TORO Y MOI

Toro Y Moi aka Chaz Bundick seems to be killing it on the indie blogosphere. By listening to Talamak one can understand why. I've never been big on the r&b slash hip hop'sh kind of sound, but I think one can make an exception with Toro Y Moi.

Toro Y Moi - Talamak

NEON INDIAN REMIXES

The past week I've developed a liking for Neon Indian's remixes. Here's two of my favourite.

Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader
Au Revoir Simone - Likely Story

BROMHEADS

Sheffield, UK is home to several indie bands, most popular of these would be the Arctic Monkeys and the Long Blondes. Sheffield is also home to the Bromheads. Tim Hampton and Dan Potter formed the Bromheads earlier this year from their previous 3 man act known as Bromheads Jacket.  The Bromheads Jacket released two studio albums, namely "Dits from the Comuter Belt" in 2006 and "On the Brain" in 2008 along with several singles. The song "Fight music for the Fight" was featured on the PSP game Burnout Dominator. Tim and Dan changed the bands name to Bromheads, dropping the name word Jacket, after losing the bass player Jono West.

The Bromheads is set to release 6 singles in 6 months as free downloads, of which three of these, "Boots", "Hole in the Head" and "Edey" has already been released since October 2009.

Bromheads Jacket - What Ifs and Maybes

Bromheads - Edey

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB

Two Door Cinema Club needs no introduction. They made quite a stir in the indie music scene this year. With only a few tracks floating about on the net they have the world waiting with excitement for their debut. It will be called Tourist History and is due February 2010. I've added two tracks to this post, just in case you're reading this and haven't heard of the 3 piece band from Bangor, Northern Ireland.

Two Door Cinema Club - I Can Talk

Two Door Cinema Club - Costume Party

JOHNNY NEON

Johnny Neon released an album / ep earlier this year, but didn't get much  exposure, so I've decided to do my bit and shed some light on them.

Prior to Johnny Neon, Johnny Kotze, a graphic designer living in Cape town, wrote ,recorded and produced some tracks.  7 of these tracks ended up on an EP, The Hot Lips which he released independently. After moving to Johannesburg, Johnny met the dance punk DJ and master mind behind the Sovereign Academy series of parties, Ben Rausch. These two reworked the tracks of the Hot Lips into a live act and presto!, Johnny Neon was born.

Currently Johnny Neon is a one man act, Johnny Kotze, and is now based in Cape Town since October this year.

Johnny Neon - Magazine

Johnny Neon - Fashionista

THE BRAVERY

The Bravery released their third studio album, Stir the Blood on December 1st, on Island Records. The New York based band first dawned on me when an "Honest Mistake" from their self entitled 2005 debut was featured on The O.C, season 2. Their 2007 follow-up, The Sun and the Moon, failed to meet the standard set by their debut. If something stirs the blood it brings about the feeling of excitement, a trait the new album falls short of.

The Bravery - An Honest Mistake
The Bravery - Believe

The Bravery - The Spectator

IN B FLAT

Wednesday, Dec 2nd will mark my first Beatenberg experience at the Assembly in Cape Town. This 3 piece Cape Town based band, formerly known as Nice has adopted the name Beatenberg for some time now. They've played a few shows around Cape Town and has built up a modest fan base. By listening to their track, "In B Flat" I don't think they'll be flying under the radar for long. Befriend them on facebook and myspace, they might turn out to be the next best thing to come from Cape Town.

Beatenberg - In B Flat

NEON INDIAN

Alan Palomo is the name behind the stage act known as Neon Indian. Yip if you're a regular on sites such as the Hypemachine I'm dead sure you've heard of it before. Their debut LP, Phsycic Chasms was released October 13th on Lefse. Neon Indian is kicking off their European tour on December 1st, starting off in Glasgow. For more tour dates visit their myspace page and while you're at it follow them on twitter here.

"A gauzy combination of Buggles-style 1980s pop, video game soundtracks, and cheeseball elevator music, Neon Indian songs like "Deadbeat Summer" and "Should Have Taken Acid With You" are effervescent, goofy, and achingly nostalgic. Kind of like MGMT on a ramen budget-- and with less face paint."  [Pitchfork]

Neon Indian - Local Joke
Neon Indian - Laughing Gas

THE SOFT PACK

The Soft Pack formerly known as The Muslims are back, after their successful attempt of  their 10 song LP called The Muslims. They've got a new track out called Answer to Yourself  & a new video for this track too. Their second studio album, The Soft Pack is expected to be released February 2nd on Kemado Records.

The Soft Pack - Answer to Yourself
The Muslims - Nightlife

THE VOLTARENES

The Voltarenes hail from the super cool city Hamburg. They've been making music for quite some time now. I only got to know of them as of late. The band has released their official debut, Proceedings on November 16th. You can have your own copy of the album by going here.

The Voltarenes - Altona

HONEYTRAP

I'm looking forward to 2010!! Reason for this is the debut album of We Have Band is due early next year! The first single off their debut, HoneyTrap is a available for free download at the band's website. For tour dates go here & follow them on twitter here.