Prurient's "Bermuda Drain" is a blur of industrial scream and scrape and minimal electronic excursions, but it's best described by the sticker on the album sleeve...the perfect soundtrack for driving through tunnels in Europe. Indeed. Listen to the album below and get it from Hydra Head Records.
I mentioned that i was going to see "Drive" a few days ago, and i did, and it was fucking awesome. Also awesome is the soundtrack and the original score (due out some time in the next couple of weeks on CD at least). The 80's-ispired synth jams bring the LA streets to life and make me want to drive around staring at all the neon lights the city has to offer. Listen to Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx's "Nightcall" below, and put those Wayfarers on...cause it's dark outside.
I know what i'm listening to on my way to work tomorrow. Check out "El Alfa" from White Ninja below and buy it here. Get bouncin!
Go ahead and take that peyote, finish your cup of tea, grab Jim Morrison's naked Indian friend and that tribe Aborigines from a future parallel universe, and climb aboard the rocket ship set to blast off into the tripped-out cosmos, like a smear across the galaxy. Here's your ride's soundtrack from Prince Rama. "Trust Now" will be available from Paw Tracks in October. Order it here, and listen to the whole record below.
Twin Sister's debut LP, "In Heaven," combines elements of sweet pop, jangly post-punk, swooning new wave synth, disco, and some Spaghetti Western flair, creating some infectious jams to welcome in the cooler (if we're lucky) weather and storm clouds. Watch the video for "Kimmi In A Ricefield" below and then grab the album from Domino.
Radiohead performed on Saturday Night Live last Saturday, playing "Lotus Flower," which was to be expected, seeing as it's the single from "King of Limbs," and the much more unexpected non-album track (and one of our favorite songs of the year) "Staircase." Watch the performance of "Staircase" below.
Bryter Layter is a synth-duo consisting of Arbor's Mike Pollard and Pegasus Farms' Joe Raglani (and also a Nick Drake record, but we'll stick to the former for our purposes). The two conjure up beautiful Martian soundscapes to bask in like a beached space whale on the red sands. Pretty stuff, the soundtrack to a moon landing. Listen to three tracks from the album "Two Lenses" below. The LP is available for pre-order from Students of Decay.
Here's hoping that "Drive" is as cool of a Steve McQueen joyride as it can be...
Prolific as ever, Bradford Cox is set to release a new LP from his Atlas Sound project, "Parallax," from 4AD in November, and the slinky, trippy jams are starting to bubble. Check out "Modern Aquatic Nightsongs," which was released in demo (bedroom jam) from last year on Cox's "Bedroom Databank" online releases. Listen below. It's dreamy.
Real Estate will be releasing a new LP from Domino next month, "Days." Take a listen to the first single "Green Aisles" below. And the clouds roll in...
It's time to melt into the carpet or just float away with the self-described “post-plastic sublime decomposed luxury grooves” of San Francisco's mix-tape maestro KWJAZ. Two tracks of "airy cloud-jazz passages (complete with smoky crystal vibes keys and narcotic hiss-hazed horn sections), bouncy weirdo dub-funk vignettes, stretched-out syrupy synth stews, and smooth faux-Steely D soft-rock abstractions" to lull you away to your happy place. Get it from Not Not Fun and listen to an excerpt of "Once In Babylon" below.
EMA, one of the big surprises of 2011 (a big surprise to me at least) recorded a session for Daytrotter. Go listen to the 90's alt-rock influenced (in a good way...i promise) jams over here.
Take a listen to "Cyan," a groovy, quasi-Arthur Russell sounding disco jam from Kindness (Phillipe Zdar). Now try to get it out of your head. The 12" is due from Terrible Records on October 25th.
Here is the aforementioned Panda Bear remix of Korallreven's "As Young As Yesterday," from the upcoming 12" single out soon from Acephale. Swirly swirly swirly. Take a listen below.
Mariachi El Bronx
Dale Earnhart Jr. Jr.
Chiddy Bang
Death From Above 1979
Death From Above 1979
Death From Above 1979
Empire of The Sun
Twin Shadow
Phosphorescent
Alexander
Wanda Jackson
Chromeo
Kurt Vile
Santigold
Santigold
Check out the new tune from Twin Shadow, "Changes," a cover of Italian group Bagarre's 1982 Italo-Disco jam. Listen and download below.
As Bjork polishes and readies her new multi-media album, "Biophilia," she just released multiple versions of the single "Crystalline" to tide us over. The most interesting of the bunch has got to be the Omar Souleyman remix, because really, Bjork filtered through a prolific Middle Easterner's musical sifter has weird awesome written all over it. Listen to the mix below, and look for Mr. Souleyman at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest.
In conjunction with their full-length LP release in November, Sweden's Korallreven are releasing a beautiful 12" single for the tune "As Young As Yesterday," featuring remixes from Panda Bear and Girl Unit. Comes on limited orange/purple blended vinyl. Pre-order from Acephale here and listen to the original mix below as we all hold our collective breaths and wait for autumn to arrive.
I know, i know, but i can't help but love electronic and dance music. That being said, the DJ Kicks series usually manages to shake it up a bit with the featured artists putting together a grand hodgepodge of different styles, genres, and sounds. The newest mix from Motor City Drum Ensemble features Sun Ra for god's sake. Fun stuff. Check out the mix of "L.O.V.E." below...a little house music, a little soul, and plenty sexy.
4AD is releasing a "new" single from Ariel Pink, "Witch Hunt Suite for World III." In actuality, the song was first started 10 years ago...to the day...kinda creepy. At any rate, the tune is a sprawling, epic, multi-part, 16+ minute freaky pop jam. Watch the video below. It's kind of intense in a weird way.
Check out the newest jam from Greece's haunting pop dream weavers Keep Shelly In Athens. "Our Own Dream" will be released on a new EP later this year from Forest Family Records. Hooray!
Country music's middle finger, aka Hank Williams III, recently shed his record label shackles and has unleashed three very different, somewhat self indulgent, yet fucking awesome albums. Now on his own Hank3 Records, the double LP, "Ghost To A Ghost/Guttertown" and the crazy as shit "3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin" can see the light of day. The former starts as a raucous country record with occasional bursts of bluegrass, punk rock, folk that then moves into periods of ambient noise and zydeco influence. Oh, and Tom Waits and Les Claypool both stop by to rest their weary feet/heads. Multiple listens reward thoroughly on this one.
Looking for something gut-wrenching and depressing? Look no further. Composer and New York native Steve Reich has put together a very powerful piece of music with some help from the Kronos Quartet, a sprawling account of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack using string arrangements, sparse tape manipulations, and samples of voices recalling and responding to the tragedy. It's a tough listen, but ultimately an important one. Stream it here from NPR. Pre-order from Nonesuch.
Wonky, worldly, warm-weather tribute jams from Co La, courtesy of Friends Records. "Fugitive of Leisure" is a little tough to describe, but look...a butt.
Here's a new video for Lana Del Rey's lovely "Blue Jeans" from the forthcoming double A-side 7" single "Video Games." The tune has a little bit of a Chris Isaak vibe combined with the usual Nancy Sinatra old school thing that the lovely Lana has going for her. Get the 7" from Stranger Records on October 10th. Pre-order here. We cannot wait for the full-length.
Went to Seattle for a few days...visited some old friends, saw some bands at Bumbershoot, got hugged by a crackhead, went on a whale watching tour, went to a Nirvana exhibit, ate a ton of seafood, got yelled at by another crackhead...good trip.
Thee Oh Sees
Dam-Funk
Das Racist
Butthole Surfers
A big sea lion
Angel from "In Utero" tour
Portland's Blouse have a dreamy new LP due out from Captured Tracks in November. Check out the Sub Pop single " Shadow" below.
A grand scape of 80's movie synth-pop aesthetics, haunting and hushed acoustic guitars, ambient noises and textures, echoed vocals, and the occasional foray into worldly and otherworldly sounds alike...thus enters Jape. Their LP "Ocean of Frequency" is due out on September 30th from Music Is For Losers. Listen to the excellent "The Oldest Mind" below.