I don’t know anything at all about O’Spada, but I intend to find out more. The Stockholm act’s soulful funk, reminiscent of Prince, Rick James’ production style or the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis grooves of the 80′s, is getting some heavy attention and rotation. Apparently their last single “Time” got out in the world and received some praise and attention from THE FADER, Monocle, BBC Radio One’s DJ Annie Mac, and they’ve been Band of the Day in The Guardian.

Check out this new track, “Ten Strikes”. We’re digging its distinctly 80′s retro-electro feel, and it’s purposeful similarity to Teena Marie, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and Janet Jackson is off the hook. Get this, do it now.

O’Spada – Ten Strikes (Radio Edit)

[Myspace : Website : Twitter]

You already know how much I love the new O+S record. I’m thrilled to offer you a second song from the album, one that I think will give you an even better window into their sonic diversity. “Permanent Scar” is the first single from the self-titled album, and I hope you’ll dig it as much as I have been.

O+S – Permanent Scar

_{You can purchase o+s from Amazon by clicking here. O+S will be appearing at SXSW on Friday, March 20th, 11pm @ The Radio Room.}

There’s a tricky dissonance that wafts through the undercurrent of the most beautiful recordings I’ve listened to in my life. It’s the unexpected collaborations or spellbinding accidents of circumstance that unite elements into original flavors. The illogical syllogisms in music are the ones that surprisingly seem to work the best. Such is the case of O+S, whose self-titled debut will be released via Saddle Creek Records on March 24th.

Each originally hailing from Birmingham, the combination of Orenda Fink (of Azure Ray and Art In Manila) and Scalpelist aka Cedric LeMoyne (of Remy Zero) rely on their shared and essential love of found music and recorded voices to serve as a binder to their haunting, and frequently swellingly harmonic, sonic adventures. With the help of Michael Patterson (producer/engineer of Beck, Notorious B.I.G. and others), they seamlessly merge elements of their musical specialties together into a sound which, while resembling art-rock, seems to transcend those into a wellspring of warm, lush drone pop.

In the most humbling sense, the collective sound of O+S resembles a mesh of classic 4AD recordings, the elemental 90′s offerings of Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star, my favorite music from noted Lynchian soundtrack contributor Julee Cruise and music of Canadian songbird (and longtime personal favorite) Jane Siberry. Though O+S is by no means a copy of the aforementioned, the vocal qualities of Orenda Fink and the textual layering of her vocals bears a fair and uncanny resemblance, particularly on the songs “We Do What We Want To” and “Survive Love”. These ten songs come across with an unnerving cool at times, touching on subjects that we don’t talk about in ways that songwriters often fear to express themselves.

The musical landscape of the record, thanks to Scalpelist and Patterson, is dotted with punchy drum loops, backwards-maskings and psychedelic meanderings clicking beneath the surface of simple guitar and piano parts, imbuing the songs with sonic cacophonies and droning folk-pop anthems unlike anything I’ve heard in recent memory. O+S have unleashed on the world a record that bears witness to pop sensibility while embracing a fearlessly experimental approach in it’s songwriting and performances. I would urge my readers to seek out this album & hopefully see O+S when they perform live in a city near you this spring.

O+S – We Do What We Want To

_{You can purchase o+s from Amazon by clicking here.}

Apologies to my regular readers that this video contains an ad. As someone with no hair, I am personally offended that it’s an ad for Pantene; however the video, taken from Saadiq’s masterful 2008 album The Way I See It, is worth sitting thru the ad.

The video transports you back to the 50′s when tailored looks, impecable style and choreographed dances defined your Saturday night. Disc Jockey’s ruled the airwaves and Mempis, TN was finally given it’s star power on the map. Imagine you are the audience and Raphael Saadiq is your entertainment for the night. I instruct you to advise on the above before you press play, evoke the mood and the mood is Soul.

That’s from the press release. So Nikki, if you’re reading this, you might should proof that press release — our city’s name spelled Memphis, not “Mempis”.

Don’t worry: in a couple of months you’ll be able to spell it in your sleep. Now dig some Raphael Saadiq.

photo credit: dongraft

I’ve been bragging about the new Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul ever since it leaked & I’m not one for needless banter about bands that over-hype and under-deliver. Oasis hit this one out of the park. Don’t believe me? Click here to visit them on MySpace and find out for yourself. Win, win, win. Dig Out Your Soul is without a doubt the most well-crafted Oasis album in over a decade & now you can see what I mean for yourself.

Voxpop – The Boomerang Generation

Visit Voxpop on MySpace by clicking here.

Some helpful biographical information about the band: Voxpop formed in the wake of Alexander Miller’s exit from UK band The Upper Room, who released an album and a couple of singles on Columbia. They’re doing regular gigs around London, so make sure and keep an eye out for where they’re playing. Since we can’t get to London, we’d be thrilled if you send along some pictures?

Here’s the second round of MP3′s from their as-yet-untitled-and-unreleased new album, a song called “All The Time” along with a proper MP3 of “Hacienda Motel” which, Alexander informs us, is a tribute to the late Sam Cooke who was murdered at the Hacienda Motel in 1964. Enjoy.

Voxpop – All The Time
Voxpop – Hacienda Motel

Visit Voxpop’s MySpace page by clicking here.

This morning, bleary-eyed and caffeine-free, I read an email from Alexander of the London-based band Voxpop. I hadn’t quite had my coffee when I clicked thru to their MySpace link to check them out. What I heard really caught me off guard — in a beautiful menagerie of sound (the song “Hacienda Motel” to be specific), I was instantly reminded of the band Suede and of how much I miss them.

Now, don’t get me wrong — Voxpop isn’t a Bernard Butler imitation. They take what’s best about Suede and a number of other great pop and Brit-pop bands and blend them together. You’ve got a bit of Weezer, a bit of Franz Ferdinand, a bit of The Strokes and a dash of Futureheads for good measure. It’s an impressive first outing from a band who has played, perhaps, a handful of shows.

I played this for Maura and she and I agree about this much — God knows this is the band Bernard Butler should be producing — not Black Kids. However, producer Paul Epworth (who has produced Maximo Park, Bloc Party, Futureheads and Kate Nash) found them first. This is extremely solid songwriting. Singing about everything from dead hollywood stars to Jonathan Richman, I can tell you this is definitely a band to watch out for. When I get a new MP3 to post from the band, I will — in the meantime, here’s two of the songs I personally loved the best, “Hacienda Motel” and “Bad News”.

Voxpop – Bad News
Voxpop – Hacienda Motel

You can (and very well should) go listen to more at their MySpace Music page here.

(ed. note: When putting this piece together, we had some technical difficulties with the music player. They’re fixed — full album stream after the jump.)

Solid pop music is a commodity these days and, too often, the things I hear are simply “pretty good” or “okay”. However, in the mailbag today was an email from Brooklyn band called Anthem In. I don’t know how else to say it: I haven’t stopped listening to it from the second I put it on, so I’m very pleased to tell you about the band and about the record itself.

The self-released debut from this foursome comes out on June 24th and is well worth more than a cursory listen. Instant comparisons to lots of other bands will come to mind — Teenage Fanclub, Sloan, Rogue Wave, Death Cab For Cutie, Pinback — but the comparisons are only to give you a place to start from. There’s no Xeroxing going on here — if anything, there’s subtle referencing that never sounds forced.

So, if you already like any of these bands, Anthem In’s self-titled debut will be instantly gratifying. This is the kind of beatific album which walks the fine line between indie pop and radio rock, never stepping too far in either direction, always pulling you further and further in until they’ve got you right where they want you. More music and a giveaway after the jump.

Anthem In – Down

The chance union of Allen Orr and Ashley Proffitt eight years ago in Atlanta was the catalyst in the creation of Anthem In’s dynamic sound. The addition of Keith Vogelsang on bass and Paul Pettito on drums in 2007 completed their gregarious performance module, and the band set out to create these 13 songs. The result is consistent: songs that make you think, make you sing along and make you want to shake your ass all at the same time. The bittersweet harmonies and melodies enmesh perfectly with staccato guitar parts, faux-Fender keyboards and a driving rhythm section. With repeated listenings, I start to wonder why I haven’t known about Anthem In all along, like I’ve been cheated by some mystery of time to not have had the opportunity to enjoy their music for years.

If I can think of one unknown young band deserving of your full and undivided attention in 2008, Anthem In is far and away and the one. So much so, I’m devoting this column to this stream of their entire album for you to hear along with these two approved MP3′s you can download and share, “Down” and “Hold On To Me”, both of which appear on their debut.

Furthermore, I have five copies of the CD to give away to the first five commenters to respond below. When you respond, make sure you include your current and correct email address so I can write to you for your mailing address. I’ll make sure that you get your very own copy of the CD to enjoy.

Anthem In – Hold On To Me

This is the pure definition of psychedelic interstellar afro-beat jazz funk, horns, crazy Hammond B-3 keyboards, straight-up junkie rhythms from 1971 banging up the block from outer space to the human race and back again. With guest vocal effects from Karolina, Chaka Moon and Elran Dekel, we get an enhancement to what is already a nearly perfect recording. Furthermore, what I would like to call “the Stanley Turrentine/Ahmad Jamal/Yusef Lateef factor” is all over this joint, a form of high praise that I think is well merited once you get to listen (if you know anything about those cats).

The best part is that while the individual sections of this record are wonderful, it’s much better as a complete work. There’s no filler here, no rush jobs or cutting and pasting — this is some handcrafted, vintage funk/soul shit that will stay with you long after the first listen. So if you are down with the notions and the concepts, then the practice and the performance is here for you to lay your dreams in. Kutiman is set to take on the world, and it’s time you climbed aboard and slid into the groove.

Kutiman – Music Is Ruling My World (featuring Karolina)
Kutiman – No Reason For You (featuring Elran Dekel)

You can purchase Kutiman’s S/T album from Amazon (CD or MP3) by clicking here.

I don’t know the first thing about The Explorers Club except that I got this MP3 from their new album, Freedom Wind (due out May 10th from Dead Oceans) and I love its Beach Boys overtures. Sure, they love the Beach Boys, but in this same email I’m also told that they count The Byrds, Emitt Rhodes and ELO among their other influences.

OK. You have my attention.

They’re going to be playing a huge showcase at SXSW on March 13th with their Jagjaguwar, Secretly Candian and Dead Oceans family, and they’d like me to tell you that it’s going to be a good show. If this track, “Do You Love Me?”, is any indication, I have a feeling that both the show and the new album are both going to be good.

The Explorers Club – “Do You Love Me?”

Tour Dates:
03/04/08 Charleston, SC – The Map Room w/ Matt Pond PA
03/07/08 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
03/13/08 Austin, TX – The Mohawk – Dead Oceans / Jagjaguwar / Secretly Canadian showcase

The best part of listening to thousands of submissions and suggestions from all over the map is that when a gem actually surfaces, you can see the highlights shimmering that much more clearly. In accordance with this thought, I’m completely blown away by the recently-acquired Seattle band Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground’s self-titled debut, and I needed to tell someone.

Kay Kay & co. have produced a modern psychedelic pop masterpiece: a diamond which is neither over nor under polished, a rare and precious offering full of inventively original works without an ounce of filler, each of which pays tasteful homage to bands like The Beatles, XTC, Queen and Jon Brion. There are soaring horn sections, lush string arrangements, Ringofied drum progressions driving grandiose pop songs. If you like any of the aforementioned artists, I am confident that like us, this album will end up on your 2008 short list of favorite albums. Band members Kirk Huffman, Kyle O’Quin, and Philip Peterson are three names we plan on getting to know and remembering here at Loudersoft.

The Pacific Northwest, though mostly famous for it’s ’90s rock sound, has been a hotbed for great pop music for decades — everything from Young Fresh Fellows to The Posies, Super Deluxe, Tubetop, Sister Psychic, and any number of delightful acts before, after and in-between. Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground are not just a welcome addition to that legacy, they’re a a glimmer of hope in pop music, an unsullied group of lads whose gift is wrapped neatly and perfectly, giving us a window into fresh creative possibilities pop music.

Listen to Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground – “Hey Momma”
Listen to Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground – “Santa Cruz Lined Pockets”

You can buy downloads from Amazon by clicking here, and it’s well worth the 0.99 a song., or you can pre-order this gorgeous album on vinyl from Vinyl Collective in a multitude of colors of vinyl by clicking here. The limited edition colors available are –

Your purchase will enter you to win a test pressing. Test Pressing winner will be announce around the middle of March when the records should start shipping.

The world is always your oyster if you can take something that people have attempted before and put a spin on it that is actually refreshing. As such, once again the cacophony of hype is ringing in the global collective consciousness of writers about another young up-and-coming band who have defeated the dragon of producing a first effort worthy of praise and accolades.

Of course, it’s disenfranchising that the band which I am referring to is having to wait in line behind another set of lads whose sweater-driven uptown saturday night antics prove that if you eat the right Wheaties and use the most politically correct phrasings, you can borrow from the 1986 Album of the Year and people will shower you with yummy presents.

Now that I’ve told that unnamed band what I think of them, let me tell the 5-piece Oxford, UK band Foals (the Band of Baby Horses, yes I did say that) what I think of them: in short, deserving of every last bit of hype. With their first full-length release, Antidotes, they have produced what is potentially the first entirely stellar album of 2008. Indelicately blending math rock and afro-beat with the help of producer Dave Sitek (yes, of TV On The Radio), Antidotes is unflinching in its relentless percussion. The jangling clatter of mathy rhythms, slick horns blended with a healthy, honest, angst-driven vocal delivery give this album, and this band, a uniqueness. The content of the album can become droning and heavy handed at times, as math rock is want to be, but finds itself spirited away by its desire to be more than merely a carbon copy of Minus The Bear. Foals have crafted a nearly perfect freshman album.

But enough jibber jabber from yours truly. Let the music speak for itself.

Listen to Foals – The French Open
Listen to Foals – Balloons

The album Antidotes will be released stateside by Sub Pop records on March 24th. Visit the band’s official homepage for more updates and songs.

Oh, and here are some more foals. Just for comparison.

Viktor Swalovski’s “Sweet Dance” has all the charm of an ’80′s Madonna song multiplied by the sensual female provocateur‘s voice that drives the track along. I have no idea what she’s singing about, but I can’t stop listening.

This second one is by Bellatronica, yet another band I know nothing about other than they make that kind of delightful, Swedish electronic pop music that I always find myself falling for over and over again. Those three words together, (Swedish, electronic and pop) seem to be the correct formula for goodness these days. There’s a definite affinity for what I call “the Madonna thing” in these songs, but believe me: that’s the good news. Bellatronica don’t appear to have a label deal, so take notes and send emails. Check out the songs “Rush” and “Sweet Is In” and then head over to MySpace to check out some more tracks.

Viktor Swalovski – Sweet Dance
Bellatronica – Rush
Bellatronica – Sweet Is In

You can visit Viktor Swalovski on MySpace by clicking here.

You can visit Bellatronica on MySpace by clicking here.

So why not return with a bang? The resurrection began with an unexpected phone call the other day in which I was invited by my blogmother, Rachelandthecity, to be the inaugural guest on her new BreakThruRadio show, The Bloggeratti. This weekly 1 hour radio show will feature a new blogger every week unveiling what’s currently putting a bug in their ears. On this weeks show, I’m thrilled to have featured the following artists and I hope you’ll check out the show over at http://breakthruradio.com. Stick around, too, because I’ll be guest blogging their site all next week.

So step back, motherbitches, and take notes. Lesson number one: don’t joke with a hungry man. Nahh mean?

Probably Vampires – “A Western Front” (unreleased)

There can never be enough ‘60’s influenced pop music for my ears to love. Probably Vampires can continue to take the best pieces of The Zombies, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others into their mildly-sinister psych-pop meanderings for as long as they want to. If their debut album, DANG!, is any sign of what is to come, I can’t imagine not loving the continued results of waking up at dusk and sleeping at dawn. This 5-piece Chicago outfit remains high on my short list of promising unknowns set to unleash their sweet venom on the world, enticing listeners with a cacophony of stellar rhythms, punchy keyboards, harmonic vocals, and uncharacteristically clever songwriting that generates a blistering level of joy.

Listen To “A Western Front (demo)” by Probably Vampires

http://www.probablyvampires.com/

David Condos – “I Should Be Lost Without You” (from the album Smoking City)

The music of David Condos shows a passionate maturity beyond his years. The songwriting on his debut album, Smoking City, is caught somewhere in the jungle of influence left by Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright, complimentary to both of those but more in a direct line with recently popular songs by Coldplay, Aqualung and Keane. Condos has been blessed by a voice fueled by soul, something so empassioned that one can’t help but be shaken to hear him sing. With production duties helmed by Tom Laune (who has worked with R.E.M., Mat Kearney, and Bruce Springsteen), the end result is something so pure it’s hard to imagine that it all stems from the hard work of one young man who is obviously poised for great things. Something tells me I should expect a growing response to this song, “I Should Be Lost Without You”, to be nothing less than explosive.

Listen To “I Should Be Lost Without You” by David Condos

http://www.davidcondos.com/

LEVY- “King James” (from the forthcoming album Glorious)

LEVY is the painstakingly crafted love child of James Levy, an architect of modern New York City mythology whose mark on the world of pop music is merely beginning to be felt. Their new album, Glorious, will be released later this year by One Little Indian to audiences in the UK while they continue to seek a U.S. release. LEVY’s first album, 2005’s murmur pop masterpiece Rotten Love, continues to be one of my favorite albums. How wonderful, then, that James and co. have exited the recording studio with not merely a single new CD but a double CD highlighting both the songs of LEVY the band and James’s alter-ego, YVEL. Where LEVY’s tightly-knitted jangling pop anthems give you reason to dance away your heartbreak, YVEL mines James’s gift for storytelling via a Leonard Cohen-esque figure full of longing and yearning. This album is one of my most loved and most anticipated releases of 2007.

Listen To “King James” by LEVY

http://designedmemory.com/levy/index.html

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