Some new tracks that sounds especially good in the sunshine:

KICKER - Blue
This is a track from the London-based band Kicker’s upcoming debut album ‘ our wild mercury years’, out on the track and field organization on the july 4th. The band includes past members of velocette, comet gain and hood, and sounds like a modern c86-band. Fine, melodic guitar-driven popmusic, - with lyrics of love lost and found.
(band’s website)

SMOOSH - massive cure

I have ever heard anything like this, - I think, - and I like it! The track is built upon a strange and infective rhythm, and the vocals are also original. Smoosh are a ten and twelve year old (!) sister duo who make exceedingly endearing, piano-based indie pop. Impressive! NME has already called them “The hottest new band in the US underground”, so I guess with their age, they have time to build a big music career.
The duo were discovered by Jason McGerr (Death Cab For Cutie), who is a teacher at the renowned Seattle Drum School, where he met the girls. Smoosh have fans in other great bands too; They have toured with Jimmy Eat World and Mates of State and played with Rilo Kiley, Pearl Jam, Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, The Presidents of the United States of America and Cat Power (who paid tribute to the band by lip synching their rap song, “Rad” at 2004’s Sasquatch! Music Festival). This is from their debut album ‘She like electric’, out now. More on Smoosh here. Also check out their KEXP performance.

SYME - ad kosmos!

Syme are 5 norwegians from Bergen who make delightful, original, nice, melodic, jangly, rhythmic pop. They have just released their debut album ’swing swing’. More info on Syme here (in norwegian). The album can be bought at their website.

While reading, you can listen to some free mp3s by Lali Puna from other websites (epitonic.com/ insound.com): 603 (from tridecoder), Everywhere and allover (from tridecoder), nin-com pop (from scary world theory), together in electric dreams (from reproductions: songs by the human league, and also on this new compilation). You can also check out my review of this new album and my review of the single by John Yoko in the review section.

The German indie-electronica band Lali Puna released their new compilation “I thought I was over that” on the excellent Morr Music-label recently. On this new double-album, the band makes a re-visit to some of their older material, - rare stuff, B-sides and remixes.
We spoke to singer and songwriter Valerie Trebeljahr, who started the band back in 1998. She starts by telling us about the new album from Lali Puna:

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Jeremy Warmsley is a half-French/half-English songwriter who in his own words makes electronica with songs in them. He will release his first single on the independent label Exercise1 on july 4, named “I Believe In The Way You Move”. His first EP “5 interesting Lies” will be out later this year, in october. Jeremy has been a songwriter since he was 17, but in january this year, he threw away all his old stuff and started on scratch with a new way of writing songs. I quote from his biography:

He began to experiment with new sounds and influences, rewriting and recasting his songs in electronic soundscapes (something he had always dabbled in), and began to make music somewhere between scuzzy lo-fi bedroom folk, wiry angular rock and bleepy experimental electronica, never forgetting the importance of strong melodies and lyrics.

He has toured with bands like Mystery Jets , Redjetson and the Young Knives.

Here are some songs from a demo of his upcoming EP, - great stuff:
Jeremy Warmsley - 5 verses
Jeremy Warmsley - after the fact
Jeremy Warmsley - the centre of things
Jeremy Warmsley - I believe in the way you move (video)

website:
http://www.jeremywarmsley.com
label:
http://www.exercise1.net/

“I thought I was over that” is a great title for this double compilation-album that brings something new, something rare and something old from german electronica/leftfield-indie band LALI PUNA.
- also check out my related review of John Yoko and my upcoming interview with Valerie Trebeljahr.

You find B-sides, coversongs, rare songs and songs that either Lali Puna has remixed for others or that other artists have remixed for Lali Puna. Artists on this album include Tim Simenon/Bomb the bass, Boom Bip, Two Lone Swordsmen, DNTEL, Alias, Sixtoo and To Rococo Rot, amongst others. You will also find two new songs here, - first the short instrumental opening track, “the failure of the leading sign industry”, written by the bands newest member, keyboard-player Christian Heiß. The second new track is more ‘lali pun’ish’, - “past machine”-, a song that could well have fitted into the tracklist of their latest studioalbum ‘faking the books’.
After listening to the album almost repetingly for some days, I notice how well it is put together. Everything is right here, - the tracks are where they should be, and they fit good together. I have always had a problem with remix- and rarity-compilations, because they often compile expressions that differ substantially from each other. This compilation has Lali Puna’s trademark on every track. It is not a fans-only compilation, - this one could be enjoyable for everybody who likes intelligent music from somewhere between indie and electronica.

Both the coverversions (two great covers of Human League’s “together in electric dreams” and Slowdive’s “40 days”) and their remixes for other artists have a clear and original Lali Puna-sound. Other artists who have remixed Lali Puna also seems to have kept the elements that are so characteristic for Trebeljahr & co.

There are many stand-out tracks that impress me on this compilation. 19 tracks is a lot of music, but out of those 19, there are only a couple that I feel they could have left out. I am not a fan of the flowchart remix and not the Thomas Leboeg remix from 2000 either. But everything else is high quality music. If I have to choose some of my favourites here, it would be “40 days”(slowdive cover), “clear cut” (with Bomb the bass), The daily match, past machine, + the remixes from to rococo rot, alias, boom bip and sixtoo. The “Left handed dub” by Lali Puna is also an awesome and dirty dubby groove experience!

I miss Valerie Trebeljahr’s vocals on the instrumental tracks here. She is Lali Puna, and her voice is the main thing I associate with the band.
As a whole, I must say I am impressed that a band could put 19 tracks from their full career, - including remixes and other artists’ work, on one compilation and make it work so well together. Clever work.

Related links: Morr music | Lali Puna

Here are some links to some recent reviews in my eardrums blog:

John Yoko - papa was a rodeo / the morning papers 7″

Wallpaper silhouettes - echo the world (we live in)

Serena Maneesh - Zurück (EP)

Lorna - static patterns and souvenirs