pop sound The Jezabels look set to be a name to conjure with in 2012. Following up from Endless Summer the first single to be taken from their Australian No.2 album Prisoner, The Jezabels will be releasing this stand-out single Trycolour on Monday 12th December 2011 . Check it out and download it for free below.
Having signed in the US to independent label Mom+Pop Records (Sleigh Bells, Freelance Whales, Metric, etc) The Jezabels will take a quick pit-stop in the UK between their North American tour and their return to Oz, to play a headline show in London at Heaven on Tues 29th Nov.
The Jezabels – Try Colour by PIAS Entertainment
Hello Sadness is the fourth studio album from Los Campesinos!, recorded earlier this year in Girona, Spain. Hello Sadness is ten songs of love, loss and heartbreak nail-gunned to a back- drop of broken, tangled bodies, creeping, dead-eyed animals, suffocating, looming shadows and World Cup exits. It is an honest, bare-bones documentation of breaking up and trying not to break up in the process. A record whose complexion changed dramatically when, on the eve of recording, the end of a relationship meant every word that had been penned before had to be rewritten.Watch the video for the lead single also called ‘Hello Sadness’ funnily enough below!
The members of Vancouver’s Mode Moderne have a penchant for all things dark and gloomy, but that doesn’t get in the way of their quest for the perfect pop song. The songs’ dark, synthy new wave vibes are complemented by front man Phillip Intilé’s warm, broad, reverb-y vocals, which saturate the songs with the romance and nostalgia of ennui-fueled sadness.
Undiscovered Country by Mode Moderne
Bleeding Heart Narrative are a London sextet who weave together beautiful sounds with a haunting intensity. You might hear the shimmer of Tortoise or Steve Reich built into a song that could be played on an Arcade Fire-sized stage, or pick out Battles-esque repetition in a Mogwai-sized crescendo but itll always be Bleeding Heart Narrative youre listening to. Bison is their first release on Brainlove Records, and follows their acclaimed 2010 album Tongue Tangled Hair. This week they released the evocative harmonies and electronic dapples of their track ‘Shoals’ drink it in below.
Bleeding Heart Narrative – Shoals by Bleeding Heart Narrative
After the success of his debut 12” ‘Love/Lust’, D/R/U/G/S aka 24-year-old Callum Wright returns with a new three track record, ‘Connected’ – released through Moshi Moshi imprint, Tender Age on the 28th November 2011. As a teaser they’ve released a new track ‘Mila’ for streaming:
D/R/U/G/S – Mila by Anorak London
French post rock band We Only Said released their first album for free on bandcamp this week dating from 2009 their self titled album exhibits their breezy elastic instrumental style, threaded with breathy vocals.Here’s a prime cut ‘Drive My Car’.
Future This is the second album from The Big Pink, is being released on 4AD on January 16th 2012.Read the full album tracklisting below. Listen To more optimistic sounding new single – ‘Hit The Ground (Superman)’ – HERE.
The Big Pink – “Hit The Ground (Superman)” by TheNJUnderground
http://4ad.com/news/15/11/2011/thebigpinkreleasefullalbumdetailsandnewsingle
Following a triumphant performance at the latest Full Time Hobby night in London, the label’s latest signing, Pinkunoizu, are set to release their debut EP PEEP. Named after the Japanese word for “pink noise”, the amorphous, Copenhagen-based band play an exotic mixture of lo-fi, high-life, shoegaze, Krautrock, nu-folklore, ’60s Asian pop and post-apocalyptic future rock. Their mission? “To never come full circle. To move hazily in bended ellipses. To bow the line and play it like a fiddle. To shoot it like an arrow. To climb the razorblade pyramid. To collect the cubic rubble from the ruins of tradition and put it together anew.”
Pinkunoizu by fulltimehobby
Chicago-based experimental pop alchemist BASTARDGEIST (aka Joel Midden) is back in the UK for a string of live dates to support his new AA side single “Shift/Winter Fog”.These two tracks exhibit Midden’s wavering falsetto against detailed, clattering percussion, and a foundation of glimmering synths. This is hypnotic drone-pop that catches you by surprise with it’s delicacy and depth. Bastardgiest will play five UK dates starting in London on 17th November, making a festival appearance at Gaztemaniak in San Sebastian, Spain, before a brief jaunt around the South of England.Stream the wonderful ‘Shift’ below.
Bastardgeist – Shift by brainlove
The Rosie Taylor Project release their new album ‘Twin Beds’ on the 13th February 2012 on Odd Box Records. Produced by Richard Formby (Wild Beasts, Herman Dune) and with a guest vocal appearance from Wild Beasts’ singer Tom Fleming, the band have honed their chamber pop sound to become the next in line of succession for widespread admiration.
The Rosie Taylor Project came together in a redbrick Victorian shambles in Leeds. A modest beginning, with practices spent squished into a small living room, things soon took on a more disciplined hue when, after a handful of gigs, they signed to Bad Sneakers Records. Shortly after a debut album ‘This City Draws Maps’ appeared.
Watch the video for their glorious indie pop single ‘Sleep’ below.
London four-piece, younghusband are set to release a new EP on the Sonic Cathedral label on the 21st of November 2011.
The four-track EP is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed AA-sided debut single ‘Carousel’ / ‘Nothing,Nothing’, which was released on Too Pure in June. Stream the dreamy gaze pop of ‘Tropic of Cancer’ here:
younghusband // Tropic of Cancer by TheArtOf…
‘Two Rings’ is the debut release from Brooklyn’s Ice Choir. Written and produced by Kurt Feldman and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht (Violens), this is the first single from their as-yet-untitled debut album, due out in 2012.
Over five years and two critically acclaimed albums (2007’s In Her Gentle Jaws and 2010’s Spirit Youth), The Depreciation Guild demonstrated the unexpectedly rich possibilities of incorporating chiptune elements into classic shoegaze. Ice Choir mines similarly incongruous source, marrying the less fashionable elements of ’80s synthpop production (Gangway, Yello, Kissing The Pink) with Romanticist lyrical influences – without ever compromising Feldman’s fundamental commitment to compelling melody.
When The Depreciation Guild announced their amicable dissolution late last year, it was thought that their songwriter, Kurt Feldman, was quitting to concentrate on his other band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Instead, Ice Choir represents a new beginning, a new sonic palette and a new musical universe.
Video: Free download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15092554/Two%20Rings.mp3
Liverpudlian scowl pop act The Cubical released their riotous lead single Dirty Shame this week and it’s mixture of booming Tom Waits-esque vocals, backed by a riot of Northern Soul brass rhythms, allied to the video’s dance class tomfoolery, it all comes highly recomended. It can be downloaded for free from their bandcamp page which also features bonus track Blue Blue Sky which is available nowhere else: http://thecubical.bandcamp.com/album/it-aint-human
(disappointed cloud) anyway is the first song to be taken from new Warp Signing Leila’s new album ‘U&I’ released on 23rd January. Harsher, shook up and rebooted, the song features the haunting vocals of Berlin based producer Mt.Sims and took them just two hours and a posting via Dropbox to complete. The radio edit will be available as a free download. The full, un-edited version of this song will also be released on limited 12″ vinyl through Warp on 12th December. The single includes two extra unreleased tracks and an instrumental that will not feature on her forthcoming album ‘U&I’.
http://emailunlock.com/warp-records/leila-disappointed-cloud-anyway#
Brooklyn’s Leah Hayes is back with a new Scary Mansion EP. This week she released the etheral electro elegance of the ‘Take Me To The Night’ a promising cut. And a step change from the spiky rock of 2009′s awesome Make Me Cry. Listen below.
Take Me To The Night by scary mansion
Each day this week London based synth-poppers My Tiger My Timing have been giving away a different remix to celebrate the release of their new single WRITTEN IN RED. The entire 6-track EP is now downloadable for free from: http://listn.to/mytigermytiming
Check out this awesome mix by Lights of Paris. They say: ‘Put your dancing shoes on, it’s Friday!’
My Tiger My Timing – Written in Red (Lights of Paris RMX) by mytigermytiming
Seafieldroad is a solo project by Andrew Eaton-Lewis of the Edinburgh-based Swimmer One, whose first two albums of multi-layered, experimental chamber pop, The Regional Variations (2007) and Dead Orchestras (2010), have established them as one of Scotland’s most critically acclaimed bands. Andrew’s music has previously featured in a Hollywood feature film, award-winning short films and international theatre performances, and has received radioplay worldwide.
Seafieldroad’s second album is an evocative, very personal musical journey through some of the less well known parts of Scotland’s capital city – Cramond island, the coastal path to Portobello, and Seafield Road itself. A collection of eight intimate but complex piano songs, it is the follow-up to There Are No Maps For This Part Of The City, which was greeted by enthusiastic reviews and widespread radioplay in November 2010.
Watch the evocative video for ‘Cramond island’ the song’s clawing longing vocals and sensuously naked piano notes make up the first single from Seafieldroad’s new self-titled album. It’s launching at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh on Sunday the 20th of November, where this video will also be screened too:
The Arcadian Kicks release their new single ‘I Wanna Take You Home’ 22nd January 2012 (One Beat Records/EMI) and then take their themselves out on a UK tour. Watch the glam pop video below! ‘You Play The Girl’ is available as a free download via http://facebook.com/thearcadiankicks
The Arcadian Kicks have been active for the last few years building a formidable reputation by touring extensively and swelling it with their own club nights at home in Birmingham. They’ve also played some major music festivals including Isle of Wight, Wychwood and the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park.
The Rapture return with a new single ‘Sail Away’ taken from their acclaimed third album ‘In The Grace Of Your Love’ on December 12th through DFA Records. It follows on from dancefloor smash ‘How Deep Is Your Love?’ and will be released as a special remix EP featuring new mixes courtesy of Aeroplane, Cosmic Kids & Cut Copy. Described by The Times as “euphoric widescreen pop” Sail Away has quickly become a live favourite amongst fans thanks to its hypnotic and anthemic refrain. The band is also sharing the video for “Sail Away,” directed by Kris Moyes. The video follows the band on a fantasy-ride through the streets of Brooklyn, with Luke Jenner sailing the streets on a silver mylar pillow! And that’s not all. Check out the video above to see for yourselves.
The Rapture – Sail Away (short version) from DFA Records on Vimeo.
Following a triumphant tour in September and reaching #3 in Rough Trade Shops’ Albums of the Year 2011 for his latest album Smoke Ring For My Halo, Kurt Vile has announced he will return to Europe in February for a handful of headline shows. The shows follow the release of So Outta Reach, a 6-track EP containing songs initially recorded during the Smoke Ring… sessions, plus a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Downbound Train’. To hear two of the tracks now, click to listen to ‘The Creature’ or ‘Life’s A Beach’.
http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/kurt_vile/kurt_vile_the_creature.mp3
http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2011/10/06/listen-to-kurt-viles-lifes-a-beach/
‘Home Again’ is the title track of Michael Kiwanuka’s brand new EP, which will be released on the 1st January via Communion/ Polydor Records. It is Michael’s third EP release to date, preceding the release of his debut album in late March 2012. Earlier this week Michael announced details of a UK headline tour in February and his debut shows in the US early next month.Within just 4 days, the audio stream of ‘Home Again’ has become one of Michael’s most popular tracks on his Soundcloud page, with just shy of 10,000 streams via the player alone.
Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth appears on drums for ‘Life’s A Beach’. The EP is currently available as a limited 12″ vinyl, and is also included in the deluxe reissue of Smoke Ring For My Halo (also out now).
Rising Australia artist Texture Like Sun has a début album set from 2012, now Texture Like Sun are giving away stand out track Bottle as a free download. Driven by a guitar that could tell a story and vocals that shiver down your spine, it probably doesn’t sound like a compliment to say that a song sounds like an argument, but in the case of Bottle from Melbourne’s Texture Like Sun , it is an odd aptly description and far from a negative. Take a listen to Bottle and grab your free download below.
http://soundcloud.com/whiteboard-publicity/texture-like-sun-bottle
Earlier this year saw the tantalising emergence of brand new material from London quartet Trailer Trash Tracys, in the form of the twinkling, cosmic odyssey of “Dies in 55”, and the mesmeric, spiralling “Engelhardt’s Arizona”. Now the band are coming full circle and releasing the tracks which brought them so much attention in the first place, with beautifully revamped, completely brand new versions of “Candy Girl” and “Strangling Good Guys” (DS054D) on Monday the 9th of January 2012.
Trailer Trash Tracys – Candy Girl by Double Six
This week ATP Recordings announced that they have signed Tall Firs for their next record, ‘Out of It And Into It’ out March 12th 2012. The record, their third album, sees the core duo of Aaron Mullan and Dave Mies return to their guitar duo origins, echoing the desolate spaces and warm places introduced on their debut ‘Tall Firs’, at the same time capturing a spirit of adventure and brutal honesty not seen by them to date.
To celebrate the first single, ‘Crooked Smiles’, which is about the ATP music festivals and will be released to coincide with the bands supporting tour with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (see below for dates) we are inviting fans who have footage from past ATP festivals, or who are coming in December to Nightmare Before Christmas, to submit video they have taken there. It can be raw footage or better still edited to parts of the song which you can listen to at Soundcloud: TallFirs – Crooked Smiles by TheArtOf…
Following the release of Philadelphia based Meg Baird’s sophomore solo album Seasons on Earth (which came out on Wichita Recordings in September), she is playing a few shows in Europe towards the end of this year. As the December darkness falls, her music will be the perfect antidote to the chilly weather, download her track “The Finder” for free here. Her spindling finger picking is garnished by delicate country-ish electric notes whilst Meg’s vocals shiver with effortless scene setting gorgeousness:
