There are a lot of "almosts" tucked away inside Great Lake Swimmer's new video for "Pulling on a Line". There's almost a cohesive storyline, that almost unfolds, and even almost comes to a stirring conclusion. But that's it, really. Tony Dekker leaves everything else to the viewer's imagination.

For years now, Great Lake Swimmers have been writing beautifully melodic and poetic folk ballads up in their northern home of Ontario, Canada. While they have a couple of songs that may be classified as rock, rarely does their music rise beyond an aroused hush. Consistency has always been one of the band's strong suits. Since the band's inception they haven't had a misstep; each album being as good if not better than the last. This holds true for their latest album, Lost Channels (Nettwerk), on which the band takes listeners on a relaxing boat ride through the Thousand Islands region of Canada.

If Lisa Hannigan's quant, breathy coo sounds familiar to listeners, it's probably because they're the proud
owner of a Damien Rice record or two. It was, after all, her vocal/instrumental contributions that served as yang
to Rice's ying on both O and 9. Though the partnership would eventually "run its creative course" (his words) in '07, Hannigan never let it slow her. Instead,
the Irish singer/songwriter retreated to a studio, reemerging two years later with her first solo album, Sea Sew (ATO).

With every new Touch and Go release lately, we've been wondering, "is this the last we'll hear from them"? If it is, this video from Atlanta's All the Saints ain't a bad way to go out. Certainly no frills...but when it comes to the bands associated with T&G, who needs 'em? Especially in this case...

A statement video, of sorts. Department of Eagles signed Marcel Dzama and Patrick Daughters up to direct this surreal, conceptual musical for In Ear Park's "Nobody Does it Like You". Here two opposing armies face off on the field of battle...with disastrous consequences.

Somewhere, someone is enjoying an exotic, European love affair like the one unfurling itself over the first half of "French Navy": the first offering from Camera Obscura's upcoming release My Maudlin Career (4AD).

It's that time again! As usual we have been listening to as much music around here as is humanly possible. We have again picked our favorite songs of the week to bring to you our
7th installment of our T.G.I.Mixtape series. We hope you have been enjoying them so far because it has been a blast putting these together for you. This week's mixtape has some new
tracks that will get you up out of your chair and some tracks that it's better to just lay back, close your eyes and get lost in the music. Please enjoy, listen as many times as you'd
like and feel free to drop us some comments at the bottom. Have a good weekend! -Greg Lozoff

It was almost an all Canadian affair at Le Poisson Rouge on the evening of March 25, 2009. Two of the three bands on the bill were from the great north, while only the openers were representing for their American brethren. The lineup was Cotton Jones, followed by The Magic, who made way for the headliners, Human Highway.

Ok...so the idea of Spike Jonze making a film adaptation of the beloved children's classic Where the Wild Things Are is enough to make even the sourest of ogres grin with excitement. But now that the trailer for the film has been released, it's time to get a whole lot more excited.

Imagine this: It's a golden afternoon...the kind that seems made for careless drives to nowhere in particular. Just an excuse to turn up the radio and feel alive, really. You idle at a stop light, when along comes an older geezer, speakers shaking the pavement, sing a long songs flooding from his windows. Hell, he's even got the moxie to throw in some shameless air guitar. Surely, this chap is out of place, you think. That is until it dawns on you that it's none other than Neil Young.

If you haven't yet heard of Passion Pit you must be living under a rock. Along with their debut Chunk of Change EP making huge waves all over North America, they have also opened for such notable bands like The Dodos, These New Puritans, Girl Talk and Death Cab For Cutie. Perhaps you have heard the incredibly addictive Sleepyhead on a PSP commercial or maybe it was from MTV's 'What The Flip?' campaign, but one way or another, you've heard it.

Galvanized by the same artistic spirit that called artists like The Smiths, Stone Roses, and The Cure to arms in the 80's, The Veils'' glorious brand of musical poetry first caught our attention with their ever so agonized '06 effort Nux Vomica. Beautiful, dense, and relentlessly authentic, Nux Vomica hit us like a stun gun at the time of its' release...so much so, we knew we had to film them.

Though its' been nearly three years since its' release, The Veils' Nux Vomica remains an album mainstay here at Baeble. Three years! Can you imagine just how much we've been anticipating the follow-up? Like a lot... Entitled Sun Gangs, The Veils' return to form hits stores via Rough Trade Tuesday April 7th. In honor of it, we're giving five (5!) copies of Sun Gangs away to you, are much beloved Baeble users. All you need to do to enter is follow the simple steps after the jump.

The Veils have been through many changes since their inception in 2002. But while the band has seen its share of band members come and go, the pillar known as Finn Andrews has remained the same. Keeping with a series of cryptic album titles (The Runaway Found, Nux Vomica) the band has decided to name their latest full length LP Sun Gangs (Rough Trade). This time around the band has provided a nice mlange of songs ranging from gritty rock anthems, to some more subdued, even eerie pieces, resulting in what can only be described as their most diverse record to date.

Worn down, bloated, hung over, and partial deaf...if you were lucky enough to find yourself in Austin for SXSW this past week, chances are you're feeling just a little overwhelmed by the mass consumption of beer, bbq, and bands that defined the week in Texas.

Kudos for contrast! The kind that dare not clash, battle, stomp on toes, or rush in to dispose of that which came before too quickly. We're for contrast that sits in the wings, waiting patiently for the precise moment to step in and mix things up in an oh so healthy kind of way. Which is why Bay Area band Sholi is such a pleasant discovery. It's variance of this sort that the pesky three piece get fat on over the course of their recently released, Quarterstick approved, debut album.

We've set our work week to quite the soundtrack this week. With so many artists, new and old, flooding our offices with their latest work, narrowing this week's T.G.I.Mixtape down to ten songs was no easy task. Though in the end, I'm sure you'll agree, it's quite the stirring collection of tunes we've put together. Enjoy your weekend everyone. - David Pitz

Since 2006 when Fleet Foxes exploded onto the scene, first with their two EP's and then with their critically acclaimed self titled LP, the band has known all kinds of success. They have toured the world, conquering the hearts of thousands upon thousands of fans worldwide. The success that they have known is of course much deserved as they have provided us with an LP and a set of EPs that will most likely never get old.

May I present to you the slightly-demented showmanship of Tim Fite, and his trusty sidekick Sexy Leroy. After rounding up the audience (seriously...that's Leroy trolling the audience with a rope to assure no one escapes the performance), Mr. Fite and his sexy sidekick lead the audience through a maniacal bit of performance storytelling, aided as always by his unique set of audio-visual accompaniment.

It's with a gentle set of handling instructions that Brooklyn musician/multimedia artist Tim Fite prefaces his latest album giveaway, Change of Heart, with. "I ask that you handle these songs with care, as they are very fragile.", writes Fite on his MySpace page. They are the result, after all, of a topsy turvy state of mind; one which suggests even wild showmen such at Mr. Fite (sometimes) get the blues.

Are you a fan of dreamy synth-laden prog-rock? If so, Denmark's Mew may be right up your alley. Mew has flown under the radar for some time now, having already released four full length LPs that have gone by seemingly unnoticed. With their last two LPs, however, the band has been starting to achieve some notoriety here in North America.

We're taking a hop, skip, and jump across the pond today, settling our gaze on a tiny, landlocked country in West Africa. It's Burkina Faso that's caught our attention, and for good reason. It's there where Hermas Zoupula - moped enthusiast, orphanage volunteer, and internet cafe proprietor - hangs his hat.

Happy Friday to all of you music lovers out there. We have had so much fun over the past few weeks putting together these mixtapes for you and this week has been no exception. It is truly amazing how much good new music is coming out these days. Here are just 10 songs that we have chosen for you to get your weekend started off on the right foot. We hope you enjoy!

If you were as blown away by Yeasayer's debut LP, All Hour Cymbals as we were than you are going to be just as excited as we are to learn that Yaesayer is back in the studio, working on their follow up to the 2007 masterpiece.

Little has been heard from piano virtuoso Dustin O'Halloran since the release of his last LP, Piano Solos Vol. 2, in 2006. If you don't know who Dustin O'Halloran is you are in for a treat. He is a solo pianist originally from Los Angeles, California but now lives in a 19th century villa in Bologna, Italy. His music is full of emotion and reminiscent of some of the great pianists of all time; legends like Frederick Chopin and Erik Satie.

This week, in honor of Peter, Bjorn, and John's highly anticipated new album Living Things, we're blowing the dust off an oldie but goodie...for the first time, no less! Unavailable on our platform until now, this performance from Sweden's finest pop trio was recorded on a memorable, spring evening back in '07 at NYC's Webster Hall.

With the onslaught of great bands coming out of the UK in the past few years, it safe to say that Noah & the Whale has made their mark as one of the best. On their debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down we got a first taste of their emotion driven rock, fronted by the deep vocals of lead singer Charlie Fink and backed by a great band of young musicians, including Tom Hobden, Urby Whale and Doug Fink. We recently had a chance to hop on the phone with the band's drummer, Doug, to discuss the band's future prospects, including an interesting upcoming tour along with a sophomore album nearing completion. We also talked a little bit about the amazingly talented Laura Marling and the band's benevolent charity work. Take a look.

As you may or may not know, one of our goals here at Baeble, besides filming all of these amazing concerts for you, is to express our love for music. One of the ways in which we do so is by sharing our thoughts about new bands and artists that we think more people should know about. Today we would like to bring to your attention a new solo artist that has been getting a lot of play around these parts. He goes by the name of Peasant.

Though the cover of Venice is Sinking's new LP depicts some anonymous, bleak stretch of town, the music that lies beneath the lonesome, sepia toned image is nothing of the sort.

There has been so much music floating around the office these days that it was actually hard to choose only 10 songs for this week's Mixtape. Somehow we managed to sift through and pick our 10 favourite from a sea of new music. I know I said last week was the best Mixtape to date, but this one will surely give last week's tape a run for its money. We hope you enjoy! -Greg Lozoff

Walking through the Bowery Ballroom, there was more of a party atmosphere than a concert atmosphere in the air, on an unseasonably warm Friday night in February. Perhaps the warm weather made people feel like partying, or maybe it was just excitement over the bands that were about to perform. You wouldn't normally think of Plants and Animals and Blitzen Trapper as party bands, but on this night one would could easily have thought they were at the wrong show.

The excitement on line outside Webster Hall last week would be indicative of the show to come. A bill that included the Harlem Shakes, Born Ruffians, and Tokyo Police Club drew the electrified, sold out audience to the venue, and for their part, the bands would not disappoint...especially TPC.

It is amazing what siblings can do when they come together to make music. No I'm not talking about the Jonas Brothers or Hanson (as good as Mmm Bop was). But think about bands like the Beach Boys, the Kinks and AC/DC. Or how about some more contemporary bands, like Kings of Leon and Radiohead? The fact is siblings (usually) make good music. Now we can add to that distinguished list a brother/sister duo from Sydney, Australia. They go by the name of Angus and Julia Stone.

On paper, the collection of artists that populate The Bad Plus' recent album For All I Care, have little in common with each other. Imagine doodling - perhaps like you did on the cover of one of those crusty, spiral notebooks back in high school - the names Nirvana, the Bee Gees, the Flaming Lips, and Igor Stravinsky. It'd be an odd group; one that touches on a rich set of traditions pulled from a variety of unique moments in the musical, time continuum.

photos by Maureen Pitz. See more photos HERE.
Poking around sound check at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, it's clear we've gotten ourselves into a colossal kind of production. Two full drum sets face off on stage, racks upon racks of guitars flank the performance space, and the amps...my god the amps!

It all begins at a sort of stand still. There is Clare, her vintage vocals lightly pirouetting in a current kicked up by a plume of billowy guitar chords and breezy bits of electric piano. Then, as if gently shaken inside a snow globe, the Reasons powder her craft with a fitting flurry of their own. The elements precipitating here? Why it's the very same string quartet from our previously released My Brightest Diamond show, of course.

How often can you tell if an album will be good by listening to the first ten seconds? Not very often. Usually, it takes at least two or three songs, or sometimes two of three listens to the album in its entirety to get the full scope of what you are hearing. On Clare and the Reasons debut LP The Movie (Frog Stand Records), it doesn't take long for one to come to the realization that this isn't just another band releasing an album into a sea of mediocrity. This is a special piece of musical art.