Indiecision: Music Blog: Independent Music in India and Elsewhere

INTERVIEW: DIRTBLONDE

Dirtblonde are a indie rock duo from Liverpool, England. Gibson listed them as one of the top five bands to watch from Liverpool, and they’ve been invited to perform at SXSW ‘09. They released White Noise, Rubber Heart last year on Filthy Little Angels and you can sample it with a free download of ‘The Hangmen’ (at the end of this post). The band is Ivan and Lula. Here’s an interview about Alan McGee, the Liverpool scene and Sonic Youth.

1. Tell us a little about the band - how did it come about, some of the major milestones, the name Dirtblonde?
We just came up with the name on a drunken night. Like with bands such as The Beatles or Nirvana, It’s just a shit name…

We formed in 2004, bored with the music scene in Liverpool. The scene has got better since, not that the rest of the country would know about it - all the best Liverpool bands are obscure and unsigned, but all people hear about are The Wombats and The Rascals and things like that. So it still feels like Dirtblonde has got a sense of purpose here – offering an alternative to what the boring mainstream says is good. It can feel like a hopeless fight sometimes.

Milestones? In 2005 we released ‘The Hangmen’ as an online single and people liked it: We got BBC airplay thanks to Steve Lamacq; XFM played it and Alan Mcgee liked it and booked us a few gigs in London. He came to one of our gigs and said we were really good. I had “Who The fuck is Alan Mcgee” written on my chest. Never heard from him again… but he danced to Dirtblonde!

In 2006 we played Leeds festival and a few dates in New York, including Death Disco…it was cool to hang out with total legend BP Fallon. But we felt down, had a big fight and decided to split up the band.  I remember throwing my Les Paul guitar in the gutter on the Lower East Side and thinking I’d never play a note again…

Soon enough we felt the need to do music again, so we reformed the following year and released White Noise Rubber Heart and played more gigs.

Read the entire interview after the break.

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DOWNLOAD: ‘BEST THING’ - JIHAE

Jihae (South Korea/NYC) is a singer/songwriter in the vein of Aimee Mann and Fiona Apple (but more Aimee Mann). Her new album Elvis Is Still Alive is out Nov 11.

‘Best Thing’ is a song off Elvis. On first listen it reminds of Lost In Space era Aimee Mann, the arrangement revolving around a simple guitar refrain. It’s easily digestable indie pop mixed just right. Jihae’s voice is light and soulful, leaving plenty of room for the instruments to fill in. The simplicity of the affair is charming.

Check out her brilliant website.

Download: ‘Best Thing’ - Jihae

Not your computer? Stream the song on the delish Indiecision music player.

CHECK OUT: LONGWAVE

Longwave are a four piece indie rock outfit from New York. Signed to Original Signal, the band’s fourth studio release Secrets Are Sinister will be out Nov, 11. Recorded with Peter Katis (Interpol, The National, Tokyo Police Club) the album is a new turn for the band, whose previous record There’s A Fire (RCA, 2005) was recorded with John Leckie.

‘Satellites’ is a moody, undulating track. Steve Schiltz’s delivery contrasts the guitar bursts through the song. The refrain is catchy and exciting. This is something you can listen to alone, and with a whole bunch of jumping folk.

Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with the band.

Check out Longwave on MySpace.

Download: ‘Satellites’ - Longwave

Not your computer? Stream the song on the delish Indiecision music player.

DOWNLOAD: ‘SHELTER’ - THE DEAD TREES

The Dead Trees are a four piece rock band from Portland, Oregon. They’ve supported Albert Hammond Jr, played in Japan and will be going on tour in November supporting Little Joys. Their new album King Of Rosa is scheduled to release October, 21.

‘Shelter’ is a preview to the sound you can expect to hear on King Of Rosa. It’s catchy alternative with a decent hook and a Pelle Almqvist-ish yelp courtesy vocalist Michael Ian Cummings. What I like about it is its bare-bonesed rock sound. The melody is familiar but the execution is energetic.

Check out The Dead Trees on MySpace.

Download: ‘Shelter’ - The Dead Trees

The song is also on the (now standalone, and absolutely delicious) Indiecision music player.