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Listen to "Pocast 17" MP3


Artist - Track Names
1) LONEY DEAR - "MY HEART"
2) PICKWICK - "HACIANDA MOTEL"
3) PALLERS - "COME RAIN COME SUNSHINE"
4) PULSEPROGRAMMING - "ISLAND ANSWER ANYWHERE"
5) SIN FANG - "ALWAYS EVERYTHING"
6) HOOP DREAMS - "XCPR"
7) PURE X - "PLEASURE"
8) A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN - "STEEP HILLS OF VICODIN TEARS"
9) JENS LEKMAN - "AN ARGUMENT WITH MYSELF"
10) LANTERNS ON THE LAKE - "LUNGS QUICKEN"

The Stepkids
"Shadows On Behalf"
from Self-Titled
Stones Throw (2011)

Listen to "Shadows On Behalf" MP3


The Stepkids are bassist and keyboardist Dan Edinberg, Jeff Gitelman (Alicia Keys’ former guitarist) and Drummer Tim Walsh. Each of the members are amazing singer/songwriters in their own right.

After a decade of musical experimentation, the trio settled on an eclectic synthesis of punk and jazz, folk, neo-soul, funk and electro. This everything and the kitchen sink filters out into the making of their tracks as the band produce, engineer and record themselves all on a reel-to-reel.

The song “Shadows On Behalf” features pure grooves, meticulous harmonies and heady lines that are at once funky, retro-cool and modern in the same moment.

Check out the video for the song here.
 
Official | MySpace | Stones Throw

Lanterns on the Lake
"Lungs Quicken"
from Gracious Tide Take Me Home
Bella Union (2011)

Listen to "Lungs Quicken" MP3

 
Recorded on a borrowed 8-track in an isolated house in Northumberland, Gracious Tide Take Me Home is the beautiful full-length debut from England's Lanterns on the Lake.

The sextet, which formed in 2008 as Greenpeace, is made up of Hazel Wilde (vocals / guitar), brothers Adam (vocals / guitar) and Brendan Sykes (bass), Sarah Kemp (violin), Ol Ketteringham (drums / piano) and Paul Gregory (guitar / electronics).  Inspired by bands such as Low and Sigur Rós, Lanterns on the Lake's sound is a difficult to categorize mix of folk and electronics, featuring some rather incredible guitar effects from Paul.  Forgoing the studio, this debut remains personal and intimate.  The songs reflect a sense of traveling and time, often drawing inspiration from darker moments -- "Ships In the Rain" is inspired by a the story of a local fisherman who disappeared at sea, and "A Kingdom" draws upon a book of letters sent back home from WWII soldiers.

Have a listen to the quietly hopeful track "Lungs Quicken", a song which hesitantly leaves the ground, the melody circling high above.

Also, check out the seaside video for "Keep on Trying", directed by Alex Southam. 

Lanterns on the Lake will be playing dates throughout Europe this October and November:

Oct 20 @ The Roundhouse, LONDON (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Oct 21 @ Concord, BRIGHTON (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Oct 22 @ Brudenell Social Club, LEEDS (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Oct 23 @ ABC1, GLASGOW (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Oct 24 @ Academy 2, MANCHESTER (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Oct 25 @ Academy 2, BIRMINGHAM (Supporting Yann Tiersen)
Nov 1 @ The Sage, GATESHEAD
Nov 2 @ Leaf, LIVERPOOL
Nov 3 @ The Harley, SHEFFIELD
Nov 5 @ Festival Les Inrocks, PARIS 
Nov 6 @ Kavka, ANTWERP
Nov 8 @ Botanique - Witloof, BRUSSELS
Nov 9 @ Studio 672, COLOGNE
Nov 10 @ Privatclub, BERLIN
Nov 16 @  Amager Bio Beta, COPENHAGEN
Nov 18 @ Crossing Borders Festival, DEN HAAG 
Nov 20 @ The Attic (In The Forum), HERTFORDSHIRE
Nov 22 @ The Lexington, LONDON
Nov 23 @ The Cooler, BRISTOL
Nov 24 @ HMV Institute, BIRMINGHAM
Nov 25 @ Bodega, NOTTINGHAM
Nov 26 @ Brudenell Social Club, LEEDS
Nov 27 @ The Deaf Institute, MANCHESTER
Nov 29 @ King Tuts Wha Wha Hut, GLASGOW
Nov 30 @ Electric Circus, EDINBURGH

Official | MySpace | Bella Union 

Jens Lekman
“An Argument With Myself”
from An Argument With Myself
Secretly Canadian / Service (2011)

Listen to "An Argument With Myself" MP3

 
One of our favorite artists / storytellers Jens Lekman is back with an excellent 5-track EP An Argument With Myself, a smart and sharp follow-up to his 2007 release Night Falls Over Kortedala.  On these wonderfully site-specific tracks, Jens shares the personal, all keenly observed, with a warm and laid-back sense of humor.
 
Jens wrote on his website about the title track, “(i)n the case 'Jens Lekman vs. Jens Lekman', we will look closer at the evidence presented - the photo I had carried in my breastpocket for a whole year, the pressed honeysuckle, the wind so rich on summer and so sweet - how are these things connected and why are they relevant?"
 
Have a listen to the title track, a song that bobs and weaves as Jens has a nice go at himself as he walks home through the streets of his adopted home of Melbourne, Australia.
 
Be sure to catch Jens on tour this October in Europe and the USA (quite a few shows have already sold out).  He puts on an excellent live show that you shouldn’t miss.
 
Also, have a listen to the Summer Never Ends mixtape from Jens (from 2009) which includes a wonderfully imagined conversation with Alicia Keys (about the 15:10 minute mark).
 
 
EUROPE Oct 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival (SOLD OUT)
Oct 27 - Milano, IT - Salumeria della Musica
Oct 26 - Vienna, AT - Odeon Theater
Oct 24 - Köbenhavn, DK - Koncerthuset Studio 2
Oct 23 - Göteborg, SE - Nefertiti
Oct 22 - Stockholm, SE - Södra Teatern (SOLD OUT)
Oct 19 - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall
Oct 18 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
Oct 17 - London, UK - Heaven (SOLD OUT)
Oct 15 - Düsselfdorf, DE - Schumannsaal Düsseldorf
Oct 14 - Nijmegen, NL - The Vereniging
 
USA Oct 9 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)
Oct 8 - Boston, MA - Somerville Armory (SOLD OUT)
Oct 7 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)
Oct 6 - Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Ethical Society (SOLD OUT)
Oct 5 - Washington DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (SOLD OUT)
Oct 3 - Chicago - Lincoln Hall
Oct 1 - Seattle, WA - Columbia
 
Official | Secretly Canadian | Service