gilli moon is an Aussie singer/songwriter with a big, beautiful voice and a penchant for pop hooks and easily consumed melodies. Inspiring lyrics and great musicianship make this release a pop album that stands out from the uninspired and mediocre pop riddling the radios these days. Comparisons to Alanis Morisette and Lily Allen would not be off the mark in describing the emotion, cleverness, and soul of the stillness. Called “a female Elton John” by Billboard, gilli’s use of great piano work makes this reviewer quite happy (note that Ben Folds and Billy Joel both creep into my top artists list). A solid album cover to cover, but if the first several tracks, notably the trio of “Be”, “I Am”, and “Outside In”, don’t reel you in wanting more, you are probably deaf.
Strong Waves Kill Weak Swimmers
Questions Are Like the Knocks of a Beggar Man
thepaintedman rates this:
By the name of the band and the EP, you could guess (and be quite accurate) that SWKWS is an eclectic indie band. Another example of great musicianship, the band tinkers with layered string arrangements in “Wolves”, jams upbeat synthesizers on “There’s Something in the Sea”, and strums acoustic on “Nothing to Write Home About”. Overall, they sound like a band without a true identity, but a band that is willing to play what they want to play. This EP shows promise and talent… even if they are from Pittsburgh. Another EP or 2 and some maturing and this could be a band to watch out for.
the85bears featuring Alex Exile
Tone & Volume
thepaintedman rates this:
My bias on this one if going to be evident, seeing as a TPM contest is what hooked these artists up together. A few new tracks from the85bears and a few remixes of older bears tracks by the extraordinary Alex Exile (formerly known as Second Reality). There’s also a bonus remix track from Alexander Lowery of The Zero Four. What I like most about the release (besides the fact that it’s FREE), is the variety. Great indie rock coupled with some dance tracks, all the while feeling like a project with continuity and vision. I’d rave more about this, but my bias is already too evident! Check out “Certain Death” and the remixes of “Belly Down” and “Meshac”. Killer stuff.
Little Lords
(s)kills
thepaintedman rates this:
Fourth and final on this edition of Shorties, another Signorelli project that I’ve mentioned a few times before. On this one, Mike gets down and dirty with crazy drumming, screamcore vocals, and a just enough DC hardcore influence. (s)kills is four tracks for fans of the glory days of Victory Records. Brutal in all the right ways, Little Lords will tear you face off and you’ll like it.
No need for an intro, I’ve kept ya’ll waiting long enough.
1. the85bears w/ Alex Exile – Belly Down opens the mixtape with a great tune to dance to. thepaintedman would like to take (at least a little) credit for this awesome collaboration, as a TPM RemixThis! contest brought these forces together. The entire album, featuring more collabs with Alex Exile, a few new tracks, and a sweet remix from RemixThis! can be downloaded for FREE. And it’s currently #2 on noisetrade, so I suspect you’ll like it!
2. Enlou – Amphibian is a track from the Lujo Records act’s new EP. They’ll be hitting the road this Fall, so keep your eyes peeled.
3. Milk Plus – Digging Out proves that Nerdcore is alive and kicking in the UK. Check out this killer track.
4. Bodies in the Lake – Ohh… I’m Sorry for the Confusion will rock your face off… quite literally. It will actually hurt. But it will hurt so good… and once you are done hurting, you can listen to a bonus second track by BITL entitled “Visions of Chaos“. Both of these track were record at Atrium Audio in Lancaster by Carson Slovak, great production if I do say so myself.
WARNING: THE NEXT TRACK FEATURES AN ARTIST NAME WITH A NAUGHTY WORD IN IT!
7. The Glass Gentlemen – Love Story is a crappy cover of a crappy song. The Brads need to stop listening to bad pop! Seriously, though, it’s a fun an enjoyable cover of a song that all of us pretend to hate but secretly dig. Raise your hand if you have a Taylor Swift crush.
8. Jeremy Ritch and the Cowards – Crystal Beth is a track by that dude who wrote some reviews for TPM and pastors an indie church in Harrisburg, PA. Yeah! THAT dude. Did I ever mention to you that this guy is relatively obsessed with old country and is totally in love with Johnny Cash? Guess I did now.
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Why beat around the bush? Let’s start right away with the winner of RemixThis! Kwal <3's Winnie. Followers of TPM should not be surprised to see that the winner is Egil Ursin aka Second Reality. Egil won a RemixThis! contest with the 85bears and is probably the most talented remixer I have ever heard. Dude has skills. So, after listening to the track above, go ahead and download the track below as it’s the first track on this month’s mixtape.
2. Kyle Cox – Life is Good is a great track from Kyle’s EP To My Old Friends. You can download the whole EP for free here.
3. Think Quick – Cool It Now is a cover of New Edition by so-called emotronic musician Think Quick. It’s from his 30 song demo entitled The John Hughes Demo. Check it out.
5. MC Dub – Cosmic Desert is a solid track from Mark “MC Dub” Walker. Worth a listen or five, for sure.
6. Constance Lansberg – Even So is a track from this jazzy singer-songwriter. She was kind enough to seek me out and ask me to check her stuff out and I am pleased to say that it was worth my time. Check out this Aussie songstress after you take in this free track.
9. Kwalified vs. more in sorrow – Winnie Cooper is more of a mash up than a remix, but I was more than glad to get this submission as the rock heads rarely enter these contests. A runner up in final voting, this is my personal favorite entry. Thanks to rocking a remix for the RemixThis! Kwal contest, more in sorrow gets to be on this month’s tape twice. Double the awesomeness for us listeners!
10. Kwalified Emcee – Winnie Cooper (Najila RISE Remix) is the last track on this month’s installment, but certainly not the least. The other runner up in the contest, this is a PHAT track that should have everyone eating it up. Introduced me to a new remixer that hadn’t entered our contests before, as well. Congrats!
Here’s the first mixtape of the year. Expect one each month (usually the first or second week each month). Unlike 2009, 2010 mixes will feature 12 tracks rather than 10 and will be released on Wednesday because Mondays are rough! So, here it is… enjoy.
1. “Lucky Cat” by Map is a track that was featured once before as a bonus track. I am featuring it here again to wet your whistles for an upcoming contest.
2. “Getaway” by MC Dub is a track by the talented laptop musician known to the non-music world as Mark Walker. MC Dub’s remix of CookBook’s “Solid Gold” was described by Cook as a “completely original take on the song“.
3. “Winnie Cooper” by Kwalified Emcee is a track from his new EP. Listen to this track, then go download the whole EP, then be on the lookout for a review in the upcoming days. HOLLA!
4. “Gimme What You Got by Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka is a HOT track from this HOT act based in my favorite city in the world, Illadelphia. Like other Illdelphia crews before them, Slo-Mo and Mic Wrecka infuse hip hop, rock, and blues to create a truly unique sound that can only be described as a taste of Brotherly Love.
5. “The End of Loneliness by All City Affairs is a track of this Lujo Records act’s album Identity Theft. Like all acts on Lujo, it is unique and well done. Enjoy this track and then go to Lujo and buy the album.
6. “The Descent by Firs is another track from a killer Lujo act. Off of their album Man in Space, this track is featured on the Lujo front page… and now, also on TPM.
7. “VR Bikeride” by Second Reality is the first original track by Second Reality that I’ve heard. Also featured on a previous mixtape, Second Reality won RemixThis! Ditka Style and has since continued working with the85bears on new material. See! Not only does TPM give you good music, but it also connects people!
8. “Hustle Beach” by Baby Teeth is a great example of why the Chicago three-piece has been praised by many outlets including the uber-trendy Pitchfork and the mentioned-in-High Fidelity Chicago Reader.
9. “Kin Weather by Cassowaries is another in a long line of wierdness from my favorite weirdos. Featured on this site a few other times, Cassowaries has all the talent and obscurity of Sigur Ros without the pretentious fanbase.
10. “Zebra by Bone Gunn is a track that was sent to me as a thank you for covering Bone Gunn’s Flies EP. Into music that can’t be described by genres? This is for you!
11. “Bring Out Your Dead” by Bluebrain is another rad track from a Lujo band. Seems like we’re chock full of ‘em this month… if you enjoy them, you can thank Eric. He’s a good dude… but enough about him, let’s talk Bluebrain. Bluebrain is the Holladay brothers doing their thing. Before this project, these talented guys worked with artists like Spank Rock, Ra Ra Riot, and Violent Femmes.
12. “A Shortness of Breath” by Young Livers is a great punk track from a great punk band on a great punk label. No Idea Records, the Florida indie punk powerhouse, is still putting out great tunes a solid decade after I first picked up release from Less Than Jake and Atom and His Package when I was in high school. Sorry, El Destructo, but this is how you SHOULD make good punk rock. But then again, I’m just a poser.
This month’s mixtape is a week late, but nothing short of awesome. It features some familiar faces, several remixes and a downloadable video. Enjoy… and show the artists some love with some comments
First the bad news… since I am still waiting on a track or two for this month’s mixtape, it’s getting pushed back to next Monday. The good news, however is that the winners of the RemixThis! contests are still being announced today. So… drumroll please…
The best remix of “Hit That Shit” award goes to Frozenmammoth.
The best remix of “Meshac” award goes to Second Reality.
Both of these artists will receive their kickass prizes… and the lucky masses will get to sample their remixes, as well as the runners up for both when the mixtape hits the Interweb next Monday.
Thanks to everyone for participating. Send mad love to these artists, who spent time creating some stellar versions of these tracks.
