Xmas Gift no.6: The Cubical

After a lengthy spell touring the UK, The Cubical's debut album 'Come Sing These Crippled Tunes' has now reached American (& Canadian) ears through Record Collection. The North American version of the album, available here on iTunes, features exclusive bonus tracks: Scuttler's Crimes, Early Morning Creep, Leave If You Must and Bended Knee from the Dave Sardy sessions at Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood.

Additionally the band have just released a colossal 19 track album: 'The Things You Throw Away' via Last.fm. This collection of live, rare and raw unreleased tracks is available for free here until February 2010. So get em while they're hot! If you like what you hear, a luxuriously packaged limited edition CD will soon be available.

A very merry Christmas from The Cubical, and Dead Young Records.

Video Blog #1

This isn't a list of the best videos of 2009, the decade or anything like that.

Just some cool stuff I found recently.

Metal on Metal - Bastard

Modeselektor - Art & Cash

A Place To Bury Strangers - Keep Slipping Away

Race Horses - Man In My Mind

Xmas Gift no.5: Banjo or Freakout

So now the snow has started falling and I've been watching Home Alone and Indiana Jones films I feel as thought Christmas time has properly arrived. So we may as well contribute to the customary alternative Christmas songs lists. Here's some gems I've found on Youtube:

The Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas

'Baby Jesus was born to rock!'

The Kinks - Father Christmas

Pearl Jam - Santa God

Slow Club - Christmas TV

The Sonics - Don't Believe In Christmas

Vashti Bunyan - Coldest Night of The Year

Cheers NME.

Weezer - Christmas Celebration

Weezer fans can find loads more of their xmas songs & covers on Youtube here.

Additionally, Banjo or Freakout are giving away a whole 9 track album of Christmas songs for free! Head over to their blog here to download. Mr Banjo, Alessio Natalizia, apparently only gives himself ONE chance to record a track. After that he is only permitted to manipulate the sound with his recording software, no second chances. The results are blissful, haunting, lo-fi, at times noisy, but alway caked in a healthy dose of reverb and delay. Just the kind of nice peaceful stuff that Nick can put on his morning alarm clock. Personally I'd need something a little louder to slap me in the face to get out of bed...

It's also worth mentioning to keep an eye on the free tracks being posted by The Crookes over at the 12daysofCrookesmas.com. 5 days left!

Xmas Gift no.4: Domino Records

King of the indies, Domino Records, have just sent out a Christmas Sampler featuring some great tracks that have been released over the past year, and a couple that will come out in 2010.

Join their mailing list here to get your frosty mittens on some free tracks from the likes of Wild Beasts, The Kills, Eugene McGuinness, Franz Ferdinand & more!

Thanks Domino!

In other Domino news, our favourite bearded mentals Archie Bronson Outfit have just announced a new album will be released in March next year. The first run of their third effort, 'Coconut', will also include a limited edition DVD featuring a video for each track from the record. Sweet deal!

Check out this Youtube trailer:

Xmas Gift no.3: The Federals

Oh Fearne! Fearne, Fearne, Fearne...

How well you've done, and how much you've grown! since that fateful day in yesteryear when you won some PR-driven talent competition bullshit, which fatefully brought you onto my TV screen.

Ahh... I remember it well! There I was watching Kenan & Kel, or something equally awesome, when BOOM! a ravishing new young presenter appeared before me. You surely created some of my fondest youthful television memories. Not because you were any good of course, you were shit. But it started my love of observing people's failures being broadcast on live TV.

But Oh! Fearne dearest, we have so much in common! A love of popular culture, television, music...

Speaking of which The Federals have their first EP up for free download here.

Gotta get me one of them T-shirts...

Xmas Gift no.2: The Crookes

Our favourite Sheffielders The Crookes have today begun their '12 days of Crookesmas'. Each day a new track of theirs will be released in various forms including covers, videos and collaborations with fellow Sheffs Richard Hawley & Jon 'The Reverend' McClure. So to begin, today, NME have posted 'Chorus of Fools' on their daily download blog which you can see here.

"They're harnessing the grace and guts of old-time swing and woozy Barbershop harmonies - packaging it up as the latest indie-disco bread'n'butter" - NME.

Guitarist Alex says:

"Chorus of Fools', the lead track and first day of the cheesily dubbed '12 days of Crookesmas', was the first of a collection to have been written in our fusty and mouldy basement - but the only song, surprisingly, which took shape in a local leisure centre. By looking at us you wouldn't expect that we'd have ever set foot in such establishment, but the drums were actually figured out in the swimming pool. Wierd, right? This is one of few songs recorded in a 'proper'studio by friend and all-round nice guy Glover."

We're also proud to welcome The Crookes back to Oporto tomorrow for the Gaslight Club Xmas special, also featuring Benjamin Wetherill & The Trumpets of Death, Georgian Eastern European vocal music choir bringing the festive spirit - Samzeo, and Gaslight Club regulars Ben Pike and David Henshaw. Plus guest DJs, free mince pies, and free entry as always.

Make sure to get down early if you want a seat!

This will be our last show until January 11th when The Gaslight Club returns every Monday at Oporto and as always its FREE ENTRY.

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Xmas Gift no.1: Paul Thomas Saunders

Paul Thomas Saunders is a young Derbyshire lad currently residing in Leeds. He recently toured the country in support for the lovely Blue Roses, in which time he sold out his self-released debut E.P. 'Four Songs In Twilight' is available to download from the usual suspects and is also available at gigs on beautifully packaged, wax-sealed CDs. Kudos. Sounding something like Fleet Foxes if they dabbled in recreational drugs and listened to Animal Collective in the studio, its a marvelous psych-folk concoction of flowing guitar lines and slick vocal melodies caked in blissful reverb.

Make sure not to miss his set this Sunday at Nation of Shopkeepers, part of the Soup Kitchen all-dayer also featuring The Heebie Jeebies, Little Lost David, James Owen Fender & many more.

As part of our run down to Xmas, we at Dead Young are starting giving out Xmas presents early. That is to say we're either providing or pointing you in the right direction to lots of wonderful (and completely legal) free music.

So to get us started, it gives us great pleasure to present you with an exclusive track to download from Paul Thomas Saunders' E.P:

Fruit Of The Poisonous Tree.

Enjoy