Don't You (Forget About Me)

The following list covers all of the artists/bands featured on EAR FARM through the end of December 2007. This excludes the weekly features (such 8+, Weekend Live Music) and is more about bands that have gotten a band-specific write-up on EF. The quotes are from EAR FARM write-ups about the band and should help give you a mini-notion of what each artist is all about and should also clue you in as to why they've been featured on this site. Click the (+) to visit a previous EF posting about any of these bands and click the band name to go to their site.

New York based bands:
Apse (+) - ominous post-rock with a sense of wonder...(at times) The Beta Band, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and My Bloody Valentine.
The Art of Shooting (+) - musical cousins of Pretty Girls Make Graves...influences like Sonic Youth and Siouxsie
Bastion (+) - a little Joy Division during the verses, My Bloody Valentine during the chorus
Beat the Devil (+) - sultry dark dirgey folk rock that climbs into your mind and never lets go
Bell (+) - has this beautiful warm lilt in the way she sings that seems to cut right through the darkness of a venue as if she's singing just for you
Bishop Allen (+) - "Click Click Click Click" belongs at the top of the camera/picture-song list with other classics like "Kodachrome" and "Pictures of You"
A Brief Smile (+) - fresh and current in a way that won't make you go "hmm, Gang of Four"
Butch & Bellie (+) - obviously absorbed the work of early Beastie Boys, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and Slick Rick and they know the importance of fixing their rhymes and beats up all perfectly so as to inspire smiles and dancing
Daylight's For The Birds (+) - remind me of that special wonderful spot where '80s and '90s 'alternative' music intersected and gave us bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain
Department of Eagles (+) - very schizophrenic in its stylistic choices. Somehow, though, it's crafted in a very seamless way, perhaps due to the consistently casual and playful tone and hazy lo-fidelity production that meanders throughout the album.
Die Romantik (+) - their sound is being finely tuned...evolving...very similar to what it's been in the past but now with teeth
The Diggs (+) - some 90's college radio rock, emo, and some British music influences...a taste of The Verve and Sugar
Dracula Zombie USA (+) - combining live drums and drum machines with samples, synths, loops, guitars, vocals, and lord knows what else...music that's equally interesting, fun, and moving
El Jezel (+) - from the opening chords of "Michigan" I was in love. No joke. That song fucking rocks my shit. It does. Almost made me poop my pants it was so good...
Emma La Reina (+) - tasteful angular guitar blended with shoegaze notions and topped with dreamy female vocals
Fanuelle (+) - I like peculiar...a little Stephin Merritt, Syd Barrett, Burt Bacharach, Serge Gainsbourg, or Pulp
The Fatales (+) - what I hear in The Fatales is something more like early U2/later Pulp.
Foreign Islands (+) - I can't tell you how refreshing it was to see a band put the balls back into a rock performance
The Forms (+) - Angular, tight, and yet soaring all at the same time.
Frauke (+) - 100% music... sounding of a garage band, very much Frauke for Frauke's sake, and better than the music that you've heard elsewhere that made you think "yuck"
Goes Cube (+) - sets out to fearlessly go wherever they want to, perhaps beyond where other bands dare...one of the best live bands in NYC
Gold Streets (+) - a fascinating niche of groovy bass, spaced out rock, and split male/female vocals which this band inhabits and I like everything I've heard from them so far
The Gritty Midi Gang (+) - some very promising catchy electro-pop sounding tunes
Grizzly Bear (+) - every headphone-straining nuance of every song popped through the cathedral's sound system with clarity, urgency and confidence, most impressive among these being the band's ethereal vocal harmonies. These guys can sing. Each one of them.
Michael Higbee (+) - an extremely talented singer-songwriter originally from Paris... currently making a name for himself playing gigs around New York showcasing his adept one man, two guitar parts playing style and excellent voice
Higgins (+) - Beatles, Beatles, Beatles...great balance within the band, great balance from rocking songs to more quiet ones
The Isles (+) - along the lines of The Smiths meet Pavement & Blur...pop driven romantic melancholy rock that groove as much as they jangle
Jaguar Club (+) - for certain they've spent time with Echo and with Morrissey and with early New Order and probably all of the others from this era/sub-genre as well...The Jaguar Club succeeds largely due to their dance inducing infectious energy.
La Laque (+) - a French infused band from New York who create music full of lofty atmospheric melodies and breathy vocals
Levy (+) - catchy and melodic...the kind of material that should easily grab them more attention as their reach expands beyond NYC
Limbs (+) - reminded of...early Folk Implosion and Slint...informed by angular post-punk yet aims to achieve a certain kind of quiet indie-rock/pop
Lismore (+) - a sound more cold in nature...winter-pop. Yeah, that's the ticket. Beautiful winter-pop.
Love As Laughter (+) - sweet ass home-groove indie-rock a la Malkmus, Neil Young
Katelyn Maier (+) - an amazing voice...reminded me of some kind of cross between Natalie Merchant and Kristin Hersh
Man in Gray (+) - I love a band with two guitars...love a great female lead vocalist...a roaring cover of "Twentieth Century Boy" by T. Rex...fucking hot shit
Mancino (+) - they blend '60s pop and jazz sensibilities with time changes and an indie-rock attack reminiscent of Pavement
The Midnight Hours (+) - obvious love for southern tinged rock (which is amazingly refreshing to hear amidst all of the NYC indie-scene bands)...a bit of John Frusciante and George Harrison in the guitar work
Gabriel Miller-Phillips (+) - a gentle folk strum and wandering picking style (a bit Jerry Garcia if I might) perfectly complement his softly soaring voice
Mistakes (+) - as if they formed their band by placing 15 different music genres in a hat and picked a few at random...rock, prog, ska, dance punk, pop-rock, grebo, experimental rock, etc etc.
Mobius Band (+) - their electro pop rock quickly turned me into a fan
The Muggabears (+) - fit very nicely into the indie-rock family tree someplace between Silver Jews and Sonic Youth and manage to pull off their sound without seeming derivative
Murder Mystery (+) - sounds that seem to stem from a late 50's/early 60's pop-rock sensibility...from the same influences that made George Harrison play guitar the way that he did
The Nailbiters (+) - reminiscent of Bishop Allen and Wilco...good solid American indie pop-rock
Nous Non Plus (+) - all dance dance hot sexy French indie-pop
O'Death (+) - not really "bluegrass" per se but more like a rock take on traditional American music. In fact I'd go so far as to call these guys the US version of The Pogues.
Other Passengers (+) - will rule your world...a sound that will knock you on your ass and make your head spin
A Passing Feeling (+) - this music has a sense of urgency to it...sounds like Jeep Wranglers and bikinis
The Picture (+) - something you don't see a whole lot of these days...a singer who can definitely sing (the rest of the band rocks socks off too)
Pink Noise (+) - rocked and jammed like Sonic Youth of 15 years ago
Proton Proton (+) - these guys are really excellent and they make me want to dance and they make me want to wreck shit and they make me want to go 'la la la la'
Proud Simon (+) - a band whose sound fits very comfortably alongside contemporaries such as Sufjan Stevens, The Magnetic Fields, and The Decemberists yet Proud Simon has managed to carve their own little niche within this seemingly overpopulated genre
The Rapture (+) - I like The Rapture...I feel like they get a bad rap (ha!) sometimes though
Royal Arms (+) - some Mike Campbell in the guitar work, a pinch of Greg Hawkes in the keys...an overall Spoon-ness
Seasick (+) - an entrancing intensity that's equal parts spooky and alluring
The Secret Life of Sofia (+) - I could see some of the songs by The Secret Life of Sofia being the soundtrack to the wintry landscape paintings by Caspar David Friedrich
Schwervon (+) - got more of a Neil Young (Matt's guitar playing), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (overall sound), Ween (sense of humor/mixing of Pop and indie-rock) kinda thing from these guys.
The Shapes (+) - a bit of Franz Ferdinand in their guitar chops and some garage grunge in their pop melodies
The Shondes (+) - a perfect blend of punk and gypsy folk music that comes across as both beautiful and enlivening
Alina Simone (+) - magical combination of tone, content, and composition... the vocals are bloody amazing
Slowlands (+) - a very full, well thought-out, sound often characterized by building songs from gentle beginnings to explosive climaxes
The Song Corporation (+) - show was a blast, had a pretty sweet balance between mellow songs/female vocals and more rocking songs/male vocals, and they had all kinds of people dancing and grooving along
Split Over Drapes (+) - listless but with purpose...interesting arrangements and choices, lyrics/vocals I like, and a well defined sound of their own
Super Volcano (+) - they mix in elements of Beatles-esque harmony/arrangements (think of a garage-pop version of XTC) with the urgency, fire, and desperation found in certain songs by The Unicorns or They Might Be Giants.
Susu (+) - one of those bands that makes me want to start a record label just so I can be sure (they're) recording more music and getting it out there for more people to hear
Taigaa (+) - the kind of music that awakens your own creativity and reminds you of the endless wonders you witnessed to the first time you entered the woods as a child
Takka Takka (+) - reminded me of Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, and Bob Dylan a bit too, but their music veers much more towards the pop side of those artists
Thieves Like Us (+) - I felt as if I was in Manchester in 1982 seeing an up and coming new wave band blossom before my eyes
Tigercity (+) - poised to fit nicely next to LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk in the playlists of daring-enough-to-dance cool kids everywhere
Umami (+) - a guitar-less happy place... an in between zone where they've combined the low end growl of Death From Above 1979 (I also hear a certain Trans Am-itude at work, and, to be frank, quite a bit of Peter Hook in the bass playing) with the understated rhythmic vocal grace of Pinback
The Unsacred Hearts (+) - their ideal fanbase...this imaginary gang that wears old black leather jackets and black jeans and walks around drinking Mickey's grenades...throwing the empties at people
Vampire Weekend (+) - a certain carefree take on songcraft you're not likely to find just growing on trees...smart pop
The Vandelles (+) - they have a roaring surf vibe that they then combine with a JAMC/MBV tidal wave of sound approach. As well, they wear their performance on their sleeve, taking cues from The Velvet Underground and Suicide in this regard...a rather unique sound bursting with palpable darkness.
Via Audio (+) - showed off some fine fine work on the stage, what with great stage presence and swift shifting of instrument duties, and showcased their soft harmonies and excellent pop skills with what turned out to be a really great set.
The Walkmen (+) - Watching them on Wendesday, I remembered how perfectly their sound captured (and still does) the essence of stumbling wide-eyed around dark city streets clamoring to soak everything in at once.
White Rabbits (+) - a staggering wall of sound that is somehow both intricately woven while recklessly delivered. In other words, as a live band White Rabbits are the intriguing nexus between the ethereal sound of the Walkmen and the raucous attack of Man Man.
Yeasayer (+) - their group charisma (highlighted at each performance by lead singer Chris Keating's ability to explode as if inhabited by the spirit of Ian Curtis at one moment and then calmly sustain a beautiful vocal moment the next) cuts like a lighthouse beacon through the fog of doubtful NY concert goers, converting the stoic arm-folders and leaving everyone equally impressed.

Bands from elsewhere:
Lily Allen (+) - catchy/ irresistible blend of ska/reggae, old-school soul, and solid, fun, pop
The Alright Ma's (+) - stripped down Zeppelin-esque blues song...it's over-the-top and I love it
Annuals (+) - any one of them on their own would surely stand up as a high quality musician but all together they sounded like they were leading a tribal indie-rock invocation of the god of sound
The Apparitions (+) - within no time I was singing along, imagining listening to the song on my iPod whilst commuting, and thinking of how many people I know would like this song
Arizona (+) - a band who is poised to join Okkervil River, My Morning Jacket and Wilco as the torchbearers of kickass American rock 'n roll music.
Arthur & Yu (+) - some of the best vocals I've heard anywhere in a while...in the realm of certain songs by The Velvet Underground (w/ Nico) or Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra
Ash Tree (+) - in line with stuff by Lou Barlow or Daniel Johnston...and some of it even reminds me of demo tracks from that Nirvana box set
At Dusk (+) - more better than good/sweet and tasty like candy canes
Bang Lime (+) - a raw, blues infused, '60s garage stomp that'll remind some of The White Stripes but had me thinking of how well they'd have fit in at CBGB in the '70s.
Bat For Lashes (+) - songs full of haunting sexual imagery highlighted by gorgeous ethereal vocals
Beangrowers (+) - hearing things much more interesting than your average neo-new wave sound-a-like...think more PJ Harvey and Elastica
Bella (+) - male/female vocals and a...groovy synth/guitar indie pop-rock sound that begs you to just have fun
Big Love Hospital (+) - is what happens when The Evangelicals, Cheyenne, Ryan Lindsey and friends get together to write and record tribute albums to American holidays
Birdmonster (+) - something that finds a happy place between classic 70's rock and post-punk
Black Kids (+) - an embryonic band unsure of how to deliver on the hype swirling about them...one notch above awful. A 1.7 on the Pitchfork scale.
Black Nasty (+) - chances are, it'll either offend the heck out of you or really make you laugh. Me? I enjoy it bunches
Bowerbirds (+) - a world of beauty and harmony and mother nature and creation, but also of melancholy and darkness and pain
Katy Bowser (+) - you're really going to come back for more because of Katy's candied sweet voice and because her songs can't help but inspire smiles
Billy Bragg (+) - I picked up the Billy Bragg boxset Vol. 1 and it's well worth owning if you're a fan
Brakes (+) - Brakes sound a bit like Pixies...and maybe a bit like Camper Van Beethoven...
Jake Brennan (+) - something like Nebraska era Bruce Springsteen, or Back to Basics Billy Bragg, but with a rockabilly slant
Can Joann (+) - they sound like a band who grew up listening to those early '90s NC bands and are simply putting their own spin on the Chapel Hill sound
Captain of Industry (+) - I've been listening to their stuff on MySpace and have found the songs both pleasing to my ears and interesting
The Captains (+) - Some of their songs come across as ready for tweenie TV show fame, some as Bling Kong-esque cheer-a-longs, some as guitar based pop-rock burners, and some as prime candidates for silly drunken karaoke.
Cansei De Ser Sexy (+) - I went to the store, bought the album, came home and listened to it immediately, and loved it
Ben Clarke (+) - an artist with a sense of honesty in his songs and a grasp of musical influence from the past as well as the present
Clementine Broadcast (+) - fun, melodic, upbeat music that's catchy and full of smart harmonies
Clint (+) - unique blend of Bloc Party meets Queens of the Stone Age meets Placebo
Cloud Cult (+) - Pitchfork gave Cloud Cult's album Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus an 8.3 - perhaps proof that Pitchfork is not as narcissistically irrelevant as I previously had thought
Erie Choir (+) - from country infused pop-rock to detached intelli-pop along the lines of the work of Stephin Merritt
Cut Off Your Hands! (+) - simple angular tunes that were derivative and uninteresting.
Femme Generation (+) - Streamers, confetti, a trombone, the 'woo oh oh oh oh ooohs' in "Semper Fi, Little Guy", and this certain je ne sais quoi that made me think of Jane's Addiction (not their sound, but just something) and late '80s LA fun
The Floor Is Made Of Lava (+) - a sound that centers around strutting guitar work and danceable beats
Golden Smog (+) - a fantastic song for a nice summer day like today
Graveyard (+) - This is riff rock ladies and gents, thunderous, cavernous RIFFS that get into your skull and make you do that annoying upper-lip curl when listening to it.
A Great White Bird (+) - rather perfect background music for the grey skies and bossless Monday-induced trance that's going on over here at my office
Happycasio! (+) - for a slightly very recent comparison, they sound like an English Tapes 'n Tapes
Noah Harrison (+) - atmosphere, mood, longing, reflection...it's hard to not...to be reminded of Nick Drake
Richard Hawley (+) - mellow tender throwback songs
The Heights (+) - the kind of stuff you heard more of in the 90's, the kind of stuff that makes for some great beer drinking music
Helvetia (+) - Alternately aggressively wah-drenched and peppered with deft jazz voicings and delicate flourishes, this is the sort of album that makes me wish it was standard practice to list effects pedals and setups in liner notes.
In Miniature (+) - sound like aimless cross-country wandering brought on by heartbreak, but in a friendly sense... the wandering is friendly I mean, not the heartbreak
John & Jehn (+) - why should I even bother trying to tell you any more about them other than take my word for it and check them out?
Juiced Elfers (+) - a four piece partyfuntime '60s dance music inspired band that includes Nicolas Thorburn and Jamie Thompson of Unicorns/Islands fame.
Kim Novak (+) - make me think of songs by some really outstanding bands that I love, bands like The Cure, Interpol, and The Velvet Underground
Law (+) - They bring the electric piano and bass lines and drum beats but their true aim is to hit you right between the eyes with their low-fi groovy garage pop
Le Loup (+) - I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by them and the sheer size and gravitas of their sound.
Lesley Lane (+) - a hint of a connection to the sound that has made The Dears favorites of mine
Little Name (+) - delicate dream-pop, heavy on the '60s French/Bacharach sound, that's perhaps more closely aligned with St. Etienne and Camera Obscura
The Lovely Feathers (+) - their music is concentrated and groovy: it'll get your ass moving and won't bore you
Low Lustre (+) - soaring vocals and guitars that remind me of the things The Walkmen obviously liked about early U2
Machine Go Boom (+) - roots planted in acoustic based experimental pop rock and would probably appeal to people who like bands such as Camper Van Beethoven and Dead Milkmen
Man Man (+) - like seeing/hearing the thoughts of a musically-minded mad scientist played out by a group of wandering minstrels
Megadeth (+) - one of the four great/original American thrash metal bands...extremely tight, professional, and awesome. Take no prisoners... take no shit!
The Melody Function (+) - hints of The Kinks, The Beach Boys, and that song from True Romance
Menomena (+) - a wholly original entity, forging a sound entirely their own through dynamic arrangements, innovative instrumentation, and a mastery of loops and samples that feels both playful and organic.
Mono in VCF (+) - magical cinematic pop sound... the sound of lonely romantic yearnings played out through the camera lens of your mind
Mull Historical Society (+) - reminded of XTC and Tears for Fears and The Flaming Lips a bit, but that's probably only because of the grand scope of this music
Nyles Lannon (+) - laptop pop - think Grandaddy and Postal Service, but from a place more similar to where Eilliot Smith and Simon & Garfunkel were coming from.
OMR (+) - you'll hear their Black Box Recorder-ish electro-pop songs and fall in love with them
Peasant (+) - beautiful, delicate, catchy, folk-pop...think of songs by The Kinks or Paul Simon
Pale Young Gentlemen (+) - Obvious references can be (and were) made to Beirut and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and such comparisons are definitely warranted and accurate. Their songwriting and arrangements also recall a more frenetic Die Romantik, and there's a charmingly ramshackle feel to these burlesque orchestral arrangements that are able to transcend their own playfulness...
People in Planes (+) - their sound (some bits Radiohead, some Supergrass, something their own too) is sure to soon be guided towards making tweens happy and filling arena seats
Scott Phillips (+) - at one point he played these songs in succession: "I Won't Share You", "But Not Tonight", and "The Saturday Boy"...that's The Smiths, Depeche Mode, and Billy Bragg... back to back to back
The Pine Club (+) - remind me a bit of The Housemartins or The Connells or The Judybats
Planes For Spaces (+) - they were about rocking some faces with the classic small venue raw set-up of one guy on drums, one on guitar
Pleasant (+) - I hear a little Pavement, Feelies, and even some Three Imaginary Boys era Cure in their songs
Pretty Girls Make Graves (+) - Pretty Girls Make Graves is one of my favorite US bands.
Read Yellow (+) - annihilated the implied barrier between themselves and the audience and moved from mellow moments to all out rocking with ease...pure energy
Brian Michael Roff and the Deer (+) - the sound of waking up and going for a walk in dewy grass, of sitting on your deck with friends and the perfect drink needing no conversation to make everything just right
Sam Roberts Band (+) - reminds me a bit of The Beta Band mixed with Blind Melon
The Rosebuds (+) - rousing and irresistible pop
The Sames (+) - sounds like Blur meets Arcade Fire...mmmm
Schooner (+) - Schooner was really great live...it was pretty cool to hear their songs in more pure/raw form
Victor Scott (+) - as each song carves a worthy sonic path through the thick brush of your mind remember that it's all the work of one guy
Screaming Tea Party (+) - The aural equivalent is like shuffling between a sunshine-sweet children's song informed by Pachelbel's "Canon" and a B-side from In Utero. In other words, completely worth your time.
Sebadoh (+) - one of my favorite bands ever and was one of the only American bands that held my interest for very long in the '90s
Shade (+) - some very nice British infused neo-shoegaze
Shiny Toy Guns (+) - give it a chance because it does turn into some sweet '80s style bubble synth-pop around the two minute mark before getting all Madonna meets Garbage around 2:37
Sister Vanilla (+) - along the lines of what we all know and love about the legendary music from the brothers Reid (except this time there's wonderfully ethereal vocals from Linda that blend perfectly with the music) and is every bit as interesting and listenable as you might expect
The Sky Drops (+) - considerable skill with creating full, lush sounds...music you'd not think was being made by a two-piece band
So! (+) - melancholic distorted dissonance and chugging steam locomotive riffs
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (+) - somewhere along the lines of early Of Montreal and Beulah if fronted by Rivers Cuomo
Square Root of Margaret (+) - they're more post-pop ergo propter pop. Post-pop goes the weasel goes the weasel post-pop! Pop pop fizz fizz what a relief their indie pop is? Yes, sure. Call it whatever you'd like, I'll just say that this is some very good indie pop.
Stardeath and White Dwarfs (+) - Their sound in a live setting was a mixture of shoegaze, prog, and elements of fellow Oklahomans Evangelicals. For the first two songs I thought "yesss" and then by the fourth song I was ready for them to leave the stage.
Kelley Stoltz (+) - amazing that this music is all the work of one man, stop avoiding this guy
Strip Squad (+) - carefree and catchy electro pop that's part Belle and Sebastian and part Looper
The Swimmers (+) - there's something irresistibly personal in this music and I'd highly suggest keeping an eye on this band if you're a fan of music along the lines of The Shins or The New Pornographers
Tapes 'n Tapes (+) - these guys make rock music that is interesting and comes out sounding FRESH in a world full of bland
The Televangelist and The Architect (+) - their sound does indeed fit somewhere right in between Cursive, Bright Eyes and The Faint
Tennis and the Mennonites (+) - their blend of acoustic singer-songwriter pop stuff mixed with plugged in indie-rock sounds really nice in the early summer sun
Those Damn Twins (+) - fans of Magnetic Fields, Mazzy Star, and that sense of adventure that drove bands like Cabaret Voltaire, will find much to like in the music of Those Damn Twins
The Ting Tings (+) - not your run of the mill male/female duo, The Ting Tings sound much more like Gwen Stefani mixed with M.I.A. and CSS than they do The White Stripes, or Matt and Kim
Track A Tiger (+) - a '97 Brunello of the indie music world...music that must've gestated for a while before finally being recorded and sent out for the public to enjoy
Trials & Errors (+) - this is the sound of a pensive cinematic moment and reminds me of the life I never lived hopping from town to town in the province of Castellón
The Vorstand Circus (+) - strikes that most perfect balance of clever production and songwriting coupled with smart melodies and blissful harmonies that guide you through personal lyrics
M. Ward (+) - While you listen to his music...I liken the feeling you'll have inside to that of feeling all warm and wonderful when you drink hot chocolate (or tea) sitting inside next to a fire on a cold winter night.
We Versus the Shark (+) - this band freaking ROCKS
Katharine Whalen (+) - jazzy lounge with a bit of Moroccan club influence and her voice sounds heavenly, as usual
Wilderness (+) - Public Image Limited for the 21st century...and beyond
Tim Young (+) - I could actually see Tim's a cappella version appearing in a hipster Sesame Street with a bunch of colorful furry monsters singing all the backup (and intro) vocal parts