Saturna
…All Night
Label: Nexus Underground

Pacific Northwest indie rockers Saturna released their 6-track debut EP in July and have received some moderate buzz.

Not quite space rock, not quite dream pop – …All Night is awash in brash cymbals, fuzzed out guitars and whispered vocals ala Jesus and Mary Chain and BRMC.

To really standout and let us hear what’s so special about them, we recommend mixing the vocal tracks WAY up and bump the ambient guitar fuzz down a notch. Try switching your iPod’s equalizer to “Classical” to see what we mean.

Saturna – “Pop Rocks” (mp3)

Saturna – “Just for . . . → Read More: Saturna : …All Night

Robbers on High Street
The Fatalist and Friends

We listen to a lot of new music day-to-day. And not unlike other tuneophiles, rarely go 10 minutes throughout the entire day without a soundtrack blaring from an iPod, computer speakers or the car.

Coworkers and passersby often stop in and hear grating guitars, moaning accordion or some bumpin’ zydeco and may roll their eyes or act curious, but never comment once. Naturally, we don’t have a lot of faith in the everyman’s musical tastes (this weekend we heard an inlaw expound for 10 minutes upon the talents of Nickelback), and we do our best to . . . → Read More: Robbers on High Street : The Fatalist and Friends

She, Sir
Who Can’t Say Yes

When all else fails, add layers.

That seems to be the trick for She, Sir of Austin, Texas, who after three years of work, have finally released their 7-track EP, Who Can’t Say Yes.

Tracks like “You Can’t Change a Thing” and “The Clandestine” walk the line between subdued noise rock and shoegazer drone. A very interesting sound coming from the “The Live Music Capital of the World.”

Here a couple for you to try out yourself. One from the EP and a live one:

She, Sir – “It’s My Way of Staying Connected” (mp3)

She, Sir – “The Clandestine” (live . . . → Read More: She, Sir : Who Can't Say Yes

Pilot Speed
Knife Grey Sea
Label: Wind-Up
Release Date: September 28, 2006

Pilot Speed – the Canadian quartet formerly known as Pilate – have a new band name, a new name for their album’s U.S. release (previously Self Control for Life’s Speed) but definitely don’t have a new sound.

Fans of Coldplay and U2′s soaring vocals, delicate emotion and overproduced aural textures will love this.
Pilot Speed – “Knife Grey . . . → Read More: Pilot Speed : Knife Grey Sea

Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
#3
Label: Minty Fresh
Release Date: November 21, 2006

Swedish duo Suburban Kids with Biblical Names built an ample following with their #1 and #2 EPs, but it was 2005′s full-length #3 that sealed the deal. A charmy lo-fi twee with indie UK chops and Swedish personality, we love love LOVE this album.

It’s quirky, offbeat – like Belle and Sebastian after a hugfest wraught by 10 years of therapy – and works good in the car, headphones at work or blared from a tinny boombox in an empty room’s corner while we paint over that hideous lime green the previous . . . → Read More: Suburban Kids with Biblical Names : #3

Stars of Track and Field
Centuries Before Love and War
Label: Wind-Up Records

Stars of Track and Field, the emo-indie group from Portland, delayed their June album release as they jumped from SideCho to Wind-Up, but finally now have it out thanks to iTunes and a building fan base.

Yes, the group name is from the Belle and Sebastian track (If You’re Feeling Sinister), but no, the group isn’t twee in the least.

The trio is filling in their bass-less rhythm section with electronic beats and bass, opened for Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate) this August and is currently supporting The Twilight Singers (Greg Dulli, . . . → Read More: Stars of Track and Field : Centuries Before Love and War

Nathaniel Seer
The Killing Task
Label: Higher Step Records)

Indiana’s singer/songwriter scene is really quite something considering the locale. Nathaniel Seer’s new disc, The Killing Task, came to us in the same package with Sam Lowry’s Songs of My Enemy, at a time when we just couldn’t get enough Murder by Death. But at the time, was so much more Jeff Buckley-fronted Pedro the Lion meets Iron & Wine than the other two Indyians, and we just couldn’t get into it in our positive, upbeat state of mind.

What we needed was to enter a super low emotional state of being, and that my friends, . . . → Read More: Nathaniel Seer : The Killing Task