A creaking door, bogeymen lurking in the shadows and an over active imagination can be the only explanation for Sound Team’s ‘Don’t Turn Away’ because it’s quite unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Ok, there are ingenious nods to the underrated Clinic but who else could get away with unrehearsed church bells, drum beats recorded inside a cardboard box, indiscernibly juicy vocals and a keyboard that for all intensive purposes sounds like the midnight calls of a Mogwai. I guess that's what happens when ideas run riot in the recording studio you've built for yourself. The Austin band are about to release their ‘Work’ EP on an unsuspecting world and if ‘Don’t Turn Away’ is anything to go by they will have a very intense spotlight cast in their direction before too long. And if they sell a few records perhaps they'll have plenty to eat after midnight too. KD

Sound Team - Don't Turn Away

Album: Work EP
Year: 2005

When you get an opening salvo as memorable as ‘I was in a car crash, its not a hard luck story, on my back in the road with bits of me around’ its time to sit up and take notice. The song captures one mans world-weariness as he experiences clinical incompetence, political shallowness and the loneliness of old age during an altogether unpleasant hospital stay. You’d think that such a downbeat tale could have your reaching for the poison but the sharp humour and ingenious playing makes it rather jaunty. A memorable circular riff bolsters the tirade but its not until the swooping trumpet kicks in that it all goes supernova. With the words being spoken rather than sung the sentiments are easily translated making this one of the best short audio dramas you’ll hear in a while. Sadly Animals That Swim’s clever cleverness meant a wider audience eluded them and their albums lacked the persuasive feel of their finer moments.

Animals That Swim - Pink Carnations

Album: Workshy
Year: 1995

Sonic Youth are akin to a twin tub that destroys the colours on garments yet from time to time the newly rainbowed apparel displays a unique and satisfying take on high fashion. Throughout their career the band have been consistently inconsistent in their output. One minute they are parading a spellbinding mix of jangling guitars and low-slung vocal theatrics, the next they are in throes of sonic epilepsy that is too wayward to be considered ingestible. Their exalted status is no doubt down to their longevity and the fact that every now and then they pin down a stone cold classic. ‘Unwind’ is one such, extending over 6 minutes; it is effortless in its simplicity yet buoyant enough to reveal new subplots on every play. Thurston Moore provides the stoned impassioned delivery while guitar chords shimmer endlessly in the background. The gradual descent into a smorgasbord of electrics is inevitable but the slow recovery back to twinkling chords ensures a happy ending every time.

Sonic Youth - Unwind

Album: Washing Machine
Year: 1995

Despite the daft name Thee More Shallows seemed to have nailed down the prototype for a new elaborate wing in the house of rock. Their 'More Deep Cuts' album has a fresh exuberant feel to it, as if something exciting is being rolled out. Each cut is a distinct, multi-layered affair that reveals itself over repeated listens which just about explains the albums 3-year conception. 'Freshman Thesis' and '2am' are the highlights throwing imagination from the speakers like a Halloween fireworks display. '2am' has Dee Kesler as Lou Reed, the tumbling xylophone riff holds court as the bouncy drumming attempts to keep up. As the ascending barrage of noise envelopes you appreciate the scene as the singer tries the sleep in a city that doesn’t. There are flashes of Grandaddy and a host of post-rock entrepreneurs but this San Francisco band are out there setting their own mountain high standards.

Thee More Shallows - 2am

More Info: Thee More Shallows
Buy Album: [UK] More Deep Cuts [US] More Deep Cuts
Year: 2004

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In the early days it was like a secret club. With a debut in short supply, interviews at an absolute premium, grainy abstract photos and shorts pity essays included with all releases a legend was moulded. At first it seemed like the band couldn't put a foot wrong, new material easily stood up to the intense scrutiny from their invisible army of fans. The intelligence in the lyrics was matched only by the wholesome melody. This music didn't slap you in the face, it cajoled you slowly until you copped that every other band were altogether less useful. 'Push Barman To Open Old Wounds' chronicles those first steps from Art College Project to one of the most impressive acts in the world. 'Slow Graffiti' initially appeared at the tail end of 'This Is Just A Modern Rock Song' EP (their EP's proved conclusively that the single still had a role to play). 'Slow Graffiti' details how twee pop could muster more resonance than all the synchronised movements of a certain Mancunian set of siblings. It begins in that true Belle & Sebastian spirit with Stuart Murdoch alone with his voice, at times it sounds as if he is stretching to reach the high notes but this just adds to the occasion. The winning effect comes by way of trundling stop/start bowl of faded drums, oboe, trombone and a hoarse guitar riff. The song slowly garners momentum and doesn’t relinquish control until your urges are sated. After hearing this you'll realise it's worth suffering a century of fakers if the rewards for patience uncovers a band like Belle & Sebastian every now and then. KD

Belle & Sebastian - Slow Graffiti

Album: This Is Just A Modern Rock Song EP
Year: 1998

With a feather lifted from Roddy Woomble's rapidly disintegrating peak cap (cf 'When I Argue I See Shapes') 'Another Wound' leaves the blocks in record-breaking fashion. The Ponys may be relative newcomers but they are about to have an almighty impact. Their anglophile tendencies are obvious, yet they mask what they've borrowed behind romper-stomper ditties. This a 3 minute pop sensation, shimmering sounds are fashioned from the likeliest of sources and a centre as ebullient as a Wimbledon starlet sees Jered Gummere swing from his own ripened tonsils. Their sophomore effort ‘Celebration Castle’ is awash with similar sonic belters that are primed to replace any other fixes you may have grown accustomed to. While we’ve always had horses for courses, the time may have arrived to try some Ponys for choruses. KD

The Ponys - Another Wound

Album: Celebration Castle
Years: 2005

Ridiculously shunted from his previous incarnation Manitoba, Dan Snaith has conjured yet more bedroom masterpieces on his third LP ‘The Milk Of Human Kindness’. The goalposts haven’t shifted all that greatly with Snaith still intent on colouring life with electronic portraits of the colourful kind. ‘Barnowl’ closes the album in the giddiest of ways. A rollicking good time pummels forth via clockwork synths, breathy vocals, masked eastern influences and the sneaking feeling that the bogeyman could be about to turn up at any time. You may have trouble moving your body to it, but it'd take a heavy set of manacles to stop those hearty foot commotions. As far as Caribou is concerned it's only a matter of time before the only thing that's going ‘who who’ is the subject of this song. KD

Caribou - Barnowl

Album: The Milk Of Human Kindness
Year: 2005

Put a guitar, bass, drums and voice together and the sonic possibilities stretch to infinity. The trick is to come up with something that is worthwhile, something that can move the listener. Explosions In The Sky achieve this effortlessly and considering they don't even employ a singer makes their music all the more remarkable. Their third album 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' is a post-rock masterpiece (see also Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, Godspeed You Black Emperor) with rich hook filled guitar escapades in plenty supply. 'Your Hand In Mine', 'The Only Moment We Are Alone' and 'First Breath After Coma', are particularly inspired. The latter starts out like a frosty morning, a jinking guitar solo and sparse bass flutter like swallows in a blue sky. The percussion is frenetic but controlled building slowly to the point where the guitars run freely. It’s the sort of music you can easily get lost in; the all-encompassing nature is total save for some intermittent reindeer bells. This is music for a virtual world, one where the only violence that is committed targets helpless 6 stringed instruments. KD

Explosions In The Sky - First Breath After Coma

Buy Songs: Explosions In The Sky
Year: 2003

While the Bluetone Roses moniker that was hoisted on them did an enormous disservice to the much superior Manchester band with King Monkey at the helm, this Mark Morris led project had initially, at least, some worth. Their first 3 singles ‘Are You Blue Or Are You Blind’, ‘Bluetonic’ and ‘Slight Return’ were fabulous examples of jangling pop, but sadly the bands albums were lumpen affairs that illustrated a remarkably limited potential. Funny then that one of their greatest tunes, 'Castle Rock', should be a b-side on the ‘Cut Some Rug’ single. Things don’t start out too promising as the guitars plod along aimlessly but out of the blue some dandy riffs fly about and Morris sends a shudderingly melodic vocal to the base of your spine. It’s all over in a blink of an eye but then spontaneous joy generally is. While the Bluetones are unlikely to fill little more than a footnote in the annals of indie history they have several recordings that they can be proud of. KD

The Bluetones - Castle Rock

Album: Cut Some Rug EP
Year: 1996

Criminally underrated, the Boo Radleys ably continued the proud liverpudlian tradition of producing brilliant pop bands. While they initially pottered away in the guitar heavy shoegaze scene it was their 1993 album ‘Giant Steps’ that signalled their true intentions. Martin Carr was the prolific songwriter who for a time in the mid nineties was unable to put a foot wrong with the bands b-sides often eclipsing their more illustrious neighbours. ‘Giant Steps’ excelled in contemporary psychedelia, the schizophrenic song structures were often too skewed to be consumed on a first listen but once digested the masterly song writing was evident. Lazarus is one of the albums many highlights. The 12-inch version holds the exuberant trumpets back for a bit but this is not to detract from the songs power. The Jah Wobble like bass and drugged out delivery is a masterclass in dub and perfectly rolls out the red carpet for the aforementioned brass. Add in Sice’s crystallised down a telephone line voice and what you have is a classic song waiting for a future generation to embrace it. KD

The Boo Radleys - Lazarus (12-inch version)

Album: Giant Steps
Year: 1993

Rollerskate Skinny are perhaps the closest anyone got to producing the multi-layered genius of My Bloody Valentine. Fronted by floppy fringed Ken Griffin they were an explosive live outfit, perforating eardrums one moment, applying cotton rimmed remedies the next. Their 2 albums are forgotten gems; the sophomore effort ‘Horsedrawn Wishes’ alone expelled enough fluid ideas to maintain a healthy career. ‘Speed To My Side’ perfectly displays the bands kaleidoscope approach; all manner of instruments are thrown into the blender but somehow the dish is delicately cohesive. Griffins voice holds true as guitar pedals are stomped on, feedback streams from a bank of 10-foot high speakers and several banshees wail from the unused abattoir next door. Griffin once described Rollerskate Skinny’s music as ‘controlled melodic chaos’ and on this evidence it's easy to see why. KD

Rollerskate Skinny - Speed To My Side

More Info: IMC
Buy Album: [UK] Horse Drawn Wishes [US] Horsedrawn Wishes
Year: 1996

hugger recommends eMusic

The electronic windowlicker may have had the critics on his side for most of the nineties but many of his offerings were about as appealing as long fingernails scraping down a blackboard. On occasions, however, he dropped his nocturnal guard to dramatic effect. 'Goon Gumpas' is as cute as the video it inspired (huge teddy bears bouncing on oversized beds) with sweeping organ flourishes and digitalised strings plucked in pretty patterns. This is the sound of little red riding hood in the forest after the successful introduction of myxomatoses for bad wolves. Heck, even my hairy eared grandma has nice words to say about it. KD

Aphex Twin - Goon Gumpas

More Info:
Buy Aphex Twins: [UK] Richard D. James [US] Richard D. James Album
Year: 1996

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mp3hugger is an indie mp3 blog based in Dublin, Ireland that started in September 2005. Its purpose is to introduce music to people who may not otherwise get to hear it. The mp3s on this site are only available for 6 days. My intention is not to violate copyright laws. If you are owner (copyright or creator) of an mp3 posted here and are unhappy about its use, please email me and I will delete it immediately. In June 2008 mp3hugger set up a record label called Indiecater. It has nice stuff that you can listen to and buy if you like it enough.

To the users of this site:

Please take care of each mp3. If you like one, the chances are you'll like the album it comes from. Click on the link to buy or do it the old fashioned way by rushing down to your local record store. This way you can help raise the profile of the artists behind this great music.

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Hi and welcome to mp3hugger where you can read about the MP3's that any self-respecting hard drive should expect to house.

Is there something I’ve missed? And would you like to be the one to shout it from the rooftops? As mp3hugger is only one koala he is really limited in what he can absorb so if you would like to fill in the gaps please get in touch. Reviews should be between 100 and 150 words and must include the mp3 you are hugging. Send your work to mp3hugger at yahoo dot com or use the normal contact address above. A world of free CD’s, guest lists and hob knobbing with some of the coolest bands awaits!

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Vanity page wherein mp3hugger scans the world's media for titbits of recognition.



December 2007 - The gonna be band of 2008 called Ham Sandwich describes mp3hugger thusly 'the indie MP3 discoverer website that makes Christopher Colombus' adventure to the America's look like the morning Stena ferry sailing to Hollyhead'. To celebrate hugger enjoys several festive pinta's with Nina and Santa Maria.

September 2007 - mp3hugger’s growing reputation as an international blog (see March entry) sees various posts syndicated to Reuters and NBC. Linguaphone tapes have been ordered to handle the inevitable worldwide paparazzi scrum calling to Dublin 1.

April 2007 - Irish Independent music correspondent John Meagher describes mp3hugger as ‘an excellent gateway to exciting new music’ in the Day & Night entertainment supplement with the paper. The week previously hugger blew much of 2007's budget on Meagher's favourite cuban cigars.

March 2007 - mp3hugger gets mentioned in the salubrious Irish Times as a recommended international blog. Fails to make the recommended Irish blogs list though. Rechecks passport, map and neatly pressed Irish football jersey.

February 2007 - much feted Canadian music blog Chromewaves puts 'mp3hugger' and 'nicely done' in the same sentence for the piece about Slowdive.

January 2007 - mp3hugger gets nominated for best music blog in Ireland award. Not shortlisted so that very minute puts in an order for a bale of brown paper bags (to aid both bribing and street drinking).

The music blogging community is getting bigger. This is a list of the best mp3 blogs from around the world. Leave a comment with suggestions for blogs that may have been missed.

Australia

A Reminder

Canada

Bows & Arrows
Bury Me Not
Chromewaves
The Panic Manual
Pop Will Eat My Blog
Villians Always Blink

Czechoslovakia

getecho

Denmark

Hit In The Car
DoCopenhagen

England

20 Jazz Funk Greats
Check The Availability
Dalston Oxfam Shop
Eclectic Hermit
An Idiot's Guide To Dreaming
To Die By Your Side
The Devil Has The Best Tuna
Indie MP3
Mojophenia
Music Stuff
Sound Bites
Song, by Toad
Trackfeeder
Wolf Lullaby
you shall know our discography

France

Absolute Noise
La Blogothèque
Mind the gap
Musicalement Votre

Germany

Coast Is Clear
Indie Surfer
The Last Pop Song
totally fuzzy

Holland

Eet U Smakelijk

Iceland

104 Reykjavík

Ireland

Album Archive
Frequency Ireland
Hi-Fi Popcorn
The Indie Hour
Kilkenny Music
Matt Vinyl
The New(ish) Journalism
nialler9
Say Anything Syndrome
Soundtracks For Them
The Sigla Blog
the torture garden

Israel

Nasty Panda

Italy

Indie For BUNNIES

Mexico

motel de moka

Norway

Eardrums Music

The Philippines

Harmony In My Ears

Scotland

And Before The First Kiss
The Pop Cop

Spain

fuck me i'm twee!

Switzerland

Music Of The Moment

USA

@indiechristoph@
3hive
A Blog Soup
advance copy
Afterbirth of the Cool
All Things Go
An Aquarium Drunkard
a PLAGUE of ANGELS
Audiofile
aurgasm
Badical Beats
Berkeley Place
Brooklyn Vegan
Cable & Tweed
clicky clicky music blog
Daytrotter
devil in the details
Dreams of Horses
Each Note Secure
Free Indie
The Glorious Hum
Green Pee-ness
Good Weather For Airstrikes
Groove Cookie
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
i guess i'm floating
Kingblind
marathonpacks
Mars Needs Guitars
Mega Super Mammoth MP3 Blog List
Milk Milk Lemonade
Pocket|Trax
The Poor Ditching Boy
Raised on Indie
The Rising Storm
Scatter o' Light
*Sixeyes
Skatterbrain
The Sound Of Indie
Tiny Mix Tapes
The Underrated Blog
Who Needs Radio?
Wolf Notes
The Yellow Stereo