All Delighted People (Sufjan Stevens)

Indie phenom Sufjan Stevens comes up empty with his newest philanthropically marketed EP “All Delighted People.” The record was elf-released on his very own Asthmatic Kitty Records today (Aug. 20th, 2010), and is available for a $5 download.

The title track is an 11 minute and thirty eight second epic that deals an orchestrally shaking and vocally shrill blow to the ears. Sufjan is very bold to go with a sound like that, and it works. But the tracks following it will likely hold little appeal for the general public.
Still, i got to hand it to him: apocalyptically driven  semi-classically-instrumented folk-rock is definitely one of the most out-of-style genres. In general, whatever is most strange and unpopular is more accepted by Sufjan’s fans. This may prove to be no exception, but that still doesn’t make this album any more bearable.

Don’t believe that the relatively un-proclaimed king of indiefolk has dropped one? Have a listen. The entire record is streaming here.

Pomplamoose (Quite tight, Not a might trite)

… Grapefruit?
The phenom Youtube duo dubbed “Pomplamoose” was still at large at press time tonight (3 AM Pacific). Trendy, classy, cute and creative, this band has everything going for it image-wise.
Contrary to my first impressions,  the term “pomplamoose” does not refer to a large and pompous caribou-like creature, but instead denotes a loose translation of the french word pamplemousse, which means grapefruit.

WYSIWYH
The band has released music mainly through a series of youtube fims, where classic cover songs and the occasional original are showcased. These videos are meticulously edited such that What You See Is What You Hear. Lip-sync-less and perfectly edited, both covers and originals shine spotlessly with golden tones from the duo’s relative Midas touch. They even make Lady Gaga sound good!

Moosen?
Those classy cats who make up the pomplamoose collaboration are actually two very prolific solo artists. Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte. Both have side projects featured on separate youtube channels, and Nataly is half of the indiepop duo known as “My Terrible Friend.” But enough talk… give Pomplamoose a listen!