PitchforkMedia's Free MP3 Downloads - Aug '04

[DudeAsInCool]

MP3: The Race: "Safe & Sound"

Hot on the heels of their Rose EP, Chicago's The Race return with the full length If You Can, a beautifully produced piece of work, with production help from Charles Cooper of Telefon Tel Aviv. If You Can, whose songs were whittled down from more than 20 songs that The Race had completed by the end of 2003, showcases singer Craig Klein's gorgeous baritone voice and the stuttering, polyrhythmic beats of drummer Kevin Duneman. If You Can is a lush, dense album with an almost perfectionist attention to detail. The guitars swirl dynamically, programmed beats and syncopated synths dart in and out of the melodies almost imperceptibly like the pulse of a heartbeat, and Klein's voice, rich and distinct, floats untouched above the chaos. The Race's music is rich, dark, and majestic, and bears the watermark of a band that has finally reached its prime. [flameshovel.com]

MP3: Asobi Seksu.: "I'm Happy, But You Don't Like Me"

MP3: Asobi Seksu.: "Sooner"

Asobi Seksu (Japanese for “play sex”) is New York’s best-kept secret, but they won’t stay that way for long. Formed in 2002 by guitarist James Hanna, drummer Keith Hopkin and singer/keyboardist Yuki, Asobi Seksu eschews stylistic bombast and flavor-of-the-month posturing in favor of a sound that is intense, emotive, complex and overwhelmingly beautiful, both ear-shatteringly noisy and quiet as the grand canyon at night. Yuki’s vivid stories of loss and heartbreak, sung in both Japanese and English, soar above overwhelming squalls of deeply textured guitar noise that would make Kevin Shields blush. Comparisons to Lush, Stereolab, Blondie, and My Bloody Valentine may be partially accurate, but they fall short of fully describing the band’s swirling, incomprehensible beauty. "What was once called shoegazer rock — blaring, shimmering, multilayered guitars enfolding confessions of longing and ambiguity — is back in Asobi Seksu, a New York band that wraps its guitars and keyboard around well-made pop melodies and the girlish ache of Yuki's voices" - Jon Pareles, New York Times [friendlyfirerecordings.com]

MP3: Brandtson.: "Escapist"

Cleveland’s Brandtson has released their seventh disc called Send Us A Signal on 6.15.04. The album has a dozen tracks of power-pop melody-laden rock gems. Firing off with the lead track, “Who Are You Now?” Send Us A Signal launches right into the thick of the band’s trademark melodic phrasings, paired with thick guitars and driving drums, not unlike that of the Foo Fighters or Jimmy Eat World. The renewed vigor of Brandtson carries throughout the rest of Send Us A Signal with simplistic, minimal, bass-driven verses and moving, densely-textured guitars, augmented by the immaculately-positioned deleted beat. With Send Us A Signal, Brandtson proves they’re not ready to relinquish their reign anytime soon. [themilitiagroup.com]

MP3: Lovedrug.: "Spiders"

Like many great bands, there is something hauntingly spiritual and honest about Lovedrug. The Ohio-based rock band delivers highbrow sound akin to Spiritualized, Sunny Day Real Estate, or Muse, crossed with the pop sensibility and arena grandeur of Queen. A unique crossbreed of art and accessibility, powerful melodies are driven by smartly crafted lyrics of truth, intrigue, love, death, and damn near everything in between. Only those who have seen the band live can truly understand the growing phenomenon that is Lovedrug. Regardless of how cliché it may sound, Lovedrug live is truly less a show and more an experience. In playing to a variety of audiences (the band has shared the stage w/ Cat Power, Creeper Lagoon, The Killers, Braid, Elliot, Mewithoutyou, The Casket Lottery & Noise Ratchet, to name a few), Lovedrug have won over virtually every audience they’ve met. [themilitiagroup.com]

MP3: New Radiant Storm King.: "Subway Token"

When placing music into one's personal history, bands often appear as nostalgic photographs of the time and place in which they were first experienced. In the early 1990s indie-rock heyday, when a certain vibrancy reverberated throughout a yet un-factioned scene, New Radiant Storm King was the Polaroid. A true, direct portrait of a vivid, energetic bunch of Western Massachusetts college kids who delved directly into their art with a smart-aleck shrug of confidence, determination and abandon. And now that Polaroid is not just a snapshot; it's a blueprint of inspiration. On April 27th, 2004, Contraphonic Music Ltd is incredibly honored and proud to release Leftover Blues 1991-2003, a retrospective rarities release that compiles lost singles, hidden tracks, alternate takes and b-sides from throughout their illustrious and influential career. Featuring liner notes by Matthew Zapruder and David Berman, with mastering by Wharton Tiers, Leftover Blues is a compendium of original thought and action, and a watermark testament that serves as the indie-rock archetype. From the riveting energy of "Quicksand Under Carpet" to the dissonant glory of "Subway Token," these are the sounds and trends they spearheaded and embodied throughout the twelve years showcased on Leftover Blues. New Radiant Storm King are poised to display their never-ending brilliance, leaving an always alive picture of endless awe and musical force. [contraphonic.com]

MP3: Raising the Fawn.: "The North Sea"

The epic title track from Raising The Fawn's recently released album, "The North Sea" highlights the more expansive musical side of the Toronto-based band. Starting off gently with only guitar and vocal, the introduction of bass and drums into the song redirects the song into harder hitting territory before it settles into its melodic instrumental ending. The last portion of the track, "Lost At Sea," features a guest appearance by Do Make Say Think's Charles Spearin on cornets. [sonicunyon.com]

MP3: Saeta.: "Everything"

After years of playing music together in Detroit, Matt Menovcik (guitar, vocals) and Lesli Wood (piano, vocals) moved to Seattle and founded Saeta in 1998. In 1999, Bob Smolenski (cello) joined the band and Saeta began playing live performances in Seattle. Saeta's songs are dramatic, subtle, and intimate odes to the darker sides of human emotion. Their latest album, We Are Waiting All for Hope, was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini and has Saeta's essential acoustic elements of piano, guitar, and cello. Menovcik's dark vocal current stirs a baritone ocean that Wood's voice lights through a broken sky. [saetamusic.com]

MP3: Kevin Tihista.: "Damn the Weather"

Stupendous third album by Chicagoan Kevin Tihista. Kevin has played with Triple Fast Action, Veruca Salt, Menthol, and Guided By Voices' Tobin Sprout, but it's when Kevin is at the helm, in front of the microphone with his guitar and his very own songs, that he shines the brightest. Kevin's first album Don't Breathe A Word was released in 2001 by Atlantic Records' short-lived Division One imprint and was later reissued on Parasol in 2002 along with the follow-up record Judo. Both albums were hailed by critics ("the most romantic record of the year" - Uncut) and met with uniform praise in the US, UK (where Blanco Y Negro and Rough Trade have both released KT's music), and Japan (where Philter Records have issued all three Parasol albums). On Wake Up Captain Kevin once again reunites with producer Ellis Clark (Epicycle, June & The Exit Wounds, Chamber Strings, Nikki Sudden) and delivers his most stirring album to date. Balancing clever insights, extreme wit, and tender frailty into a cinematic - nearly visual - song cycle that mines themes of the paralyzing insecurity and the boundless safety found in love and life. The duality of strength and weakness, sentimentality and sarcasm are presented with honest, intimate realism, a sense of humor, and gorgeous vocals echoing myriad influences. I've heard folks claim that Kevin's classic style reminds them of everyone from Terry Hall and Todd Rundgren to Elliott Smith and Harry Nilsson. The common thread here might simply be Kevin's terrific voice and direct approach. As far as I'm concerned all of these supposed influences are starting to sound more like Kevin than the reverse. The mind is a tricky thing after all. [parasol.com]

MP3: Velvet Crush.: "Want You Now"

A mix of bristling, muscular pop and downtempo, melancholic melodicism, "Stereo Blues" delivers the goods from beginning to end. The band offer a diverse palette of sounds from the pop blast of "Rusted Star" and "Here It Comes" to the hypnotic, guitar heroics and extended groove of "The Connection" to tender heartache of "Fall Awake." This is a song cycle that doesn't lean too heavily on one thing, in preference for providing a little something for everyone. This record comes very highly - urgently, even - recommended for fans of everything between The Knack and A.C. Newman, The Byrds to Matthew Sweet. [parasol.com]

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