The Whigs - Mission Control

Well I can say I was honestly extremely happy to come across Georgia's "The Whigs" sophomore album last week while surfing the net. Their first album, "Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip" was an album which stood out in my music collection from the past couple years. A straight-forward, honest, rock and roll record which I could listen to start to finish whenever I was getting bored of my current selection. These 3 fella's are a hard working, touring band and hopefully this album will bring much do respect and popularity. So please treat yourself and nab "Mission Control" now and prepare for a full on rock and roll session.

BitTorrent Users: Download here
Non-BitTorrent Users: Download here.
Stream the album: Click here.

Check out their reviews at MetaCritic here.
And check out their bio at AMG here.

The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

Ohh, thank goodness I came across Montreal's "The Unicorns" while working at CHMA Radio at Mount Allison. After discovering their whacky, extremely fun and jovial album I was in love. Although the boys only released a demo and this album they have since reformed as "The Islands" with yet another helluva album. Critics love them and how can't you? Using bizarre and random kids instruments/toys to create a rich sounding album is one of their keys; the other is to make songs with no chorus. Give this album a try, if you're as much a fun of fun pop/rock music as I am, you'll totally dig it.

Check them out at AllMusicGuide here.

And on MetaCritic here.

Here's the album streaming on imeem.com:


And the video for "I Was Born a Unicorn" here:

The Vasco Era - Oh We Do Like To Be By The Seaside

Hello all! Here's some rock and roll for the New Year, The Vasco Era. How can't you like a band with a drummer that goes by the name Fitzy?

Here's a taste of Sid O'Neil's vocals:



And here's a live performance of the second track, "When We All Lost It."



Get it here.

Also, make sure you check out Steal this Film II, which is about the evolving way we share information from the times of the printing press to bit torrent. You can download it here.

Fishboy - How We Failed To Save The Lone Star State With The Power Of Rock And Roll

In the same vein as experimental rockers The Unicorns (aka Islands) comes this clever Texan band, "Fishboy". The songs are poppy as they come, but at the same time totally rock. Their lyrics are hilarious with many references to using cut up credit cards as guitar picks and the taco stand they run. The sounds is fresh, the lyrics are clever and the music is fun. Throw this album on in the shower or on your walk to work and you'll have a whole lot more jump in your step.

Listen to the album hurr:

The Golden Dogs - Big Eye, Little Eye

Check it!

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

Oh how I love thee Chromeo. I vividly recall stumbling across Chromeo during my final exams in 2005... I was sitting studying away, rocking out to DFA1979 and figured I would check out their label-mates on Vice Records. Lo and behold Chromeo's entire album was streaming on the Vice site. I was immediately hooked (yes, even though it was a low-quality flash-based stream), I let that album play straight for 3-4 hours I am sure. There insanely retro and hilarious beats were so retro and cool it was refreshing. I've always had a love for that 80s analogue sound, and Chromeo delivered directly to my aural pleasure. These Montreal boys, nicked Dave One and Pee Thug, create hilariously catchy tracks which will keep any party bumping. This, their latest album (Fancy Footwork) has seen mainstream success -- but definitely do not overlook 2005's "She's in Control", perhaps an even better album. Here's the main mantra of Chromeo: "From the beginning, Chromeo made it clear that artful detachment, cheesy electro-funk breakdowns, and gleaming plastic beats -- not serious intent or aggressive musical regime change -- were the name of their well-dressed game." So do yourself a favor and download BOTH of these albums now, and you'll be guaranteed to have a fun weekend soundtrack.

Download 2007's "Fancy Footwork" here and 2005's "She's in Control" here.

Here's the review for "She's in Control" on MetaCritic.
And here's there bio on AMG.

Check out the awesome track "Bonafide Lovin'" from "Fancy Footwork" here:

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Three of the best reviewed albums in the past 2 years have been from James Murphy, the DFA label owner's project "LCD Soundsystem". The first self-titled debut album dropped in 2005 with amazing reviews. Murhpy's infectious, catchy beats are smooth and mature, I would say eletronica for sophisticated, hipsters who enjoy indie rock. Now, for me 2007's "Sound of Silver" is the better album (although MetaCritic has them both clocking with an astounding score of 86). Sound of Silver has shown a little more maturity and growth from the debut album... the whole thing melds together so well and is an ideal album to toss on while trying to get some office/desk work done. Now, in addition to this LCD also dropped an album this fall called 45:33. Commissioned by Nike (sell-out? Meh, the debate goes on.... if bands still have street cred after Apple uses their tunes, then why not other companies?). The idea of this album (which a seamless mix of LCD's tracks) is to serve as the perfect soundtrack to your workout - building up, plateauing and then coming down. A clever idea, which, surprisingly, seems to work. The reviews for this album were even better!

Download Sound of Silver, here! Read the MetaCritic reviews here.
Download LCD's self-titled 2005 debut here. And the very cool 45:33 mix here.
Check out their biography here at AMG.

Check out the "All of my Friends" video here: