Released last week, this b-sides and rarities comp covers the “full-band” era of Broadcast’s career, before they were whittled down to a duo for last year’s Tender Buttons. And as much as Trish Keenan and James Cargill should be commended for keeping it together and productive, this disc is a reminder of how much fulller and to my ears, enjoyable the larger band was. The hazy, detached, ’60s Kraut-lite lounge vibe is very strong and with the extended mixes and instrumental passages, it’s a fine soundtrack to your next hazy, detached, ’60s Kraut-lite lounge party.

Stream: Broadcast – “Unchanging Window” (SWF)
Stream: Broadcast – “Still Feels Like Tears” (SWF)
MySpace: Broadcast

Baltimore’s Page France were one of the smaller buzz bands at SxSW this year. I generally enjoyed the brief set I saw, their winsome indie-folk is definitely charming, but over the course of an album something about their earnest peppiness begins to grate. I think it’s Michael Nau’s voice – a kind of nasal, adolescent rasp that when backed by Whitney McGraw’s little girl voice, the strummy acoustic arrangements and the liberal sprinklings of religious imagery throughout the lyrics, sounds like Sunday School coming out of my speakers to give me a big hug. This is not someting I necessarily want from my music. Page France makes me want to go out and get in a fight. Hello, Dear Wind is being reissued by Suicide Squeeze on September 12.

MP3: Page France – “Junkyard”
MP3: Page France – “Bush”
MySpace: Page France

The bio for Mississippi’s Colour Revolt describes their sound as “post-grunge”, which intrigued me since I lived through (survived?) grunge the first time and am curious as to what logically comes after. Based on their debut, self-titled EP (originally released in December 2005 and now re-released by Interscope subsidiary Tiny Evil), it means 90s angst informed by 00’s indie rock. Jeesse Coppenbarger’s howl is more than a little Cobain-esque but with a healty dose of Oberst/Brock-ian inflection. They also eschew the quiet/loud/quiet dynamic that became so cliched and formulaic in favour of a slower, post-rockish build from the quiet bit to the (inevitable) loud bit. They’ve also got a pretty strong melodic sense and the blues harp that appears here and there feels natural and fits well. I’m pleased to know that if this ends up being a real genre, post-grunge is more than just a rehash of the 90s and it’s also somehow comforting to know that a whole new generation of kids hate themseves and want to die.

MP3: Colour Revolt – “Mattress Underwater”
MySpace: Colour Revolt