and go on, to your next conquest

Watch a brand new video for Good Shoes' latest single "The Way My Heart Beats":

the room seemed dizzy and dirty

As if their wonderful sophomore, No Hope, No Future isn’t enough, Good Shoes will be releasing another single—"The Way My Heart Beats"—on April 19th. It will be a mini-EP with three b-sides that weren’t finished in time for the album. In the meantime, the band are giving away a bundle of songs & videos on their website. The audio tracks include the b-side "Easier Easier" and an acoustic version of "The Way My Heart Beats". The bundle also includes two videos: a strange short by the band entitled Chasing Gulls and a live cover of Daniel Johnston’s "Despair Came Knocking" (OMG!)

To give you a taste of this awesome audio/video package, I have converted the cover of "Despair Came Knocking" into mp3, download it below!

Good Shoes: Despair Came Knocking (Daniel Johnston cover, live @ The Premises Studios)

Get the full goodness of the bundle by going to Good Shoe’s website and sign up for the band’s mailing list!

good shoes: no hope, no future

Good Shoes had some big shoes to fill—their breakout debut was my 6th favourite album of 2007 and "Morden" was my favourite track in the same year. I have been patiently waiting for the band’s sophomore for three years now (while spinning Think Before You Speak on a regular basis); and naturally, I had some high expectations for No Hope, No Future. So after listening to the new album for almost a week, I am happy to say that I am more than satisfied with it! Not much has changed since the last record, No Hope, No Future is slightly, just slightly, more mature, but otherwise, it is once again filled with infectious catchy and energetic DIY indie-pop tunes! The first single, "Under Control" is unbelievably catchy, it has been stuck in my head for the past few days. There are a few unusual sounding tracks on the record: "Everything You Do" stood out when I first heard it because it sounded so different; "Then She Walks Away" is very Foals like; and "City By The Sea" is a non-Good Shoe like ballad with quite beautiful lyrics. Perhaps my favourite track at the moment is "I Know". I absolutely love the melodic song structure; and in a way, it reminds me of "Morden"—the former is a rant about society as a whole while the latter is a commentary on the band’s hometown. No Hope, No Future sounds more cohesive and complete than Think Before You Speak; it feels less choppy while still maintaining that bouncy high-energy tempo. It broke the sophomore curse, and it definitely lived up to the highly anticipated tag... what a great start to 2010!

I Know [wicked-cool song]
Under Control [wicked-cool song]

visit Good Shoes' MySpace here
buy No Hope, No Future here

i've got this under control

Head over to Good Shoes' site to listen to four tracks off of the band's new album, No Hope No Future! I am sooooooo stoked for this album... it is out in three days (January 11!) Make sure you sign up for the Good Shoes’ mailing list to get a free mp3 of "Under Control".

The band will also be doing quite a few of in-stores to celebrate the release of No Hope No Future!

Mon 11th - Rough Trade East, London
Wed 13th - Resident Records, Brighton
Thur 14th - Banquet Records, Kingston
Fri 15th - Rise Records, Bristol

new good shoes video!

Watch this bizarre video for "Under Control":

song of the moment

Good Shoes have posted another new song entitled "Under Control" on their MySpace.

i don't think before i speak

Good Shoes are back with a new song!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can download "The Way My Heartbeats" for FREE over at the band's website!

The band also announced a crap load of November/December UK dates:

November
05 Moles, Bath
06 Joiners, Southampton
07 Forum, Tunbridge Wells
09 Boiler Rooms, Guildford
10 Jericho, Oxford
11 Soul Tree, Cambridge
13 Club 85, Hitchin
14 Square, Harlow
15 Bodega, Nottingham
16 Sugarmill, Stoke
18 Central Station, Wrexham
19 Cockpit 2, Leeds
20 Club Strut, Darlington
21 Priory, Doncaster
23 Fibbers, York
24 King Tuts, Glasgow
25 Dexters, Dundee
26 Electric Circus, Edinburgh
27 Digital, Newcastle
28 Korova, Liverpool
30 Leadmill, Sheffield

December
01 Musician, Leicester
02 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
03 Club Ifor Bach, Cardiff
04 Ruby Lounge, Manchester
05 Cooler, Bristol

i get bored far too easily

You can download Portishead's entire set at this year's Coachella over at Deaf Indie Elephants and Mystic Chords Of Memory. Also, go look at some pretty photos from the show at Brooklyn Vegan and Flickr!
Thanks to For the 'Records' for posting the links!


CSS recently posted a song from their upcoming record, Donkey for download on their site.
CSS: Rat Is Dead (Rage)


Good Shoes have started a blog called the Boxer's Baby.


Finally, Does It Offend You, Yeah? have some new North American dates:
July
28 at The Glass House in Pomona, CA (w/ Bloc Party)
29 at Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, CA (w/ Bloc Party)
30 at Fillmore in San Francisco, CA (w/ Bloc Party)

August
04 at Drakes in Toronto, ON
05 at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA (w/ Bloc Party)
06 at Webster Hall in New York, NY (w/ Bloc Party)

cover song(s) of the moment

Here's a couple of fine covers by Lightspeed Champion. Both songs came from the Acoustic Bonus Disc off of Lightspeed Champion's debut, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge.

Never Meant to Hurt You (Good Shoes cover) [wicked-cool song]
Souvenirs (Patrick Wolf cover)
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you might like what i’ve got to say

Good Shoes will release "Small Town Girl" as their next single on November 26th. You can catch their brand new video for that track below:



Small Town Girl [wicked-cool song]
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pre-order Small Town Girl Singles here

met a girl on a plane to canada, drinking wine, watching maid in manhattan

It is a crime that I have forgotten to review Good Shoes’s Think Before You Speak on this blog. It is pretty strange that I forgot to recommend Think Before You Speak since one: it is one of my top three albums of the year; and two: I have virtually told every one I know to listen to it! Think Before You Speak is a powerhouse pop record. With most songs under three and a half minutes long, the record is jam-packed with fast, catchy, and absolutely witty songs! There are endless highlights as well; in fact, every track on Think Before You Speak has the potential to become a massive hit single! About four minutes into the album lays the greatest song of the year! "Morden", the most serious and honest song of the record is the band’s commentary on their hometown Morden, located in south-west London. The next track, "All In My Head" is the song that introduced me to Good Shoes... it is probably one of the catchiest songs I have ever heard... why is this song not big!?!? Come on people, "All In My Head" has the power to create world peace! Sure, a few songs on Think Before You Speak are slightly cheesy, but as I have mentioned like a thousand times already, they are catchy as hell, and that's all that matter. Think Before You Speak is a must-have for every music lover out there because once in a while, everyone needs to let loose and just enjoy a fun pop record!

Morden [super-wicked-cool song] this is pretty much the best song of the year!!!
All In My Head [super-wicked-cool song]
Blue Eyes [wicked-cool song]
Sophia [wicked-cool song]
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buy Think Before You Speak here

met a girl on a plane to canada

Good Shoes is offering a non-album track entitled "It's Impossible" for free here!!!!! You can also download it below.

It's Impossible
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best track from think before you speak

Watch Good Shoes’ brand new video for "Morden" below.

out this week

The best records of the year are out this week...

Good Shoes: Think Before You Speak
An excellent debut by this very young band from Morden, London. Think Before You Speak is full of power-pop-rock songs from start to finish! Oh... I really need to give this record its own post...

Nazanin [wicked-cool song]
All In My Head [super-wicked-cool song]
Never Meant To Hurt You [wicked-cool song]
Things To Make And Do [wicked-cool song]

buy Think Before You Speak here


Great Lake Swimmers: Ongiara
Yet another astonishing record by Great Lake Swimmers... really, is Tony Dekker capable of writing a bad song?

Backstage with the Modern Dancers [wicked-cool song]
There Is a Light [wicked-cool song]
Put There by the Land [wicked-cool song]

buy Ongiara here


Klaxons: Myths of the Near Future
One of the most important records of the year is finally out in North America... now you don't have to pay $30+ for an import!!! (or in my case, $50 for a vinyl import)

Golden Skans [super-wicked-cool song]
Magick [super-wicked-cool song]

buy Myths of the Near Future here

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i'm a talented artist but my hearts not in it

I am so in love with this song (or songs) right now... that's all.

All In My Head (old version) [wicked-cool song] from Good Shoes
All In My Head (new version) [super-wicked-cool song] from All In My Head Single
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buy All In My Head Single here