Who: Harlan Pepper

What: Indie-folk brought up-to-date with a sense of humor, a blend of styles, and a little more ‘today’ than most.

Where: Hamilton, Canada. The Google tells me this is in Ontario. Canadian geography is a mystery to me.

Why: Because “Great Lakes” – below and available free from Harlan Pepper’s bandcamp page – is totally awesome. Seriously, it’s a fantastic track – just all-around great. Good lyrics, nice wordplay going on with the lake names, and it weirdly makes me feel like home. I guess because Pittsburgh is near Lake Erie – and by ‘near’ I can only mean ‘nearer than I am right now’ because it’s all relative and stuff – or something, it just feels familiar like home. Anyway … I’ve enjoyed Young and Old, Harlan Pepper’s debut, but I should admit that I think “Great Lakes” really is the standout track. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the rest of this very young band’s album – “Reefer” is pretty great as well – but I think Harlan Pepper is still trying out styles to see how they fit and not all of it is as successful as “Great Lakes” is. Their music doesn’t feel like a cohesive whole yet, but Young and Old definitely has moments that point to potential I’ll like to see develop.

When: Young and Old is out now, available via bandcamp!

Who: Johnny Hawaii

What: Laid back surfer pop, brought to us by Bad Panda Records

Where: From Marseille, France, not often the origin of Hawaii-infused surfer tunes.

Why: Because Johnny Hawaii knows exactly how to bring the sounds of the beach, somehow. With the first few notes of “The Lonely Smurfer”, I can close my eyes and seriously feel like I’m on a sandy beach, sun shining, a warm breeze on the air, nothing but the sounds of the water and some rustling palm trees around for miles. Not that I’ve ever been anywhere near such a place, but Mr. Hawaii really knows how to evoke the image we all associate with the beaches of his namesake state.

When: Johnny Hawaii’s Smurf’s Up EP is out now and available to listen to or download via bandcamp, or learn more about this intriguing man through this little interview.

We got a mail last week about Darren Hayman’s January Songs project – you know Darren Hayman: “ex-Hefner, godfather of modern indiepop, one of the best songsmiths of the past 15 years, oh you know the one”. Ok, I didn’t know any of those things, but I’m sure you do. I’ve been meaning to listen to some Hefner for a while now, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Isn’t it funny how you can somehow miss out on something everyone else has been listening to for ages?

Anyway, so there’s this Darren Hayman guy who everyone already knows everything about, and he’s doing a project right now – January – called, unsurprisingly, January Songs. The goal is to write and record a song for every day this month. It’s already the 19th, but it’s not to late to listen along – you can check out the full schedule here. He’s apparently been keeping a video diary throughout, and has gathered a whole bunch of people to collaborate with on this slightly crazy, but very cool and ambitious project. Especially when whipping out a song in a day can sound as good as this one, recorded with Allo Darlin’s Elizabeth Morris. I don’t think there’s a person out there who can’t relate to this one.

You might remember that I was really, really taken with Lost In The Trees when I first heard them back in November. This is just a little update as we’ve just had news that, because of their 2010 successes, Trekky Records will be re-releasing Lost In The Trees’ first EP, 2007′s Time Taunts Me. It’s a little more than just a re-issue though:

“Over the past three years, between extensive touring and multiple releases, Picker found himself returning to the bedroom recordings of Time Taunts Me, fleshing out and augmenting the baroque compositions until they were as big as they sounded in his head. Picker also recorded three new songs, written during the Time Taunts Me sessions but never put to tape, expanding the seven-song EP into a proper full-length. This is Time Taunts Me the way Picker always envisioned it; and the way the world should hear it now.”

Sounds like something worth hearing indeed. Time Taunts Me will be out on February 1st, presumably through the regular venues as well as a 3-part red-vinyl-LP / CD / MP3 package via Trekky Records.

Who: Jared Mees & the Grown Children

What: Indie folk with a razor-sharp edge, led by Jared Mees (who’s been recording for several years now), joined by an ever-changing group of musicians referred to as the Grown Children.

Where: Portland, Oregon

Why: I’m biased here just because I love the genre – especially lately, I can’t seem to get enough folk and country. This would fit very nicely next to Langhorne Slim, if you’re a fan (which I most definitely am) or even Nick Cave (quite like him as well) – a traditional-ish sound but with a most decidedly modern edge. Subject matter, naughty words, even a slightly too-electric guitar sound here give these guys a dust-bowl-folk-group-meets-carnie-freak-show feel.

When: Mees and co. are currently wrapping up a new album, to which “Cockleburrs & Hay” is, I think, a preview. Or maybe just an unrelated new song. Whatever, it’s pretty great, so check that out and grab their last, Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money, while you wait for more.

Who: Ivan & Alyosha

What: Truly stunning indie-folk

Where: From Seattle

Why: Oh, so lovely. It’s soaring but feels, at the same time, very earthy. The layered vocals on “Glorify”, at least) are incredibly delicate but weighty – I actually want to listen to what these guys have to say. I’ve only had the chance to hear this one track fully and quickly sample tracks from their last release – I’m more intrigued by this newer song, but I definitely want to hear more. I’m probably way behind the times on this one since they’ve already done the SXSW thing and been endorsed by NPR, but I don’t care, I’m just glad to have heard them at all.

When: Ivan & Alyosha’s debut EP, “The Verse, The Chorus”, was released last year (I think – there’s some conflicting information available on that point). “Glorify” (below) is a teaser track for their upcoming 2nd EP, “Fathers Be Kind”, will be out on Missing Piece Records, February 1st, 2011.

Who: Kate and After

What: Indie pop, in a general sense – boisterous and cheerful, great for dancing about the room and singing along to.

Where: Unsurprisingly from Sweden (Gothenburg), apparently the kingdom of happy indie pop.

Why: Because they do what they do really well. They remind me deeply of the first Stellastarr* album, which I loved so so so much, but they never lived up to again. Kate and After picks up where Stellastarr* left off after their debut – danceable pop with a slightly manic edge that keeps things interesting. And keeping in mind that Kate and After is still very young (their debut single was released less than a year ago), they could definitely put out some really fun music in the future.

When: Kate and After’s “Things To Do” EP is out now and free to download via their website. The artwork features the exact Doc Martens that I wanted so badly when I was a teenager back in the ’90s (sigh, I miss the ’90s) and this only makes me like Kate and After just that little bit more.

Who: The Black Knights

What: “Voodoo trash blues”, as described by the band themselves. To me, they sound exactly like an unholy union between The Black Keys and Queens Of The Stone Age.

Where: From Salford, England.

Why: Honestly, I can’t get the above description out of my head – that just really is what The Black Knights sound like to me. They’ve got the raw, minimalist edge of The Black Keys, with a touch of their bluesy-ness, combined with Queens Of The Stone Ages moaning (I mean that in a blues way, not in a Coldplay way), hard rock brand of sinister. I can’t help but feel like I’m not exactly the target audience for this band, but that’s only based on the vampire-horror image their artwork gives them. I’m glad I didn’t make any assumptions based on that, because, to be totally honest, these guys are better than I ever expected them to be.

When: The Black Knights’ debut album, Sickle Sell Saturday Night, is out now on Recreation Records, and available for a pittance via bandcamp.

*Ok, so clearly I can’t do even these little posts every day. I did try though, I swear. From now until I’ve finally caught up on these emails, I’ll just stick with numbering these posts.

Who: Lost In The Trees

What: Very large, sweeping indie “orchestral folk” (as described by group founder Ari Picker).

Where: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Why:Because this is really something special. It might not grab you on the first listen, but it’ll definitely get you to come back for more. There is something incredibly intriguing that really grabs you about each song – and each time it’s something different. One track might has a crashing sound of terror, another touches on electronica, yet another is a stunning orchestral composition. Lost In The Trees sounds like your whole record collection at once, twisting and turning around genre boundaries in a way that will keep you interested for a long time.

When: All Alone In An Empty House, Lost In The Trees Anti- Records/Trekky Records debut, is out now.

Who: Amanda Merdzan

What: Semi-cutesy indie-folk that’ll definitely put you in mind of Kimya Dawson.

Where: Perth, Australia

Why: Honestly, I can’t vouch for anything but the song offered below, I haven’t had a change to listen to more yet, and it’s not like this is a brand new sound or anything. But something about the lyrics in “The Last Song” one got through to my cold, cold heart when I first played it – remembering how much you’ve forgotten about times gone by, loves lost, rang a little true with me and put a tiny tear in my eye. (Don’t tell anyone, ok?)

When: Amanda’s Into The Gallery is out now and available from iTunes and the like, or from emusic here. If you like what you hear and happen to be in NYC, Amanda will be playing shows there for the next few months, so look her up.

Who: Hot Panda (website, myspace)

What: Chaotic indie rock / pop meets punk with a retro 90s vibe.

Where: Edmonton, Canada

When: Second album, How Come I’m Dead? came out two weeks ago and the band just came off a Canadian tour to support it.

Why: Because it’s a lot of fun but still has depth, and makes really good use of all kinds of bits and pieces to make something new. There’s a tiny bit of The Doors, a little 60s R&B / soul, some big-ness in an Arcade Fire sort of way, a little playful wackiness that reminds me of Architecture in Helsinki. “Mindlessnesslessness” is definitely my favorite track that I’ve heard so far, it’s got all of that stuff plus a great garage rock scuzzy echo effect.

Who: Stars and Sons

What: Pure indie pop, done up very lush and kind of explody.

Where: From Brighton, UK (just a fun coincidence that yesterday’s band was from Brighton, MA)

Why: Stars and Sons’ PR people sent along two tracks and the first one I listened to, “Fights Already Fought”, didn’t grab me at all. There’s a really good chance I might’ve left it there – it was pleasant enough, but almost not enough to investigate further. But I pressed on anyway for whatever reason and was immediately grabbed by the keyboard hook in “If It’s Good For Me”. This is the kind of pop that will be perfect for dancing about to, whether in your living room or a club, and that you would actually like to see in the charts.

When: Stars and Sons’ debut LP, Good Morning Mother is out now (buy here from Amazon UK), and current single “Futureproof” is getting radio airplay as we speak.

Sorry I had to leave you all for a while, but I’ve spent the last three weeks cleaning out our inbox in order to provide you with some lovely music. Ok, fine – I didn’t really spent all three weeks going through mail. I spent the first two avoiding it because it was overwhelming, then a weekend with my nose stuck in my laptop, then another week listening to a lot of interesting music I found hiding out in there. Now the unread mail is under control, but the stuff I’d actually like to post about is piling up. My solution isn’t a great one, but the only way I can get these bands mentioned in a semi-timely fashion: I’m making a little new-band-worksheet and will try my best to fill out one per day until things are caught up. They won’t be the most detailed posts ever, but they will at least get some good music out there onto the internets as quickly as is possible for me. So here we go, Day 1:

Who: Royal Hideouts (blog, myspace), a one-man operation whose background is in electronic music but is now giving rock a whirl, on Bad Panda Records. In case you don’t already know, Bad Panda is a “free-download netlabel releasing a new Creative Commons licensed song every Monday”.

What: Fuzzy indie pop reminiscent of The Jesus & Mary Chain with a little surfer-pop in the mix, done with an electronica edge.

Where: Originally from Brighton, Massachusetts

Why: Because this one kind of snuck up on me. I really did nearly delete the mail without further investigation, but I’m sure glad I didn’t. When I was only half paying attention, it kind of felt like stuff I’ve already heard. But when I stopped and really listened, I realized there was a lot more in there than I’d originally thought. Royal Hideouts manages to be poppy and comforting as well as interesting and vaguely experimental. Find out more over at Bad Panda’s Royal Hideouts page.

I’m so late on this one, it’s kind of embarrassing. Yeah, I’m forever moaning about being behind on mail but this one may be a record – it arrived on, cringe, July 15th. Oy. Apologies, Round Ron Virgin – I’ve been enjoying this album on my iPod ever since you sent it, but my lazy ass has been slow in getting a post done. Better late than never?

Definitely, if you haven’t heard Cowabungler yet. Round Ron Virgin is Oli Chance (formerly of Oli ‘n’ Clive) along with about a zillion other musicians – members of Wet Paint, The Rumble Strips, Helsinki, and The Coastguards, among others. Their press release boasts, rightly so, that “the album features no less than 25 instruments, ranging from the euphonium to drum machines, guitaleles, and the humble yet versatile saucepan-and-floor.” Sweet! A little bit folk, a little bit country, a little bit various other genres, Round Ron Virgin manages to play with all kind of styles while still maintaining a sound of their own. “I Love You, But You Are Nuts” is a little acoustic folk-ish ditty that’s been stuck in my head for about a week, “Old, Sick & Die” sounds like New Orleans and is surprisingly life-affirming, “Sailor Song” (below) is a very odd sea shanty that makes me laugh. The sense of humor is definitely one of the best things about Cowabungler, there’s a surreal streak running throughout that keeps you on your toes. Similarly, Chance’s voice manages to sound both forlorn and like he might laugh any second, an unusual quality which I find incredibly charming.

Cowabungler is out now on Records Records Records records (which is only funny if you say it out loud, and gets funnier each time, like the Bob Loblaw Law Blog), and is free to download, remix, or redesign. Chance’s approach is to “make the album as accessible as humanly possible. It’s easy to distribute music these days, and we want to actively encourage fans to pass it on, remix it, re-work it and re- imagine it, then share it with us and everyone else through our website.” So go go go to the Round Ron Virgin website to download the album and find out more.

After – or perhaps because of – a recent-ish collection of solo albums by lead singers, none of which I could fully understand the point of (yeah, I’m lookin’ at you, Julian Casablancas, Paul Banks, Kele Okereke), I was a little nervous when I heard about the upcoming Adam Haworth Stephens solo project. Alec Ounsworth somehow managed to make an album that didn’t really sound like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, despite having one of the oddest and most distinctive voices in indie, but the rest left a lot to be desired. I’m beating a dead horse here, especially as this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this, but I really really don’t get why you’d put a lot of money, time, and effort into a solo album that just sounds exactly like your day job band.

So, seeing as Two Gallants are one of my very very favorite bands – a duo I feel are a hugely underrated talent – I wasn’t sure how their singer / main songwriter could produce something that was any different than what we’ve come to expect. I desperately didn’t want to be disappointed, but I love Two Gallants enough to have been optimistic.

Thank goodness, it’s all worked out rather well. Opening single and pre-release teaser track, “The Cities That You’ve Burned”, raised my hopes significantly – its infectious melody a little more poppy and catchy than Two Gallants have ever been, it showed just enough of a different side to Adam Stephens to be unexpected and intriguing. Where Two Gallants feel like outlaws from another time, Stephens is more direct and modern on this album – nothing drastic, just enough to really feel like this is a completely separate thing. Two Gallants have a definite olden-times kind of style, this is much more musically diverse. My favorite track, “Second Mind” (below) could be described as folk-soul, if such a thing existed, and is beautifully gentle – a song you could even dance to; “Praises In Your Name” is practically indie pop. The lyrics, admitting that this is only a first impression, also feel more personal on this album – if Two Gallants tell tales of America’s forgotten underclasses, these are Stephen’s own present-day stories.

The only place this more modern approach isn’t as successful is “Angelina”. The song itself is just as good as anything else on the album, but the lyrics feel contrived in a way Stephens’ writing has never been before. Only here does modern not work for him – maybe I’m just too used to the sepia-toned feel of Two Gallants, but I can’t help but feel like parts of “Angelina” don’t suit him, like he’s trying out someone else’s style to see how it fits. But this is a minor criticism of what is, overall, a really beautiful album, a definite success following a line of unnecessary solo projects. For years now, I’ve looked forward to new Two Gallants releases – I’m so happy to know I can look forward to more solo work as well.

We Live On Cliffs will be out this coming Monday / Tuesday (the 27th or 28th, depending on where you are) on Saddle Creek Records. Pre-order directly from the official site or Amazon UK.

Baltimore band J Roddy Walson and The Business aren’t cool. They’re not fitting into any kind of musical trend that you love right now – in fact, they’re pretty much going against all the trends in general. Walston would’ve fit better in a dive bar, New Jersey, circa 1975 than post-internet 2010. They totally remind me of Dr. Hook and Three Dog Night and similar bar bands that we’re not really supposed to like but we all know kick ass. There’s also a Southern element (which makes sense, since Walston got to Baltimore via Tennessee), mixing those previously mentioned bands with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Band.

Their influences may not be even remotely related to today’s flavors of the month, but J Roddy Walston and The Business don’t seem to care. And neither should we – partly because I’m sick of trying to keep up with what the flavor of the month actually is, but also because Walston and The Business just make really fun music. C’mon, it’s music to rock out to. And part of what makes it so great is that it’s not trying to be cool at all – Walston and co. are not updating some kind of retro kitsch for a giggle, this is just what they play. The Baltimore City Paper review said it perfectly: “And then there’s Roddy’s utter lack of irony or self-awareness about what he’s doing. He’s not winking at you from behind knowing jokes or clever references. He’s not putting musical air quotes around anything.”

Thank goodness, because this – Walston and The Business’ second and eponymous album – wouldn’t be nearly as good if it was cheeky in any way. It succeeds simply because Walston is playing good ‘ole rock and roll, jamming on his piano, neverminding what the indie kids are listening to these days.

My two favorite tracks are below, and get the album – out now – for yourself from Amazon (UK).

No matter how hard I try, I will forever be at least two-and-a-half-ish weeks behind our inbox. I go through the mail every week, and every week I’m left with a bunch of stuff I want to investigate further. So I download what’s available, put it on my iPod, and let it play for a while to see what I think of it. This system is a little clunky and slow, but it gets the job done. Luckily, this band sent us mail well in advance of their new release so even if did take me almost a whole month, I’m still getting this up with plenty of time to spare. Thanks, Honeytrap!

So on to the good stuff. Honeytrap has, in their own words, “an exciting and unconventional sound which embraces klezmer, folk, alt.rock and the more outré elements of pop”. This is all true, but they haven’t mentioned the best stuff in that perfectly quotable sentence. Sure, they have that whole Eastern European folk thing going on, and they have a lot in common with bands like Beirut, Gogol Bordello, and DeVotchKa. So why do we need another gypsy punk-type band? Because they’re also bizarrely surrealistic and this new album has a song on it called “Roslin Is A Cylon”. How many other klezmer-influenced bands do you know that write songs about Battlestar Galactica? Honestly, this is probably the main reason I downloaded the album in the first place – it definitely caught my attention. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I expected to hear less on this album than references to sci-fi TV shows. Not that the song really has anything to do with BSG – I don’t have the faintest idea what it’s really about. Listening closely to the lyrics doesn’t get me any nearer to knowing what any of it means – “his teeth were telescopes” – but they sure are interesting as hell.

Honeytrap’s manic surrealism and noughties references create a fascinating contrast between the theatrical old world of their musical style and the new world of their lyrics. Similarly, their underlying pop sensibility makes them feel more modern than some of the other bands I’ve mentioned here and Honeytrap has definitely grabbed me quicker than any of them did at first.

Petrushka is Honeytrap’s second album and will be released on their own label (Crooked Teeth Recording Club) on the 6th of September. Download their first single from the album, “To America”, for free from Bandcamp and pre-order Petrushka while you’re at it.

Things have been a bit slack here at 100b but I’ve been getting back into the flow, starting with cleaning up our extremely backed up inbox. I spent a lot of time last week going through a million mails and listening to a lot of music, both good and not so much, and I have a lot I’d like to share with you as soon as I can. But I couldn’t wait on this one, it’s just too great to sit in our inbox all lonely and neglected. Up there in the Top 5 Things I’ve Ever Found In The 100b HQ Inbox, in fact. Seriously.

Marco Mahler, a man of few words based on his to-the-point email, website and even press info, is an acoustic singer-songwriter who actually has something new to share. No offense to all the other singer-songwriter types out there but, as aDawgg would be happy to explain, they’re often kind of same-y. Not so Mahler, whose minimalist indie folk is something very special indeed. In a world where, sadly, everyone is always trying to be the loudest, it’s awfully nice to hear some just be quiet. Laptop Campfire Speed, Mahler’s second album, embraces the notion that you don’t always have to yell to be heard. His guitar is given room to breathe, isn’t over-crowded by a million other sounds; his vocals don’t compete but instead feel like they’re simply floating alongside the music. Where there is percussion, it’s only the slightest patter – only just what is necessary to provide a beat. Mahler’s less-is-more philosophy makes Laptop Campfire Speed feel like you’re sharing a comfortable silence with an old friend – there’s no need to fill up space with more noise when less just sounds better.

The lovely Laptop Campfire Speed was released last month and is available all over the place, including for download via bandcamp and emusic. Check out my favorite track below and be sure to visit Mahler’s official site for his very generous free weekly downloads.

There’s been discussion in the 100b HQ the past few weeks about a new category and yesterday it seems as if we got a winner for the category name: Cover Story. The gist of the new category is, duh, covers. How the covers sometimes surpress the original. And sometimes not. Plus, some background about the covers and/or the original. That explanation could probably be done better, but, it’s still early and I’m waking up. You get the point.

Interestingly enough, as if a gift from the Music Gods, yesterday we received a cover in the 100(mail)b(ox). Someone decided to take David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and give it a run on the cover train. This someone is LA-based Roy Shakked, alias Holmes, who states his influences as ‘the standards’ (including, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Prince, ELO, Queen). And, apparently, David Bowie, too, on his new self-titled album.

Now, I’ve got to be up front with y’all for the sake of fairness: I’m a fan of the cross-Atlantic chart-topping, Duran Duran-#1-bumping, Nile Rodgers-produced original that featured Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. My father had the album and I remember it when it came out in 1983. What captures you in the original is the “One Night In Bangkok”-esque beat and horns. Rarely does a song title actually make you want to do what it tells you to do to the extent I’ve just put on my tin foil hat and checked that music executives aren’t somewhere over the grassy knoll outside actually making me dance while I listen to it.

So, while I think Holmes has produced an interesting cover in that it turns my focus to the lyrics, I’m not sure I needed to hear the lyrics of “Let’s Dance” so clearly. However, as regular visitors to 100b know, I tend to like my music to grab me by the, um, gut and don’t often fall for singing chicks that drive a piano around or drippy guys that focus on soft songs.

However, don’t let me turn you off. Holmes clearly has something. His creativity has been featured on a variety of shows I really enjoy (Sex and The City, The OC, Nip/Tuck) and an hugely enjoyable movie (The Devil Wears Prada). And, I’ve got to admit, Mr. Shakked transforms an upbeat original into a haunting cover that strikes me as the soundtrack to the break up of a couple meant to be together.

You decide:

For more Holmes:

Official Holmes Site

His HolmesSpace

Does everybody already know about Photons? Probably, I’m not always the quickest to catch on to new bands. But I found Photons in our inbox, had a quick listen and was immediately intrigued.

Photons are a San Francisco 8-piece who specialize, it seems, in playing wacky instruments. Don’t get me wrong – this is not silly novelty music, it should just be mentioned that their love of unusual instruments is what makes them especially unique and what will probably grab your attention first. As their press bio says, Photons makes “an energetic brand of indie pop that features bassoon, glockenspiel, clarinet, and a full chest of bizarre instruments such as the electro-harp, soda-bottle percussion and the bulbul tarang (Indian banjo)”.

Though, as I said, you’d probably read that and expect some silly novelty pop, Photons’ music is quite lovely – especially “Where Were You Last Night” (below). Them being a quite large band will automatically gain them comparisons to Arcade Fire and the Polyphonic Spree, I’m sure – and for the same reason they do have similarities in sound to those bands. But don’t let those obvious comparisons put you off, Photons definitely have their own thing going and are well worth your time.

Check out their new self-released EP, Glory! – the first of three to be released this year – available on CD (and with the first in a series of comic books written and adorably drawn by bandleader Calvin Liu) now from Insound. Glory! will also be available from all the usual digital suspects from June 23. In the meantime, check out Photons official site or PhotonSpace to hear more.