The Secret History

When I discovered The Secret History a while ago, they only had a few demos at their MySpace, which I liked, now they've released their debut EP. After listening to it a few times, it was clear to me that this band won't be a secret for long, and not history soon.
The Secret History was formed in 2007 by songwriter Michael Grace Jr., best known for acclaimed cult indie pop band My Favorite. The Secret History also features vocalist Lisa Ronson, daughter of Bowie guitarist, and glamrock legend Mick Ronson. The Secret History continues as a vehicle for Grace’s myth and monster laden song writing, which unfolds across cinematic landscapes…part New York in the late 1970s, part Sicily at the turn of the last century, part Nowhere. The sound itself, created by longtime collaborators Darren Amadio on guitar, Todd Karrasik on drums, Gil Abad on bass, and Kurt Brondo on keys, is a kind of continental art rock, combining the rainy jangles of C86, the stomp of glam, the innocence of the girl groups, and the anxiety of disco. Grace first met vocalist Lisa Ronson whose voice...and everything desperate just under the surface of it... was that convinced the lads. The addition of Erin Dermody, an ethereal young lady in dress, to sing harmonies, completed the new project. A sold out debut at Cakeshop (which Grace dubbed CBTweeB’s) was followed by shows alongside Love Is All, Boyracer, My Teenage Stride, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Dig and others. They also appeared at the legendary 40 Watt Club for the Athens Popfest. Desolation Town, is the debut EP released on November 12, 2008 by the Le Grand Magistery record label.

@ New York, USA
♫ Indie, Rock, Pop
♥ It's Not The End Of The World, Jonah (mp3)
♥ Our Lady of Pompeii (mp3)
▸ Myspace

MissinCat

MissinCat is a Singer/Songwriter based in Berlin. She played for six years as the bassist of the Italian rock–pop band Vertigini. With Vertigini she has released a record and toured all over Italy. In December 2006, under the Moniker of MissinCat, Caterina Barbieri founds her solo project. From the beginning she imagines her songs to be extremely minimal and intense, accompanied by simple acoustic guitars and little else. In June 2007 MissinCat wins a price of the biggest Italian summer festival Heineken Jammin Festival: She gets the chance to perform on the stage of the Heineken Jammin Festival with artist like Incubus and Pearl Jam. The Heineken Jammin Festival will also be the sponsor of the recordings of her first album. In summer 2007 MissinCat meets Carlos Fleishmann from the Berlin based booking agency Creative Talent and starts working with him. In October she’ll perform as the opening act of Amy Winehouse in all the German shows of her European tour. In the meantime she goes to studio to start working on her album where she’ll have a great experience in arranging and producing herself her music. In December 2007 she finished the recording of her debut album "Back On My Feet" that will be released early next year.

@ Berlin, Germany
♫ Acoustic, Indie, Folk Rock
♥ Shoot! (mp3)
♥ Everything (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

The Carrots

The Carrots, another great band from the Elefant label, is for me the new Pipettes, every time I listen to their music, the instantly cheer me up, so if you're in need of a cheer up, try a carrot! And even if you're as happy as one can be, still listen to this, to celebrate your happiness!
The group is formed in Austin, Texas this summer, thanks to a Myspace bulletin put out by Veronica Ortuño in which she sought people to form an American 60’s girl band. The result?, four people from diverse musical backgrounds. Summer, 2006, their first demo was released for free online via Myspace, which included recordings made in small home studios such as the first covers of “Secret Since’99,” “Jimmy Don’t Cry” and “Beverly;” The music of The Carrots reached the ears of Elefant and they end up signing them onto the label by the end of the year. After various concerts and their second performance in the festival South by Southwest (SXSW), they finally started recording the eight songs which would comprise their two singles. Doing Our Part EP released at the end of May and Beverly EP that was released at the end of June, Both singles are available on iTunes and Amazon

@ Austin, USA
♫ Indie, Pop
♥ Beverly (mp3)
♥ Doing Our Part (mp3)
▸ Myspace

Lex Land

Within her swooping, fluty tones, you may hear the ghost of torch singers past whispering velvety and soft, or the roar of a mistreated lioness. Her voice has been compared with those of Judy Garland, Rickie Lee Jones and Maria McKee, but her sound is all her own. Lex Land has lived her 21 years entirely in Southern California, from the High Sierra mountains to the sparkling coast, and knows the darkness beneath its beauty. As a pre-teen in Orange County’s Newport Beach, she aspired to operatic stardom, but soon found her distinctive voice better suited to her own original material, written on guitar and incorporating a unique style of finger plcking. While Land studied voice and musical performance at Chapman University, she began recording demos in her bedroom and drawing crowds to Southern California shows. Producer Shannon Edgar heard those demos, went to a show, and immediately wanted to make the most of her multiple talents. Œ’Orange Days on Lemon Street,’ recorded at Ocean Studios in Burbank, CA, was named for the street in the city of Orange where Lex lived while writing its songs, including “As Much As You Lead,” “Could’ve Had Me” and “Easy.” Those tunes blend honey-sweet folk, melodic pop and indie rock, and their confessional lyrics, from the preemptive knowledge of heartbreak to the painful absence of a parent, drip with a truth that lure the listener into her world.

@ Los Angeles, USA
♫ Acoustic, Folk, Rock
♥ As Much As You Lead (mp3)
♥ All We've Ever Done (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

The Feverfew

It was back in 2006, (I checked at last.fm) when I discovered The Feverfew. And since this blog started in the end of 2007, it got lost in all the music I discovered in that year, but now is your chance to catch up!
As a singer-songwriter in New York City, it’s easy to get lost. Every night, hundreds of performers sit at tiny tables with their guitars, waiting for their turn to play a song at an open mic, hoping someone might recognize their talent. After moving to Brooklyn in the Fall of 2000 to begin her studies of creative writing. Bethany Spiers quickly became one of those struggling artists. She met Debiak and led him to sign on as the producer for her first album, which caught the attention of their long-time friends at Eyeball Records. After months of pre-production with the coaching of Debiak, Spiers assembled nine songs to be released under the moniker, The Feverfew. The album, titled “Apparitions,” deals with the ghosts, in their various incarnations, that lurk in notebooks, letters and dreams. She sings of both the light and the dark, coupling the mournful with the optimistic to evoke a feeling of intimacy and urgency. Joined by the talented Jonathon Linaberry on guitar, backing vocals and melodica, the two find a niche wherever they perform— from hardcore and punk shows in basements and bars, to singer-songwriter circles in quiet coffeehouses or indie rock clubs. The synergy of instruments and voices appeal to the many diverse crowds they encounter, as they have attracted fans of indie rock, pop and folk alike. It is certain that as a part of the Eyeball Records family, Spiers won’t be just another singer-songwriter lost in the crowds of New York City. She's working on new songs right now!

@ Doylestown, USA
♫ Indie, Acoustic, Pop
♥ By Now (mp3)
♥ A Song, A Story (mp3)
▸ Myspace

Lindi Ortega

Singer/songwriter Lindi was born in Canada to a Mexican father and a Northern Irish mother, a rich heritage reflected in her own exotic beauty and in her songwriting. She grew up listening to the greats of country music (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton) and the legends of folk and fusion (Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen). Lindi’s music draws from these influences, mixes in a healthy appreciation of classic old-school pop and rock, and arrives vividly in the present via the dusty back-roads of alternative country, complete with surprising twists and turns. The result is a collection of timeless songs that range from “So Far Gone”, with its brassy, effervescent tunefulness and irresistible up-tempo, to the paranoid, late-night loneliness of “All My Friends”. One of the most magical qualities in these recordings is Ortega’s striking and distinctive voice, one that can soar with beautiful clarity above driving drum beats and blaring horns or assume an intimate vulnerability within the stripped-down acoustic guitar setting of, say, “Dying Of Another Broken Heart”. Lindi’s lyrics are never simplistic. When they are dark, they are never quite despairing, and they are offset with a tongue-in-cheek humor. When they are light-hearted, hopeful and optimistic, there is usually always a warning that things can turn dark again, in the blink of an eye! So far she released two albums and an EP on her own. And after recently signing with Cherry Tree Records her first EP on the label "The Drifer EP" was released.

@ Toronto, Canada
♫ Acoustic, Pop
♥ Lonely Day (mp3)
♥ Dying of Another Broken Heart (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

Skilla

MySpace delivered me this new proof that Sweden is one of the biggest music producing countries in Europe, if not the world. Skilla's songs sound convincing, and just like their bio is telling me, are sung from within. These raw emotions are packed with a nice mix of unique vocals, violin and harminoca that all combined form interesting songs, which you should give a listen.
Skilla are Amanda Savbrant (Drums, percussion, vocals ), Vanja Gottlow (Bass), Nina Christensen (Lead vocals, violin), Elin Hörberg (Keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Lisa Godin (guitar, vocals) They make music from their inner, and out comes their own version of alternative rock as you never heard it before. They are bloodsisters from Malmoe in the south of Sweden that luckely found themselves dreaming of the same kind of goals and sound. Tomorrow they are going to take over the world and maybe have a beer in a summer somewhere. So far they've released two EP's (Or Die and As In the Book) and they released their selftitled debut album earlier this year.

@ Malmö, Sweden
♫ Indie, Pop, Folk Rock
♥ Australia (mp3)
♥ Seven Seas (mp3)
♥ Summer In December (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website