Friday's Forgotten Song: A Song From Under the Floorboards

Magazine

Album: The Correct Use of Soap
1980

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: 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

Friday's Forgotten Song: Evidently Chickentown

Artist: John Cooper Clarke

Album: Snap, Crackle, and Bop

1980

Friday's Forgotten Song: Bunkers

Bunkers (The Vapors) by Mr. Shuffleupagus

The Vapors

Album: New Clear Days*

1980

*Do not be thrown by the fact that this 
is the "Turning Japanese" album .

It is killer.

Today's Swell Tune: Bloom

Bloom - The Veils by drownedinsound

• Band: The Veils
• Album: Troubles of the Brain  (EP)
• From: New Zealand via London, England
• Sound: A Joy Division LP at 45rpm; indie, post-punk
• Website: http://www.theveils.com/
• Contact: facebook

Today's Swell Tune: Surfacing

Chapel Club - Surfacing by wilcow

• Band: Chapel Club
• Album:  Palace
• From: London, England
• Sound: Alternate universe band "Mamas, Papas, and the Bunnymen"; post-punk, shoegaze
• Website: http://www.chapelclub.com
• Contact: facebook; myspace; twitter

Friday's Forgotten Song: Moscow Nights

The Feelies - Moscow Nights by Clem Ollivier

The Feelies

Album: Crazy Rhythms

Year: 1980

Today's Swell Tune: YVR

Hot Hot Heat-YVR by ellebirdie

• Band: Hot Hot Heat
• Album: Future Breeds
• From: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• Sound: The way I want every night out to feel: post-punk, rock
• Website: http://www.hothotheat.com/

Friday's Forgotten Song: The Ruling Class

The Ruling Class (The Monochrome Set) by MrShuffleupagus

(1982)

Today's Swell Tune: In a Yorkshire Call Centre I Knelt Down and Wept

The Wind-Up Birds - In a Yorkshire Call Centre I Knelt Down and Wept by Sturdy Records

• Band: The Wind-Up Birds
• Album: Courage for Tomorrow Will Be Worse (EP)(Sturdy Records)
• From: Leeds, England, United Kingdom
• Sound: "We're from northern fucking England, alright?"; indie post-punk/rock
• Website: http://www.myspace.com/thewindupbirds

First my Mobile Phone, Now my iPod: The Finns Won't Rest Until They Control All the Electronics

Last Sunday, my "Swell Tune" of the day was French Films' Golden Sea.  It's boss, and to my knowledge the first anything from Finland I have ever featured.


Then yesterday, I was contacted by Big Wave Riders, another Finnish band.  I wasn't sure if it was coincidence or run of the mill networking, but I couldn't ignore it--I was suddenly very interested in "that land the phones come from."


Well there must be something in the water in Finland. Something post-punk and awesome. Because, like their fellow countrymen, Big Wave Riders have a dark infectious sound that will test the stamina of your back button.  If I pegged French Films as "Joy Division-via-John Hughes", then Big Wave Riders might be "Duran Duran-via-David Fincher".  But even with different genes, it's clear they're still from the same neighbourhood. It's post-punk/new wave aesthetic, but with much less distortion than similar projects out of the west.


So what I need to know is if this is typical for Finland right now--anyone on the inside who can explain the scene, please contact me. St Petersburg-Helsinki is a short train ride and I think I've found somewhere to go for spring holidays.


(You can download both these tracks for free from their Soundcloud page.)

Big Wave Riders - Republic of the average by Big Wave Riders

Big Wave Riders - Big Sound by Big Wave Riders

Today's Swell Tune: Golden Sea

• Band: French Films
• Album: Golden Sea (EP)
• From: Helsinki, Finland
• Sound: Joy Division as cast by John Hughes; post-punk
• Website :http://www.myspace.com/frenchfilmsofficial

Friday's Forgotten Song: Peaches

Peaches (The Stranglers) (1977) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

If You Like: Beach House, Blonde Redhead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If You Like:

-Beach House
-Blonde Redhead
-Portishead

-Post-punk/New wave 

-Radiohead circa In Rainbows

-The Yeah Yeah Yeahs



Try:

LoveLikeFire



Though SanFrancisco-based, LoveLikeFire has a definite retro-British feel to them, with various bloggers and reviewers comparing them to everything from The Cure (kinda), to Siouxie and the Banshees (getting there), to Echo and the Bunnymen circa Porcupine (never would have thought of that one but bingo).

With rolling percussion, shimmery guitar reverb and Ann Yu's ethereal, Beth Gibbons-esque vocals, this band's dreamy-arty-post-punk revivalist sound is dead on trend, if not just ahead of the mainstream curve.

So the only question is: how is this not more popular?


From the just-released Dust:

In My Room (LoveLikeFire) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

Falling Asleep (LoveLikeFire) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

And from 2009's Tear Ourselves Away: