As of today, our blog is three years old. We’ve grown from just Dave and I writing about whatever we wanted (and probably should have accumulated more DMCA notices for) into a team of ten writers, each with different tastes and backgrounds. And even though we’ve grown in size and scope and posting frequency, there are some things that haven’t changed since we started. We continue to want to provide our readers with music that we believe is worth their time and money, and not simply what has buzz around it or what will bring us hits. (Although we don’t shy away from what’s buzzy if it’s good.)

We’ve never thought that bands were privileged to let us hear their music; in fact, it’s completely the opposite. We’re supremely lucky that artists want to share their creative endeavors with us, and we give each email that comes our way a read, and we listen to (most) everything that we get sent, even if it doesn’t find a place on the blog. (Although we don’t bother with mash-ups, because they’re not really our thing.) That fact in and of itself is not anything special, although with the advent of Ad Hoc and their championing of it as something different when it comes to music blogs, it seems like it might be. If you’re an artist, please keep sending us your music. Even if we don’t write back, know that each email is appreciated and your music doesn’t go unheard.

We’ve come in contact with a lot of like-minded individuals throughout the world that have their own blogs, and that’s been great. Thanks to all of those blogs who have supported us, whether it’s helping out with website problems or simply putting us on your blogroll. The sense of community involved in blogging is staggering, and I know that if it weren’t for your help and support and friendly competition we wouldn’t still be doing this.  Also, selfishly, I’ve started my own PR thing over here to help bands to get their music out. If you’re a blogger and you see something from Flour City, don’t automatically delete it. My work there is done with the same care that my work on the blog is done with, so I hope you’ll find something new for you and your readers to love.

Lastly, if you’re a reader, thanks for sticking with us for this long. We hope that you have been able to find something that you love through us, and if you have, we hope that you support the hell out of the artist(s) that created it. Your support of us has allowed us to do things like put on concerts and put out some vinyl for local bands we love, and that’s something we never dreamed of when we started. Thank you.

(And if you’re in, or going to be in Rochester on March 30th, come out to the party we’re throwing in celebration of turning three. You can see the details of that show here.)

This video premiered on Spin, where they described it as a hipster version of Soul Train. Pretty spot on if I do say so.

Saint Motel’s “At Least I Have Nothing,” the A-side from the band’s first 7″ single from late last year, doesn’t exactly paint a pretty picture of twentysomethings in the Twenty-First Century. Lamenting a general lack of goals, the song doesn’t spare anyone the band’s disdain, though it’s said to be open to interpretation. It’s strange, however, that a song that is as bleak as this one can be so damn catchy. It’d be a miracle if you could listen to it and not have “we are just stuck inside their business model” wrapped around your brain.

In the end, though, the band is onto something. There’s a certain freedom to having nothing, and it’s that pulling oneself up feeling that will undoubtedly work in their favor. Saint Motel is bringing their live act out on the road starting later this month on a tour that includes a few dates with Toronto’s Young Empires, as well as a stop at The Bug Jar here in Rochester on Monday, March 5th.

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Saint Motel // At Least I Have Nothing [mp3] from 7″1

Come Back As Rain, the album this track is off of, will be released on March 6th, and is available for pre-order now in various bundles and such. If you do decide to pre-order, the album will ship around the First of March, so you’ll have it before all your friends.

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SPIN exclusively premiered this new track from Brooklyn’s finest dream-pop players yesterday afternoon in addition to providing readers with a glimpse of Beach Fossils’ new LP, straight from the mouth of frontman Dustin Payseur. The magazine describes the track, “Shallow” (the A-side off of a forthcoming 7-inch, due on February 21st) as being the band’s “first attempt at aggression” and frankly, I don’t get it. Faster beats doesn’t necessarily equate to aggression, especially when so many characteristics that we’ve all come to love from these guys continue to dominate their sound.

The trebly reverberated guitar with the lo-fi echoed vocals are as present as ever on “Shallow,” and show that the band is dedicated to sticking with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra. With that said, the rhythm is sped up and we get a hint of distortion in the opening measures, but it’s nothing that takes away from the ease and chilled-out feeling that you succumb to when listening to Beach Fossils. Grab the track below and decide for yourself whether the band’s sound has ventured into a more aggressive territory. Regardless, it’s a solid, enjoyable track that will be spun often in anticipation of the LP.

[mp3] Beach Fossils // Shallow from the Shallow 7″

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Chaz Bundick, better known to music fans as Toro Y Moi, is best known for his funky atmospheric cuts. But before he went in that direction, Bundick was busy making lo-fi bedroom type pop, more in the Ariel Pink vein, which would have been a crowded field had he decided to say in it. Instead, he opted for the jams he’s putting out now, but he’s got pre-funk material available as well.

Bundick is going back and releasing a grip of the recordings from before his first single, entitling the compilation June 2009, which might mean he has years and years of this shit in some kind of backlog, waiting to be unleashed upon the world. That’s neither here nor there, as this particular compilation is going to be released on April 24th through the folks at Carpark, and it’s going to be available in normal CD and mp3 formats, as well as a set of five 7″ vinyl singles, with two tracks per single.

Take a listen to the B-side of the second single, a weirdly catchy gem entitled “Dead Pontoon.” (And if you grab the mp3, make sure to sign up for updates in the widget below. It’s only fair.)

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Toro Y Moi // Dead Pontoon [mp3] from the forthcoming June 2009

Black Up is available now through Sub Pop.

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I went back and looked at when we first talked about Vancouver’s Teen Daze here, because it feels like we’ve known about him forever, and we’re just now getting a glimpse of his debut album. The hazy beatsmith was first talked about around here in October of 2010, and we’ve had about 7 or 8 posts on him since then. (The first mention I can find of him on the blogs, however, is in May 2010 on the ever-awesome No Modest Bear.)

All that aside, it’s nice to finally be getting a full-length from the talented producer/remixer. It’s titled All of Us Together, and “Brooklyn Summer” is the first cut from the album, which will be released by Lefse on May 22nd. The track feels like a summer night in the city, with all the energy poured out into the streets. It’s an instrumental cut; no word if there are any vocals on the album, like when he covered Japandroids’ “Wet Hair.”

Lefse has the album available for pre-order on their website, and you can get the LP on wax or CD. The site says it comes with a “surprise bonus,” so if you’re the type that loves good music AND surprises, this should be high on your list of things to purchase. And while you wait for the album to arrive, enjoy “Brooklyn Summer.” I want a Brooklyn Summer Ale to go along with it.

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Teen Daze // Brooklyn Sunburn [mp3] from the forthcoming All of Us Together

“Southern Place,” another track from Gracie’s upcoming Treehouse EP, is no exception to that. Treehouse is available for pre-order now through Small Plates, and it should be delivered next week, so get on ordering it now if you want it when all your friends get it.

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