I’m With You sees John Klinghofer on guitar after Frusciante’s second departure from the band. This reshuffle gives I’m With You a slightly dirtier sound than previous albums with a healthy dose of crunch distortion on the guitar. Many of the tracks are still punctuated by Anthony Keidis’ trademark staccato spoken word style but I’m With You takes a step back from that definitive, archetypal Red Hot Chilli Peppers sound.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers have, somewhat surprisingly to most, been going for 28 years now and are truly one of the legends of rock ‘n’ roll. I caught them at Reading festival in 2007 and they’re definitely a band you have to see live with their intricate bass lines and enormous stage presence. Previous Red Hot Chili Peppers tours have been renowned for their stamina with the band’s “3 weeks on, 2 weeks off” tactic and with this current tour projected to last from 2011 to 2013, I’m guessing it will be the same.

The band have already been playing warmup dates since July 27th 2011 through Japan, Europe and America and are set to officially start the tour’s first European leg on October the 7th. Be sure to visit this page for an up-to-date list of Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates as the band make their way across the globe.

A preview of what to expect was offered to fans on August the 30th where over 900 cinemas around the world showed a 90 minute long live recording of the band performing the whole of I’m With You in order. The performance, recorded in Cologne, Germany, saw The Flea playing piano in ‘Happiness Loves Company’ after recently studying music theory at the University of Southern California. He feels that his newfound knowledge has added a new dimension to his music and has plans to reveal an instrumental solo album in the future.

They’ve clearly still got it if they can fill the O2 arena in London three nights running and this is definitely one of those bands you simply have to see.

Directed by Philippe Grenade, ‘I Was A Bomb’ is the debut music video of the band Silent Rider, a downtempo, bass heavy group.

The black and white narrative, shot on the RED in New York’s Appalachia, follows a man and woman as they trek the landscape in search of some enigmatic form of nourishment. After what seems like a dreary and fruitless journey, they stumble upon what they’ve been tracking, culminating in a haunting sequence of events.

Flux is a 7 track album and is instrumental in its entirety. I’d be lying if I said this album didn’t sound a little bit too much like the second half of Sigur Rós’ () but this doesn’t take away from the fact that this album is an outstanding achievement for an unsigned debut. Riddled with crescendos and whirring guitar riffs reminiscent of early Bloc Party, the dynamics in Flux show an unrivaled maturity in their music.

Broken Cities have already put together a music video for The Godfather, the 4th track on Flux.

Frontman Benjamin Gibbard has admitted being somewhat embarassed about the dark nature of earlier album ‘Narrow Stairs’ and hinted that the lighter nature of this album came from living a more stable, married life. ”I’m so proud of this album that at this point I don’t care if people don’t like it.”

“I don’t feel like we went all ‘Kid A’ on everyone. But there are moments on this record where we looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, man, fans of ‘The Photo Album’ are going to wonder what’s going on here.’”

Released 31st May 2011.

Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind is to put it simply really quite amazing. It’s essentially a one man and a guitar act (bar a couple of tracks with banjo) as shown in the somewhat humourous artist name but this certainly doesn’t stop him from creating some of the most engaging music I’ve heard in quite a while now.

There’s a soothing quality to Little Mornings, something to listen to forget about the rain outside. This 13 track masterpiece certainly has a lot of potential for mainstream success but this is someone I can’t see selling out for a mobile phone company advert and even better, Little Mornings is currently available for free download from his bandcamp.

Towards the end of 2009, Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind also released the ‘Paraplui’ EP. I wish I’d discovered this gem earlier now because it also definitely deserved an IMF feature. Listen to and download Paraplui for free now on bandcamp.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver’s progress has been tied into the construction of a new recording studio created in his hometown of Wisconsin and this album features some unusual track names corresponding to cities such as Lisbon OH, Perth and Hinnom, TX from previous tours. At the forefront, as always, are Justin Vernon’s archetypal harmonized vocals underpinned by his sublime acoustic chord patterns but with the mandatory occasional synth pad/electronic beat in the background we’ve come to expect.

Bon Iver is also set to tour again this year: a North American tour in late July/early August alongside The Rosebuds and a European tour in October/November with Kathleen Edwards. Tickets are already on sale and can be found through these links.

Youth Gone – Les Sins

Lina is accompanied by B side Youth Gone as featured above. Les Sins has a vaguely 80s feel, one of beaches and poorly exposed photographs. It’s an interesting change of pace from this character and it’s looking as though Bundick will diversify his sound further yet. Chaz is currently touring as Toro Y Moi supporting Foals on a UK tour.

Released 18th November 2010.

With word already of a future full-length scheduled for Spring 2011, you can expect to hear more news of Botany on IMF.

Water Parker – Botany

Spencer’s first encounter with recording came from a Casio and a cassette at age 4. He’s into the idea of recycling sounds and his tracks are reminiscent of a lost age of antiquity buried by modern life. There’s a lucid, tribal quality and the fourth track of the EP and track four, Bennefactress really captures the sound of Four Tet, a sound which I had previously believed to be inimitable.

Released 15th November 2010.

Track Love Is One is a soft techno rock anthem. The Frequency’s music is totally unique to anything you’ve heard before. Inspired by music from Pink Floyd, Can, and Spiritualized, their live show adds another level of intensity to the music.  Their show has been described as an audio/visual feast for your senses.

By Sophie Stratford

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.

Blessa – Toro Y Moi

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.

Released 22nd February 2010.