Brainlove Announce New Mat Riviere EP

Mat Riviere is to release a new EP, 'Evening Drive', on March 29th 2010. The song is a bleak, cryptic tale set over malevolent, gunning synths and a stark rhythm. It is the second single to be taken from Riviere's debut album 'Follow Your Heart', which is released nationally on CD this March 8th on Brainlove Records.

Riviere is already a breakthrough artist for 2010. NME call his music "genius bleak pop", and the blog and webzine response has illustrated an international appeal. His last single FYH received 1500 downloads in just a few days via the RCRD-LBL site, and was debuted on Radio 1 by Huw Stephens. Riviere also supported Memory Tapes at his packed-out debut London show, and plays in London with Jookabox and Maria & The Mirrors this Thursday 25th Feb.

The EP contains a stunning orchestral reworking of live favourite 'The Give In' by Bleeding Heart Narrative, and two reworkings of the title track by electronica wizard Levyashin and post-rock stalwarts The Monroe Transfer. Also included is a new track entitled 'Stars Hollow'. The video, by Michael Page, is due soon.




FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mat-Riviere/167391852373
MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/matriviere
WEBSITE: http://www.brainloverecords.com/fyh

I Remember This Thing About You

Thanks to That Kate for the art.

Flee To The Hills

Happy Valentines Day from Brainlove... a beautiful free track by Chicago's Bastardgeist.

Album to follow in 2010.

Shut up, Bobby Lee. It's no real pleasure in life

MP3: Stand

Gowns have split up.

They were an odd, intense, dark band with some truly thrilling songs. More than a little nihilistic, seemingly a bit dysfunctional in general, and pretty fuckin' emo truth be told, but at full tilt, able to set yr body alight with adrenalin. Beautiful, really, like a Velvet Underground for the 00's (in European Son mode, that is).

They left a goodbye of sorts and a final new track on their blog, and, of course, have already embarked on other projects.

The amazing "White Like Heaven" appeared on a Brainlove podcast, here.

BÆ BÆ GOWNS

Oh My Love

MP3: Oh My Love

John & Jehn, aka French couple Nicolas Conge and Camille Berthomier, are a beguiling pair. Their first album was a smouldering collection of heavily stylized, dark pop songs gleaning influence from The Velvet Underground, Sugar and Suicide. Jehn plays a Farfisa organ and John a clanging, resonant guitar. They are stick, thin, spidery, and beautiful.

Tonight is the first time I've seen them in a year, since they relocated from London to Paris. They've expanded to a four piece in the meantime, playing with a bassist and drummer - a move that might have warped their dynamic, but in fact fleshes out their sound into something that could easily fill a festival arena. It helps that the four seem beyond close as friends, easily switching between instruments and joking throughout. They play a set comprised almost entirely of new material, but it sounds just fantastic, and the audience are suitably transfixed.

They swap instruments throughout, and towards the end of the show Jehn ends up on bass guitar. She puts up a foot on the bass drum as she starts playing. John turns around and sees drummer Raf getting an eyeful of her underwear, and laughs as he spins around and starts to sing. It's a moment that characterizes the band's performance - love, enticing warmth, overt sex appeal, easy friendship, beauty and exhuberance. John & Jehn as a band are as irresistable as ever.

Bedroom Community Head Out

MP3: Samamidon - I See A Sign

Amazing Iceland-orientated contemporary classical label Bedroom Community have announced a tour of Europe in April 2010. The Whale Watching Tour will feature performances from label founders Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Ben Frost and Sam Amidon.

The tour follows a spate of new releases, details of which can be found on their website. Everything on this label is worthy of your attention. For real.

They say: "In 2006, Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson founded the Bedroom Community record label with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, soon adding Sam Amidon to the intimate roster. After three years of concerts, collaborations and acclaimed album releases, the Bedroom Community is heading out together for a trek across Europe: The Whale Watching Tour.

More than just a series of concerts, this tour is an extension of the ongoing musical exchange between these diverse artists. Disparate musical backgrounds will coexist and collide as Valgeir, Nico, Ben and Sam perform music from their catalogues, as well as introducing new and previously unreleased material (and a surprise or two along the way). "


bedroomcommunity.net
www.myspace.com/bedroomcommunity

Beach House Take Care

MP3: Take Care

Daytrotter have put up four live Beach House sessions. The tracks are from the amazing new album Teen Dream, out now on Bella Union, and you can hear the rest here.

Brand New Trademark

Trademark have been around the block. They self released their first 'proper' album, and signed to Truck for two national releases; they've toured large UK halls with The Human League; they've had national radio airplay and big league press acclaim. You could say Trademark are veterans of the whole being-in-a-band thing.

The band actually started decades ago, when two of the members were children, but the longer they run, the better they get. There's a feeling on their new "At Loch Shiel" EP of a band that have become absolute masters of what they do. Each and every Trademark song is a highly refined, polished, textured and stylized pop gem.

And so it is with "Brand New", the lead track from the new EP, performed live in the footage below at lead singer Oli Horton's Dalston recording studio, DREAMTRAK. It's fantastic. Long live Trademark!


Free MP3s
http://www.trademark-online.com
MySpace
Twitter

Of Mice & Frightened Rabbits

MP3: Nothing Like You (Live @ The BBC)

Good little song, this. Respectable, solid, exciting, feels-like-first-love indie music, wahey.

Twilight Sad have also had a go at remixing Errors latest - hear the results here. Sounds a lot like a certain melodic noise duo that have been on the up in recent years.

(If you are reading this in Facebook, it might appear to be an empty post. Click here to see the video. Also, sorry about the awful MUZU player with blobs of menu over the picture :/ ... it's just what I was sent.)