This is off of a self released album from an artist in Minneapolis. He doesn’t have the strongest voice but I like the instrumental side of his music. Ponders is stylistically similar to Final Fantasy, recording loops on the violin and building on top of each layer. I was real torn between this song and this one so listen to both before you bash it. If you’ve listened to both, bash away.

Source: http://orangealert.net/ponders

This comes from a pair of guys in Brooklyn, produced by folks who worked with Animal Collective and Sufjan Stevens, among others. Starts out pretty tight. Love the disco beat. I don’t really like the other track from the EP, which you can hear on their myspace. Hope this sates everyone who’s been craving another electronica post as much as I have.

Source: www.therecommender.net

Sufjan Stevens has an instrumental album out that was released in October that was part of a larger project involving some visual forms of media, including a comic book. The album isn’t necessarily intended to stand alone, and as I haven’t heard it all I can’t say whether it does, but instrumental work doesn’t turn me off at all and I love a lot of Stevens’ music so my guess is I’ll find it listenable.

Source: http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/11/11/album-review-sufjan-stevens-the-bqe/

This is a song from an all female group formed by the leader of Belle & Sebastian, Stuart Murdoch. I’m not big on female voices, but man I like this girl’s voice. If you like this I’d recommend checking out the group’s myspace page. I’m a fan of new music made from old formats, and a lot of their music seems to be like that.

Source: http://www.cannibalcheerleader.com/

This is a sweet mash-up that I first heard on IndieStreetCred and I’ve enjoyed it too much not to post. The fact that this works so well speaks to how modern music has adopted many elements of hip hop. And I guess given the lyrics it’s kind of hard for that fact not to cross one’s mind.

Source: www.indiestreetcred.com

Ok I know I’m going to regret this when it comes up on my iPod weeks or months from now (I’m talking about that cu-cooo-ing), but right now I’m liking this. This is a single released on the 15th off her debut album, Family Jewels, due out next year.

Source: http://billysuede.wordpress.com/

I’m starting to love this song and I can’t explain why. An endorsement from All Songs Considered helps for sure. I’m always into rhythmic complexity and this certainly qualifies in that regard. Kyp Malone is the lead singer of TV on the Radio and Rain Machine is his solo project. Based on his interview he’s pretty socially conscious so I wonder if this song has to do with anything. If I feel motivated I’ll pull out the lyrics and read through them since I have no idea what this is about.

P.S. I was saving this for a day I donated blood but couldn’t wait.
P.P.S. The source credit url on this one is worth checking out.

Source: http://earfarm.com/features/daily-feature/friday/8278

This band toured with Frightened Rabbit, and they are also from Scottland as evidenced by the Scottish accent. This song hasn’t been getting as much buzz as Quiet Little Voices, but I like it better. They sort of remind me of a Scottish Explosions in the Sky, and I’m not sorry if the comparison isn’t welcome. Deal with it.

Source: http://www.cannibalcheerleader.com/

Thanks to Kyle for the recommendation. My exposure to Stars is mostly from 88.1 playing Take Me to the Riot which has grown on me. Stars is a solid Indie rock band from Montreal and this song came out in 2005.