A lot of big albums enjoyed big anniversaries this year. The 20-year pairing of Nevermind and Achtung Baby has sapped a lot of attention, but we’ve also seen tributes to the Strokes’ Is This It (age 10) and the Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead (age 25). Now we have another tribute to each of these albums, with a twist: each is international, showing the worldwide reach of both of these seminal bands.
The first is Is This Indie, a Strokes tribute from, of all places, Brazil. Collected by a pair of Sao Paulo music journalists, the collection brings together artists from seven states to pay tribute to the downtown scene. They tend to bridge the gap between South American rhythms and leather-jacket garage, injecting a little samba or handclaps in the familiar melodies. Download two sample tracks below, then grab the full set for the price of a tweet or Facebook post at RocknBeats. Continue reading »