Recently Asian Man has put out some great new records including a collection of out of print songs from various 7 inches and compilation tracks from Smoking Popes, a record from Operation Ivy’s Jesse Michaels new group The Classics of Love, and folk-punk favorites Andrew Jackson Jihad. Check out some of the best independent punk rock around!

Smoking Popes
“Sandra” (mp3)
from “It’s Been A Long Day”
(Asian Man Records)

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Andrew Jackson Jihad
“Heartilation” (mp3)
from “Can’t Maintain”
(Asian Man Records)

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Artist: Classics of Love
Release: Walking in Shadows EP
Label: Asian Man Records
Genre: Punk : Punk Rock
Territories: Worldwide
UPC:612851018228
Release Date: 6/2/09

If Frightened Rabbit aren’t careful all of the critical praise they’re getting might go to their head. Though they were formed in only 2003 as a solo project of rhythm guitarist, vocalist and lyricist Scott Hutchison (now with 4 other members), their previous two records have already cemented them as a staple in the Scottish indie rock scene. Now with the release of their third full length LP, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, Frightened Rabbit is set to make the leap into mainstream recognition for their unique blend of impassioned indie-folk crossover.

After causing quite a stir in the blogosphere with their 2008 record The Midnight Organ Fight (9/10 on Drowned in Sound and an 8.1/10 on Pitchfork), the group extensively toured the US and UK, even supporting Death Cab for Cutie during their November 2008 UK & Ireland tour. While the previous release was clearly about the end of a relationship and its accompanying heartbreak, Rabbit’s new album looks forward. Hutchison explains: “the theme I’m going for is pushing yourself out to the edge of things and being alone, feeling lost and not knowing where you are, which is how I’ve felt recently. It’s not all fun and games, but hopefully it’ll just be less obviously personal and brutal than the last record. Less oppressive.” In this attempt he both fails an succeeds: Mixed Drinks is indeed less brutal and pain-ridden than Organ Fight, but there’s definitely no lack of emotion found. Instead, the record is fueled by energetic passion that keeps you swooning and tingling in euphoria with its freight-train drum beats, masculine vulnerability, and incessantly uplifting melodies.

The term epic can be applied selectively to music that invokes a seriously formidable and attention-locking presence, but it arrives in different incarnations and is achieved through different means. Frightened Rabbit’s particular blend of epic is derived almost exclusively from pure emotion: this is a full on cathartic release of tellingly personal issues through music that makes you want to scream from mountain tops, drink yourself crazy, dance as hard as you can, all at the same time. No song has a lull or seemingly forced moment; instead, the five-piece masterfully builds songs up and delivers powerful moments ribboned with heartbreaking honesty. These sound like pub atmosphere sing-alongs for misanthropes, too young to really connect with the old standards but still feeling the same tensions in their bodies as their fathers felt before them. In short, it feels young and honest without being adolescent. Rather Frightened Rabbit’s new album finds a home with those in a similar position to themselves: just as they teeter on the edge of mainstream recognition and a whole new world ahead of them as one of today’s most talented young acts, many young adults experiencing the same feelings of fear mixed with excitement as they leave the relative safety of youth will find a comforting shoulder here.

This is a band that demands attention and continues to rake in critical praise with each step they take. Be sure to grab a copy of The Winter of Mixed Drinks and hear Scotland’s best export since Belle and Sebastian.

The We Are The World Foundation has teamed up with an all-star group of today’s biggest Latin artists to release Somos El Mundo, a charity single with benefits going to aid Hati in the wake of the recent disaster there. Emilio Estefan and legendary producer Quincy Jones lead a team of the biggest names in Latin music including Aventura, Carlos Santana, David Archuleta, Gloria Estefan, Juanes, Chayanne, Lucero, Paulina Rubio, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), Pitbull, and Eddy Herrera. Visit SomosElMundo.org to find out how to purchase the song.

Watch the group recording the song below:

Grab some promotracks from a couple of the artists who contributed to the benefit after the jump…

Eddy Herrera
“Como Diablos” (mp3)
from “Paso Firme”
(Premium Latin Music)

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Aventura
“Por un segundo” (mp3)
from “The Last”
(Premium Latin Music)

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With the release of their new LP, Ashes Grammar, Philadelphia’s ambient pop outfit, A Sunny Day In Glasgow, continued to dazzle and amaze with new material and exploration into uncharted musical grounds while consistently providing their fans with the dreamy, ethereal comfort their highly loved previous material was heralded for. The recording sessions for the new record stretched across 6 months and were fraught with all kinds of disaster, but in the end, they were also incredibly productive. After the album’s completion, a good number of extra songs were put on the shelf for a while as the core trio of Ben Daniels, Annie Fredrickson and Josh Meakim reclaimed their lives.

“Nitetime Rainbows” always struck the band as a song that could be its own album, let alone EP/single. Sunny Day has decided to do just that, releasing the Nitetime Rainbows EP on Mis Ojos Discos, a blooming of side thoughts from their latest full length. The title track was one of the most fun songs to record on Ashes Grammar, and it has the most elaborate and strange instruments on it — from vibes to lap steel to bulbul tarang.  Its partner song, “Daytime rainbows,” was originally intended to appear on the full length but the band needed a bit more time to develop it. “So bloody, so tight” is one of the band’s absolute favorite songs they’ve recorded to date and it’s easy to hear why. The song is full of hope in a way the band has only hinted at previously. While the vocals are still low in the mix, the lyrics for this song are the first the band has ever shared. “Piano lessons” was the result of Ben, who cannot play the piano, sitting at the baby grand for many, many hours one night. By the end of the night he was deliriously pounding the keys, mashing as many as he could with his palms flat. The experience made him wish he hadn’t given up piano lessons when he was 12 and it also revealed some beautiful noise in the banging. The EP also features three remixes by label friends Benoît Pioulard, Ezekiel Honig and The Buddy System – each offering wholly unique interpretations of the title song. Artwork for the EP was contributed by Finnish artist Jaakko Mattila, whose artwork previously appeared on the CD and LP versions of Ashes Grammar.

Nitetime Rainbows features of some of their brightest sounding songs to date. These are the sounds of a band falling in love, a band having fun.

Grab a track to go off our SXSW sampler here:

A Sunny Day in Glasgow
“Shy” (mp3)
from “IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash Sampler 2010″
(ioda)

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Also, if you’re heading to Austin this year for SXSW, Sunny Day will be gracing the stage at IODA’s sixth anual SXSW Opening Day Bash along with a great line-up composed of all IODA distributed artists! This is not to be missed.

Pogues frontman, Shane McGowan and a big group of friends/famous musicians and actors came together to record Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ 1956 hit, “I Put a Spell on You”. Hawkins died 10 years ago to the day before the Haiti earthquake and McGowan sees the song as a “hymn for hope and love.” Contributions will go to Concern Worldwide to help support their efforts in Haiti.

The list of musicians involved include: Nick Cave, Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie, the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and Paloma Faith and finally Eliza Doolittle. On guitars were James Walbourne, The Clash’s Mick Jones and Johnny Depp, who recorded his parts in LA.

The song will be available for purchase at all major digital retailers on March 9th. If you’re in the UK, you can pre-order the track directly from Concern Worldwide here. Check out the video of the London recording session below:

“Chilly B Of Newcleus Passes Away At Age 47

Newcleus co-founder, writer, rapper, singer, keyboardist and bass player Robert Crafton III p/k/a Chilly B has passed away due to complications from a massive stroke. The stroke had left him brain dead and in a coma. On Tuesday, February 23rd the decision was made to remove him from life support and he passed on not long after.

Chilly B’s signature moments were his classic verse from “Jam On It”, his funky bass guitar licks from “Jam On Revenge (The Wikki Wikki Song)”, and his booming deep vocal and sizzling synthesizer solo from “Computer Age (Push The Button)”. In recent years he was involved in independent production, including working on a new Newcleus album, and touring with Newcleus.

He is survived by his wife Valerie and his sons Justin, Jason, Joshua and Isaiah.” -Newcleus Myspace

Newcleus
“No More Runnin’” (mp3)
from “Jam On Revenge”
(Jam-On Recordings)

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Newcleus
“Teknology” (mp3)
from “Space is the Place”
(Jam-On Recordings)

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You can listen at IODAcast.com or on iTunes!

Download the accompanying sampler below:

Various Artists

IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash Sampler 2010 (zip)

(ioda)

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While Balmorhea’s previous release All is Wild, All is Silent followed a group of brave travelers across the American frontier, filled with vast, breathtaking landscapes and western touches, their new album Constellations looks not Westward but rather upward. Picture those same travelers at rest during their journey, tired from the day’s toll, lying around a warm campfire, looking up at the endless expanse, heavily peppered with numerous stars and planets as only the isolated countryside can showcase. This isn’t as energetically eager and determined as their previous release, but rather serves as a release for the effort, an exhale, if you will.

The group has had critics from all over in praise of their unique take on minimalist instrumentalism with distinctly classical influences from an eclectic group of sources. Often cited are Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, and more contemporary counterparts like the Six Parts the Seven. Balmorhea was formed in 2006 by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller in the musically fertile Austin, Texas. With the addition of four new members to create a full band, the group has toured the US and Europe three times. They’ve been featured on Pitchfork, Time Out New York, NPR’s Second Stage, and Drowned in Sound, all giving the group high marks and compliments, praising their originality and graceful execution.

Their newest effort is marked by the skillful use of space and restraint. While the previous release often focused on wide open frontier planes, Constellations works with celestial objects but leaves the black space between them as drifting and uncluttered. The disarming simplicity of the tracks proves that Balmorhea doesn’t need dense arrangements full of 180 degree turns to craft deeply affecting compositions. More than just self-imposed limitation, the scale of this collection of songs introduces a sense of intimacy and perspective. The album captivates and inspires our imaginations by recreating the movements and colors of life; this is what Balmorhea are truly great at achieving.

Here’s a great video of the band performing on iNCONTEXT.TV ; their music is even more powerful live:

Grab a free track off of the full length after the jump…

Balmorhea
“Bowsprit” (mp3)
from “Constellations”
(Western Vinyl)

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