Waiting for the Sirens' Call

If you live on the other side of the Atlantic from where I am, consider yourself lucky: New Order's awaited comeback album Waiting for the Sirens' Call is being released tomorrow in Europe and several other countries further East, but is not coming out in the US for another month. We New Order fans in the US can enjoy this remarkable new record by going online to the band's website, where it is streamed online. We all know the catchy and sunny first single 'Krafty,' but the album contains several other tracks that recover the long-lost summery electronic sound of their 1989 Technique side by side with the more guitar-oriented influence in their last full-length release Get Ready (2001). Check out the majestic title track 'Waiting for the Sirens' Call' and potential club-monster 'Guilt Is a Useless Emotion,' and marvel at how such a veteran, legendary act can manage to stay relevant and exciting in 2005.

It is all you need

Greetings from Princeton! ...and sorry for the lack of updates recently.
Today I thought I'd post links to a couple of new tracks I like which happen to share the 'L'-word in their titles. These are mostly luminous guitar-pop songs which soundtrack perfectly the start of this hormone-altering, life-affirming, smile-inducing time of the year. Enjoy!

Watch the video to Rufus Wainwright's new single 'The One You Love' from his remarkable current album Want Two, which has just been released in Europe.

Listen to Aberfeldy's excellent new single 'Love Is an Arrow' from their much acclaimed debut album from last year, Young Forever.

Watch the video to 'Gamble Everything for Love,' the first single from Australian wonder Ben Lee's pleasant new album Awake Is the New Sleep.

Listen to 'Spit It Out', Brendan Benson's comeback single taken from his satisfying if unsurprising brand-new sophomore album The Alternative to Love.

Listen to the Raveonettes' hooky new single 'Love in a Trashcan' from their upcoming new album 'Pretty in Black', to be released next month.

UPDATE (3/27): I forgot to include a song from Clem Snide's fifth long-player, the apocalyptically titled The End of Love. The Tennessee band has come back with more memorable alt-country/Americana/indie-rock feel-good songs, this time with rich arrangements and a lush, delicate production. Check out the uplifting and catchy 'Fill Me with Your Light.'

The Decemberists

Portland band The Decemberists, arguably one of the most intriguing and unique artists in the current US indie-rock scene, release their third full-length next week. The sound of Picaresque is, like in previous albums, best described as highly ambitious chamber-pop with a penchant for grandiose instrumentation and dramatic lyrics about fascinating, unlikely characters and their epic stories of love and death. Where this record makes a significant departure from past efforts, however, is not in the storyteling but in the songwriting --it is hardly an exaggeration to state that some of the year's best songs are included here. Not only are these melodies the perfect vehicle to evoke the thrilling worlds created by of band leader Colin Meloy's staggering imagination, but they also stand as powerful, heartfelt pop gems in their own right. As evidence, here is Picaresque's memorable first single 'The Engine Driver.'

Ivy

New York-based outfit Ivy return with fourth album In the Clear, out now in the US. Four years after the lovely Long Distance, Adam Schlesinger (of Fountains of Wayne fame), Andy Chase and Parisian singer Dominique Durand reconvene to produce a new collection of warm, light, subtly melancholic tracks of ambient-pop confection. With Durand's detached, childish vocals in the best tradition of classic French pop; and a nuanced production highlighting the playful dialogue between Chase's luminous guitars and Schlesinger's understated and highly effective bass, In the Clear feels like a weekend escapade to a sunny place at the end of the Summer. Soak up the sunshine of 'Thinking about You.'

Engineers

Firmly establishing tthemselves as one promising new band to watch in 2005, London-based quartet The Engineers have just released their eponymous debut album this week. Their music is rich in spacey atmospheres, psychedelic guitar instrumentation, ethereal vocal harmonies, and chill-out dreamy melodies. Influences range from the Byrds to Spaceman 3 and the Beta Band to Cocteau Twins and Air, but Engineers do not quite sound like anything but themselves, really. Their current single, 'Forgiveness,' is a majestic, glowing gem of epic beauty and shimmering production with soothing, trippy effects. Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space...

Coldplay

Their upcoming third album doesn't have a definitive title or a scheduled release date yet, but it is fair to say it is the single most highly-anticipated new release of 2005. Therefore, it only seems right that today I push aside the backlog of post-deserving records I wanted to blog about in order to make room for this, the first taste of Coldplay's new album. 'Talk' certainly takes Chris Martin's band another step closer to U2: think the beautiful clean melody of 'Clocks,' add the serious mood of 'Politik,' mix together with an impeccable production, and then, to top it all off, throw in the memorable riff from Kraftwerk's 'Computer Love' as if it were played by The Edge. It's a definite grower, a sure-fire hit that one can even dance to. Of course, there's no need to imagine it when you can listen to a (hopefully unobjectionable) two-minute clip of the song here.

UPDATE (3/12): Their new album now has a release date (June 6th; June 7th in the US) and a title (X & Y). Moreover, it is not even clear whether 'Talk' will be included, which suggests it is in fact the B-side to first single 'Speed of Sound.' Of course, if they can afford to relegate such a song to B-side status, one can only imagine how strong the material in the album must be...

Maximo Park

I've been meaning to post about this Newcastle five-piece band for the last couple of weeks. Not that they need any more hype, having been the first rock band signed to legendary electronic/hip-hop label Warp, but if you haven't heard their new single yet, check it out. 'Apply Some Pressure' is a fun, catchy, energetic, layered indie rock song with rhythm breaks and an infectious chorus that reminds us of the best and biggest recent successes in the new wave guitar music scene (read: Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, Futureheads). Paul Smith's charismatic vocals also help making this band one of the most promising new acts of 2005. Better keep an eye on them.

Some Cities

Doves' third album finally came out this week in the US. Its lead single, 'Black and White Town,' definitely grew on me over the last month or two, and has become one of my favorites of the year so far. Some Cities does not disappoint: it combines the more upbeat, luscious and optimistic songwriting from The Last Broadcast with the rich and complex dreamy atmospheres first introduced in Lost Souls. For that very same reason, however, it can be argued that this does not exactly break new ground for Doves --and indeed, some tracks feel like too much of a deja vu: it's easy to detect more than a hint of 'There Goes the Fear' in the playful and mesmerizing 'Walk in Fire', for example. Nevertheless, Doves certainly sound like nobody else and, with highlights such as the rhythmic 'B&W Town,' the hypnotic, bluesy instrumentation in 'The Storm,' the accomplished vocal harmonies and arresting beats in 'Sky Stars Falling,' or especially the beatiful melody, energized drums and disillusioned lyrics of 'Snowden,' this album falls nothing short of remarkable. But the strongest moment in my view is the soulful, electrifying opener and title track 'Some Cities.' --It makes me feel like packing my travel bag to spend my Spring break on a road trip... (I'd just need a driving buddy. Any volunteers?)