The best new music I’ve heard recently is coming out of the East Coast. The band Full On is fronted by Shana Falana, who has been part of the music scene for the past decade, with a voice that is both gorgeous and tough. She’ll grab you and pull you in. Rawk on!

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Brooklyn-band Hypernova’s new music video was shot and directed by Common Machine’s Director of Photography, Richard Patterson, on Profoto’s spanking new, lighting packs, enabling the video to be shot on a stills camera. There are actually more than 16,000 stills that make up the video, the first time it’s ever been done like this.

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I love Kyp Malone. I’d love him even if he weren’t guitarist and singer for one of the best bands out there, TV On The Radio. See, Kyp’s just a rock solid, totally unpretentious, good guy. He gives good hugs. Our kids play together and have sleepovers. I had mostly forgotten that Kyp was a rock star.

Living in Brooklyn, surrounded by such great music, it takes a lot for me to feel floored. But Kyp’s solo album Rain Machine does just that. The songs are much like Kyp — strong, and for the people. Yet there’s a couple of other things that set this album apart: the sheer power of the lyrics; and Kyp’s exceptionally emotional voice, which have the hairs on my arms standing and takes my breath away. Due to be released September 22 on Anti-Records, do yourself a favor and pick up this album. Bonus: Kyp’s album-art!

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Brooklyn band, Amazing Baby have a new album — Rewild — the product of love and sustaining the loss of it, a car crash, and a fourteen-piece orchestra — and a damn fine Secret Playlist. Simon O’Connor gave us the inside word on the music that’s been inspiring them of late, starting with the Cocteau Twins song, Blue Bell Knoll [listen below]: ‘This song is like Enya covering My Bloody Valentine. Actually, it sounds like that weird singing alien chick known as the Diva in the Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman. Sorry, I have a nosebleed and my Boba Fett helmet is upsetting my allergies’. Read the rest of Amazing Baby’s Secret Playlist.
[audio:http://www.selective-service.net/downloads/2008/01/06%20Cocteau%20Twins%20-%20Blue%20Bell%20Knoll.mp3]

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Here We Go Magic came together fairly organically, just over a year ago, from the haze of an old Brooklyn party. Though Luke Temple (founder and lead singer) was known as the main creative force behind much of this first album. Working primarily on his own at the time, he still admits not really knowing what the hell he was creating when writing the first few songs that would ultimately become part of Here We Go Magic’s debut. So maybe a little alakazam was involved after all. When Temple came out of his solitary, songwriting coma (joined by one of his oldest colleagues, Michael Bloch), he encountered the lovely beings that make up the rest of his band — musicians that all remain amazed at Temple’s self-produced work, but even more so of the new sound they’re currently creating with him.
[audio:http://www.poptartssucktoasted.com/LP6.29/Monday/july/Here%20We%20Go%20Magic%20-%20Ahab.mp3]

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My band shared a bill with Brooklyn neofolk outfit Cult of Youth when we opened for ex-Swans vocalist/keyboardist Jarboe. Though Cult of Youth can trace their lineage to bands like Death in June and Sol Invictus, frontman Sean Ragon’s almost screeching vocals and punkish songwriting made me think of the Pogues, which is a good thing. Unlike most other acts of this genre, Ragon and the constantly shifting roster of his live band have a less severe demeanor, making them rather more fun to watch.

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It’s been a surreal, full-throttle journey for Brooklyn group, Tiny Masters Of Today. Almost overnight, the teenage brother and sister duo went from a few homemade recordings on a MySpace page to collaborating with Karen O and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fred Schneider, and Gibby Haynes. We asked one half of them, Ivan, to give us a rundown on the music that’s been pumping on his iPod. Amongst others, he upped Glen Campbell, Yo La Tengo, and Man Man [listen below]: ‘If I ever get married, I would want Man Man to play at my wedding’, he says. Ok, well, we’ll hold you to that Ivan. Read the rest of Tiny Masters of Today’s Secret Playlist.
[audio:http://www.thelookback.com/noise/20080321/03.%20The%20Ballad%20Of%20Butter%20Beans.mp3]

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The music of Brooklyn’s Thomas Kozumplik and Lorne Watson from Loop 2.4.3 utilizes a variety of percussive instruments, from marimba and steel drum to tom-toms, bongos and snares, temple bowls and wood blocks, opera gongs and electronics. On their brilliant new album, Zodiac Dust, the band uses two new instruments, the eLog and Rose Echo, and employs cello, violin, and piano.
[audio:http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/loop243/mp3/loop243-zodiacdust.mp3]

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On their forthcoming album, Get Over It!, Care Bears On Fire, the Brooklyn-based pop-punk trio of indie girl rockers, combine a propulsive beat with witty lyrics that relate the insecurities of adolescence, nicely captured on the tracks, Barbie Eat a Sandwich, an hilarious assault on women’s beauty standards, and this one, the first single, Everybody Else.

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Rewild is the new album from Amazing Baby, as apt a mission statement as the Brooklyn collective could get. Says lead singer, Will Roan, of the recording: ‘We are fascinated with escapism and creating small worlds that can stand alone or be connected as stories within the context of our album. We write the songs for fun’.
[audio:http://premium.fileden.com/premium/2008/10/12/2140461/Amazing%20Baby%20-%20Smoke%20Bros.mp3]

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The Phenomenal Handclap Band is a collection of musicians and artists from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who perform live as an eight-member powerhouse, creating an eye-popping spectacle more akin to a spiritual church revival than a rock show. We have their single, 15 to 20, available for free download via the Music Download section of Lost At E Minor.
[audio:http://friendlyfirerecordings.com/secrets/phb-15to20.mp3]

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The latest in the flurry of experimental Brooklyn bands, Telepathe, have attracted some serious attention since the release of their debut LP Dance Mother last week. Although produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek — enough of an accolade to draw thousands alone — the band are by no means riding on the crest of his wave. The sound is distinctive: synth-heavy backing dropped behind looped harmonies and chants, creating a sinister and compelling musical experience. One can guess at the influences — Gang Gang Dance, Animal Collective, Battles, and so on — although Telepathe stubbornly refuse to let this direct the music, adding a lick of 80′s paint to the equation and peeling off on their own unchartered course.
[audio:http://www.iamsoundrecords.com/images.d/media/411/01chromesonit.mp3]

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Silver Summit make the sort of hazy psych-folk that would suit a long, night-time drive through the badlands. Incorporating an array of acoustic instruments, strings, slide guitar, and haunting female vocals into gossamer melodies, the collective sound like they hail from a dusty town on the Great Plains rather than their native Brooklyn.
[audio:http://languageofstone.com/silver_summit.mp3]

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We have a copy of the awesome School of Seven Bells Alpinisms CD, and a Half Asleep 7″, to give away to a randomly selected LAEM subscriber. To be in the draw, just leave a message under this post saying why you really must have it. Entries close Tuesday afternoon.

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With their dynamic and exciting electro-pop sound, Brooklyn group School of Seven Bells are just about the hottest thing out of the borough this year since fluoro coloured hair combs made their omnipresent comeback.

We spoke with Benjamin Curtis, one third of the trio, and asked him — given how intricate the production is on their debut album, Alpinisms — how hard it was for the group to let a song go from the mixing stage to the mastering stage: ‘It is a delicate process, for sure. I’m sure you can imagine that we could continuously work on any piece of music for the rest of eternity, but that’s where the chemistry with the three of us really starts to work. We really trust each other musically, so as soon as we reach a point where all three of us are happy with what we are hearing, we have to stop there. It takes a lot of discipline, but it’s totally necessary. Otherwise, we’d have never finished this record’.

Half Asleep is the song of 2008. No doubt about it. What do you remember most about the writing of it?
‘It actually started from a small vocal loop I’d put together. I’d arranged and bent this little snippet of music into a great little melody that later in a way became the basis of the chorus. Some chords were added, and we just let it sit to see where it would go. Claudia had some inspiring changes in her life, out of which came her words and vocals for the verses which were written over what I had done. Alley, being inspired by what Claudia was saying, and feeling really sympathetic with that emotion, came up with and sang the chorus, and it all worked together magically. It was written and recorded very quickly, and in the end was probably about as collaborative as any of us have ever been musically, and the result really shows. It’s a special song for us’.
[audio:http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/2106742_9ihii/ells-alpinisms-03-halfasleep.mp3]

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Brooklyn-group School of Seven Bells have just released my new favourite album of 2008 — Alpinisms —a slow-building, crackling collection of songs which sneak into your subconscious and spin endlessly like an old, beat up 45. Their music has been described as encompassing ‘elements of dream-pop, Afrobeat, IDM, and 4AD’s gauzier moments provide a constantly shifting frame for the Dehezas’ lyrics, which they write as mysterious missives between the School’s imaginary seven members’. The album is out in America through our friends at Ghostly and in Australia through the guys at Speak n’ Spell. Listen to the School of Seven Bells song, Half Asleep.
[audio:http://welikeitindie.com/music/sviib3.mp3]

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Since they blew up with the release of their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer have become the hottest thing to come out of Brooklyn since the $2.25 pizza slice from Luigi’s on Dekalb. We checked in with bassist Ira Wolf Tuton and asked him for a list of songs that are rocking his world right now. As expected, he came back with a mixed bag of musical gems: ‘Sweetest Taboo — Sade; It Tears Me Up — Percy Sledge; Hang on to Your Ego — The Beach Boys; Calabria — Enur (featuring Natasja); Jealous Guy — sung by Donny Hathaway; The Ubiquitous Mr. Love Grove — Dead Can Dance; Bring the Pain — Wu Tang Clan; and No. 13 Baby — The Pixies’ [below].

[audio:http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/31/2074376/Pixies_No._13_Baby.mp3]

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Casio Keyboard Brooklyn trio Au Revoir Simone are about to release a collection of remixes and covers their musical friends have recorded of songs found on their second album, The Bird Of Music. Titled Reverse Migration, the record features re-workings by Best Fwends, Teenagers, Darkel, and more. We caught up with them recently. Why and when did you decide to release a remix album? Annie: ‘Our friends were making so many wonderful versions of our songs we wanted to share them with the world’. How did you select the artists? Annie: ‘Mostly they were friends who told us they wanted to do remixes! Very fun and easy’. Reverse Migration is out November 11 through the band’s own label, Our Secret Record Company. Listen to Ruff & Jam by Au Revoir Simone.
[audio:http://welikeitindie.com/music/aurevoirsimone.mp3]

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Happy, happy, joy, joy! We have a TV On The Radio poster designed by Tunde, as well as Dear Science on vinyl, to give away to a randomly selected Lost At E Minor subscriber who leaves a comment under this post telling us why they simply must have it.

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It was a privilege being able to sit down and listen to TV On The Radio’s album Dear Science from start to finish. An added bonus was the fact that I’ve been in the America for a month — the album sums up the atmosphere I have witnessed in the US: tension, money, a bigger gap between rich and poor than I’ve ever seen, a never ending far away war, and some vague hints at political hope. From the inset, TV On The Radio get bad ass on you, combining their trademark layers of barber shop vocals with criss-crossing handclaps over doomsday synth pads and screaming guitars on Halfway Home, which is like a grown up cousin of Wolf Like Me from their 2006 LP Cookie Mountain, easing you into the fact that beyond this point they are going to erase everything you thought you knew about TVOTR. But you should have expected that anyway.

Surprises! Horns! (by New York afro beat crew Antibalas) and bubbling and skanking guitars surface their heads. It’s like they couldn’t keep their funk at bay any more, and it is a welcome surprise.

Crying, Golden Age and almost half of the album seem to hark to Prince, Bowie’s ‘Station to Station’ and even Peter Gabriel, with stuttering head nod beats and understated bass lines.

They have hit their stride lyrically and sonically, fading out their self-conscious wall of delayed guitars and noise, trading them in for rich strings, keeping the textures they have always had but using them to full effect.

Stork & Owl (respect for the ampersand) is a true tear jerker, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone weaving a strange fairy tale metaphor over a rolling crunk like beat with layers of plucked and bowed strings.

Producer and band member Dave Sitek has proven himself to be the genius we all thought he was, after the slight diversion of his production on Scarlett Johansson’s dissapointing ‘Anywhere I Lay My Head’ (but hey everyone’s gotta get paid).

He combines drum machines and programmed beats and synths with live instrumentation, layering without overcomplicating, adding gradually — particularly on the slower ballads: Love Dog reaching the similar ecstatic points of Bjorks Joga, with an outro of a filtered cascading beat playing across epic strings.

Maybe he has laid off the weed a little — ‘sitting in my underwear doing bong hits is how I get a mix to gel’ (from an interview with Remix magazine). Or maybe he hit it harder?

Every song has it’s won merit.

It cements the fact that TVOTR have made a focused, funky, emotional, complex album, a struggle between doom and hope, at once experimental and avant garde but also managing to be Pop.

I wish I was still here to see them at The Brooklyn Masonic Temple in October. But I have to wait until they come to Australia.

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