Last winter Matt and I ventured into the great(?) city of Pomona to see The Faint. One of the openers was a new band called The Deadly Syndrome. They were a great way to start the show, but I have to admit that they didn’t stick in my memory for very long. This is partially my fault, but it may also have something to do with the fact that they had yet to release any recorded material at that point.

When I noticed that one of my fellow writers at Buzzgrinder was prepping a short feature on the band, I recalled their jaunty, rousing noise pop and wondered if they’d released anything yet. Let it be known that not but two days ago on September 11th, The Deadly Syndrome released their first album, The Ortolan. I just finished listening and was so inspired and uplifted that I wanted to write something down before I let them fade back into my failing memory.

If you like Modest Mouse, Cloud Cult, Wolf Parade or any of the other thousand great indie/noise/pop/alternative bands making it big today, do yourself a favor and check out The Deadly Syndrome.

BONUS: The band has also created several laugh-worthy videos and put them on YouTube for your enjoyment:

More Deadly Syndrome promo videos

I love it when I beat Pitchfork to the punch. I’ve been listening to Los Campesinos! for quite a while now after coming across their phenomenal song You! Me! Dancing! during my exploration of 2006’s countless end-of-year lists (I don’t even know who Phil Gyford is).

Several weeks later Pitchfork made small mention of them. And today they published their review of LC!’s first stateside release, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, giving it a whopping 8.4. That’s huge for Pitchfork, in case you weren’t aware. And, for once, their excessive verbage does an album justice:

Silly names aside, Los Campesinos! play superbly crafted indie pop that bounces off walls like Love Is All, grins with the childlike exuberance of Bis, and throws the toy chest into its arrangements like Architecture in Helsinki. Glockenspiels and pizzicato violin veer into reckless guitar riffs and full-bodied handclaps– or fizz over, like Mentos and Coke, into happy-stupid crescendos. Gareth shares lead vocal duties with the similarly pseudonymous Aleksandra Campesino!, and their boy-girl exchanges give the music an extra, sweet frisson. Newfeld’s treatment turns “You! Me! Dancing!” from a lo-fi rallying cry into an unstoppable force for converting spindly legs into dancefloor blurs.

Twee on, kids. Twee on.

Occasionally it’s nice to go through my music collection and highlight the new stuff I’ve discovered that I can’t stop listening to:

• Jeremy Enigk
  Enigk is best known as the front man for Sunny Day Real Estate, but his solo releases, especially his newest, World Waits, are phenomenal. I think I’ve listened to the track Been Here Before a thousand times in the last few weeks (you can download it here).
• …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
  They’re not a new name to most, but their new album goes above and beyond all their previous work, in my opinion. This is probably why I’ll never work for Pitchfork, considering the somewhat negative review they gave So Divided. Check out Wasted State Of Mind on their PureVolume page.
• Dragonforce
  It’s embarrassing to admit how good these guys are, because they are definitely marketing on the irony of being serious about a long-deserted genre of wankeriffic metal rife with dual guitar solos (think The Darkness, but five years later). But those solos… they’re so good…
• Malajube
  This is one band I’m proud to admit I discovered before they were a twinkle in Pitchfork’s eye, thanks to a friend in Canada who gave me a heads-up. It’s almost syrupy sweet at times, and I can’t understand a word of French so I have no clue what they’re singing about, but they’re inexplicably irresistible.
• Mew
  They’re definitely a buzz band right now, but for good reason. Beautiful falsetto vocals with a satisfyingly complex rhythm section. And The Glass Handed Kites is one of my most-played albums of the last few months.
• Tom Waits
  I’ve just recently realized the value of his work. I picked up a copy of Nighthawks At The Diner at Amoeba Music a while back, which has been great for putting me in a happy and relaxed mood. His newest release, Orphans, is impressive, even in its excessive length.
• The Knife
  Dark, dramatic electronica with haunting vocals. I would almost say it borders on goth, but it’s not quite as pessimistic. Apparently their live show is a theatrical jaw-dropper.
• Oh, Sleeper
  I had to throw in some hardcore somewhere, right? The Armored March is a solid Norma Jean-esque metalcore release, and something about the overall sound keeps it from getting boring like so many bands in their genre.
• Ray LaMontagne
  If you like Damien Rice, LaMontagne will be your best friend. ‘Nuff said.
• Sparrows Swarm and Sing
  Mostly instrumental post rock in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I actually just heard them for the first time today, but they’re definitely worth a mention.

And here’s a few older favorites that are still topping the charts:

• Explosions In The Sky
• This Will Destroy You
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• mewithoutYou
• Cloud Cult
• Sherwood
• P.O.S.
• Damien Rice

Funny how it takes a comment from a local acquaintance to get me posting here again…

Anyway, I’ve decided to just have this be my blog for music musings. Kind of how I originally intended, except without any expectation for it to gain any popularity, and I don’t think I’ll do any formal album reviews or anything.

That said, here are my favorite discoveries in recent months/days as well as some older favorites that are now full-on addictions:

• This Will Destroy You - (instrumental/post rock)
• Joshua Radin - (Simon & Garfunkel-esque acoustic folk)
• Caspian - (instrumental/post rock)
• Pelican - (instrumental/heavy post rock)
• The Appleseed Cast - (indie/post rock)
• Band Of Horses - (indie rock)
• This Is Your Captain Speaking - (instrumental/post rock)
• Baaba Maal - (world/African)
• Explosions In The Sky - (instrumental/post rock)
• Mono - (Japanese post rock)

As you can see, a lot of post rock. Duh. I can’t get enough of it. It’s got this great soundtrack-ish feel to it. In fact, Explosions In The Sky can be credited for the soundtrack to the movie Friday Night Lights. So there.

In other news:

Norma Jean has two new tracks posted on their PureVolume page from their upcoming release, Redeemer, which releases September 12. Absolutely brutal. I can’t wait.

mewithoutYou has a new track from their upcoming September 26 release, Brother, Sister, posted on their Myspace. And, in case you missed it, they performed another of their new songs at Cornerstone, and the video has made its way to YouTube.

It was just officially announced yesterday via their website that Death From Above 1979 has broken up. Far too soon, if you ask me, but apparently it’s been speculated for the last year or so. Rest in peace.

Random thought: maybe I should start a podcast. But would anyone listen?