My New Indie Favs

I stumbled across a music downloading site called NoiseTrade (find it here).  It appears to be on the up and up.  Perhaps everyone else out there knows about this; I'm not often accused of being on the cutting edge of the internet (have you heard about this site where you can post pictures??).  There are lots of independent bands that give you a sample of their latest cd's.  And it is organized to let you discover new bands based on what else you like.  Here are four I've downloaded and been listening to this week:

Elenowen.  This is a husband and wife duo somewhat reminiscent of Over the Rhine (except they both sing).  Evidently they were on NBC's "The Voice".  They have a self-titled EP that is very nice.  "We were better off" could be the anthem of twenty-somethings these days who aren't quite sure if they want to grow up.  Find their official site here.

Ivan & Alyosha is another folksy band from Seattle--though The Cabin Sessions which I downloaded from NoiseTrade is listed as acoustic rock by my media player.  Evidently these guys have been featured by NPR--which is very cool to middle-aged academic types.  My favorite song of the four included is "Don't Wanna Die Anymore."  Their name must obviously come from The Brothers Karamazov, and if they're interested in expanding to a trio, I'd volunteer to be Dmitri.

Band #3 is La Resistance (website here), which I couldn't resist because their album is called Philosophy.  Listen to tracks #2 and #5 and you'll be hooked. Here's how they describe themselves on their website:

"La Resistance is the past and the future. The old and the new. The classic and the experimental. Their unique sound and perspective is hard to categorize, but their influences range from New Order, Radiohead, The Cure, and Echo and the Bunnymen, to Interpol and Arcade Fire. Without departing from the timeless foundation of catchy melodies and poetic, poignant lyrics, La Resistance has an eye for the future, pushing the words and music to a place that is altogether inspiring but never ostentatious."

And finally, a solo guy by the name of Heath McNease.  The album from NoiseTrade is The Weight of Glory: Songs Inspired by the Works of C.S. Lewis.  These are 11 songs, the titles of which are taken from the titles of Lewis's popular books (plus one called "Edmund" after the Narnia character).  It is mostly acoustic stuff with some interesting electronic beats and such.  Good stuff.