5 Years of NFOP

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Every Friday at 4pm CET

Wish You Were Here.

09 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

Before Andrew Caddick aka our absolute favorite Jeans Wilder is gonna turn this musically extraordinary year into an outstanding one with the release of his LP Nice Trash via our French darlings over at La Station Radar and Atelier Ciseaux in November (I really don't intend to put up the pressure here, but seriously, check this and this in case you haven't - and look at the terrific back cover art below), he's about to make the wait a little easier by putting out the digital-only EP Wish You Were Here very soon via his bandcamp. The seven track piece will include all three songs from his Don't Fly So Close to the Sun C18 tape which Andrew had released in June on Trivial Pursuit, plus four previously unreleased tunes that were intended to become part of another split cassette with Deep Sht which will never come into being for reasons that are unknown to the author of these lines (he probably could have asked though).

In any case, below you can already listen to one of those long buried gold nuggets, along with the title track of said Trivial Pursuit release. While Don't Fly So Close to the Sun might be considered Andrew's most ambient side to date, a gently meandering and deeply contemplating synth instrumental, The Shakes on the other hand is a "classic" Jeans Wilder lo-fi jam, a loose drum machine pattern carrying a heavily clipping guitar and Andrew's melancholically toned, equally distorted and echo-laden vocals, in essence exactly the style we've learned to adore this guy for in the first place.


Jeans Wilder - Don't Fly So Close to the Sun

Jeans Wilder - The Shakes

Read more →

Before Andrew Caddick aka our absolute favorite Jeans Wilder is gonna turn this musically extraordinary year into an outstanding one with the release of his LP Nice Trash via our French darlings over at La Station Radar and Atelier Ciseaux in November (I really don't intend to put up the pressure here, but seriously, check this and this in case you haven't - and look at the terrific back cover art below), he's about to make the wait a little easier by putting out the digital-only EP Wish You Were Here very soon via his bandcamp. The seven track piece will include all three songs from his Don't Fly So Close to the Sun C18 tape which Andrew had released in June on Trivial Pursuit, plus four previously unreleased tunes that were intended to become part of another split cassette with Deep Sht which will never come into being for reasons that are unknown to the author of these lines (he probably could have asked though).

In any case, below you can already listen to one of those long buried gold nuggets, along with the title track of said Trivial Pursuit release. While Don't Fly So Close to the Sun might be considered Andrew's most ambient side to date, a gently meandering and deeply contemplating synth instrumental, The Shakes on the other hand is a "classic" Jeans Wilder lo-fi jam, a loose drum machine pattern carrying a heavily clipping guitar and Andrew's melancholically toned, equally distorted and echo-laden vocals, in essence exactly the style we've learned to adore this guy for in the first place.


Jeans Wilder - Don't Fly So Close to the Sun

Jeans Wilder - The Shakes

US English

07 Oct 2010 — Tonje Thilesen

Catchy and intelligent, the St. Louis based pop duo US English are one of my my personal favorites among the catch of this month, with their debut EP What Frontier (due October 12 via the quite so lovely Post Literate) just waiting to take its audience with storm. The EP is the first release out of in total three EP's, finally forming the debut album Modular later this year.
Even with such a unique and peculiar sound, there is still something familiar about US English that I can't specifically point out - that not being said in a negative way, however. By mixing pop, electronica and elements of lo-fi together with glitchy, opera-like vocals, the husband-wife duo makes this unique mix into an own, recognizable "trademark" for their music; indeed being very successful.

Order their EP here.


US English - What Frontier
Read more →
Catchy and intelligent, the St. Louis based pop duo US English are one of my my personal favorites among the catch of this month, with their debut EP What Frontier (due October 12 via the quite so lovely Post Literate) just waiting to take its audience with storm. The EP is the first release out of in total three EP's, finally forming the debut album Modular later this year.
Even with such a unique and peculiar sound, there is still something familiar about US English that I can't specifically point out - that not being said in a negative way, however. By mixing pop, electronica and elements of lo-fi together with glitchy, opera-like vocals, the husband-wife duo makes this unique mix into an own, recognizable "trademark" for their music; indeed being very successful.

Order their EP here.


US English - What Frontier

Video: Autre Ne Veut - Emotional

07 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann


Autre Ne Veut - S/T now out on Olde English Spelling Bee. Highly recommended. Read more →

Autre Ne Veut - S/T now out on Olde English Spelling Bee. Highly recommended.

Summersault.

07 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

"Okay, listen. I have this song I wrote, right? And I showed it to some of my friends and everyone says they like it. Do they "like" it or do they LIKE it? Since I have no idea who you are and I enjoy your blog/tastes I was thinking I could send it to you. For some unbiased feedback? If this is possible, I look forward to your reply. Thanks for your time!"

Jeff, relax. Though I don't know who you are either and I don't have a clue if "Summersault" is the name of your project or just of this pretty little song or whatever and where you come from and what you do for a living, you may believe your friends. I like this hazy little piece of summer, I really do like it a lot.

And thanks for the nice words, Jeff.

(Photo)

Summersault - Summersault

Read more →

"Okay, listen. I have this song I wrote, right? And I showed it to some of my friends and everyone says they like it. Do they "like" it or do they LIKE it? Since I have no idea who you are and I enjoy your blog/tastes I was thinking I could send it to you. For some unbiased feedback? If this is possible, I look forward to your reply. Thanks for your time!"

Jeff, relax. Though I don't know who you are either and I don't have a clue if "Summersault" is the name of your project or just of this pretty little song or whatever and where you come from and what you do for a living, you may believe your friends. I like this hazy little piece of summer, I really do like it a lot.

And thanks for the nice words, Jeff.

(Photo)

Summersault - Summersault

We Just Had More Fun.

07 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

When we introduced you to the wonderful wavey synth sounds of Florida's Sean Earl Beard aka Plastic Flowers back in early September, we already told you there would be a new single via our dearest friends over at Beko DSL soon, and just as promised, this Monday we were blessed with the release of We Just Had More Fun b/w The Stone House. The a side is a real treat, a slow synthpop jam drenched in melancholic longing for past times when things seemed so much easier. Objects in the rear view mirror.

Plastic Flowers - We Just Had More Fun

Read more →

When we introduced you to the wonderful wavey synth sounds of Florida's Sean Earl Beard aka Plastic Flowers back in early September, we already told you there would be a new single via our dearest friends over at Beko DSL soon, and just as promised, this Monday we were blessed with the release of We Just Had More Fun b/w The Stone House. The a side is a real treat, a slow synthpop jam drenched in melancholic longing for past times when things seemed so much easier. Objects in the rear view mirror.

Plastic Flowers - We Just Had More Fun

Sweater Days.

06 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

I guess I must have been Facebook friends with Brent Mitzner for quite a while now though I don't remember when and why that happened (most likely rather randomly via Bridgetown Records' Kevin Greenspon), but a couple of days ago it turned out once more that the dangerous monster that is this social networking site can actually be useful. Brent hit me up to finally "formally introduce" himself by sending over these two blissful tunes he recorded recently with his new project Sweater Days, a trio together with Jillian Jesser and Isaac Robles that is very much into really Californian, hazy garage pop with just the right amount of lo-fi feel in it. They're about to finish a mini LP that's gonna be put out via our beloved and above mentioned Bridgetown soon.

Sweater Days - Shut The Door

Sweater Days - Baby In Time

Read more →

I guess I must have been Facebook friends with Brent Mitzner for quite a while now though I don't remember when and why that happened (most likely rather randomly via Bridgetown Records' Kevin Greenspon), but a couple of days ago it turned out once more that the dangerous monster that is this social networking site can actually be useful. Brent hit me up to finally "formally introduce" himself by sending over these two blissful tunes he recorded recently with his new project Sweater Days, a trio together with Jillian Jesser and Isaac Robles that is very much into really Californian, hazy garage pop with just the right amount of lo-fi feel in it. They're about to finish a mini LP that's gonna be put out via our beloved and above mentioned Bridgetown soon.

Sweater Days - Shut The Door

Sweater Days - Baby In Time

Happiness Only Real When Shared.

06 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

Happy news to brighten up your grey Wednesday morning: Our sweetest FMLY guy Noah Klein aka Philip Seymour Hoffman finally has brought a new cassette tape into the realms of humanity, Happiness Only Real When Shared serving as the fourth installment of the Impose Cassette Series. The tape includes ten songs, some already well known gems like Everything In My Cupboard Is Moldy and Duckfangs Tickle My Ankles from his Semi-Marxist Like Us 12 inch, but also some brand new tunes that have emerged straight out of Noah's dreamy wonderland of lo-fi sound and magic, being among the most beautiful stuff I've heard all year. Oh, how do we want to share our happiness with you, Noah.

Listen to two of my absolute favorites below: Requiem for the Ghostbuster is almost ridiculously pretty, a sugary male/female duet subtly hidden behind a blurry curtain of flowery yet somehow twisted sunshine pop that tinkles along, instantly leaving the listener feel warm and secure. To Evoke the Environment is slightly darker and more serious, carried by a reduced, plucked acoustic guitar and gently distorted vocals, evoking a certain feeling of loneliness that intensifies towards the song's ending when a slow guitar noise sets in.

The cassette tape is available for pre-order now and will be out October 19.

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Requiem for the Ghostbuster

Philip Seymour Hoffman - To Evoke the Environment

Read more →

Happy news to brighten up your grey Wednesday morning: Our sweetest FMLY guy Noah Klein aka Philip Seymour Hoffman finally has brought a new cassette tape into the realms of humanity, Happiness Only Real When Shared serving as the fourth installment of the Impose Cassette Series. The tape includes ten songs, some already well known gems like Everything In My Cupboard Is Moldy and Duckfangs Tickle My Ankles from his Semi-Marxist Like Us 12 inch, but also some brand new tunes that have emerged straight out of Noah's dreamy wonderland of lo-fi sound and magic, being among the most beautiful stuff I've heard all year. Oh, how do we want to share our happiness with you, Noah.

Listen to two of my absolute favorites below: Requiem for the Ghostbuster is almost ridiculously pretty, a sugary male/female duet subtly hidden behind a blurry curtain of flowery yet somehow twisted sunshine pop that tinkles along, instantly leaving the listener feel warm and secure. To Evoke the Environment is slightly darker and more serious, carried by a reduced, plucked acoustic guitar and gently distorted vocals, evoking a certain feeling of loneliness that intensifies towards the song's ending when a slow guitar noise sets in.

The cassette tape is available for pre-order now and will be out October 19.

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Requiem for the Ghostbuster

Philip Seymour Hoffman - To Evoke the Environment

Sunsoaked.

06 Oct 2010 — Henning Lahmann

This absolute gem has been lying around in my inbox for quite a while now (one month, to be exact), but instead of decaying, it just aged like a good Saint-Émilion Grand Cru - and aside from that, seriously, if you wanna be featured on this blog, words like these might help: "I love your descriptive write-ups for the bands you write, all of which I've never heard of before. I love that exposing new music-ness, instead of just blogging about what Pitchfork/Blogosphere deem popular." Ha! Ha!

Anyway, besides all that kind and gentle and of course totally disproportionate flattering, Gainesville, Florida's Hear Hums make some wonderfully startling music, following a path to experimental pop that is, notwithstanding all that constant raving about AnCo and the likes, truly unique and unconsumed. Sunsoaked, a tune from their upcoming album Psyche Cycles, hopefully due before the end of 2010, is an amazing piece of accessible psychedelia, with lots of different sounds floating around, seemingly erratically but at all times making perfect sense for the track's course, which will slowly extend and eventually elapse, making it the consummate metaphor for the universe we're constrained to live and struggle in.



Hear Hums - Sunsoaked

Read more →

This absolute gem has been lying around in my inbox for quite a while now (one month, to be exact), but instead of decaying, it just aged like a good Saint-Émilion Grand Cru - and aside from that, seriously, if you wanna be featured on this blog, words like these might help: "I love your descriptive write-ups for the bands you write, all of which I've never heard of before. I love that exposing new music-ness, instead of just blogging about what Pitchfork/Blogosphere deem popular." Ha! Ha!

Anyway, besides all that kind and gentle and of course totally disproportionate flattering, Gainesville, Florida's Hear Hums make some wonderfully startling music, following a path to experimental pop that is, notwithstanding all that constant raving about AnCo and the likes, truly unique and unconsumed. Sunsoaked, a tune from their upcoming album Psyche Cycles, hopefully due before the end of 2010, is an amazing piece of accessible psychedelia, with lots of different sounds floating around, seemingly erratically but at all times making perfect sense for the track's course, which will slowly extend and eventually elapse, making it the consummate metaphor for the universe we're constrained to live and struggle in.



Hear Hums - Sunsoaked

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