Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a rock goddess. She played bass in
Hole and
The Smashing Pumpkins which means she put up with the gigantic egos of Courtney Love AND Billy Corgan. She released her first solo record last year entitled "Auf Der Maur" and it kicks ass. She's not the best singer in the world, so if you're really into vocals, you probably won't like it. Her voice is definitely good enough to carry the songs where they need to go. Check out
her official site for news about the new record (
link to interview at Billboard),
music, and
videos.
Buy "Auf Der Maur".
Acceptance
Acceptance formed in Seattle, WA, and they make alternative rock music. The music is good and the singer has a great voice. I particularly like the new single "Different" from their new record "Phantoms". You can listen to it at
the purevolume website.
Their official site has tons of info. and interesting things. Check out
Netscape Music for some more tracks. Buy their first EP "
Black Lines To Battlefields" or the major label debut "
Phantoms".
Regina Spektor
Just a little rant - Can someone please tell me what's wrong with the phrases "Blaze the Blaze" and "Purple Haze". Kids who don't know anything about pot won't know what
it's referencing and those who do aren't going to smoke more because
M.I.A. is singing about it. Give me a break!!! Okay, on to the real stuff. I'm going to start posting songs from new releases as bonus tracks on the left sidebar for your downloading pleasure. Today I've got new ones from
New Order,
Amerie, and
Ben Folds.
Regina Spektor is originally from Russia, but currently lives in New York. She plays piano, writes and sings. She's known as an anti-folk artist, whatever that means. I just think she's a talented female singer/songwriter with some cool quirks. Her major-label debut "Soviet Kitsch" came out in September of last year and is a collection of songs produced by Gordon Raphael, who's done some work with
The Strokes. Go to
her official website for news and a peek at her video for "Us".
Buy the cd.
Phoenix
Phoenix is from France and I've heard many comparisons to
Air. I don't particularly hear it, but they're on the same label and did some touring together, so I guess it's an easy comparison. They are a soft pop band that has a really interesting sound. You can watch
some videos or go to
their official site for news and extras. Their newest studio album "Alphabetical" has some standout tracks on it as well, such as "Everything Is Everything" and "Run Run Run". Buy "
United", "
Alphabetical" or their new live album "
Live 30 Days Ago".
Wakefield
Wakefield is reminiscent of one of my favorite new-ish bands
OK Go. The boys in the band are from Maryland and one of the members used to be in Good Charlotte. Don't hold that against them, okay? They released their first record "American Made" in 2003 and their sophomore effort "Which Side Are You On?" is coming out in June. It's alternative rock/pop if you're into that sort of thing. Check out
their official website to listen to some songs on their player. You can watch the video for their new single "C'Mon Baby" there as well. Buy "
American Made" or pre-order "
Which Side Are You On?".
Aqualung
Aqualung is Matt Hales, a British singer/songwriter with a voice that is amazingly similar to Thom Yorke of
Radiohead. In listening to the new record entitled "Strange and Beautiful", I was struck by this, but also struck by the fact that I didn't find the music or vocals derivative. "Brighter Than Sunshine" is the first single off of the third album by Aqualung and it's quite a strong pop/rock-n-roll song. It's featured in the new Ashton Kutcher/Amanda Peet movie "
A Lot Like Love". Go to Aqualung's
official site for some information and multimedia. Buy "
Aqualung", "
Still Life" or "
Strange and Beautiful".
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright has been impressing me for years as her brother Rufus' backing vocalist.
Rufus is a very talented singer/songwriter and I always thought Martha added a lot to his performances. Something about the brother/sister harmonies, I think. Martha's just released her first full-length self-titled album and it really shows off her talent as a singer/songwriter in her own right. You can check out her very limited
official website, or take a look at
a fan site.
Buy the cd.
Tracy Bonham
I've loved Tracy Bonham ever since her first record called "The Burdens Of Being Upright" came out in 1996. You might remember the hit single "Mother Mother" from that album. She released another record in 2000 called "Down Here" which is also excellent. Her new cd "Blink The Brightest" comes out on May 10. Check out
her official site for audio and video. Her music is rock-n-roll and pop and she has a very distint voice that I love. She's a native of Eugene, Oregon, but spent quite a bit of time in Boston and went to the Berklee School of Music there. She's classically-trained on violin and also plays guitar. Buy "
The Burdens Of Being Upright", "
Down Here" or pre-order "
Blink The Brightest".
Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson's been releasing music for almost 10 years, but he's only been able to put out 3 cds. His debut "One Mississippi" was partly co-written with
Jason Falkner (of
Jellyfish and the Grays) and he ran into label troubles before and after the record was released. He released his sophomore debut "Lapalco" 8 years later in 1992. His newest record "The Alternative To Love" came out in March of this year. There are some outstanding tracks on the new record. He's definitely got the power pop thing down pat. He reminds me a bit of
Sondre Lerche in his poppier songs and
Elliot Smith in his more thoughtful tracks. Go to
his official website to
listen to some tracks.
Buy "
One Mississippi", "
Lapalco" or "
The Alternative To Love".
David Ryan Harris
David Ryan Harris has been around a long time, but he came out with a new cd last year and it's great. His sound is very soulful and funky pop. Check out
his official website to listen to some tracks. He has worked with Dionne Farris who was in Arrested Development and because of his work with her opening for the Dave Matthews Band, he's also done a bit of work with them. You can
buy the cd from his first band Follow for Now. His first solo cd, which is self-titled, is great, but it's no longer being made, so you have to buy it
here. He also did some work with a band called Brand New Immortals. Their record called "Tragic Show" which was released in 2001 is wonderful. Buy "
Tragic Show" from Brand New Immortals or the new solo cd "
soulstice".
Endochine
Endochine reminds me of Radiohead and Remy Zero (and maybe a little Jeff Buckley). They're kind of poppy, but with a hint of emo. They're based in Austin, Texas, and you can listen to tracks from "day two", their newest record, at
their website. Check out
this review of their album "i" for a better description of their sound.
Buy the cd.
Trespassers William
Trespassers William is a new find for me. They were signed by Simon Raymonde's (of
Cocteau Twins)
Bella Union label in 2002 and I'm surprised that I didn't hear of them back then. They're great in a lush and dreamy kind of way. Anna-Lynne Williams sounds like
Aimee Mann, but the music is definitely more in the vein of
Mazzy Star. I'm not a huge fan of Aimee or Mazzy Star, so there's a chance you'll like them even if you don't like their music. The band's from California and have made two records so far, "Anchor" and "Different Stars". Check out
their official site for news and
some song samples. Check out
their appearance on KCRW from last year. Buy "
Anchor" or "
Different Stars".
Blue Merle
I have to thank my friend Kyle for this one. Blue Merle is a new band from Nashville that pulls sounds from
Counting Crows,
Coldplay and even
Nickel Creek (so much so that you might have deja vu listening to some of the tracks). They're certainly not unoriginal though. With all of these influences, they manage to come up with a sound of their own. Check out
their official site for some tracks and other info. They'll be opening for
the Dave Matthews Band on a couple dates this summer and are also touring this month around the country.
Buy the cd.
