John's New Music Blog

You know Portland, Oregon, the breeding ground for such bands as The Dandy Warhols and Mackintosh Braun. Well Portland has produced another excellent band that calls itself Anne, and they're the Fresh New Music featured band of the day. The band exemplifies the fuzzy sound of lo-fi shoegaze and is best listened to as loud as you (or your neighbors/roommates/passengers) can stand.


The five tracks from the Demo EP are all excellent and I highly recommend "Punk Bike" for its retro-modern  Joy Division influenced guitar and bass hooks. Take a listen, listen takers:




Both the Demo and Mixtape are available for download from the band's website. Click here to download the Demo and here for the Mixtape. If you like them, tell your friends and if you're up in the Pacific Northwest, be sure to catch them in a club near you. They will be releasing a split 7" with American Gods on Austin, Texas' Withdrawal Records. No release date yet, but check back for updates.

Thanks to the good people over at Beachtapes, I stumbled across World Tour, a new band from Cascine Records. Their first single, "Sparks," is an indie dreamscape gem. I wish I could find out more about the band, but I think that the quote from the band sums up the song:

“We would like to show you some pictures, a few notes and some visions. ‘Sparks’ is a story about dreaming, defying death and fighting the darkness. About the belief of beginning something new and a reliance on your origin.”




Here is the video for "Sparks"

World Tour - Sparks from World Tour on Vimeo.

"Sparks" is available as a free download from Cascine.

(h/t: Beachtapes)

Today's Fresh New Music artist is the 20 year old Mongolian raised and current Nashville resident Merry Ellen Kirk. Merry Ellen is putting out some of the freshest indie pop I've heard recently and I think she's certainly worthy a listen. Her current project, The Firefly Garden, is filled with indie pop goodness that you should certainly give a listen to and support: Merry Ellen is raising money to release the album and for a small (or large) donation, you can help make her project a reality.



Here's a video of Merry Ellen performing her song Mosaic on a local Nashville music program:

I encourage you to check out Merry Ellen's music and if you like her songs, help support the release of the Firefly Garden and tell your friends. She'll be touring around Tennessee and the Southeast (and SXSW) in March, so if you get chance, check her out live and in the flesh (click here for tour dates). I'm looking forward to hearing more from her in the coming years.

I came across the latest from Southern California indie summer rockers and cat lovers Best Coast over at Pitchfork. It's titled "Sunny Adventure," a fuzzed out retro '60's track that's warmer than a summer day at the beach. The track is available as split 7" with JEFF The Brotherhood from Volcom.

Today is another first for John's New Music Blog, an album review. Not just any album, but the new EP from Riverside, California's Joy Division/New Order influenced The New Division. The Manchester sound is alive and well and residing in Riverside as The New Division have made a record that wouldn't sound out of place on Ian Curtis' record player. Some have called it retro-New Wave, but I would describe it as a worthy successor to Closer and Movement. If you only buy one new record this year, make it The Rookie by The New Division.


The Rookie is out now at iTunes, Amazon and from the Band.

Today's Fresh New Music is from Stockton, California's Craft Spells, a summer indie pop band that will be releasing their first LP, Idle Labor, on March 1 on Captured Tracks. The first single is "After the Moment," a song as warm as a San Joaquin Valley summer's day and melts the snow of winter with its infectious lyrics and sound.




Idle Labor will be out on March 1 from Captured Tracks. No sales information yet, but check back by March 1st for details.

(H/T: Beachtapes)