Down Shift Magazine

With a mere 12 days until Christmas it only seems appropriate that we once again showcase the always beautiful Zooey Deschanel’s holiday collaboration with the very talented M. Ward on what has quickly become our favorite holiday album, A Very She and Him Christmas.

Deschanel and Ward first met on the set of the film The Go-Getter, in which the actress had a starring role. The director, Martin Hynes, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet together to be played at the end credits of the film. They decided to perform a Richard and Linda Thompson song “When I Get to the Border.” The two bonded over a shared interest in the records produced by George Martin and Phil Spector and by certain Ralph Peer groups such as the Carter Family.

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By now, comparisons between this Denver Americana trio and UK folk-rockers Mumford & Sons are well documented. Both groups belong to the roots revivalist movement flooding the indie consciousness, but there’s something perhaps more essentially “American” about the Lumineers,  difference which while appreciative of one and other clearly sets the two apart.

The Lumineers’ debut record is instantly gratifying—and not in the hasty, shallow way often found in pre-fab pop songs so widely released by the big recording studios these days.

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Its hard to believe that it’s been three years now since Mumford and Sons first released their breakthrough, double-platinum and multi award-winning debut album, Sigh No More. Having toured extensively and enjoyed critical praise tempered by world-wide success the English folk-rock band has been hard at work putting together their follow-up album, Babel. And while we’ve been eagerly awaiting Mumford’s new album (set for release on Monday September, 24th) we’ve been enjoying the airplay its first single, ‘I Will Wait’ has been receiving on alt-rock stations across America.

On July 16th, 2012, Mumford & Sons officially announced the details of their second studio album Babel, including a release date of September, 24th 2012 and an accompanying track listing of 12 songs.

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How can it be…? Did American Idol actually manage to produce good music? Sure, the insipid reality television series has managed to find a few legitimate stars (Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood come to mind) along the way but historically the music they’ve given their big winners to perform each season as their first single, or as they like to call it “Coronation Song” have been well…crap.

Phillip Phillips performs at his homecoming concert at Lee County High School on May 12, 2012 in Leesburg, Georgia.-(Photo by Jim Quinn via Getty Images)

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Beautiful Small Machines recently released a cover of MIA‘s smash hit “Paper Planes”, turning it from a pop/hip-hop mashup into an incredibly well done indie song…

And then there was banjo…prior to completing their long-overdue follow-up EP, BSM released this heavily lauded, critically praised and banjo-laden cover of MIA’s “Paper Planes.” The result of which has been an organic ground-swell of viral out-reach, that has allowed a new audience to discover the music and style of this New York City based twang-folk duo.

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Muse frontman Matt Bellamy wasn’t kidding when he said the group’s new music was partially inspired bySkrillex…but don’t let that scare you away from their new sound, because while different than Muse’s earlier works it’s still truly inspired.

Muse’s fifth album, entitled The Resistance, was produced by Muse and mixed by famed audio engineer Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, who is known for his work with U2, Depeche Mode, No Doubt, and Oasis, among many others.

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Talented early-2k songstress Bree Sharp makes a triumphant return along side long time musical cohort Don DiLego with their perfectly techno-satyric electropop on 2009′s EP; Robots In Love.

On August 2, 2007, Sharp announced on her MySpace blog that the mixing of her long-delayed third studio album, Robots in Love, was all but complete, and posted four of the new songs (“EastSide,” “So Long 2 U,” “In the Name of Revenge,” and “Robots in Love”) on her MySpace music player. In January 2008, she added two more new songs (“Counting Back to 1″ and “The Wretched Sound of City Cars”) to the player. Sharp ultimately opted to release the new material not as a solo album but through Beautiful Small Machines, a new band comprising herself and longtime collaborator Don DiLego.

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It’s been over a year in the making, but the Tampa-based band Merchandise’s latest album Children of Desire has grown into the logical and organic auditory extension of their previous Strange Songs LP that we’ve all been waiting for…

In April, Tampa, Florida’s resident “post-punk” heroes unleashed their Children of Desire, a gnarled, neck-breaking effort in which the pop sensibility of the Smiths and Cure make nice with shoegaze textures and experimental krautrock expanses.

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