I’ve recently discovered Philadelphia-based indie rockers who go by the name Thinking Machines (probably got the name from Dune). I’ve instantly fell in love with their new album, Work Tapes. They play the kind of music inspired by Dinosaur Jr, Pavement, Guided by Voices and other giants of American indie. This means heavy and screaming guitar noise, disharmonic feel, creative drum patterns and the vocals which sound dry and honest, burned-out, desperate and full of tragedy without anything cheesy. They cleverly move along the borders of shoegaze, lo-fi and post-hardcore (I especially love how they remind me of Hot Snakes and Les Savy Fav). Sensitivity also plays a large part, the jingling guitars and slower stand-outs are in nice contrast with the blitzkrieg of power-driven guitar-whirlwinds. The fuzzy overdrive of the album is an awesome proof that there is a huge non-mainstream source of rock music from previous decades that’s still worth preserving and drawing on. Give the band some myspace-love and buy the album when it comes out early April.

Thinking Machines – Parallax [mediafire] // [ysi]

I don’t really know much about Cursive but I really like the new album. I don’t remember whether I listened to The Ugly Organ or not but it’s familiar. I definetly listened to Happy Hollow back in 2006. Mama, I’m Swollen is out now on Saddle Creek. It’s heavy and melodic at the same time, shouts and lyrics about our aimless existence and the capitalist world turning to dust…it’s awesome. Not all songs of course. My favourite is the first song, In The Now. It’s short, energetic and to the point. I don’t really feel like writing but listen to it and buy it, of course.

“Don’t Wanna Live in the Now

Don’t Wanna Know What I Know

Don’t Wanna Live in the Now

Don’t Wanna Know What I Know

Don’t Wanna Live in the Now

Don’t Wanna Know What I Know

…”

Cursive – In The Now [mediafire] // [ysi]

Back on the same track as with the Johnny Foreigner post: new British indie stuff. Dananananaykroyd (awesome name, huh?) is a band from Glasgow. They exist since 2006 and are getting more and more attention as time passes. DiS even named them the “best live band in the UK”. You know how it goes. The 6 members of the band present an angst-ridden, noisy, post-hardcore shouting-feast which must look awesome on stage. They call it ‘fight pop’. Anti-popculture and the war between mainstream and underground seems to rise again. Of course, you can draw a wide picture of influences with the most notorious lo-fi bands but more obviously this new single Pink Sabbath is like Refused, At the Drive-in, Sonic Youth and Pretty Girls Make Graves. More US than UK sound. Is the band more than just another instance of the marginal wave of UK indie rock bands whose time has passed in 2005-6? Yes, they are definetly more. One of my friends said that 2009 will be the year of rock again and maybe after they’ve recorded their album in New York and it came out on Moshi Moshi they can be a part of it. Part of the process when young hipsters find their way back to the raw power (hi, Iggy!) of music which is now easily simulated in electronically engineered stuff. There’s a beauty in finding the hidden gems of the future today.

Dananananaykroyd – Pink Sabbath [zshare] // Dananananaykroyd – Pink Sabbath [ysi]

First things first. I know I should have blogged something about the Van She album but I only pretend that I like electro, sorry.

A new wave of British indie, again. There are quite a few waves. Johnny Foreigner is a band from England which draws more on US post-hardcore stuff, not the britpopish things and not electro. Los Campesinos!, Blood Red Shoes, Elle Milano can come to mind. With the dual girl+guy vocals it could easily be emo but it’s rather the Pretty Girls Makes Graves thing. The new single Salt, Peppa and Spinderella is an awesome, complex indie track and totally up-to-date even with the Bloc Party-like singing in the beginning of the song.

And mentioning Bloc Party, now it’s not a surprise (of course, for JF it was a huge surprise, they are flattered) that Bloc Party’s tech-man Russell Lissak made a remix for it. He’s like Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. And talking about Radiohead, the remix is like Amnesiac-era Radiohead but weird and beautiful in it’s own way. How witty I am!

Johnny Foreigner – Salt, Peppa and Spinderella [zshare] // Johnny Foreigner – Salt, Peppa and Spinderella [ysi]

Johnny Foreigner – Salt, Peppa and Spinderella (Bloc Party remix) [zshare] // Johnny Foreigner – Salt, Peppa and Spinderella (Bloc Party remix) [ysi]

I was a huge fan of The Blood Brothers. Unfortunately they split last year. I still think that Johnny Whitney’s voice is one of the weirdest and best vocals for experimental hardcore stuff. Or anything.

In addition I really loved Pretty Girls Make Graves who like BB disbanded last year. From the emo-y start to the dark Elan Vital, they were a band to live up to the expectations a rock band has which is formed in Seattle.

On the ashes of glory, Jaguar Love was born. Johhny Whitney does the singing with Cody Volotato also from BB, is on the guitar and Jay Clark, frontman of PGMG is doing a lot of instrument stuff as well, he’s mainly on drums. In the beginning of 2008, they signed to the legendary Matador. First single and EP were out in June. A full lenght titled Take Me to the Sea is following this August. I think it’ll be awesome. Expect hardly digestable music with sweet melodies, weird screaming and experimental aesthetics. Continuing the BB tradition somehow the atmosphere suggests the end of the world. Give them myspace love and buy the record.

Jaguar Love – Jaguar Pirates [zshare] // Jaguar Love – Jaguar Pirates [ysi]

Jaguar Love – Vagabond Ballroom [zshare] // Jaguar Love – Vagabond Ballroom [ysi]