Archive for August, 2010

Aug
30
posted by tommy


James Blackwood (of Valar fame) once described Chad Van Gaalen as Sufjan Stevens on drugs, which I thought was funny since Sufjan Stevens already sounds like he’s on drugs. Maybe he meant that Chad Van Gaalen bridged the gap between the morphein that is Sufjan and the heroin that is his own style. I doubt either of them would be super keen to be compared with opiates but what I’m trying to say is not that they’re mind numbing but that they’re experimental and outlandish. Van Gaalen has a free album of B-Sides and remixes that you can pick up from his website (which is nothing at all akin to what you’re about to stream) and a full length out on Sub-Pop called Soft Airplane. If you think Sub Pop sound familiar it’s because they’ve released every album that you’ve ever enjoyed starting with Nirvana’s Bleach and culminating in the back catalogue of Band of Horses (with some Shins, Fleet Foxes and Postal Service thrown in there for kicks).

Chad Van Gaalen – Willow Tree

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


http://sites.google.com/site/sounddoct/player.swf

Chad Van Gaalen – City of Electric Light

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

If you’re a personal friend of mine then you might recognise these two songs from a note I wrote on facebook a fair while back. There’s plenty of free tracks available for download from the Sub Pop website including both of these. Easy.

Aug
26
posted by tommy

I’m not going out on a limb here when I say that you’re going to be hearing a lot of Melbourne electro-pop quartet Strange Talk on the radio over the next 12 months. Their first single Climbing Walls was mixed by Eliot James (who had a hand in the work of small name artists such as Noah and the Whale, Two Door Cinema Club and Bloc Party). Strange Talk sound like the lovechild of Phoenix and Gypsy and the Cat, particularly in their slower track Eskimo Boy. Maybe Cut Copy got involved in the process (like the pervert he is) too, we can’t be sure. Whatever the mix, it’s a catchy (and marketable) sound.

Strange Talk – Climbing Walls

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


You can download Climbing Walls from Triple J Unearthed for no dollars. Also, take the time to visit their myspace so you can agree with me on all earlier points.

Aug
24
posted by tommy


If you’re a keen reader then you can follow Sound Doctrine on Facebook now. If you decide to do this then you’ll get updates each time there’s a new post.
CLICK HERE to check it out.

Aug
23
posted by tommy

The Blogosphere is a horrible concept invented by horrible people trying to create fame for themselves where there just isn’t fame. I guess my primary question is, why is a collection of bloggers referred to as a geometric shape? I would have called it the Blogstorm. Maybe the Bloghammer. More likely a collection of bloggers should be referred to as a Tragedy. Foster The People were supposed to take the Blogstash by force. If they did then it somehow went under my radar and I like to think, without sounding arrogant, that i know every good band, ever. Stupidity aside, this band are so chill that I lay comatose for 3 days after listening to the chorus of their track Pumped Up Kicks. I woke up with bedsores but on the upside they fed me nachos through a drip while I slept. Payday! Try this out for size.

Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks<

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

To find out just why foster The People have taken the Blogocalypse by storm and maybe sign up to their mailing list to find out about new releases, visit their website or facebook.

(Also, I promise that when I write ‘stupidity aside’ in future posts, I will actually put stupidity aside)

Aug
21
posted by tommy

It’s been five years since Sufjan dropped his last album. Around 18 hours ago, without warning, without advertising (though to be fair, fools like me will do that on his behalf) Sufjan Stevens released All The Delighted People. It’s 8 tracks which is in my eyes neither EP nor album but some hybrid of the two. The man is a visionary. The choral arrangements on the opening track are cosmic. Admittedly, that’s the only track I’ve listened to but I refuse to listen to this EP for the first time as I fall asleep. This is getting my undivided attention tomorrow morning when I wake. Stream the entire album in full right here or purchase it from Sufjan Stevens’ Bandcamp for a mere five American dollars. Credit to Sam Manchester for the intercontinental tip-off.

Previous
  • You are currently browsing the Sound Doctrine blog archives for August, 2010.