Tune In Saturdays: Emily Jane White

San Francisco musician Emily Jane White sounds like a less bluesy, but more rootsy Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) type. Mostly slow, melodic guitars and pianos alongside minimalist drum beats dominate this gem of an album. While it's mostly simplistic, it is so in a good way. Not simplistic and boring, but more understated and soulful.

And I couldn't really find a proper review, although I found her through gorilla vs. bear, so you get a short one today. That voice sure is a bute, either way. From her website:

"Emily's voice, sultry without being cloying or affected, brings to mind Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), and Billie Holiday, in it's ability to make even the most saturated of audiences stop and take notice."

You can download a bunch of stuff here, or hear some songs for the new album over here.

Emily Jane White - Magdalena (mp3)
Emily Jane White - Wild Tigers I have Known (mp3)
Emily Jane White - Wild Tigers I have Known (video)

http://s119.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/mag77gie/wtihkvideo.flv

Tune In Saturdays: Caribou

Caribou is an odd little dreamy-pop band from the mind of Canadian Dan Naith. They (or he really) just released Andorra, a home recording masterpiece that would hold up against any Shins record considering all the falsetto, tips, tats and harmonies to match. The mesh of disparate noises could work you into a frenzy in lesser hands, but with Naith, it's a perfectly pleasant ride.

From Stylus:

" Perhaps not surprisingly then, Snaith’s newest album, Andorra, merges Milk’s heady sense of immediacy with a clear and consumable swiftness. He further embraces California’s late-‘60s psych-pop and perhaps for the first time really lives up to the Brian Wilson tags of his early career. Unlike Milk—with its King Crimson samples left nude—Andorra is made completely of Snaith’s own material, patches of his own playing. His recent Ph.D. in mathematics may well have come in handy here actually. But though it’s tempting to consider its algorithms—was this passage of noise designed for this song or pulled from a thick series of such random snippets bound for anything—the end result is an album of deft manipulation of sound and place that gives new echoes to a pretty well-worn voice in time."

Home.MySpace.

Caribou - She's the One (mp3)
Caribou - BBC Mini-Doc
Caribou - Melody Day (video)

Tune In Saturdays: The Go Find

After eating many waffles, Belgium popsters The Go Find created a little indie pop happy masterpiece called Stars on the Wall, the follow-up to the acclaimed debut Miami. Alright, I give, masterpiece may be pushing it, but fans of the Postal Service will likely salivate all over this electronipop. Do it.

From Daytrotter:

The Go Find have surely created another electro-pop guilty pleasure. Stars is like taking a top-down convertible ride through the strip. It glows brightly with confidence and is just as sweet and seductive as the debut promised. And with a talent like Sermeus behind the wheel, there is no doubt The Go Find will continue in good hands.

Home.MySpace.

The Go Find - Dictionary (mp3)
The Go Find - Monday Morning (mp3)
The Go Find - New Year (video)

Tune In Saturdays: France Gall

Consider this the France Gall is the coolest person ever edition. I'm sure most of you have already heard of her, but I've just been picking up snippets here and there until I finally broke down and bought the album. It's fuckin' awesome in that pretentious "I'm so cool that I can get away with listening to french pop" sort of way. And, in case it's in question, yes I am.

France Gall - Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son (video)

France Gall - La Rose des Vents (video)

France Gall - Baby Pop (not the greatest song, but most ridiculous video ever)

France Gall - Cet Air La  (mp3)

And last, but not least, perhaps the coolest song ever written...
France Gall - Laisse Tomber les Filles (mp3)

Tune In Saturdays:Ghostland Observatory

Sometimes you just gotta shake some ass. Luckily my Texas brethren, Ghostland Observatory, is there the to satisfy. A mixture of Daft Punk, CSS, David Bowie with a dash of classic rock and a little bit 'a Saturday Night Fever, there's little not to like about a band I should hate. But damnit, they're just too damn cool. The 80's are gettin' ushered back into style. Tight jeans, big belts, bright colors, it's all coming back.  Ghostland Observatory will be the soundtrack to this retro takeover. God help us all.

From Austin360:

"Although the fabric of its music is ornate, Ghostland is a humble duo. Turner, 28, crafts the jackknife beats and ephemeral soundscapes with synthesizers, drums and keyboards. Behrens, 24, howls and sings, prowling the stage with chest-length twin braids, projecting a clean-shaven androgyny punctuated with tight T-shirts and low-riding jeans. He plays guitar. The female fans pay close attention.           

Prince? Freddie Mercury? Daft Punk? All of the above."

Home.MySpace.

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City(mp3)
Ghostland Observatory - Silver City(mp3)

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City  (Awesome Fan Video)

Ghostland Observatory - Rich Man (Lala.com Video)

Tune In Saturdays: Orba Squara

I feel slightly dirty finding a tune in feature from a television commercial, even if this is a marketing blog of sorts. But, considering it was at least on a commercial for an apple product, I feel a little better, even as i type this out on my shitty dell.

I couldn't really find too much information about Orba Squara on the interwebs, besides the fact that a friend of a friend of this guy who has a friend that works for Apple got them a starring role in the iphone spot. And that's rather unfortunate. It's a safe bet that you'll see more folks writing about them fairly soon. Their debut album, Sunshyness, is so organically rich, I can't get enough. No overplaying, just simple acoustics, some hits and tats and whatnot. They seem quite similar to past tune in feature Page France, or maybe a more acoustic-y Deathcab, or Sufjan Stevens. Good stuff, though. I give them four high fives.

Home.MySpace.

Orba Squara - My Favorite Song

iPhone ad, featuring Perfect Timing by Orba Squara

Tune In Saturdays: Electrelane

Electrelane, the all-girl quartet from Brighton, can hardly be called anything other than simplistic, but it's still pretty fulfilling, even in that hazy stripped-down sort of way. It's the kind of stuff that's great for lazy days, housework and artistry, it never really dominates, but lets your mind wonder a bit, without being boring.

And, no, that doesn't tell you anything of what they sound like. Think Stereolab without the electronics, just grungy guitars and random thingamajigs.  I realize it's a terrible comparison, but it's better than, say, Harlow. So, there you go...

From Lost at Sea:

"Like the soundtrack to some life changing moment of emotional euphoria, No Shouts, No Calls, the latest release from Brighton-based all-girl group Electrelane, affirms the notion that not everything coming from the British Isles with the word 'Indie' stamped across it has to be the sort of watered down tosh currently polluting the airwaves in the UK. At once soothing and energetic, ferocious and effeminate, beautiful and ballsy, No Shouts, No Calls is a passionate, confident effort, and a welcome return to a good British band making good tunes."

Home.MySpace.

Electrelane - The Greater Times (mp3)
Electrelane - To The East (video)

Tune In Saturdays: Eisley

Might as well continue on with the whole good Texas music theme. The Tyler, Texas band Eisley has a brand new album, called Combinations, out on Warner Brothers on August 14th of this year. These guys are much, much too young to be writing music this good.

With the release of their first cd, Room Noises in 2003 (after winning Best New Artist from the Dallas Observer), the oldest in the group was Chauntelle Dupree at 22, with her sister Sherri, 20; Stacy,15; and their brother Weston 17 years-old. After growing up a few years, they added their 15 year-old cousin Garron into the mix in 2005.

Since the first release, they've toured with the likes of Coldplay, New Found Glory, Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat, and Switchfoot, and are poised for their fourth headlining tour with the release of Combinations. It's not hard to find their influences, from the Beatles to Sunny Day Real Estate and Radiohead, but their innocent sound makes them unique in the fog of sound-alikes.

From Paste Magazine:

"In this era of bling-bling hip-hop and ultra-calculated teen pop, sometimes it’s just great to hear—and kick back to—an album that doesn’t have any pre-fab designs on your pocketbook. A record that appears to exist simply as well-conceived catharsis for its creators. Looking to be this decidedly disarmed? Look no further than Room Noises, the almost ABBA-lovable debut from home-schooled Texas family band Eisley. One listen and you can’t keep yourself from surrendering—the disc sounds so serenely beautiful, so unusually assured that it’s difficult to believe the group’s oldest member, guitarist Chauntelle DuPree, is only 22."

Home.MySpace.

Eisley - Invasion (mp3) from Combinations
Eisley - Marvelous Things (video)

Tune In Saturdays: Prototypes (with a little extra love)

Well, since I seem to be all frenched out lately (and realized I've unwittingly started the personal meme of listening to french pop whenever I fly), I thought I'd back up to the band that kicked off the latest round, The Prototypes, a grungy electro-pop band from Paris.

Home.MySpace.

And yes, this one is really short because I'm super mad right now.

Prototypes - Je Ne Te Connais Pas (mp3)
Prototypes - Who's Gonna Sing (video)

You may have heard my raving about the lovely and talented Annie Clark (here and here). She was the first tune in feature, even before it turned into tune in saturdays. And after a year of fairly grandiose proclamations of her impending greatness, Tuesday it all comes true. Her first album as St. Vincent will be released on Beggars Banquet records.

The press is fucking loving her.

And, I'm mad. I've seen her a couple times, but she also played last night (only back in my old college stomping grounds of Denton, Tx). Unfortunately, this was her first time to play with a full band, and I knew nothing about it. So I was lazy, and just went out in Dallas.

So fuckin' a, I'm road tripping it. Kansas City is her next closest stop, so July 26th, assuming no major hiccups, I'll be there. American Copywriter guys, please have a beer prepared. Anybody else live out there that I'm missing?

Here's Annie's new stuff...

St. Vincent - The Apocalypse Song (mp3)
St. Vincent - Now, Now. (mp3)

Fucking, fucking, fucking brilliant, people.

Tune In Saturdays: The Teeth

There's something happening in Philly (and thereabouts I guess, if you include the Spinto Band). But, my little love affair with Dr. Dog has already spawned two more with the likes of last week's feature, and this week's, The Teeth. There's elements of so many bands that I like in their music, and they manage to keep some punkish credentials without being annoying.

From popmatters:

"You’re My Lover Now combines the vocal theatrics of CYHSY (Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah) with the Beatleseque qualities of Dr Dog, but what really sets them apart is their chameleon-like ability to take elements from so many beloved indie bands and make that new mixed-up sound completely their own. At times, the Teeth sound like the Decemberists without the finishing school, Belle and Sebastian minus the Scottish Catholic-school-kid reserve, and Modest Mouse sans crippling existential angst. If the best parts of your record collection somehow got mashed up together by Morrissey, John Lennon, and Joe Strummer, You’re My Lover Now would be the end result."

Home.MySpace.

The Teeth - Bessie (mp3)
The Teeth - Yellow (video)