Slingshot Dakota - Their Dreams are Dead, But Ours is the Golden Ghost!

This is another band I've been holding out because I saw live. Slingshot Dakota is probably the cutest band you will ever see. Jeff Cunningham of Bridge and Tunnel was part of the band for the first album, but now the band only consists of a two-piece act of Carly Comando on keyboard and Tom Patterson on drums. Carly manages to play several parts of the band at once with her keyboard filling in with bass lines, banging on her keyboard, and putting out some of the most heart-filled vocals ever. Tom Patterson practically slams his drums into the floor with enough energy to make your pants rattle. When I saw them it reminded me of Lightning Bolt with vocals, only less aggressive. They even played on the floor. Mike Vee(link to his blog on right on right) saw them at the Two-Piece Fest in Philadelphia and he says they were one of the best acts and Japanther was there. Get this album now and go see them live.

http://www.mediafire.com/?od5zchulfmr

Slingshot Dakota - Their Dreams are Dead, But Ours is the Golden Ghost!

Andrew Jackson Jihad - Operation Stackola

Andrew Jackson Jihad has become my favorite band of all time topping all of my charts so it's only right that I post them more. For newbies, these guys are folk punk at it's best. They always try to have fun and experiment with genres like their split with Partners in 818 where they popped out their electric guitars and went punk. The title of the album is a reference to "Operation Stackola" a hip-hop album by Lunitz so I was really excited when I thought this was an experimental hip-hop album from a normally folky duo. I was dissapointed that it was not a hip-hop album, but I ended up liking it anyways. A few songs are redone versions of older songs, but they cover Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie and an album version of Sense and Sensibility. Enjoy this brand new 2009 Andrew Jackson Jihad. They are coming to the east coast. Check their myspace for dates! I hope to go to one.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dyjzfkzdkdj

Andrew Jackson Jihad - Operation Stackola

The Knockdown - Test/Retest

Normally I don't post bands that I have seen or CDs that I own but I am all about promotion. I saw The Knockdown in the beginning of the semester in a small basement which was the perfect venue for these guys. They turned the small group of people into what seemed like 40 with their mass amounts of energy. The singer has a great voice which is rare for a hardcore band to have. They seem to be a cross between Latterman and Hot Water Music filled with sing-alongs and repetative catchy lyrics. The show was a lot of fun and the album definitely does not dissapoint at all. The cover art for the album is really neat and it was printed on cardboard from Kiss of Death Records so it's really cool to buy this album. Really nice guys and really killer album.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nxmnmmiqwym

The Knockdown - Test/Retest

French Quarter - Overpassing

French Quarter was a song oriented performance project by Stephen Steinbrink between the years of 2004 - 2008. I don't know much about him, but this was a request. This is not French Quarters best or most well known album by any lengths, so if you are looking for the Self Titled album search for it on the blog, I upped it earlier.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2tz5imyzfkz

French Quarter - Overpassing

The Dead Brothers - Dead Music for Dead People

These guys are not so much a solid band as they are an ever-shifting funeral procession collective. They've traversed the alleys of Europe as part of the Electric Circus. They were conceptually conceived from 'Dead Alain' (guitars, banjos, vox) following his studies of death at the University of Geneva. They are: 'A mega combo with three tubas, 9 other horns and a dead Brother puppet dancing, an folk guitar symphony orchestra, a primitive banjo and accordion duo that sounded like shit, ten members reproducing Kurt Weill's arrangements of Brechts' 3 Penny Opera at the Basler Opera, three old acoustic Armenians sitting on chairs, a summer piano cabaret band with slide guitar and fiddle'

Okay? The lesson (and the record) you should come away with from this post is that there's no use in assigning perimeters of 'genre' or 'style' to this band. It's a stretch for me to even use the last.fm tags on here- but it's what the trollmaster commands. One unrestrictive umbrella term that can be used regarding this record is that it's dark. But you probably figured that out already from the subtle overtones of death in this post. The presence of mandolin, banjo, oboe, horns on the record perforate the morbid feel that could lean towards being too heavy without their assistance.

So, give it a try if you're in the market for something to jilt you or make your day a little more sinister. It'll be fun. We can be a new brand of Dead Head.

http://www.mediafire.com/?4mziywrhxlj

The Dead Brothers - Dead Music for Dead People

O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps

I posted these guys already in one of the mass posts so you should be acquainted with these screaming folksters by now. This album is exactly a month old as of today so I was kind of angry that I fell behind the scene and didn't know this came out. It's anything you'd expect from O Pioneers!!! so you won't be let down, although I do like the song titles a lot this time around. It's free under Creative Commons by Quote Unquote Records, but try to donate or buy from Asian Man or Kiss of Death if possible. Thanks!

http://www.quoteunquoterecords.com/qur021/qur021.zip

O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps

Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing

This is a request by an Anonymous member. This is for you, dude! I don't know much about this album but I listened to some of it and it was enjoyable. For future reference, email us at songsfromtheroad@gmail.com for requests or use the comment sidebar. We take all requests!

http://www.mediafire.com/?ly0mfdyz11z

Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing

Dressy Bessy - Holler and Stomp

Ugh, Itunes deleted my library! What a mess! Should be back to full posting Feb 27th-ish!

Dressy Bessy is a really cute band with a really cute singer that fits into the genre indie pop. They are part of the Elephant 6 Collective and the guitarist also plays in Apples in Stereo. This is really good music to get you motivated and pumped because it's so energetic. I listened exclusively to this band for like three days. It'll get to you.

http://www.mediafire.com/?cr3yoj2zmzu

Dressy Bessy - Holler and Stomp

Various Artists - Sun, Smog, Hate

Sun, Smog, Hate is an LP released recently by Folktale Records which is a compilation of LA and Phoenix bands. The bands range from all sorts of genres so you'll like it no matter what. Personally, I like it all from start to finish. Bands on this record are Clark 8, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Splinter Cake, Whitman, Voice On Tape, Asleep In The Sea, I.E., French Quarter, John Thill, and Foot Ox.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jgib1lrzzot

Various Artists - Sun, Smog, Hate

Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine

What do you get when you cross Northern soul music with southern influenced rock? Delta Spirit, thats who. As with many of the these bands, I found these guys by mistake on my late night internet travels into the underground world. If you enjoyed my Morning Benders post, you'll most likely enjoy this band right there with them. A simple but powerful framework backs the raspy but emotional singer. It's bands like these that keep me looking for and posting new music. All in all, enjoy the Delta Spirit, and all that surrounds you.

Songs worth a Listen: People C'mon, Parade, and Trashcan.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hgm5zzyf3im

Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine

Dandelion Junk Queens - Black Hearts and Red Balloons/Bumtape

Dandelion Junk Queens are not a jug band nor a pirate band as described by themselves. They prefer to be called a junk band. Just between us, they are quite similar to the pirate/gypsy/jug band that Blackbird Raum so I highly recommend this if you enjoyed my last post. They are also everything you really ask for in a folk punk band. They live on the road, they want to play in your basement, and scream a lot. I'm not even going to up their music, what's readily available is already free on their site! Yeah, they have a freewebs site as their main page! Awesome!

http://www.freewebs.com/dandelionjunkqueens/newmp3.html

Dandelion Junk Queens - Black Hearts and Red Balloons/Bumtape

Blackbird Raum - Swidden

Blackbird Raum is my type of band. A local group from Santa Cruz, California they preform gypsy pirate folk punk that is just about perfect. They preform on the streets and using accordions, banjos, pianos, washtub basses, and scream until they can't scream anymore. I've recently gotten back into them realizing just how awesome they are. Elise will probably be angry that I posted this because I found out about them from her, but she's late on it. Tell me if you like them, I have a couple more bands that are similar that I can post. I'll probably post them anyways because I know you'll like them... as in somebody will like them.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mmgnjjmjjgm

Blackbird Raum - Swidden

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

I never heard Lily Allen before this album and the day I decided to try something by her, I found a leak of this album. This album has more of a pop feel that her earlier albums which had more of a ska feel. I keep hearing a lot about this album and this artist. Yeah, I've been on a 2009/leak spree. Not sure if I like this.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mw51jzemymn

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

Santogold - Santogold

If you enjoy M.I.A, but are sick of her half-assed pronunciation and having her song set on loop on most radio stations, Santogold may be right up your alley. Personally, I believe Santogold is a much more talented artist lyrically and musically. M.I.A's Kala can't hold a candle to this album, and you will soon see why. Both L.E.S. Artes and You'll Find a Way have been featured on huge budget snowboard films, so be ready for some energy out of this chick.

Not as hot as The Sounds chick though.

http://www.mediafire.com/?eyyu2zmezyx

Santogold - Santogold

The Sounds - Dying to Say this to You

As you all know, I typically find songs that I can snowboard to, and from that, its somewhat obvious that I would watch snowboard videos in order to find such songs. This happens to be one of the bands I have found and have come to enjoy. Although it may be a little too "pop" and "synth"y for some of our followers, I still believe them to be post worthy and then some. As I mentioned, it will be a pop/synth/punk-rock hybrid band that is out there to have fun. If you enjoyed "Los Campesinos" these guys are gonna be right there with them. The first song is sure to pull you in and from there, be prepared to have your audio-ass dragged around and brutally kicked.

Also the chick is hot.

Enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tmkjjwi2kzn

The Sounds - Dying to Say this to You

Colour Revolt - Colour Revolt EP

Colour Revolt is an indie rock band from Oxford, Mississippi named after Edwin Abbott’s mathematical novel, Flatland. They were named the Best New Band From Mississippi by the Boston paper The Phoenix. There aren't that many good bands out of Mississippi, but these guys are still a good listen. The group has performed at SXSW and toured with Dinosaur Jr., Black Lips, Okkervil River, Menomena, Explosions in the Sky, Malajube, Anathallo, and Manchester Orchestra. I'd say they are most similar to Manchester Orchestra.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mlilzzlgg2t

Favorite track: Circus

Colour Revolt - Colour Revolt EP

Kaz James - If They Knew

Kaz James is one half of the Bodyrockers who were popular a few years back with the track I Like The Way You Move. I first discovered this guy's solo efforts after hearing the song Breathe on the radio. Being one of the best dance tracks I'd heard in six months, I picked this up upon it's release. Ignoring the one song with the repulsive Macy Gray, the album is a decent mix of electronica, dance and decent lyrics, what 90% of techno I own is missing.
http://rapidshare.com/files/166365354/Kaz_James-If_They_Knew-2008-B2R.rar

Kaz James - If They Knew

Hot Chip - The Warning

Quick post, not even my description, no time on my hands... good album, though!

Hot Chip is an electrorock band which formed in London, United Kingdom in 2000. It consists of Alexis Taylor (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Joe Goddard (vocals, synths, percussion), Al Doyle (guitar, vocals), Owen Clarke (synths, guitar) and Felix Martin (percussion). The combination of Taylor’s ethereal high pitch vocals and Goddard’s warm low pitch and the band’s blip-blop electronics creates a dreamy sound. The band is best known for the hit singles “Over and Over” from this album.

If you like Cut Copy, you'll like these guys a lot.

http://www.mediafire.com/?qzyjuhjjzmz

Hot Chip - The Warning

Darla Farmer - Rewiring the Electric Forest

Often the genre of 'experimental' is fully exploited to just be a nicer word for 'We really don't have any direction. No, really.'

Darla Farmer purifies the rep with their 2008 release Rewiring the Electric Forest. Out of Nashville, the band's name was inspired by a plain Nashvillian bank teller. This really juxtaposes the fundamental dark horror-punk Darla Farmer is. Horror-punk is the foundation they always seem to return to on Electric Forest, but the experimental bit I mentioned earlier takes shape in the inklings of anything from cabaret to ska on the record. Clint Wilson's erratic vocals matches the unpredictable tone of the record, heard in 'Dirty Keys' which is mostly him doing a combination of a retch-scream. Those bits of the album are a little difficult to palette at first, but once you manage, you're left with an album that satisfies every one of your weird music fetishes.

http://www.mediafire.com/?gm1zjuqmy1i

Darla Farmer - Rewiring the Electric Forest