It seems that your own name, or even an alias, just isn't good enough any more. Lots of "bands" we feature are in fact solo artists. Statistics is Denver Dalley, and he's not jumping on the bandwagon, he's been around for a while. In fact 'Peninsula' is his first album under this guise for eight years. Have a free download of the ace guitar-pop tune 'Nineteen Ninety Nine'.
Statistics' website
Buy the album
jj - Fågelsången
We think the title means "birdsong", but don't quote us on that. 'Fågelsången' contains some birdsong anyway, and it contains plenty of what makes Swedish duo jj so brill. It also feels like a slight progression from some previous tracks, but it's still their own unique brand of dreampop. These two should be huge by now. 'Fågelsången' will be on new album 'V'.
Free download: 'Fågelsången'
(Click to stream, right click, save as to download)
jj's website
Rose Windows - Wartime Lovers
We've said it before and we'll no doubt say it again. You can't really go wrong with the Sub Pop label. Seven-strong Seattle collective Rose Windows have their debut album 'The Sun Dogs' out this week. As a little free treat you can get this interesting mix of orchestral pop, indie, soul and 70s rock called 'Wartime Lovers' as a sample of their fine wares.
Download 'Wartime Lovers' for free by heading here
Stream the album in full
Buy the album
Frak Lenz - Pentasynth
It would be nice to bombard you with facts about Frank Lenz (although you may disagree), but we can't find a website for him and his label's website seems to be down. So all we know is that the lovely instrumental electro/orchestral/pop/indie track 'Pentasynth' is taken from his new album 'Water Tiger' which is out this week, and the song is free below.
Video: 'Pentasynth'
Buy the album
OBLIGATORY RECORD OF THE WEEK
Smith Westerns - Idol
Well this was a tricky one. Illinois band Smith Westerns have matured exactly as we'd hoped over the course of their three albums (and they're still frighteningly young) so when we heard that 'Soft Will' was streaming online we jumped on it right away. It sounded good. Very good. Somehow they'd taken the usual three-minute-or-so song length that's deemed ideal for the type of music they make and added an extra minute onto most of the songs without detracting from them at all. After a few plays the album no longer sounded very good, it sounded stunning. So picking one track to put forward as OROTW was something of a challenge, and other reviewers and publications have mentioned some of the more immediate songs. We'll stick our neck out and say that, when the dust settles, 'Idol' won't be one of the best songs on the album, it will be one of the best songs of the year. Give it time, it's excellent, but then the whole album is really...
Smith Westerns' website
Stream the album in full
Buy the album
Catch them live:
Jul 19 Live on King Street, Madison, WI
Jul 20 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY
Jul 21 Exit/In, Nashville, TN
Jul 23 Black Cat, Washington, DC
Jul 24 Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Jul 26 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
Jul 27 The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
Jul 28 Cabaret Mile End, Montreal, Canada
Jul 29 Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada
Jul 31 Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
Aug 02 Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
Aug 05 The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
Aug 06 Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO
Aug 07 Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Aug 09 Outside Lands, San Francisco, CA
Aug 10 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Aug 11 The Glass House, Pomona, CA
Aug 12 The Casbah, San Diego, CA
Aug 15 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
Aug 16 The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
Aug 17 ELECTRIC OWL, Vancouver, Canada
Aug 20 Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Oct 04 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 05 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 06 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 11 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 12 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Oct 13 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
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