I know the vast majority of my readers are folks who are looking for unreleased Clash, Ryan Adams, or whatever, but I also regularly hear from about 100 of you who truly come just for the indie artists. So I know you’re out there. This post is for you, the few the proud. Ten artists who came to me through the mailbag. (It’s so damn full I just can’t post on all these, but I dig ’em so I’m sharing them.)
1. KT Tunstall, the female singer/songwriter behind the brilliant “Eye of the Telescope” album, is releasing her next record later this year. It’s on a major label, so we won’t formally review it here, but I got a “hold” of “Hold On” off a bootleg, which will be the first single, and I must say it’s hot. So is her recent Bloc Party cover . . .
The Prayer (Bloc Party cover).
2. Owen Roberts is an artist who submitted his own work, which already gets him the special treatment of being jumped in the queue. He’s promoting his new album, and it’s at the top of my list for a reason. Around My Thoughts is acoustic guitar and bongos, and is a brooding tune with a fantastic breakdown at the 3:30 mark. It could be an eels song. Blue River is similar, but it’s more delta bluesy. You Won’t Burn Me is a more upbeat ditty, a love song with “controversial verses that we both believe are true.” It’s almost like country, but good country (not corny country). I enjoyed this album a lot. If you agree, you can buy it at his site or on iTunes.
3. Strangers in Wonderland want you to check out their new songs, Addicted and Behind the Mask.
4. Underwater Getdown‘s blog tells you absolutely nothing about them. But Supersymmetry, their album, is pretty keen. It almost sounds like indie goth. Slow and low, that is the tempo. Indie rock in the tradition of Low, Interpol, and Destroyer. Check it out.
Slingshot.
Slingshot
5. Here’sanother artist who contacted BP. White rap in the style of Aesop or Sage Francis. I liked “sixteen” in particular. Check it out–there’s more to download on his site. Sixteen-Besatree.
6. And speaking of Aesop Rock, “None Shall Pass” is out now.
7. I really dig the new release by Gringo Star, straight up rock and roll from Atlanta.
8. Rob Sonic, on Definitive Jux, was a producer on the aforementioned Aesop Rock album, and he’ll release his own CD on September 25. It’ll be called “Sabotage Gigante,” and it will feature Aes and Busdriver. Here’s the first single:
9. Brooklyn’s own The Boys and Girls Club have released a summer single, just in time for September(?!)
10. And last but certainly not least, Division Day, one of the first bands we ever interviewed, will be releasing a new exclusive cover song or remix every tuesday for 8 weeks to celebrate the release of Beartrap Island on iTunes on September 18th and in stores on October 2nd. Here’s the first one:
