The Champ-ionship / Just Say It: A New Chapter for Indie Marketing

As if reaching across every social media site wasn't enough for bands to do online these days, a new trend has emerged. It's difficult to label said trend, but a few groups that this blog has been following have been linking their album name with some sort of giveaway contest. That's not much of an accurate description, so onto the examples:

The Champ-ionship

Tokyo Police Club

This is a contest that's being held by Toronto natives Tokyo Police Club. Their second LP, Champ is due out on June 8th, and they're touring extensively through North America with Passion Pit (TPC is supporting) and Freelance Whales (" headlining).

To promote their record, they're holding a Champ Championship. Fans send in contest ideas, and the 'best' one will be chosen by TPC, who will go to the winner's town to compete in their challenge against them. See link above for more information/to enter.

"Just Say It" Minisite

Born Ruffians

It seems as though TPC got their idea from their friends/neighbors Born Ruffians. Their album Say It comes out on June 1, and they're also touring quite a bit with Young Rival in support of the release. Because their new band motto is to 'talk about things before they happen', it's fitting that they would set up a box where fans can verbalize, rant or just blabber anonymously. Others vote up or down on entries, and the BR will pick from the top 5 on June 20th. The winner will receive a signed guitar, a signed vinyl and concert tickets, among other prizes. sayit.bornruffians.com

A New Single from The Twees

The Twees' new single Unfair Affair/Hepburn Shades rolled into my inbox a week or two ago, and now that it's available for anyone to download, I figured it was an fine time to let you all know.

The songs are sugary and accessible sounding as the EP Lessons to Connect was, but show a bit more development, which is especially apparent in the riffing and the lyrical themes.

Sign up for the mailing list to access the tracks for free.

thetwees.com

Review: Caribou - "Swim"

Caribou's (Dan Snaith) latest studio effort Swim spares no expense on sonic detail and coherency. Simply, it's a perfect mix of house and streamlined bedroom pop, but there's really nothing simple about the music, especially when one listens on a close level. In reality, the only thing relatively basic about the record are the ideas conveyed through the lyrics, which are met by layers upon layers of varied sounds. Addicting as it is complex, Dan delivers once again. It's possible that this will be one of indie-rock's favorites for the year.

Standout tracks include single Odessa, Kaili and Sun. Luke Lalonde sings on closer track Jamelia, which may be the best song on the record.

The Revival

Man, I don't know what happened here. I poured my soul into working on this page, not to mention countless hours. Somehow we just drifted apart, I guess. Despite the fact that blogger is not much compared to tumblr these days, the end of this month will mark upop's two year anniversary, so perhaps it's time for a revival.

There's a lot to catch up on, so stay tuned..