[rating:4/6]

Brett Bixby is an independent songwriter from Long Beach, CA, who just has released his debut album “City lights” on his own label. Indie? Well, he is in the right use of the word, – as in “unsigned/independent from labels”, but his music does not sound “indie-pop” or “alternative” in any way. In his own press-release, he says that “if Neil Young and Zero 7 had a baby”, it would sound as honest and beautiful as his 10 track album. The album sounds both honest and beautiful, but it does not sound like Neil Young or Zero 7 or their baby.

So how does it sound? It sounds good. Not “cool”, and not like something that we haven’t heard before, – but it sounds really good. And it sounds honest and beautiful, just like the press-release says. I believe in this album and in the words Brett Bixby sings.

Bixby has a very refreshing and soothing voice, and his songs are most often lead by his vocals and an acoustic guitar. His lyrics are sometimes very good, with words and sentences that remain in your thoughts after the albums finished. He sounds like a male Joni Mitchell, and his music also reminds me of Josh Rouse, Elliot Smith and maybe also Nick Drake. This album is warm and intimate, and the perfect companion for a rainy day or a dark evening with candlelights. My favourites on the album is “hindsight” (the chorus…mmmm…), the title track “city lights” and the fantastic “matador”.

Here are two songs from his myspace pages:
Brett Bixby – city lights
Brett Bixby – elsewhere life

This was supposed to be the next Eardrums mixtape, but I never could find the time and will to begin sorting and throwing away “almost perfect” tracks… so, it became a huge music post in the favourites-series! Enjoy, and please comment what you like or don’t like. I like comments!

The 1990s – you made me like it
- from blisspop

The future kings of Spain – venetian blinds
- from myspace

Delaware – with fear and anticipation
- from this norwegian band’s website / myspace

PSAPP- hi
- from labelsite

Morton Valence – bad times for the hare krishna
- from bandsite

Rockettothesky – a flock of chestshire cats
- from the artists website. Norwegian one woman project.

The Grand Opening- slow motion
- from myspace

Hello Saferide – the quiz
- from this swedish artist’s myspace

Manyfingers – in a dead man’s shoes
- from artist’s website. Beautiful experimental sound.

Feist – secret heart (USA version)
- from myspace

Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin – house fire
- from bandsite

The Pigeon detectives – you better not look my way
- from their bandsite. Leeds band.

The Kooks – belly love
- from bandsite

Cold war kids – hospital beds
- from bandsite

The little ones – lovers who uncover
- from bandsite

Pascal – jonnie
- rough pop with all feelings out from sweden, from their labelsite

Iain Archer – does this have a name (demo)
- from his website, where you can find many other songs too.

The Acid House Kings – do what you wanna do
- sunshinepop from this swedish band’s labelsite

The Legends – the kids just wanna have fun
- from this swedish band’s myspace.

Primal Scream – country girl
- new single from the primals, and this time they seem to go back again to their stones-era… From myspace. I liked the Primal Scream all flowery and sweet, like on their first singles and also on their trippy dance period, – but Rolling Stones is too much for me…. This is OK, but not perfect.

Super 700 – people
- from this german project’s myspace

Echobelly – to the end
- I always loved these guys and the girl when they were active, and my heart jumps when I see that they are making music again. This is a previously unreleased song, from their myspace pages.

Asleep – be my light
- beautiful song somewhere between doves and a-ha in the sound, from this norwegian band’s myspace pages.

Keith – You (demo)
- one of the first bands we wrote about in Eardrums, the manchesterband Keith is now finally out with their debut album, “red thread”. Here’s a demo version of one of the songs n the new album, – from myspace.

Folding for air – lips slipping
- from myspace

Fitts for fight – you’re dead (avenue d cover)
- from myspace. Dirty computergame-punkdisco from two norwegian 15 year old girls.

The Substitutes – fire it up
- from this norwegian band’s myspace. Great music!

Magnus Eliassen – Lois is happy
-happyhappyhappy from this norwegian singer/songwriter’s ur�rt pages.

Avocado club – too much space to walk away
- from bandsite

Yo la Tengo – Beanbag chair
- from matador records

Reserved 16 – mayday
- melodic indie/acoustic band in the coldplay/copeland-style, from Pasadena, and here from myspace.

Clor – hearts on fire
- from download.com

The Charlatans – blackened blue eyes
- from their new album, and from toolshed media

Ane Brun – song no. 6
- from this norwegian singer-songwriter’s second album, – here from indieworkshop.com

Ether Aura – last night I dreamt that somebody loved me
- Smiths cover from Detroit band. Myspace.

Sister Flo – white noise
- from this finnish bands myspace.

Bonk – homecoming
norwegian power band with a new single from their “bonk against nothing album. This is from their labels myspace.

[rating:5/6]

Before you start reading, check out this album track;
Dirty on Purpose – light pollution

I bought Dirty on Purpose’s EP “sleep late for a better tomorrow” a looong time ago, and it soon became one of my favourite records. Finally, their debut album “Hallelujah sirens” is here, and it will probably be among my favourites too.

The album kick-starts with “no radio”, a high-energy track with rough indie-guitars, thick layers of sound, trumpets and stereolab-esque female vocals. Also the second track, the powerful “your summer dress” has every bit of quality that the EP had and more. It’s easy to hear that Dirty on Purpose has learnt a lot from bands like My Bloody Valentine and maybe also from the pop-oriented side of Sonic Youth. They have something from the shoegazers and even a tiny something from the alt.country-gang in their ballads. “Hallelujah sirens” is not as immediate as their ep, and for me it had at least 3-4 times in the cd-player before I was 100% hooked. The album grows and grows, and the songs I didn’t feel too much for on the first listen, are now among my favourites.

DoP knows how to make those fine melodies and make them interesting and full of heartfelt emotion. NOT emo, – I said emotion. They use the whole register, – some lightness, some darkness, and it sounds real. It’s easy to believe in this band, – it feels as if everything they do come from the heart.

There are many gems on the album: The single “Light pollution”, the Yo la Tengo-esque “Always looking”, the beautiful “Kill our city” and especially the low-tempo track “Fake lakes”.

Out of the 11 tracks, there are only two that doesn’t give me that much: the instrumental “Monument”, – which is an old DoP song, and the slow and far too long “Lake Effect”. Both of them have qualities, but compared to the rest of the songs on this album, they don’t reach the same level.

The album is not yet in the shops (release june 27), but it is available in webshops as a preorder or as downloads right now.

“Hallelujah sirens” is highly recommended.

BUY THIS ALBUM FROM INSOUND

bandsite | myspace

I’m gonna show you that magic exists…
Abracadabra! See, here it is:
Tobias Fr�berg featuring Ane Brun: love and misery

The song is from Ane Brun’s album “duets” and will also feature on Tobias’ new album “somewhere in the city”. The new album will also feature singer-songwriter Teitur and swedish artist Existensminimum (a.k.a. Magnus Henriksson, an artist you should check out!) plays bongos on one of the tracks.

Tobias Fr�berg has just signed a contract for his new album with the UK label Poptones, which is run by the legendary Alan McGee (founder of Creation records, discoverer of Oasis, Primal Scream and many others). The contract is for UK, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Tobias is already signed via Fire Egg to Scandinavian indie Playground for Scandinavia and Baltic states and to Cheap Lullaby for the US.

Here are some more songs, from the first album “For Elisabeth Wherever She Is”:
Tobias Fr�berg – what are you gonna do part 1
Tobias Fr�berg – grace
- both from Tobias Fr�berg’s website. There is also, of course, a myspace page out there.

Here’s a fascinating video about 6 seconds of drums from a 1969 hitsingle B-side, that has shaped the sound of modern groovebased music more than any other 6 seconds of sound has done… The video is made by Nate Harrison in 2004 and is available on youtube. Use 20 minutes of your time to see this!
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