“Albatross” by Dark Mean, from the upcoming release of the EP “Samuel The Phoenix” (out on February 25th, 2014). The video was directed by Lee Skinner (Jessy Lanza, The Dirty Nil) and depicts a regretful man returning to his hometown.
NXNE starts in a couple hours and I haven’t posted my picks yet. They are on the way. Hang tight. In the meantime, check these out.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah want you to have their first single called “Same Mistake”, off their third album Hysterical. Look for that John Congleton produced album September 20th in the US, and September 12th in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
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Hamilton band Dark Mean have just released their self-titled full-length album and here’s another track off the record.
Download: “Smoke Lake“.
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While checking the Broken Speaker today, I saw they had posted new songs from Toronto’s Hooded Fang. Head there to channel that 60s beach vibe in “Den Of Love” and “ESP”.
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Thought I’d end this post with a video, here’s UK artist Chad Valley (aka Hugo Manuel) with his first single “Now That I’m Real (How Does It Feel?)” off his EP, Equatorial Ultravox, which will be released June 21 on experimental pop label, Cascine.
Now That I’m Real (How Does It Feel?) from chad valley on Vimeo.
Its been four year since Hamilton’s Dark Mean started recording music and June 14th marks the date when they’ll finally release their debut LP. The road was filled with ‘unusual obstacles, unanticipated excitement and devotion’, releasing two “work in progress” EPs without much expectation. But, the music stood up and got great reactions from those that heard it. With the guidance of producer Michael Keire (Wildlife, Apostle of Hustle) the band have stayed true to their goal of not settling for anything less than what they had set out to make.
The album is streaming at Bandcamp and “Happy Banjo” (below) is a free download.
here’s the video.
Happy Banjo from Dark Mean on Vimeo.
Wow, its finally finished.
I’m thinking that this is by far the best mix that I’ve done on the site, perfectly fit to spruce up your ipods in these dwindling days of summer. Head to Indie Music Filter: Volume 6 to stream the songs, read about the artists and download the mix. **Note: This songs will be downloadable for two weeks only, so get the mix now.
Oh, and pass it along. Click the sharethis link below to put this link up on facebook, twitter, or a variety of other social networking sites.
We’ve had to take the songs down, but you can grab most of the mix at iTunes.
Here’s the tracklist.
1) Vacationing People by Foreign Born
2) Dominos by The Big Pink
3) Dull Gold Heart by Band Of Skulls
4) Coast of Carolina by Telekinesis
5) We Do What We Want To by O+S
6) Calypso Gold by Princeton
7) Blogspot by Paul and the Patients
8 White Flag by Cinnamon Chasers
9) Percussion Gun by White Rabbits
10) When I Grow Up (Lissvik version) by Fever Ray
11) Dark Bubbles by Black Moth Super Rainbow
12) Vermillion Plaza by Deastro
13) Sunshine Lover by Small
14) Don’t You Know by Elephant Stone
15) Everyone You Know by Now, Now Every Children
16) Friday Night Rock Song by Caledonia
17) Keep The Lights On by Wave Machines
18) Lullaby by Dark Mean
19) Rome by Dog Day
20) Whirring by The Joy Formidable
21) Walkabout (w/ Panda Bear) by Atlas Sound
Hamilton’s Dark Mean have popped up recently on both Herohill and I Heart Music, garnering impressive reviews from both sites. I thought I’d follow suit as I think we’ve found something special here.
The 3 three-piece comprised of Mark Dean (could that be where Dark Mean comes from?), Sandy Johnston and Billy Holmes have been crafting songs since 2006 but hadn’t recorded any records until June 2008, when after a successful stint as an orchestra band for a play (“The Constant K Determines the Ultimate Fate of the Universe” by Rebecca Nada-Rajah), they were inspired them to get into the studio. The debut EP, Frankencottage (which you can download for free here), showcases the bands evolving worldview on the relationship between music, art and cultural expression.
Each song is unique and stands up straight on its own. For me though, I’m into the slow builder of Lullaby which hits hard when the band sings competing vocals against the banjo.