Darjeeling Limited
[youtube 7mbgzJG5Zdk]

No Country for Old Men
[youtube 1YLfpDBzhFI]

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Now onto the latest reader rec. Alex, my #1 fan I’d have to say, was tired of instant messenger not letting us share music, so she went the extra mile and just uploaded a bunch of songs from bands she thought I may not have known. Well, I’ll have to give her credit on this one. There’s a bunch of bands on that list that fall into the “heard of them, but not heard them” category. So, here’s a big thanks to Alex for going out of her way to make me a mini-playlist. I’ll let you know what I think of all the bands later. For now, enjoy her mix and feel free to leave a comment for her if you wish.

Alex’s “Stump the Perchman” new band mix:

Eric James & The New Century – Long Road For The Lonely
Novah – Puzzle Pieces
Frida Hyvonen – The Modern
Frida Hyvonen – I Drive My Friend
A Classic Education – Victories At Night
Locksley – Don’t Make Me Wait
78 Saab – Come On
Bang Gang – Something Wrong
Lady & Bird – Do What I Do
The Doves – Melody Calls

Asleep At Heaven’s Gate
Sept. 18th Brushfire Records

Harmonium
Like I Needed
Chicago X 12
Lake Michigan [mp3]

Lullaby
Christians In Black
Own Your Own Home
Ghost
Missed
Fantasies
Phonytown
Cheaper Than Therapy

Making of documentary
[youtube oNMuqIY_CIM]

Official Site / Myspace

***Bonus***
Baketball (from At the Crossroads: A Benefit for Homeless Youth)

Wolftron is Kenny Choi and his music is peaceful, distant, and perfect for the summertime. It feels to me like a combination of Mae and Owen. His singing resembles Mae’s softer moments, while some songs like “Ugly Bird” showcase his chops on guitar. I was afraid with my first listen that he was going to over do the filter on his voice. I’ve got a friend who wrote great songs and sounded great live, but for some reason always put a filter on his recordings that made him sound like he was singing into a tin can phone underwater. Luckily, the filter Kenny puts on his voice becomes barely noticeable as you begin to focus on the music itself. I played his songs last night as I read a book and eventually drifted to sleep listening to it, waking three hours later with it still on repeat.

The last kicker in this story is by far the biggest one. Kenny’s giving away his whole album for free at his purevolume site. It’s times like these that I wish we had the label set up already so I could contact him and see if he’s interested in joining us. I may end up doing that here in the near future. Regardless, there’s really no better time than now to listen to Wolftron. During this time when it’s almost too hot to go outside and you find yourself lounging around the house instead. Do yourself a favor and head over to his purevolume and grab his songs. “Ugly Bird” is my favorite, and I can’t help but notice the similarity between his song “The Forces It Is” and Mae’s song “Tisbury Lane“. It’s almost too similar with the piano and guitar part, but I’m not complaining.

Ugly Bird

The Forces It Is

Two

Neon Sky Garden State video (random find, but I thought it was pretty cool)
[youtube _T01W21de9I]

Download the whole album free at his Purevolume site! / Myspace
Bonus: Mae – Tisbury Lane (from Destination: B-sides)

So, throughout the summer, Alex proclaimed the greatness of this kid named Anthony Hill. I told her time and time again I’d be sure to do a reader rec post for her since she deserved it with her persistance. So, here you go Alex. Anthony Hill, who sometimes goes by Anthill, is similar to me in the fact that he’s got all sorts of youtube videos of him playing random songs, some originals, some covers. If you enjoy The Arctic Monkeys, he pulls off their sound well. I haven’t heard him enough to make any informed decision on whether I like him or not, but I’m sure some of you may. Alex sure does. Plus, he’s up for NME’s breaking band award, so that’s got to say something.

Syd Barrett Song
[youtube FzefOV6Tshk]

Part 2 / Part 3

Official Site / Myspace / Pure Volume
Also…some good Swedish music:

Timo Räisänen – Sweet Marie
[youtube GAx7XbpetTk]

Bollen måste dö


Official Site / Myspace

Today’s recommendation is an excellent one.  We’ll see if it tops B.J’s recommendation of Detektivbyran (that’ll be hard for sure), but I’ve streamed the album from their myspace and love it.  Who’s the band?  The band is Bowerbirds and you can thank Ryan for this one.  They’re from his area of North Carolina and according to him they’re great live.  The more I listen to them, the more jealous I’m getting that he’s seen them live.  Regardless, for all of you who like comparisons, I’d call them a mix between the calm moments of both Voxtrot and Bishop Allen.  The solo acoustic songs like “Knives and Snakes and Mosquitoes” remind me of the solo acoustic songs of Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s.  It’s relaxing, with strings throughout, and a fine album for a mid-summer’s afternoon. 

If you needed more reason to listen to them, they toured with The Rosebuds and they rave about Bowerbirds.  Also, John Darnielle loves them as well calling them “the best band you haven’t heard“.  Eh?  How about that?  I’d take those people as fans of my music any day.  So, check out Bowerbirds and thank Ryan later. 
In Our Talons [mp3]
 

Dark Horse [mp3]
 

Official Site / Myspace / Buy Hymns for a Dark Horse
Previous Reader Recommendations:

• Detektivbyran – recommended by B.J.

Keep the recommendations coming!

B.J. recommended this band to me after he heard my last Perch Mix, which featured some Yann Tiersen tunes from the Amelie soundtrack.  Little did he know, his recommendation would make my weekend.  The band he suggested, Detektivbyran, sound a lot like Yann Tiersen’s music and after some searching I got a hold of their Hemvagen EP, which I believe is their only release, and basically only stopped listening to it briefly to attend our friend’s wedding.

It’d be an understatement if I told you I enjoyed everything Yann Tiersen created.  I started with the Amelie soundtrack, then fell in love with the Goodbye Lenin soundtrack, and before long I had every album he’d created.  I’d go as far as to say he’s my favorite contemporary composer along with Max Richter.  So, enter the Swedish instrumental band Detektivbyran and they fall so closely to Tiersen that it was inevitable I’d love their music.  The best part was the fact that I was at home all weekend at my parent’s house and I guess my dad had had enough accordians, xylophones, and bells and told me to shut that music off already, what was wrong with me.

While that made me laugh quite a bit, I also realized that Detektivbyran’s music isn’t for everyone, so I don’t expect some of you to enjoy this.  But you can’t deny the cleverness to their music.  The combination of traditional folk instruments with glitchy electronics towards the end of the opening track, E18, is my favorite moment on the EP.  “Nattopet” is full of hand percussion like shakers, xylophones of all sizes, and then a synth part enters towards the end with drums.  Every song is unique in it’s own way and really just need to be heard to be understood.  I could ramble all day about their music and you’d probably still be confused.  So, whether you’re like me and love music in the vein of Yann Tiersen, or you feel like broadening your musical horizons today, give Detektivbyran a listen and I bet the majority of you will be glad you did.  Here’s another big thank you to B.J. for the recommendation, and I hope more readers throw some recommendations my way.  At least now you know if I really enjoy the band you suggest, you’ll be all over the post I write up about that band.

Hemvagen EP

1. E18 [MP3]

2. Hemvägen
3. Nattöppet [MP3]

4. Monster
5. Dansbanan [MP3]

6. Granmon
7. Vänerhavet
Official Site / Myspace / Buy Hemvagen EP