Imogen Heap’s forthcoming new album, Eclipse, is still a week away from  its release, but Imogen herself just announced in a tweet that the entire album is available for listening via streaming.  I’ve embedded the player below but you can also listen here. Enjoy!

Wonder is the debut album from 19-year-old singer-songwriter Lisa Mitchell. Born in the UK she moved to Australia at an early age and eventually went on to take part in Australian Idol at the tender age of 16. She came 6th in the competition and after that decided to make it on her own and began crafting her album. Having written with the likes of Ed Harcourt and Crispin Hunt (Newton Faulkner) the album was recorded in late 2008, produced by Dann Hume and mixed by Jon Hume (both of Evermore).

01 Oh What A Beautiful Morning
02 Neopolitan Dreams
03 So Jealous
04 Coin Laundry
05 Clean White Love
06 Pirouette
07 LoveLetter
08 Oh! Hark!
09 Red Wine Lips
10 Sidekick
11 Stevie
12 Animals
13 Valium

Genre: Pop, Folk, Rock, Australia - FAVORITE!!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

Is Wiley striking while the iron’s hot? Or simply reacting to his breakout album from last year, the pop-tinged (and since disowned) See Clear Now? Whatever, he is back with his fourth studio album just seven months since his last.  It seems grime’s most prolific voice found his enthusiasm curbed by life on a major label and many tracks on this self-released LP serve both as bouts of bravado about Wiley’s skills and a rebuttal to those who tried to mould him into a star - “I would have been happy with the one little Rolex tune,” he protests on Time Flies By.  There’s simple pop fun to be found in tracks like The Olly (as in “oy oy oy”) and the dancehall-flavoured Too Many Man.  And with his former protege Dizzee enjoying No 1s on his own label and British grime currently dominating the charts, it’s perhaps no wonder that Wiley’s in a rush to keep up.

01 - Headbanger (Prod. By Balistiq Beats)
02 - She’s Glowing (Remix) (Ft. Ghetts & Kano) (Prod. By Wiley)
03 - Eyes Of The Lord (Prod. By Nathan Retro)
04 - Hummer Activity (Prod. By Danny Weed)
05 - Off The Radar (Prod. By Danny Weed)
06 - The Olly (Ft. MC Dream) (Prod. By Skream)
07 - I Was Like You (Prod. By Maniac)
08 - Race Against Time (Prod. By Maniac)
09 - Too Many Man (Ft. Shorty, Skepta, JME & Frisco) (Prod. By Skepta)
10 - Where’s My Brother (Prod. By Bless Beats)
11 - Out Of The Game (Prod. By Skeamz)
12 - Bang (Prod. By Wiley)
13 - Zip It Up (Ft. Giggs & Trigga) (Prod. By Wiley)
14 - Average Worker (Prod. By Maniac)
15 - Time Flies By (Prod. By Deeco)
16 - Music I Like (Prod. By Y.Wizz)

Genre: Indie, Garage, Grime, Hip Hop, UK
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Florence Welch, better known alongside her band as Florence & The Machine, confidently announces her arrival on ‘Lungs’. With several strong singles taking up a fair portion of this debut release, it’s clear that Welch is as much a pop writer as she is a left-field artist, despite the early influence of punk and grunge on her life. Musically, these influences are tempered by an admiration for soul and contemporary indie. Welch also received the Critics’ Choice award at the Brits in 2009, usually a sign of big things to come. Includesthe singles ‘You’ve Got The Love’ and ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’.

01. Dog Days Are Over
02. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
03. I’m Not Calling You A Liar
04. Howl
05. Kiss With A Fist
06. Girl With One Eye
07. Drumming Song
08. Between Two Lungs
09. Cosmic Love
10. My Boy Builds Coffins
11. Hurricane Drunk
12. Blinding
13. You’ve Got The Love

Genre: Indie, Pop, Rock, Electronica - FAVE!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Genre: Indie, Rock, Electro, Hip Hop, Pop, House, Mixtape
MySpace | Download Mixtape

.

Hey guys!  Hope everyone is having a great Spring.  I’m getting excited for a summer of great outdoor concerts, festivals, travels, etc…  Just wanted to take a second and say I’m sorry I haven’t had time to make posts.  Between work and travels, the little free time I have left I’ve been trying to spend away from the computer.

Of course I’ll continue to make the ocassional post, and hopefully some day soon I could get back to the frequency of posting (circa late 2008).  There’s so much great new music out there!  I hope you’ve been finding it on your own in the meantime.

Freezy and sparkling compilation of London-Moscow sounds, emotions and sunflakes from Alex Paterson, The Orb. Enjoy this inspirational mood further at Ketama cafe, Moscow.

01. Autolump - Is It Likely (That A German Person Will Hear This?)
02. The Orb - DDD (Belka & Strelka Mix)
03. The Orb - Angel 4 Matrix
04. Caned&able - Soul Clap
05. Vin100 & Merka - Ruski
06. Belka & Strelka - Tico
07. Nu Galaxy Constellation 253 - ARI (Ant)
08. HFB - Broken 5th Harmonic
09. Nina Walsh - Strong (The Power Remix)
10. Vin 100 & Hektagon - Perpetual
11. Hugh & The Sounditions - Asaram
12. Rootmasters - Janis Joplins Mum
13. Canola Tenderfoot - First Come First Served
14. Transit Kings - Last Light House Keeper

Genre: Dub, Chillout, Ambient, UK, Russia - THE ORB DJ’s!!!
MySpace | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Cass McCombs releases his beautiful new album, CATACOMBS on Monday the 1st of June 2009.Like his previous LP Dropping The Writ, CATACOMBS possesses that rare ability to attack both the listener’s heart with its melodies and textures, and head with its poetry and themes. In the greatest of American traditions, McCombs carries on transcending fad and fashion to ensure the art of songwriting lives on.

1 - Dreams Come True Girl
2 – Prima Donna
3 – You Saved My Life
4 – Don’t Vote
5 – Executioner’s Song
6 – Harmonia
7 – My Sister, My Spouse
8 – Lionkiller Got Married
9 – Eaves Dropping On The Conversation
10 – Jonsey Boy
11 – One Way To Go

Genre: Indie Rock, Acoustic Pop - YAY!!!  EXCELLENT!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Beacons of Ancestorship is Tortoise’s sixth full-length album, and the Chicago quintets’ first release of new material in five years, since 2004’s It’s All Around You. As usual, the post-rockers recorded at drummer John McEntire’s Soma. Beacons runs the gamut from dirty techno, atonal punk, bricolage experiments, lo-fi dub, processed synths, and dank spaghetti western tracks. For those taking a trip to the record store, the CD version is presented in a four-panel mini-LP style jacket and the LP is pressed on HQ 180-gram virgin vinyl with an old-style top-on gatefold jacket and MP3 download coupon. Beacons is also accompanied by a series of limited-edition 5-inch records featuring new tracks.

01 - high class slim came floatin  in
02 - prepare your coffin
03 - northern something
04 - gigantes
05 - penumbra
06 - yinxianghechengqi
07 - the fall of seven diamonds plus one
08 - minors
09 - monument six one thousand
10 - de chelly
11 - charteroak foundation

Genre: Indie, Rock, Lo-Fi Dub, Techno, Electronic, Experimental
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

Preview Tracks:

Tortoise - ‘High Class Slim Came Floatin’ In’:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tortoise - ‘Prepare Your Coffin’:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Amidst all the Americana, folksiness, and indie-rock moves of the almighty, compilation-for-a-generation Dark Was the Night, few songs seemed so radically ‘other’ as “Happiness,” that eight-and-a-half-minute burbling ambient blow-out from Riceboy Sleeps.

The artistic marriage of Sigur Rós’s Jón Þór ‘Jónsi’ Birgisson and Parachutes’ Alex Somers (not pictured), Riceboy Sleeps started out as a product of the pair’s domestic union; songs built together, late at night, on laptops. Of course, Riceboy Sleeps quickly evolved into anything but a band: the pair’s paintings and video-work soon exhibited at galleries and festivals on hemispheres North and South; the first entry in their discography being not a record, but a sweet hardcover art book.

Now, Birgisson and Somers are prepping their first Riceboy Sleeps LP, a self-titled set due out in July. The instrumental affair is big on dense atmospheres and processed lullabies, the duo taking acoustic instruments and treating them until they sounded like pale blue fog rolling through mystical dreams of Icelandic wood-nymphs. Sleep tight, Riceboy… (Source: About.com)

01. Happiness
02. Atlas Song
03. Indian Summer
04. Stokkseyri
05. Boy 1904
06. All The Big Trees
07. Daniell In The Sea
08. Howl
09. Sleeping Giant

Genre: Indie, Post-Rock, Experimental, Ambient, Iceland - BEAUTIFUL / SIGUR ROS!!
MySpace | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Last month a mysterious poster arrived at the SPIN office advertising Dark Night of the Soul, a new album presented by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, featuring vocals from the likes of Iggy Pop, Frank Black, Flaming Lips, and the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas (set for a July release). Curiously, the ad, which looks like a movie poster, lists director David Lynch… on “visuals.” The project got us excited — and a little confused — so we looked into it, and heard an advance version of the record. Here’s what we discovered:

Gnarls Barkley mastermind Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, a.k.a. North Carolina songwriter Mark Linkous, first worked together on Sparklehorse’s last album, 2006’s SPIN-praised Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. Then they began writing songs for a collaborative release as Dangerhorse, which, Linkous said, would recruit a slew of guest singers.

In the process, Danger Mouse, a.k.a. Brian Burton, a longtime fan of David Lynch films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, asked the director to join the project. Lynch, who sings two songs on the album, added a multi-media aspect with a 100-page book of photos that will accompany the release. 50 of the pics will also be featured in a Dark Night of the Soul art exhibit at Los Angeles’ Michael Kohn Gallery from May 30 - July 11.

What does the album sound like? The title, Dark Night of the Soul, provides clues. The phrase, from the writing of 16th-century Roman Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross, has become a metaphor for loneliness and desolation in a person’s spiritual life. The all-star cast of vocalists — also including Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, Cardigans’ Nina Persson, and the Shins’ James Mercer — sing a loose narrative about solitude, lost love, and disturbing dreams. The music shifts genres from electro-pop and Ringling Bros.-like jingles to sludge metal and country, but is unified by the ethereal production sheen Mr. Mouse is known for. (Read a track by track review at: SPIN.com)

01. Revenge (feat. Wayne Coyne)
02. Just War (feat. Gruff Rhys)
03. Jaykub (feat. Jason Lytle)
04. Little Girl (feat. Julian Casablancas)
05. Angel’s Harp (feat. Black Francis)
06. Pain (feat. Iggy Pop)
07. Star Eyes (I Can Catch It) (feat. James Mercer)
08. Everytime I’m With You (feat. Jason Lytle)
09. Insane Lullaby (feat. James Mercer)
10. Daddy’s Gone (feat. Nina Persson)
11. The Man Who Played God (feat. Nina Persson)
12. Grain Augury (feat. Vic Chesnutt)
13. Dark Night Of The Soul (feat. Vic Chesnutt)

Genre: Indie, Rock, Folk, Pop - EXCELLENT!!
MySpace | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Starry-eyed Massachusetts D.I.Y. poppers Passion Pit have one foot in the skronky, shambling lo-fi underground and one in the flashing-lights big-room dance-pop overground. So it follows that the band would have two labels. In the U.S., they’re on Frenchkiss, the small NYC indie run by Les Savy Fav bassist Syd Butler. And in the UK, they’re on Columbia, an honest-to-God major label. Complicated!

In May, the band will follow up their much-buzzed-about Chunk of Change EP with Manners , the first Passion Pit full-length. Columbia will release it in the UK on May 18, and Frenchkiss will drop it in North America Frenchkiss will drop it in North America eight days later, also on May 18 on May 26. That’s the surprisingly monochromatic cover above.

Before the album comes out, though, the band will play a ton of shows on both sides of the Atlantic, which is the sort of thing you have to do when everyone suddenly decides your band is the Next Big Thing. I can say with some authority that they’ll probably be the first Next Big Thing to ever play Syracuse’s Westcott Theatre. (Source: Pitchfork)

1. Make Light
2. Little Secrets
3. Moths Wings
4. The Reeling
5. Eyes As Candles
6. Swimming In The Flood
7. Folds In Your Hands
8. To Kingdom Come
9. Sleepyhead
10. Let Your Love Grow Tall
11. Seaweed Song

Genre: Indie, Pop, Electronica - AMAZING!!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

OK Bear, the third full-length solo album from Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft), offers a surprising sense of intimacy while staying undeniably Enigk.

In the nineties, Jeremy Enigk s on-again off-again relationship with Sunny Day Real Estate (and the short lived The Fire Theft) cast him as a sort of enigmatic emo-rock icon. Overused genre classifications and debatable perceptions aside, there s a depth to Enigk s work that confirms his undeniable musical contribution. 96 s Return Of The Frog Queen stands as a standard of grandiose chamber pop. So it s no surprise that World Waits, a mere two years old, is already becoming an intelligent pop music classic in its ghostly transcendence. The simple fact that Enigk s solo work has kept the rapt attention of diehard fans in an oversaturated media wasteland with a mere two releases over the course of an entire decade is a testament to the depth of Enigk s craft. Now he s back to round out his releases with the playfully titled OK Bear, the minimalist rock combo answer to his dramatic orchestral discography.

1. Mind Idea
2. Late of Camera
3. April Storm
4. Life’s Too Short
5. Just a State of Mind
6. Sandwich Time
7. In a Look
8. Same Side Imaginary
9. Restart
10. Make Believe
11. Vale Oso
12. Sant Feliu de Guixols

Genre: Indie, Rock, Emo, Singer-Songwriter
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Be sure to check out the adorable video to the single “Kandi” at the bottom of this post!!

The debut album from One Eskimo (Little Polar Records) boasts pockets of quality from the opener ‘Hometime’ to the closer ‘Amazing’. Probably one of the first band’s to include not only one Eskimo, but a monkey, a giraffe and a guitar playing penguin. confused? Well me too.The songs possess simple, yet beautiful lyrics akin to William Fitzsimmons and the album production has the quality of a Tom McRae long player, yet the final product does not have any of the depressive overtones associated with both troubadours. One of the problems with the album is that it may either be described as a laid back offering suitable for the likes of a lazy afternoon on the beach with a cold beer or, as coffee table music which can pass you by before you know it. The first single to be lifted from the long player ‘Hometime’ is a laid back affair which has dreamy backing vocals and some mellow horn playing. One slightly confusing point is to why this was chosen as the debut single and not ‘Kandi’. The third track on the album opens with a hypnotic acoustic guitar line along with some subtle percussion and an inoffensive call and answer vocal lines which immediately drag you into the song. Similarly ‘Simpleday’ opens up with a catchy guitar riff which is complimented by feel good vocals, the simple yet effective lyrics are shown on this one with “Don’t show that you’re a single man / and not a day goes by without a porno mag”.I have to say that my only negative point to the album is that towards the end of the long player you sometimes get angry from thinking that some scallywag has switched your new laidback One Eskimo album for a cheesy James Blunt placemat, particularly on track ‘Chosen One’.'UFO’ offers a slightly darker atmospheric side to the band and the final track ‘Amazing’ whilst making me want to get out my James Blunt dartboard again has a conclusive feel and is a suitable choice for the last track.All Balloons is released June 1st and debut single ‘Hometime / Givin’ Up’ on May 25th, my suggestion is to skip the single and get the album or wait for ‘Kandi’.

1. Hometime 4:31
2. Astronauts 5:05
3. Kandi 3:33
4. Slip 3:38
5. Simpleday 3:14
6. Choclate 4:06
7. Balloons 4:06
8. Chosen One 3:51
9. UFO 4:22
10. Amazing 4:14

Genre: Indie, Alternative, Rock, Acoustic, UK - EXCELLENT!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

A guest spot from actress Tilda Swinton is just one of many reasons to prick up your ears and listen to this fourth album from dashing English singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf. The album is comprised of two markedly different sets of songs, which begin with a collection that Wolf describes as “a nihilistic battle record.” Fortunately he demonstrates his softer side by dedicating the second half of the record to “battles of love,” a volte-face apparently triggered when he fell in love shortly before recording commenced. The album is titled The Bachelor, and Wolf’s desire to deviate from the beaten path of rock & roll has prompted him to sell shares in the recording.

1. Kriegsspiel (Wargames)
2. Hard Times
3. Oblivion
4. The Bachelor
5. Damaris
6. Thickets
7. Count Of Casualty
8. Who Will?
9. Vulture
10. Blackdown
11. The Sun Is Often Out
12. Theseus
13. Battle
14. The Messenger

Genre: Indie, Pop, Folk, Alternative, UK
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

Thanks Aninka & JonB!

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

Everyone from Nirvana to Pavement to Stone Temple Pilots cite Meat Puppets as one of the most significant American bands.  The highly influential Meat Puppets started as a punk rock band, but established their own unique style, blending punk with country and psychedelic rock.  Meat Puppets later gained significant exposure when the Kirkwood brothers served as guest musicians on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. The band’s subsequent album Too High to Die went gold, selling over 500,000 albums, and became their most successful release. The band reunited in 2006.

Recorded at The Saltmine in Phoenix, Arizona in winter 2009, Sewn Together features the Kirkwood brothers, Cris and Curt, with drummer Ted Marcus.  It will be released on May 12, 2009 on Megaforce Records.

01.Sewn Together
02.Blanket of Weeds
03.I’m Not You
04.Sapphire
05.Rotten Shame
06.Go to Your Head
07.Clone
08.Smoke
09.S.K.A.
10.Nursery Rhyme
11.The Monkey and the Snake
12.Love Mountain

Genre: Rock, Country, Punk
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

When we heard that the next Manic Street Preachers record was going to be entirely compiled of ex-member and ‘presumed dead’ legend Richey Edwards (SG News HERE) we were more than just little excited.  Well as time passes, more news comes to light and today we have been given the blessing of an advance of that record which goes by the name of Journal For Plague Lovers.

May 18th is it’s confirmed release date and if you were reading the news yesterday, you would’ve seen THIS article about the bands announced UK Tour set for this May and June.

Nicky Wire of the Manics wrote a statement about the upcoming LP and its content:

“The brilliance and intelligence of the lyrics dictated that we had to finally use them. The use of language is stunning and topics include Le Grande Odalisque by Ingres, Marlon Brando, Giant Haystacks, celebrity, consumerism and dysmorphia all reiterating the genius and intellect of Richard James Edwards.”

01 Peeled Apples
02 Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
03 Me And Stephen Hawking
04 This Joke Sport Severed
05 Journal For Plague Lovers
06 She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach
07 Facing Page_ Top Left
08 Marlon J.D.
09 Doors Closing Slowly
10 All Is Vanity
11 Pretension_Repulsion
12 Virginia State Epilpetic Colony
13 Williams Last Words
14 Bag Lady

Genre: Rock, Alternative, UK - GOOD!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *

After rumors of a possible delay, Passion Pit’s new album, Manners, will be released on its original May 19th release date. Whew!

Passion Pit, is the Boston based band which started as a solo project of singer/songwriter Michael Angelakos.  After producing a six-track EP titled Chunk of Change as a gift for a girlfriend, it landed other peoples hands as well and they all loved it.  Passion Pit, the band, formed and in 2008 they were selling out venues like Bowery Ballroom in New York City.  So we’re excited that they finally have a full-length coming out next month.

We got ahold of two tracks from the upcoming release, and you can download them now.  Also be sure to check out the gorgeous video to their first single The Reeling.

Passion Pit - “Little Secret” (Right-Click, Save As)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Passion Pit - “The Reeling” (Right-Click, Save As)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The French singer and Prince look-a-like Sliimy first created a stir on the Internet with his much-cooler-than-the-original cover of Britney Spears’ Womanizer. Since then, he’s scored a record deal with Warner music,  released a perky music video for his European single, Wake Up (watch it below), and earned a gaggle of fans worldwide who sweat his cute, colourful and self-described “weird” look. He breaks down the formula for his eccentric style:

Have fun with colour…
“Try to find colours that reflect your personality,” says the 20-year-old, who proudly doesn’t work with a stylist. “I wear a lot of red and yellow because they’re mood lifters. They can convey all sorts of feelings from happiness to sadness. Right now, my colours say, ‘I’m happy. I’m child-like.’ You can create a look that literally livens up your life,” he adds.

When all else fails, put on a bow tie…
“I love bow ties because they’re smart in a certain way, but they also add humour. So I always wear them because it taps into both sides of my personality, the nerdy and the funny.”

Change it up…
If five years from now, Sliimy shaves his head and dumps the glasses, don’t be shocked. “I’m all about change. Five years ago, I looked completely different. And years from now, I could switch to all black. For me, it’s important to grow and change as a person. So I like my clothes to reflect this,” he says. “But I’m also really paradoxical. I have two conflicting sides: the really sober and serious and the really silly and funny. So I’m always trying to balance the two by changing my look up.”

01. Wake Up
02. Magic Game
03. Our Generation
04. Every Time
05. Paint Your Face
06. Baby
07. Trust Me
08. Mum
09. Waiting For
10. Tic Tac
11. My God
12. See U Again
13. Womanizer (Demo)

Genre: Indie, Pop, France - FUN!!
MySpace | Buy It | Try It

* E-mail astoundingsoundz (at) gmail.com if you’d like this link removed *