Further Complications is Jarvis’ second solo record on Rough Trade and is produced by Steve Albini after the pair met at last year’s Pitchfork”:http://pitchfork.com/ music festival. Albini’s touch is noticeable on some of the rockier numbers and has delivered some brilliant fuzz and driving beats. Jarvis himself has given a performance to make us all proud, running the vocal gamut from roaring garage rock, to sleazy funk all spiced with his trademark story telling theatrics. The result is something quite kaleidoscopic in terms of mood, tempo and themes and features some of Jarvis’ most sentimental, joyful and exhilarating music to date.
This is an album built to last and certainly withstands repeat listening. You’ll slowly find the memorable wisdom of this national treasure emerging amongst his ‘profoundly shallow’ lyrics about carrier bags and Hondas running out of petrol, making It an essential listen for anyone who likes their music sparkling with wit and intelligence.

‘Develishly catchy’ 4/5 Independent Information

‘Arguably his most potent collection of songs since the heyday of Pulp’ Mail on Sunday

‘He’s back. He’s gone rock. And he’s ever so slightly randy’ 4/5 Q Magazine

‘tremendously enjoyable’ 4/5 Uncut

Jarvis Cocker@Myspace

Super furry animals:

The Super Furry Animals are amazing, but that’s just an opinion so excuse me for a moment while I come down on you like a ton of facts:

Fact 1: They redefined what modern a guitar band can be and do whilst still constantly bothering the charts.

A chameleonic band who have turned their hand to pretty much every genre of music, their albums have debuted, since Radiator, between numbers four and 11 (and that was for their Welsh language offering, Mwng), which largely proves their ability to get it right every time. Soul, techno, rabble-rousing rock, power balladry, calypso and stoner mong have all featured and have all slammed the bull’s-eye every time. No ‘difficult new direction, we don’t think the public will understand’ for them.

Fact 2: They constantly strive for new levels of perfection and performance [read more]

http://www.superfurry.com
Super Furry Animals@Myspace

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This is a refreshingly substantial listen in a culture plagued by throwaway blog hits. The album plots an extravagant tale rooted in ancient language and imagery of a woman ravaged by her lover who is able to change his form between animal and man.

As can be expected from any Decemberists release, the result is both musically and lyrically rich with elaborate orchestrations accompanying cleverly crafted plot developments. The Decemberists are joined on this record by Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark, My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden and cameos from Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Robyn Hitchcock and the Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates.

The Decemberists@Myspace
The Decemberists@Rough Trade Records

Hearing Antony and the Johnsons for the first time back in 2004 was a truly memorable experience largely thanks to lead vocalist Antony Hegarty’s beautiful falsetto voice being one of the most unique and arresting we’d ever heard. Guaranteed to mesmerize you from the very first moment Antony and the Johnsons are an experience not to be missed by anyone.

Guardian review – Alex Needham : “A beacon of intelligence and imagination in a drab music scene, it’s tempting to conclude that Antony may well be the last of the great pop stars who rose from the subculture to weird out the mainstream.[read more…]

BBC
Drown in sound
Stereogum

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The Veils are Finn Andrews, (vocals, guitar, piano, New Zealand) Sophia Burn, (bass, New Zealand) Dan Raishbrook (guitar, odd noise, England) and Henning Dietz (drums, Germany). Sun Gangs is their third album, and without a doubt their finest to date.

By turns epic, desolate, wildly romantic and anguished, Sun Gangs is a bold and distinctive record described by Finn as “a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping”. Produced by Graham Sutton (Jarvis Cocker / British Sea Power / Bark Psychosis) it is their most ambitious record yet ranging from the yearning elegy of ‘Sit Down By The Fire’, to the charred, mantis-like groove of ‘Killed By The Boom’ – this is a record unlike many we are likely to hear this year.

So many stories, words, tones and ideas punctuate its gradually unfolding landscape as that incomparable voice cries and hollers. “’Sit Down By The Fire’ is about watching something collapse, and it being quite pretty to look at,” offers Finn. “’Killed By The Boom’ is possibly about The Wire’s Omar Little. ‘It Hits Deep’ is about being a man, in a bar alone, on a tropical island resort, as the light gets dim and the world goes fuzzy. ‘Larkspur’ is somewhere else entirely.”

“I really wanted to write something that hangs together in perhaps a not so obvious way; not just some collection of singles but a real voyage into something, something strange and unspecific but totally emotionally consuming. It’s also kinda just a break-up record in many ways.”

More releases

www.theveils.com
The Veils@Myspace

Read on Spinner.com: “After releasing the album ‘Me and Armini’ in the fall, the sweet-voiced Icelandic singer decides to show off her fun side in the video for her latest song, ‘Jungle Drum.’ Vibrant colors, festive costumes and a crafty, synthetic jungle set – described by director Price James as “other worldly” and “slightly hyper-real” -bring the track to life.”

[Enjoy the video]

Emiliana’s charm is legendary around these parts, and not just because she once bought us one the of finest cakes we’ve ever seen, (and we’ve eaten some serious cakes) but for being one of the warmest, most effervescent and kindly people you could ever hope to meet. Though perhaps the most endearing thing about Emilinana is her ambitious approach to music that sees her producing feel-good summer time hits along side one-note murder ballads all with equal success. Her irresistible enthusiasm for life is evident on the song, Big Jumps, where she asks, ‘Are you afraid to break some bones?’ its playful music like this that prevents us all from dying of boredom. At the other end of her truly kalediscopic spectrum, Emiliana can create the kind of intimate and atmospheric songs that can whisper their way into your bloodstream and save you from loneliness.

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Hailed by two generations of listeners as one of the most important songwriters of the last 25 years, Arthur Russell’s music remains as contemporary today as when it was first recorded.
Over the last four years, Audika and Rough Trade have diligently mined Russell’s vast archive of previously unreleased music with the critically lauded albums ‘Calling Out Of Context’, ‘Springfield’, ‘World Of Echo’, and ‘First Thought Best Thought’. This release completes the oeuvre by showing Russell’s singer-songwriter side.

‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ collects the best of the previously unreleased folk, pop, and country stylings from Arthur’s archive.
Compiled from over eight hours of material and three years in the making, the album includes some of the earliest ‘70s compositions through to his very last at-home recordings in 1991.
Several of these tracks are featured prominently in Matt Wolf’s film ‘Wild Combination: A Portrait Of Arthur Russell, including ‘Close My Eyes,’ ‘Eli,’The Letter,’ and ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’. The album is compiled from several sources, including the legendary demos made for John Hammond Sr, a demo of a country song written for Randy Travis, and the late ‘80s collaboration with Steven Hall recording as bright and early.
Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear tenderly contributed to mixing, restoration and editing. Extensive liner notes from Russell’s longtime companion Tom Lee provide perspective into the intimate nature of Arthur’s process and songwriting.

Releases on Rough Trade Records

‘This isn’t an album you can dip into; instead dive in and sink to the bottom and let it all gloriously wash over you.’ 8/10 NME – [read more]

Right click here and ‘save as’ to download a free Mp3!

Femme fatale Jenny Lewis has never sounded so passionate and her songs never so hard-hitting and acerbic as on her aptly titled solo disc Acid Tongue. The album follows 2006’s ‘Rabbit Fur Coat’ and a series of acclaimed albums with indie rock faves Rilo Kiley. Featuring collaborations with she and him and guest appearances by Elvis Costello and Chris Robinson, of the Black Crowes, ‘Acid Tongue’ is a near perfect listen. The all analog, no pro-tools sessions were all part of a shared aesthetic between Lewis, her producers, and her musician collaborators, working quickly and tracking her vocals entirely live and without embellishment. Recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California in just 3 weeks, the album’s tracks, disparate as they are, share a sparkling vitality; Lewis’ voice has never sounded so expressive and the narratives have never been so poignant.

Jenny Lewis@myspace

Little joy is the new project from everyone’s favourite Stroke Fab Moretti, la musician binki shapiro and rodrigo amarante who plays on devendra banhart’s ‘smokey rolls down thunder canyon’ album alongside having his own band los hermanos. it’s a tastefully executed cocktail of calypso-garage-folk that’s reminiscent of both trashy lounge bars and tropical coast lines. standout tracks are the scratchy and glorious sunshine pop of ‘no ones better sake’, and the heart breaking acoustic number ‘with strangers’.

‘Keep Me In Mind’ is a perfectly written song from start to finish. It’s succinct, catchy, and simple in a way that’s both immediately accessible and worthy of multiple replays.

Little joy@myspace
Little Joy – “No One’s Better Sake”
[watch the video]