Today's Swell Tune: Evil Friends

Band: Portugal. The Man.

Album: Evil Friends (expected release 4/6/13)

From: Wasilla, Alaska/ Portland, Oregon, USA

Sound: Dreamy fuck you morphing into apathetic riffs, expertly straddling '93 and '13; rock, grunge, alternative.

Website: portugaltheman.com

Social: facebook, tumblr, twitter

Today's Swell Tune: I Don't Mind

Artist: Ted Zed

From: Somerset, England

Sound: See the attached picture? It sounds like that: alt pop/ rock/ synth/ trance (seriously, there's a lot in here)

Website: tedzedofficial.com

Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube

Justin Vernon Isn't Trying to Make Me Cry, For Once: The Shouting Matches

Bon Iver won't be performing at Coachella, but Justin Vernon will be. This time, the indie frontman and noted passive aggressive Grammy speech-giver  will be backed by a very different group. 

Completely bypassing any timid navel-gazing, bandmates Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier), and Phillip Cook (Megafaun) bash out bluesy, old-school rock, as Vernon gives the autotune a rest to howl in his best Otis Redding. The result is The Shouting Matches, a group that's been around and recording since 2008, but hasn't really put much out there, til now.

And how do they do? Well, Mother When's the Judgement Gonna Come has a raucus, I'm-totally-gonna-get-a-staph-infection-in-this-dive-bar feel to it, while the live I Had a Real Good Lover makes me want to lie on the floor, belting out lyrics in a whisky stupor. 

So it sounds awesome. 

Mouthoil, their first EP is due out sometime this year. Probably.

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

Today's Swell Tune: Weight

• Artist: Mikal Cronin
• Album: MCII (Release date: 7.5.2013)
• From: San Francisco, California, United States
• Sound: A shitty morning on a beautiful day; garage, rock.
• Social: bandcamp, soundcloud, twitter

Monday Morning Cover: Knock on Wood

David Bowie:

The Original:

Eddie Floyd:

Today's Swell Tune: Reset/Restore

• Band: We Were Not the Savages
• EP: We Were Not the Savages
• From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Sound: Everyone uses synth in their rock now, but this one actually uses it for good; rock, synth-punk (is that a thing?)
• Buy it: bandcamp (name your price)
• Facebook: facebook

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

Monday Morning Cover: Let's Do It

Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg:

The Original*:

Cole Porter:

*It's preeeeeetty racist, originally.

Friday's Forgotten Song: Earth, Sky & C.

I Mother Earth

Album: Scenery and Fish

1996

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

Friday's Forgotten Song: God Damn Job

 

God Damn Job* (The Replacements)

The Replacements

Album: Stink

1982

*This one goes out to the 1%.

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

Today's Swell Tune: WTF (Or How I Learned I'd Wasted My Life

The Loves - WTF (Or How I Realised I'd Wasted My Life)

• Band: The Loves (defunct as of this year)
• Album: ...Love You
• From: Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
• Sound: Hunky Dory era Bowie. with a splash of Abbey Road. But cut with Sprite; 60's style pop-rock

Today's Swell Tune: Crystal Sounds

Crystal Sounds by ThirteenSenses

• Band: Thirteen Senses
• Album: Crystal Sounds
• From: Penzance, Cornwall, England
• Sound: This should motivate you to do that epic moment you've been putting off; instrumental pop-rock,
• Website: thirteensenses.com
• Social: facebook, myspace, twitter

Saturday Night Remix: Reptilia

The Strokes -Reptilia

into:

Reptilia (Morning Crash Remix)

bonus remix:

 The Strokes - Reptilia (Paul Tesla Remix)

Today's Swell Tune: Creep Me Out

• Band: Ruby Coast
• Album: Whatever This Is (download it free from their website)
• From: Aurora, Ontario, Canada
• Sound: Like Vampire Weekend has been listening to a lot of The Jam; rock
• Website: rubycoast.bandcamp.com
• Social: facebook, twitter

Today's Swell Tune: Benediction

 

• Artist: Thurston Moore (producer: Beck)
• Album: Demolished Thoughts (out May 24)
• From: Coral Gables, Florida, United States; really though, Sonic Youth
• Sound: Lovely, poignant, and a little like Lou Reed with a violin; rock, chamber pop 
• Website: ecstaticpeace.com/thurston
• Social: facebook