So long 2012...

From our family to your family...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Grouper - Vital

Here's another new track from the upcoming "The Man Who Died In His Boat" LP from Grouper.  Listen to the dreamy and wistful "Vital" below and get the album from Kranky in February.

Disasterpeace

FEZ is a throwback video game i've never heard of.  Disasterpeace provides the appropriate 8-bit soundtrack.  Somehow the beeps and boops create a vast and desolate soundscape to the whole thing.  Cool stuff.  Get it here and listen to "Puzzle" below.

The Band In Heaven

In February, Sonic Cathedral will release a double-7" EP called "Psych For Sore Eyes" featuring psych rock jams from six different artists. One of those artists is West coast act The Band In Heaven whose "High Low" contribution soars and drives into the reverby ether with the help of Spacemen 3's Sonic Boom, who mastered the whole project.  Listen below.

Pulp

It appears the Pulp reunion is wrapping up, and sadly i did not get to partake.  No Texas shows Jarvis?  Why you gotta hurt me so?  At any rate, the band has released a new version of their song "After You" with a little bit of help from James Murphy of the now defunct LCD Soundsystem.  It's a treat.  Listen below.

T. Rexmas

Well, Christmas comes in just over 24 hours, and i'm going to be off the grid for just a little while, so here's an early present for everybody.  Enjoy some excellent Christmas glam rock from T. Rex courtesy of the Bolan Boogie Bandcamp.  I don't know who put it together, but God bless you.  Listen to "Christmas Bop" below and check out more here.

2 Ways 4 Speakers

Barcelona's 2 Ways 4 Speakers sound like an 80's German darkwave synth band making music for a strobe and fog scene from a Michael Mann movie.  Their new LP "Honest and Liars" will hopefully be out sometime in the near future (delays due to the folding of Tsunami Records).  In the meantime, you can listen to "17 Days Beside You" below.

Blanck Mass

Fuck Buttons' Benjamin John Power records solo under the moniker of Blanck Mass, further exploring the nether regions of electronic music and drone.  Yesterday he released "Hellion Earth," a fun 10-minute dance jam for free.  Listen to and download it below, and then cross your fingers for some new Fuck Buttons material in the near future.

GR

Crazy psychedelic madness that sounds like it was birthed by Sun City Girls during a trek through an Arabian desert on hallucinogens, the music of GR actually comes from France's Gregory Raimo.  Look for "A Reverse Age" from Mexican Summer and listen to "Low Born" below.  It's a little intense.

Billow Observatory

Ambient drone = bliss.  And so we have the self-titled LP from Billow Observatory (Danish producer Jonas Munk and Auburn Lull guitarist Jason Kolb), a slowly unfolding album of drone, hiss, sounds, and echoes that took the better part of a decade to complete.  Get it from Felte and listen to "Calumet" below.

PVT

Check out the new track "Shiver" from Australian electro-act PVT's upcoming "Homosapien" LP.  A nice little synth melody layered with warbly and distorted vocals.  Look for the album in February from Felte, or pre-order here.

Merchandise

Despite my general assessment that nothing good ever comes from Florida (aside from the 1972 Miami Dolphins), Tampa Bay's Merchandise have got a great blend of new wave, shoegaze, and post punk going for them.  Listen to "Time" below and grab the "Children of Despair" LP from Katorga Works.

Spectral Park

Spectral Park's "L'appel du Vide" is an explosion of tape-damaged, 60's rock-inspired madness that sounds like a thousand good ideas crashing into each other all at once.  The band's self-titled debut will be out next month on Mexican Summer.  Listen below.

New Vår (War)

The always excellent record label Sacred Bones will be celebrating it's 5th anniversary with a concert in California where they'll be selling a new compilation of tunes that will only be available at the concert...which means i won't be able to get one...which kind of sucks.  The compilation includes a new tune from Denmark's Vår, the cold synth project of Iceage's Elias Bender Ronnenfelt and Sexdrome's Loke Rahbek.  "The Boy of the Boot" may also be included on the duo's debut full-length due out sometime next year.  Listen below.

Sigha

Heading out for the evening?  A Christmas party perhaps?  Well, here's a bleak, minimal techno jam from London's James Shaw, otherwise known as Sigha.  While "Self Improvement" is not included on the producer's "Living With Ghosts" LP, available from Hotflush, it's pretty indicative of what to expect, a soundscape of magnetic drones and cold beats and bleeps.  Listen below.

JK Flesh

Justin K. Broadrick (Napalm Death, Godflesh, Head of David, Jesu) is now exercising his industrial noise tendencies under the moniker of JK Flesh.  Look for the upcoming "Worship Is The Cleansing of Imagination" split LP with fellow noise maker Prurient coming very soon from Hydra Head.  It may or may not be the label's last release.  Pre-order here.  In the meantime, listen to "Fear of Fear" below, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan.

Gospel Gossip

Check out the reverb-drenched siren's call of Minneapolis's Gospel Gossip.  "Atlantic Blue" comes from the 7" of the same name, which you can get here.  The jam makes me think of standing in the middle of a smoky club at 17, covered in sweat, closing my eyes.

New Grouper

Word on the street is we can expect a new album of unreleased material from Grouper, recorded during the "Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill" period in February from Kranky.  And you know what they say about the word on the street?  Believe it.

"The Man Who Died In His Boat" comes out February 4th.  In the meantime go here to listen to and download the title track.  It's a beauty.

Riff Raff & Dame Grease

Eccentric hip-hop, such is the new "Hologram Panda" mixtape from rapper Riff Raff and producer Dame Grease.  It's an odd piece of work.  Download it for free here and listen to "White Silk Pants" below (via youtube).

RIP Ravi Shankar

RIP Ravi Shankar.

Check out this footage from a 1971 performance at Madison Square Garden below (as shown to me by my friend Lee).

Heroin In Tahiti

Maybe washed-out, warped-synth, tribal surf rock isn't a thing yet, but maybe it should be, as attested by hypnotizing jams of Heroin In Tahiti.  Listen to "Death Surf" below and visit the band here.

Woods

Okay, so shame on me, i'm about 3 months late on posting about the new album from Woods, but damn it, i'm doing it anyway.  "Bend Beyond" is available now at Woodsist, but listen to the awesome "Size Meets The Sound" below.  It's one of the catchier tunes i've heard from these guys.

Favorite Album Covers of 2012

Finally, what everybody's really been waiting on...our favorite album covers of the year.  I picked three covers that i really enjoyed, probably because they're all weird and creepy in some way.

Creepy little evil animal thing.

3.  Swans - The Seer

Creepy and unsettling South African angel thing eating a heart.

2.  Die Antwoord - Ten$ion

And whatever this is.

1.  Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

And now...Our Favorite Songs of 2012

Because i've got nothing better to do than to bombard you with lists of stuff i like, here are my favorite 52 songs of the year.  A couple of my favorite records do not have songs on the list as they really should be taken in as a whole (see Swans or Symmetry).  Anyway, get acquainted with a new one each week.  It will be good for you.  Take your medicine.

1.  Action Bronson - 9-24-11
2.  Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Baby
3.  Beck - NYC 73-78
4.  Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland - The Narcissist
5.  Blur - Under The Westway

6.  Chromatics - Into The Black
7.  Chrome Canyon - Generations
8.  CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share
9.  Claps - Strain
10.  Cloud Nothings - No Future No Past

11.  Death Grips - I've Seen Footage
12.  Diiv - Doused
13.  Dinosaur On Fire - Out or Orbit
14.  Empress Of - Don't Tell Me
15.  Father John Misty - Nancy From Now On

16.  FIDLAR - Cheap Beer
17.  Fight Bite - Charlotte Iris
18.  Flaming Lips (w/ Bon Iver) - Ashes in The Air
19.  Flying Lotus - Hunger
20.  Fucked Up - Year of The Tiger

21.  Godspeed You! Black Emperor - MLADIC
22.  Grimes - Genesis
23.  HAERTS - Wings
24.  Julia Holter - Boy in The Moon
25.  Hot Chip - Flutes

26.  Killer Mike - Reagan
27.  Levek - French Lessons
28.  Lower - But There Has to Be More
29.  Lower Dens - Lamb
30.  The M Machine - Glow

31.  Mere Mortals - The Pulpit
32.  Mirroring - Fell Sound
33.  Frank Ocean - Pyramids
34.  Pallbearer - An Offering of Grief
35.  Porcelain Raft - Unless You Speak From The Heart

36.  Quakers - Fitta Happier
37.  Quiet Americans - Selia
38.  Shadow Shadow - Riviera
39.  The Slaves - 111
40.  Spiritualized - Hey Jane

41.  Starving Weirdos - In Our Way
42.  Andy Stott - Numb
43.  Supreme Cuts and Haleek Maul - M00N
44.  Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
45.  Trust - Heaven

46.  Twin Shadow - 5 Seconds
47.  Ty Segall Band - I Bought My Eyes
48.  U.S. Girls - Jack
49.  Var - Brodemordet
50.  Vatican Shadow - Cairo Is A Haunted City

51.  Vaura - Obsidian Damascene Sun
52.  Scott Walker - Epizootics!

Really, this list could have easily gone on for another 52 songs (sorry Memory Tapes and METZ and Thee Oh Sees and more and more), but we need to keep ourselves under control.  We're not savages.  We're music nerds.

You can probably sample most (if not all) of these on Soundcloud or any other streaming service you can think of.  Enjoy.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...It's Our Favorite Albums of 2012

And we're here again.  It's that time in December when i debate if i should go ahead and spend the time it takes me to compile and post about my favorite albums of the year (in-ter-net?), or if i should wait another couple of weeks to take a listen to some last minute albums (Scott Walker anyone?).  But what the hell?  Everybody else is doing it, so why shouldn't i do it too?

So without further ado...

Action Bronson - Blue Chips:  As i've said a hundred times before, i love hip-hop mixtapes.  More often than not, they are more fun and creative than any kind of proper album.  "Blue Chips" is no different.  A fat, bald, bearded, Algerian New York slimeball laying down some sick lines over producer Party Supplies' random beats and samples, all the while leaving in all the mistakes and hiccups.  Excellent.

Beach House - Bloom:  The duo behind Beach House are nothing if not consistent.  Each album takes them further down their dreamy pop path.  And while their previous work was good, "Bloom" knocks it out of the park.  One of their tunes is based around a sound from the Zelda video game, and that's all i need.

Chromatics - Kill For Love:  This one seems to be on everyone's list.  And with good reason.  Dreamy electronics, pretty vocals, a pitch perfect Neil Young cover, and a collection of songs that's damn near perfect.  "Kill For Love" should be in everyone's collection.

Dinosaur On Fire - Sleep Moon Voyage:  The artist describes his record as the soundtrack to a kid playing and defeating a video game.  And that's what it is...and that's awesome.

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends:  Not so much a proper album as a collection of songs from a multitude of sessions with a multitude of different artists.  Nick Cave, Tame Impala, Bon Iver, Neon Indian, Ke$ha, Yoko Ono, and on and on and on.  I realize the Lips have a new record due next year, but this collection is a lot of fun and suits me just fine.

Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes:  Another artist with a consistent body of work who just nailed it this year is producer Flying Lotus.  "Until The Quiet Comes" moves all over the place, but still plays like one solid and haunting concept.

Philip Glass - Rework:  Yes, a remix album has made the list.  But it's a very different kind of remix album.  Think of it more as reinterpretations.  A great collection of artists like Beck, Dan Deacon, Pantha Du Prince, and more take apart the classical works of composer Philip Glass and restructure them into something remarkable.

Julia Holter - Ekstasis:  Weird and quirky and eclectic, Julia Holter's second album is intoxicating.  It can be a little difficult, but very rewarding, a droney wonderland.

Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music:  Finally the angry, aggressive, political hip-hop album i've been waiting for.  Killer Mike is pissed (like Ice Cube was back in 1990 before family movies and Coors Light commercials), and he calls out everyone for their bullshit.  The production work from El-P only accentuates that aggression.  Fantastic.

Lower Dens - Nootropics:  Apparently all Jana Hunter had to do to rediscover her muse was to ditch her Devendra Banhart associations, move to Baltimore, and create moody, echoed jams with a bunch of dudes. It worked.  The band's second album burns and soars and aches.

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange:  I can't add anything to internet ether in regards to what's already been written about Frank Ocean and his excellent "Channel Orange" album.  All that i'll say is that i usually can't stomach 99% of modern R&B music.  It makes my ears bleed.  But this album kills.  And it makes me want to get down.

Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction:  Dope smoking metal heads from Arkansas with a devotion to Black Sabbath and a crushing sound to cave your skull in.  Sign me up.

Quakers - Quakers:  One of the funnest hip-hop albums i've ever heard, featuring a bevy of rappers doing their thing over the excellent production of Portishead's Geoff Barrow.  You must own this.

Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light:  Seeing as this is the best work from Jason Pierce and co. since 1997's "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space," there's no way it could not be on my year-end list.  Continuing the psychedelic journey he began in the 80's with Spacemen 3, "Sweet Heart Sweet Light" unfolds like some lost Velvet Underground record.  Please disregard the stupid album art.

Andy Stott - Luxury Problems:  Entrancing and addicting from the very first echoed vocal, the record then begins to slowly churn and bubble under whispered synths and stoned beats.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.

Swans - The Seer:  A sprawling, dark, creepy, unsettling cacophony of sound from the always formidable Swans.  It's their masterpiece.

Symmetry - Themes From an Imaginary Film:  The album title sums up Johnny Jewel's opus.  It's the perfect score to hard burning modern film noir, and endlessly listenable.  Why don't you listen to the whole thing now?  You've got 2 free hours right?

Tame Impala - Lonerism:  Australia's Tame Impala just make fun psyche-rock jams that are catchy as hell, and their latest album just perfects what they were already doing.  Above all, it just puts me in a great mood.

Trust - TRST:  I gotta be honest with myself, this is my favorite album of the year.  Gothed-out, Depeche Mode-inspired pop songs.  I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.  Pasty white kids unite!

Vaura - Selenelion:  Part prog-rock, part math-rock, part metal, Vaura's debut album is totally the kind of thing old record store employs secretly recommend to their like minded clientele.  You're either a part of the club or you're not.  (You totally want to be in the club.)

Wreathes - Wreathes:  Since we're all supposed to be dead in two weeks anyway, here's a bonus record for my year end list.  Wreathes sounds like a bunch of drunk Gypsies together in an abandoned warehouse, reading occult materials, beating the hell out of a bunch a classical instruments, and chanting a mantra to the old gods.  Seriously, what is there not to love about that?


So there you have it.  Until we meet again.

(Favorite songs of the year to come.)

Captain Murphy

So the mysterious Captain Murphy turned out to be Flying Lotus all along.  It makes sense.  After years of making heavy, dense sometime instrumental collages of hip-hop beats and beeps, it's about time for a proper rap album.  Listen to "Immaculation" below, go here to download the duality mixtape, and here to watch the incredible and incredibly not safe for work video for the mixtape, but only if you're into clips of vintage porn and cult leaders and things like that.  And really, who isn't?

UPDATE:  It appears you can download the mixtape at Captain Murphy's website, but it's slooooowww.

Mountains

Needing something to help me unwind and relax my soul after a week of frightening my fellow co-workers with rage tantrums, drone duo Mountains' new track "Living Lens" arrives just in time.  "Centralia" is due in January from Thrill Jockey, but for the time being, i'm just going to scan the ever expanding horizon and float for a little while.  Breathe.

Hayden

Here's a new song from Canadian indie-singer songwriter Hayden.  "Old Dreams" plays like a wistful, melancholy daydream.  The "Us Alone" LP is due in February from Arts & Crafts.