Dum Dum Girls’ debut LP ‘I Will Be’ is out March 30th and it’s a little punk rock, a little sixties’ pop girl group. The album art looks similar to Vampire Weekend’s ‘Contra’ doesn’t it? Sonically, it’s nothing super spectacular or different. It’s that lo-fi aesthetic that a lot of surfer punk bands have been pioneering [or recylcing] over the past few years now. But it’s a good record to listen to in the car, driving around my new/old home of San Diego. They recently covered the Raveonettes song ‘Heart of Stone’ along with Amazing Baby. I like their version better. Girls rule.

Dum Dum Girls- I Will Be

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Dum Dum Girls- Heart of Stone (Raveonettes Cover)

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This is Cameron Woodward. He is a budding entrepreneur and one of my dearest friends, and as of a few days ago- MY NEW ROOMMATE. He also co-owns this blog and has a pretty neat blog of his own. You’re into business, you say? You like social media? You’re into words like ‘equity’? Well this is the blog for you.

cameronwoodward.tumblr.com

He’s got his hand in several really exciting projects, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out Swap Doodles, the hippest site you will check out today [besides this one]. It’s so hip, like vintage oxfords hip.

The beautiful harmonizing of The Morning Benders‘ sophomore effort ‘Big Echo’ is mesmerizing. With heavy percussion, hushed vocals and hazy distortion they remind me a lot of Foreign Born, another band I have a strong affinity for (they actually just played Toronto, and it made me think of the first time I saw them play alongside Faces on Film- hence, the inception of this blogs’ namesake).

So I just got an email from a rad girl named Anna who just told me to check out this band while I was writing this post, listening to their album, isn’t that cool/strange. Thanks Anna! We think alike. I love the inter-web sometimes, I don’t care what chu say.. there are sweet people on here!

The title is perfectly fitting, it’s filled with big echos, sparkling hazy piano keys and electric guitars. Everything about it has got that spacey fifties vibe as they sing in the track ‘Promises’, ‘I can’t help thinking we’ve grown up too fast’. It’s my favorite springtime album, hands down.

The Morning Benders- Cold War

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You can buy the album: Here

There have been an obscene amount of good albums released lately. The following are three I think you should check out. The mood is hazy, dreamy, lo-fi or ‘no-fi’ jams that just make me happy. That’s all. Enjoy!

Kaki King- Junior

Kaki King‘s fifth album, out last week, entitled ‘Junior’ is both sad and lovely AND super badass. With some tracks that sound more like 80s’ dance anthems to soft instrumentals of songs like, ‘Everything Has An End, Even Sadness’. The record is angst-filled with songs like ‘Betrayer’ or ‘Spit It Back In My Mouth’- she’s also one of the fiercest, polished female guitarists I’ve ever heard.

Kaki King- The Betrayer

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Kaki King- Sunnyside

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Washed Out- High Times

The other night I was driving and literally falling asleep. And there wasn’t much I could do other than turn up the AC, blast the music and keep shaking my head. I needed to stay awake. I’m almost positive that if I were listening to the new Washed Out record, I wouldn’t be here right now. This album is so mellow, in a lo-fi creeped out kind of way. Like all I can imagine is a girl in a lace body suit with legwarmers on, and a dude with a predator stache slow dancing in their livingroom in the afternoon.

Washed Out- Phone Call

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Washed Out- Olivia

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Yukon Blonde- Self-titled

I’m just not going to compare them to Fleet Foxes. Moving on. Yukon Blonde are my new favorite thing coming out of Canada- their self-titled album was released in Canada back in February, and will be out in the US March 23rd. All the tracks on this album are easily digestible, they’re warm and nostalgic. They’ve got more of a folk/pop-rock vibe than Fleet Foxes, and they’re Canadian, so they can do no wrong. Love this!

Yukon Blonde- Wind Blows

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Yukon Blonde- Kumiko Song

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Every year at SXSW there are those bands that everyone wants to see. And about ten percent of those wristband-yielding elite do. Last year it was Dirty Projectors- and look at what happened to them after that. I’m sure this year, Free Energy will be one of them.

The breezy seventies posi-rock that they craft into perfect pop songs is only a third cheesy, but they compensate with their catchiness for their debut album, ‘Stuck On Nothing’. And who cares that every song is super positive. I think that’s a redeeming quality. There are enough sad lonely man songs in the world, I think an unapologetic anthem about life and having fun today/tonight/right now is what is most needed. The sentiment that youth is wasted on the young doesn’t always ring true, as they say, ‘we are young and still alive and now the time is on our side’. It helps that they’re total babes too.

Free Energy- Dream City

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Free Energy- Hope Child

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Minneapolis four-piece One For The Team are releasing their third album Ghosts on March 16th and I seriously cannot wait. [Although I have given it a couple of listens]. One of the dudes from the band runs the awesome music blog Minneapolis Fucking Rocks [MFR] a blog that I frequently read, and you know, it really does fucking rock. The album is a bit heavier than their previous releases, the female/male vocal harmonies are perfect, and the songs are fiercely energetic and noisy.

I love the slow-paced ballad ‘I Got Tamed’ that repeats the words, ‘I want to talk to you so bad’ and it’s that whole teenage angsty feel, something I feel like we never fully lose. Another great track is ‘Ha Ha’ is a more aggressive maturation from earlier tracks like ‘Apples’ sounding a little more like Silversun Pickups.They’re on tour to support the new release- mostly east coast. Bummer!

One For The Team- Ha Ha

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One For The Team- Someone Else’s Knife

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Invisible Children did it! They raised enough money to get the Blogotheque music documentary started, AND they scored an insane lineup of bands featuring Yeasayer, The Polyphonic Spree and Lykke Li. I’m so proud of my friend Kenny for all the work he put into this project, it is so inspiring. Thanks to everyone who donated. With all the people involved, I’m confident that this is going to be magic. Check out the teaser video below and get amped. After that, check out their new website to get all the latest information on the film.

La Blogotheque / Invisible Children from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Dr. Dog- Shame, Shame: Release: April 6th 2010

Thank the Lord. Dr. Dog is putting out a new album. To celebrate the upcoming release of ‘Shame, Shame’ they’re giving away the track ‘Stranger’ for free. My favorite so far is the track, ‘Shadow People’. It’s so sweet.

His voice has got it’s own naievity, like he’s just a really nice, soft-spoken dude that just wants to rally his friends around a fire and sing some songs. It’s that shaky, unsure question, ‘where did all the shadow people go?’ It eases it’s way into a piano-charged ballad with choruses of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’, and with that, he says, “I got something on my mind”. I can’t wait to hear what else that is soon.

Dr. Dog- Shadow People

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Dr. Dog- Stranger

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I need to get caught up! Cool stuff happening on the back end of FWBA, I’m getting glimpses of what this space will soon look like and it looks rad so far. I’ve been a bit occupied with other exciting life stuff, but music is getting me really amped. There is so much good new stuff out there. This past week I checked out David Bazan at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach AND my friends in Manchester Orchestra- below is an account of: the week of good music.

David Bazan- Alex’s Bar: Long Beach

Let it be known that this is the same venue where they film True Blood. I’ve actually never seen that show, but it was a really cool place. The lineup kicked off with my friend Amanda’s band- called ‘Kissing Cousins‘. They’re an awesome all-girl band, and they rule. Next up was Headlights, I’d heard them first sometime last year, they kind of remind me a little of Mates of State. The couple beside me were being obnoxious, mostly because they were drunk and obscenely touchy. They also smelled like Abercrombie and were generally really lame people. What? They were.

Let me explain- I have a profound respect for the nature of shows, especially shows like David Bazan. Not only have I been anticipating this one for sometime, but his music requires a necessary ambience, that means no heckling, no stupid questions, and general enjoyment from the crowd. By the time David got up there, it was rowdy as expected, it was late enough for everyone to be sufficiently drunk. Regardless, his performance was stunning, I always like watching him with a full band- probably more than his acoustic stuff. He played songs like ‘The Man in Me’ and ‘I Never Wanted You’. And to the utter disappointment of the drunken platinum blonde girl in the back with tribal tattoos- he did not play ‘Hallelujah’ a request she repeated several dozen times, to which she emphasized by yelling, ‘play fucken hallelujah’. Not the best approach. Otherwise, David can do no wrong, therefore it was perfect. Weird, creepy post-script, he definitely did touch my arm. Okay, I’ll stop.

David Bazan- When We Fell

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Manchester Orchestra- The Troubadour

I hope my friend Christopher [Lightning] Freeman reads this. I haven’t seen this band play in nearly a year, I’ve always really loved them. I think they are becoming exceedingly good at what they do, and it’s starting to pay off. They played Kimmel last week, and they’re getting the next cover of AP. The show was one of two consecutive shows that were sold out- O’Brother, The Features and Biffy Clyro opened up. It’s crazy to think that Biffy Clyro can generate stadium-filled crowds in the UK and they’re nowhere near as popular in the US. Maybe that’ll soon change, they had one of the most energetic and intense performances I’d seen in a while.

Manchester’s set was gorgeous, they played a new song that sounded a bit more Southern, and a bit more aggressive- along with a song about being friends with 50 cent. I see a lot of Bazan in Andy Hull, I’m excited to see what they put out next. They’re all-around sweet dudes, and Chris is an incredible artist- some of his stuff [drawings] are for sale at the shows, you should buy it to help feed him. He’s getting too skinny. While you’re there, say hello to my dear friend Alex, who is on the road with them representing Invisible Children. You really can’t miss their bus- it has giant picture of child soldiers on the back of it. I hope the best for these dudes!

Manchester Orchestra- My Friend Marcus

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Should’ve gone to..

Dawes- The Troubadour

I missed the Dawes show the other night. Do you know what kind of week that would’ve made it? They are seriously one of my favorite bands. Check out this video of them playing for The Voice Project. My super babe-ly friend Luke showed me this, and I hit up Kenny (IC) and asked him if he knew about this project- they do work in northern Uganda, and it looks something like Takeaway shows. Kenny told me that this was started by Peter Gabriel’s daughter. Rad!

Dawes » Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

David Davison- Cast Spells. Super good.

Kidding! I really wish I were going. But you know, my friend Brandon says there are some pretty cool shows going on this week in LA too, like Best Coast, Choir of Young Believers and Surfer Blood. I did want to share some cool stuff with you guys- I got a chance to interview a few of the bands that will be out there this year through Spinner/AOL’s SXSW project. I hope all of my friends have fun out there.

Check out the links below!

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Children Collide

http://www.spinner.com/2010/02/23/sxsw-2010-children-collide/

Cast Spells

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/10/sxsw-2010-cast-spells/

Asylum Street Spankers

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/12/sxsw-2010-asylum-street-spankers/

CASXIO

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/08/sxsw-2010-casxio/

Christopher Rees

http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/01/sxsw-2010-christopher-rees/