Tree hugging

We were supposed to do something on Taken By Trees a little while ago but what with all the upheaval it completely slipped our tiny minds. Then we heard 'Watch The Waves' and we knew right then and there that something must be done.

So here we go:

- Taken By Trees is the moniker of Victoria Bergsman
- Victoria Bergsman used to be in The Concretes
- She's also the woman singing on Peter, Bjorn and John's 'Young Folks' single
- Taken By Trees have a new album out in September entitled East of Eden and it's the follow-up to Open Field. 'Watch The Waves' is the first single.



Pretty amazing.

This is the album cover so you know what you're looking for come September:

Phraze out

Hands up who remembers The Strokes? OK, hands down. Hands up again if you can name their second and third albums...ah, I see. Well, just when we all thought it was safe to assume the band had reconvened to record their fourth album, news emerges that Julian Casablancas is to release a solo album this autumn.



The bizarrely titled Phrazes For The Young was written and arranged by Casablancas, produced by Jason Lader and Mike Mogis (the latter of Bright Eyes and The Concretes 'fame') and comes with this early-graphics-were-cool-in-Tron-type teaser trailer thing:



The music that accompanies the trailer is probably not what your average Strokes fan was expecting, but given the fact that Casablancas has recently been moonlighting with everyone from Pharrell Williams to Danger Mouse, it can't have been that surprising to find a dearth of rock guitars. Instead there's some vintage synths, a lovely noodly keyboard motif and some polite beats. There's a bit near the end where Casablancas steps up to the mic, a scene which caused the following comment from a youtube patron: "Julian.. you beautiful sonfobitch!" Sonfobitch indeed.