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

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

Chad Van Gaalen – City of Electric Light

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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.

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.

Hopefully the name Dog Is Dead is from a movie. If it’s a quote that lives within a special part of the band’s heart and has emotional significance then it’s potentially excusable. This blog should be called ‘Good Bands, Bad Names’. Every post seems to feature my initial apology for the bands name followed by my endorsement of their songs. If you’ve got a good thing going though, right? guys?

Dog Is Dead have a saxophonist! None of us thought we’d see the sax coming back in to popular music for a quite a while yet. I won’t mind if this is a one off. It’s used well though. The two tracks that I’ll stream (Two! Gift upon gift!) have pretty obvious sax melodies which work in tandem with keyboard to give them a smooth sound. Above all that though, the gang vocals make for some cool crescendos.

You may remember that in the last paragraph I promised two songs. I’m here, hat in hand, letting you know that I’m sorry, there’s just one. It’s great though. To hear a second song (and a third even!), visit their myspace. Bonus: The Zoo is a free download from The Culture of Me.

Dog Is Dead – The Zoo

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The new single Young will be out on September 20th through Your Childhood Records

The Blue Mountains are not just a hotspot for Christian engagements and budding teenage photographers, they’re also home to some swell musicians. Some of those musicians are in a band called March of the Real Fly. We may never know what they could do with a decent budget and quality gear. What we do know though, is that with a $50 recording program and $2 mics they can make some pretty, simple (not to be confused with pretty simple) tunes. Here’s one such.

March of the Real Fly – Morning Man

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I find the production endearing but I’ve always had a crush on lo-fi recording. If you want to download their live EP or the Morning Man single (for free) then click this link. For a little more info scope out their myspace.

It struck me this afternoon that I’d not written about a local artist yet. Sure, my first post was about the middle east but they’re a band that hardly need a nudge towards success. They are all over it despite a complete disregard for self promotion. They may well have seen success much earlier than they did and probably wouldn’t have had to break up to blow up if they’d given even the slightest thought to marketing their music. Anyway, this isn’t about the middle east even though they’ve just done a live set full of new tracks for KCRW while at SXSW (segway be my name).

This is about Luke Webb. Luke is from the [Blue] Mountains and is like the Middle East in that he rules but didn’t strike while the iron is hot. His album has been out for about 6 months now though it took him a solid three years to get it written and recorded.

“If he’s so great, how come I’ve never heard of him?”

Good question. You haven’t heard of him because you’ve been sitting way too tight waiting for the next Shins album to come out. Far out, you love those guys a lot. I guess he’s had some small level of exposure. He’s played blackstump festival years ago and he recently won the Telstra National Songwriter’s competition. I bet you feel like an idiot now, getting all up in my face with your questions. Luke writes songs that can safely be called folk. Or country, maybe. I’m not sure. More clearcut country folk than alternative country/folk though. He writes pretty, simple, easy to listen to songs and he’s a stand up guy so if you want to get his new record it’s available from his myspace

Listen to Luke Webb’s Keep This Fire:
http://sites.google.com/site/sounddoct/player.swf