Song of the day: Airiel/"Airtight Angels"

This is the second in a continuing series about the Clairecords stable of bands, many of which have had albums added to Rhapsody in the past few weeks. Chicago-based band Airiel is another happy discovery from the past year (thanks to my friend Hill and my girl Donna J). The group, largely the brainchild of Windy City resident Jeremy Wrenn, has released a series of limited-edition EPs on Clairecords over the past two years, each better than the next. One of my favorite songs is "Airtight Angels" from the Dizzy EP. Enjoy.

Song of the day: Pia Fraus/"400 & 57"

It's been a busy week again this week at Rhapsody HQ, but at least we've been adding lots of great shoegaze stuff to the service to help take the edge off. The latest & greatest additions include a bunch of highly recommended releases on the Clairecords label, which is based in Sacramento and has been kicking out dreamy release after dreamy release of bliss-tastic music over the past few years.




For starters, check out Estonian shoegazers (yes, I said Estonian shoegazers) Pia Fraus, whose song "400 & 57" sounds like a lost Whirlpool-era Chapterhouse b-side. Don't believe me? Click here to compare and contrast. Enjoy the music.

Song of the day: Monster Movie/"Crash Landing"

I was happy to see that we added Monster Movie's debut EP to Rhapsody this weekend. Monster Movie is an offshoot of early 1990s UK shoegaze bands Slowdive and Eternal, and their music is some of the best new shoegaze/dronepop to hit the scene in a while. Since 2001, the group has released one EP and two albums on Clairerecords; the self-titled EP is good, the first album (Last Night Something Happened, which isn't available yet through Rhapsody) is great, and the second album (To the Moon) is, sadly, so-so at best. The first Monster Movie song to grab me was "Crash Landing." Click here to check it out."

UPDATE (7/29): (Last Night Something Happened was added to Rhapsody this week. Yay!