Max Tundra

No More Pirates [mp3] from Chris Garneau's recent El Radio, haunting and elegant. Garneau's voice, similarly quirky to Ryan Guldemond's (Mother Mother), betrays his gender and age, at times forming stylized pop bubbles ala Ingrid Michaelson - only playfully dark and weighty, sometimes dramatically broadway, often sounding like a doe-eyed child. Garneau plays LA's Spaceland this Sunday the 20th (free) and the Bootleg Theatre on the 22nd. Take tissues and a cozy wrap. Dreadfully beautiful.

Coming Home [mp3]  - The first track out from Beaten Awake's upcoming 2009 release, Thunder$troke, on Fat Possum. Nice emphasis on the theme of home. Round and fat like their label's name, unlike what you might expect from the the violent sound of the band's name.

3.1/The Whip [mp3s] - Apse; Climb Up comes out 10/20/09 on ATP. Expansive, deliciously cacaphonous echoing sound.

Which Song [mp3]- Max Tundra (aka Ben Jacobs). Think 80's, flashing lights, carnival, merry-go-round swirling carefree fun. Catch the bursting English pop doctor in the US on tour with Deastro in November.

To Kingdom Come [video] - Always an uplifting infusion, go see Passion Pit. They're on US tour now, back in LA at the Fonda 10/14 (one of their many sold-out shows).

Basement [mp3] - Fredrik (from Malmo, Sweden....I thought Malmo was just a made-up Ikea name) pairs techno-industrial with the delicate sounds of harplike strings and terrycloth vocals for charming, lo-fi, rustic backyard park on a humid day hanging.

We Have BandMove to California [mp3], No Time No Hope [mp3] - Times New Viking. Rough, chaotic, punky, engaging. Their new album, Born Again Revisited loudly flaunts DIY on its sleeve. It's out Tuesday, 9/22/09 on Matador. LA, check them out live at the Echoplex on November 1st.

It Don't Move Me [mp3] - Peter Bjorn and John remix by We Have Band. It inspired the person sitting next to me to literally jump up and spontaneously begin to dance like an Egyptian Jazzercise instructor. What more needs to be said?