A band that truly stands apart from the rest, Dengue Fever was a crowd pleaser at San Francisco’s The Independent at a recent Saturday night performance. With energetic fans at the foot of the stage and rows of enthusiastic attendees crowding in behind them, Dengue Fever has gained quite a following in the Bay Area. With music that the band members don’t even try to describe, it is best said that one should simply pick up a copy of their latest CD, Escape From Dragon House, or better yet, attend a show. See a brief band history and this writer’s description of their one-of-a-kind sound here.

Shortly after their performance I had the opportunity to speak with bassist Senon Williams about the show, their latest album, and the band’s trip to lead singer Ch’hom Nimol’s native Cambodia. Continue Reading »

Sometimes when an old punk picks up his guitar a country song falls out, or so it seems for Chad Price and John Snodgrass. The two musicians are veterans to the skate and pop punk scenes, fronting the bands ALL and Armchair Martian respectively, but for the past 10 or so years they have been writing & recording country songs under the name Drag the River. For those who have never heard the band, Drag the River is the kind of dirty rock that sounds best played through the speakers of a rusty old truck doing 90 on the highway. It’s fun, energetic road music.

Drag the River first crossed my consciousness after Santa Barbara punk band Lagwagon covered a song of theirs (‘I’m Losing Everyone’) for their Let’s Talk About Leftovers album. I was in my mid-teens then so naturally that song and album still hold a special place in my invisible heart.   Anyway, it wouldn’t be until recently when I was surfing Suburban Home Record’s website that I would hear the name Drag the River again. It appears the band signed with SH earlier in the year and quickly released their latest album, It’s Crazy, in June. Here are two prime selections from the new album: ‘Leavin’ in the Morning’ and ‘Me and Joe Drove Out to California’. I’ve also added the Lagwagon cover for my own nostalgic purposes.  Get down with your country selves.

Drag The River – Leavin’ in the Morning
Drag The River – Me and Joe Drove Out to California

Lagwagon – I’m Losing Everyone (Drag the River cover)

There are few things in this world more despicable than spam e-mails. I’m talking ‘scum of the earth’, ‘self-leaked celebrity sex tape’ despicable. Illegal meds, penile enlargement, online casinos, home mortgages, weight loss drugs- the list of high volume e-mail deployed into my inbox each day seems to go on and on.

But realistically, what can I do about it? I just have to take these SPAM lemons and make Viagra flavored lemonade. So what I’ve done to turn a sour situation into a profitable one is create a new feature on Invisible Limb that rewards the actual semi-solicited e-mails that I receive each day. Basically, e-mails that aren’t mailed from robots.  Each Friday I’ll be posting all the news, press releases, mp3s, links, and letters that flood into my morning inbox.  I’m doing this in hopes of spreading the good word and paying respects to the virtue of non-spam e-mail.  It will also serve as a week in review for the articles we’ve posted on Invisible Limb.

I hope you have the time of your life reading these.

NEW MINDERS MP3!
Frank from 2:30 Publicity and the people at Future Farmer Records have made a new mp3 available from the Minders’ recently released Bright Guilty World. It is for the frolicsome, upbeat track ‘Accidental Joy’.

The Minders – Accidental Joy

Click here to read Andrew’s review of the record.

I LOVE YOU BUT I’VE CHOSEN DARKNESS, EUROPEAN TOUR + VIDEO!
See! We told you we get these e-mails all the time! Secretly Canadian Records’ I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness is the probably most active touring band in the world according to the messages in our inbox. On Tuesday the band finished up a handful of dates in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and also debuted the new music video for their song ‘According to Plan’. Check it out here.

THE LOW LOWS MP3, NEW ALBUM!
Do you remember the New York dream-pop duo Parker & Lily? If you do then you might be interested to know that male half Parker Noon has just announced his new project The Low Lows are planning on releasing their debut album, Fire on the Bright Sky, on September 12th on Warm Electronic Recordings. Help yourself to the first song on the record, ‘Dear Flies, Love Spider’.

The Low Lows – Dear Flies, Love Spider

BASSIST WANTED!
Comic strips are awesome. Especially when they have to do with music. For an example of this winning formula check out author/illustrator Porter Mason’s comic strip Bassist Wanted.

http://www.bassistwanted.com

ALOHA UPDATE!
Polyvinyl Records’ Aloha will be heading out for a brief tour in support of their most recent record Some Echoes. The 12-date tour will lead the band through the east coast and Midwest, as well as a few shows Canada. Afterwards the band plans to head back into the studio to record 2 new songs for an up coming 7″.

Tour dates link: https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/tours/#Aloha

Listen to Some Echoes in its entirety at http://www.musicofaloha.com.

THE HOLD STEADY, US TOUR + RECORD!
Hold Steady fans have a few things to look forward to this October. The Brooklyn band has announced the release of their new album Boys and Girls in America on Vagrant Records and a subsequent US tour in support. Vocalist Craig Flinn has described the record as more theme-oriented and less ‘concept’ than 2005′s Seperation Sunday. Sound interesting?

Tour dates posted at http://www.theholdsteady.com

Here are some mp3s from their previous 2 albums:

Your Little Hoodrat Friend from Seperation Sunday (2005)
The Swish from The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me (2004)

MINUS THE BEAR REMIX + TOUR!
Missed Minus the Bear their first time around? No worries, on October 5th the band will set out for their second full headlining tour in support of their recently released Menos El Oso album. In addition to the tour, the band is currently working on a Menos El Oso remix record set to be released this coming February on Suicide Squeeze Records. So far the confirmed contributors are Dalek, Battles (Tyondai Braxton), Weird Science, P.O.S., Fog, Jay Clark (Pretty Girls Make Graves), Dark Baby, and IQU.

Tour dates @ http://www.minusthebear.com/go.php?g=cFyA9pGh

INVISIBLE LIMB WEEK IN REVIEW
Here is a recap of the articles published this week.

Music Review: Bard Pond – Ticket Crystals
Download: Invisible Limb Hearts Secretly Canadian Records
Download: M83 – Unrecorded & Teen Angst
Download: Cale Parks – I Am the Arm & Wet Paint
Music Review:  Umbrellas – Illuminare
Download:  Contrast Podcast #17: Who?

Hey everyone in internet land!  We’ve made a new friend!  His name is Tim Young and he runs Contrast Podcast!  Isn’t that great?!  And he’s actually been kind enough to let us be a part of it!  Awesome!  For those who don’t know, Contrast Podcast is a weekly themed podcast featuring selections from a plethora of music blog writers, ranging from the big boys to the new kids on the block.  Past themes included Beatles covers, music you listened to when you were 16, songs about numbers, etc. etc.  This week’s theme is simply ‘Who?’  Interesting, eh?  So mosey on over to the Contrast website and see what ‘Who?’ themed song I came up with.  Tell us what you think!

CONTRAST PODCAST LINK- http://www.timyoung.net/contrast

Umbrellas
Illuminare
The Militia Group

For those who have ever wondered what your favourite local indie-rock band would’ve sounded like had they either not disbanded or not joined a pseudo-indie label which overproduces every single record, Umbrellas have achieved this sound well with Illuminare. I will admittedly say that initially I was not terribly impressed with the vocals.  In time however I have more or less gotten past the similarities he shares with Cher (her newer work) and Gloria Estefan.  His sound is still considerably more effeminate than either of those ladies at any point in their careers. Not something terribly atypical in the genre, but between his airy vocals and thoughtful lyrics, this chap sounds very honest and sincere. Continue Reading »

Due out September 26th, Cale Park’s surprisingly addictive debut album Illuminated Manuscript is the record I’ve been waiting to hear for a long time.  It’s both ambient and chaotic, peaceful and exciting; a vibrant mash up between organic and electronic sounds. ‘Wet Paint’, also featured on Polyvinyl Record’s upcoming label sampler What To Do With Everything, is one of the more vocal heavy tracks on the record. It lands somewhere between M83′s dark ambient tones and Broken Social Scene’s indie rock instrumentalism and vocals. The breezier ‘I Am the Arm’ shows off a brighter side to the musician, effectively using multiple layers of piano and keys.  Fans of the two aforementioned bands will find a lot to enjoy about Parks’ songs.

For those of you who think you’ve heard of Cale Parks before the Ohio native has also served as a touring member for bands like CEX, Joan of Arc, Love Everything, and Georgie James. Most of his time, however, is spent as a full-time member of fellow Polyvinyl band Aloha. It was in between takes for their last album Some Echoes that Parks recorded and produced the tracks that would eventually make up Illuminated Manuscript. If you’ve ever messed around with a drum kit or made your own beats, Cale Park’s debut album might be a good place to learn how it’s done.  Two big thumps up from the Invisible Limb camp.

MP3- Cale Parks – Wet Paint
MP3- Cale Parks – I Am the Arm

You can download more tracks off Illuminated Manuscript at his Myspace page.

As the owner and operator of a music blog, I know that my job is to create distance between myself and my readers. In order for me to have a voice or get respect, I must always repeat the fact that I know more about music than you ever will. This isn’t necessarily a knock on you; just a realistic truth. You have a job and go to school and have a family. It’s impossible for you to spend as much time as I do in front of a computer, sipping chai tea and searching for undiscovered talent. Even if you did have a Vegan roommate that was willing to drive to the local cafe and pick you up a day’s supply of chai tea, you probably would get tired of computerizing after 25 minutes and go do something that involves physical movement. Not everyone has what it takes to run a musical shrine to their own egos- that’s the cold truth.

This brings me to the point of this post. Although every music blogger in the world has already heard of M83 – most of them own all three of their full lengths, can sing all the words to ‘Car Chase Terror’ in Portuguese, and have a limited edition Don’t Save Us from the Flames tour 2005 poster hanging above their home turntable set – the common internet layman has yet to hear of Anthony Gonzalez and his electronic sound vibrations. But once they download the two tracks I’ve attached, ‘Unrecorded’ from 2003′s Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts and ‘Teen Angst’ from 2005′s more eclectic Before the Dawn Heals Us, they will come to appreciate M83′s spacious and atmospheric rhythms and I will get all the credit. Don’t you see? I put up music that I didn’t make, people download it, and I get praise. It’s my manipulation of this mind bending formula to my favor that sets me apart from you, the normal people.

Enjoy the music.

MP3 - M83 – Unrecorded
MP3 - M83 – Teen Angst

Secretly Canadian Records keeps ignoring our e-mail requests to be added to their promo list, which is pretty strange considering I get e-mails from them every other day telling me about how I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness is on tour again. Sometimes I get duplicate e-mails. I’m guessing the reason they won’t respond is because the only people that read Invisible Limb are myself and my aunt and cousin, and as everyone knows, you don’t send promos to a site that isn’t legit or crawling with that hip indie freshness. Or it might be because even if they don’t send me stuff I will still promote their releases like this, with no cost at all to them. I’m not really sure. What I do know is that they have a knack for signing good talent. I can tell you this with great certainty, because I’ve paid 13-18 dollars out of my own wallet for a few of their cds.   I wouldn’t drop that kind of cash unless it was worth it.

If you run an mp3 blog that is as unpopular as mine I would recommend buying the following albums with your own money then promoting them to no end. It’ll remind you that giving is better than receiving and all that benevolent good stuff. Don’t end up like my good friend DJ Limb; a self-obsessed, bitter, enraged loner who has nothing better to do than wonder why no one likes his blog. The only good thing he has going for him is his up coming Unicorn ONE LOVE World Party event which is going to be held live from Club Unicorn in New York City. If you run an mp3 blog that is more popular than mine DJ Limb would appreciate it if you could post a link to the flyer. This is his first time dj’ing a world party.  Anyway, here are some great mp3s from Secretly Canadian’s up coming release schedule.

MP3- Magnolia Electric Co. – Lonesome Valley
From the up coming album Fading Trails

MP3- Jason Molina - Get Out Get Out Get Out
From the up coming album Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go

MP3- Catfish Haven - Crazy for Leaving
From the up coming album Tell Me

MP3- Frida Hyvönen – You Never Got Me Right
From the up coming album Until Death Comes

MP3- Earlyday Miners - Return of the Native
From the up coming album Offshore

Bardo Pond
Ticket Crystals
ATP Recordings

Psychedelic sound experiments are the wellspring of everything Bardo Pond is about. Several of their song titles are derived from drug epithets, and the music behind them drips with echoing guitar riffs, eerie and droning violin and flute passages, and occasional vocal nuances. Laid-back bass and drums are the glue that holds these mental excursions together. Continue Reading »

Sufjan Stevens
The Avalanche
Asthmatic Kitty Records 

It has been quite a year since Sufjan Stevens released his much-heralded album, Illinois. Stevens spent the majority of that time touring the world (including a much talked about performance at the prestigious Lincoln Center “Songwriter’s Series”) and showing up in magazines, webzines, and newspapers trying to explain away his religious beliefs, his near blasphemous idea to complete a series of albums on all 50 states, and his unholy amount of talent. At this point in his still young career, Stevens could have taken a year off to rest and get ready on another assault on the world. Continue Reading »