Ghost Society - New Music "Introducing"

http://www.myspace.com/ghostsocietyofficialsite

These first two weeks in January I seem to be revisiting artists that released material in 2010 that I missed completely or by on large did. I've already given Effi Briest, Modern Superstitions and SoftSpot a positive write-up and now I'm doing the same with Ghost Society.
Although, I'm not sure if their album has even seen a proper release yet, aside from in Japan, I certainly couldn't see it listen in my usual places to look (Rough Trade / Norman / Amazon) yet the tracks I've heard certainly have perked up my interest for more.
Ghost Society are from Denmark, based in Brooklyn and produce a shimmering, textured sound that fits between dream-pop and shoegaze, with beautiful melodies and swirling guitars they'll soon be massive too.

The songs are written and vocals are shared between Tobias Wilner and Sara Savery. Though, there are no prizes for guessing my favourite moments are when the gorgeous, angelic voice of Sara's takes the lead like on the folk tinged "The Fool".
"Better Days" highlights the above perfectly, see for yourself:



This is a bit good, I'm guessing the live show is something else!

see also;

Sharon Van Etten #3 - Live on NYCTaper

www.sharonvanetten.com/

The amount of amazing material that nyctaper posts is insane, the latest is a very recent concert from Sharon Van Etten. Go and get it now.

Sharon Van Etten's second album 'Epic' made my best albums of 2010 list. This live recording from the Bowery Ballroom sound quality is amazing and highlights her majestic voice and melancholy beautiful songs perfectly.

It's a perfect appertif for the real thing. Sharon plays a gig in Hoxton on Sunday 13th Februray which I'm looking forward to. Tickets can be found: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/104798

After that she will be on tour with The National throughout Europe, so if you are going to one of those gigs, count yourself very lucky.

Here is one of the (many) highlights from 'Epic'.
Sharon Van Etten - Love More

SoftSpot - New Music "Introducing"

http://softspot.bandcamp.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/withlovesoftspot

One of the reasons I find maintaining this blog rewarding and enjoy waffling on throughout my posts is because of discoveries like SoftSpot. I'd returned from my first outing to the gym of the year where Christmas dinners, lethargy and injury had all taken their toll, had the prospect of starting to cook a very un-exotic chicken pasta ahead but firstly I looked through my mail and discovered the video for "Bones" which you can find at the bottom of this post…

SoftSpot is Sarah Kinlaw and Bryan Keller from Brooklyn. I'd not come across them before and a quick search of Google makes it apparent that not many other bloggers have either, if talent does prevail, this should change.

"Bones" is utterly majestic, the combination of Sarah's hauntingly gorgeous vocal with a momentum building textured guitar riff that only increases with the introduction of percussion. The only downside I can find is that it's over far too soon, a song that I've listened to over and over the past couple of days and can imagine how good an extended live version would sound, a few more minutes of blistering guitar and drumming at the end, yeah, that sounds just perfect.

"Half a House" is equally impressive, a wonderful layered sound that builds up to a wave of sonic wonder, its atmospheric build-up puncturing by percussion. It's a sound that seems so carefully crafted yet performed so effortlessly.

"Irregularly Floating" will lead to Beach House comparisons with it's dreamy, relaxed and beautiful sounds, yet the quirky, uniqueness of Sarah's voice makes the sound of Softspot like no band I've heard recently.

The band released their debut nine track mini album 'Ardour' last summer which and you can get for $7.00 from their Bandcamp. Below is a track from it for you to enjoy and the video for "Bones".
This is great, right?


Softspot "Bones" from Jessica Collins on Vimeo.

The Chapman Family #4 - News Galore

More news than you can shake a stick at so I'll start with the excellent news that The Chapman Family have been announced as tour support for most dates on The Joy Formidable tour. They'll play these gigs:

01/02/11 Bournemouth Old Fire Station
02/02/11 Bristol Thekla
03/02/11 Birmingham Academy 2
04/02/11 Manchester Cub Academy
06/02/11 Glasgow King Tuts
07/02/11 Edinburgh Electric Circus
08/02/11 Newcastle Academy 2
09/02/11 Relentless Garage w/Young Knives
11/02/11 Sheffield Plug
12/02/11 Cambridge St. Pauls
13/02/11 Leicester Academy 2

Their next single "Anxiety" comes out digitally on February 28th backed by a non-album track "Remarks". "Anxiety" is a wonderful grim and apocalyptic slab of indie-rock. You can listen / watch the video below:



Then if that wasn't enough The Chapman Family's long awaited debut album 'Burn Your Town' is released on 7th March. You can order it from Play and receive a signed copy.

Tracklisting:
1. A CERTAIN DEGREE
2. ALL FALL
3. ANXIETY
4. THE SOUND OF THE RADIO
5. 1000 LIES
6. SHE DIDN'T KNOW
7. SOMETHING I CAN'T GET OUT
8. KIDS
9. A MILLION DOLLARS
10. VIRGINS

Listen to "All Fall" below:
The Chapman Family - All Fall by morrisday

Holly Miranda #5 - Two New Covers

www.hollymiranda.com/

I'm shocked that this is only my fifth Holly Miranda post, I feel like I go on about her a lot. As well as her own beautifully stunning album 'The Magician's Private Library' Holly is quite fond of doing covers. An EP 'Come To See' has five on it from a wide range of genres covering Lauryn Hill ("Ex-Factor") through to Jeff Buckley ("Lover You Should've Over), if you've not heard them you need to correct that.

We've now a couple more, one which Holly shared for New Year a cover of the Sparklehorse track "Hundreds of Sparrows" which she'd performed live a number of times before and the other, "You and I Undercover" a song I'm not familiar with by Steel Train. Listen to them below:

Holly Miranda - You and I undercover (Steel Train Cover) by holly miranda
Holly Miranda - Hundreds Of Sparrows (Sparklehorse Cover) by holly miranda

You can download "Hundreds of Sparrows" with a quick trip to http://www.themagiciansprivatelibrary.com/

Delicate, beautiful, what an extraordinary talent. I could go on... If you are in Australia, Holly is playing four shows over the next week. I'm hoping a return to the UK shores is pending (soon please).


http://vimeo.com/17071764 from holly miranda on Vimeo.

Niki & The Dove - TLOBF Mother Protect Session

http://www.myspace.com/nikiandthedove

I was pretty certain I'd done a post about Sweden's Niki and the Dove before, but I clearly haven't apart from a brief mention in my alternative new bands of 2010 in response to an NME thread.

The trios first double A-Side 12" "DJ, Ease My Mind" / "Under The Bridge" highlighted their potential with a alluring cocktail of anthemic pop, epic choruses and euro dance (that description makes them sound horrendous music you'll hear in a German techno club - they're not!).

Then came along "Mother Project" which leaned more towards a more experimental, almost Fever Ray sound with some gothic soundscapes, a thunderous beat and even a pan-pipe solo. A musical treat for sure. Make sure you give it a spin if you are not familar with it.

The reason behind this post some two months after every other blog wrote about the band is because TLOBF today posted a rather splendid take of "Mother Protect". Watch below:



Steam the tracks we have so far below: You can by the 12" at Rough Trade.
Niki And The Dove: Streaming tracks by Oohbrilliant