Sures were guaranteed a write up, mostly because Matt Hogan sings in a little band called Sleepyhands (and he’s a swell dude) but also because this track Poseidon draws a straight line from the Beachboys to the present via The Explorer’s Club. Big ol’ harmonies deepen up the effect heavy guitar line, which itself cuts free at the tail end of the track. Good things with a promise of better things from Sydney’s Sures.

Sures – ‘Poseidon’ [FREE MP3]

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I’m vibing on the new Youth Lagoon record pretty hard right now. Combination of reverb heavy vocals and fuzzed out beats makes me all emotional on the inside, and that’s a good thing. Sometimes I think we just need to feel more deeply and understand each other better, because the key to understanding is tolerance and the key to tolerance is belief in the beauty of justice. I’ve always maintained that if we give 180% in everything we do, all of the time, there’s no limit to what we can achieve. That’s not even an arbitrarily chosen percentage, that’s the scientifically determined amount of effort that will guarentee you a great outcome. Never give up, always remember to stay true to your emotions and let your heart guide you on the winds of your dreams. Because nothing can hold someone back when they fight with a tiger’s courage. We should all aspire to better things and live knowing that every day is just another opportunity to reflect in the magic of hope.

The band is the bedroom project of Trevor Powers who must surely blame his parents for ruining one of the toughest lastnames out there with a given name like Trevor. Missed opportunities I guess. Nonetheless, the early life setback was overcome last week as he released The Year of Hibernation to my critical acclaim. Being in love, going to college, heartache, it’s all in there, apparently. The beats are muted while vocals lilt above it all, kind of fragile, kind of awesome. In and out weave electric guitars and distorted piano lines but you’ll make sense of it and be all, “cool track bro” in no time. Start yourself off with Cannons and then have a listen to Posters, making sure you wait for the beat to kick in at 2:20.

Youth Lagoon – ‘Cannons’

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[FREE MP3]

Youth Lagoon – ‘Posters’

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Have your mind, eyes, ears and feelings gently assaulted by the dulcet tones of the Wilderness of Manitoba. Preload this on a large monitor and some quality speakers before full screening it and hitting play. It’s pretty compelling. There’s something unrepentantly 80s about shooting with a faded out black backdrop but it’s refreshing in a time when “on the go” and “take away” sessions are all the rage. I don’t need to see a band performing their songs acoustically in a Nepalese cave, I just want to hear music that speaks for itself. It’s just one track from their Hear Ya session so if you’d like to download audio of the entire session then you can do so by right clicking here. Alternatively you can download just this track below.

The Wilderness of Manitoba – Hermit (Hear Ya Session)

[FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

Owen Ashworth has been making music under the moniker of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone since ’97 but only at the end of last week with what is effectively the band’s siren song did I take the time to listen to a track through. Andrew Maxam tried to get me to listen back in the day but I said ‘Nay Andrew, I know better’. I did not know better. I couldn’t get past the dissidence between vocal and beat. This week, Roland K Smith put this on my plate and I’ve been enamoured since.

This track is the parting track he left in his wake as he left behind the years long project of CFTPA. Named and listed are almost certainly everyone he’s ever loved, known or met on yahoo chat. I’m still trying to work out how a track with beats this excitable still manages to have any emotional resonance yet it’s there, proving that you don’t have to resort to minor chords and falsetto to convey sadness.

Listen, then listen again in about an hour. It’s really, really good.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – ‘Goodbye Parthenon’

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[MP3 DOWNLOAD]

He has swathes of recordings behind him, many of which you’ll find available free online.

Historically my forays into those things electronic have been brief, mostly by virtue of my complete irreverence for most things recorded and performed through a macbook, but when I heard this track on East to West yesterday afternoon I knew I had to share it to you. It stays true to the original while underlining the thing with a smooth beat and a splattering of glitch. The end product isn’t a club banger but will probably be a regular presence in all future party playlist I put together (which is to say literally hundreds of playlists, since I am invited to literally hundreds of parties, because of how much people like me as a person). Here it is:

Bon Iver – Perth (BASKE Tear Up REMIX)

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[FREE DOWNLOAD]