Barrie

As i get geared up for next week's music extravaganza, i'm doing my best this week to make mental notes of artists to try and check out.  As of now, Tuesday is looking like it may be somewhat of a synth pop / dreampop kind of day, so i may as well listen to New York band Barrie.  Listen to the grooving haze of "Canyons" below, download the song here via Winspear, and look for them next week at SXSW.

Anemone

With a lovely mix of sunshine psych, dreampop, French pop, and kosmische, Canadian artist Anemone is easily one of the acts i'm most excited to catch next week during SXSW.  She's got an EP, "Baby Only You & I" headed our way in April on Luminelle, that kind of sounds like Stereolab going full on pop.  Listen to the title track below, pre-order the cassette here, and be on the lookout for her in Austin next week (and i guess look for me too).

Lost Under Heaven - The Breath of Light

I've been a fan of Ellery James Roberts' music for a long time, ever since his days in the now defunct band WU LYF, but i've got to say that his material as Lost Under Heaven (or LUH) has been a broader showcase of his talent than his old band ever was.  New song "The Breath of Light" never quite hits the bombast that 2016's "Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing" LP did, but it's still a bubbling ode of emotion.  Listen below...and definitely go back and listen to that 2016 album if you never have.  It's vastly under appreciated.

Jonny Greenwood - Dark Streets

Anytime Jonny Greenwood lends his considerable talents to score a film, it's always worth checking out and absorbing.  Following his Oscar nominated work on Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Phantom Thread," he's now scoring the upcoming Lynne Ramsay thriller "You Were Never Really Here."  Check out the sparse and pulsing "Dark Streets" below, and look for the soundtrack next week on Invada.

Keiji Haino and SUMAC

Metal supergroup trio SUMAC, featuring members of Isis, Baptists, and Russian Circles make pummeling, crushing, crunching music, an onslaught of bombast and riffage to blast through your senses.  And now they've added some Japanese experimental noise to the mix.  The result is breathtaking.  Japanese multi-instrumentalist artist Keiji Haino joins the band on new album "American Dollar Bill - Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous to Look at Face On," adding a whole new dimension to SUMAC's work.  I don't know what it is, but when American metal bands team up with Japanese experimental musicians, the result is usually magic.  Crazy, noisy magic.  Get the record here via Thrill Jockey, and listen to the title track below.

Friday Horror Trailer - The Incubus

Iceage feat. Sky Ferreira

Earlier this year, we got to hear a brand new tune from Denmark post punk band Iceage, "Catch It," and it seemed some album news would be following.  And now it has.  The band's new record "Beyondless" is due in May on Matador.  While we're waiting for that to drop, listen to new single "Pain Killer" featuring some guest vocals by Sky Ferreira.  The two artists play well together, as do those intro horns, and i hope we can maybe get some further collaborations in the future.  Listen to it below.

Street Sects

Street Sects are one of those local bands i've been meaning to give a spin for the longest time now, but for whatever reason just constantly keeps getting put on the back burner.  Well, no more!  The duo's latest release, the excellent "Things Will Be Better in Hell" 7" on Artoffact Records is a stomping, blistering industrial punk hybrid, meant to smash heads and contort bodies.  It's awesome.  Listen to the A-side below and cop the record here.

Alexia Avina

Here's some dreamy and ethereal folk music from Canadian artist Alexia Avina, one half of dreampop act Best Fern.  "Betting on an Island" is a wistful, hazy, and beautiful experience.  Listen to "Song 36" below and get the album here via Never Content.  The cassette comes with a shell from the Pacific Ocean and some dried sage from the Angeles Mountains because why not?

RIP Barry Crimmins

RIP comedian, writer, satirist, and social activist Barry Crimmins.  By all accounts, he was an awesome and amazing person.  Check out Bobcat Goldthwait's "Call Me Lucky" documentary about the man as soon as you can.