Asobi Seksu

This band is truly awesome. Guitar work daisy-chained through various effects pedals, atmospheric keyboards, direct bass and urgent drumming all contrasted with gentle vocals, sung in English and Japanese, combining to create the lush sound of Asobi Seksu. Their new album, Citrus, has received excellent reviews, and they have been respectfully compared/likened to the shoegaze genre, but definitely have developed their own sound from their influences.

So if you're a My Bloody Valentine fan, be happy, and if you're not, be even happier.

Asobi Seksu - Thursday [MP3] from Citrus
Asobi Seksu - New Years [MP3] from Citrus
Asobi Seksu - Sooner [MP3] from Asobi Seksu

MySpace: Asobi Seksu
Website:   AsobiSeksu.com
Listen:      Citrus

Asobi Seksu - Thursday

Ratatat

Ratatat is Tetris rock meeting Raiden's awesome 8-bit game music. Sliding/wailing guitars accompanied by organs and harpsichords over hip-hop beats done in a tasteful fashion. Sure, at points in the album, Classics, it can get a little repetitive for some, but some tracks are just plain anthemic. "Seventeen Years" is the theme music to any of Russia's 5 year plans, Wildcat samples actual Panther roars and Lex is Beethoven arena rock with slide sections that remind you of Metallica's "Ride the Lightning".

Evan Mast (Beats) and Mike Stroud (Guitars) met in college in 1999, but didn't form Ratatat until 2001 when they met again in Brooklyn, where they record  their music in Evan's apartment on Mike's laptop. Both Mike and Evan have worked on other musical projects. Mike toured the world with Ben Kweller and professional whiners Dashboard Confessional as a guitarist, and Evan has been producing music as E*Vax , releasing most of his work on Audio Dregs Records , a label run by him and his brother E*Rock.

Ratatat is guaranteed to rock you, make you forget your Daft Punk CDs and make you wish you had a Raiden machine at your corner shop.

Ratatat - Lex [MP3]
Ratatat - Seventeen Years [MP3]

MySpace: RatatatMusic
Website:   RatatatMusic.com
Interview: Fader

Click here for a flash animation of "Seventeen Years".

Just plain weird.

Mickey Avalon

Mickey Avalon is a drunk, horny, crass, cool as fuck, glam, leprechaun with lady love in spades. Girls climb on stage to dance with him. They fight to keep the others back. His music makes you dance. He drops lines like "I'm a street walker selling cock for rock" on a dime, and won't hesitate to tell you how his dick "costs a late night fee" and "yo' dick has the HIV". He sells out shows and hangs out with actors and models drinking Patron like water. He's even sponsored by RVCA clothing.

The guy's had a hard life and now he's pretty much living the Hollywood dream, which is exactly why I had a serious problem selecting a single photo for this post. One wouldn't be good enough. So there's a bunch. Get yourself in the mood.

Here are the anthems to your Friday nights.

Mickey Avalon - Jane Fonda [MP3]
Mickey Avalon - Waiting to Die [MP3]
Mickey Avalon - So Rich, So Pretty [MP3]

MySpace: Mickey Avalon
Website: MickeyAvalon.com

Photocredits: +++++thecobrasnake++++++

TV on the Radio

Return to Cookie Mountain was released on the 12th on this month, but the album was leaked earlier this year, and I'm sure many of you have heard their looping, noisy, groove based music already, but for those of you who have been living under a rock and haven't listened to them yet I'm gonna clue you in.

TVOTR formed in 2001 but didn't release their full ablum debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes which won the Shortlist Music Prize, until 2004. And they are big now. Since then they have been signed to a major record label and can count David Bowie among their fans, with him going as far as to call to give personal advice as well as providing guest vocals on "Province". They even have David Cross, of Arrested Development fame, featuring in videos on their site. Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe studied stop-motion animation and worked for MTV Celebrity Deathmatch and directed the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs' music video for their single "Pin" from the Machine EP, which guitarist-producer David Sitek produced.

So, basically, they have music cred and are the best band you haven't listened to (if you haven't). The album is awesome with excellent reviews from the critics. Even Pitchfork loves them. So do yourself a favour and give them a listen, with the volume turned up.

TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me [MP3] from Escape From Cookie Mountain
TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun [MP3] from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Listen: Return to Cookie Mountain
MySpace: TV on the Radio
Website: TVontheRadio.com

TV on the Radio on Letterman

SOUND Team

SOUND team are great for the exact reason they are often criticised - they don't have a definitive sound. While some may slate their new album, Movie Monster, for this reason, a la this Pitchfork review, I find it appealing as each track requires you to listen to it and doesn't just blend into sound of the album. After all, some bands tend to release albums that sound too alike after a while, not to mention any names like Cold Play.

As stated on Popmatters.com:

Ultimately, 'Movie Monster' has the effect of convincing you that you just listened to 45 minutes of alternative rock radio with an ‘80s and ‘90s bent on a station where variety and eclectic playlists rule the day, and pop means as much as rock.

Sounds great.

SOUND Team - Your Eyes Are Liars [MP3]

SOUND Team - No More Birthdays [MP3]

Website: SOUNDteam.net
MySpace: SOUND team

And keeping on French Lessons' subject of mash ups, here is a Weird Al Yankovic mash up video touching on Black Eyed Peas, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Modest Mouse, Kanye West and the funniest 50 Cent cover ever, in polka. Yeah, polka.