The official music video to the first single of Jónsi’s upcoming debut solo album ‘Go’ has been released as shown below. A dark and glittery affair, the video is too fast paced for my liking but it defines Jónsi’s style perfectly.
‘Go’ is now set to be released on the 5th of April 2010. The North American tour dates have been posted here and the first show is to be in Vancouver; a day after the album is released worldwide.
No dates in other continents have yet been announced but it is still being called a world tour so I expect they will be in the near future.
Race Horses first full length release Goodbye Falkenburg was out mid-January. Thirteen tracks long and with around a quarter of the songs in welsh, this album features a comfortable blend between a modern indie rock vibe and a distinctly 60s feel. There’s clear musical influence from The Beatles with double tracked vocal harmonies and analogue effects like phasing but in my mind Race Horses are more reminiscent of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd.
Goodbye Falkenburg was recorded over the space of nine months and the band took an unorthodox approach to this debut. “We felt bored with all modern music,” says singer Meilyr Jones. “We wanted to make our fifth album first, if you know what I mean.”
Race Horses also brought out a 4 track concept EP ‘Man In My Mind’ in December 2009. Although it was an incredibly short release at just under 9 minutes in length, it’s depth made it clear that Race Horses are a band that have the means to last.
This track was a collaboration between the spoken word artist Joshua Idehen, now of Benin City and dan le sac, better known for his part in the duo that is dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip. Cupid on Dylan is essentially a monologue on behalf of the Roman god of love Cupid although it spins a more interesting, alternative character than is usually told. The poem is lain over a remix by dan le sac of Dylan’s The Times Are a-Changing. It doesn’t really kick in properly until the 1:30 mark but it’s an amazing track nevertheless.
Patrick Wolf concludes a triumphant year with the release of the third single to be taken from his critically acclaimed album, The Bachelor – the powerful and beautiful, Damaris. The single is semi-autobiographical and centred on the loss of love, it was inspired by a tale discovered whilst Patrick went to seek out his English roots after a period of heartbreak and the ending of a relationship that was much documented in the song The Magic Position.
Tracing his father’s roots, in East Sussex, Patrick stumbled across a small wooden cross engraved with the name Damaris among the gravestones of his ancestors. From that moment he began researching who Damaris might be and it came about that the wooden cross told a larger tale then anyone could have imagined. Damaris was a gypsy or heathen, unwelcomed by the Catholic Church at the time. Lewis, the son of a priest, fell in love with Damaris and the two got caught up in whirlwind of forbidden love. The star-crossed lovers were forbidden to marry and Damaris is said to have died of a broken-heart (suicide).
Patrick related to these sentiments at the time and so narrated a song from Lewis’ tragically frustrated perspective. It is important to consider the story behind the song when you are listening as it deepens the meaning. As the track is instrumentally overpowering, the usual fanfare vocals would not be an option and so the track starts with soft, smoky vocals instead. The special, unique aspect of Mr Wolfs music is that is well thought out, personal, and intensely moving.
Toro Y Moi, a 23 year old from South Carolina, is getting ready to release his debut album Causers of This. There’s already word of a second full length album in late 2010 with a completely different sound. This is Blessa from Causers of This, the first single of the album.
It’s been said that he’s of a currently unnamed genre but I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves about how original this act is. His sound, in my opinion, can be summed up in a number of genres which is the mark of any interesting artist. There’s elements of funk, break/big big beat but I think the defining genre would have to be trip hop. It’s like The Avalanches, Shuggie Otis and Four Tet met and decided to transcend to a higher dimension for a jam.
Indie Music Finds was started in April 2009 as a place for people to find something new. It’s now being written by two people both living in the U.K. I try and keep it quite diverse so rummage around a bit and I’m sure you’ll find something you like to take away with you.
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