Tim Fitz put out a phenomenal EP called Beforetime which we plugged late last year. This begins as a standard jam, but just keep watching. Don’t even let his smug “here’s a little beatsy kind of thing….yeah” intro fool you either.

The 1.30 mark is mania. No words. Maybe prodigy. I’ve probably said the same for Chet Faker, but this guy is getting marginally close to singeing off that beard.

Props to the talented guys at The Smallest Gig for this video. Strongly advised you head over to their vimeo.

timfitz.bandcamp.com

vimeo.com/thesmallestgig

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Not quite sure if I just saw God, Gandalf, or Danny Devito dressed as a cherokee woman, but quite certain Nick Allbrook just sounded out the meaning of life through Ben Cousin’s intestinal tract and I can now die satisfied.

Pond play Splendour In The Grass next Friday.

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Cogel – ‘Felusine’ (mp3)

So impressed with the new track from Cogel, a five piece out of Sydney (featuring Ed Prescott aka Edward Deer who we plugged a few weeks ago).

‘Felusine’ has its share of lofty atmospherics, with that grand intro alone sounding like it was pulled from Win Butler’s collective memory. There’s a quick spur of verse, before those big instrumentals melt away into some kind of mellow retrospective with vocalist Nick Cogels seemingly weeping over a species of small bird. But for all the pomp of the chorus and small glimmers of Snow Patrol strumming, lord, what a brilliant tune.

That violin, right through to the cascading treble guitars which duck and weave in and out of the last few choruses resolve the atmospheric grounds the track opens with. Rather than being an abrupt way to fill the void, the variations between Cogels’ quieter moments and the band’s Arcade Fire stylings mesh together so well. It’s almost a guarantee that tidy string sections and strategically placed pulsating drums will typically heighten melodramatic feelings of bad love and melancholy, and will more often that not, be followed by video clips of the band trudging through thick forestation. But in all, a real cohesive sound happening here – hopefully an aerial view over more great things to follow from these guys.

www.cogelband.com

www.facebook.com/Cogelband

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MAP is back for July. Our pick for the month is ‘Flaws’ by Runner, but make sure you scroll on down and check out the rest of the great tunes happening around the globe.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the whole 37-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Los Coming Soon – No Way
This is one of our favorite releases from 2012. We Are Family is Los Coming Soon’s first album, in which they deploy 10 great songs filled with electronic textures and a soft, minimalist funky-disco base, all played with real instruments (no programming whatsoever). It was hard to pick one song for MAP, but we think No Way is representative of the whole record (you can buy it here).

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Runner – Flaws
Flaws is an understated instrumental track that drives the emotive dream-pop at the heart of Runner. These guys originate from the west coast of Australia but their sound would sit perfectly with any shoegaze stoner melody coming out of 90s Melbourne. Flaws builds beautifully to a crescendo layered with harmony and a wall of hazy guitars.

AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
Ogris Debris – Sexy Chair
This electronic duo is best known for their onomatopoetic track Miezekatze, a club and radio hit in 2010. Mixing such diverse genres as house, funk and soul, the tongue-in-cheek track Sexy Chair is taken from the Affine Records compilation What A Fine Mess We Made. The most recent Ogris Debris release, The Way feat. Ken Hayakawa (listen on Soundcloud), has a more Arabesque vibe to it.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
BNegão & Seletores de Frequência – Essa é Pra Tocar No Baile
It took almost 10 years for BNegão & Seletores de Frequência to release their second album, but now their music is even more influenced by black music and rhythms such as Afrobeat, soul and samba rock. Essa é Pra Tocar No Baile is one of the breakthrough tracks of the record.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Digits – Where Do You Belong?
My heart melts every time I hear Alt Altman – the one-man techno R&B band known as Digits – purr: “It’s just a broken heart/but you ain’t had a broken heart/like this,” on Where Do You Belong? A song this catchy and infectious should come with warning labels: “May induce repeated listens and become lodged in your head for weeks at a time.”

CHILE: Super 45
La Big Rabia – Nos Gusta Que Sea Así
Music abounds during times of crisis, and La Big Rabia is one of the symptoms of this social unrest we are living with in Chile. Their EP, La Bestia, and their shows begin with a disruptive speech made through a loudspeaker by singer Sebastián Orellana, a sort of tired and furious crooner. After this, a retro rock disposition is unleashed on songs like Para Todos Los Hijos De Puta, with its chorus: “Todos contra los poderosos / Todos contra los que tengan sed de poder” (“Everybody against the powerful ones / Everybody against those thirsty for power”).

CHINA: Wooozy
Glow Curve – Brain Washer
Glow Curve formed in Beijing in 2011 and are influenced by post-rock and electronic music. The quartet absorb and explore new elements to blend complex instrumental sounds from contrasting emotions – manic or quiet, warm or cold.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Zalama Crew – No Hay Marcha Atrás
Zalama Crew is a collective based in Cali, a city very close to the Colombian Pacific coast. An excellent example of what is happening in these lands, their project mixes hip-hop, urban and world music. No Hay Marcha Atrás (“There’s No Turning Back”) is taken from their first album Zalama Lekum, which fuses African rhythm with electronic sounds.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Kúra – Anchor
With the amazing vocal of Fanney Ósk Þórisdóttir as a general highlight, Danish/Icelandic trio Kúra’s debut Halfway To The Moon is a dark, melancholic and rather enticing affair mixing electronica, trip hop, dub and (indie) rock. Here’s single Anchor, co-produced by acclaimed DJ and producer Buda (Lulu Rouge) and accompanied by this beautiful video by Kristian Touborg and Jesper Dalgaard.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Josephine – Pray That I Move
Manchester’s Josephine Oniyama is not another soul girl, even though some early breathless accounts of her work and voice are of the “you won’t believe this isn’t a classic lost R&B or blues recording” variety. Actually, as Pray That I Move shows, Josephine’s vocal delivery and idiosyncratic lyrical vision have more in common with Morrissey than Mahalia Jackson. She’s already made a big stir on the regional scene with Elbow’s Guy Garvey and singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt among her champions. Her debut album, Portrait, is out on October 8.

FINLAND: Glue
Minttu & Olli – Corduroy Boy
Minttu & Olli are a graceful couple homebrewing sweet pop songs. With great vocal harmonies, a gentle folky spirit and smooth melodica sounds, the duo is a Nordic version of She & Him that could have easily been featured in the soundtrack of (500) Days of Summer.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
The Lemon Queen – Sailing In A Wild Love
The Lemon Queen hails from Angers, east of France, where the music scene is flourishing at the moment, with everyone trying to play their cards right. The band makes a difference with their psychedelic pop-rock sound, reminiscent of Klaxons, a comparison particularly true on Sailing In A Wild Love. With catchy melodies and an undeniable energy, this quartet should be followed very closely.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Sandy Bird – Revoke
Little is known about this band from Berlin which formed in 2008 and have already experienced some member changes. Revoke is taken from their Bambaloo EP. Expect to hear more of this promising post-rock act soon.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Electric Litany – Sad Part
Bleak and broody music has never been quite so thrilling. Sad Part is an elaborately orchestrated, inherently dark, minimalist, piano dirge, like a sad dream scented with rain, with searingly compelling lyrical imagery, eerie vocals full of intuitive swells and fades, pauses that embrace some of the pious silence of a prayer and tremolo guitars that do an excellent job of creating a beguiling atmosphere. Electric Litany’s highly anticipated sophomore album is set to be released later this year.

ICELAND: Rjóminn
Útidúr – Grasping For Air
This latest track from the ambitious chamber-pop 10-piece sees them entering almost disco-like realms. A new album should see the light of day in the coming months but those who want to get to know this joyous collective better should check out the band’s 2010 debut album This Mess We’ve Made.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Marcel Thee – Endless Heart
After more than 10 years channeling his creativity with the indie-rock band Sajama Cut, Marcel Thee is now the only original member left. Here he pursues his passion for lo-fi, layered sounds, gospel music and poetry. If you love W.B. Yeats, the album is a tribute to him.

IRELAND: Nialler9
No Spill Blood – Good Company
Formed from members of Adebisi Shank, Elk, Magic Pockets and Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood’s first EP is released this month on Sargent House, home to Fang Island, Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Les Butcherettes. If you’re familiar with any of the bands mentioned then it won’t surprise you to hear that No Spill Blood play it fast and furious, running on the noxious interplay between drums, effect-laden synth, low-end bass fuzz and bellowed vocals.

ITALY: Polaroid
Cosmetic – La Fine Del Giorno
Cosmetic may sing in Italian but I’m sure their songs will speak to you anyway. Their rough and nervous shoegaze sound often drifts towards more muscular music as it makes way for an explosion of guitars. When I saw them live the first name that came to my mind was Dinosaur Jr. The motto on their Facebook page – “Noise and melodies that fight to get the better of each other” – pretty much sums up Cosmetic.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Cuushe – I Dreamt About Silence
Tokyo artist Cuushe last brought out an album three years ago, and it turns out she spent the stretch of time after it was released building her own world. I Dreamt About Silence sees her stretched-out vocals covered in hazy synths, every sound wrapping around one another to create a glowing track you want to be enveloped by. Cuushe shows the best way to escape the rush of the modern world is to construct your own dreamy universe.

(more…)

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The new video for one of the most subtlely catchy tracks going around at the moment. Directed by the wonderful Kris Moyes.

Alpine’s record A Is For Alpine is out August 10 on Ivy League.

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Spender – ‘Magic Man’ (mp3)

On good occasions, you stumble across distinct voices that belong to neurotic dancing machines and all those great. Tom Spender is Spender. Thoughtful arrangements on this track and a happy tide of lightness that makes me want to barrel roll in my undies like the Dominican kid in the photo above (taken by Spender). And my, is that chorus is grand.

I hear Luke Steele feeling a little saccharine, I hear ELO, I hear digestible greatness. Listen up.

(ps. while you’re here, best checking out this fun acoustic session Spender recorded in Ubud, Bali – http://vimeo.com/35630410)

www.spender.com.au

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