PRDS

Yesterday, I received an especially brief message from a certain 16-year-old kid named Adam, who makes music under the moniker prds. With a copy of Fruity Loops as his instrument, the Swede pumps out sublime, melancholic instrumental pop gems that shimmer like the setting sun reflecting off a placid ocean. "Lionfish" is a tad repetitive and flat; "Bahamas" is a bit choppy and doesn't spotlight the throbbing bass line that drives the tune quite enough; prds is a work in progress, but with some assuring signs of a positive and creatively fruitful future.

Check out two MP3s below and grab another pair at the guy's Last.fm page.

prds - Lionfish

prds - Bahamas

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John & Jehn

John & Jehn is London's latest über-hip duo that pulls simultaneously from old psychedelic acts of the 1960s, garage innovators, and the loungier efforts of outfits like Stereolab. Imagine a pared down reincarnation of the Velvet Underground with a more minimal sound and twist of Jesus & Mary Chain shoegaze grit.

At times, they nearly sound like Serge Gainsbourg trying to ape Nico, but at no point do they come off as purely derivative and they remain oddly sweet throughout every song. John & Jehn are endlessly arty -- imagine them playing with Lissy Trullie and Marnie Stern -- but they never get too heady or dense so as to make them un-enjoyable. They're loads of fun, and even if they're brooding over Voltaire's Candide and studying Charles Mingus at present, we can't help but love them to death.

Pick up the eponymous debut full-length right here.

John & Jehn - 20 L 07

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Music Related's digital imprint, Creation Centre has a new, fabulous release by the soft-spoken Daisuke Miyatani (MySpace).

The Awaji Island native is an incredibly mellow electronic composer who merges the peaceful calm of the Lost In Translation sound Westerners have come to associate with Japan and the curious energy of fellow folk musicians like Shugo Tokumaru, for example. There's an ethereal quality to the songs that makes them seem other-worldly, but the deeply personal qualities of the syrupy slow arrangements brings them back to real life.

Check out one MP3 below and download the entire three-track EP, Fragments, right here.

Daisuke Miyatani - Genkide-ne

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Jaguar Farm

It being the Fourth of July in Los Angeles, it seems only fitting to celebrate another Los Angelino's music. Jaguar Farm is the solo project of Alex Ladarola, a budding songwriter who claims Liars, Animal Collective, Philip Glass, Neu!, Franz Schubert, Steve Reich, Stereolab, Frédéric Chopin, and Kraftwerk as influences. While he doesn't muster up to the more classical on that list and isn't quite as intense as the more modern acts, there's something utterly smart about his wacky pop sensibilities. "Baby's On Fire" -- a Brian Eno cover -- is reminiscent of an Ariel Pink rambling with some delicate and thoughtful orchestral undertones ... almost as though he worked with Owen Palette on it. "Blizzard" sounds like a lo-fi Zappa covering the Unicorns; "Land of 1000 Lakes" dabbles with jazzier arrangements and sparser production. While all the songs are especially sketchy -- they are demos! -- they're all boldly self-aware and ambitious. Hook this guy up with a fancy studio and he'll do some wild stuff with his endearing tunes. Jaguar Farm - Baby's On Fire (Brian Eno Cover) Jaguar Farm - Blizzard Jaguar Farm - Land of 1000 Lakes

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New Animals Talking

Great Britain's most promising youths, Animals Talking, just finished up in the studio and sent BBBD a couple new tunes that are purely irresistible. "Colours" and "New Dawn" are more contemplative and dark than the gem that is "It Was," but they're certainly no less vibrant or energetic.

Animals Talkings' tunes are a whirlwind of spastic punk riffs, time changes, and sugary lyrics that culminate into something more mature than their collective years. While the cuts are still rather raw and in need of a finishing, their freeness and down-to-earth sincerity is still front-and-center.

Put these songs on your iPod, hop on a bus or a train or just play them for your significant other and be swept away into a world of heart-on-sleeve Brit-pop sonic creations. For all their in-your-face energy, these guys are utterly emotional, and BBBD just can't get enough. Keep keepin' an eye on them. They'll go places.

Animals Talking - Colours

Animals Talking - New Dawn

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Roses, Kings, Castles

It seems a little early to be celebrating the style (or memory?) of Pete Doherty, but that's what Roses, Kings, Castles is attempting ... and they're doing so with success, in flying colors. The Alphaville Records (MySpace), London-based band isn't purely derivative, though -- while their lo-fi recordings, charming and earnest arrangements, and cutely strummed guitar melodies do immediately remind one of some calmer Babyshambles works, the Littl'ans, or heartfelt Doherty demos, there's an ingenuity and uniqueness that makes them stick out.

Interestingly, Alphaville Records is based in Japan ... and the "Sparkling Bootz" single features a Kaji Hideki track on the flip side! Seems unusual for a U.K. indie outfit, but hey, they lads are anything but normal. Check out the killer single below -- it'll be a hit -- and be sure to tickle your eardrums with their other cuts on their MySpace page.

Roses, Kings, Castles - Sparkling Bootz

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The Lord Dog Bird

In the earlier part of this millennium's teen years, Baltimore's Wilderness became one of the most important post-punk revival groups, seamlessly melding the old aesthetics of the 1980s angular rockers and the more experimentally-driven and rockier sound of modern times. Wilderness' stuff was, granted, artier than typical post-punk bands (the Cure, Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen), and a little more melodious, edging dangerously close to the "rock" genre. That aside, though, Wilderness was one of the first Baltimore bands to gain national attention, and certainly one of the more oblique quartets out there. Still, they're shrouded in mystery and darkness ...

Colin McCann, Wildnerness' guitarist, has obviously been a little bored since Vessel States, an oddly emo-twinged work ... so bored that he went off an made his own solo album under the moniker, the Lord Dog Bird. Whereas Wilderness' output is hyper-complex and obviously the work of an especially able bodied studio ensemble, the Lord Dog Bird is a bedroom recording of an unusual variety. The nine tunes were recording primarily with a four-track, and definitely sound it. There's a simplicity and delicateness to the tracks that is topped off by distortion and atmospheric echoes, ghost sounds, creakings ...

Listen to a couple songs below and see for yourself. This is magical stuff -- and really emotionally accessible -- that represents a slight departure from Wilderness' usual ambiance and a definite switching up of the usual formula solo lo-fi artists incorporate into their pieces.

the Lord Dog Bird - No Security

the Lord Dog Bird - Walking (With You)

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Bakers at Dawn

Nebraska's CD-R indie label, Series Two has added a new artist to its roster, and, as usual, made a wonderful selection! Bakers at Dawn (AKA Marcus Sjoland) hails from Malmö and sounds sort of like Elliott Smith or Nick Drake ... done Swedish style.

The singer/songwriter has released a CD-R album on the twee/lo-fi label, Canarie Records and now has a new album out on Series Two entitled Best of Bakers at Dawn (he's only been around for three years or so and is already releasing retrospective compilations of sorts ... must be a prolific guy).

The below MP3s are pretty low quality, unfortunately, so just sample 'em and buy the full-length over at Series Two Records' MySpace page. It's hot and sunny in L.A., but this slow, melodious, and contemplative music seems somehow fitting. It brings peace and harmony to the cacophony outside.

Bakers at Dawn - Hopeful

Bakers at Dawn - Endless

Bakers at Dawn - Tomorrow

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Princeton

It's unusual to see a BBBD post on a Los Angeles band, which is truly a shame since ... we're based in the City of Angels! Frankly, there just ain't a whole lot of great groups coming out of L.A.; they all come to us!

In the opinion of this blog, Princeton (MySpace) has broken this trend, though. The Eagle Rock trio sounds just about as preppy as their name implies, but they're by no means a rip-off of, say, Vampire Weekend. Instead, these three compose lo-fi guitar-pop tunes that could be easily described as Swedish pop or confused with The Boy Least Likely To. Or maybe Field Mice. And they're definitely just as intellectual as their moniker makes them out to be:

Each composition on the [Bloomsbury EP] is lyrically focused upon a member of the influential Bloomsbury intellectual collective that existed in London during the early 20th century. Lyrical portraits of Leonard Woolf, Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes are each presented in a different musical framework with lush orchestral arrangements that draw from a collage of influences -- Serge Gainsbourg’s Gainsbourg Percussions, The Kinks’ Something Else, Jorge Ben’s Forca Bruta and Jean Claude Vannier’s L'enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes to name a few.

Interestingly, the 60s-beach-pop-cum-smart-twee is fronted by twin brothers! Very unusual! That, and their penchant for luscious string arrangements and fun, light mandolin lines makes them a unique and distinct outfit.

Check out a couple songs from Bloomsbury and buy the EP here!

Princeton - Eminent Victorians

Princeton - Leonard Woolf

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New Marxy LP

Florida-born, Oklahoma-raised, Tokyo-dwelling A.D.D. composer (and writer, and translator, and theorist, and blogger, and ... ), Marxy (MySpace) is releasing a follow-up to 2005's Kyoshu Nostalgia called 40 Years From Now on May 6. The Music Related LP is quite a bit longer than the 19-minute debut and certainly more complex and meticulously detailed. Marxy's hyperactive compositional skills aren't unlike Bryan Wilson on a good day, ingesting massive amount of 224 BPM J-pop and tinkering around with toy keyboards and a whole heap of quirky mini instruments.

It's a lot of fun.

The twelve-track full-length was recorded and produced over the span of three years "in Japanese apartments, Tokyo rehearsal spaces, a Manhattan living room, an Astoria, Queens bedroom, and the legendary Brooklyn recording studio Studio G." Strangely, though, the album is definitely a cohesive whole and not as scatterbrained as one would think. Marxy is, simply put, a really smart guy ... whether he's philosophizing on Japanese cultural trends, pointing out economic patterns, ranting about media theories, or pumping out pop nuggets, one can't help but note how intelligent the guy is.

Check out a couple tunes below, preview the thing, and buy it! 40 Years From Now is getting pretty impressive distribution, so you'll have no trouble finding it ...

Marxy - Broke Into Our Hearts

Marxy - Slouching Towards Bethlehem

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Animals Talking

If all U.K. guitar-pop bands were as good as Animals Talking, N.M.E. would be a 500-page weekly and music blogs would have a pretty tough time keeping up with the times. Fortunately, the London quartet is a rare gem, so for now, we'll just cherish them.

While the below two demos are pretty rough and sound crummier than they ought to, the beauty of Animals Talking's lo-fi indie-pop is undeniable and clearly juts out amongst the fuzz and scuzzy recordings that most likely were recorded in one take or minimally mixed. Or something. Keep an eye on these four as they're bound to churn out some phenomenal stuff ...

Animals Talking - It Was

Animals Talking - Reveal

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The Old Believers

A solid press release is a rare thing and Portland-by-way-of-Alaska's the Old Believers have one heck of a one-sheet.

But I assure you, I'm not posting merely because of the awesome newsprint blurb concerning their forthcoming Eight Golden Greats LP I received. The Old Believers are young but sound old. Very old. Their songs endearingly slink by ... a sublime merging of old folk/"good" country circa 1971 and the lyricism of say, Bob Dylan. Well, maybe not Dylan, but certainly in that vein. There's a cutesy component to the duo's stuff, too ... something childish and naive yet wise and aged.

I'm confused yet allured by the contradictions invested in the pair and that's enough for me. Listen to the below tracks and be sure to pick up the full-length when it's out on July 10.

The Old Believers, old souls.

the Old Believers - Granny's Song

the Old Believers - The Trouble I've Met

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Esser

XL Records' underling label, Merok, has scooped up another hip artist [supposedly] on the rise right now: Esser.

The young London-based singer is really quite appealing, though. Hokey, weirdly catchy synth lines (usually in the key of E!) underline Esser's heavily-accented singing voice to make for an awesome, sort of glitchy, lo-fi pop extravaganza. Depeche Mode turned on its head and brightened up, perhaps.

Check out the new single, "I Love You," below and pick the release up when it's out on April 21! Exciting.

Esser - I Love You

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New Parker Lewis

Mad For It Inc. has finally released the much-anticipated Parker Lewis Written and Directed By Parker Lewis EP. You can download the whole thing right over here.

Parker Lewis had us dropping our jaws (and tapping our toes!) with "Dirty Dancing," and while the other songs he's released don't quite match up to that spectacularly heartfelt lo-fi pop tune, the Swedish singer/songwriter is definitely one talented and mega-appealing dude.

Check out "Disappear Here" below ... if that doesn't suck you in, then I've no idea what will. Love this guy. 2008 is going to be his year. And 2009 ... and 2010 ... and 2011 ... and I'll stop so as not to jinx it.

Parker Lewis - Disappear Here

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Litmus

Berlin, long the capital of minimalism and techno-leaning dance music, has, over the past few years, become a more rock-oriented city. That's not to say that there've never been bands in Ellen Allien's base of operations, but they've never been very visible ...

One of my favorite finds from the German metropolis is Litmus (MySpace), a lo-fi outfit with an "elctro pop-infused ... distorted bass, rolling drums and rhythms of rhyming guitars" style. Imagine a super-dry and sparse version of the Postal Service or Styrofoam. For some reason, I keep wanting to call these guys Stereolab without the loungey swing and an extra sharp edge, but that may be total bogus.

Anyway, they're pretty darn good. Over their four-year career, the quartet has released a few EPs; the below tracks are from the most recent one, Maybe It's Time. Tune into these guys if you're looking for songs to chill out to. They wobble along in this lovely, uber-clean manner; an enchantingly atmospheric pop outfit.

Litmus - Attitude

Litmus - Destroy

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Elle S'appelle

Elle s'appelle is a Liverpool pop trio that I'm enraptured by right now. They've been accurately described as sounding sort of like Mates of State but with more gusto and energy. They're less Southern schlock (I'm not a fan, obviously) and more smart Brit-pop.

There's some late-80s/early-90s sound of Seattle in there too ... a twist of C-86 lo-fi pop and bedroom rock a la the Vaselines. Very cool stuff. Hopefully they'll officially release something soon, but until then, here're two demos for you all!

Elle s'appelle - Little Flame

Elle s'appelle - Monkeyshine

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The Limes

Paris' the Limes (MySpace) is comprised of Toy Fight, Orouni, Mina Tindle, John Hale and Brent Ballantyne. Maybe that's more resonant to our readers in France. BBBD only knows Orouni (a French folk favorite!), but surely the other members of the quasi-supergroup must be good ...

The group's MySpace page describes their stuff as "melodramatic pop music." Whenever I see that phrase, I think, "OH HO HO! How funny and ironic -- not." Who actually sincerely uses "melodramatic" to describe their music if they're not an emo outfit or self-respecting?

Oddly, in the case of the Limes, the terms seems ... apt. "Big Top Head" is especially "melodramatic", a swooping folk ballad that winds on for over six minutes. It's delicate and lo-fi in a sophisticated sort of way ... Grizzly Bear minus the tremendous reverb plus a bit of a French accent plus a hint of twee pop. Or something.

"City Lights" sounds like a bedroom cover of something by the Human League or -- better yet -- Eurythmics. (I kid you not -- put it on already! You're curious, admit it!)

"Left Hands" is just fun. It edges dangerously close to cheesy French pop-rock, but is redeemed by fun hand claps, a bouncy guitar riff, and a piano line that sounds a hell of a lot like "Heart and Soul." Man, these guys are fun! I love it! Listen listen listen! They'll be on Wes Anderson's next film soundtrack; they'll be in a Target or VS ad; they'll be in your heart and soul, no doubt.

the Limes - Big Top Head

the Limes - City Lights

the Limes - Left Hand Cycles

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Owl

One of my best Swedish buddies, Tony Cederteg (buy his books!) revealed the true extent of his talents to me the other day. I'd assumed him to be a phenomenal publisher and photographer, and wasn't prepared to hear that he's also a pretty decent drummer and Internet national T.V. show host, not to mention expert DJ and hilarious writer.

He's been drumming on and off in a Swedish pop trio called Owl for a while now, but don't think it's his band. The group is officially comprised of Anna, Milou, and Fan Fan (cool names!) -- Tony just helps out when they need a drummer on the cheap.

Owl's music is a sort of bedroom breed of soul or R&B. It's really emotional, really expressive, and certainly not glossed up with fancy production or diluted with overbearing walls of sound and noise. Instead, Owl makes clean and clear music ... you can hear each element distinctly: from the gritty guitar hooks to the saucy tamborine; the cutesy yet strong vocals to the throbbing, minimalist bass line. They're not attempting to bite off more than they can handle, and that's obvious (these are simple songs!), but they've obviously labored over the arrangements and production of each and every tune. Everything sounds perfectly assembled, constructed, and tied together. Their unique garage-rock-meets-shoegaze-meets-Swedish-pop blend of aesthetics is heartwarming and special. I love these three and will only love them more as they continue to release more music.

P.S. - Do you hear the bass line of Blur's "Good Song" in "Heart Ache"?

Owl - New Addiction

Owl - Rude Awakening (New Demo)

Owl - Heart Ache

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UltCult

Today, not such a great day. Tomorrow? Maybe cheerier.
Hence the reason I'm diggin' ultCult, a cute London lo-fi quartet that's just ... chillin' me out, soothing me. I want to go to sleep.

They're the lowest of lo-fi -- all of the songs sound as though they were recorded in the vocalist's bathroom tub; all of the songs are masterfully restrained; all of the songs are uniquely complex and layered. UltCult is mystifying, though ... they're less resemblant of trashier lo-fi/twee/bedroom acts because they just seem so damn skilled. Give these four a studio and weathered producer, and they'd surely crank out some funky dance tracks, a handful of swooning ballads, and a set of compelling Stereolab-esque atmospheric, chilling ditties.

Listen to the two songs below and check out everything on the MySpace page and you'll get what I mean. Great vocalist, superb yet underspoken drumming, heavier-than-you'd-expect bass lines, and a warming pastiche of extra orchestral lines, synth bits, and sequencer use. Really cool stuff. Dig it and hope my spirits take a turn for the better.

ultCult - Five Bedrooms and Two Lounges

ultCult - Odious Emporium (Demo)

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Moofish Catfish

What the hell a "moofish" is, I've no idea, but I'm certain Moofish Catfish will hook you.

The Stockholm four-piece, signed to Cosy Records is very twee/bedroom recording in essence, but don't run away yet; they're not twee in that annoying, self-pitying way. They just like it soft. Moofish Catfish sounds like a slow-paced, psych-leaning compliment to Swedish compatriots, Envelopes, or a more flesh-out Taken By Trees. They're dripping with Swedish pop aesthetics -- from the cute female vocals to the clean guitar hooks to the jazzy drumming -- but are ultimately more delicate and refined than a lot of what you've heard and what you're used to hearing from the Scandinavian region.

Enjoy a couple tunes and order the On A Sunbeam to Your Heart EP from Cosy Records directly.

Moofish Catfish - Lightbulbs

Moofish Catfish - Crocodile Tears