John's New Music Blog

If John's New Music Blog had a house band, it would be Cults in a rotation with Best Coast, The New Division and Tennis (Allo Darlin' and The Standard Fare on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays). The only reason why we don't have a house band is lack of space and budget (plus the neighbors might have something to say about indie bands playing in the basement).




In honor of Record Store Day, Cults released a limited edition vinyl 7" single of "Abducted" and, thanks to Weekly Tape Deck, here's the song set to the 1967 French film Anna with Marianne Faithful and Anna Karina, created by director George Tanasie.



Cults - Abducted from George Tanasie on Vimeo.

If you didn't pick up your copy of "Abducted," you're out of luck, but Cults' album will be available on May 30th in the UK and June 7th in the US on Columbia Records (Amazon pre-order here, CD/vinyl).

The fine people at Gorilla vs. Bear have the new single from Seattle-based Seapony (one of the first bands featured by John's New Music Blog). The single, "Blue Star" is taken from their upcoming Hardly Art debut album, Go With Me. If you're a fan of fuzzy indie dream pop, you'll want to check out the new single. It has the sunny feeling of Tennis (compare for yourself here and here) and you can't help but have a smile on your face when you listen to it.


Blue Star by Seapony

Here's their last release, Dreaming:



Seapony - Dreaming from Double Denim Records on Vimeo.

Seapony's debut album, Go With It, will be hitting stores on May 31st and you can pre-order it from Hardly Art. There's a pre-release single with a track that won't be available on the album which is available from iTunes and Amazon.

John's New Music Blog favorites, the Denver-based husband and wife sailing indie band Tennis, has recently released a video to accompany the song "Take Me Somewhere" from their Fat Possum debut album, Cape Dory.


The video, by Ian Perlman, captures Patrick and Alaina on board a sailboat on Chesapeake Bay. By using a 16mm film camera, Perlman gives the video warmth and depth, something that's missing from music videos shot on digital equipment and complements the song's lo-fi sound.



Tennis - "Take Me Somewhere" from Ian Perlman on Vimeo

Cape Dory is available from Fat Possum Records, iTunes and Amazon.

The New Division released their new single, "Walk in the Dark" as a free download on their Bandcamp page. It's a great song that continues with the New Order/Depeche Mode influences that were heard on The Rookie. As readers know, John's New Music Blog is a big supporter and fan of The New Division and I encourage you to download their new single and share it with your friends. For those unfamiliar with The New Division, here's my review for their recent EP, The Rookie and an introduction to the band.






The New Division will be playing The House of Blues in Anaheim on April 14th, the Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles on April 28th, and The Viper Room (yes, that Viper Room) in Hollywood on May 20th. If you're in Southern California, I encourage you to check our their show and tell them that you heard about them from John's New Music Blog (no, I don't get a commission for plugging their shows).

Today's featured local band is Philadelphia's Reading Rainbow, a two piece consisting of Rob and Sarah that's just come to my attention. Reading Rainbow is making some very good fuzzy, lo-fi indie pop and if you don't know who they are now, you will soon.


Reading Rainbow has been releasing records on a variety of labels since 2009 and they will be releasing a single sided 7" called "Cover the Sky" on Hell, Yes! on April 11. Take a listen below:


Here's an earlier release from Reading Rainbow's November 2010 album, Prism Eyes, called "Wasting Time."




"Cover the Sky" will be available from Insound as a limited edition of 400 and will ship on April 11. Pre-order your copy today. Prism Eyes is available on vinyl and CD from Hozac Records, and for download from iTunes and Amazon.

If you want to see Reading Rainbow in person, they will be playing a No Wavelength all ages show at Danger Danger Gallery in Philadelphia on April 25th at 7:00pm with Grass Widow, Broken Water and Acid Kicks. Click here for the Facebook event invite.

(H/T: Gorilla vs. Bear)

Lissie is on tour supporting her first full length album, Catching a Tiger, which is available for download from Fat Possum Records, iTunes and Amazon. Her debut EP, Why You Runnin', is available from Fat Possum Records, iTunes and Amazon. Click here for tour dates (all on the other side of the world this summer, so if you find yourself in Australia or Europe, you're in luck).

Today's featured band is Philadelphia's Sweet Lights, the solo project of The Capitol Years' Shai Halprein. The new single, The Shortest Man on Earth, is a gem of a song that has feet in both the Americana folk pop camp and the indie pop camp. The song is perfect for a relaxing day at the pool or as the soundtrack for a chill cocktail party.





Sweet Lights has made a few videos for their previous releases and here are two of the more innovative ones. The first is for the track "A Hundred Needle Pins" which is layered over the opening titles from various seasons of "The Cosby Show."



Sweet Lights - A Hundred Needle Pins from Sweet Lights on Vimeo 

The second, and my favorite, is for the song "Relate to You." The video is by Lisa Eisner and it just exudes sex and passion. This song is another for the "Late Night Dance Party" playlist.


Sweet Lights - Relate to You from Sweet Lights on Vimeo.

"The Shortest Man on Earth" is available for free download from Bandcamp, along with the debut album.