July 2010 Archives

This will be the first time in months that I'll be doing Fresh from the Post without the usual Q and A - mostly because of the sudden shift in the force and my midichlorian count hitting an all time low (in other words, life got in the way and I haven't had the time to set up proper interviews).  To accomodate me doing other 'important' stuff until I get substantial earnings from running this website (which at its current state is done all for the love of music, aka for free) - Fresh from the Post  will be done without the glamour of the Q and A, but still with the charm of all that's important -- new and exciting music.

This week, I've got some music courtesy of some amazing bands old and new - 

THE GENTLE ISOLATION

What better way to start our Fresh from the Post and bring sweet music to your ears than to listen to sugary twee pop via The Gentle Isolation. If you can hear a hint of 80s nostalgia in their new single Let's Go Slow, it's because the band started out as a new wave cover band before reformatting their sound to the ever lovable tune of indie pop. This four-piece, made up of Ness Urian (Vocals/12 String Acoustic), Monch Cristobal (Vocals/Bass), Joseph Rovero (Electric Guitars) and Batchie Rudica (Drums), is prepping up for the release of their first EP from indie label LilyStars Records come August 18th.

Let's Go Slow - The Gentle Isolation by Lilystars Records

This is the latest from the series of videos from Jarrod Gorbel (The Honorary Title) to promote his newest album called Devil's Made a New Friend. Here, Jarrod and pals - indie fashion designer Rachel Antonoff and Steel Train frontman Jack Antonoff, sample one of the singles off his album called Each Breath. This undeniably catchy song is a stripped down acoustic version, certainly something that'll pique your curiosity and definitely make you wait in anticipation for the album version, which comes out August the 31st.

Watching Inception last weekend blew my mind off, especially with Joe Gordon-Levitt's zero gravity action sequence. Yet it also reminded me that the last film I saw Leonardo diCaprio in was Romeo + Juliet. It made me feel old knowing that the onceTiger Beat fodder Leo DiCaprio, is now playing married men with kid roles and the goofy kid alien from 3rd Rock from the Sun is playing his slick and dashing point-man. Then I remembered how I loved my Romeo + Juliet OST casette tape and played it to death and also, that I forgot to let you guys know that the Swell Season did a cover version of "Young Hearts Run Free" (which was undoubtedly one of the memorable songs from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack). What's extra good about it is that you can get it for free, down at the Levi's Pioneer Sessions site, where a whole bunch of other artists take on songs that have influenced their music. I'm posting songs from two of my favorite duos here (The Swell Season and She and Him) but you can go check out the site for more music from Jason Mraz, Dirty Projectors and Passion Pit to name a few -

Young Hearts Run Free by The Swell Season

Fools Rush In by She and Him

We're still in DIY mode right now, as today's Video of the Week features a behind the scenes look at the making of experimental electropop collective, Breton's Sharing Notes EP. The album has gotten it's digital release this week, but the neat thing about getting the physical release is the one-of-a-kind box that comes with it. The CD is mounted in an aluminium tin containing a hand-made circuit board, parts list and instructions to create a fully working monophonic synthesiser, sounds from which are featured six track recording. The CD drops next week at Rough Trade, and is available for pre-order right now.

This post is long overdue as I've had this neat little compilation stuck in my inbox for a couple of months now. For this week's Fresh from the Post, instead of an artist feature, we feature a couple of songs from A Cure for the Brokenhearted - a twelve-song compilation chocfull of unique indie gems care of our friends at the Edible Onion.

If you like DIY, this compilation is as endearingly DIY as it gets. Aside from the 12 heartfelt songs, the album also comes packaged in an artsy, hand-made accordion book, that features watercolor illustrations from Edible Onion founder Darian Scatton. For today's Q and A, Darian, who mastered the art of making the ultimate mix CD (which puts my ultimate 80's power-ballad songs mixtape complete with shooting stars illustrations to shame), tells us more about the dying art of the tactile musical experience and brings us back to what really matters most when listening to good music -

I know, I won't even apologize for any lapses in the regularity of my blog posts since it's become a common thing - then again, I always come back do I? And it's always with good stuff. This week we start (again!) with the Video of the Week. Despite the mix of kinky / gross in this video that is oh-so Japanese, the only Japanese thing about this is the Aiwa walkman that you see in the first few minutes. This one comes from French band Mondrian starring a cute Korean girl creating a monster of a sandwich. Directed by Spanish director Jesús Hernández, to kick things off again, our Video of the Week is  Mondrian's 'Last Breakfast On Planet Surf'.