Tuning in(box)

I've been getting more and more submissions from bands, labels and publicists lately, and I thought that rather than continuing to write a big post on the rare things I immediately fall in love with and nothing on the rest, I'd start featuring more of the stuff that I like at first listen and don't necessarily get back to right away.

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So I'll start off with a SXSW notice from Minty Fresh Records. First up is a new video from Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, for "Take Off Your Sunglasses," from their 2008 record Inside the Human Body:



Drew Andrews from the Album Leaf is playing with Furman in Austin, and taking a short tour of the Southwest on his way there. Andrews' solo debut, Only Mirrors, is lush pop music, layered with plenty of piano and soft guitar that builds to a sort of rainy-day melancholy

Ezra Furman and the Harpoons - We Should Fight
Drew Andrews - I Could Write A Book

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Season To Season, the debut album from The Traditionist, aka singer and guitarist Joey Barro, is out today from Better Looking Records. His sound is a Bob Dylan and Van Morrison influenced take on indie rock, sounding a bit like the newer woodsy Sub Pop bands at times, and like the Carolina country-rock of early Whiskeytown at others.

The Traditionist - I Know My Ocean
The Traditionist - A Sleep Be Told
The Traditionist - Driftwood Doll

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The Whiskey Go Gos, from Melbourne, combine hard-charging, raw rock 'n' roll with just enough of a sing-along component to stick in your head for a while. They remind me a bit New Zealand new-wavers The Clean. The band has some March dates in New York and Los Angeles in support of the new Proud Tales To Them Of Us album.

Whiskey Go Gos - Whiskey Rain
Whiskey Go Gos - Two Cent Girl

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Swedish electro-pop duo The Deer Tracks have a new album, Aurora, out on Despotz Records. The music recalls a European version of The Postal Service, while the vocals are much more like fellow Swedes Peter, Bjorn and John.

The Deer Tracks - 127SexFyra