Mock Orange is a band I’ve been sitting on for months now, so it’s high time I’ve posted them. The album these songs are from, Captain Love, did not manage to capture my attention as a whole, but songs like World Of Machines certainly did. Undeniably catchy and slightly odd at the same time, you’d find yourself singing along if the lyrics made more sense. Song In D isn’t nearly as catchy, but one song of musical herpes (in a good way, I swear) is enough for any album.

From Captain Love
World Of Machines - (MP3, 4.5 MB)
Song In D - (MP3, 5.1 MB)

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Pushboxer is a band out of Oxford that agrees on me with their influences: The National and Interpol. I’d even throw an extra one in, The Cure, if only because Pushboxer’s new single, Pictures, reminds me so much of them. If you’re into the gloomier side of rock music, these guys should be right up your alley. In otherwise unrelated news, keep an eye peeled for my best of ‘08 picks, which are more encompassing than the version Ant did a while back. Stay tuned!

From Pictures
Pictures - (MP3, 4.1 MB)
Water - (MP3, 3.4 MB)

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I was going to post this yesterday as a March Madness mix, but as I did not, it is now an April Fool’s Mix. Anyway, I haven’t posted up a mix since last November, and this is a fast and easy way to throw a good variety of music at all you Internet dwellers out there. And remember, if you’ve got some songs to throw my way, e-mail them to me at eitheror.hugh (at) gmail.com. Thanks and enjoy the free tunes! Oh, and if I hear any complaints about the picture, well, I won’t know WHAT to tell you, other than to perhaps invest in some glasses.

Fred - Running - (MP3, 6 MB)

This song is so damned upbeat, you will soon be wondering what the hell I’m doing posting it, but with all the less-than-upbeat songs in here, you might need this one. Besides, it’s great, so why not?

Jeff Hanson - If Only I Knew - (MP3, 4.1 MB)

I’ve written about Jeff Hanson a few times before on this blog, and by that I mean at least twice, so hey, third time’s the charm. Assuming this is indeed the third time and not, say, the fourth.

Marissa Nadler - River Of Dirt - (MP3, 6.5 MB)

It should be no secret around here that I am in love with Marissa Nadler, but in case it is, here’s one of my favorite songs from her latest album, Little Hells.

Masonic - Lady Stardust - (MP3, 4.3 MB)

What can be better than a cover of David Bowie? Well, a good cover, I suppose, which is what this is, so enjoy! It’s not quite so crazy as the original, but maybe that’s a good thing.

Samuel Markus - Rosa - (MP3, 4.4 MB)

I don’t know what to say about this song, so I won’t say anything. Outside of this. And that. And… never mind.

The Boy I Used To Be - (TBIUTB EP) - (7 MP3s, 13 MB)

This one’s actually a full EP of tunes from a young lad in Britain who still makes better acoustic folk than most people. The sound quality is lacking (mono, anyone?), but the songs themselves are rather good so I’d really urge you to get it.

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You weren’t expecting me to write another post so soon, were you, curious visitor? Hah! As luck would have it, I’ve made the mistake of telling a few bands that I’d write about their music. The Happy Hollows aren’t one of these, but that’s OK. They are basically a somewhat crazy indie-rock band from Los Angeles, with a crazy lady for a singer. I recently noticed yesterday that nary a band with a male singer has been posted on this site since December, so I also figured I’d keep the streak going strong. Anyway, I’m quite certain you indie-rock hipsters out there will love their song Lieutenant, and while Tambourine isn’t as noisy or crazy, it’s still damned good. And if you like what you hear, you can grab the rest of the EP from their website for free if you sign up to their mailing list. I think it’s pretty well worth it!

And it has come to my attention that the guy who provides our hosting, well, it’s his birthday. So happy 21st birthday kol, may there be much whiskey and many wenches in your immediate future.

From Imaginary EP
Lieutenant - (MP3, 4.6 MB)
Tambourine - (MP3, 3.7 MB)

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I wasn’t planning on writing anything on here, not so much from lack of music worth writing about as, well, laziness. However, listening to Alela Diane’s new album, To Be Still, I felt compelled to get on here and ramble a bit about it. I’d quickly become a fan of hers after her first album on a label, The Pirate’s Gospel, so I was happy just to learn she had another album to get. After listening to White As Diamonds, one of the standouts on her new album, I was also happy to learn that the album was good. If her folksiness and fantastic singing wasn’t enough for me, the violin playing (and that she lives in Portland now) is a sweet bonus. I’m not sure if I like her new one better than The Pirate’s Gospel, but it is a worthy successor.

From To Be Still
White As Diamonds - (MP3, 5.1 MB)

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Leerone is another lady I’ve posted about before, but she’s easily one of the nicest people I’ve met through this accursed blog so hey, why not write about her again? To quote from what I said back then:

“She’s from California and mixes her slightly unpredictable piano ballads with her lovely voice. That voice will help for those among you who don’t like or can’t get into songs that surprise you with the musical turns that they make. For instance, her song Care For Some Whiskey? has the catchy pop vibes that would make it on mainstream radio, but it is nowhere near formulaic enough.”

She’s going to be at SXSW this year, and is performing tomorrow, so in case you’re down at SXSW and reading this from your laptop, you can go see her too. Here’s the details for her show:

Friday, March 20th @ 5pm
Vintage Lounge
504 B Trinity
Austin, TX 78701

If you haven’t heard any of her songs, I’ve posted one of my favorites, and her new video as well. Now go see her, and tell her Hugh sent you, damnit!

From Imaginary Biographies
Care For Some Whiskey? - (MP3, 3.4 MB)

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While I’ve written about Rykarda Parasol before, that was just a little over two years ago, so hey, why not write about her again? To summarize what I wrote about her back then, 1) her name is incredibly easy to Google, and 2) unlike many folk musicians, both her voice and the music she creates are dynamic. I’m posting a song of hers I didn’t post back then, She’s Like Heroin. It’s really two songs in one, since it’s got a hidden track as well. Also, she says her new album will be recorded by May of this year, with a release sometime this year. So until then, enjoy the free music, you slackers!

From Our Hearts First Meet
Hannah Leah - (MP3, 4.6 MB)
Lullaby For Blacktail - (MP3, 3.4 MB)

From Here She Comes
She’s Like Heroin - (MP3, 7.9 MB)

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Jeez, it’s been five days since I’ve written on here already. No wonder I have such a hard time keeping up. St. Vincent is a gal I’ve been meaning to talk about for a while, but haven’t, until now. Oooh! I’m not really sure what to say about her, but if writing a music blog has been any indication, people don’t really read this anyway. Paris Is Burning is a great song with a bit of a cabaret vibe to it, and that is all the description necessary. The Strangers is from her new album, Actor, that’s out in May, so keep your eyes peeled if you like it.

From Actor
The Strangers - (MP3, 5.8 MB)

From Marry Me
Paris Is Burning - (MP3, 4 MB)

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Inertia really seems to control my blogging, and since it turns out I have not blogged since freakin’ December, happy 2009, hope you’ve had a good one so far. I realize I haven’t posted my best of ‘08 list still, but at least I know what artists will be on it, so how about them apples? Hopefully the inertia will stay in high gear for at least a few more posts, eh?

First up for ‘09 is Lex Land, who you may have heard on Grey’s Anatomy a few months back. She’s only got about 11k plays on last.fm, though, so she has not taken off yet, as it were. On Could’ve Had Me she sounds much like Beth Ditto (from The Gossip) or whatever that girl’s name is from The Duke Spirit. In other words, sexy and soulful. As Much As You Lead is, well, just a good song. The inertia hasn’t made me good at blogging again yet. In either case, enjoy the songs!

From Orange Days On Lemon Street
Could’ve Had Me - (MP3, 4.8 MB)
As Much As You Lead - (MP3, 6.4 MB)

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I got just a little bit tired of waiting for my comrade, Hugh, to get off his kiester to post his considerably more awesome list, so I figured I’d get my very VERY little list of the way. That way, you guys can ignore it quicker and resume waiting for Hugh! Ain’t I nice?

So, without further ado, I present:

Yay! Let’s get started, shall we? Now, my list is only in alphabetical order, so don’t get thinking it’s some kind of numerical ranking system. Cos that’s just silly.

Dido - Safe Trip Home

‘Dido!?’ you’re maybe exclaiming. Oh yes indeed. The thing I very much like about Dido is that despite the resounding success of her debut album No Angel, she managed to stay well out of the fame spotlight to live a relatively quiet life. As well as that, she hasn’t decided to pump out a ridiculous amount of albums like a lot of pop artists these days seem to do: she writes her music when her feelings are plucked, and that’s pretty ok to me! As a result, she’s only done 3 albums since her 2000 release.

Anyhoo, this new album continues Dido’s pretty, sultry, chilled out tunes. Safe Trip Home feels somewhat more mature than her previous albums, which is always a good thing.

And she’s a cutie!

Saint Bernadette - I Wanna Tell You Something

Ah, Saint Bernadette. They were one of the two surprises I had last year, mainly because they’re so darn good. An awesome blend of soul with modern overtones and good old fashioned rock, all wrapped up with a pretty lady singer make for very swell tunes. Saint Bernadette had, I believe, a bit of a quiet intro into the world of music, which I do believe has to be remedied. I suppose the only disappointing thing about this release was that it was only an LP and thus only featured 5 tracks, but boy, they were 5 tracks of awesomeness.

In fact, I found their music so good that I’m currently in production of a music video for Love is a Stranger, one of the tunes off this LP. Now, if that doesn’t tell you how much I loved this release, then, well…I think I’ve failed in blogging.

And she’s (the singer) a cutie!

She & Him - Volume One

Yet another pretty lady graces my list. This time, she’s joined by M. Ward (who is, the last time I checked, a dude), so that makes it ok. R-right? If not, well, too bad, I’m writing about She & Him anyway.

She & Him probably would’ve been one of those groups that, on paper, I probably would’ve ignored. This is a group that does a heck of a lot of country-folk, ballad-y stuff. And as horrible as this sounds for someone who writes for a music blog, it is probably just as well that Zooey Deschanel is the She in She & Him, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have checked them out closely. But hey, all’s well that ends well, right?

She & Him provide for you a collection of fun little tunes, performed with grace and care by Zooey and M. Ward. It’s music that bears no mark of pretentiousness that is so prevailent in music these days. What we have here is an innocent and pleasurable mix of music that you just can’t say no to!

And she’s a cutie!

~

Well, that’s it folks. I could’ve sworn I had another 1 or 2, but I can’t remember right now. Perhaps they’ll mysteriously appear on this post later…

Here’s looking forward to another year of great tunes!

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