Bad Astronaut “Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment” CD
Originally intended as a one-off studio project,put together by long time friends Joey Cape(Lagwagon front-man), former Lagwagon drummerDerrick Plourde, and Marko 72 (Sugarcultguitarist), Bad Astronaut quickly grew into muchmore. A musical consortium of seven members,Bad Astronaut currently find themselvespreparing for their third release, Twelve SmallSteps, One Giant Disappointment. Three yearsinto the making of the album, the band wasdealt a crippling blow with the untimely death ofDerrick Plourde. Over the past year, they’veworked in their downtime between other bandsto complete this album, one of Derrick’s finalmusical ventures. Twelve Small Steps, OneGiant Disappointment trades in a bit of theexperimental focus of the last full length for amore straight forward rock approach. Fear not,for Bad Astronaut continue to put their owntwist on indie rock with the use a wide array ofinstruments, utilizing everything from from celloto timbales, allowing them to achieve a soundthat’s truly their own.
I am excited that there have been a handful of you taking the time to send us their Mix CDs. I realize there is a lot of work in compiling the songs, typing everything up, and mailing us a copy of your mix, but we all really appreciate it. The two latest mixes include:
Free Mix CD Club CD by Andy Thomas “Totally Dope Mix CD”
Tracks by Planes Mistaken for Stars, Hot Water Music, Drag the River, Wolf Parade, Descendents, Cardinal Sin, and more.
Free Mix CD Club CD by Kasey Karen “Kiki’s Kick-ass Compilation”
Tracks by Refused, A.F.I., Interpol, Thrice, Tiger Army, Bayside, Against Me, At the Drive In and more.
You can pick either of the mix Cds or any of the ones in the Mix CD section for free with any purchase you make at Dead Format. While you are thinking about it, consider making one too as you could possibly win a $100 gift certificate at Dead Format dot com if you get us your mix CD and have it selected more than the other Mix CD Club CDs.
Speaking of contests, we have less than one week left for the Suburban Home mix CD club contest. Hannah is in the lead with me and Kyle right behind her. The winner of the Staff mix cd contest will get a $50 gift certificate to the place of their choice.
Thanks Andy and Kasey for posting your mixes.
William Elliott Whitmore/Jenny Hoyston “Hallways of Always” CD
William Whitmore is a God! I love everything he does and this duet’s CD is just another fantastic title.
With a shared passion for classic Nashville recordings, Erase Errata’s Jenny Hoyston and ex-roommate William Whitmore have created ‘Hallways as Always’, a strikingly honest collection of alternative country maybe best compared to June Carter & Johnny Cash. Hopefully Cash’s recent surge in popularity will see this mini-album reaching a few more ears than usual, but it really carries off the style with grace and a clear passion. You can tell from seconds into opener ‘First of a Thousand Beasts’ that the two veteran musicians and old friends know exactly what they’re doing as acoustic guitars jangle along tirelessly and an old saw is bowed in the background. This is a record that strangely enough manages to sound vaguely contemporary while still holding a torch for recordings of the past, which is no mean feat. It never once sounds retro-fetishist or old fashioned, rather it sounds like Hoyston and Whitmore have an understanding for the musical forms they are re-creating.
Voxtrot “Your Biggest Fan” CD
From time to time, the music blog world finds a band, gushes over them, and widespread attention ensues. Voxtrot is one of those bands. I found out about them through sites like Gorilla vs Bear and instantly fell in love with them. They play a kind of jangle pop/indie-rock not unlike Belle and Sebastian or the Smiths. Their latest EP marks their signing to the XL recordings/Matador imprint, PlayLoudRecordings. This 3 song single is a great debut release on the label, but I currently celebrate their entire catalog. I just can’t wait for a full length.
Voxtrot catalog
BRIGHT EYES “Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)” CD
A collection of singles, one-offs, unreleased tracks, collaborations, and covers recorded between 1998 and 2005. Variously recorded to cassette fourtrack, mini-disc, reel-to-reel tape machine, ADAT and computer, these songs trace Bright Eyes’ evolution from basement project to band of international repute. Many of these gems previously lost to out-of-print obscurity are hereby resurrected.
All of our available Bright Eyes releases
Suburban Home Super Sale 36 CDs(450+ songs) plus a T-shirt
It has been a little while since we offered this kind of deal, but the Suburban Home Super Sale is back! This time around you get 36 Compact Discs spanning our entire catalog (The Gamits Box set and a few out of print CDs are the only exclusions) and one of the new Suburban Home T-shirts (Choose Red or Baby Blue and your size). In addition to our catalog, there are a few extra titles (Aeffect, Kane Hodder, Kite Eating Tree, Attention, and more). This is the perfect gift for a friend or for yourself as you will get a gigantic box of CDs that marks our 11 year history. At $100, you are paying under $3.00 per CD.
To recap, there are a T-shirt, 36 CDs(over 450 songs), including a handful of these titles that will soon be out of print (Gamits “Endorsed by You”, NO Borders compilation, and Fairlanes “Songs for Cruising”. )
Click this link to see the entire list of available CDs.
Free Mix CD Club CD by Lee Roehrig “IRONING IS FOR SUCKERS”
This submission into the Mix CD club was exactly what I was hoping for when we started this club. Lee took extra special time into putting together a mix that rocks, but he also took it a step further and made an incredibly cool cover for it. Note the play on words and the inspiration behind the cover art and you will see what I mean. He also took the time to explain why he picked the songs he did. Click the link to read more and get the entire track listing. Tracks by Kid Dynamite, Cadillac Blindside, The Movielife, Screeching Weasel, American Steel, Cardinal Sin, Lifetime, Cancer Bats, Bouncing Souls, Hope Conspiracy, Hopesfall, Fugazi, and more.
I hope this inspires some of you to make your own mix CD. It really is my hope that this becomes a fun way for everyone to share new music and to discover it as well.
More info on making your own Mix CD
Hot IQs “Dangling Modifier” CD
The Hot IQs are one of a new breed of Denver artists that are doing something that under the right set of circumstances could lead to widespread national success. They are one the first bands to take advantage of our Sell Your Own CD feature and I really hope that we can help them out in some way. If you like bands like Archers of Loaf, the Crystal Skulls, and/or Spoon, definitely check out this band. And they are some of the nicest folks ever!
Denver-based Hot IQs roar back with the release of their fuzzy experimental EP, Dangling Modifier (Yawaction Records). This deceptively poppy collection marks the follow-up to An Argument Between the Brain and Feet - their “instant pop classic” debut – and finds the band at their fullest, catchiest, and most overtly witty stage to date.
“Insanely catchy and impossibly fun.” gorrilavsbear
MP3: Hot IQs “Retromuff”
More info on Selling Your Own CDs
