Escort will release their new single, “Barbarians,” on June 25th. The song has a more simple, traditional disco sound than the Neo/electro-disco dazzlement of their spectacular debut album. But it’s still a fun dance tune. You can stream it below…
Buy @ Amazon
By: Brendan
Acapella awesomeness abounds in this collection of Beatbox and harmony mashups from London’s Shakka.
If you’ve found this post Googling “who sings “Ring of Fire” in Man of Steel?”…the answer is: it’s Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe.
We here at Muruch first broke the news of Allison Crowe’s involvement in the new Superman movie last month after two years of keeping the secret. As I said in that post, Allison Crowe is Muruch‘s musical mascot, we’ve supported her music here since 2005, she has time and again repaid that support by premiering music on Muruch, and we recommend her above and beyond any other artist we’ve ever posted about here.
We’re now free to reveal that her role in Man of Steel is really more of a cameo performing the aforementioned Johnny Cash tune. Her scene was filmed in The Cassidy Inn bar on Vancouver Island. I hope eventually we’ll be able to share more details, audio and/or video of her scene, but details and clips are extremely guarded at this point.
To celebrate the release of the film and hopefully introduce new fans to her own music, Allison has put together a new collection called Songbook which features 22 songs from her previous releases. You can listen and purchase the songs below…
Dead Professional is the one man band otherwise known as Virginia-based singer-songwriter John Harouff. John’s email said he thinks he “might be an appropriate candidate for placement on Muruch” and he was right. Dead Professional’s song, “Don’t Be Cruel,” is very catchy, pop-polished alt-rock. Think mid-80s Springsteen with a smoother voice.
Black Joe Lewis (who has either dropped “& the Honeybears” from their moniker or replaced the backing band, I haven’t been able to confirm this yet) will release their new album, Electric Slave, on August 27th and are offering a free, legal mp3 to celebrate…
Lewis has said of the album’s title and theme: “Electric Slave is what people are today with their faces buried in their iPhones and the only way to hold a conversation is through text. The next step is to plug it in to your damned head. Nothing is up front anymore and people are de socializing.“
Whether due to that societal frustration, simple artistic experimentation, or the influence of the album’s producer Stuart Sikes (who previously worked with The White Stripes), the band’s punked up garage rock side has completely overtaken their bluesy, funky, retro soul in their new single, “Skulldiggin’.”
That high energy, raucous noise is cool and fun for one song and I happen to agree with Lewis’ sentiment, but I selfishly hope they didn’t abandon their signature sound for the entire album. That delicious duality of modern garage rock and vintage soul is what has always set Black Joe Lewis apart. Anyway, let’s enjoy this track for now and we shall see how the rest of the albums sounds in August. You can stream or download the free, legal mp3 (in exchange for an email address) below…
Pre-Order @ Amazon
The Electric Sons are an electro-pop band based in Atlanta who have opened for Passion Pit and Ellie Goulding among others. I’m not sure which is more cute and catchy – their new single “Breathing Electricity” or its video. Decide for yourself by watching the video and downloading the free, legal mp3 below. The song doesn’t seem to be attached to an album yet, but hopefully the band will remedy that in the near future.
Jonathan Rado of Foxygen recently announced his debut solo album, Law & Order, will be released in September by Woodsist Records. I certainly hope this doesn’t mean an end to his work with Foxygen, whose album is one of our favorites of the year. But if his new single, “Faces,” is any indication, I think Rado’s solo album will definitely be worth listening to…
Ours’ new release, Ballet the Boxer 1, is one of those albums I love more intensely with each listen. It’s pure, old school American rock that often reminds me of classic Foreigner, maybe a bit of Scorpions or even Cinderella. The rock arrangements are somewhat simple, but the big, theatrical voice of lead singer, Jimmy Gnecco, should also appeal to Muse fans.
Ours – Pretty Pain (mp3)*
*mp3 hosted by & posted w/ permission of band’s PR rep
By: Brendan
Beethoven’s late String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131 was heavily featured in the Christopher Walken/Catherine Keener movie A Late Quartet
Orion String Quartet – Beethoven’s String Quartet No.14, Op.131 (mp3 download page)
Starkeeper’s sound is as cool as their name. They’ve been compared to Mazzy Star and The Sundays, but their male/femme duet “Elle” is more of what they call “Europop.” The futuristic video’s pretty cool, too. The song is from Starkeeper’s new EP, Find Desire
