Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

Perfect for a sunny summer's afternoon in the park, this track is light and airy but also cheeky and deriding (#..I laughed so hard I fell down...#)

Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

Recommended to me by the same person who opened my eyes to the Temper Trap, Band of Horses and Bon Iver. I'm going to stop listing his credits now because they'll get too long and list-y. He shall henceforth be known as TOBI (so you can search him if you like his style) until he permits me to use his real name.

So that was my attempt at an April fool for the keenos who click the links before reading the entire post :)

Here's the real link. There's no audio for this track on their Last.fm (there is for others) but it's up on their MySpace right now.

Had a listen to the album, 'Ear in the Park' (through spotify) and 'Phantom Other' really stood out for me but also like 'Herringbone', 'Waves of Rye' and 'Therapy Car Noise'.

Cheers TOBI.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 1

Picked this track up on the Mix Tape's latest podcast - it's not on the band's Last.fm page right now but it is on their MySpace.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 1

or "The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)", to give it its full title. The Decemberists look to be playing with Blind Pilot in Portland, Oregon in July...

To me, this song in particular sounds a Gomez-Pearl Jam hybrid.

Anathallo

I'm a bit behind the curve on these guys it would seem...Insomnia Radio blogged them at the beginning of March and our mate Thom Lyons also mentioned them to me a couple of weeks back.

There's a lot of audio up on their Last.fm page and their MySpace lists a gig at the Monto on 26 May (but for some reason the venue website says the 25th).

My favourite track, I think, of the ones I've heard so far is 'The River' - piano intro, syncopated rhythm and memories of the Waltons...

Scott Matthews - Eyes Wider Than Before

Best known for 'Elusive', which was the first track released from the album 'Passing Stranger', but this is my favourite track:

Scott Matthews - Eyes Wider Than Before

Ethereal-sounding guitar running through and a beautiful texture to his voice. Here's his MySpace.

He's playing the Bloomsbury Theatre on 3 June.

Turin Brakes

People tend to remember this band for 'Pain Killer' - a hit in 2003 it reached number 5 in the UK Singles chart (the only one of theirs to make it to the top 10) - but there's so much more to them than the upbeat pop appeal of this one track.

Take a listen to:

Long Distance
Rain City
Dark on Fire

- much more emotive and self-deriding/wistful/passionate, respectively. The last track reminds me of Radiohead a little.

Here's their MySpace.

Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

Re-blogging a track I heard on Insomnia Radio UK's Daily Dose MP3 Blog. I could easily spend all day on their website. Every day :).

There's some fantastic music up there and they transmit a fair few podcasts, but the track I wanted to post is today's free mp3:

Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

and this is their MySpace. Kind of Shins-esque but not as quirky.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Not exactly new but I wanted to post this because it's my favourite version of a classic song that's been covered by many and mullered by some. :)

I remember this from the closing credits of '50 First Dates' but I hear it's also on the 'Meet Joe Black' soundtrack.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I and II)

A friend of mine recommended this one to me a couple of months ago but I didn't truly appreciate it (I blame the rattling laptop speakers) until I bought the album last week. I have since had it on repeat.

To me, the track feels like an unanswered question....

The last.fm page is here but there are no clips or videos linked to it. You can, however, take a listen on their MySpace page at the moment.

I've tagged this as folk because I can't think of any other genre that fits.

Ray LaMontagne - Winter Birds

I was lucky enough to hear this live at his gig at the Barbican last Sunday. It's my favourite track on 'Gossip in the Grain' - there's something so beautiful about the way he sings the line:

#the days grow short, as the nights grow long....#

Unfortunately wasn't able to find a (legal) full version of the track online, but here's a clip from Last.fm.