Lovely mad band creature sounding something like Antony & The Johnsons, something like the Smiths, all against the backdrop of a beautiful orchestra and looking like they stepped out of the circus. The Irrepressibles are currently trying to raise money to press copies of and run a PR campaign for their forthcoming album, In This Shirt. Go give em a couple of your pennies; they're too pretty not to see what they might do next.
We fell off the world for a bit there-- a couple of us got lost in a playground in Scotland, but we're back now. (Mostly.) To make up for it, we've reached our tiny fingers deep into the fun-filled sack that is the Fabulist inbox, and brought up some sparkly gems for you to enjoy. (The Submarines are making me happier than most things, this week.)
Elaine and I both have watched this several times today: the fourth installment in Amanda Palmer's music video set/short film for her new album. There's an intensity to this piece that is just riveting.
It's entirely possible you aren't singing "With my freeze ray I will stop--- the world" in the back of your head right now. Which probably means you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. And certainly, you haven't seen the first episode five times, as I might have done, so far, already. It's only up for a blink of an eye and then it vanishes, so this is my public service announcement to make sure that Joss Whedon's new online ephemeral baby about singing superheroes continues to spread like wildfire.
The Fleet Foxes just released a beautiful clay stop-motion music video for White Winter Hymnal. It's all the things that we like: great music, great art, and cartoony little people made of bits of clay. Hooray!
We interviewed The Silent Years way back in 2006, so it's been a bit since we've heard from them. But! They have a new album coming out in August, called The Globe. (You can check it out on MySpace-- I really like Black Hole.)
In anticipation of their new album, they've decided to release their OLD album for free. (I listened to their debut album on repeat for ages-- it's totally worth checking out.)
Hey Fabulistas! We have gone out into the world and we have brought you back a summery picnic basket of goodies! We're giving away TWO copies of the new Ed Harcourt album, and TWO copies of the new Ravens and Chimes album. So... (counts on fingers).. that's FOUR winners. We're upping your chances to get some free stuff to cool you off this fine week in July, or heat you up, whichever you prefer.
How do you win? Just leave a comment below with your favorite thing to do in summer. (Mine: Skipping in the downpour of a summer thunderstorm.) We'll pick four winners at random from the pile. Good luck!
Check out more from Ravens and Chimes here, and more from Ed Harcourt below.
This song is sort of perfectly constructed-- you never notice the way the music takes your hand and glides you through the words-- how the piano part changes subtly, the drums come and vanish and reappear again-- everything is done in a perfect dance, and you never know it's happening. You're too busy enjoying the photographs that Asher Lack paints with his voice. (And hey, Leonard Cohen likes them!
Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) is releasing her solo album on September 16, 2008, and she's dropping a bunch of videos, like bread crumbs, up to the release date of the album. This is the first one, and when they're all out, they'll string together to make a story. Subscribe to her YouTube page to get notified when the next video/installment comes out-- and you can keep yourself steeped in the latest interestingness over at Amanda's blog.
Laura Marling is the queen of fixing you with her eyes and leaving you unsettled, all the while weaving a story of intimate broken moments with her phantom voice. Her Manic and I album was nearly the entirety of my playlist for last winter, so I was a bit surprised that I missed this lovely shadowplay video for her song New Romantic. (I especially like the Peter Pan ending.)
Elaine on 
