Asobi Seksu

Hello yuuuuuzzz! Remember me? I blog here! And I wrote you a sweet, sweet song:

Yeeeeah...

I love you baby.
I love the way that you walk.
I love you baby.
I love the way that you talk.
I really like it when you call my name...
Hey Brakky Wakky

Okay, so I didn't exactly write it myself, but the sentiment? It's all there. I apologize for my absence but am here to make it up for you with two songs from Asobi Seksu's just-released record, Citrus. This is the second release from the happenin' New Yorkers whose name is Japanese for "playful sex." I don't know about that, but I know that this record is full of upbeat, catchy pop soundscapes and that you should catch them at their upcoming Mercury Lounge show if you're in what we southerners like to call New Yawk (6.22).

New Years
Goodbye

I'm From Barcelona

Another Swedish band that makes sunny pop music! Quel surprise. I'm From Barcelona is a 29 member musical collective. They make me think of a Polyphonic Spree / Architecture in Helsinki / Boy Less Likely To crossbreed. And you know what that means...handclaps! Try to get those "la la la's" out of your head after listening to "We're From Barcelona." I think I've found my new favorite band.

Songs from the full-length Let Me Introduce My Friends (also from EP Sing!!)
I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse
I'm From Barcelona - Rec & Play

The video for "We're From Barcelona" puts a big smile on my face. I think I shall take to watching it every morning to chase away any case of the grumpies I might have upon waking.
We're From Barcelona video

You can buy the album from this Swedish site.

And we're back!

Our site is back online, so all the mp3's hosted by us should be working now. Just went over our bandwidth. Sorry about that!

The Theater Fire

Since Leah has been lost in a pile of cardboard boxes for the past few weeks, I thought that I would do a post in her honor. Even though she sometimes surprises me by not liking something that I thought she would like, I'll go out on a limb and say that she will probably like The Theater Fire. I say this because they have pedal steel and songs about hangmen, two things that are good indicators of Leah's taste in my mind. :)

The Theater Fire has a knack for spinning yarns about drifters, hangmen, brothers, and lovers grappling with their own honor, trust, guilt and loss. These tales are woven together by arrangements that include weeping pedal steel and violin, strains of accordion, mandolin and xylophone, plucked banjo and guitar, sorrowful brass and the clip-clop of found percussion. The songs combine influences as diverse as zydeco, bluegrass, mariachi, country, gospel and rock and roll - yet somehow remain unmistakably The Theater Fire.

Thanks to my brother in redheadedness Sam (Don't let the hatas get you down!) for introducing me to this Fort Worth, TX-based band.

The Theater Fire - Everybody Has a Dark Side
The Theater Fire - I Heard About You
The Theater Fire - Kicking Up the Darkness
The Theater Fire - These Tears Could Rust a Train
The Theater Fire - Fiddleback Weaver


Buy Everybody Has a Dark Side at Undeniable Records.

Another song from The Avalanche

Sufjan Stevens - No Man's Land

More trumpets and handclaps!

Psapp-y songs

Psapp has gained exposure in the US from having their music featured on television shows. Their most notable contribution to the tv show music genre is the Grey's Anatomy theme song, but don't let that discourage you from checking out Psapp's other music if you are one of those people who automatically discounts any music featured on a primetime soap. Londoners Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant craft organic electronica pop that's great to chill out to during this long Memorial Day weekend.

Their new album, The Only Thing I Ever Wanted will be released stateside on June 6. The first single is "Tricycle" and they have made a cute animated music video for it that features a lovestruck rat attempting to get closer to a teddy bear.

Psapp - Hi
Psapp - Wet Box
Psapp - Tricycle
Tricycle video

Two songs from their previous album Tiger, My Friend
Psapp - Calm Down
Psapp - About Fun

Never trust a shaved Lux...

Top 5 reasons why Red Blondehead hasn't been updated in 2 weeks

1. Traci and Leah were touring Europe with a famous band who shall remain unnamed and the wireless on their laptop was broken because the lead guitarist of said unnamed band decided he wanted to play a game of drunken hot potato with it. The next thing they hear is "Oopsie!" (Yes, lead guitarists can say "oopsie" and still look hot. Well, this one can.)

2. While at a recent show, Traci tripped over an amp (no doubt as a result of the tall high heels she always wears) and used Leah to break her fall. Both hit their heads and suffered from temporary amnesia. Confusion ensued. "Who am I? Who are you? What blog? We have a blog? But we just met!"

3. Lux (Leah's cat) was angry about getting her fur shaved so she deleted all the entries we posted during the past 2 weeks. She's secretly been plotting her revenge for weeks, waiting for the exact moment to strike.

4. Leah spent the past couple of weeks dealing with painting numerous rooms, packing boxes, moving into a new house, plus dealing with the in-laws. Traci spent her time finishing up her online portfolio, cleaning her house so out-of-town company could stay in a dust bunny-free home, scrubbing grout pointlessly because it still isn't white, lying on the couch blowing her nose and groaning from the misery of a cold that developed into a sinus infection, and starting a new job.

5. My dog ate it.

We'll leave you to decide which is true. Sorry we have been bad bloggers. So on to a couple of bands that I've been listening to lately.

First, Margot & The Nuclear So and So's. Since they are an 8-piece collective, I guess they thought they needed a mouthful of a band name. (They derived their name from the character Margot Tenenbaum and "Dr. Strangelove.") In 2004 they were joined together in holy bandimony in Indianapolis with singer/songwriter Richard Edwards officiating. With cellos and trumpets in addition to their guitars, their sound has been described as "sex-chamber-scarf-folk-pop-rock." To me they sound a bit like Matt Pond PA but with a more alt-country slant. When the last issue of Paste came out, I heard Margot & The Nuclear So and So's "Skeleton Key" on the sampler. It was one of my favorite songs on the CD so I made a note to look for more of their music online. I found their album The Dust of Retreat on emusic, but after downloading a few tracks I had used all my downloads for the month so I put the rest in my "saved for later" list. Unfortunately, now the album has become unavailable on the site. However, it can be found on itunes or at insound.

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Skeleton Key
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Barfight Revolution, Power Violence
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Vampires in Blue Dresses

There's a podcast of a live performance and interview with the band here.

I'm also listening to The Weepies' Say I Am You based on a recommendation from Brian, a friend with great music taste. Deb Talan and Steve Tannen form the group and they sing quiet, introspective pop/folk songs.

The Weepies - World Spins Madly On
The Weepies - Riga Girls

Springfield

Wow. I think I've almost exhausted the number of good words I can say about Mr. Stevens at this point. Just listen. It's splendiforous.

Sufjan Stevens - Springfield

Sweet Swedish Sounds

Those Swedes must raise their children on a diet of cotton candy and sugary pop music. Case in point: Sambassadeur and The Legends. Sambassadeur specializes in "indie guitar pop, gorgeous lazy melodies wrapped around fuzzy guitars and far away tambourines" while The Legends describe their sound as "Garagepop" or "Indie-punk-pop-soul." And now these Labrador labelmates both have new singles. I first discovered Sambassadeur through a track on another blog (I would give them credit, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was. I originally thought it was Fluxblog but I have since been corrected.) last year and I was compelled to share a few songs on the pre-Red Blondehead version of this blog. Here is the new song, "Kate," along with four mp3's from previous releases.

Sambassadeur - Kate
Sambassadeur - Between the Lines
Sambassadeur - Whatever Season
Sambassadeur - One Last Remark
Sambassadeur - New Moon


And The Legends new single, "Play It For Today," along with "Call It Ours" from Up Against the Legends.
The Legends - Play It For Today
The Legends - Call It Ours

You can buy music from both bands at Labrador's website.

Mittens

Hell is a compact ice cube, and if you look more closely you'll see Billy Graham frozen in running stance just inside--it's Saturday and I'm blogging, and moreover, I'm posting pop music. Now you get the whole frozen Billy Graham thing--yeah... Moving on.

A few weeks ago I got a promo from a band in Boston called Mittens (not The Mittens, mind you). It had a funny note attached to it that you can see at the bottom of this post, so I took it out and sat it on the edge of my desk, meaning to "get around to it." I'm slow, but here it is. I've gotten around to listening to it, and I'm glad I didn't stuff it under another stack!

The record, Fools on a Holiday, is a fun, jangly record with a vintage pop feel. If you like catchy rhythms, handclaps, and sickeningly memorable melodies, you'll love it. I'm sure of it.

Mittens - Leeway
Mittens - Ain't No Doubt About It

Enjoy the songs and check these guys out live if you're in Boston. Local press there suggests that they're pretty happenin' live, as well. You can buy Fools on a Holiday at mittensmusic.com or iTunes.



tee hee.

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country

On June 6 Camera Obscura will release another album of indie pop, titled Let's Get Out of This Country. Since the band hails from Glasgow, Scotland and they play lovely pop songs, the Belle & Sebastian comparisons are expected. But I found myself thinking of 60's girl groups more often than B&S while listening to the following songs especially "If Looks Could Kill." The first single, "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken," features nice string sections plus the occasional organ part. This is music perfect for a beautiful sunny spring day. Or if the weather isn't nice where you are, it's great for brightening a dreary day.

Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
Camera Obscura - I Need All the Friends I Can Get

Preorder Let's Get Out of This Country