Like it? Get it on

San Antonio’s Ledaswan is back in the mix with a new video for yet another diggable track from their EP NUM83R5.   ‘What a Way Two Drown’ is a sultry, melodic malay that showcases luscious layers of sound.  The dynamics of this song are stellar as are Erica’s vocals.  Just as she, they are simply lovely.

Froglix was very much impressed with this track when we first wrote about it a few months back but seeing it set to video truly gives it a life all it’s own.  DMitch, Thurdeen and myself plan on heading down to the Lone Star State for SxSW next year and very much hope to be able to catch these cats live.

- Drago

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This past week saw the return of record temps here in these the Eastern United States. Officially it’s still Spring but there is no doubt Lord Summer is here and, apparently, he’s pissed.  It’s freaking hot out there my friends. To combat the unpleasantness of the weather this past week, your friends at Froglix offered up some cool jams.

New music from Race You There kicked things off this past week as Drago dropped the 411 on this the latest addition to the broadcast.  Thurdeen followed shortly thereafter with the downlow on GoldRat’s newest single, “Marcus Lives” and we topped it all off with an epic featuring The Stone Roses.

Check back next week for some cool tuneage…

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artist: Race You There | genre: indie-pop, alt-rock | label: unsigned

Race You There

listen now:
White Flag    Casualties

It’s no secret.  Music is everywhere.  One could travel to the far reaches of this our beloved planet Earth and could easily find people from the remotest locales expressing themselves through some sort of musical medium.   As has been said/written about many times before on this very website…there are plenty of good bands and talented songwriters out there but what really catches our ear here at Froglix is good ole fashioned originality. Anyone can be a good copycat (just ask Blink 182, Sum 41 or any other “insert emo-punk band” here) but it takes a bit of a different breed to swim upstream and define something that is truly your own.  Thankfully, our newest addition to the broadcast has done just that.

Tucson, Arizona’s Race You There is a four-piece alternative/indie-pop band that is more than just good.  They are truly original and their latest EP, aptly entilted Catalyst, is an excellent example of talented musicians pooling their collective energies enroute to creating something that is unique and imaginative.  From the melancholy opening track, “Low Armaments” to the upbeat “Casualties” to the quirky/syncopated riddim of “Dear Lewis Fry” and ending with the sparkly sounds of “White Flag,” this EP is awash in rich compositions further highlighted by excellent dynamics and strong vocals. I was impressed not only with their performance, which was stellar, but their overall approach to songwriting.  It’s quite poetic really and, dare I say, you will be drawn in from the jump.  This is indie done right.

- Drago

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artist: Gumshen
genre: alternative, indie-pop, rock
label: unsigned
listen now:
Not Every One Of Us
I Know You Girl

I first heard of Gumshen while working with ”another network,” as they say, and was so impressed that I felt compelled to include select tracks from their previous album, Super Buffet, as part of our global broadcast here at Froglix when we launched nearly (2) years ago.  Fast forward to today and the always entertaining indie rockers with the energetic sound from Seattle are back in the mix with a new studio release that, quite possibly, could be best work yet.  Naturally, this what one hopes for as an artist and musician…to get better, to progress, to improve and all the while exploring new areas of sound and it is quite clear that Ron Hippe, Jan Ciganik, Dennis McCoy and Rich Hinklin are doing just that.  This latest EP not only demonstrates their growth as individual musicians but as a band as well.  After all, the sum is only as good as its individual parts and with Gumshen the sum is good…that should tell you everything you need to know.

- Drago

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artist: Acid House Kings | genre: indie pop | label: Labrador Records
Album: Music Sounds Better With You

Acid House KingsIn 2007 Labrador Records released a Summer Sampler via bit torrent. I don’t even remember where I heard about this Sampler, but I do remember deciding to download it on a whim. And then wow! I found a whole new sub-genre of music that I instantly fell in love with. I guess you’d call it Indie Pop, but with a definite Swedish flair. (Labrador Records is based in Stockholm, Sweden; and, as far as I can tell all their acts come from Sweden.) For me, Acid House Kings both epitomizes the sound, but also stands a peg higher than the rest. Brothers Johan Angergård and Niklas Angergård and sister-in-law Julia Lannerheim comprise the now Kings trio. Joakim Ödlund seems to have fallen from the lineup.

Four years after my first introduction to Acid House Kings, they are finally releasing a new album. Music Sounds Better With You continues to deliver everything I love about them. Their music is irrepressibly catchy; so easy to sing along to. And what you may first mistake for a simple pop tune, is actually quite sophisticated with layers and layers of plush sounds. Maybe I’m being fooled by the album artwork, but I swear I keep hearing castanets throughout the album! It’s details like that which make you want to listen to each track over and over again. And I’m not sure why, but I always seem to fall for bands with multiple vocalists, especially ones that mix male and female (à la The Beautiful South).

Music Sounds Better With You is available via Amazon and iTunes.

- DMitch

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Ever since our inception, Froglix has been mightily impressed by the quality of independent music emanating from the land Down Under and the city of Brisbane, in particular, has the very real potential of becoming the next big thing in music.  What?  Brisbane? Drago, surely you jest.  Nay my friends, nay.  Don’t believe me?  Then check out the latest digital sampler from Sounds Like Brisbane.  This incredible collaboration compiles tracks from (18) different artists and their respective labels to create one mega Australian indie collective.  Genres include everything from jazz, to hip hop (that’s right Australian hip hop), country, alt-rock and…well…you get the picture. It’s a smattering of just about everything and here is the best part. You can download all (18) songs at once or listen to them one by one and download your favs…all for free!  Just go to www.soundslikebrisbane.com and have at it!

There are a number of stand out performances but some of my personal favs include “Blue Blood” (DZ Deathrays), “Her Song” (The Medics), “These are a Few of My Favourite Flings” (The Good Ship), “Washed Up” (I Heart Hiroshima) and “Taxes” (Undead Apes).

Aside from the music, what I find most intriguing about the SLB project is that it’s genesis sprung from the labels themselves. Stephen Green from SGC New Media Marketing explains. “There were a few meetings and some of the labels were already helping each other out, so they thought they’d get together and make it official and start the SLB website. They figured that there’s so much good stuff going on that it made sense to pool their fans and let everyone sample what everyone else is doing.” It’s a brilliant idea but will it work?  Oh, I’d say so.  If memory serves me, I believe Dischord Records in DC made quite splash by unifying the DC punk scene, paving the way for a number influential bands back in the 80′s.  Then in the the 90s, it was bands like Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and the like working together and supporting each other that set the stage not only for the “Seattle Sound” but entire grunge genre.  Given that track record, I’d say that the labels tying into the SLB know exactly what they are doing and we at Froglix applaud them for pushing the indie envelope and doing their part to get more great music out of the shadows and onto the world’s stage.

- Drago

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