Author: indiecater

Price: 4 euro (Currency Converter)

Have you heard many records lately that feel just at home when the sun is warm as when the snowflakes are about to form? Not many I’d wager but ‘California Trail’ is about to seamlessly fill that gap in your music collection. Adam & Darcie are a husband and wife team so it seems particularly apt that their vocals should complement each other so irresistibly. Both take on lead vocals at various points throughout but it is rare to find one voice operating unaccompanied. This is an album full of lush harmonies, delicate (and often intricate) instrumentation and a running order that never breaks the beautifully soothing flow. As the world around gets increasingly besotted by electro retro giddiness Adam & Darcie’s sophomore proves to be a calming antidote. ‘California Trail’ is getting its debut on indiecater, something that makes us feel very proud. We hope you like it as much as we do.

We recently asked Adam and Darcie to give us the lowdown on their writing and recording process and here’s what they said.

Adam and Darcie on writing:

Darcie: I’m very melody driven. Adam can construct a beautiful guitar part but until it has a strong melody that I can’t resist singing, it’s like a faceless person. Often, when I write a song I start with the melody.

Adam: For me it’s usually a matter of picking up a guitar and letting my fingers do whatever they want until something is sparked. After being moulded a while you start to see a song come to life. It’s always exciting to see what they’re going to be like, like they have a personality of they’re own. It’s also a great release in that you can express, comment, lament, celebrate, etc. whatever is going on in and around you in an almost subconscious way.

Adam and Darcie on recording:

Darcie: I usually saunter in, tell Adam to push the button, do a take, and then go back to my knitting. Truthfully, Adam is responsible for the flesh and bones of every song. Sometimes it takes a really long time because I’ll keep cracking up about a bum note or get defensive when Adam tells me I need another take. My parts usually get laid down 3/4 of the way into a song and Adam will then write a few more cool instrumentations over them.

Adam: At home. In the living room. The bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, etc. In the spaces we live. As a result you can occasionally hear a chair squeak, or on our new album, the sound of our son in the background… they’re very subtle, and few and far between but when they’re there it doesn’t bother me.

Listen To California Trail!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – The Fox Hare And Doe.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Never Been A Pilot.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Hands-Mind.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Festival.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – I Need To Let Go Of What I Won’t Miss.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Nowhere No One.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – All I Ever Do Is Fall.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – National Forest.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Before It’s Better.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – California Trail.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Steep Hollow.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Grass Valley.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/adamanddarcie/Adam And Darcie – Gold Hill.mp3|titles=The Fox Hare And Doe, Never Been A Pilot, Hands/Mind, Festival, I Need To Let Go Of What I Won’t Miss, Nowhere No One, All I Ever Do Is Fall, National Forest, Before It’s Better, California Trail, Steep Hollow, Grass Valley, Gold Hill]

Free Download: Adam & Darcie – Hands/Mind

Early Press

The Music Ninja Interview
Cluas Interview
Newdust Interview

The Churn

…Joy Zipper-esque warm indiepop…

Glorious Noise

…lovely, orchestral pop…

Elsewhere
Tenacious T, Scottish Friction, Lito Music, Das Klienicum, The Velvet Rut.

Join Our Club!

Fans of a certain act from Manchester should be wearing a broad smile on seeing the name of this band. And if you are at all partial to tunes that are embellished with rolling harmonies and flowing jangle that particular facial expression should remain steady over the course of ‘The Seven Seas’ (it’s a Polaris Prize nominee after all!). Rishi Dhir is a veteran of the music scene, although ‘The Seven Seas’ is his first record since leaving the High Dials in 2006. Sounds to us like the break has done him real good because Rishi has managed to whip up an album of jangle pop delights with Elephant Stone. Not only that but he has also put his recent immersion into the world of the sitar to great use, with those Eastern influences forming an integral part of the album. ‘The Seven Seas’ is awash with great moments and its arrival at this time of the year means that summer just got a whole lot brighter. You can download the album and artwork for just €4, a small price to have you kissing the cotton clouds.

Listen To The Seven Seas!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – Bombs Bomb Away.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – How Long.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – I Am Blind.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – The Seven Seas.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – The Straight Line.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – Blood From A Stone.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – Oh Heartbreaker.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – A Morning Song.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/elephantstone/Elephant Stone – Don’t You Know.mp3|titles=Bombs Bomb Away, How Long, I Am Blind, The Seven Seas, The Straight Line, Blood From A Stone, Oh Heartbreaker, A Morning Song, Don’t You Know]

Free Download: Elephant Stone – I Am Blind

Press Quotes

Quick Critique

…drifting from bliss to euphoria…

The Decibel Tolls

…punchy jangle pop and Indian-chic psychedelic flourishes…

Waved Rumor

…summery pop anthems…

Elsewhere
Tenacious T, Leonard’s Lair, The Midnight Cafe, Scottish Friction, Coast Is Clear, Ears Of The Beholder, Swear I’m Not Paul, Lito Music, The Philler, Indiependent Music, Eldur Og Is, Largehearted Boy, Speed Of Dark

Join Our Club!

Price: 2.50 euro (Currency Converter)

EP#5 from South Ambulance and there’s a sea change occurring. The melodies are still in abundance but this time they come fitted with a more pervasive sense of melancholy. If you peruse the lyric sheet from our past encounters there’s no mistaking that despite their hook filled tunes South Ambulance certainly have a skewed view of the world. You could miss it though as so often the words are masked by a jangling gaiety. EP#5 sees the gloom spread its tentacles and while the tunes are as pristine as ever you may find less occasion to grab your partner by the hand. The download bundle also includes two jaunty tracks called ‘Circling With Thee’ and ‘Rabid Ghost’ which up to this point were unreleased. Their spiralling choruses are worth the price of the EP alone. We adore South Ambulance, we really do. The hope is that you will too.

Rather than convolute with their thoughts on EP#5 South Ambulance decided that this quote from Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘A Descent Into The Maelstrom’ would suffice.

“Our first slide into the abyss itself, from the belt of foam above, had carried us to a great distance down the slope; but our farther descent was by no means proportionate. Round and round we swept – not with any uniform movement – but in dizzying swings and jerks, that sent us sometimes only a few hundred yards – sometimes nearly the complete circuit of the whirl. Our progress downward, at each revolution, was slow, but very perceptible.”

Tracklisting

1) Dear Mutiny
2) They Stick Together
3) What The Doctor Said
4) The Stay Away
5) Circling With Thee
6) Rabid Ghost

Listen To EP#5!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – Dear Mutiny.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – They Stick Together.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – What The Doctor Said.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – The Stay Away.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – Circling With Thee.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance5/South Ambulance – Rabid Ghost.mp3|titles=Dear Mutiny, They Stick Together, What The Doctor Said, The Stay Away, Circling With Thee, Rabid Ghost]

Free Download: South Ambulance – Dear Mutiny

You can listen to and purchase South Ambulance’s last EP with us (EP#4) over here.

Press Quotes

Citizen Dick

‘…bouncing bass line, softly delineated harmonies, catchy-as-hell melody and spiraling, gorgeous closing moments…’

Eardrums Music

‘…I liked South Ambulance in their Labrador days, but I think they are even better in 2009…’

Indie Music Filter

‘…love how this gloomy almost sea-shanty builds while maintaining that 6 beat clang…’

Elsewhere
Pasta Primavera, Tenacious Timothy, 5acts, Eldur Og Is, Soundsxp, Indie-mp3, Bleek Spook, Das Klienicum, Swear I’m Not Paul, Indiependent Music

Home Delivery Available!

It’s been a couple of years since that great Canadian invasion, a remarkable period around the middle of the decade when it appeared as if
every new exciting act emanated from that part of the world. Things have quietened considerably but now and then something wonderful emerges. Hamilton is at the epicentre this time and the Rest are the ones pulling the strings. Curiously we came to know about this collective via their electronica side project Allegories but one listen to ‘Walk On Water’ quickly had us refocusing. The song is taken from the bands second album ‘Everyone All At Once’ which has been blessed with an epic grandeur that reveals umpteen secrets on close inspection. It is hymnal and flamboyant at the same time and evokes early U2 and that great fire of 2005 while still carefully negotiating its own path. We’ve been in touch with front man Adam Bentley for a couple of years but when we suggested that he consider digitally releasing ‘Everyone All At Once’ through indiecater we weren’t necessarily expecting a positive. When it arrived we quickly scanned the nearest thesaurus to find ingenious words that could adequately describe this wonderful album. Unfortunately they haven’t been invented yet so you’ll have to take our word for it. If that’s not worth the web it’s written on then you can stream the whole album to make up your own mind!

But first here is Adam giving us some of his inner thoughts about the record:

‘Everyone All At Once took shape over a two-year period of writing, recording and being patient. Sparked by a collective need for improvement and progression from out debut album Atlantis, Oh Our Saviour, we headed to a remote family cottage to write and focus on music. The results, we believe, are the best music any of us have been a part of, representing a period of excitement and growth in the band, and for a change this growth does not involve an additional member joining our ranks.

This is an album that we feel as strongly about each and every track, and in a world of expanding music more focused on the quick instant pleasures, we hope that you can completely fall into these pieces, finding new ways to listen, and varied interpretations around each word, tone, rhythm and melody.’

Listen To Everyone All At Once!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Coughing Blood-Fresh Mountain Air.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Modern Time Travel (Necessities).mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Phonetically Phonetically.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Apples & Allergies.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Drinking Again.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Blossom Babies Part Two.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings).mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – The Lady Vanishes.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/therest/The Rest – Everything All At Once.mp3,|titles=Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air, Modern Time Travel (Necessities), Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing, Phonetically Phonetically, Apples & Allergies, Drinking Again, Blossom Babies Part Two, Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings), The Lady Vanishes, Everything All At Once]

Press Quotes

Indie Rock Cafe

‘…full of harmonies, melodies and day-dream symphonies…’

Herohill

‘…the band’s melodies move along like ocean waves…’

Bringer of Song

‘…a cinematic energy, a driving-scene-montage thrum to the song that pulls me in…’

Elsewhere
Leonard’s Lair, Side One: Track One, Stop Sleeping, Yo, Swear I’m Not Paul

Home Delivery Available!

Price: 2.50 euro (Currency Converter)

We think the best time of the year to listen to indie pop is during the summer. What better way to experience sweet melodies than when the sun is shining and most people are on a 2 week sabbatical away from crust earning activity. This year our mission was to source the perfect summer soundtrack and we could think of no better band to achieve that aspiration than the Very Most. The Idaho outfit have had a productive 2009 with ‘Summer’ representing the 2nd instalment of a 4 part seasonal themed project they’ve undertaken with indiecater (part one is here). With the Very Most the rewards are instant (and enduring), their lyrics are universally joyous and the instrumentation is masterfully tailored by chief song writer Jeremy Jensen. We always find it a little incomprehensible that their pop nuggets aren’t the stuff of daytime radio playlist makers dreams. We’d love you to spread the word because the world needs tunes like these to cheer it up.

As ever you can listen to every song on this release and even download the sunshinetastic ‘You’re In Love With The Sun’ for free. If you’re suitably impressed at that stage all you have to do is part with €2.50 and all 4 tracks will be yours forever!

A big thank you to Julia Green for creating the EP’s wonderful artwork. If you’d like to read the lyrics from the EP click here.

Listen To Summer!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/tvmsummer/The Very Most – Road Trip.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/tvmsummer/The Very Most – The Motor-Vue Lights.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/tvmsummer/The Very Most – You’re In Love With The Sun.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/tvmsummer/The Very Most – Fireworks.mp3|titles=A Mid-80s Lower-Middle Class Family Summer Road Trip, The Motor-Vue Lights, You’re In Love With The Sun, Fireworks]

Free Download: The Very Most – You’re In Love With The Sun

***Spring/Summer EP Deal***

Add the Spring & Summer EP’s to your shopping cart and use the discount code ‘springsummer’ to get 50 cents off the total price. That’s 2 EP’s for €4.50!!

Press Quotes

Powerpopaholic

‘…gently tailored pop touched by magic.’

Another Form of Relief

‘…a thing of beauty…’

Venntertainment

‘will have you dreaming of sunny, sandy beaches and carefree days of youth…’

Elsewhere
Quick Critique, Popistant, Tenacious T, Russell’s Reviews, I Am The Crime, 180 Grados Largehearted Boy, The Culture of Me, Lito Music, Swear I’m Not Paul

Home Delivery Available!

Price: 2.50 euro (Currency Converter)

There is nothing more satisfying for a music blogger than to be there at the beginning of something special. It has happened once already and our instincts are telling us that lightning could be about to strike again with this new duo from Meath/Dublin called The Ambience Affair. Jamie Clarke and Marc Gallagher have only been playing together for a few months but their debut recording is something to behold. The 4 track ‘Fragile Things’ EP was released as a handmade limited edition in February and we got wind of the title track soon afterwards. My first impression was that it didn’t sound like an Irish band, especially one taking its first tentative steps. Here were 2 young lads sculpting experimental sounds that on closer inspection also revealed wonderful tuneage. That the instrumentation is mostly acoustic makes what happens sound all the more exciting. Add in Jamie’s intense vocal bursts and you have a recipe that will have the listener salivating for the Ambience Affairs’ next bold move. The sparkle is evident for all to see and we’re confident that this is the beginning of something really special.

Jamie gave us a bio for the band and an account of how the EP was made.

“The Ambience Affair are a two-piece from Meath/Dublin who combine looped vocals & guitars together with driving rhythms to create songs that are both captivating and original. The EP ‘Fragile Things’ was recorded in 3 days in Dublin and was the band’s first ever experience recording.They’ve been together 10 months after Jamie met Marc in the music shop Jamie had just started working in. Jamie was looking for a drummer previous to this and Marc came to one of his solo gigs and decided there was enough there to start the band.

(Now on to first person)

The EP itself is something we’re both really proud of. I can still put it on the stereo and enjoy it so either I’m really egotistical or it’s not a bad collection of songs. The reviews we received for it have been really great. The general consensus has been ‘A promising start’, and that’s a line we’re really comfortable with. We feel we’re still such a young band and are learning about so much everyday. Live, I think there may be one gig so far where I haven’t fucked up a loop or the song in some way. The mistakes are almost part of who we are and there’s a couple we left in on the EP that happened naturally. We’re really excited about the future and hope that the EP is a little taster of what’s to come.

-Jamie”

Listen To The Fragile Things EP!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/theambienceaffair/The Ambience Affair – Vacant Hearts.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/theambienceaffair/The Ambience Affair – Fragile Things.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/theambienceaffair/The Ambience Affair – The Great Enchanted.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/theambienceaffair/The Ambience Affair – I Recoil.mp3|titles=Vacant Hearts, Fragile Things, The Great Enchanted, I Recoil]

Free Download: The Ambience Affair – Fragile Things

Press Quotes

Venntertainment

‘Layered guitar over immediate vocals and tight-as-a-duck’s-arse drums…’

love shack, baby

‘it’s happy/sad/angry all at the same time and it makes me want to dance and cry…’

Elsewhere
Swear I’m Not Paul, Largehearted Boy

Home Delivery Available!

Price: 2.50 euro (Currency Converter)

Ever since we laid ears on ‘Die 5times Times5’ back in 2005 we knew this band were special. Who else could pour vitriol so eloquently within the confines of a shoegazetastic tune? The track was taken from South Ambulance’s self-titled debut and what a magical piece of work it was (much like everything that Labrador turns its hand to in fact). Fast forward 4 years and it really puts a siren in our emergency vehicle to be able to offer up the bands latest series of EP’s. EP#5 and EP#6 will be along later in the year but for now we can celebrate in the melody doused aroma of EP#4. South Ambulance come from Sweden so you know the goods on offer will be quality. What makes this digital release even sweeter is the bonus track ‘Kinky Love’. This is a cover of the venerable Pale Saints track (which in itself was a cover of the Nancy Sinatra original) and is every bit as good as the original. And as an ageing shoegaze fan myself I feel comfortable in that assertion. EP#4 costs just €2.50 which makes it cheaper than chips and a good deal less fattening.

We spoke to the band recently and they told us about the EP.

“Hello everybody. Sitting in the attic among our half forgotten fortune telling accessories on one particularly windy night, we decided to lay some cards. After some turning and reading in the halflight it was clear it’s high time you all heard more from us, South Ambulance. While we were at it we dusted our age old Ouija board as well to give it a go. It repeatedly spelled out the well-used number 3, and so this is the number of EPs we’ve recorded, and which we’re proud to release through Indiecater this spring. We’re starting out with EP#4, which contains songs of little contemplations on death, desperate space travelling, and sudden ageing.

What’s new? First, we’re very happy with the production (deeper depths, wider widths, higher heights etc), since the ideas came out very well on tape. We’ve used quite a lot of shimmering upright piano this time, which can be heard on all three EPs. Some would say the beats are groovier than before. We don’t mind, they’re quite right. There are also a couple of surprises for your ears on each EP, on this first one for example, you can hear time pass. And stop.

We’ll be back with some more well chosen words when EP#5 is due, until then, enjoy.

/South Ambulance, March 2009”

Listen To EP#4!

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance4/South Ambulance – Davy Crockett.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance4/South Ambulance – King Of Geeks.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance4/South Ambulance – Flowers.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance4/South Ambulance – I Think Of Death.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/southambulance4/South Ambulance – Kinky Love.mp3|titles=Davy Crockett, King Of Geeks, Flowers, I Think Of Death, Kinky Love]

Free Download: South Ambulance – Davy Crockett

EP#4 Also Available Here!

* * * * * * * *

Press Quotes

indie-mp3

‘blissful 13 and a bit minutes…’

Fingertips

‘Friendly, skewed, comfortably messy, unexpectedly melodic…’

How Marvellous

‘it’s all tuneful & harmonious & vocal ‘ba ba ba’s’…’

Elsewhere
Indie Surfer, Indiependent Music, The Velvet Rut, Lyrique La Discorde, Burning World, Coast Is Clear, bleek spook

Home Delivery Available!

Price: 4 euro (Currency Converter)

The Van Allen Belt are quite unlike any other band you’ll hear this year (or any year for that matter) and your first impression could well be quite different from the one you harbour after several listens. When I bask in their lavish productions I always think of Motown (a peculiarly indie brand it must be said). Now my knowledge of that particular genre isn’t exactly stellar but there ain’t no mountain high enough to dispel those thoughts. The other thing that’ll strike you about the Pittsburgh collective is their lyrics which are soaked in a most cerebral brand of satire (reminise about that soundtrack to ‘The Life of Brian’). So while you style your beehive you’ll chuckle at the gloriously lobbed potshots emanating from your stereo. ‘Meal Ticket To Purgatory’ is a hugely ambitious work and one you may struggle to digest in one sitting but there are modern classics peppered throughout. The album was originally released in 2007 but we believe it deserves a second airing and a much wider audience. The Van Allen Belt are currently putting the finishing touches to their sophomore so this should keep you entertained until it arrives. The download bundle comes complete with the music, artwork and lyrics.

Here is Ben from the band and his version of events that lead to the recording of this album.

‘I began working on PURGATORY shortly after I was fired from the bar I had worked at. After performing for a couple years in avant-garde acts that seemed to change names every show, I wanted to do something more accessible. Perhaps, something I could live off of. So I recruited 3 musicians I’d worked with the previous year on an awful experimental album and set off to make something “listenable”. Tamar Kamin had worked with me a few times before on soundtracks, but never anything with lyrics. Scott Taylor was a longtime friend and film school classmate. And Martine Mancini had also been a friend for a while and, of all things, the former roommate of the girl who never moved to Vancouver with me.

The first cut we finished was ‘So It Goes’. When we recorded it I was actually living paycheck to paycheck, and unemployment checks at that. I was also working as a lousy freelance videographer and the payments always seemed delayed. People often ask “How did you make Meal Ticket…?” The answer: by borrowing money from friends and sponging off well intentioned people. And then eventually, I had to deliver pizzas again. When I was working, I kept the radio off. It was on the road that I wrote many of the lyrics. When we recorded ‘Alaska Dreamin’’ I really was a pizza guy.

The first mix of ‘So It Goes’ was a little rough, and it became a multiple draft process. In the meantime, we recorded the next two, ‘Charity Sex’ and ‘Way Up’. A moment I will never be able to relive, was the first time I played back ‘Way Up’ and the beat kicked in. It was when I knew we were doing something special.’

Listen to Meal Ticket To Purgatory

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Dr. Layman’s Terms-The Hills Are Alive.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – The River Hive.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – So It Goes.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Way Up.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Alaska Dreamin’.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – The Revolution Will Be Merchandised.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – How To Get Along Famously.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Charity Sex.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – ‘Twill Always Be Last Sunday.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Baby Boomer Backstroke.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – I Can’t Believe You Murdered Me.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – For The 20th Time.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Love With A 10 Ft. Pole.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/thevanallenbelt/The Van Allen Belt – Vancouver.mp3|titles=Dr. Layman’s Terms/The Hills Are Alive, The River Hive, So It Goes, Way Up, Alaska Dreamin’, The Revolution Will Be Merchandised, How To Get Along Famously, Charity Sex, ‘Twill Always Be Last Sunday, Baby Boomer Backstroke, I Can’t Believe You Murdered Me, For The 20th Time, Love With A 10 Ft. Pole, Vancouver]

Free Download: The Van Allen Belt – Baby Boomer Backstroke

Press Quotes

Leonard’s Lair

‘it can still cause a thrill even after a few listens; a testament to the durability of these wonderfully odd songs’

Song, By Toad

‘this is pure mental brilliance’

Pittsburgh City Paper

‘a pleasant, freak-out surprise’

mp3hugger

‘as much as it sometimes sounds retro I can’t escape the feeling that the Van Allen Belt are somehow going to form the crux of the future’

Swear I’m Not Paul

‘not sure exactly how to describe it’

Elsewhere
Naku Yoru, das klienicum

Home Delivery Available!

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Ireland has produced a skip full of acoustic troubadours and it’s almost a cliché at this stage to scoff. But where there is quantity there will always be gold amongst the silt and over the years Mumblin’ Deaf Ro have proven to be one of this country’s most treasured songwriters. I first became aware of Mumblin’ Deaf Ro when his second album ‘The Herring And The Brine’ was released in 2007. I’ve got to admit that his vocals took a bit of getting used to but his pithy lyrics and imaginative riffage quickly won me over. In fact What’s To Be Done With El Salvador made enough of an impression to become the 4th favourite song of 2007 over on mp3hugger. That discovery led to MDR’s 2003 debut ‘Senor, My Friend…’ and again I was smitten. Ro has a gift for storytelling and his talent ensures that his lyrical jaunts are coloured by wide-eyed instrumental arrangements. Getting to know this album is a real joy and over time you’ll discover your own favourites.

This digital release includes the album and 3 bonus tracks, 2 of which were not on the original release and another which is a solo version of ‘These Men Get Paid To Know’. Also bundled in the download is the original artwork, some photos of Ro from the time and an in-depth analysis from the man himself about each of the tunes. You can sample the whole album and even download ‘The Hero Is A Graduate’ for free on the right sidebar.

Ro spoke to us recently and gave us the background on how ‘Senor My Friend’ came to be.

‘(In reading this piece, try to picture me being interviewed beside a mixing desk, like on TV – journalists/writers get interviewed in front of bookshelves.)

About six years ago I released ‘Senor, Mr Friend . . .’ and I’m hugely flattered and grateful that mp3hugger has decided to exhume it for this indiecater release.

While recording the album I went through several phases of self-doubt about whether it was just a vanity project, whether the album would sink unnoticed, and whether I’d be able to finish it at all. I had been playing gigs since February 1993 in various bands and, latterly, as a solo act; usually to very small crowds and on a bill with acts that were outrageously incompatible. (Where do all those heavy metal bands come from and why are always next door to me when I rehearse?)

The business of recording music at home with basic equipment and zero expertise is documented on the liner notes of the album itself (included in this download). I started by doing a demo of three songs: ‘Every Now and Then She Gets a Moment’, ‘Keep the Line Movin’ and the ‘Ballad of Lonesome Ray James’. The idea was that I’d hand it around to people and maybe get a few support slots. Alison Curtis from Phantom FM (back when it was a pirate) started playing Keep the Line Movin’ from that demo. Encouraged, I decided to rattle off a few more songs and make it into a longer recording or maybe an album. It was a lot harder than it seemed, and took me about 18 months in total. I recorded during the evenings for the most part, usually when I was quite tired. I made loads of mistakes and changed my mind far too often.

I also had little idea of the work involved in releasing an album. In recent years I have organised a wedding, bought a house, taken on more responsibility at work and completed further study, but none of it compares to the intensity of releasing a record. For instance, the CDs were pressed in the Czech Republic but were impounded at the airport with punitive daily fines; at the same time I was trying to deal with a record number of parliamentary questions (500 on one day) for the then Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen. There were a huge number of emails, phone calls, dead ends and changes of plan to contend with and amidst it all you try and retain some sense of the artistic serenity that lets you focus on the music itself. It is an exhilarating but extraordinarily vulnerable, and narcissistic, period.

I had hoped to get reviewed in some places as I couldn’t afford to promote the album properly, but it never really occurred to me until the last minute that the reviews could be bad and that I could be humiliated publicly – people in work still thought I was trying to become the next Ronan Keating. In the end it all went well enough. The reviews were kind. I have a theory that if papers like your music they review it if they can, and if they don’t, they don’t – what’s the point in slagging off an act nobody has heard of? The launch night was very special. My girlfriend (now wife) was rushed to hospital just before the gig with chronic stomach pains, but she made it back to good health and to the gig for the encore. It was that sort of night. A small but enthusiastic coterie of fans bought the album and has kept listening to it over the years, which means a lot to me.

In preparing for this re-release I listened back to the album a few times to gauge my reaction to it now. Naturally – like all musicians — I wince at some of the more obvious missed notes and loose timing. I think that the clumsy recording is part of the album’s personality though and that it wouldn’t be same if it were cleaned up. I still love the songs. They were recorded over a spread of years but the bulk of them were written during the four happy years I lived in the city centre of Dublin with two of my closest friends in a non-gay three-man living arrangement. The album recreates that period for me perfectly whenever I listen to it.‘

Listen to Senor, My Friend..

[audio: https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – Every Now And Then She Gets A Moment.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – These Men Get Paid To Know.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – Can’t Help Fading To Grey.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – Keep The Line Movin’.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – This Simple Life.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – It Never Even Entered My Mind.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – The Hero Is A Graduate.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – What’s That Sound.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – Caledonian Friend.mp3, https://www.mp3hugger.net/indiecater/mumblindeafro/Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – The Ballad of Lonesome Ray James.mp3|titles=Every Now And Then She Gets A Moment, These Men Get Paid To Know, Can’t Help Fading To Grey, Keep The Line Movin’, This Simple Life, It Never Even Entered My Mind, The Hero Is A Graduate, What’s That Sound?, Caledonian Friend, The Ballad Of Lonesome Ray James]

Free Download: Mumblin’ Deaf Ro – The Hero Is A Graduate

Senor, My Friend Also Available Here!
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Press Quotes

The Devil Has The Best Tuna

‘if you like lo-fi finger picking folk, insightful lyrics and beautiful chord progressions then all your Christmases have come at once’

Cluas

‘Mumblin’ Deaf Ro’s music is of remarkable feeling, imagination and honesty. It gushes pure talent.’

The Irish Times

‘an unfailingly melodic and sometimes moving testament to the power of ingenuity, wit and the Roland VS-880 home recorder. Cherish it.’

Elsewhere
Off Her Rocker, das klienicum, Swear I’m Not Paul, Nick Thinks, 2 U I Bestow, State Magazine

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