John's New Music Blog

Last February we featured the Portland band Blouse, the Depeche Mode/The Cure influenced shoegaze band that released "Into Black." Blouse is back and recently released a new 7" single "Shadow" via Seattle-based indie megalabel Sub Pop.


"Shadow" is a throwback to the early '80's of Human League and OMD, it covers death and despair in with the cloak of summer.


 Blouse - Shadow by subpop

The B side is "Nights & Days," a shoegaze track that highlights the vocals of singer Charlie Hilton with another '80's flashback. The track could have been released in 1983, but it doesn't sound dated like La Roux, but it's a logical progression from Depeche Mode and New Order's early albums to this track.




Blouse is currently in the studio recording their Captured Tracks debut album. "Shadow" and "Nights & Days" is available on vinyl from Sub Pop and for download from Amazon. Their first single, "Into Black" and "Firestarter" is available from iTunes and Amazon.

This morning The New Division released their new double single, True Lies///Saturday Night. Both tracks are inspired by early New Order/Depeche Mode, with a dark sound and equally dark lyrics. Both songs are heavy on the synthesizers and drum machines with haunting vocals by frontman John Kunkel.


The first track, "True Lies," is a sparse song that conveys the loss of trust and sadness between lovers; the heavy beat and deep vocal give the emotions behind lyrics extra emphasis, you can hear the pain in his voice.

The second track, "Saturday Night," is a bit more upbeat, almost danceable, but still with the heavy beat and dark vocals. It's about waiting for the perfect moment with the person you love when everything is just right.




The double single is available as a free download from The New Division's Bandcamp page. The band will also be releasing their first full-length album, Shadows, on September 27, so check back for more details.

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 band is another one of Portland, Oregon's contributions to indie music, Blouse. The featured track, "Into Black", is a gothic inspired indie pop track that oozes early Cure and Depeche Mode influences and is quite possibly one of the best tracks of the young year. The video is from a Portland based video collective that combines the song with clips from a film with Juliette Binoche titled les amants du Pont-Neuf.

Think about where a band that cites Joy Division, New Order and Depeche Mode as influences would hail from. Nope, you're wrong. Try the hotbed of indie music called Riverside, California and the band is The New Division (get it, it's a pun). The band, a four piece from the aforementioned Riverside, California, have been self releasing EP's since 2009 starting with their self titled The New Division. The band has also released one single, "Art Kraft" from their upcoming EP The Rookie and the good people over at Pitchfork previewed their next single, "Starfield," to rave reviews.

The first time I heard "Starfield," I was hooked. It sounded like what Joy Division would have sounded like had Ian Curtis not passed away before the band could take advantage of the coming advances in modern electronic music. For a band that is doing everything themselves and without the benefit of a label to support them, this track is excellent; it's well produced and keeps with the Joy Division ethic of doing a whole lot with very little (I didn't hear the Martin Hannett trademark sound effects made from unusual sounds like an aerosol spray can, but that's probably coming soon). I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the tracks on the EP when it's released sometime next year.


Starfield by The New Division

Art Kraft by The New Division

The New Division is out now at iTunes. The Rookie's release date is TBD. Check back for more information or visit the band's site. I'm looking forward to hearing more from them next year and seeing them out on tour.

If you like what you're hearing, leave a comment and let me know. If you know of a band that I should know about, either leave a comment or click "Send Me an Email." Also "Like" the site over on Facebook to get the latest posts and hear about the latest bands before your friends and be sure to recommend us to your friends.