Broadcast - Winter Now (Live on CBC)

Papercuts - Do What You Will

This new single from Papercuts sounds like My Morning Jacket, it's a beautiful subdued song with great vocals. I wish somewhere in the song a guitar would turn around and go another way, though. Papercuts' 4th record is out soon on Sub Pop.
The image is by Guy Maddin, his film My Winnipeg is one of my favourite films.

Waskerley Way - Ghost Cat

Waskerley Way has a full lenght (Waterfall) out soon on Wonder Beard Tapes. It's released on cassette and as a free download. 'Ghost Cat' is the first single and is now available from Waskerley Ways' bandcamp .
Waterfall tracklist:

Ghost Cat
Tida’ Apa
Haram Haram
Salome Cat
Liero Cat
Hyper Hazard
Bracing
Sense Of Humour Remains Largely Intact

Le Tetsuo - Queare

Le Tetsuo are now called PAN. Below the b-side from Le Tetsuo's last single 'Sometimes I'm Walking Around I Feel Like I'm Going To Open Up And Crack' from 2009.

Blue On Blue - Scarred Lovers

A new minimalistic demo from Blue On Blue. The singer's former band An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump are reforming and touring again. That's very exciting news, their two singles are brilliant and I was looking forward to an album, so maybe it's coming now.

Minks - Araby

Minks have a release show tonight for the debut LP By The Hedge. Captured Tracks released a special tape for the event with live tracks and a new song 'Araby'. As they say themselves, it's probably their best track. More Minks is here.

MINKS "Araby" by user5012449

Women - Bullfight

It's not clear if Women split up, but this is a 'new' song from a limited split 7". 'Bullfight' is great, listen below. It would really be a shame if they didn't make another record.

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - (If You) Keep Me In Your Heart

Aidan Moffat made a new record with Bill Wells, Everything's Getting Older, it's out early May. The first single is released on valentine's day.
In March he tours the UK with Malcolm Middleton's new band Human Don't Be Angry.

Broadcast - Papercuts (Black Session)

I was shocked last friday when I read about the passing of Broadcast's Trish Keenan. I have been a fan of the band since the debut from 2000, I was listening to that record for months and was fascinated by the sounds and the lyrics. The records that followed had the same effect, Broadcast was a unique band that created beautiful otherworldly music. Always pushing their limits, it was an exciting band to follow.

The music world reacted very shocked to the news, a lot of blogs and musicians posted their thoughts. Aquarium drunkard posted the Black Session Broadcast recorded in May 2000 for French radio. I never heard live recordings from this period. It's a beautiful 12 track session with songs from the debut, an early single, a track from Extended Play and 'Hammer Without A Master'. Go to Aquarium Drunkard for the download.

There's an interesting interview with Broadcast from 2009 about their last record Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age on The Wire's website and there's an article about Broadcast on Pitchfork.

Session tracklist:

1. Long Was The Year

2. Where Youth And Laughter Go

3. Message From Home

4. Echo's Answer

5. Dead The Long Year

6. Look Outside

7. Come On Let's Go

8. Interlude 2

9. Unchanging Window

10. Papercuts

11. Lights Out

12. Hammer Without A Master

Wise Blood - 2 ALL THE GIRLS WHO HAVE TRUSTED ME

'2 All The Girls Who Have Trusted Me' was released on an EP last summer, there's a cool video now, streaming below. The sound is not so good so I also uploaded the mp3 for a stream. Wise Blood's debut LP is out in spring.

Wire - German Shepherds (from 'Strays EP')

The Strays EP comes with the first 2000 copies of Red Barked Tree. The four songs are live favourites that have never been recorded before.

Strays Tracklist:

1. Boiling Boy

2. German Shepherds

3. He Knows

4. Underwater Experiences

R.I.P. Trish Keenan

Ducktails - Sprinter / The Razor's Edge

The new Ducktails record III; Arcade Dynamics is out now on Woodsist.

Cover Girl - Paris Burns / Chemicals

Cover Girl are a new band featuring members from Trash Kit, Wetdog and Peepholes. Captured Tracks will release their debut 7" in the future.

PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder 7"

The first single from PJ's new album Let England Shake is released digitally next monday. The 7" is backed with 'The Guns Called Me Back Again' and is out February 7th. It sound good, I'm slowly dragged into this new sound.

There's a radio rip of the 'The Words That Maketh Murder' plus 'Bitter Branches', 'Hanging In the Wire' and 'The Glorious Land' here. (tracks have been deleted).

Below the Seamus Murphy directed video.

Puro Instinct and The Russian Aesthetic

Puro Instinct are releasing their debut LP Headbangers In Ecstasy at the end of next month. The first single 'Stilyagi' is already out. I'm curious to hear how they sound this time, their first two EP's were really out of the ordinary, no one sounds like Puro Instinct. On facebook and on their blog they post youtube video's of Russian new wave acts from the 80's. I made a selection of them, they're below after the tracklist and the 'Stilyagi' stream. Go to Altered Zones for an interview with Puro Instinct about their Russian influence and their thoughts on U.S. corruption vs. Russian corruption.

Headbangers In Ecstasy Tracklist:

1. Kdod 1

2. Everybody's Sick

3. Lost At Sea

4. Kdod 2

5. Silky Eyes

6. Slivers Of You

7. Kdod 3

8. Stilyagi

9. Escape Forever

10. Kdod 4

11. No Mames

12. Vapor Girls

13. Kdod 5

14. California Shakedown

15. Luv Goon

Guards - I See It Coming

Another track from Guards' self titled EP. It's available as a free download here.

Photo by Bas Hendrikx from Das Banale Ding.

Therapies Son - Touching Down

Therapies Son's debut EP Over The Sea is out on Transparent in March. More info and an mp3 are on Transparent's blog.

Metronomy - She Wants (from 'The English Riviera')

'She Wants' is the first single from Metronomy's third album The English Riviera, which is out in April. I love their last album Nights Out a lot, there's so much personality in that record, it's quirky, sad and funny. From all the thousands of electro records released the last 10 years it really stood out in originality, together with the first two Hot Chip records. Their last EP Not Made For Love from 2009 was a bit disappointing, too serious and too laid back.

This new track sounds as laid back as the EP but has a much darker feel. I hope the record is like this. The stream is a radio rip.

Photo by Nikos Doulos.

A Very Short Film About Kristin Hersh

This is a beautiful short film / trailer for Kristin Hersh' just released memoir Paradoxical Undressing (released in the U.S. last year as Rat Girl) , about her early days in Throwing Muses.

She plays 'Slippershell', an outtake from her recent solo record Crooked plus it's highlight, 'Flooding', a song that always slaps me in the face whenever I hear it. The version on the record is nice, but when played live 'Flooding' becomes so raw and sad. I personally think it's one of her best songs ever.

Throwing Muses are in the studio now recording an album, Kristin updates via twitter. I can't wait to hear it. There's some studio footage now on vimeo, and especially 'Sunray Venus' sounds good.

Have a look at the film below, it was directed by Jory Hull and produced by Mike Sullo.

Paradoxical Undressing and Crooked on Amazon

Minks - Out Of Tune / Cemetery Rain

Minks debut LP By The Hedge is out next week on Captured Tracks. I like the first two singles 'Funeral Song' and 'Ophelia' and both are on the album. Overall it's a consistent record with 80's guitar influences, but I don't like it as much as Wild Nothing's debut from last year.

Tracklist:

1. Kusmi

2. Out Of Tune

3. Life At Dusk

4. Indian Ocean

5. Funeral Song

6. Our Ritual

7. Cemetery Rain

8. Bruises

9. Boys Run Wild

10. Ophelia

11. Juniper

12. Arboretum Dogs

Minks-Out of Tune by deer1055
Minks - Cemetary Rain by fearurself

Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow (Daytrotter Session)

A nice raw version of Twin Shadow's best single. Watch the beautiful video for the original here and download the session from Daytrotter.

Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow (Daytrotter Session) by youandmeintheecho

Weird Korea - Ether Dreams mp3

Weird Korea are U.S. imperialists who released their debut No Art // No Trade in May last year. They recorded it on a Nintendo dsi. You can download it for free from their bandcamp.

Weird Korea - Ether Dreams by youandmeintheecho

younghusband - Goodbye Resevoir / Nothing, Nothing

Two new dreamy tracks from Younghusband. You can download them from their blog.

Younghusband - Goodbye Reservoir by youandmeintheecho
Younghusband - Nothing, Nothing (demo) by youandmeintheecho

Oneohtrix Point Never (ft. Antony) - Returnal

I just saw a beautiful interview with Antony Hegarty on TV, they put this song with the end titles. I never heard it. I'm not the biggest Antony fan, I like some songs a lot but I can't finish his records, I always just listen to the first half of I Am A Bird Now.

'Returnal' is a re-work from an Oneohtrix Point Never track, it's a collaboration with OPN on piano with vocals from Antony. It was released on 7" last summer with a Fennesz remix on the flipside.

RETURNAL (FEAT. ANTONY) by Oneohtrix Point Never

James Blake - Live At Radio 1

James Blake's debut LP is out next month. It's very good, it sounds classic and new at the same time. The hype is huge and deserved I think. Below his first session for the BBC, recorded last month.

Tracklist:

1. The Wilhelm Scream

2. Lindesfarne

3. Limit To Your Love

James Blake Live at BBC Radio 1 by Coconut Club

Deerhunter - Colorscale

This is a bonustrack from the Japanese edition of Hacyon Digest. It sounds like an Atlas Sound track. There's another bonustrack, 'Rhythm', but I like this one best.

Deerhunter - "Colorscale" by Some Kind of Awesome