Bernardino Femminielli

Feeling down?  Wanna dance or hop around a little bit, but don't want to give yourself over too much to blind bliss?  I understand.  It's hard out there, and you've got to keep your wits about you.  So, here's a nice jam from Bernardino Femminielli called "Plaisirs Americains" that feels right at home in the darker, smokier corners of the discos and clubs you frequented in a past life.  The disco beats are there, but also an underlying nervous vibe, piano chords chugging that notion down as we dance to the end of all things.  Listen below and grab the album of the same name here via MIND Records.

Moonknight

Melodic, atmospheric, lo-fi black metal?  Yeah, that sounds like something i'd listen to.  Listen to "Valley of Torment" below, a track from new album "Zhora" by black metal band Moonknight.  It's a dusty, crunchy, and somber affair, a perfectly fitting kind of dirge for the impending death of the European Union and the inevitable worldwide fallout that will come along with it.  Download the album here, courtesy of Rising Beast.

Boy Harsher

It's been hot as hell here the last few days in Austin, but here's some chilly, minimalist synth pop from Massachusetts to cool us all down a little bit.  Electro-cold wave duo Boy Harsher make the kind of pulsing, icy jams that transport you to dark, Gothic ragers in abandoned warehouses and factories, congregating with all of the other freaks and outcasts.  Maybe someone's a werewolf.  Maybe not.  Anyway, get the band's new "Yr Body Is Nothing" LP here (physical edition of 50 records!) and listen to the title track below.

Sannhet - Short Life

So far, this summer's crop of free singles from Adult Swim have skewed to either thumpy dance jams or crunchy metal ragers.  And i'm good with these extremes.  This week's comes from Brooklyn experimental metal band Sannhet, an instrumental cacophony called "Short Life."  Listen below and download here.

Portishead - SOS

A little earlier this year, Portishead released a cover of ABBA's "SOS" that was featured in Ben Wheatley's "High-Rise," and it was really damn good.  The trio just put out a video for the song today, a somber black and white affair, that closes with a quote from the recently murdered British politician Jo Cox.  Watch below.

Aphex Twin - CIRKLON3 [ Колхозная mix ]

Aphex Twin videos were always kind of an event unto themselves back in the day, albeit generally a kind of creepy event.  Whether it was buxom, bikini-clad women with terribly mutated Richard D. James heads dancing by pools or in limos, or a gaggle of mutant children...with terribly mutated Richard D. James heads terrorizing your grandma, each video was certainly unique, entertaining, and...creepy.  While the latest video from Aphex Twin, his first in almost two decades, is not quite as sinister or scary as previous outings, it was directed by a twelve year old.  And it's weird.  Watch "CIRKLON3 [ Колхозная mix ]" below and get the "Cheetah" EP from Warp next month.

Danny Brown - When It Rain

New music from Detroit rapper Danny Brown is always a welcome event, especially when it's as hyper and frenetic as "When It Rain."  Watch the retro-ish video below.

OJ: Made in America

The last episode aired last night, and i haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but i've got to say that ESPN's "OJ: Made in America" documentary, part of the network's ongoing "30 for 30" film series is some of the most interesting and compelling TV i've ever seen.  I'm a sucker for a good documentary, so maybe i'm a little biased in this kind of thinking, but the movie/mini-series has presented a load of information that was new to me, as well as taking a well publicized and documented and event and presenting it from different points of view and in different contexts.  It's amazing, and encourage any and everybody to give it a view.  Watch the trailer below.

Swans

Somehow i forgot that there was a new Swans record coming out today...and from all looks and sounds, it's going to be another hard, dark, heavy (both literally and figuratively) sonic exploration.  Following 2012's "The Seer" and 2014's "To Be Kind," "The Glowing Man" seems to complete the trilogy of sorts, and has been hinted as the last album by the band in its current incarnation.  Listen to the haunting "When Will I Return" featuring vocals from Michael Gira's wife Jennifer, then get the album from Young God.

The Wytches

Brighton's The Wytches chug and groove on a raucous and hazy mix of surf, psych, and garage rock.  It's a noisy good time.  Watch the video for "Who Rides?" below and grab the new "Home Recordings" EP here on cassette or download.