The emerald green waters upon which the couple float on the front of ‘Half Asleep Upon Echo Falls’ reminds me of a copper sulphate-saturated lake in North Wales I saw as a child: a welcoming, brightly coloured pool of mineral-enriched balminess. The Louisville electro-folk of Whistle Peak is a similarly buoyant and luxuriant experience: eleven tracks of melancholy-tinged Vaudevillian alt-pop floating on banjos, xylophone and egg-shaker with washes of electronic flutter and mechanical scrape that soothes and surprises. At the gentler end of the album’s spectrum ‘Sleepy Pants’ is an unhurried early morning stretch of the arms, a mellow ...

Town Hall declare they are " not your run-of-the-mill Brooklyn folk group " and claim kinship with Woods, Beirut and The Middle East. The core three-piece – multi-instrumentalists Stefan Weiner, Phoebe Ryan and Jesse Kranzler – recall from that list a miniature The Middle East , smaller in numbers and less expansive than the now defunct Australian chamber-folk six-piece but just as intricate and precise in their gently orchestrated alt-folk musings. Supported by a host of string and woodwind players and a respectfully-in-the-background rhythm section, their second EP release is a name-your-price digital five track EP . The quiet simplicity of ‘Just Watching My Breath’ opens ...

Last week we launched an idea called '405 Community' - which is a big project we plan on building upon this year. More info can be found here , though for now it's just about shedding light on you, our readers. Every week we'll ask you question via the site/twitter/facebook/tumblr and the best answers will be included here, alongside anything else from our networks we feel like sharing. Last week we asked you the following question: What's the best thing you've heard this week? Our Favourite Responses A lone track on a newly created Bandcamp ...

Now that those New Year's hangovers (and subsequent existential chills and sniffles) are starting to heal, it’s time to turn 2012 from a potential Mayan catastrophe into a jubilant musical carnival. To that end, SPIN’s editors have chosen 25 highly anticipated albums that should keep your heart full and the specter of the Long Count calendar at bay. Enjoy! Snow Patrol , Fallen Empires  (Island) Release date: Jan. 10 Ideally suited, it would seem, to release records during the wintry months, Snow Patrol return touting their sixth studio album as a break from form — or at least a ...

This past year in concerts was like the novel you pick up with few expectations that, in its own understated manner, quietly knocks your socks off by the time you turn that last page. None of this year's shows matched the bombast and spectacle of last year's Fire">Arcade Fire show at Merriweather Post, or the surreal Broadway musicality of Sufjan Stevens at The National in Richmond which, unless knocked from its perch, ranks as the greatest concert I've ever seen. Without further ado, here are the five best shows I saw in 2011: 5) Sharon Van ...

100. Timber Timbre "Black Water" "Black Water" floats along with a sweet nostalgia that doesn't get too wrapped up in its own appeal. The keys remain understated and give ample room to Taylor Kirk's crooning vocals. Timber Timbre carries an effortless cool throughout the track, but the single and sustained violin note and lonesome saxophone that end the song give the track an uneasy ending that adds to its mysterious charm. —David Ruiz 99. The Drums "Money" The Drums take a perfectly solid guitar rhythm and make it crazy catchy with vocals that vary between rushed phrases and ...

PropertyOfZack loves Now, Now, Mansions, and K Será, so we thought it’d be a great idea to put the three together for another 10Of’11 End Of The Year List.  Check out the band’s picks below and make sure to check back every day for more! From K Será: The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum -  Home Adele - 21 - Set Fire to the Rain Fleet foxes - Happiness Blues - Montezuma Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys - Stay Young, Go Dancing Jay Z/Kanye West - Watch the Throne - Gotta Have It Beirut - The Rip Tide - East Harlem Bon Iver - Bon ...

Birmingham based folk collective Boat to Row have given NEN an exclusive free download of their 5 track demos and sessions album (available until the 26th Dec only!). Influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, Beirut and Grizzly Bear, the band's demos and Sessions Album is sure to bring some much needed warmth to these... Read more..

The line up for Field Day 2012 has expanded once again with Mazzy Star and Death Grips amongst the latest additions. Formed by a loose coalition of promoters, Field Day is rapidly evolving into one of London's most important one day festivals. Preparations for next summer's event are already under way, with organisers adding several new names to the line up. Ground-breaking American collective Death Grips are set to perform at Field Day, marking a rare return to British soil. Releasing their debut LP 'Ex-Military' as a mixtape earlier this year, the group's mixture of dense rhymes ...

Dress Rehearsal are a Toronto-based rock quartet.  They recently released a new single The Lazy River Road  which features the tracks "River Blue" and "Morning Grey". Check out "River Blue" here: <p>&lt;a href="http://dressrehearsal.bandcamp.com/track/river-blue"&gt;River Blue by dress rehearsal&lt;/a&gt;</p> It has a tumbling guitar line that reminds me of The Meat Puppets .  Nothing else in the song reminds me of The Meat Puppets, but whatever. The band also has a set of covers of Joanna Newsom , Beirut , Bon Iver , and Fionn Regan .  You can find that here .

I just stumbled upon VIRGINS , and I think you’ll be impressed with not only their music, but their very unique backstory. The duo, which consists of Saman Khoujinian and Gabriel Anderson, embarked on a “bike tour”, to record their first record, RGB . This basically had them strapping their instruments on their bikes, as they would play shows every night, and travel around the country during the day. It shows how much dedication these guys had of getting their music out there in a different environemnt. I have to say it must have to paid off, as the sound is ...

Field Day have confirmed the first names on the line up for next summer's instalment. Formed by a collective of independent promoters, Field Day is rapidly growing into one of London's most prominent one day festivals. After a hugely successful 2011, the event is now looking ahead to next summer. Preparations are already under way, with Field Day announcing the first names on the line up for 2012. Glaswegian group Franz Ferdinand are set to close the Eat Your Own Ears stage, with work well under way on their fourth album. The hugely successful Scottish band helped push ...

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of New Music by Region . Every fortnight we aim to present the best new music in 7 major cities and regions from across the UK. With the help of regional correspondents, we plan to present our shortlist of new music in Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Dublin, Norwich, London and Oxford. New Music by Region #12 can be found here ! Name : The Young Runaways – ‘Closer’ For Fans Of : Turin Brakes and Fire">Arcade Fire Website : Official website Correspondent : Lyle Bignon The six-piece neatly wrapped up grand sweeping string arrangements, tight harmonious vocals and indie-rock sensibilities for their ...

Beirut metal band Inner Guilt will be releasing a new album, “Slanderous Society,” and a teaser for the release can be viewed here. The band was previously named TristMoon and released an album, “The Dungeon,” in 2010 under that moniker. This will be the band’s first full-length as Inner Guilt. The band has also posted [...]

Let’s face it, the idea of Beirut the band is outrageous.  Accordions, tubas, cornets, seventeen other instruments you’ve never heard of, and NO GUITAR…all on stage at once, playing music for a crowd of kids under 30.  Who can say why we love Zach Condon’s aural love letters to the places we’ll rarely visit?  It’s [...]