AM & Shawn Lee - Somebody Like You

I really love the new album by AM & Shawn Lee.  Called Celestial Electric, this track, Somebody Like You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDMsWHyOors, was the first one I heard from it and I was immediately hooked.  I love the production, the drum licks, the guitar, keyboard, vocals, EVERYTHING!  I also love this little video which shows them putting this track together... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCFSxmIf1As
In fact the only thing I'm not sure about is AM's moustache but hey, that's a small gripe.

Guitarist and songwriter AM was born in Tulsa and was raised in New Orleans.  Shawn Lee is a musician and multi-instrumentalist who is originally from Witchita, Kansas, but who now resides in London.   Both have created a name for themselves individually over recent years (AM supporting Air and Charlotte Gainsbourgh and Shawn Lee playing in various bands, most notably Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra) and and have been popular across Europe, especially France.  And it was their shared love of French and Italian film music that drew them to each other.  They finally got together last year and created this wonderful album full of of funky 70s retro grooves with a smattering of psychedelia.

AM has admitted to loving old 70s records and in homage to them has listed all the playing credits on the album in detail.  He recalls reading the back of a Rush album and seeing "Geddy Lee - Taurus Pedals" and thinking what are Taurus Pedals?  Some magic instrument from another land?  He wanted to create that same feeling in their own listeners.

Despite the nod to 60s and 70s sound however (and there is even a cover of The Ozark Mountain Daredevil's Jackie Blue on the album),   Celestial Electric is an album that could only have been made now.   It's the perfect throwback, chill out album to enjoy whatever your mood (or era).

Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

I heard Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtOToiIDNRA&feature=share  on the radio last week and loved it so much I couldn't wait for it to finish so I could find out who it was and get myself a copy.  The song was by Father John Misty who is actually Josh Tillman, ex-Fleet Foxes drummer.  I found that interesting because I am a HUGE Fleet Foxes fan, but this doesn't really sound anything like them.

It isn't just a case of another drummer suddenly thinking he can have a go at singing and songwriting either.  Tillman was a singer and songwriter on the Seattle folk scene long before joining Fleet Foxes.  And he has now made the decision to concentrate on this full time, having recently played his final show with the band in Tokyo. 

The album, Fear Fun, will be released on 1st May.

http://fatherjohnmisty.com/

Lambchop - Gone Tomorrow

I don't know a huge amount about Lambchop although I am aware of them.  For some reason they have been on the periphery of my listening for what seems like years but this is the first time I have really sat down and listened to one of the songs, Gone Tomorrow, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAqMT3_NFyw&ob=av2n.
And I like it.  Really like it.  Laid back, cool, emotive, with an extended coda of mounting tension which never really leads anywhere (but is all the better for that), it comes from their latest album Mr M, which came out at the end of last month.

Singer Kurt Wagner is the lead singer of Nashville-based Lambchop who are described as an alternative-country band (horrible description that one, but never mind - use their record label's description of 'Nashville's most f*cked up country band' if you prefer).  Wagner never wanted to be a musician.  He was a painter and continued with this work when they began to be successful.  They have been around for a long time, since the 1990s, and have a back catalogue that is well worth delving into, eleven albums in fact.  As I have found out, this track is a good enough place to start.

http://www.lambchop.net/

Gaz Coombes - Sub divider

Gaz Coombes, yes he of former bouncy Brit pop band Supergrass, has a new album coming out on 21st May called Here Come the Bombs.  If this track is anything to go by, his style has become much darker.  You can download Sub divider for free (details on the website, his Facebook page and also on this YouTube video).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVXkD2K5NY&feature=relmfu It is a slow grower (it took me about 3 listens to get into it) but now it's really wormed its way under my skin.  There is a quiet menace at the start of the song which builds gradually until it pushes its way to the fore at the end of the song; powerful and aggressive.  "I'm a wicked man" he sings and we can believe it.  The chords remind me of Nirvana at their best.

The first single will be called 'Hot Fruit' and Gaz will be touring soon, but there are no dates as yet.

http://www.gazcoombes.com/