Liars – I Saw You From The Lifeboat – new video

Mikal Cronin – Change – new video

Mikal Cronin‘s new album, MCII gets me feeling all early 90′s college/slacker rock nostalgic.

It’s much more than just a trip down nostalgia lane though. It transgresses it’s influences, and has enough hooks and intrigue to grab you on the first play and keep you coming back for further listens.

Here’s the new video for Change (the 6th tune on the album – fact fans) – MKII is out now:

Foxygen – No Destruction – new video

No Destruction is taken from Foxygen’s latest album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic, which is out now.

Bibio – A Tout A L’Heure – new video

A Tout A L’Heure is taken from Bibio’s new album Silver Wilkinson which is out on 13th May.

New Discovery – Salvia Plath

Slacker-psych-folk anyone?

Step forward drug-pun loving, Salvia Plath, also known as Baltimore-based musician, film maker and artist Michael Collins.

His gloriously slack and lovely new single, House of Leaves is taken from his forthcoming album, The Bardo Story, which is set for release on the 8th July.

Thee Oh Sees – ‘Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster’ – new video

Here’s the new serial killer themed video from San Francisco alt-rockers, Thee Oh Sees:

Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster is taken from Thee Oh Sees’ new album, Floating Coffin which is out now on Castle Face Records.

Youth Lagoon – Mute – new video

Mute is taken from the album Wondrous Bughouse, which is out now on Fat Possum Records.

Listen to a new Modest Mouse song

It’s been a whopping six years since Modest Mouse‘s last album (excluding 2009′s eight track EP, No One’s First and You’re Next), so fan’s can be excused for getting rather excited over news of new material. I’m mildly giddy if the truth be told.

Over the weekend, at the Coachella festival, they played an awesome new song called, Be Brave. It manages to conjure up all the things that make Modest Mouse great – and whilst it’s not breaking any new ground – it’s all the better for it, and has that brilliantly ramshackled sound that fits them so well.

Check out the live video below – it’ll please you to know it’s pretty good quality:

Here’s hoping a new album isn’t too far away…

New Discovery – Night Moves

Minneapolis three piece, Night Moves wear their influences well. At times there’s a strong air of Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips about them, a splash of Beachwood Sparks, a whiff of Neil Young and Crazy Horse and a more than vague nod in the direction of 1960′s Laurel Canyon rock too. But nothing ever seems overly heavy-handed.

Late last month their debut album, Colored Emotions was released and garnered strong reviews from amongst others, Pitchfork (who praised their “special blend of electrified, tie-dyed country”), Under The Radar (who labelled them, “A little bit country, a little bit spacey; like laser-pistoleros in puffy sleeves and cowboy boots”) and allmusic.com (“a promising debut and one more considered, nuanced, and realized than most bands achieve deep into their tenure”).

Whether they transcend their comparisons is open to debate – but they can certainly write a tune, as the video for Country Queen attests – check it out below:

You can buy Colored Emotions here.

Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica due to be reissued next month

One of the weirdest sounding records ever made, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band‘s Trout Mask Replica, is due for the reissue treatment this May.

The album led the legendary DJ John Peel to gush, “If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.” And love it or hate it, it still ranks as one of the most intriguing records of all time.

I remember the first time I heard it, driving through country lanes with my dad in the early 1990′s. Neither of us had heard it before and we were confused, amused, mildly disturbed and befuddled by it’s off kilter jazz clatterings and surrealist howling. In many ways it’s the ultimate mood album. Listen to it at the wrong time and it sounds like the world has just broken in two. Listen to it at the right time and it scrambles and tickles the brain like a perfectly orchestrated accident.

If you’ve not heard it before, give it a listen before the new freshly polished version comes out in a few weeks time. You might hate it. Or love it. Or just question its oddness.