Bat For Lashes covers Depeche Mode

Natasha Kahn has already shown her chops for doing covers. She did a pretty amazing take on The Cure's A Forest and also did justice to Bruce Springsteen's classic I'm on Fire. This time she was tapped by Gucci to cover the Depeche Mode classic Strangelove for their new ad campaign. Not sure it is quite as successful as she has done in the past, but passable. I love Bats, so I kind of like it. Be warned though, if you are a die hard DP fan, chances are, you will not approve.

The Kills video for Satellite

Anyone that knows me, knows I love The Kills. I am in eager await of the new album and I'll have to say, from the sound of the first single Satellite, its going to be good. It has a bit of that dredging sound of URA Fever(which was the first single from the last album). I have a feeling the real rocking sound is yet to come. As usual, the video does not disappoint either. Nothing flashy, just cool images of the two tooling around in a rad Rolls Royce.

The Cave Singers, Seattle band with southern soul

The Cave Singers is a band I just kind of came across on Itunes. I was drawn to the name of the band as well as the title of their new album, No Witch. I took a couple short listens and picked it up at my local record store UHF. So glad I did. I am a sucker for that southern soul sound and if it has a bit of Appalachian banjo thrown in, well, I'm all in. The band is from Seattle and consists of members of a few other Seattle bands, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Hint Hint and others. I remember Pretty Girls Make Graves from when I lived in Seattle. PGMG was ok, but I think this band is way better. The sound of the Cave Singers has hints of that Northwest Fleet Foxes sound, but is much less woods and wilderness and much more jamming on the back porch of the shack. It has Folk, blues, bluegrass and even a little mystic feel on the song Outer Realms. This is their 3rd album, so I'm a little late to the party. I'll need to go back and see if I like the other two as much as I like this one. From what I read on Pitchfork(which gave it a 6.5), this is the darkest of their albums. Which is most likely why I love it so much. Here is one of the tracks Swim Club.

Tennis is a husband and wife team serving up bubblegum

Tennis is one of my new favorite bands. They are one of those husband and wife bands. From what I read, they got each other, got on a sailboat and wrote a record. The results are easy, fun and upbeat. It has shades of She and Him, 60's girl groups, surf rock and overall retro vibe. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with the 60's California/Girl groups sound. Must be all the snow this winter. Not much depth here, just good summertime jams. I picked it up on Vinyl and it sounds great, although the cover looks like an American Apparel ad. Here is a taste. It is a song called Marathon:

Here's a little listen:

My favorite new Pop track for 2011: Adele-Rolling in the Deep

Adele has a new album coming out on Feb 22nd in the US. This is her follow up album to her debut album two years ago, 19. The first single is Rolling in the Deep. It has been on many blogs and websites. People are loving it and frankly, so am I. I picked up the first album and really loved 2-3 of the songs, but the rest was just kind of O-K for me. I had a chance to see her live as well and I must say, she put on a great show. She really appreciated the audience and interacted with people between many songs. She is really very funny.

Truth be told, I love the English soul singers. Whether its good ole' Dusty Springfield or the new crop with Adele, Duffy, etc(Not Amy Winehouse though, not a fan) I'm pretty much a sucker for them.

Here is the new Single from Adele. Hope you love!

Beth Ditto Does solo EP with Simian Mobile Disco

Beth Ditto, of the amazing band Gossip, recently completed and released a solo EP with dance faves Simian Mobile Disco. This is definitely something different for this garage band southern soul singer. Seems this union came out of her providing guest vocals on one track for SMD's last album. With this new EP, they have taken it even further. It is pure future disco house! It is really cool to see Beth in this context. This is dance music for the clubs and pre-parties at home. It is 4 solid tracks and if your a fan of Beth, it's worth buying. Right now it is only available on beatport.com. You can find the link on Gossip's official website www.gossipyouth.com. It should be getting a wider release on vinyl and itunes in March.

Here is a sampling of the tracks.

Zola Jesus tours North America-New Music?

Zola Jesus is one of my favorite new voices in music. She came out with two EP's in the US in 2010 and has been called "one to watch" in 2011. She has recently made comments about writing new songs and new music for 2011. She has just released tour dates for a large North American tour. Maybe we will get a chance to hear some of this new music on the new tour?One can hope. This is her first headlining slot after supporting tours with The XX and Xiu Xiu last year. I will be catching her show here in Detroit on Monday April 18th at The Magic Stick(great venue!). This is one act that is worth staying up late for on a school night!

Here is the full list of dates:

Zola Jesus 2011 Tour Dates:
03/12 – Mexico City, MX @ Indie-O Festival
04/14 – St. Louis, MO @ Biliken Club *
04/15 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle *
04/18 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *
04/19 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk *
04/20 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison *
04/21 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore *
04/22 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music *
04/23 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
04/25 – Philedelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s ^
04/26 – Washington, DC @ Red Palace ^
04/27 – Grantham, PA @ Messiah College ^
04/29 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon ^
04/30 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
05/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore ^
05/04 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Lounge ^
05/05 – Portland, OR @ Holocene ^
05/06 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw ^
05/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite ^