Michel & Michel - My Bed Is My Wife

Yesterday we went to Michel & Michel's release party for their new record, From Michel & Michel With Love. They played songs, which were great and then they gave everyone a copy of their record. It is filled with charming songs recorded with classic guitars, sounding like a sunny Summer afternoon spent in a green hill, near a beautiful lake. "My Bed Is My Wife" is the last song on their record and one of their very best.

michel_et_michel_-_my_bed_is_my_wife.mp3

Arab Strap - The Shy Retirer

Monday at the Hug and Pint should remind me of darker times, and, as i press "play" I expect a rush of ghostly memories coming to hit me in the back of the head. It doesn't happen and I'm grateful for it. All i have left to do is finally re-discover Arab Strap. Here is one of the best songs I have ever heard.

arab_strap_-_the_shy_retirer.mp3

The Boy Least Likely To - Paper Cuts

Along with The Lucksmiths' Warmer Corners, The Boy Least Likely To's The Best Party Ever is this year's perfect indie pop record : young, fresh and sunny, with songs reminiscent of the Smiths and the good old 1960s. They're British, and "Paper Cuts" is my favourite song of the day.

the_boy_least_likely_to_-_paper_cuts.mp3

Jonathan Richman - Couples Must Fight

Jonathan Richman is one of my heroes. An unsung, forgotten genius songwriter with a soft spot for romance. "Couples Must Fight" is an exerpt of 2001's totally unpretentious Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow, his 20th record, which could have been more appropriately titled Let Jonathan Teach You a Lesson or Two About Love.

jonathan_richman_-_couples_must_fight.mp3

Swod - Tucholskystr.34

Swod's Gehen is one of last years most surprising releases, half classical piano, half quiet, abstract electronica. It's one of City Centre Office's best releases, and more importantly, one of the few avant-garde records that actually succeed in making me feel anything. Gehen is a wonderful record to experience, one of those records you play over and over again just because you can't think of anything else fit to follow.

swod_-_tucholskystr34.mp3

Xinlisupreme - Zouaves Blue

Xinlisupreme released Zouaves blue as a free online single a few months ago, as a teaser to their second proper album, to be released this Summer. It's insanely awesome, thousands of layers of guitars, keyboards and drummachines and, at some point, a girl singing in the distance. Their new album will be released via Fat Cat and available for free download on their website on July 1st. I can't help but love their guts.

xinlisupreme_-_zouaves_blue.mp3

F.S. Blumm - Nie

Frank Shültge Blumm's Zweite Meer is Morr Music's best release in months and maybe years. It's simple and quietly moving, delicate instrumental music for you to live by. A beautiful record.

f_s_blumm_-_nie.mp3

Herman Düne - Not On Top

Yesterday I met with my slacker friend and as I told him I wasn't a big Herman Dune fan, he told me to listen to the title track of their latest record. I can really use a good song right now, so i listen to it. Julie Doiron sat in the studio while the Herman Dune brothers recorded and you can hear her humming in the back. This one is about being 27 and feeling old.

herman_dune_-_not_on_top.mp3

Smog - Justice Aversion

I can't seem to stop listening to this song at the moment. "Justice Aversion" sounds like someone silently following you home in the darkest hours of night. It's the opening track to Smog's impressive Dongs of Sevotion.

smog_-_justice_aversion.mp3

The Lucksmiths - Sunlight in a Jar

"Sunlight in a Jar" sounds like a perfect Spring, one that would be filled with sun, blossoming trees, romance and mutual understanding. It also sounds a lot like the Smiths and those other tidy, highly-educated British bands. The Lucksmiths are Australian and Warmer Corners is their 8th album. Time for you to listen!

the_lucksmiths_-_sunlight_in_a_jar.mp3

Mount Eerie - The Boom

I was kinda suspcious about Mount Eerie, none of the post The Glow Pt.2 recordings Phil Elvrum produced sounded that convincing to me. Nevertheless I grabbed a copy of Mount Eerie's Live in Denmark 3-LP released not a long time ago through Burn Toast Vinyl. It looks absolutely gorgeous, it's Elvrum playing 34 songs on his own during 5 sides, and on the 6th side there's a studio recording of "The Boom," which is the best post-Microphones song I've heard so far. Mount Eerie's first proper album should be released in August, and I hope he knows what he's doing.

mount_eerie_-_the_boom.mp3

Andrew Bird - Opposite Day

I have to admit I have no idea who this guy is. I've seen a picture of him somewhere and he's tall and dark-haired. The thing is, I can't stop listening to his latest record Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, which happens to be a great pop record. I know every print magazine around here have praised him but i have stopped reading them a couple of years ago, mainly because they tend to praise crap, or whichever band was on the cover of the NME two months ago. He reminds me of : a more consitent Aimee Mann, a manlier Rufus Wainwright and a livelier Elliott Smith (XO-era). I'm starting to think this guy is talented. "Opposite Day" is my favourite song from his record. Try him.

andrew_bird_-_opposite_day.mp3

The For Carnation - A Tribute To

I don't remember much about the past two years, apart from the occasional drama. Still, glimpses of what used to be my daily life come back when I listen to records. I remember smoking and having sex while listening to The For Carnation in the coolest hours of Summer nights. I remember the smell of hot tar and dry sweat. Everything was already blurry back then.

the_for_carnation_-_a_tribute_to.mp3

Devendra Banhart - Michigan State

Before he was an iconic folk figure, Devendra Banhart was already talented. Oh Me,Oh My, his debut album, gathers pocket freak folk songs recorded on microcassette recorders and answering machines. It sounds impressive most of time, some of these songs are haunting and quite scary, the dark diary of a disillusionned 18 years old boy living in a cold, water-less squat. In this hopeless record there are little candles scattered here and there, putting things back into perspective. "Michigan State" is one of these.

devendra_banhart_-_michigan_state.mp3

Calla - Televised

Calla are great. Their music is dark black with tiny bits of dark grey. It sounds warm like tropical rain in a smog-clad third world city, tight and impressively efficient. "Televised" is an exerpt from 2003's Televise and one of Calla's strongest songs.

calla_-_televised.mp3

Make-Up - Do You Like Gospel Music ?

This is another favourite. It starts as a slow and sexy piece and then thunder strikes, and by thunder i mean Ian Svevonius' horny screams, tight guitars, damp keyboards and wild drums. Make-Up were one hell of a band.

make_up_-_do_you_like_gospel_music.mp3

Alias ft. Markus Acher - Unseen Sights

This is one of the best songs released last year, a collaboration between Anticon artist Alias and The Notwist's Markus Acher. Acher still has the most gorgeous voice ever and Alias puts all his talent in the backing instrumental. The result is a major achievement, the kind of song you want to play on repeat forever.

alias_ft_markus_acher_-_unseen_sights.mp3

Julie Doiron - Will You Still Love Me in December

The thing I like about Julie Doiron is that she's your just normal sensitive girl. Her songs are straightforward, simple and touching. "Will You Still Love Me in December" is my favourite song of hers, an exerpt from the Will You Still Love Me... ep, an impressive, depressed release, recorded in a secluded Canadian studio during a violent snowstorm. It all makes sense.

julie_doiron_-_will_you_still_love_me_in_december.mp3

Guitar Wolf - I Love You OK

Guitar Wolf's bass player Billy died a few days ago. They were not the most impressive rock band ever, or the most talented, but Guitar Wolf were really fun. Their most popular record Jet Generation is an insane collection of enthusiast rock anthems and you'd better check it out right now if you haven't already. "I Love You OK" is a cover of an Eikichi Yazawa song Seiji used to perform on his own at the end of GW sets. It's really fun, and a little sad too.

guitar_wolf_-_i_love_you_ok.mp3

The Walkmen - Rue the Day

An exerpt from The Walkmen's 2001 debut album Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, classy and nonchalant like a good private detective with an inch of self-respect left. "Rue the Day" is tight and laid back, like a very urgent thing you keep on forgetting to do. It smells of strong alcohol, not the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll way: the Philip Marlowe way.

the_walkmen_-_rue_the_day.mp3

Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear

"Peach, Plum, Pear" is a pop song that traveled to the 18th century and back, it's tight, i don't mind the the harpsichord and Joanna Newsom's high-pitched, sometimes shrieking, voice conveys much more emotion than I thought it would be capable of. It's been playing on repeat for three days.

joanna_newsom_-_peach_plum_pear.mp3

Ben Lee - Song 4 You

Ben Lee used to be the greatest teenage songwriter. He lost his gift as puberty kicked in, but he left Grandpaw Would, one of the best examples of naive pop since Jonathan Richman. The record's 10 years old, but it's still fresh and completely disarming. "Song 4 You" has always been my favourite, it feels like those awkward teenage daydreams in which Lou would ask me out for a vanilla milkshake.

ben_lee_-_song_4_you.mp3