Today's Swell Tune: Dancing with the Tornado

• Band: The Veils
• Album: Time Stays, We Go 
• From: London, England
• Sound: A precision firestorm tearing through a spaghetti western; indie rock. 
• Website: theveils.com
• Social: facebook, twitter
• Free Downlad: here

Monday Morning Cover: VCR

The Antlers

The Original

The xx

Saturday Night Remix: Winter Is All Over You

into:

Today's Swell Tune: Stand All Night

• Artist: Jil Is Lucky
• Album: In the Tiger's Bed
• From: Paris, France
• Sound: Remember when he did gypsy better than the gypsies do it? This is the 80's better than the 80's did it; alternative pop-rock, indie.
• Website: jilislucky.com
• Video: Here.
• Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube
• Buy: itunes

Today's Swell Tune: Latter Days

• Band: French Films
• Album: White Orchid (Release date: 5.4.2013)
• From: Espoo/Järvenpää, Finland
• Sound: I described them years ago as "Joy Division as cast by John Hughes". I stand by that; post-punk.
• Social: facebook, soundcloud, twitter, vimeo, YouTube

Today's Swell Tune: Cuckoo

 

• Artist: Rose and the Howling North
• Album: Cuckoo
• From: Leeds, England
• Sound: Nancy Sinatra scoring Tarantino credits.
• Website: Cuckoo Records
• Social: twitter, myspace

Today's Swell Tune: Better Things

• Band: Young Rival
• Album: Stay Young
• From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
• Sound: The Animals. But louder. And Johnny Cash is in the room, for some (awesome) reason.
• Website: http://www.youngrival.com/
• Facebook: facebook

Today's Swell Tune: Mad Dog

Black Lips - Mad Dog

• Band: Black Lips
• Album: Arabia Mountain
• From: Atlanta Georgia, United Satates
  
• Sound: Is there such a thing as "mod punk?" ; lo-fi garage punk
• Website: black-lips.com/
• Social: facebook, twitter, blogspot

Saturday Night Remix: Mirrorage

Glasser- Mirrorage 

into:

Glasser - Mirrorage (SUUNS Remix) 

Today's Swell Tune: Fire!

Baby Baby - Fire!

• Band: Baby Baby
• Album: Money
• From: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
• Sound: Like they put on a Hell of a live show. And like Violent Femmes might have a case against that opening riff... ; They brand themselves "Fun Rock," and I'm gonna ahead and brand an "indie" into that ass, too.
• Social: facebook twitter
• Download free:  here

Today's Swell Tune: Baby Missiles

• Band: The War On Drugs
• Album: Slave Ambient
• From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• Sound: The best Bruce Springsteen song not written by Bruce Springsteen. Or Win Butler. ; indie rock.
• Website: thewarondrugs.net/
• Social: twitter

Today's Swell Tune: Act on Impulse

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Act On Impulse

   

• Band: We Were Promised Jetpacks
• Album: In the Pit of the Stomach
• From: Edinburgh, Scotland
• Sound: Sometimes a song just seems to be about you...your thoughts...how and what you've been living... ...Screw you guys--it's my blog; indie rock, post punk
• Website: wewerepromisedjetpacks.co.uk
• Social:  facebook, myspace

Today's Swell Tune: Up Past the Nursery

Suuns - Up Past The Nursery

• Band: SUUNS
• Album: Zeroes QC
• From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Sound: A barely contained nervous breakdown; experimental indie rock
• Social: facebook, myspace, tumblr, twitter
• Download Free: from Bandcamp

I'm Sorry I Was Gone; Allow Me to Give You a Boner

There are a multitude of reasons that someone might take a break from writing their amateur, low-to-medium traffic music blog. Some are good, some less so, but none of them are laziness.


Initially, mine was a few of life's shittiest scenarios occurring in very rapid succession. Sort of a one-two(-three) combination that k.o.'d me, if only temporarily. For at least a little while it left me utterly uninspired to pay attention to anything as simple and pleasant as an amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. These things do happen.


Soon afterward, it became a more typical case of everything that is adult in life consuming my waking hours and using up the best of my mental faculties.  For at least a little while it left me utterly unable to donate any attention to something as recreational and unpaid as an amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. These things happen, too.


Finally, I found myself caught up in some folly with no function beyond its bizarre culmination in a lost weekend in Montreal. But, for at least a little while, it did lure my attention from anything as personal and enjoyable as an amateur low-to-medium-traffic music blog. For the record, it's only this last one I'm sorry for.


These last three weeks, however, my distractions have been more of the "putting-food*-in-my-stomach-and-a-roof-over-my-head" variety.  You see, as an indirect result of all of the above, and in my typical "because-I-suddenly-thought-of-it" fashion, I've moved from Moscow to Toronto and have had to acclimatize myself.  The natives are very friendly and rarely bite, and my new flat is situated amid lots of good venues in the centre of Canada's largest city. And this should be nothing but beneficial to any amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. You can expect more about live shows, better access to musicians, and photos not culled from flickr. Other than that, I hope to get everything back to normal around here. 


All the e-mails and messages regarding my absence were greatly appreciated. Thanks for sticking around. I owe you one.  


And in that vein, I think you should watch Slow from Twin Shadow. It's not new in the slightest, but I saw him live a couple weeks ago and he had so much raw charisma that pretty much everyone in the joint had a hard on. At least musically speaking. So this should make things up, a bit:

*alcohol and other ingestible substances of questionable moral integrity.

Monday Morning Cover: Zebra

Yellow Ostrich:

Yellow Ostrich - Zebra (Beach House) by pandapop

The Original:

Beach House:

Beach House - Zebra (UK Radio Edit) by subpop

Saturday Night Remix: Take It Easy

Surfer Blood - Take It Easy

into:

Surfer Blood - Take It Easy (RAC Maury Mix) by RAC

If You Wanna Watch This, It's Alright, It's Alright...Oh God I Hate Myself

The Vaccines' new video for If You Wanna won't exactly blow you away creatively speaking, what with its straightforward shots of the band in front of bright backdrops.  But there's a kind of charm and fun in its simplicity, much like the song itself. 


Anyway it is special in that, while we've all heard that rough demo that turned so many people on last year, this is the spiffy new album-ready version. Ooh. Shiny. 


The song is great, either way, and I'm easily amused by loud noises and bright colours. So this is a win.

Today's Swell Tune: Old Flames

Jeremy Lee Given - Old Flames by Jeremy Lee Given

• Artist: Jeremy Lee Given
• Album: Old Flames (available free on bandcamp)
• From: Knoxville, Tennessee United States
• Sound: A lo-fi Band of Horses that doesn't annoy me; indie pop/rock
• Website: http://jeremyleegiven.tumblr.com/
• Social: facebook

Monday Morning Cover: Moving Right Along

Garden on a Trampoline

Moving Right Along (G.O.A.T.) by Mr. Shuffleupagus

The Original:

The Muppets

Today's Swell Tune: Dust It Off

The Do - Dust It Off by im'aprovidergirl

• Band: The Dø
• Album: Dust It Off (EP); Both Ways Open Jaws (out March 7)
• From: Helsinki, Finland; Paris, France
• Sound: Goosebumpy; indie pop
• Website: http://thedo.info/
• Social: facebook; myspace
• Download Free: here