Rapidshare

    The Social Services are a kitschy band from Sweden. I recently came across the first single from their recently released album, It's Nothing Personal, It's National Security, titled The Baltic Sea. This song is about how Sweden is awesome, but how the people suck... Yeah, they are bitching about how sweet it is to be Swedish but they hate how people don't smile at each other. Boo Hoo. But don't get me wrong, this isn't some emo crybaby with an acoustic guitar and a funny accent just complaining about his 15 year old scenesteress girlfriend. This song is a tongue-in-cheek look at Swedish society. It's not terribly deep, but just good fun, well worth a listen.

    I'm not sure what went wrong with this album. It should have been pretty good. When The Faint released The Geeks Were Right a few weeks ago everything seemed to be in order. It sounded like The Faint were picking up pretty much where Wet From Birth left off. But I guess not releasing an album in four years really messes with your sense of what sounds good and what doesn't. Apparently the single was a fluke, or a lie - or both... because it doesn't represent the rest of the album. I've managed to listen to this album five times through. Like any album, some tracks are better than others, but this is by far the worst Faint album yet.

    Since this album was release earlier this summer I've listened through it probably thirty times. I can say that I like all of the songs on the album, a few a better than others of course but there aren't any bad tracks. I'm not sure how to describe the sound of the Dodos since this isn't the kind of music I listen to very much. I guess the closest thing to the Dodos that I can think of, genre wise, would be the Dismemberment Plan.

    The Dodos are lo-fi without having that minimalist garage indie sound. Visiter is definitely worth listening to if you need a break from anything heavy or emo. It's just right...

    I got a copy of Apocalypso a couple of days ago after seeing the music videos for "This Boy's in Love" and "My People." I'd never heard of the Presets before and their videos were kinda... weird, but I dug the music. Their style is a dance-techno mesh with vocals that remind me of Funker Vogt and a bunch of industrial bands. "This Boy's in Love" is my favorite song off of Apocalypso thus far. I like the contrast in the two vocal parts of the song, and course the techno beat.

    More after the break, videos and download links a plenty!

    When Neon Bible first came out I didn't care for it very much. I was a big fan of Arcade Fire's previous album, Funeral, and I really hated the title track off this new album. Said track, Neon Bible, is still not a very good song in my opinion. I enjoy the more boisterous Arcade Fire style that you get on songs like Rebellion (Lies) and Neighborhood #2 (Laika). Keep the Car Running has become my favorite track on the Neon Bible album for the same reason I enjoyed the Rebellion and Neighborhood #2, it's got that great upbeat sing along feel to it. Video and Rapidshare download links can be found after the break.

    About twenty-four hours ago Sigur Rós posted their new album, in it's entirety, online for everyone to stream. After listening to it pretty much nonstop at work yesterday and today, I'm willing to say it's pretty good. I'm not sure where it ranks in the grand scheme of Sigur Rós albums yet, but it's good... real good. My favorite track so far has to be inní mér syngur vitleysingur, the second track. Links to download the album can be found after the break.

    I came across Vampire Weekend a number of months ago. I thought the songs off of their first album were pretty good. They're all pretty up beat and light hearted but with the occasional obscure historic reference thrown in, like so much The Decemberists. Vampire Weekend's style is hard to describe, I guess I'd say it's a harmless blue-blooded-campy punk take on New England beach music, if that makes any sense... Listen to a few songs and you'll know what I mean. After seeing a few videos of these guys it made perfect sense, they all look like the types of East Coast douche bags that wear sweaters and collared shirts in the summer time, and dockers, always with the dockers. These guys look like they walked right off the pages of a yacht catalog, or a brochure for tours at an apple orchards, you know - one of those places white folks will go to and watch the leaves change color. Anyway, they make enjoyable songs. My favorite would have to be 'The Kids Don't Stand a Chance' which I've linked to below. It's worth a listen.

    From Ólafur Arnalds' debut solo album, the song '3055' is by far the best on the album and definitely worth a listen. The music is labeled as "Neo Classical" mostly because of the use of strings and piano throughout the album. There is even a little synth, hence the 'neo.' The songs on Eulogy for Evolution are simple and light while staying whimsy-free. 3055 (all of the songs on this album are four digit numbers, I have no idea why...) starts off slow and builds to a sweeping, but brief, crescendo after four minutes. This is one of the few tracks on the album where you'll hear drums.