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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Discoverer 88: new indie findings

It's been an non-desired hiatus, but here we are, back with a trio of great discoveries, enjoy!

Angel Olsen. Raised in St. Louis, Missouri but relocated to Chicago, Illinois, as a teenager Olsen began performing in local coffee shops and becoming part of a network of like-minded artists, being part of the Cairo Gang collective, or joining Bonnie "Prince" Billy's band in 2010 and 2011. After self-releasing 2010's "Strange Cacti", a cassette of original Americana songs later reissued as a 12", her proper solo debut arrived in 2012 with "Half Way Home", a unique, personal folkie affair via Bathetic Records. In early 2013, while she worked with Tim Kinsella (Cap'n Jazz) and LeRoy Bach (Wilco), she formed a full band, signed with Jagjaguwar and released single "Sweet Dreams" announcing her new electric, punchier, music direction. As a trio, she has just released sophomore LP "Burn Your Fire for No Witness", a powerful, defiant affair, crowned by Olsen's arresting, singular voice. Dying to see her live at Primavera Sound...   

Making Marks. Formed in Oslo in 2012, the Norwegian quartet arose from the ashes of band My Little Pony, who recorded two charming albums between 2007 and  2011. Under their new incarnation, they have toured Europe and the US before releasing debut 7" single “Ticket Machine/Like Spinning” on Fika Recordings in October 2012, with follow-up “Barcodes” arriving in July 2013. On December 2013 they came out with another single, “Uten en tråd”, sung in Norwegian, via Snertingdal Records, before offering us debut album “A Thousand Half Truths” in February 2nd 2014 on Fika Recordings. Warm, melancholic indiepop songs honouring the eternal Scandinavian tradition, with a folkie, eerie touch, arousing male-female vocals, jangling guitars and lushy instrumentation. Lovable.
Cosines. Self-defined as a mathematical pop band from north London, Simon Nelson and Alice Hubley met on the City's underground after a Stereo Totale gig in 2009. The couple started doing music together helped by Alice's former The Loves bandmates Daniel Chapman and The Late Jonny Drums and A Smile and A Ribbon's Kajsa Tretow. The group debuted live in April 2012, since then playing with Comet Gain, Shrag and at Indietracks. Cosines' first single, the irresistible “Hey Sailor Boy!” came out in May 2013 on Fika Recordings, with "Commuter Love" arriving this forthcoming May, in anticipation of a full release. Bits of Camera Obscura, Stereolab, hints of krautrock... a lot to be excited about!

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