PREFAB SPROUT 'STEVE McQUEEN (EXPANDED)'

"Steve McQueen is more than a pleasant mood. McAloon’s songs are mostly excellent. Along with lead single “When Loves Breaks Down”, the rockabilly-infused opener “Faron Young” is a bouncy, catchy, and complexly arranged number that could almost be mistaken for a cut off Meat Is Murder; “Hallelujah” references George Gershwin in its lyrics and 1970s soul balladry in its breezy sway; and late album beauty “Desire As” is a weary post-breakup wonder ("I’ve got six things on my mind / You’re no longer one of them").

As a testament to the strength of the songwriting on Steve McQueen, this remastered Legacy Edition comes with a bonus disc of solo acoustic versions of most of the album’s tracks, which McAloon recorded in 2006 specifically for the release. With only a six-string and his own voice, Paddy offers lovely interpretations of his two-decades-old songs. He opts not to redo “Horsin’ Around” and “Blueberry Pies”, and this pair of omissions emphasizes the couple of tracks on the original that drag the album down from perfection to mere excellence. Fortunately, the record’s rare low points are subtle miscues and won’t get in your way of enjoying Prefab Sprout’s 1985 classic." Pop Matters

• CD 1:
• Faron Young
• Bonny
• Appetite
• When Love Breaks Down
• Goodbye Lucille #1
• Hallelujah
• Moving The River
• Horsin' Around
• Desire As
• Blueberry Pies
• When The Angels

• CD 2:
• Appetite
• Bonny
• Desire As
• When Love Breaks Down
• Goodbye Lucille #1
• Moving The River
• Faron Young
• When The Angels

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TRENTEMOLLER 'THE POLAR MIX'

CD1
01. Trentemøller - Small Piano Piece
02. Khan - Fantomes
03. Trentemøller - The Very Last Resort
04. Trentemøller - Miss You
05. Lhasa De Sela - De Carla A Pered
06. Murcof - Una
07. Trentemøller - Snowflake
08. The Crystalites - Concentration (Version 3)
09. Trentemøller - Evil Dub
10. The Specials - Ghost Town
11. Chris Isaak - Wicked Games (Trentemøller’s Remix)
12. Trentemøller - Nightwalker

CD2
01. Trentemøller feat. Ann Trolle - Moan
02. The Doors - Break On Through (Dark Ride Dub Mix)
03. Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Justice Remix)
04. Le Tigre - Nanny Nanny Boo Boo (Junior Senior Remix)
05. James White & The Blacks - Contort Yourself
06. Revl9n - Someone Like You
07. Thomas Schumacher - High On You
08. Moby - Go! (Trentemøller Remix)
09. The Knife - Silent Shout (Trente Short Edit)
10. Jokke - Feelin’ Good (Trentemøller Remix)
11. Isolée - Beau Mot Plage (Freeform Five Remix Re-Edit)
12. Trentemøller - Always Something Better
13. The Knife - We Share Our Mother’s Health (Trentemøller Remix)

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RAISING THE FAWN 'SLEIGHT OF HAND'

1. River Of Gold
2. ROMA/AMOR
3. Two Wives
4. Focusfocusfocus
5. You Are The Enemy
6. Cypress Fields
7. The Cliffdivers
8. Palace Gates
9. A Lion In Winter

"What's darkest here is best-- engrossing, imaginative, dramatic, and yet seldom overdone. The songs leave a strange imprint, being the kind of addictive pieces that one returns to, simply to try to nail the melodies in the mind's ear. The hazily recalled atmosphere leads you there and the intricacies of it keep you." Pitchfork

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ADAM & THE ANTS 'DIRK WEARS WHITE SOX'

1. "Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2)" – 6.51
2. "Digital Tenderness" – 3.03
3. "Nine Plan Failed" – 5.18
4. "Day I Met God" – 2.58
5. "Tabletalk" – 5.34
6. "Cleopatra" – 3.15
7. "Catholic Day" – 3.08
8. "Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)" – 3.13
9. "Animals And Men" – 3.20
10. "Family Of Noise" – 2.36
11. "The Idea" – 3.26
12. "Zerøx" – 3.48"
13. "Whip In My Valise" – 4.00
14. "Kick!" – 1.36
15. "Physical" – 3.59
16. "Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2) (Hughes Mix)" – 6.36
17. "Friends" – 2.40
18. "Cartrouble (Single Version)" – 3.24
19. "Kick! (Single Version)" – 2.06

There are lots of people I'm sure who think of Adam Ant then 'Prince Charming', 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier', 'Stand And Deliver' etc. How many know that THIS was the first (and best) Ants Album? This was recorded by the original line-up before that bastard Malcolm McLaren stole the drummer, guitarist and bass player to form Bow Wow Wow. I first bought this as a 10-year-old lad and still have that original vinyl copy - I loved it then and still love it now. The remastered CD has such crisp, tight sound - sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday.

"The original Ants lineup released only one LP, Dirk Wears White Sox for Do It in 1979. The album finds a young Adam Ant exploring the sometimes-awkward fusion of punk, glam, and minimalist post-punk with bizarre images and disturbing tales of alienation, sex, and brutality." Second Spin

"People tend to overlook ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’ in the context of Adam Ant’s career as it was before the years of success, and the chart-topping collaborations with Marco Pirroni that turned him into a proper star. It was before the teenage girls (and boys) were squealing and wetting their knickers over the dandy highwayman; before the make-up stripes and the Red Indian obsession; before the military jackets and the shoelace skull giveaways with Look-In; before Diana Dors, sow-on patches and appearances on Swap Shop. That’s what most people think of when they think of Adam Ant or maybe even ‘Save the Gorilla’ and his subsequent struggles with mental illness. It used to massively piss me and my brother off that during the height of Britpop, when Damon Albarn was asked about his influences he’d reel off the cool ones – XTC, Wire etc – but never ever give Adam Ant any credit. If you listen to ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’ (especially ‘Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)’, with it’s oh so English lyrical references like the suit “bought from Marks”, and twirly riffing), you’ll be left in no doubt that Damon (and Graham) had definitely been listening too." The White Noise Revisited

"...the spareness of the production, its musical minimalism and its lyrical perversity - the latter laden with references to Catholicism, sex and sadomasochism which would have flown right over my head as a callow youth. Having said that, to this day, I'm still not entirely sure what the song 'Never Trust a Man (With Egg On His Face)' is all about. But what I do know is that, with its choppy, scratchy guitars and syncopated — almost danceable — rhythms, Dirk Wears White Sox sounds remarkably contemporary in a musical universe inhabited by such young art punk pretenders as Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat and the Kaiser Chiefs." Nude Magazine

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BLOCKHEAD 'UNCLE TONY'S COLORING BOOK'

01. Coloring Book
02. The Strain
03. Grape Nuts and Chalk Sauce
04. Duke of Hazzard
05. Squirmy Worm
06. Put Down Your Dream Journal and Dance
07. The Hucklebuck Slice
08. Not So OK Corral
09. Do the Tron
10. Get Your Regal On
11. Cheer Up, You’re Not Dead Yet
12. Trailer Love
13. NYC Bounce

"Part of the magic of this album is the guitar, interestingly. The guitar flourishes are a welcome addition to an album that often feels like there's live instrumentation happening. One of the best examples of this comes early with the Japacid solo on "Dukes of Hazzard" that would make Uganda or Les Rallizes Denudes proud. That very sharp guitar sound doesn't dominate by any means, but it adds a live vibe that would otherwise be lacking. Scratching is another thing that is thankfully lacking: Though "Coloring Book" opens up with a scratch and they dot the landscape elsewhere on the album, it never feels like Blockhead is trying to show off how he can work a turntable. Instead, he lets the perfectly competent music do that for him. His disparate influences work wonders and that tinge of turntablism is just one more ingredient to throw in the pot." Audiversity

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CASS McCOMBS 'DROPPING THE WRIT'

01 Lionkiller
02 Pregnant Pause
03 That's That
04 Petrified Forest
05 Morning Shadows
06 Deseret
07 Crick in My Neck
08 Full Moon or Infinity
09 Windfall
10 Wheel of Fortune

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PREFUSE 73 'PREPARATIONS'

01 From the East Intro
02 Beaten Thursday
03 Aborted Hugs
04 The Class of 73 Bells [ft. School of Seven Bells]
05 Girlfriend Boyfriend
06 Smoking Red [ft. John Stanier]
07 Prog Version Slowly Crushed
08 Noreaster Cheer
09 Let It Ring
10 17 Seconds Interlude [ft. Tobias Lilja]
11 I Knew You Were Gonna Go
12 Pomade Suite Version One
13 Spaced + Dissonant
14 Preparation Outro Version

Apparently, this album will also come with a second disc called 'Ensembles', hopefully we'll get hold of that soon too. In the meantime, enjoy.

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THE GOOD LIFE 'HELP WANTED NIGHTS'

1. On the Picket Fence
2. A Little Bit More
3. Heartbroke
4. Your Share of Men
5. You Don’t Feel Like Home to Me
6. Keely Aimee
7. Playing Dumb
8. Some Tragedy
9. So Let Go
10. Rest Your Head

"The songs on Help Wanted Nights were written to take place in the same small-town bar, and were initially meant as the soundtrack to a screenplay that lead-singer Tim Kasher started writing in 2006 (he’s since completed it). Unlike Album of the Year’s start-to-finish narratives, these songs seemed to describe moments of raw emotion more than chronicle a linear tale.

This isn’t to say that the songs on Help Wanted Nights are not expansive; quite the contrary. Some songs touch on a dark version of Americana, as seen on the grand chords of "You Don’t Feel like Home to Me" and the church organ hum of "Rest Your Head." Others are softer like "So Let Go," which delivers its late-night laments via hushed vocals, moonlit, reverb-driven guitars and washed out cymbals. “Heartbroke” dissects a break-up with a heavy dose of sarcasm, while “Keely Aimee” is the best song Fleetwood Mac never wrote."

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LINDSAY ANDERSON 'IF'

01 sterope
02 two steps
03 red rocks
04 sweetnes & light
05 secret
06 if
07 fear
08 the sea & the storm
09 here & now
10 give you away

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THE FALL 'PALACE OF SWORDS REVERSED'

01 prole art threat
02 how I wrote elastic man
03 totally wired
04 pay your rates
05 putta block
06 an older lover
07 fit and working again
08 marquis cha-cha
09 the man whose head expanded
10 neighbourhood of infinity (live)
11 kicker conspiracy
12 wings
13 city hobgoblins
14 leave the capitol

"By far the best place to begin with the Fall, Palace Of Swords Reversed is a collection of tracks from the period--1980 to 1983--commonly regarded as their most wildly original and (artistically) successful. The emphasis is on the less wilful, more immediate and direct stuff: singles such as "Totally Wired" and "How I Wrote Elastic Man", relentless, niggling riffs and a singular, literate vision. It was once remarked that arguing with Lenin was like "being hit round the head with a shovel". Palace Of Swords Reversed creates the same effect, and can be returned to endlessly, both for its plain brilliance and for its ability to whack you into shape, infect you for the better with its brusque, diseased intelligence."

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EMMA POLLOCK 'WATCH THE FIREWORKS'

Hopefully this may have sorted out the mixed up track number/titles thing.

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FILM SCHOOL 'HIDEOUT'

01 dear me
02 lectric
03 meanmedian mode
04 sick hipster nursed by suicide girl
05 must try easier
06 two kinds
07 capitalized i
08 go down together
09 compare
10 florida
11 buzzard scout
12 plots and plans
13 what I meant to say

"A few days ago though I got a chance to get an advance copy of Film School’s third album Hideout. I was quite eager to hear what all the buzz was about so I decided to bump this album up my scheduled playlist for the week and started listening to it. First impressions? I was blown away by how tight Film School’s sound is.

The band has mastered a dark pop sensibility that reminds of you of all the best qualities of shoegaze, new wave and indie pop. the darker texture of the songs actually help distinguish it from the day-glo happiness that some bands seem to revel in. I am particularly reminded of 80’s band Darkside who have also mastered the swirling guitars and dreamy production values that Film School so adeptly use. I particularly love the instrumental flourishes that the band try to incorporate into every song, most notably in Two Kinds. The cello-like synth backdrop paints a more melancholic atmosphere but at the same time gives it an ethereal beauty. Special mention goes to Compare, the part where the guitars first come in gives me goosebumps every time and this very jaded music fan seldom experiences that. So props to them." IndieMusicChatter

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SOLE & THE SKYRIDER BAND 'S/T (ANTICON)'

1.A Sad Day For Investors

2.Ghost Assassinating Other Ghosts

3.Nothing Is Free

4.The Bridges, Let Us Down

5.A Hundred Light Years And Running
6.The Shipwrecker

7.Sound Of Head On Concrete

8.Magnum

9.The Bones Of My Pets

10.In Paradise

11.One Egg Short Of The Omelette

12.On Cavalry

13.Stupid Things Implode On Themselves

"Though Sole’s last album, Live From Rome, came out only two and a half years ago (in early 2005), and Sole has been busy in the meantime, recently releasing a solo instrumental LP, under the moniker mansbestfriend, and twice touring the U.S. and Europe, he nonetheless refers to the self-titled Sole & Skyrider record as a “comeback.” It’s a curious term; what is a comeback exactly? Simply a return with a vengeance?

In some ways, it is a record of return—a return to rhyming, for one, particularly the complicated rhyme schemes that marked Sole’s early work, a return driven by his seemingly, but not actually, discordant love of both Lord Byron and Lil’ Wayne. Sole and The Skyrider Band also represents a return to the musical consistency and coherence that made the Alias-produced Selling Live Water a critical triumph." Anticon

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MONEYBROTHER 'MOUNT PLEASURE'

1.	Guess Who's Gonna Get Some Tonight
2.	Down At The R
3.	It Will Not Happen Here
4.	It Might Aswell Be Now
5.	Any Other Heart
6.	Just Another Summer
7.	It Is Time For Falling Apart
8.	Will There Be Music?
9.	No Damn, I Don't Love You
10.	I Know It Ain't Right

"Musically, the influence of Anders’ recent favourites like Westcoast rock legends Jackson Browne and Randy Newman can be felt throughout the ten new songs on “Mount Pleasure”, which Moneybrother himself calls a “proper rock’n’roll album”. “On the last album there was one theme: it was about love and loss. It was a very dark and slow album, this time it’s more influenced by a period in my live that was filled with partying and hanging out with friends”, he explains." Burning Heart Records

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VARIOUS ARTISTS 'HALLAM FOE O.S.T.' (DOMINO)

1. Blue Boy - Orange Juice

2. Here On My Own - U.N.P.O.C.

3. The Someone Else - King Creosote

4. Broken Bones - Sons And Daughters

5. Double Shadow - Junior Boys

6. If You Could Read Your Mind - Clinic

7. Battle At The Gates Of Dub - Future Pilot AKA

8. Lines Low To Frozen Ground - Hood

9. Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow - Franz Ferdinand

10. Tricycle - Psapp

11. Surf Song - James Yorkston And The Athletes

12. Also In White - Bill Wells Trio

13. Salvese Quien Pueda - Juana Molina

14. They Nicknamed Me Evil - Cinema

15. I Hope That You Get What You Want - Woodbine

16. Ocean Song - Movietone

"David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe is already being billed as the British film of the summer and while I haven’t even seen the trailer it’s already embedded in my consciousness. Why? Well, I’m assuming it’s either the high profile ad campaign or Domino’s in house PR department prodding me about the film’s soundtrack, which made is up exclusively of their artists.
As any Wes Anderson fan will know, there’s something truly thrilling about hearing a cracking song at exactly the right point in a great film. Hallam Foe certainly has the songs but will it be a great film? Ask me next month."

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IN GOWAN RING 'TIME IS A SPIRAL'

01 beat of the moon
02 on the straglin' way
03 morning's waking dream
04 the seer and the seen
05 cupped hands spell
06 dandelion wine

"On a brand new Clear Spot owned label, the first release in an unbelievable series of 10”es, featuring some of the most legendary sessions recorded by Berry Kamer for the internationally highly rated VPRO radio show ‘Dwars’. In Gowan Ring visited the VPRO studios in June, 2003 and the result was this otherworldly collection of folk songs, with gorgeous medieval elements, friendly pastoral atmospheres and the vibe of the late psychedelic era. A breathtaking first title of what’s bound to become a historic series of vinyl releases."

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EUROS CHILDS 'THE MIRACLE INN'

01 Over You
02 Horse Riding
03 Ali Day
04 Think I'll Run Away
05 Outside My Window
06 Hard Times Wondering
07 The Miracle Inn
08 Go Back Soon

"The Miracle Inn is the follow-up to Childs' all-singing, all-dancing Welsh solo debut, Chops, and its follow-up, Bore Da, and on this third LP at last non-Welsh speaking fans are given a rare treat with a fully English sung record so we can finally understand the lyrics - not that that has ever seemed to matter with any of Childs' band incarnations. It's that wistful, eccentric Welsh purr that our ears are here for.

Album opener, “Over You” conjures up irresistible 60s Beach Boys organ, and harmonies to melt ice caps as Euros sings; 'I see diamonds in the trees/ and sunshine for you and me'. First single, “Horse Riding” has the potential to become as anthemic a summer tune as Supergrass' “Alright”, with all it's thrashing piano and sing-a-long 'ooh yeah' chorus irresistibility. But we are left with crushed hearts as the girl runs away, ‘with a tailor.' There's a cover of 60s band, The Turtles on “Think I'll Runaway” and the epic title track which extols Childs' beguiling voice through a folk-inflected sense of old, which has poetic reference points in ELO's “Mr Blue Sky”.

A timeless innocence runs through the soul of this record. Full of tales of bittersweet, bruised romance, told with a playfulness that veers from the melancholic and the mainstream, you are left filled with a hope-filled balloon of daydreams."

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OVER THE RHINE 'THE TRUMPET CHILD'

1. I Don't Wanna Waste Your Time
2. Trouble
3. I'm On A Roll
4. Nothing Is Innocent
5. The Trumpet Child
6. Entertaining Thoughts
7. Who'm I Kiddin' But Me
8. Let's Spend the Day In Bed
9. Desperate for Love
10. Don't Wait for Tom
11. If a Song Could Be President

"Every once awhile an album can conjure up a film in your mind's eye. Over The Rhine, a duo from Ohio have a new album called The Trumpet Child out in August and it's the soundtrack for movie the Coen Brothers should start shooting right now. Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler kick off with a thirties brass section, declaring that "I don't waste your time with music you don't need".

Wonderfully arranged the songs are linked together like a songbook dreamed up by a songwriters team with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Randy Newman at the forefront. If you need a break from all the hoopla, pour you self a stiff drink and put on The Trumpet Child. You will be transported to a Grand Cafe with the best live entertainment you have heard in a long, long time."

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THE LICKETS 'JOURNEY IN CALDECOTT'

01 Crowd of Pimps in the Rain
02 Tears Into Leaves
03 Jero
04 Children's Magical Death
05 Costa del Concrete
06 Rabbit Moon
07 Honey to Ashes
08 Pollen
09 Five Days Without a Name
10 It's All at the Co-op Now
11 Smoking Hippie
12 Rama 4 Road
13 Eye of Horus Computer Repair Shop
14 Serial East
15 The Bee Keeper

"Elusive Texas duo The Lickets are Mitch Greer and Rachel Smith. I believe this is their 4th release. Very trippy and eclectic blend of psychedelic and orchestrated folk/rock arrangements with elements of jazz, electronic and international music. Guitar, flute, oboe, violin, drums, sitar!, harp and other built instruments not credited. Clever song titles, nice artwork. 15 tracks running from a little over one minute to almost seven and a half minutes long. Some are instrumental, contemplative and peaceful, while others are a bit more lively and some even a bit funky."

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MOTHER & THE ADDICTS 'SCIENCE FICTION ILLUSTRATED'

01 all in the mind
02 watch the lines
03 so tough
04 roll me on over
05 going native
06 what were the reasons
07 are others
08 yeah next
09 attraction
10 carthage
11 the wild

"Mother And The Addicts are a cussedly independent bunch: by boldly sticking to their guns and appealing to their own musical sensibilities first, they’ve succeeded in making an album that is both effortlessly appealing and invigoratingly fresh. An emphatic lesson in how to take musical influences and create something vital, “Science Fiction Illustrated” barrels across decades of dance floors without ever losing sight of the here and now. Mother And The Addicts deal in delicious eccentricity and it’s their joyful lack of convention that should be lauded in a time of threadbare radio-fodder – just don’t confuse it with a lack of substance…" Chemikal Underground

"Fans of Franz Ferdinand and Pulp, meet your dream narcotic” MOJO 4/5

“This album could have been made in 1978, 1986 or 1992, but it sounds irrevocably and marvellously modern.” SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY (Release Of The Week) 4/5

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EMMA POLLOCK 'ADRENALINE SINGLE'

01 adrenaline
02 glorious day

Emma Pollock was a founder member of The Delgados, one of the most interesting and influential bands to emerge from the mid-90s Glasgow music scene. Waiting impatiently for her debut album ‘Watch The Fireworks’ on 17th September.

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FOREIGN BORN 'ON THE WING NOW'

01 union hall
02 into your dream
03 trial wall
04 it wasn't said to ask
05 letter of inclusion
06 nights tall
07 don't take back your time
08 holy splinter
09 keep it all inside
10 in the shape
11 never wrong

"Grand entrances don't get much better than "Union Hall," the opening track from Foreign Born's debut, On the Wing Now. Here's what I mean: The drum roll that ushers in the song quickly bleeds into monastery-style chanting, with big, echoed handclaps for percussion -- going double-time every couple of measures and purposely throwing off lead singer Matt Popieluch's vocals -- with the ringing brightness of what is possibly a mandolin filling the empty spaces. Then, at about the halfway mark, the guitars crank in for the chorus-y breakdown, multiplying and crowding the track as Poplieluch's words, now desperate and buried, resonate louder than ever.

That's the San Francisco-and-L.A.-based band at its most theatrical. But emotions run high throughout On the Wing Now, as if all the dramatic sounds -- Lewis Pesacov's reverb-drenched guitars, Garrett Ray's hopping drums and cymbal swells, Ariel Rechtshaid's tight bass lines -- have fallen under the spell of Popieluch's haunting, Jesus & Mary Chain-influenced delivery. Foreign Born's energy becomes its own instrument; each song lifts with the delight of something unplanned and yet perfectly right, often within a matter of seconds. The brief crescendo of acoustic guitar, electric guitar and pulsing percussion that begins "Letter of Inclusion," for example, aches and twists into something so striking, so beautiful, that the next three minutes have a hard time recovering from it." Prefix Mag

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SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN 'FIRE ESCAPE'

1. words to live by
2. nice butterfly mask
3. what color is the sky in the world you live in?
4. the parakeet beat
5. captain knowhere
6. fire escape
7. the wind has ears
8. triple, double, everything
9. raw backwards

Sunburned Hand Of The Man on "Fire Escape" are:
Kieran Hebden (Fourtet) - Piano, Production & Mix
Robert Thomas - Bass
John Moloney - Drums, Beats & Vocals
Ron Schneiderman - Guitar, percussion & winds
Marc Orleans - Guitar, Casio, Winds
Michael Flower (Vibracathedral Orchestra) - Trumpet, Guitar, Percussion
Bridget Hayden (Vibracathedral Orchestra) - Voice, Viola, Piano
Keith Wood - Guitar, Percussion, Winds

"To my ears, though, "Fire Escape" is by far the most accessible album I've come across by this productive and frequently unhinged collective from Massachusetts. Compared with the last Sunburned album which came my way, "Z" on Ecstatic Peace, this is a pop record.

I exaggerate, of course. But still, most of Sunburned's copious catalogue consists of sprawling freak-outs recorded in their attic and released by themselves on CDR. "Fire Escape", on the other hand, is a slick and formal product. It's coming out on Oslo's excellent Smalltown Supersound label, with a sleeve designed by EYE from the sainted Boredoms. Most importantly, it's been produced - in a proper studio, no less - by Kieran Hebden, the London producer and musician who's best known for his largely electronic work as Four Tet." Uncut

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VOXTROT 'FIRECRACKER SINGLE'

01 firecracker (radio edit)
02 honey bee
03 loan shark

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BUCK 65 'LIMITED EDITION TOUR CD (2007)'

"I DREAM OF LOVE - LIVE AND IN PRIVATE"

01 bandits
02 heather nights
03 roses and bluejays
04 the food song
05 phil remix
06 pants on fire
07 out of focus
08 kennedy killed the hat (mstrkrft remix)
09 blood of a young wolf remix
10 hot lunch
11 medley
12 65 buick remix

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JAMES MERCER 'LIVE @ MOONSHINE FESTIVAL'

01 intro
02 caring is creepy
03 when I goose-step
04 young pilgrims
05 girl inform me
06 won too many fights
07 harvest (neil young)
08 pink bullets
09 gone for good
10 sphagnum esplanade
11 the past and pending
12 new slang
13 saint simon

Yeah, I know it's not new (this boot is from 2004) but I was just listening to it again last night and thought it would be a nice little treat if any of you hadn't heard it. The sound quality is really good and with 'Caring Is Creepy' it gives me a great solo version of what is probably one of favourite songs ever. The Moonshine Festival itself took place at Laguna Beach, California - which for someone living in the freezing north-east of England sounds impossibly romantic.

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JOE HENRY 'CIVILIANS'

1. Civilians

2. Parker's Mood

3. Civil War

4. Time Is A Lion

5. You Can't Fail Me Now

6. Scare Me To Death

7. Our Song

8. Wave

9. Love Is Enough

10. I Will Write My Book Shut Me Up

11. God Only Knows

"With his grand musical scope and infamously wry-but-somber observations, esteemed singer/songwriter and producer Joe Henry has crafted Civilians, his second album for Anti-. Soulful and warm but sparse and direct, the sophisticated bard has designed a career-defining record. Featuring special guests Van Dyke Parks & Bill Frissell. " Anti Records

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VALGEIR SIGURDSSON 'EKVILIBRIUM'

1. Symmetry

2. Evolution of Waters

3. Focal Point

4. Baby Architect

5. After Four

6. Winter Sleep

7. Equilibrium Is Restored

8. Before Nine

9. Kin

10. Lungs, for Merrilee

" 'Ekvílibríum' is Sigurðsson's first solo album, and includes vocal performances from Bonnie 'Price' Billy, who helps craft one of the highlights of the album, 'Kin', where rivers of strings flow around playful music boxes and prepared piano, as well as contributions from Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy and J. Walker aka Machine Translations. It's an album that blends genres so
effortlessly and gracefully that the word 'genre' itself becomes obsolete, mixing all the vital elements like a bricklayer mixes concrete; at first just basic ingredients and particles of dust, but with careful blending and a watchful eye they form an unbreakable bond and an unstoppable force. Despite the solidity of Sigurðsson's ideas, there is also a fluidity between the
tracks, and even within them. The theme of water trickles through the album, with direct references in titles such as 'Evolution of Waters' to the general aesthetic feel of the album; from the dripping percussion of 'Equilibrium is Restored' to the tidal waves of strings engulfing the listener on the effervescent 'Before Nine'. With 'Ekvílibríum', Valgeir Sigurðsson has shown that
as well as being a gifted producer, engineer and musician, he is also equally as talented as a crafter of songs and instigator of a cascade of emotions. Fans of everything from Björk to Brian Eno to Telefon Tel Aviv will finds themselves falling in love with the album's lucidity, its beauty and its emotional impact. Having worked on many era-defining releases of the past, Sigurðsson
has now created one of his own."

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SANDRO PERRI & FRIENDS 'EUROPEAN TOUR CD'

01 the drums (from tiny mirrors)
02 dreaming (double suicide live 2007)
03 dreams (fleetwood mac)
04 untitled improvisation no.1 (with eric chenaux)
05 double suicide (original version)
06 requiem for a fox (live 2005)
07 sky histoire (alternate version)
08 like hearts swelling (live 2007)

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SHAPES AND SIZES/CASTANETS '2007 TOUR CD'

Shapes and Sizes

1. Monument
2. Intro to being a city
3. The Taste in my Mouth

Castanets
4. Like a Pen
5. Blood (For James Brown and Alice Coltrane)
6. One Arm Around the Sinner
7. Vine Prelude

Tracks 1-3 written, played and recorded by Shapes and Sizes.
Tracks 4-7, played and recorded by Castanets.
"Like a Pen" written by the Knife.
"One Arm Around the Sinner" written by Viking Moses

Limited edition Tour EP (edition of 1000) for the March 2007 Castanets and Shapes and Sizes tour. Includes three new Shapes and Sizes songs, and two originals and two covers by the Castanets.

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JASON ANDERSON 'TONIGHT'

01 tonight
02 july 4th, 2004
03 on vacation
04 movin' to the city
05 saturday night
06 jonesboro
07 so long
08 the first snow of the year

" ‘Tonight,’ could get me through June, July and August by itself if it needed to. It puts you in a room with Jason Anderson and all of his friends, and it asks you to dance and sing along. Anderson strums out his songs on guitar while his band adds the backing instruments, including drums, piano and a well played saxophone. There are more call and response sing along parts than there are songs, and it sounds like 500 people are in the room doing them. “Jason preaches the gospel of rock James Brown style,” says Joe DeGeorge, a member of the band. “He shows us the book of partying Andrew W.K. style. His band rips like Springsteen’s E Street Band rips. He shows us what it means to be alive.” All of the above are true, except for maybe the last thing. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I can see where he‘s going with it. Also mentionable are Anderson’s delivery and lyrics, which often sound a lot like the ramblings of Craig Finn from The Hold Steady. “I spent the night at Middleton’s, put that Neil Young record on, we talked about the community and home,” he sings on the song Jonesboro. “I slept on the couch, ate three bowls of Captain Crunch and drove myself to Little Rock alone.” " Peer Validated

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RILO KILEY 'UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT'

01 Silver Lining
02 Close Call
03 The Moneymaker
04 Breakin' Up
05 Under the Blacklight
06 Dreamworld
07 Dejalo
08 15
09 Smoke Detector
10 The Angels Hung Around
11 Give a Little Love

Read full review at Uncut Magazine.

Read review at Rolling Stone.

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FRIENDLY FIRES 'CROSS THE LINE E.P.'

01 strobe
02 on board
03 bring out your dead

"It's a healthy mix of electro(house) and punk-funk with a good dash of vocals and a definite party vibe!" Phonica Records

Nice slab of synth-pop with a sorta New Order-ish feel.

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MY SAD CAPTAINS 'BAD DECISIONS SINGLE'

01 bad decisions
02 here and elsewhere

"Has the sun come out for this record or has the record come out for the sun? Whichever, as summer re-emerges from the grey haze, I can't get enough of My Sad Captains.

True, Captains are making inroads into the mainstream consciousness, but they're doing it with little in the way of condescension, keeping a sharp kind of pop virtue that lends this debut single its lush charm." MusicOMH

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TOKYO POLICE CLUB ' YOUR ENGLISH IS GOOD 7'' '

01 your english is good
02 swedes in stockholm

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FOALS 'LIVE 12'' E.P.'

01 xxxxxx
02 the french open
03 hummer
04 balloons
05 two step, twice
06 mathletics

Sort of new-ravey, bleepy, post-punky shouty noise thing. You may like it or you may not.

"Only 1000 copies will ever exist of this hand customised 12" of the Foals show at Liars Club Nottingham. The set includes soon to be classics Hummer, Balloons, Mathletics, Two Steps and The French Open and offers a glimpse of the band's live brilliance." Transgressive Records

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T.V. ON THE RADIO 'LIVE AT AMOEBA MUSIC E.P.'

01 blues from down here
02 wolf like me
03 province
04 wash the day

It's T.V. On The Radio - need I say any more?

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THE VOICES 'THE SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA'

01 the sound of young america
02 I'll always be within you when there's no-one left inside
03 second wave
04 you share a smile I thought was true
05 you broke a heart I gave to you
06 don't let go
07 love

"So what is it that lies at the heart of the shoegaze experience? Is it walls of "shimmering sound"? Vocals relegated to a back seat? Feedback looming from within soundscapes? Long, long songs? Well, yes, and all of the above feature large in "The Sound Of Young America". But primarily I will suggest it is repetition. And plenty of it. I said plenty of it.

The obvious reference points - Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Robin Guthrieesque guitar parts - can be spotted in the mix here, and on "You Broke A Heart I Gave To You" (the counterpart to preceding song "You Shared A Smile I Thought Was True") even touches of Pink Floyd, circa "See Emily Play".

"Don't Let Go" is just shy of 7 minutes of alternation between 2 chords with the drums kicking in about halfway through, before the line "And I know it's oh so hard" is repeated mantra-like until the end. I said mantra-like until the end.

Some songs have no vocals, some feature female vocals, some male, some, like the final track "Love", describe a battle royal between drums and guitars, climaxing within honours just about even. But all are repetitive, captivating, skilfully produced, and manage to sound fresh, yet also epic." Sounds XP

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DEER TICK 'WAR ELEPHANT'

1. Ashamed
2. Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)
3. Standing at the Threshold
4. Dirty Dishes
5. Long Time
6. Nevada
7. Baltimore Blues No. 1
8. These Old Shoes
9. Not So Dense
10. Spend the Night
11. Diamond Rings 2007
12. Sink or Swim
13. Christ Jesus
14. What Kind of Fool Am I?

"At the age of 21, John McCauley, the man behind songwriting project/band Deer Tick, has recorded War Elephant, an album full of songs wiser and more nuanced than he should be able to produce according to natural law. The words are deliberate and heartfelt, following the lead of guys like Townes van Zandt, Neil Young and Richie Valens. The arrangements touch on everything from the summery rock of Tom Petty to Nirvana’s sludgier moments. And McCauley’s voice, arguably the best thing about Deer Tick, carries these great melodies with real strength and honesty.

This is not going to be the record they play at the dance party in the warehouse that you got all done up for. This will be the record you listen to on the drive back, alone and after you’ve sobered up enough to make it." Feow Records

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DIRTY PROJECTORS 'RISE ABOVE'

What I See (3:27)
No More (3:48)
Depression (2:48)
Six Pack (3:05)
Thirsty and Miserable (5:55)
Police Story (4:23)
Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (4:50)
Spray Paint (The Walls) (3:38)
Room 13 (4:47)
Rise Above (5:03)

'From beginning to end, Dirty Projectors' new offering, Rise Above, is a reimagining of Black's Flag seminal 1981 record Damaged. It is not a covers record. Longstreth attempted to rewrite his favorite adolescent album word for word, from memory. From an interview with daytrotter.com:

"I didn't listen to the album or read the lyrics while I was doing it, and I hadn't heard the record since middle school, more or less. I relied on memory and intuition mostly. I wanted to see if I could make this album myself: not as plagiarism or mimicry, but as an original creative act. Writing a song is like pulling a shape out of the air, but I didn't want to write just any song -- I wanted to write a song that already existed. An album of them, actually." ' Dead Oceans

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LES SAVY FAV 'LET'S STAY FRIENDS'

01 Pots & Pans
02 The Equestrian
03 The Year Before the Year 2000
04 Patty Lee
05 What Wolves Would Do
06 Brace Yourself
07 Rage in the Plague Age
08 Slugs in the Shrubs
09 Kiss Kiss Is Gettting Old
10 Comes & Goes
11 Scotchguard the Credit Card
12 The Lowest Bitter

"Let's Stay Friends is a record about Les Savy Fav's unwillingness to give up. It's a resolution to defy the forces which wear away at our innocence and enthusiasm. As musicians, the record declares their ultimate goals of being together, writing, and performing on their own terms, loosed from the thicket of the professional independent music business which has grown up all around them. From it's first track- “Pots & Pans” to "Patty Lee" to its last "The Lowest Bitter,” Let's Stay Friends consistently explores the challenges of keeping sight of ones true nature of a rapidly shifting world. The band’s approach to music in relation to changes it has witnessed in the music scene extends into a sophisticated metaphor all people can relate to about how we marry the consistent with the inconsistent." Frenchkiss Records

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