Vol. 5 Issue 37 January 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR SUCKERS. The Bank Robber is back and stronger than ever in 2009. Don’t believe me? Check out this update – new music from Beirut, Death Cab For Cutie, Mates of State, Mark Kozelek. Recession be damned, if we keep cranking out the hits like these, 2009 is gonna prove to be our best year yet. BLURBS!
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Current Releases
- Click to see:
- Barsuk
- Bank Robber Music
Barsuk
www.barsuk.com/
Mates Of State
"Remix EP"
Whip it! Who puts the New Wave in your favorite Mates of State songs? It must be RAC! Sounds like Duran Duran baby. Check out "Now" off of the Mates' remix ep!
Death Cab For Cutie
"Something About Airplanes"
Has it really been a whole decade since Death Cab for Cutie’s infectious and smart debut, Something About Airplanes (Barsuk)? Who knew that in the ensuing years DCFC would become a household name – transforming from modest indie dwelling popsters who got frequently compared to Built To Spill (!), to becoming a fully-formed concept-prone Arena-headlining-World-Tour conquering major label success story. Thing is, Something...still holds up as one the bands finest moments. The specificity-prone lyrics, lead singer Ben Gibbard’s relatable swooning tenor, Chris Walla’s inventive sonics and melodic guitar playing...It’s a classic that definitely showcases the seeds for all the greatness that the boys would later go on to achieve. With legions of newfound fans, many people still haven’t even heard this little record where it all started. What better time than on it’s 10 year anniversary to (re)discover one of the best indie-pop albums of the past decade? Dig in. Check out "President Of What"!
Bank Robber Music
bankrobbermusic.com
Various
"Bank Robber Music Compilation Volume 17"
BRM Vol. 17, our final compilation of 2008, is definitely up to such an esteemed titled. It’s chock full of new music from some of our best bands. Case in point, fresh off their Nick and Norah’s buzz, Bishop Allen have a new record they are putting the finishing touches on now set to be released in March (!) - but you can hear a track off of it super early on our comp now! And of course, the song rules. Not to be outdone, Ben Kweller’s “Hurtin’ You” off his new country-themed album, Changing Horses (ATO) is another jangly winner. But the buck doesn’t stop there – Mates of State remixes? Yep, on this baby. New Beirut? Yep. Wait a minute, new music from the Uke-toting Blog favorite Beirut, really? Yep, and it’s crazy-hooky synth pop! New blog favorites, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are sure to be Sofia Coppola’s next favorite band as their song “Teenager In Love” definitely puts the jesus in Jesus and Mary Chain. And there’s so much more too. Modular Record’s Ladyhawke is the single best 80’s revival record I’ve ever heard – It’s like The Pretenders and Stevie Nicks and Tears For Fears all got together and made a smash hit greatest hits classic. I don’t know how Ladyhawke ended up on our comp really – she sounds super Top 40 in the best way – but we’ll happily take it. I seriously hope to be doing karaoke to her song “Paris Is Burning” in the years to come. Plus, new Arthur Russell, Cobra Verde, Plus/Minus and much much more!!!! Check out Cobra Verde's "World Can't Have Her"!
- Click to see:
- Caldo Verde
- Ba Da Bing!
- Team Love
Caldo Verde
www.caldoverderecords.com
Mark Kozelek
"The Finally LP"
Mark Kozelek is the king of covers. I love the guys original material with Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon – but something completely magical happens when Cameron Crowe’s favorite folkie takes his yearning, ghostly baritone and arpeggio-laden acoustic guitar playing to someone else’s tunes. It’s ironic that he sounds most like himself when he’s singing other peoples songs, and that irony is apparent again and again on Finally (Caldo Verde) a collection of wide-ranging covers and beautiful unreleased instrumentals from Kozelek’s archives. The Finally LP just might be one of the best things Mark has put out in a while – his cover of Stephen Sondheim’s classic, “Send In The Clowns” is utterly heart-destroying. Even better, his sweet, airy take on Husker Du’s “Celebrated Summer.” That’s right folks from Sondheim to Bob Mould to Will Oldham – there’s even a children’s lullaby originally recorded for Yo Gabba Gabba that unfortunately cannot be licensed at all, but will make your ears happy anyways. An unexpected, marvelous little Holiday treat of an album. Check out "Celebrated Summer"!
Ba Da Bing!
www.badabingrecords.com/
Beirut
"March Of The Zapotec/Holland EP"
Beirut’s Zach Condon is not a guy (kid?) to rest on his laurels. Some folks just make albums in their bedrooms or friends’ houses. Some big rich dudes cut records in mansions with swimming pools and cavernous bathrooms. However, for one of two new Beirut eps, Zach pioneered out to the fringes of Mexico, befriended some incredible local street talent, and recorded a beguilingly authentic and beautiful collection of soaring Mexican “funeral songs” titled March Of The Zapotec (Ba Da Bing!). For the other ep, titled Holland, no pioneering was involved. Here you will find that Zach recorded a bunch of New Order-influenced, minimalist synth-pop right in his own bedroom. Talk about being diverse. The incredibly titled Holland stand-out, “My Night With A Prostitute In Marseille”, is addictive enough to make you wish Zach would shack up more often.
Team Love
www.teamlove.com
Joker's Daughter
"The Last Laugh"
So who exactly is the Joker’s Daughter? Why it’s UK-based singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Helena Costas’ collaboration with a little producer who you guys might know called…um…Dangermouse. That’s right, that Dangermouse. The duo’s inspired debut “collabo,” The Last Laugh (Team Love), is in it’s own way like Gnarles Barkely on sedatives locked in a New Age masterclass. That’s right folks, downtempo beats meets old timey legends, classically-trained violin playing, and demure vaguely Joanna Newsom-like vocals. Check out “Worms’s Head”.