Decortica- Shinkansen (Video)

Here is another video from Auckland alternative rockers Decortica off their 2011 album, Love Hotel, which you can order/download in various different ways here.

Listen to Decortica on BandSoup

Watch their other video for "Eros" here.

Lower Lands- Reality in Routine (Video)

Lower Lands is a young quartet from the cathedral city of Lincoln, United Kingdom that blend a spry and spirited mixture of alternative, pop, and new millennium punk rock. Last year they released their free debut EP, This Was Not Our Greatest Endeavour, a noisy yet catchy foray into the land of post-hardcore. This year the band plans to release another EP entitled Growing Pains featuring the lead single "Reality in Routine". As seen and hard in the video/single above, it's obvious that the lads from Lower Lands have already endured those growth pains and are now reaping the benefits.

Listen to Lower Lands on BandSoup

Lower Lands on Facebook

BandSoup Blog Exposure

Blog Exposure:
Album Reviews, Videos, & More!

Help Us Help You in 2012.

Want To Be Featured On Our Blog?

2012 has been treating us well so far and I hope it has been just as kind to you! On top of the continual growth of our music community, our blog has new contributors to help spotlight some of the site's finest emerging artists. We want to write more album reviews and artist features in 2012 so it would be a huge help if you could send your new albums/EPs for review, videos, and any press releases regarding tours and album releases directly to our staff. If you have a new album set to release in 2012, we would love to know about it. By sending us your press releases and music to review before the album's release date, BandSoup can help increase buzz and visibility before it hits the shelves.

Music videos are also great to post on the blog. If you have a new music video, live performance, interview, or vlog, please send those over as well.

To send us your album for review, press release, video, news, or anything else you deem blog-worthy, fire up an e-mail to:

blog@bandsoup.com 

NOTE: For anything to be featured on the BandSoup Blog, you must first share at least one song on our main site: www.bandsoup.com. If you have shared music in the past and have a new album/single out, it would really be cool if you shared the new song/s on the site. Free albums/EPs and free single song downloads are also great blog material, so let us now about those as well.

Contests/Giveaways

In the near future, we would also love to run a few contests/giveaways. If you're interested and have any material to be used in contests/giveaways, please let us know.

 

BandSoup's goal is to help uplift and promote independent bands and solo artists. We all know how tough it is to get your music out to the masses and to get press exposure, so we would love to get closer to our bands in 2012 and help build those bridges. Keeping us updated via e-mail is the best way to make this happen!

We hope to hear from you soon,

Team BandSoup

* Please don't send in any albums/EPs that are over a year old. Sending in an album/EP for a review does not gaurantee a review or feature on the blog. 

Hot One of the Week: Symbol & Surface- Brothers

Who is down with the resurgence of indie-folk music as a trend in music? With the likes of Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, Bon Iver, and even lesser known artists like The Tallest Man On Earth, I have fallen in love with the new found ingenuity of artists who have a “less-is-more” philosophy. One such example that I have found on BandSoup this week is Symbol & Surface. This four piece from Minneapolis, Minnesota released their debut EP less than two months ago and, believe me, listening to it is worth your while.

Led by brothers David and Brian Bauernfeind, Symbol & Surface boasts intelligent lyrics, clear harmonies, and well constructed instrumentation. Key aspects of Mumford, Iver, and The Avett Brothers' ethos show up in their 5-song EP, Brothers, but you can also hear elements of City & Colour and Simon & Garfunkel. All of these comparisons show they have achieved both a contemporary indie folk sound and a classic nostalgia within their music, which makes a perfect go to band for the new and old generation of folk rock lovers.

I recommend the title track off of the EP, “Brothers”, which you can now find on BandSoup, and checking out this great new act on their main website here.

-Doug Foley

Red Fang- Hank is Dead (Video)

Here is the video for "Hank Is Dead" taken from the album 'Murder The Mountains' - available now on CD/LP/Digital via Relapse Records.

Listen to Red Fang on BandSoup

Buy at Relapse: http://bit.ly/RedFangStore

Buy at iTunes: http://bit.ly/RedFangiTunes

Check out our past coverage of Red Fang: "Prowling through the progressive pines of the Pacific Northwest are independent metal's best kept secret-- Red Fang. This uber talented quartet took their collective talents and experiences from their former bands and formed like Voltron to create a new powerhouse in Portland's rock and roll scene. Instead of regurgitating past methods and influences, Red Fang agreed to build their sound around what initially inspired them to become musicians in the first place-- heavy, galvanizing hard rock and roll that is accessible and straight forward, as well as sophisticated and layered. This infectious form of metal is consummately displayed in their latest record, Murder The Mountains, released April 2011 on the acclaimed Relapse Records label."

Elos Arma- T.I.T.S. (Free Album Download)

On their sophomore album, T.I.T.S. (This Is The Shit), Toronto quartet Elos Arma nurse numerous turn of the millennium punk and alternative rock influences into a healthier, less clichéd offspring. Their overwhelming energy, flair for power-pop rock, and youthful ethos translates through everything they touch. From the music to their album art to their website design and video direction-- this is a band that everyone can have fun with.

Listen to Elos Arma's T.I.T.S. on BandSoup

As mellow, lo-fi shoegazer rock and electronic music continue to build popularity, it's refreshing to hear an indie band revive an uptempo and happier vibe in their music. T.I.T.S. leads off with Super Diamonds, a song that spotlights the band's best attributes with infectious multi-layered vocals, twinkling keys, and catchy construction, and immediately shows us why the album title can also be used as an adjective to describe their talent. Much like Super Diamonds, the succeeding songs You Shut Your Mouth When You're Talking To Me and Walker follow the same blueprint and are equally endearing. The classic punk spawned layered vocal chants in each song add an extra pinch of catchiness to an already toxic batch of tunes. The outcome? Addiction and future interventions. Oh the Light and PS show the flip side of Elos Arma. The slower tempo and more serious tones in these songs add depth to the album and show that the vocals aren't the only thing in the band that is multi-layered.



My first dive into the chest of these young canucks was a satisfying one. The five tracks presented on T.I.T.S. reveal a future powerhouse of pop rock and a band that deserves way more attention than they have received thus far. What I like most about T.I.T.S. is, instead of being a casual spectator to an album like I usually am, Elos Arma made me want to jump in and motorboat.

Sorry for the all the spit.

- Ryan Monk

Click Here to Download Elos Arma's T.I.T.S.

Elos Arma on Facebook

This Week on BandSoup (1/16-1/23)

Another week in the books and yet another week of great uploads here on BandSoup! Here are a few of the bands that you must hear according to an unanimous vote from the BandSoup blog team. Remember, new bands pop up on the site 1-5 times per day, so check back in with us. You might be missing out on your new favorite band!

* Click the band's name to hear their music.

Colour Coding (Indie Pop)-- Together, Chris Holland and Tim Commandeur make Colour Coding.
They cut their musical teeth in Gold Coast pop band Operator Please and now these two cousins have embarked on their own musical venture. This is their first infectious single from their upcoming EP, Perfect.

Animal Empire (Indie Rock)-- A progressive rock band from Rhode Island that just finished their new record "Complicate the World" which is now available.

Crozet (Chill Wave/Electronic)-- Crozet is a computer-based bedroom project started by John Helmuth while he was living in Philly finishing up his senior year of college. John added Sean Lee to the mix and now the band builds cities made up of dreamy synths, reverb drenched vocals, and hard hitting drums.

A Name Unheard (Indie Rock)-- Click here to check out our 60 Second Review.

Blue Sky Black Death & Nacho Picasso (Hip Hop/Dope Hop)--  Ethereal production Blue Sky Black Death team up with Seattle MC Nacho Picasso on their second album, Lord of the Fly, now available as a free download. Nacho is the new generation MF Doom for dopers and goons. One liners for days.

Fort York (Folk)-- Fort York, a 5 piece folk band from Toronto, grew out of a handful of fortunate circumstances. There was a house on Brunswick street in Toronto with a small lamp-lit basement filled with old sleeping bags and bike parts. We cleaned it up and made it into a cozy practice space. The house had a back deck on the 3rd floor too, with an ample supply of exposed nails and rotting wood. That’s where we were able to write a lot of the songs on this album.

Days of Rae (Folk Pop)--  As a challenge to ourselves, an offering to our wonderful supporters and in general a really fun project; Days of Rae will be writing, recording and releasing one single each month throughout 2012. We will be distributing each song completely free of charge on as many social platforms as we can think of.

Vultures of Venus (Electro Glam Space Rock)-- This Melbourne band take inspiration from seedy and speedy urbanity to create their unique brand of Electro Glam Space Rock. There is a sense of fearlessness to the sounds and themes that is rare to find in an Australian band. Their energetic performances are influenced by some of the starkest, most danceable and lascivious music of last century.

Backburner (Hip Hop)-- What Backburner refers to is a diverse conglomerate of creative individuals who concern themselves with hip-hop spread throughout various areas of Canada.

Dirtybird B. (Instrumentals/Hip Hop/Electronic)-- Two songs off of Nor Cal hip hop producer Dirtybird B's new album, Hard Work in Paradise.

Slothrust (Grunge)--  "Slothrust is the perfect soundtrack for brooding on a gloomy day and would be a good way to psych yourself into finally telling your boss to go fuck himself (please exercise caution for the latter). Melding clean, bluesy guitar riffs with lo fi, scratchy vocals, the trio from Bronxville is strangely reminiscent of Morphine... only not really."

The Dysfunctions (Alternative Rock)--  Sydney band that presents a fresh collection of post-modern rock anthems that revive the beloved guitar sounds of the 90s with a 2000s electro edge.

Diggs Duke- Gravity (Video)

Here are the visuals for Diggs Duke's title track off his 2011 debut EP, Gravity.

Listen to Diggs Duke on BandSoup