THE INDELICATES

I have literally been waiting for years to get to this post -- to finally be able to say, with unabashed, carnival-barker bluster, that THE INDELICATES' debut album comes out today. Glory, glory, hallelujah. God save the Queen.

It was February 24, 2006 when I first happened upon these fine, upstanding Brits. The blog was INDIE FOR DUMMIES (now INDIE FOR BUNNIES), and I fell fast and hard for the delicioso demos they were then peddling. "We Hate the Kids" and "Waiting for Pete Doherty to Die" were instant standouts, inspiring me to type the following succession of letters:

"[THE INDELICATES] are led by SIMON and JULIA INDELICATE - whose married-in-name-and-novelty-only vocal interplay brings to mind the SHANE MACGOWAN/KIRSTY MACCOLL dynamic of "Fairytale of New York." Or maybe they're what would happen if you jammed JARVIS COCKER, BLACK BOX RECORDER, and BILLY BRAGG into a blender. You'd get something thick. A bit bitter. Dark. Delightful. Delicious."

So there it is again. "Delicious." Delicioso. I might have added "decadent." "Droll." Bitter/sweet piss-takers. Sweet/tender hooligans. Bonnie & Clyde as essayed by GAINSBOURG & BARDOT. SID & NANCY crossed with THE CARPENTERS. (Okay, we go too far....)

The name of the album, by the way, is AMERICAN DEMO. It is available from any number of UK record shoppes, as well as iTUNES. By all means, seek it out. It's been a long time coming. It's been well worth the wait.

THE INDELICATES on MySPACE.

[MP3] "The Last Significant Statement to Be Made in Rock'n'Roll"

[MP3] [VID] "Sixteen"

[VID] "Julia, We Don't Live in the 60s"

[VID] "America"

BONUS TRACKS >>>

[MP3] "Fun is for the Feeble Minded"

[MP3] "A New England"

[MP3] "Waiting for Pete Doherty to Die"

[MP3] "We Hate the Kids" [demo]

JAMES - PART 2

JAMES on WIKIPEDIA.

From the LP MILLIONAIRES, 1999 >>>
[MP3] "We're Going to Miss You"

From the LP PLEASED TO MEET YOU, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Alaskan Pipeline"
[MP3] "Gaudi"
[MP3] "Fine"

From the LP HEY MA, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Upside"
[MP3] "Waterfall"

BONUS TRACKS >>>

[MP3] "Destiny Calling"

[MP3] "Ring the Bells" [live]

ODDS 'N' SODS #10

[MP3] LADYTRON/"Black Cat"

[MP3] EDDIE VEDDER/"Society"

[MP3] MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND/"Bass Player"

[MP3] THE SWEET SERENADES/"First Taste of Trouble"

[MP3] THE HERMIT CRABS/"Friend's Folk Festival"

[MP3] FREDDIE STEVENSON/"Easy Now"

OCTOBERMAN

OCTOBERMAN is a Canadian collective led by MARC MORRISSETTE (apparently, no relation to ALANIS, may the heavens be praised). In various reviews, the band has been likened to BRIGHT EYES, PAVEMENT, and CALEXICO. Their 2007 sophomore release, RUN FROM SAFETY, spawned the subsequent twofer....

OCTOBERMAN on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Shit Just Falls Apart"

[MP3] "Chasing Ambulances"

DE NOVO DAHL

Nashville indie-poppers DE NOVO DAHL list a boatload of influences on their MySpace page. Here are the B's: BOWIE, BEACH BOYS, BLUR, BUZZCOCKS, (B)EN FOLDS, PET SHOP (B)OYS. And the S's: (S)TEVIE WONDER, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, SUPERGRASS, SUPREMES. (In a pinch, I'd list the two "Super" groups as most representative of the DND sound.)

The first two songs below are taken from De Novo Dahl's second LP, MOVE EVERY MUSCLE, MAKE EVERY SOUND, which dropped in March.

DE NOVO DAHL on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Make Some Sense"

[MP3] "Heartbreaker"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Waiting for My Friends"

CAESARS

Outside of Sweden, at least, CAESARS are best known for their iPod-ad-accompanying jingle-single "Jerk It Out." Now, they're back with a rather ambitious 2-disc album entitled STRAWBERRY WEED. It's been out in Sweden for about a month now, but won't see a wider release until May 6. Despite the multitude of new tuneage, there's little here to suggest that these guys will be shedding their "one-hit wonder" label anytime soon.

CAESARS on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Crystal"

[MP3] "You're Next"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Jerk It Out"

MOBIUS BAND

Brooklynites MOBIUS BAND put out a free EP of cover songs back on Valentine's Day. You can still download the songs [HERE]. (Besides the two below, the originals are by NEIL YOUNG, DANIEL JOHNSTON, DYLAN, and DAFT PUNK.)

MOBIUS BAND on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Baby We'll Be Fine" [THE NATIONAL cover]

[MP3] "Mobius Band in a Green Cotton Sweater" [CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE cover]

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Hallie" [from the LP HEAVEN, 2007]