Setting the Bar Low

     It's quite sad, actually, but lately I find I'm setting the bar fairly low for myself and then if I accomplish what little I've set out to do, I feel like a success. My expectations are so meager at this point that nearly anything can be seen as rising above them. For instance, if I manage to make it to the gym, clean up the kitchen, maybe do some laundry and then go to work, I feel like I've had a pretty good day. I'm afraid I've turned into a bit of a slacker.

     One thing I try never to slack off on, however, is finding new music and blogging about it. That much you can count on, as long as you don't ask me to do too much more!

     This first song is by Parisian band Seppuku Paradigm and it appears in the French movie Martyrs. It's rather ghostly and the vocals drift atop a gentle acoustic guitar. It evokes the memory of something long gone.

Seppuku Paradigm--"Your Witness" mp3 off Martyrs Soundtrack (buy--I think you can only get this on their myspace)

     Out of Halifax, Fall Horsie is a great find. It's hard to describe, but if you think near-classical-piano, near-orchestral art-pop, which I'm not sure even makes sense, you might get close. Just listen to this song and see what you think.

Fall Horsie--"The Devil's Performance" mp3 off Devil (e) Durge (buy--comes out 10/28 on Youth Club Records)

     Enough of the lovely, let's get a little bit rammy. L.A.'s The Happy Hollows mix it up with light female vocals over some driving, noisy rock. It's an intriguing combination.

The Happy Hollows--"Lieutenant" mp3 off Imaginary EP (buy--comes out 10/21 on Heart Records)

     Lastly, in case you've been yearning for some '80s throwback tunes, try New Zealand's Cut Off Your Hands. They're kind of punky-poppy and a whole lot of fun.

Cut Off Your Hands--"Happy As Can Be" mp3 off Happy As Can Be EP (buy-out 10/21 on Frenchkiss Records)

tags: new music  

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