mp3huggermp3huggermp3hugger is an indie mp3 blog based in Ireland. Sometimes it deals with non-indie things like electronica, classic dance and eighties but that is only if its had too much to drink. Articles
Bang Gang - Find What You Get
2007-03-19 22:43:00 The randy dyslexic googler’s most referenced artist have just released a taster from their debut album ‘Something Wrong’ which is (only) getting a US release later this year. The ‘Find What You Get’ EP is a pretty concise indication of the treats that awaits (it has been around since 2003). Bardi Johannson is Bang Gang ’s inspiration and already has a TV career behind him in his native Iceland. More About: Hat
Samamidon - Tribulation
2007-03-19 14:27:00 Samuel Tear is a prolific artist. As well as spending 22 hours a day writing music in a scatter of bands (Doveman, Stars Like Fleas..) he also searches the archives for forgotten songs that he can add his own twist to (he draws comic strips too). ‘But This Chicken Proved False Hearted’ has just been released under Tear’s Samamidon project with friend Thomas Bartlett. The album is a knowing More About: Mido , Tribu , Tribulation , Bula
Beach House - Master Of None
2007-03-19 11:49:00 It might start out like the sound of a tin man’s heartbeat but ‘Master of None ’ is as charming and soothing as a comfort blanket. Victoria Legrand sings with the aloofness and superiority that you’d expect from someone with a name like that. The music for its part is surreptitious sounding like it could be coming from behind the dusty bookcase in a monstrous haunted old castle. But, unless you More About: House , Beach , Ouse
The Rye - Banana Song
2007-03-17 15:43:00 Tá the Rye an banna le cúigear daoine as Gaillimh. Sheinn siad a chéad cheolchoirm i mí Eanair an bhliain seo chaite ach níor stop said ó shin. Tá ‘Banana Song ’ an chéad amhrán as an chéad dlúthdhiosca agus tá sé fíorspéisiúil le ceoil traidisiúnta. Tá Cuma an mhaith as an ceoil sin. Dar leis the Rye tá sé 'savage driven ceoil'. Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig! Caoimhín The Rye - Banana Song More More About: Nana
Nina Hynes - Amhran Na Sireana
2007-03-17 10:19:00 Even though you may not recognise the words you will know the air. ‘Song To The Siren’ was originally recorded by Tim Buckley, was masterfully reworked by This Mortal Coil a decade later and now here is an interpretation from one of Ireland’s most overlooked singers Nina Hynes. Nina has been somewhat overshadowed by Gemma Hayes which is a shame because she has a stronger set of songs in her
Northstation - The Long Walk Home
2007-03-16 21:33:00 Wow, what is this and who is Steve Fanagan (and why did he drop an L?)? A record producer it seems with a penchant for recording electronic albums of his own. Dublin is starting to get an electronic foothold with distinguished albums of the non-guitar variety (Electric Penguins anyone?) appearing from the woodwork. Fanagan’s North station project flourished last year with the ‘Wagtail’ LP. And More About: Home , Station , Long , Stat
The Frames - Headlong
2007-03-16 20:33:00 Listening to Glen Hansard’s witticisms is enough to make you projectile vomit but there is no denying his or his bands genuine credentials. For a golden patch over two magnificent albums ‘For The Birds’ and the live recording ‘Set List’ it felt as if the Frame s were about to become something truly treasureable. Since then they’ve dipped markedly but listening to songs like ‘Santa Maria’, ‘ More About: Head , Long , The Frames , Ames
The Harvest Ministers - That Won't Wash
2007-03-15 23:24:00 The Harvest Mini sters have been in existence for 2 decades. They are the original cult band having had a term with the legendary Sarah Records back in the early nineties. Despite an admirable back catalogue that includes 4 albums Will Merriman and his cohorts have never risen beyond a widely applauding circle of music critics. ‘Tis a shame too because the Harvest Ministers gentle folky tomes are More About: Hat , Vest , Wash
8Ball - The Whoop Whoop Song
2007-03-15 19:15:00 A riff played backwards the likes of which you’d only find on a Stone Roses debut, a vocal that could have just crept off the tape for the Orb’s ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and an atmosphere that David Lynch craved for his head wrecking ‘Twin Peaks’ drama. Yep, ‘Fear of Flying’ ain’t your average piece of electronica but it is in good company on 8Ball ’s (or 8 Ball depending on your mood) debut. The More About: Song , The Who
The Brilliant Trees - Talent
2007-03-14 20:21:00 The only thing the detractors could throw at them was that lead singer Alan Hoey sounded like Damon Albarn. Shame on them, mud slinging at perhaps the jangliest band this country has ever produced. And if that wasn’t enough they could whip an audience into synchronised football chants to make your hair stand on end. The band have been quiet for several years now and the inevitable last gig ever More About: Trees , Tree , Talent , Tale , Brilliant
Si Schroeder - Lavendermist
2007-03-13 23:00:00 I’ve seen him cycle his bike around where I work. There’s a certain grace to the way he peddles, the spokes tending to create great whirling patterns that can literally transfix. He has a beard, a notable one at that, one that not all of us could muster up or have the patience to cultivate. But then one listen to the cultured electronica gives the game away. It could be so easy to hide behind More About: Vend , Mist , Ender , Vender
Dae Kim - Angels Of The Universe
2007-03-13 21:32:00 Dae Kim are a quintet from Dublin who cite MBV, Ride and Nirvana as influences. So far so good and things get even better when you find out that Terry Cullen, ex of Tenspeedracer, is involved. Very involved it seems as Cullen’s has swapped the stool at the back for the microphone up front. Kinda hard to work out whether Cullen has a good voice though as he is normally surrounded by a smouldering More About: Universe , Angels , Angel , Verse , Univ
Tartufi - Jailbird
2007-03-13 11:25:00 If you can take the bumps along the way this song gives a fine aural smoothie towards the end. Up to this point it is never less than intriguing but it can be a little disorientating. But don’t you find the best music is the stuff that doesn’t hit you straight away but appears like a menacing hook from the dense fog at a later stage. ‘Jail bird’ is from Tart ufi (their debut 'So We Are Alive'), a More About: Bird
Tales of Jenny - Noone Appreciates The Sky
2007-03-12 22:06:00 Tales of Jenny come from York but Chris Jones sings in a semi-faux English way. It’s the charming accent you get when European bands sing in English (like say Canadians from Italy (just realised how confusing that must read, but ya can work it out for yourselves)). Tales of Jenny have been stumbling around since 2003 but have floundered on several occasions. Chris Jones is the enthusiastic More About: Tales , Tale , Reci
Jane Pow - Warm Room
2007-03-12 21:09:00 Remember when Spirtualized (Electric Mainline) chimed so pristinely on their debut album ‘Lazer Guided Melodies’? Jason Pierce and co. repeated the trick on the follow up ‘Pure Phase’ but for the quintessential early Spirtualized experience it’s got to be their debut. Knocking about around the same time as that record was Southampton’s Jane Pow and while ‘War m Room ’ may not be wholly indicative
Prosser - I Met A Girl
2007-03-12 16:24:00 Sometime last year I happened upon a song by Ian Love called ‘The Only Night’. It was bedroom pop at its best with Love’s vocal subtleties caressing the acoustic chord changes wonderfully. I’m getting a similar feeling from listening to Prosser’s ‘I Met A Girl ’. Eric Woodruff is the man in charge and his gentle guitar tugs are so soothing you could imagine him atop a grizzly as the creature More About: Ross , T A G
Wry - Cancer
2007-03-11 16:01:00 A chance meeting in a London hair salon led to Tim Wheeler of Ash producing Sao Paulo band Wry’s third album ‘Flames In The Head’. And Wheeler seems to have done a good job in putting the fizz into the record that recalls his own band when shiny pop tunes were their trademark. Wry sail close to shoegaze territory, which is always a plus in my book but they are not content to hide behind a mass More About: Cancer
Kopernik - Trip To Nowhere
2007-03-10 22:41:00 If you have a soft spot for Jean Michel Jarre then you are gonna love this. I am aware of Jean Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield through no fault of my own. That is what some parents would call a musical education, I just called it the music I listened to while waiting for the School bus. Well Kopernik, despite what you might think are not from Eastern Europe, take the Jarre template (the enjoyable More About: Trip , Here , Nowhere , Where
The Race - Feathers
2007-03-10 21:47:00 Not to be confused with the identically monikered outfit from Reading (here, worthwhile detour it is too) the Race in this case are from Chicago. Even though their new album ‘Ice Station’ is not set to be released for another couple of months their mp3 friendly label Flameshovel Records (home to Dublin band Joan of Arse, more of which later) has let 2 advance tracks out of the bag. And what a More About: Hers , Feathers , Feather , Feat
Subplots - Politis
2007-03-10 15:25:00 Although recorded under their previous name Envelope ‘Poli tis’ is a cert for becoming one of Subplot’s standards. And what a breath of fresh of air it is for a Dublin band to forage for such clean melodies without a twisting wreck of guitars in tow or worse still resorting to the tried and detested decent into acoustic melodrama. Subplots are a threesome made up of Phil Boughton, Daryl Chaney More About: Plot
Power of Dreams - See You
2007-03-10 11:38:00 ‘Positivity’ was Dublin’s Power of Dream s third album and it saw them veer away from their signature acoustic/jangly chords to a harder face. It was an unsettling move for fans of the band but this about turn had been signalled on the preceding album ‘2 Hell With Common Sense’. Power of Dreams featured two siblings Craig and Keith Walker and Mike Lennox and legend tells of the majors chasing the
Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
2007-03-09 22:30:00 I can’t get ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’ by the Cold War Kids and ‘I Turn My Camera On’ by Spoon out of my head. In many ways the 2 songs come from the same locality sporting bulbous bass lines and a momentum that is out of kilter with indie’s current fascination with sharp new wave tuneage. But, where ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’ sports aggressive balls Spoon’s effort reveals a feminine side that just doesn’t
The Charade - Monday Morning
2007-03-08 19:15:00 If you like your indie pop blissed out and about as twee as tweety bird writing romantic poetry to a long lost feathered girlfriend then Sweden’s the Charade will be for you. Ingela Matsson, Magnus Karlsson and Mikael Matsson are from Stockholm although they take their cues from Glasgow’s bunch of fey popsters (and a pinch of Cinerama). Life for the Charade is an uncomplicated task and the More About: Morning , Monday , Arad , Onda , Monday Morning
The Shins - Phantom Limb
2007-03-06 20:24:00 It’s been such a strange start to the year as all the big hitters like the Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Explosions In The Sky, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the Shin s have released enjoyable yet somehow slightly disappointing records. That’s the thing with expectation I guess, every year we build ourselves into a big lather about the coming of Christmas and when it comes it is so often a let down. More About: Phantom , The Shins , Limb
Track A Tiger - All These Accidents
2007-03-05 22:27:00 Another year, another ace release from Jim Vallet’s Track A Tiger . After the delights of last years ‘Woke Up Early The Day I Died’ Vallet is putting the finishing touches to the follow up 'We Moved Like Ghosts' with a host of friends. Track A Tiger is a bona fida d.i.y. enterprise but that doesn’t mean that the end product is in any way shoddy. Something the fledging Future Apple Tree Records More About: Accidents , Accident , Rack
The Bird and The Bee - Again and Again
2007-03-04 16:33:00 Attempting to have your own career must be a pain in the tonsils if you’ve got to follow in the giant footsteps of a famous parent (in this case Little Feat songwriter Lowell George). But daughter Inara has made a good start, carving out a colourful niche for herself and her Bird and the Bee co-star Greg Kurstin who is himself a noted piano player and remixer. ‘Again and Again’ is taken from the
What happened to Slowdive?
2007-03-03 17:14:00 Slowdive may have broken up in 1995 but most of its members still continue to make music. Forever associated with the short lived but much loved shoegazing genre Slowdive released 3 albums and a number of EP’s. For the uninitiated tracks to seek out include ‘Catch The Breeze’, ‘Machine Gun’ and ‘When The Sun Hits’. Slowdive - Shine (1991 Peel Session) Rachel Goswell As well as being every More About: What , Hat , Slow , Pene , Dive
Et Ret - The First Day
2007-03-03 12:23:00 Gentle electronica sweeping gently to the sea. Et Ret’s background may be in folk but his 2006 debut ‘Gasworks’ swapped the beardism’s for more artificial sonic indulgences. The effect was breathtaking as strings and computer derived noises created a wallowing, mind-bending swirl of passivity. You could imagine ‘The First Day’ becoming the dentists preferred form of sedation as patients gently
Red Star Belgrade - Quiet And Terrified
2007-03-03 11:28:00 Red Star Belgrade were always one of the best proponents of alt country but for many small reasons they never actually achieved what their music deserved. I remember picking up a CMJ cover mount and instantly being enamoured with the ‘Saddest Girl In The World’. With RSB nothing was ever hurried, why rush things when there’s a mean song to be sung? Bill Curry has a strong vocal that can More About: Terri , Quiet
RD Mauzy - Honeycut
More articles from this author:2007-03-02 23:39:00 The amount of music submissions to this site has been building for a while now. One day I may even get exasperated at the tons of hard drive I have to absorb. So often tunes rack up one play and are discarded, other times they make the half a dozen mark and are revealed as the shadowy customers that they truly are. I knew RD Mauzy’s ‘Honey cut’ (I was dreading a mock rap jump around the car park 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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