The Oslo-quartet Firefly Effect is a band I’ve had on my to-blog-about list for some time now. They recently released their brilliant debutalbum “Everything is beautiful and you are the reason” on Perfect pop/Solerød records, full of charming indiepop-songs with organs, boy/girl harmonies and jangly guitars.

I’m sometimes slightly reminded by older, perfect Perfect Pop-acts like The Tables and The Blind Bats when I listen to Firefly Effect, – other times I get a feeling of Je Suis Animal or Stereolab, – and the 60s references are always there. In their biography on NRK Urört, they call their style “Retro-futuristic Sunshine pop”, which is a definition of their sound that I can agree on. The members of Firefly Effect are also a part of other good bands, like Eardrums’ favourites Children and Corpse Playing in the Streets.

You can listen to both Firefly Effect and Children and Corpse Playing in the Streets on Spotify here and here, and both albums are also available on iTunes and other good shops. You can also download several songs from Firefly Effect on NRK Urört (Norwegian site, “last ned” means download).

Here’s a new video by Firefly Effect, made by the amazing David Mahler, who have drawn and painted 1640 pictures for this video during 4 months:

Firefly Effect – All The Jokes Are On Me from Dave Mahler on Vimeo.

Los Angeles-based quartet Princeton will release their debut album “Cocoon of Love” on the fine Kanine Records this Tuesday, the 29th of September. I first heard the band on their wonderful, self-released “Bloomsbury EP” from 2008, and soon after, I invited them to be a part of our own “Summer’s here!”  compilation. Their music is warm, charming, intelligent pop, with the classic pop- melodies that make you smile and lyrics that makes you think “ah, well said”. “Cocoon of love” is a pleasant listen, – very consistent and good for the ears, still full of surprises and variations. It’s something about the vocals too, but I can’t put it into words, – they just fit the instruments and the music so perfectly…

I am easy to satisfy when a band adds strings and trumpets to their songs, – not that many trumpets here, but lots of strings, – and the melodies…aahhhh! The melodies and harmonies are  Princeton’s strong side, and there are plenty of goodies on this album, – from the lovely opener “Sadie and Andy” via the beautiful “Sylvie” to the slow and calm “the wild” with its “la-di-da” chorus and 3/4 beat. Highly recommended!

MP3: Princeton – Calypso Gold

The Swedish One-Man Orchestra Tvärvägen, a.k.a. Henrik Öhberg, has made a video for a new song called  “Pingvinvärmen”. As always, Tvärvägen’s music is stunningly beautiful, and I am even more looking forward to his new album after hearing this. Enjoy!

Julie Peel is a Canadian folk artist I have enjoyed on several tribute compilations for some old favourites of mine. She has done a wonderful version of “A night like this” by the Cure, The Pixies’ “The Happening”, The Breeders’  “Fortunately gone” and “Divine Hammer” and “I believe in you” by Neil Young. Now, she is here again with her own songs, and they are good!

Her music must not be compared by the bands she has covered, – they are from another musical universe. If you like Feist, Sharon Van Etten, Laura Gibson, Jenny Owen Youngs, Amie Mann, Anna Ternheim or the acoustic Lou Barlow, they all have the same kind of “happy-melancholy” inside their songs as Julie Peel has.

Julie Peel’s debut album, “Near the sun”, was released yesterday on American Laundromat Records. It’s full of sweet, warm acoustic pop songs, perfect for the dark and rainy autumn days. Peel has written, recorded and produced the album herself, and she also plays most of the instruments here (vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, bass, piano, ukulele, banjo, glockenspiel, lapsteel, violin keys, melotron, moogs, kazoo, drums programming and tambourine).  My favourite on the album is the beautiful title track, where Peel really touches me with her wonderful songwriting. The chorus is intensely beautiful. Also “In slow motion”, where she performs all on her own, is a real gem.

For those of you who choose to buy the album via iTunes or other digital shops, Julie Peel has been so kind that she has made the cover-booklet available as a pdf on her site. Well done!

Here’s a track from the album:

Julie Peel – Unfold

Julie Peel will also be a part of American Laundromat’s upcoming compilation “Sing Me To Sleep – Indie Lullabies”, due for release in May 2010. The proceeds from the sale of this compilation will be donated to a non-profit charitable organization that provides support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. The amazing list of confirmed artist includes Dean & Britta, Tanya Donelly, Stars, Jenny Owen Youngs & Greg Laswell, Neil Halstead, The Leisure Society, The Real Tuesday Weld, The Rest, Say Hi, Julie Peel, Sigur Ros, Snowbird, Telekinesis, Casey Mecija (Ohbijou), The Antlers, Trespassers William, Papercuts, Peter Broderick, Laura Gibson and more will be added before the release.

NOTE FROM KNUT: We are so lucky to have two new writers here at Eardrums, Natalia and Michelle. Welcome! This is Natalia’s first post on the blog. The word is yours, Natalia:

I spent a couple days trying to figure out how to choose a band for my first post here on Eardrums, and I couldn’t help but pick one from my home town.

Delta cockers is a band from Curitiba – Brazil, they play a pretty easy going, experimental electro/folk/indie kind of music (though it might take some getting used to, at first). They already have 2 EPs out, which you can download for free on their myspace: O Começo da Paisagem and Quadrados Continentais, and are working on a third one for later this year.

MP3: Delta Cockers – Abelhas2