Yeasayer 'Odd Blood'

One word: Sick. This album came totally out of the blue for me. While reading through some of my favorite music blogs I came across a review for Yeasayer's new album 'Odd Blood'. If you've never heard of them before, don't feel bad. I hadn't either. They're from Brooklyn and, as rumor has it, cut from the same musical cloth as Animal Collective, Islands and Grizzly Bear. I suppose I can see the temptation to throw them in that indie box. The band Yeasayer reminds me most of is Bronski Beat. Remember them? If not, then download 'Smalltown Boy'. Imagine Bronski Beat remixed by Islands and MGMT and you get Yeasayer. They are pretty original sounding, however. Listen to the album with headphones on and be transported back to the 80's: Indie rock style. So many cool sounds, gorgeous harmonizing and interesting lyrical themes. This is the rare band that, with a few listens, can satisfy lovers of indie rock, the 80's, pop music and alternative rock. Highly recommended.

The Andrew Review: 98 out of 100

Best songs: Ambling Alp, Madder Red, Mondegreen, I Remember

Beach House 'Teen Dream'

I won't do this album justice by attempting to review it as beautifully as NME has just done..This album might be the best album I've heard in a couple of years..I make no secret about loving depressing music and this album is gorgeous but it is indeed quite sad. Fans of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and possibly even Nico will like this album. Between this album and the new Massive Attack album, I'm very content musically right now. Those are the only two albums I've been able to listen to for the past few days..nonstop.

http://nme.ipcdigital.co.uk/reviews/beach-house/11016

ANGÉLO

Well this is a real treat..One of my closest friends in the world, ANGÉLO, is getting ready to release his first single, 'Time Bomb'. First off, you must understand that I do NOT promote ANYTHING I am not crazy about. ANGÉLO's music marks the return of something all too rare in music these days: Artistic integrity.

When I first heard his music, in the form of a few demos last summer, I was blown away. His voice is classic, sexy and emotional. His lyrics are raw and important. He has a lot to say and it's so wonderful to witness him putting it all together in the form of songs.

You will hear influences that are all over the map. From Michael Jackson, to George Michael to Freddy Mercury to Blondie's 'Rapture', you will feel as if you're in the East Village in New York City in 1978. ANGÉLO has taken the best elements of that fascinating time period and turned them into something fresh and exciting.

On 'Time Bomb', his vast array of musical influences are represented nicely and wound into three and a half minutes of pure pop awesomeness.

The single 'Time Bomb' will be available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon by the 25th of February. I know I'll be picking up my copy! In the meantime, it is with much excitement that I've been permitted to debut ANGÉLO's first single 'Time Bomb'. Enjoy!



Click on the link below that will take to to ANGÉLO's Facebook Fanpage:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ANGELO/291467178824?ref=mf

The XX 'XX'

Great album. This album was voted #2 in NME's Best albums of 2009 and you can see why. Another band that's difficult to categorize. Really cute and sad album. Lots of synths, quiet beats, sexy basslines, heartbreaking lyrics and dueling male/female vocals. There are elements of Portishead and Mazzy star in here..More subtle and polished than both of those bands, however..A bit shoegazey at times..Romantic vocals. This is a bad review..but that's cuz they have me stumped to come up with influences. Just buy the fuckin thing. You'll love it.

The Andrew Review: 93 out of 100

These New Puritans 'Hidden'

Review of full album to come..for now, enjoy the odd, sexy and totally awesome video for their single 'We Want War'.

Noah and the Whale 'The First Days of Spring'

Review still to come..in the meantime, check out the video for the title track off the album. Amazing. Gorgeous. Heartbreaking.

Noah and the Whale “The First Days of Spring” Music Video from Indie Rock Reviews on Vimeo.

Spiral Beach 'The Only Really Thing'

Another fun, cute indie rock Canadian band. Female/male vocals. I came across this album after just futzing around online. Their music has been compared to Blondie and The Beach Boys. Huh? I don't see those comparisons much at all, personally. Going in with those expectations, I have to say I was honestly disappointed at first. But something funny happened around the 4th track of the album. I realized I'm kind of liking this band. A lot. I think what I like about them is that their music is so hard to pinpoint. It's derivative but pretty diverse. Some influences I'm hearing are Black Box Recorder, Bow Wow Wow, The Sounds and Metric. But I believe they improve on all of those influences. All in all, it's a very fun album. Give the whole thing a chance.

Check out their fun song 'Domino'.

The Andrew Review: 85 out of 100

Dala 'Everyone Is Someone'

In a word: Wow. These two lovely ladies that make up the Canadian band Dala have it all. From the incredible harmonizing, brilliant song crafting and deep heartfelt lyrics, they've got me hooked. This is the album that Nina Gordon has been trying to make for years unsuccessfully. These ladies are in a league of their own, in my opinion. Typically I reserve the category of 'I'm Moving To Canada' on my blog as a reference for ridiculous videos by right wing nutjobs. Today, however, I really mean it. These ladies make me want to move to Canada due to their lovely lyrics about their homeland. This album was released at the end of 2009 but it is easily going into my top 3 albums of 2010 so far alongside Kristina Train's debut and Vampire Weekend's new album. I hope they get picked up for The Lilith Fair this summer.

Check out the video for the adorable single 'Levi Blues' and also my favourite track 'Lonely Girl'. I haven't started streaming songs on this site just yet..but I will..in the meantime I'm using youtube to stream music.

The Andrew Review: 97 out of 100

Vampire Weekend

Ok so I haven't gotten a chance to write about Vampire Weekend on my blog so I shall take this opportunity to introduce you to them in case you've never had the pleasure of listening to them. They are AMAZING.

With the release of their 2nd album, Contra, they have become one of my top 5 bands of all-time. Yup, you read that right. They are THAT good. I'll post a few videos of theirs but, honestly, they are a band that deserves your full attention from beginning to end of their albums. The Beatles are the obvious influence here but to simply dismiss them as a Beatles rip off would be poor. I don't remember the last time that I heard a band incorporate so many different sounds and still be listenable. They incorporate African sounds, late 60's Beatles and Reggae-ish songs into pop/rock perfection.

Do yourself a huge favor and buy BOTH of their albums. They are a band that I initially dismissed as 'the next big thing'..I jumped on the bandwagon late but I will be a lifer..I can't wait to hear what they do next!

The Andrew Review: 100 out of 100. Pure Perfection.