The Margarets: "Sally" and "Escapism From The Present"

It's been a long, semi-post-free week, sadly. But it's the weekend, and the Margarets are here to inject a much-needed jangle into your step. This Swedish indiepop band's gonna be playing Twee as Fuck (Dec. 14) in London along with another one of my recent favorites, My Sad Captains.

LISTEN:
"Sally" [MP3]
"Escapism From The Present" [MP3]

ON THE WEB:
The Margarets on MySpace

VIDEO: My Sad Captains - "Bad Decisions"

The video for the best freakin' indie pop jam of the summer you never heard, kids. My Sad Captains, who hail from the UK, released their debut 7" on Fortuna Records earlier this year, and the video explains why all their promo/MySpace pictures feature enormous inflatable sea critters. It pretty much looks like the most fun music video ever to make. If you don't have it stuck in your head when it's over, you probably lost your head somewhere. Take Yo La Tengo's fondness for retro pop melodies, Pavement's fuzziness and Grandaddy's sad-sack, slacker lyrics and you have My Sad Captains' "Bad Decisions."

BONUS MP3:
"Bad Decisions" [MP3]

ON THE WEB:
My Sad Captains' website
My Sad Captains on MySpace

My Sad Captains: "Bad Decisions"

In addition to having one of the more awesome band promo photos I've seen lately, My Sad Captains (of merry olde London) have also recorded a rather rockin' couple of songs. Their sound has won their sound many comparisons to bands like Pavement, Grandaddy and other important figures of the 90s "slacker rock" canon (and the inclusion of "country" as part of their genre classification on MySpace intrigues me, of course). "Bad Decisions" was their debut single released by Fortuna Pop earlier this summer, and it's a dark but jangly little infectious gem. I can tell I'm going to have this stuck on repeat for a long, long time (maybe until they tell me when they're going to put out an album or EP?).

LISTEN:
"Bad Decisions" [MP3] HIGHLY REC'D!

ON THE WEB:
My Sad Captains website
My Sad Captains on MySpace