Brian Reitzell

LA-based composer Brian Reitzell, best known for his film score work with Sofia Coppola, just released his first solo album, "Auto Music," on Smalltown Supersound.  The album hums and throbs its way through shoegazey, electronic and often droney, motorik krautrock.  In many ways, it's driving music, but not entirely.  Listen to "Last Summer" below, featuring My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields on the organ.

El Mahdy Jr

The marriage of faraway, exotic sounds with western electronics and droney psych beats, while nothing new, always manages to create a trippy vibe that gets under my skin and works its way into all the folds and layers of my brain stuff.  It's losing oneself in an opium den, but coming back to reality when your iphone rings.  El Mahdy Jr is an Algerian beat maker and musician, residing in Istanbul, and his latest, "Gasba Grime" on Danse Noire, is mystic magic.  Bleed with me into the ether won't you?  Listen to "Lost Bridge" below.

And now Warpaint covers Duran Duran

A couple weeks ago, Moby's cover of Duran Duran's "Rio" surfaced, and it was pretty good.  Now, we have LA female four piece Warpaint taking on that band's "The Chauffeur," which is probably my favorite track that Duran Duran ever recorded.  Warpaint's version is a smoky, hazy trip...and will now be stuck in my head for days.  Listen below, and look for "Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran" on Manimal next month.

RIP Tony Gwynn

If anyone embodied what a baseball player is supposed to be, then by accounts, it was Tony Gwynn, a phenomenal hitter, outfielder, and all-around good guy.  He lost his battle with cancer today at the age of 54.  RIP Tony Gwynn.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day everybody!

Dalhous

Droney, experimental outfit Dalhous have a new album in the works, set to be released later this month on Blackest Ever Black.  "Will to Be Well" oozes and seethes, an anxiety-inducing series of clicks, hums, and electronics.  It sounds like a body at work, each piece of a grander machine functioning together...but threatening to collapse or fall apart at any moment.  Listen to "Abyssal Plane" below.

The Bug

UK producer, electronic musician The Bug (Kevin Martin) is readying his first record in 6 years, "Angels & Devils," which features a whole smattering of guest vocalists, ranging from Liz Harris (Grouper) to Justin K. Broadrick (Jesu/Godflesh) to Death Grips.  Listen to "Save Me" featuring Gonjasufi below and get the record from Ninja Tune in August.  I have a feeling it's going to be a monster.

Failure at House of Blues

Last night, i got to do something that 17-year old Tommy thought was only a pipe dream.  I got to see Failure.  The show was impressive, an great mix of jams i never in a million years thought i would get to hear performed live.  And man, they didn't miss a beat.  The trio (Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, Kelli Scott) opened with "Another Space Song" from 1996's "Fantastic Planet," and then tore into everything i wanted to hear them play.  And they closed with "Daylight."  A little part of me can die in peace now.  Take a look at some pics below.

Until we meet again in November Failure.

Father John Misty covers Cat Stevens

Hal Ashby was a brilliant filmmaker from the 60's and 70's, a huge part of the cinematic counterculture of the time.  Filmmaker Amy Scott has a documentary about the director coming out soon called "Once I Was: The Hal Ashby Story," and one Father John Misty appears on the soundtrack covering Cat Stevens' "Trouble," which was originally used in the 1971 film "Harold and Maude."  It's good stuff.  You should listen below, courtesy of My Old Kentucky Blog.

Sex Scheme

Sex Scheme is a dirty, noisy little band out of Brooklyn who specialize in lo-fi, post-punk, garage no-wave...or something like that.  Get their 7" here and listen to "Feel Me" below.