2010 - Throwback Thursday

It's Thursday, which can only mean it's time for a little throwback action! Last week we took you back to 2011 to explore the best indie tracks of that year. This week we've moved a little further back to explore 2010! 2010 saw debut releases from Best Coast, Two Door Cinema Club, Everything Everything and Chiddy Bang to name a few, all of which went on to release strong albums. There was also a comeback for Jimmy Eat World, as well as a shit-ton of other amazing music. Here's a small smörgåsbord of what we heard in 2010!

Album: Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow

Bombay Bicycle Club

So Long, See You Tomorrow
(Island Records, 2014)

Released: Monday 3rd February 2014

And so it begins. After a decent, but not decent enough January of new music releases, we move into February. And on the first Monday of the second month, we have an album-of-the-year contender, from one of the more successful 'modern indie' bands of the last 5-10 years. Of course, we're talking about Bombay Bicycle Club and So Long, See You Tomorrow, which is out today! 

It's been argued that the indie quartet haven't really fitted into a single genre since their birth back in 2005. They've flirted with several different genres ever since the release of I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, which came out back in 2009. That was predominantly an indie rock LP that helped lay foundations for their legacy and their sound, providing us with an anthem that everyone knows every lyric to (Always Like This).

2011 - Throwback Thursday

Haven't done one of these in a while, it may be that a similar trend goes on in future! It's Thursday, which means it's time for a little TBT action.

Let's take a trip back to 2011. It's a massive year for music that falls under the indie bracket. We witnessed the emergence of bands that championed the indie pop sound as we know it - Foster the People, Walk the Moon and Grouplove who all released debut material during the year.

We also saw the resurgence of indie rock bands that had potentially fallen under the radar again. I'm talking The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys and so on. So for today's TBT, I've compiled ten of the best indie tracks from 2011. Enjoy!

The Chain Gang of 1974 - You

The Chain Gang of 1974 is gearing up for the release of their debut album, Daydream Forever by releasing another track in the weeks building up to it.

'You' is a gritty electronic track that has similarities to acts such as Wilhelm Tell Me, Fenech-Soler and Polarsets. It was written on reflection of former 3OH!3 member (and CGo74) frontman Kamtin Mohager after witnessing a traffic accident while living in Malibu.

The Chain Gang of 1974 lit up the blogosphere during the early release stages of Grand Theft Auto V, with 'Sleepwalking' heavily featured in advertising and throughout the game.

Daydream Forever is out February 4th.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Luna

Bombay Bicycle Club are building momentum towards their upcoming album release. After releasing 'Carry Me' as their first album single, they've followed it up with 'Luna', which will appease fans old and new to no end!

Due out at the top of the month, So Long, See You Tomorrow is gearing up to be excellent. We witnessed the experimentalism in their previous release, as well as 'It's Alright Now', yet 'Luna' seems to sound a lot like older sounds. Imagine Bombay Bicycle Club mixed with the excellent stadium-rock-cum-contemporary sound that Foals produce (thinking about 'Inhaler' and 'Bad Habit'), and you get this.

A wordless chorus, stunning backing vocals from Rae Morris (and not Lucy Rose as I thought originally) and a hell of a crescendo, this in another stellar track. If the rest of the album sounds like what we've heard so far, I'll be delighted. Pre-order it tomorrow and get this as an instant download.

The Neighbourhood - Silver

The Neighbourhood return with another dark and mysterious track, "Silver". Given a debut on Zane Lowe's R1 show the other day, it's a slow burner.

If you're unfamiliar with The Neighbourhood, they're an indie rock band who have released their first album this year, entitled I Love You. "Silver" is the first track from their upcoming album (TBA, but 2014 most likely), The Black and The White (or Black and White).

Not a lot has been said about it, they do appear to be quite a reclusive band, that make amazing music.

Check it out here on Soundcloud --> [LINK]

U2 - Ordinary Love (Paul Epworth Version)

Irish band U2 flew to South Africa to pay their respects to Nelson Mandela, and for good reason: Bono was a keen follower of Mandela's altruistic beliefs - in addition to this, their song "Ordinary Love" provides a soundtrack to the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

The track has recently been nominated for a Golden Globe, and the band deemed it appropriate to release Paul Epworth's version of the track. Epworth has worked with acts such as Florence & the Machine, Adele, Friendly Fires and Bloc Party to name a few, and the band felt it was time to display this version.

'We think Paul Epworth's mix is a very soulful, uplifting one and we hope our audience will agree,' says Bono. 'Nelson Mandela's life and times meant more to me than I can ever tell you, I would need a hundred songs to do that… but this complicated little love song to Winnie and South Africa is the one that landed on our lap.'

Bombay Bicycle Club - It's Alright Now

I Got The Blues... was one of the first albums that really confirmed my shift to the fully diversified styles of music I listen to nowadays, and consequently, I'm excited for Bombay Bicycle Club's upcoming So Long, See You Tomorrow.

The first single released was "Carry Me", an incredibly experimental track that shows an intention to really push the boundaries of indie rock and music as a whole.

Their second effort, "It's Alright Now", is a slight move in the indie-pop direction, but with a sound that will excite the fans of experimentalism in music. It's perfect for fans and casual listeners alike - not an instant classic, but it does the job.

Phantogram - Fall In Love

Here's new music from Phantogram - "Fall In Love" is a new track that'll be on their new album, Voices, which is due out February 18th. It's definitely a move in a different direction to previous releases - this is much more electro-funky, but glitchy and distorted at the same time. Bloggers are comparing this to DJ Shadow, which is a pretty accurate description in all honesty!

Not a lot to say about it, but have a listen below.

Peace - Last Christmas (Wham! Cover)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Just this morning, Peace posted their epic cover of "Last Christmas" (originally by Wham!) for the world to fall in love with. And boy, I fell in love with it! The boys from Worcester are starting to hit Bastille-level on their covers, following the success of "White Noise" (Disclosure)

Produced by Blaine Harrison, frontman of Mystery Jets, the four-piece add a subtle alt-rock twang to a proper classic, with frontman Harry Koisser's voice adding a new dimension to the track, creating a totally different sound compared to George Michael's version, back in 1984. It's brilliant! Keep your eyes peeled for a Christmas cover compilation in the coming days!

Peace are on tour right now, grab some tickets right here: Seetickets

Two Door Cinema Club - Cigarettes in the Theatre

It's just over three and a half years ago that Two Door Cinema Club first tore the indie pop/rock genre open with their frankly brilliant début album, Tourist History. Rocketing to the top of the Irish Independent Album chart, and winning Album of the Year (2010), it's 32 minutes and 32 seconds of absolute brilliance. Had this on repeat for a very very long time, and loved every second of it. Obviously their second album Beacon didn't quite reach the high standards and expectations of every Two Door fan, but it was still pretty decent. Throw in their recent Changing of the Seasons EP and it looks to be an exciting future for the band.

So, why this song? Well, it was the first song they played when I saw them at Brixton Academy at what (almost embarassingly) was the first gig I went to on my own with friends, and it was absolutely amazing/fucking mental/mindblowing/life-changing. The trio from Northern Ireland absolutely blew the roof off of the Academy that night, and it's one I'll never forget. Gotta love Thursdays.

Rio Rio - The Bashful and the Brave

This is one for all you indie-rock fans! New from San Fran quintet Rio Rio - "The Bashful and the Brave" is a single from their upcoming début EP, out December 8th. If you've never heard of Rio Rio before,  have a listen to their first single "Gorilla Gorilla", which came out early last year.

It's always nice to hear new tracks from talented bands like this. Rio Rio sound like they've been cut from the same cloth as Two Door Cinema Club, Kowalski and Last Dinosaurs, three excellent groups, so if you love those, be sure to check Rio Rio out! This sounds like really good, well polished indie rock. That's what we love.

Lunatics on Pogosticks - Blood Clot

You may have read it at some point, but it's Ausmusic month this November on triple j, with a particular emphasis on Australian acts - Friday morning saw Elizabeth Rose on 'Like A Version', this Friday it's Franz Ferdinand with a special cover of an Australian song, and so on.

triple j unearthed, the Australian equivalent of BBC Introducing, have released a free mixtape to celebrate and promote some of the best upcoming artists in Oz. This track by 'triple j unearthed high' winners Lunatics on Pogosticks is one of my favourites. It's called "Blood Clot" and it's a proper garage-rock track that screams of summer rebellion.

Lunatics on Pogosticks describe themselves as "a trio of teen Aussie rapscallions that have been squeezing out some tasty tunes since gestation" and it really shows. Hailing from the North Coast (NSW), lead vocalist/guitarist Calum Newton, drummer James Whitfield and bass-face specialist Bryce Wilson are tapping into a musical niche that I adore - fun loving, exciting indie rock that screams "SUMMER".

I really recommend that you listen to this and pass it on to everyone you chat to. Love it.

Come and follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GS_blog_

Young the Giant - It's About Time

Young the Giant are completely correct - it's about time we got some new material from them! After having built a big following off of the back of their self-titled début album, and then added to that with a slot at the VMAs and a remix EP contributed to by the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, Tokyo Police Club and Ra Ra Riot, the boys from California are back with the first taste of their upcoming album!

"It's About Time" is totally different to anything from their first album. It's ballsy, in your face, almost scuzzy - to me it sounds a little bit like the rock sound that acts like Rise Against and The Airbourne Toxic Event, combined with the drums you've heard on "Human" (by Daughter).

This is undoubtedly a statement of intent from YTG, highlighting their development from indie-rock to a fully fledged alt-rock anthemic production machine - this can only be a good thing. It's hard and fast, and you'll love it.

Their new album Mind Over Matter is set to be released on January 21st. Pre-order it here.

Arcade Fire - Afterlife

New Arcade Fire here! Ahead of the release of the new album Reflektor tomorrow, the indie-rock cult heroes recently posted a teaser and lyric video to one of the new tracks on the album. It's called "Afterlife" and much like "Reflektor", it's another lengthy epic, clocking in at just under 6 minutes!

Keeping everything we love and adding to it, this is another fantastic track from Montreal's finest and it can only add to the excitement of tomorrow's release! As part of the album, produced by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Markus Dravs and Arcade Fire themselves, "Afterlife" is brilliant, as ever Win and Regine make an amazing sound with the aid of their bandmates.

Reflektor is due out tomorrow.

Jake Bugg - Slumville Sunrise

New from Jake Bugg, off of the forthcoming Shangri-La album. "Slumville Sunrise" is a blues-y electric guitar heavy track that really shows off his six-string ability and highlights his development as a musician.

The new LP, produced with Rick Rubin with musical aid from Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas and Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers (for a session), is getting people seriously excited - second album syndrome is a phrase always thrown around but acts in the last couple of years have shown it's often not the case (The Vaccines, for example). If Shangri-La is anything like Bugg's self-titled debut LP we're in for a treat.

Coasts - Come A Little Closer

So excited that Coasts are bringing out more music, and why wouldn't you be when it sounds like this? The Bristol quartet are churning out tune after tune, and it's flawless. Anthemic to say the least, "Come A Little Closer" is part of the upcoming Stay EP which includes remixes from Pixel Fix and Giuliano Rascan (the Vancouver EDM/dubstep...teenager who's absolutely killing it at the moment) as well as the title track, obviously!

With an EP already out and this one on the way, some would argue the next logical step for the band would be to work on/towards a debut album. If they continue on the trajectory they've set themselves on, we're in for an absolute belter.

The Stay EP is available from iTunes to pre-order and it's due to be released on November 11.