Though they seem to be the biggest thing since sliced bread over in England, if you ask nearly anyone in America about Madness, they will probably respond, “Oh, they are that poppy English band that did our house!” This is extraordinarily unfortunate, as they have quite a significant body of work, spanning various genres and being generally awesome. I know I was personally a bit surprised when I first realized their association to 2nd wave ska, but after I had finally been introduced to One Step Beyond, it was pretty obvious that any hype about them has been completely deserved.

They had a few less interesting releases in the few decades between their ska era and now, but with 2005’s Dangermen Sessions, they not only had brought back the ska, they also brought back to quality, reviving my excitement in the band. And if anyone knows me (though you wouldn’t know it from my posts on here), I am all about the ska, so it makes even more sense that I’d give such a hoot.

And then they come up with a sprawling concept album, bereft of ska (except for a few moments where it sort of seeps in the cracks) — and wouldn’t you know it, I like it even more. The Liberty of Norton Folgate is a fantastic piece of work, full of unexpected genre changes (pop, polka, rock?) and more energy than can strictly be accounted. And even if the thing was awful, the beautiful ten-minute-long title track alone would carry the record. Of course, it doesn’t have to, with tracks like On the Town and NW5.

Downloads

From The Liberty of Norton Folgate
Clerkenwell Polka – (YouTube)
On the Town – (YouTube)
The Liberty of Norton Folgate – (YouTube)

Dreamy female vocals woven among electronica and various instruments. Definitely not my type of music, but after buying it on a whim for a couple dollars from the best record store ever, I felt, as usual with my random purchases, compelled to at least try to like it. Luckily, I didn’t have to go much further than the first track, Black Cat Bone, before I pretty much fell to the charm. It’s a song good enough to get a dude who’s not a fan of the genre at all to like it anyway.

There are a few points where things seemed stretched out a bit (a few songs over seven minutes, and while I don’t mind long songs, sometimes it felt repetitive), but the rest of the album is solid and enjoyable. Apparently they’ve got a bunch other albums and they might even be well known but what do I know? I buy cds because of historical allusions in their names.

Also, these two songs are supposed to be available through their site, but the links don’t work so here ya go!

Downloads

From Good Looking Blues
Black Cat Bone – (MP3, 6.2 MB)
Uneasy – (MP3, 7.0 MB)

To continue something of a trend, The Mugs are a band that e-mailed me last September, and I’m just getting around to posting them now. They are an indie rock band out of Brooklyn, and a good one at that. These songs are all from their latest EP, Ravel Day, which came out last year. They are not such a great band if your intent is to blow out your eardrums, but if you want to listen to something nice and relaxing, perhaps something similar to The Shins, then The Mugs are probably the way to go.

In other news, this is the last autopilot post for either/or, so hopefully I (or someone else!) will be back to post something nice for you to listen to.

Downloads

From Ravel Day
Could It Be – (MP3, 4.9 MB)
Mile Seven – (MP3, 5.2 MB)
True – (MP3. 5 MB)

While I may have mentioned Jessica Fichot‘s music two years ago, that is practically an eternity in the world of blogging. And considering I mentioned her on a mix, the mention consists of roughly “oh wow, this song is good, please listen to it.” I can do better than that! Ms. Fichot was born in the US, the product of French and Chinese couplings. She was then raised in France, which is a good thing for music fans. She later graduated from two music schools, one in Paris and one in Boston, and even wrote a lot of children’s songs, including gems such as The Recycling Rap. These are no simple pop songs, either – she had over 20 musicians playing on her songs. It’s pleasantly surprising that they aren’t muddled by noise. In any case, if you are in the mood for impeccable French music sung by a lovely chanteuse, you simply cannot go wrong with these songs.

Downloads

From Le Chemin
Le Grenier – (MP3, 4.1 MB)
Un Deux Trois – (MP3, 3.7 MB)

I mentioned the band Kingsbury a while back in one of my posts, so why not write about them again? Their latest EP, Lie To Me, came out late last year so isn’t particularly new anymore, but it is still good music that you crazy kids have yet to listen to. Their music is likely best described as atmospheric rock, more about setting a mood than blowing your mind with explosive guitar riffs. It is great music to relax to, preferably with a cold brew in hand. Another thing I love about this band is that they release all their music for free! I always like bands who would prefer to have their music heard than make a few bucks. That said, I am sure they also like making bucks, so go ahead and buy their albums if you like them. Or heck, donate your life savings! Remember to check out their site for more free music, too.

Downloads

From Lie To Me
Lie To Me – (MP3, 6 MB)
Back On The Orange Grove – (MP3, 7.3 MB)
As I See It – (MP3, 4.3 MB)

Music freely available online is always appreciated, even moreso when it means I don’t have to resort to the morally ambiguous hosting of the music myself. There are some folks who believe this is the way of the future, and even though I always end up buying physical copies, the word of mouth potential for free distribution on the internet is amazing.

Now, these dudes ended up on my list while finally catching up on the catalog over at Quote Unquote Records. Folksy, punksy, dudes with heart! I feel so corny saying that. The music is excellent. The recording quality gets a little sketchy on some tracks, and they may get a bit noisier than you want to handle, but it all works out for me. I’m already jamming too many links in here, so just check out their myspace page for links to the various downloadables and such. They’ve got two full lengths and some live stuff available.

Downloads

From A Rhythm in the Cages
No Lodging For the Mad – (MP3, 3.2 MB)
Dig Too Deep – (MP3, 1.7 MB)
Cuyuhoga Canal – (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Montana – (MP3, 4.6 MB)

Sometimes, it appears that I read my e-mails and forget about them for an entire year. I remember reading the e-mail The Bookhouse Boys from bloody ‘ol England sent me last July, but never got around to responding to it. Procrastination wins the day again, I suppose. But as luck would have it, they are not procrastinators, and released their song I Can’t Help Myself as a single, and also released a vinyl EP. And in a few weeks, in early December, they’ll have another single out. I have the video of their song I Can’t Help Myself for you to watch. It’s a great rock song, drenched in blues, that manages to fit in some trumpeting. That’s right, trumpets. How many rock bands do you know that have two trumpet players in the line-up? My guess: not very many! There are also two awesome beards and a leggy brunette in the video, so pretty much all your bases are covered.

Downloads

From I Can’t Help Myself
I Can’t Help Myself – YouTube

Sometimes you can’t find new songs that completely blow your mind with their awesomeness, and unfortunately that is more often the rule than the exception. Luckily for us, it doesn’t have to blow our minds to still be good music. Regrets & Brunettes are in the second category, the category of good songs that probably won’t get hyped to death. They are releasing their debut album, At Night You Love Me, on December 1, and if you are in the mood for music to actually enjoy rather than music to get all worked up about, then it might just be the album for you.

In unrelated news, either/or will be on autopilot for about a week, but I’ve set some posts up to auto-publish themselves so hopefully they will! While I’m gone, please remember to send band and song recommendations to me at eitheror.hugh@gmail.com.

Downloads

From At Night You Love Me
Post Punk – (MP3, 5.8 MB)
Uh-Oh – (MP3, 5.8 MB)

If there is one thing in this world, it is good food. A few more options down the line, however, good cabaret music eventually comes up. Not the needlessly dark tripe that seems to have riddled the genre, but the stuff that does what cabaret is supposed to do… y’know, entertain people. Perhaps I am a traditionalist in that regard, or perhaps I am just tired of listening to over-hyped crap. Either way, Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat are on the good side of cabaret music. Despite having a song entitled, well, I Hate Cabaret, their songs are nothing short of enjoyable. One caveat is that all their songs are not cabaret songs – Shake Your Dance Stick, for instance, sounds electro. I suppose it isn’t blasphemous for cabaret bands to play different kinds of music, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen to them! Both of these songs are great, and you probably don’t have to be a particularly discerning cabaret fan to agree.

Downloads

From Take That!
I Hate Cabaret – (MP3, 3.3 MB)
Little Death – (MP3, 3.2 MB)

When I went through my inbox the other day, there was maybe a hundred e-mails that still needed sifting through. I believe three or four were about one band, Lemonwilde, which I suppose is a good way to grab someone’s attention. I’m glad they did, anyway, as their music’s pretty good! They released their EP, Red Room, in March, and now it is a free download. I would recommend them to anyone who likes Radiohead, Calla, or Kingsbury. If you’re not yet familiar with such bands, then think of it as rock that focuses more on intelligent lyrics than crushing guitar rhythms – the thinking man’s rock music, if you will. If you fancy yourself a thinking man type, then you should definitely download the EP. If you end up liking it, make sure to do them a solid and buy it, and keep an eye out for their upcoming album.

Downloads

From Red Room
Red Room EP – (Zipped MP3s, 23.2 MB)