New Guards song released!

New York band Guards have released their first new music since their debut album "In Guards We Trust" (2013). Their latest track showcases Guards' talent at making upbeat, feel-good songs.

The track will be used on their second album which is expected to be released in 2015.
Check out Guards' new track "Nothing More" here:

Three reasons why we're looking forward to Guards' new album

2015 promises to be a good year for us Indie fans. With bands such as Wolf Alice, Peace and Swim Deep already having announced new albums for the coming year, all is well on the Indie front. One album I'm especially looking forward to is Guards' second album, which the New York band are currently recording. Here are 3 reasons why I'm looking forward to the LP, which may just be my album of 2015.

1) "In Guards We Trust" was amazing

If you aren't familiar with their debut album yet don't waste any time - check it out! It's brilliant feel-good indie, with wanderlust-inducing tracks such as "Home Free" and poppy, energetic songs such as "Silver Lining" or "Ready To Go".

2) Guards will (most probably) go on tour

I had the pleasure of seeing the trio support MGMT in Munich in October 2013 and they were absolutely fantastic. "[Their set] had an instant feel-good factor to it and, [was] packed with energy and positive vibes" is how I described their performance at the said concert.

Hopefully music fans all over the world will be able to see the band present their new album live in the not-so-distant future.

3) This short snippet from the studio
I've listened to this 26-second long video what feels like at least 93,857,578,375 times by now, such is my excitement.
Check out the video here!

Guards release final B-sides from "In Guards We Trust"

Guards have released the final two B-sides from their debut album "In Guards We Trust". All of the tracks can now be found on the New Yorkers' SoundCloud account.
They also posted the following message on their Facebook account:

          "These are the last 2. Full set up now.. New music coming soon.."

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Guards release more B-sides

After releasing two of their B-Sides from "In Guards We Trust" Guards have just released two more - and the tracks are excellent. They are currently recording a new album.

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Guards share B-Sides and announce new album

New York's Guards yesterday shared a link to the B-sides from their debut album "In Guards We Trust".  They also told their followers that they are working on a new album.

"We want to share these B-sides from "In Guards We Trust" with you while we are currently working on our new album."

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Introducing... Guards

Earlier this year New Yorkband “Guards” released their debut album“In Guards We Trust”. Since then they have toured with fellow Americans MGMT and won over many critics. The bands light (yet thought provoking), happy and free sound makes for a combination of thoughts containing the urge to sing-along every word and the helpless feeling of utter wanderlust. With lead singer's “Richie Follin” sister being part of group “Cults” one could definitely imagine a lot of pressure being on the Americans. How they felt whilst recording their impressive debut isn't important, though. The result is. And the end product is what has to be one of the albums of 2013. Twelve songs taking the listener from energy packed songs such as “Silver Lining” up to slower “1&1” make this a must-hear. Combining melodic vocals with fitting guitar, drum and synth pieces give Guards a sound that will lift anyones mood. Another easily detectable feature in their music is the flawless chemistry existing between each member.

The synth intro of “Nightmare” catapults the listener straight into what feels like a broken roller coaster. Broken, because instead of having highs and lows “In Guards We Trust” just starts and ends on a very high note with mere minor slips along the way. The whole album is fueled by an energetic pulse hammering through the album like a stampede of happiness. “Ready To Go”, the band's most successful track has enjoyed moderate fame in the US and abroad (German music magazine “Musikexpress” recently put this song on one of their highly popular mix tapes).
The penultimate track “Home Free” is, in my opinion, puts the group into an elite group of bands, that have mastered the skill of writing music capable of inducing wanderlust into the person currently enjoying this masterpiece. The opening instrumental part brings back memories of long past travels and induces longing thoughts of new ones.

Lyrically Guards still have potential, though. In the sense, that, their aren't any stand-out lyrics, which you feel an urge to have tattooed straight away. And critics could also argue that each song's chorus is fairly similar, though I believe this feature just helps distinguish Guards' sound.

“The future's also I see”, claim Guards. And if this statement is true, then fans can start looking forward to more great music in the future.
In Guards We Trust.


For fans of: Peace, The Shins, Cults

"In Guards We Trust" Out of ten: 9,5/10

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Gig Review... Guards & MGMT @ Kesselhaus, Munich, 5th October 2013

Take an old factory hall with a spooky atmosphere and two of the most interesting bands on the planet and you should have a good evening.
And anyone visiting Munich's Kesselhaus with high expectations can't have been disappointed.
Guards kicked off the evening playing a short, but exciting set to a crowd who unfortunately either didn't know or wasn't really into the American band. Nonetheless their set was incredible. It had an instant feel-good factor to it and, packed with energy and positive vibes, the trio from New York made up for the disappointing acoustics, due to which few vocals were actually heard.

And then, of course, came the headliner for the evening. MGMT.
"I don't know how to begin", frontman Andrew VanWyngarden sings during the song "Weekend Wars".
And neither do I, such was the amount of creative mastermind thrown at the crowd by MGMT. Combining songs from all of their albums and even their best known song "Kids" (not usually performed live by MGMT anymore) with a visual show, which you can't help thinking Albert Hofmann played a part in, led to one of the trippiest concerts in recent years. Throughout the 90 or so minutes the band were backed by a constant stream of films showing something resembling a stereotypical LSD trip mixed with sweets flying through the sky, before finding their way though clouds into an ancient looking temple complex. No joke.
"Pictures on a screen [...]. Hey people, what does it mean?"
Picking highlights from an evening that is itself one massive highlight is difficult. But frontman Andrew VanWyngarden walking out on stage in his "Lederhosen", whilst drinking traditional Munich beer (the "Oktoberfest" ends this weekend in Munich) certainly endeared him to the fans.
Their first song "Time To Pretend" got the crowd going straight away and gave the venue a trance-like atmosphere which carried on through songs from all three albums right until their encore "Plenty Of Girls In The Sea".
One lucky girl was pulled onstage during a song from their new album "Your Life Is A Lie" to play the giant cowbell placed onstage, with the words "BE AWARE" written on it.

Throughout the whole concert I couldn't help thinking that this is a band now actually exploring that long-elusive dark side of the moon.
Luckily, even though the crowd danced until their hearts exploded, the place did not ignite.


Guards:
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MGMT:
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