Kunek - Flight Of The Flynns (2006?)

[Indie/Alternative]

Flight of the Flynns (whose release date I can't seem to find btw) is one of those overlooked gems that you stumble into every once in a while.

The band puts forth a mix of sounds that evoke comparisons with the likes of greats like Radiohead. Their style is very melancholic, often times influenced by the Shoegaze scene, other times approaching Post-Rock, And somtimes simply, rocking out a little bit. Even with such diverse and widespread influences, the band keeps it's own unique sound, derived from the fact that they have a very strong combination of cello/piano on most of their songs, and the beautiful ways in which they are arranged..
Kunek create layers of music that keep building on top of one another, resulting in beautiful pieces of sonic art.

After releasing this, the band seemed to have gone into a sort of hiatus, only to emerge some time later with a new name (Other Lives) and a somewhat different style. But In my opinion, this release is the best one still.

Check them out performing their track "Coma"


Also, be sure to check out their myspace, at http://www.myspace.com/otherlives to keep up to date with their new music.


Get Flight Of The Flynns, now.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AQVF9OG7

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

[Alternative/Indie rock]

After tackling Yoshimi, I decided to stick around the year 2002, and post some Wilco.

This is basically, the little album that could.
After being rejected by their label for not being "catchy" or marketable enough, this album caused Wilco to be dropped.

Wikipedia:
"As the band searched for a new label to release the album, they decided to stream it at their official website to discourage illegal trading of low-quality MP3s. The band signed with Nonesuch Records, another Time Warner subsidiary, and the album was released in the spring of 2002. When it was released, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot reached number thirteen on the Billboard 200, Wilco's highest chart position to that date. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sold over 590,000 copies, and to date remains Wilco's best selling album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was met with wide critical acclaim: it topped 2002's Pazz & Jop critics' poll, was named one of the 100 greatest albums of all time by Q Magazine."

This album is basically one of the quintessential releases from Wilco, and an indie rock must have.

Guitar rock, with pop sensitivities and a pretty nice degree of experimentation.

You'll enjoy this.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mhlw2wjd2j2

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)

[Experimental/Indie pop/rock]

For Moe.

I usually hate labeling things as "experimental" cause I feel it's a term that gets thrown around WAY too much now a days. Especially by bands who believe that having a few weird time signatures, and/or delay pedals makes them so.

To experiment, in the truest sense of the word, is to take things out of the box. And try to create something new, from what already is.

This is what The Flaming Lips achieved with their magnificent 2002 release, Yoshimi battles the pink robots.

I believe pitchfork media said it best:
"The Flaming Lips’ brilliant follow-up to 1999’s The Soft Bulletin, this album was every bit its equal and solidified Wayne Coyne and The Lips as perhaps the most inventive, fascinating purveyors of skewered pop perfection in the musical world. "

After such a description... can you really NOT get this?
Didn't think so.

Equal parts pop, quirk, noise, and happiness.

Her name is Yoshimi.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LR3H7WE0

The National - Boxer (2007)

[Indie Rock]

The National are one of the best bands to come out in recent years.
Hailing from Brooklyn, they play a brand of indie rock very similar to bands like Interpol, and some of the older post-punk bands. But they take this and create something new with it.

Please to enjoy, The national's 4th album, Boxer.

Ps: Sufjan Stevens appears in 2 songs ("Ada" and "Racing Like a Pro")
so... yeah. Double the awesome.


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=93W8G6G6

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

[Indie/Folk Rock-ish]

Neutral Milk Hotel's In the aeroplane over the sea is, in my opinion, the second best album released in the 90's (Being beaten only by Radiohead's OK Computer)

A masterpiece of simplicity and at the same time of complexity, a dashing gem of songwriting genious.
Guitars float along screams of clarinets, trumpets, distortion, and celestial whirrings.
Led by Jeff Mangum, this album is beautiful, devastating, and strange. All in a little package neatly placed in an airplane... over the sea.

Trust me, just get this.

"For now, we are young. Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see."


http://www.mediafire.com/?im444jgfmgj

Pixies - Doolittle (1989)

[Indie Rock]

Doolittle is one of those records that define everything that follows.

Masters of the quiet/loud dynamic, and basically the band that most "indie rock" groups have followed, and tried to emulate. Nevertheless, none have reached the perfection of The Pixies.

Doolittle is an easier album to get into than some of it's predecessors like "Surfer Rosa"
But that doesn't mean it's lacking any of the pixies' flavor.

Plus, Kim Deal was kinda hot back then.

Do yourself a favor, and get this.


http://rapidshare.com/files/137829036/Pixies_-_Doolittle-1989.ofn.rar

Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel - Riding The Nuclear Tiger (2001)

[Jazz/Progressive]

(Thanks Carlos)

Walking a fine line between Jazz and Progressive (in a sense) Riding the Nuclear Tiger is an impressive release by bassist Ben Allison and his crew.

Jazz is one of those genres where labeling something as "phenomenal" is really hard. Not because jazz is a sub-par genre, far from it. But because of the immense number of ways it can be constructed, interpreted, arranged and delivered are too wide to pinpoint a specific way to make something stand out. But this release does it.

It's one of those things you can really only explain by listening to it yourself.

Enjoy.

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