Michael Yonkers – Angel Of The Snow

We just had a post on San Fran’s Secret Seven Records label a few days ago, but they sent on this and I’ve been listening to it a lot and can’t help posting about it. It’s an LP by cult psych-folk eccentric Michael Yonkers, released only once in 1974, privately on his own record label. S7R are re-releasing it for the first time after 36 years, and again it’s a vinyl-only affair.

500 remastered copies of “Goodby Sunball” are being released on July 7th, below is one of the album highlights for me, “Angel Of The Snow”. The LP can be pre-ordered now from the label.

Download: Michael Yonkers – Angel Of The Snow

Secret Furry Hole: Simon Scott & Wolther Goes Stranger

I came across the Secret Furry Hole label from Italy a few months ago, when they put out this very nice post-shoegaze/ambient/drone mini CD-R by ex-Slowdive drummer Simon Scott. They had previously released similarly limited 3″ discs from “modern classical” luminaries Hauschka and Peter Broderick.

Simon Scott has been involved in a lot of projects lately, including co-writing tracks for The Sight Below’s latest album “It All Falls Apart“, and he’s also one half of Seavault with Antony Ryan from ISAN (have a listen to their “Cornfields” track). Later in 2010, he has a 33 minute composition called “Silenne” coming out on Belgium sleep label Slaapwel, and a 7″ recorded with Nils Frahm on Sonic Pieces in September.

This release from Simon Scott is called Nivalis, it comes in an interesting foldout sleeve (which took me a while to figure out how to open), and the CD runs as one 16-minute track. Have a listen to an excerpt below (this is the second section of the track). This is available now from SFH.

And today SFH have released something quite different. The promo from the label describes this as “a manic dandy banging on a broken piano, crossing synthetic beats with walls of gaze-pop electro”, and like “xiu xiu meeting tiga in a 50’s strip club”.

Wolther Goes Stranger is the solo project for Luca Mazzieri, from northern Italy, and he’s a former member of a post-rock band.

Have a listen below, this five-track EP is out now from the label and limited to 50 copies.

The Sandwitches – Stardust

San Francisco’s Secret Seven Records label have a new single-sided 12″ EP from The Sandwitches coming out on July 13th.

The Sandwitches are Heidi Alexander and vocalist Grace Cooper and have one album to date, the nicely titled “How to Make Ambient Sadcake” from late last year, which drew comparisons to Stevie Nicks among others.

The new EP is called “Duck Duck Goose!” and below is the haunting opening track “Stardust”, not too far removed from some of the material on singer Grace Cooper’s excellent solo project cassette release on the same label a few months ago.

The new release sounds great, it’s limited to 500 copies on vinyl, and can be pre-ordered from the label now.

Download: The Sandwitches – Stardust (11.3MB, 320kbps)

Television Keeps Us Apart – Can’t Let Go

Television Keeps Us Apart are Carl and Axel from Stockholm and Linköping in Sweden, making music that sounds a lot like their fellow countrymen The Radio Dept.

Their debut album, “A Slight Change Of Light” comes in at under 25 minutes and was released in June 2009 on a CD-R from Series Two Records. The album can downloaded from their own site, but the CD is only $8 including shipping from the label. There were 300 copies made, and there’s still some left.

The band tell us they’re currently recording a new EP, which should be released later this summer.

This is the closing track on their album, “Can’t Let Go”.

Download: Television Keeps Us Apart – Can’t Let Go

Nouveaunoise – Goni

Nouveaunoise are Nial Conway and Conor Gaffney from Galway. They’ve been around since 2006 and their first full release since then is their debut album “Paraphrase Accolade” out this Friday, June 11th on their own Nouveaunoise Records.

They’ve put a three-track album preview up on their bandcamp page for download, and all three tracks are fantastic organic electronica, reminding me alot of Four Tet’s great “Rounds” album.

Have a listen to Goni below, catch them on tour around Ireland in July, and look out for their album when it’s released this Friday.

The Leaf Library – Losing Places

Londoners The Leaf Library have been around since 2006, when they released the now almost untraceable EP1 on Hi-Beat Records.

The first time I came across The Leaf Library was two years ago after hearing the ISAN remix of their “Losing Places” single on Rob Da Bank’s show on BBC Radio 1. Five months later it was released on a nice 10″ by Dutch label The Hooter Listens and it turned out that original version was just as nice. Melancholic and melodic, the first half gives way after about three minutes to a great instrumental Stereolab or even krautrock style workout for the remainder of the seven minute track.

This year, they’ve released a two-track digital single “Activity / Carousel” on French label BEKO (scroll across to #42), and they’ve completed their debut album “Different Activites, Similar Diversions”. Unfortunately it’s still unsigned but will hopefully be released sometime this year, and very generously they have the whole album streaming now from their Soundcloud page. Have a listen.

For now, back to “Losing Places”:
Losing Places by The Leaf Library

Aias – La truita

Aias are Laia, Gaia and Miriam from Barcelona. The three-piece girl group, whose songs are sung in Catalan, have just released their first 7″ on Captured Tracks from Brooklyn, NY (also home to Dum Dum Girls and Beach Fossils).

The “Aias / Canvas” single can be bought from the label now or on pre-order from Rough Trade in London (due at the end of June).

Their myspace has a wealth of other unreleased songs, my favourite being “La truita”. Hopefully these will get a release before long.

UPDATE: Gaia from the band lets us know that Aias have a forthcoming LP, due to be released later this year on Captured Tracks.

Stream: Aias – La truita (via myspace)

Echo Lake – Everything Is Real

Echo Lake are a five-piece band from London and their woozy shoegaze pop was first blogged about a few weeks ago. They now have 3 tracks on their myspace, which sound somewhere between my favourite Grouper and Cocteau Twins songs.

Check out the swirling, ethereal “Everything Is Real” on their page. “In Dreams” is more uptempo and just as gorgeous, and “Memory Lapses” is an instrumental coda à la My Bloody Valentine.

Echo Lake don’t have any releases just yet, but vocalist Linda from the band tell us there will be a new song up on their myspace some time next week.

Stream: Echo Lake – Everything Is Real (and two other tracks) (via myspace)

Wilco – Poor Places (Walls Remix)

The first post here is a brand-new ambient remix of Poor Places by Wilco, done by part-Italian, part-English duo Walls.

Walls are Alessio Natalizia (his Banjo or Freakout project is also recommended) and Sam Willis from Allez-Allez (check out their new track Weird Science coming out at the end of June on the RVNG label from New York).

Walls’ debut self-titled album is out now on Kompakt Records, and the CD comes with a free LP copy. Later this summer, “Hang Four” is being released as a single, with remixes from The Field and Banjo or Freakout.

This great new remix for Wilco has just been put up on Walls’ myspace. The original version was on Wilco’s 2001 album Hotel Yankee Foxtrot, so I’m not sure if this remix will be getting a full release or not. Sounds a bit like some of the more laidback stuff off The Field’s latest album. Have a listen below.

Stream: Wilco – Poor Places (Walls Remix) (via myspace)

UPDATE: Sam from Walls sends us on this link to a 320K download of the remix. He also adds that the remix was done just for fun, so this high quality MP3 is probably the best release of it we’re gonna see. Enjoy!

Download: Wilco – Poor Places (Walls Remix) (320K, MP3, 11.9MB)