Sixth June

I'm always down for a little Depeche Mode worship.  And throw in some goth nods to early work by The Cure, and you've made me a certified fan.  Germany's Sixth June just released their "Pleasure" EP on Mannequin Records, and it's a doozy.  Dark, pulsing, broodiness with just a twist of S&M.  Listen to the title track below and get the record here.

Secret Boyfriend

Ever the purveyor of cold and moody experimental sounds, Blackest Ever Black's last release of 2013 comes from North Carolina's Secret Boyfriend.  "This Is Where You've Lived" is a mesh of minimalist beats, cold synthesizers, sprawling ambience, and hushed vocals.  There's a nice post punk vibe working throughout the whole thing too, like Joy Division recording "Atmosphere" in a basement on a tape recorder.  Take a listen to "Beyond the Darkness" below.

Josh Tillman - The History of Caves

So, i ventured out to Waterloo Records after work today to check out the bevy of Record Store Day Black Friday releases, most notably snagging myself a copy of the live Nick Cave LP, and most notably missing The Flaming Lips' Stone Roses cover album (damn you Black Friday shoppers!).  I also grabbed Josh Tillman's (Fleet Foxes/Father John Misty) score for the film "The History of Caves."  It's folky, psychy, and very relaxing music.  Get if from Sub Pop (if possible) and listen to "Car Chase Theme" below.

Happy Thanksgiving

Got to hang out with my family and my wife's family.  Got to eat an amazing array of food all day long.  Got to drink beer all day long.  Got to watch football all day long.  AND my Longhorns dominate.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

And to all of you hitting the stores for Black Friday...please try not to kill each other.  But if you do, make sure it makes it on the news.

Profligate - Can't Stop Shaking

Before we all get fat and happy over the next 24 hours, here's a new jam from darkwave techno-industrial act Profligate.  "Can't Stop Shaking" is the propulsive A-side to his latest 12" single.  Listen below and get it now at Not Not Fun.

Halloween

I realize that Halloween is long gone, but i just got my copy of Mondo's reissue today on beautiful orange vinyl with that kick-ass cover art above.  So damn it, it's going to be Halloween for just a little while longer.  And they're still in stock!  Go get it here now.

Franco and Rogen as Kimye

I've got to be brutally honest here.  Kanye West annoys the shit out of me.  As does Kardashian.  The fact that the two of them have become such pop culture mainstays as to make them unavoidable is akin to hammering a nail into my forehead.  That being said, last week, Kanye released a creepy video for his song "Bound 2" featuring his baby mama, and it has now been parodied by James Franco and Seth Rogen.  This version is somehow less creepy.  Enjoy.

Death Vessel & Jonsi

Death Vessel is the hushed folk project of Rhode Island's Joel Thibodeau.  New album "Island Intervals" is due in February on Sub Pop.  "Ilsa Drown" is the first single and features Jonsi from Sigur Ros on guest vocals.  The whole thing is cold, and quiet, and very wintery.  Listen below.

Schoolboy Q - Man of the Year

Schoolboy Q's "Oxymoron" LP doesn't come out until next year, but in the meantime, we can sit back and jam the Chromatics-sampling "Man of the Year," a track which recently leaked from the "NBA Live '14" soundtrack.  (I'm not a video game guy, so...hooray?"  Listen below.

bEEdEEgEE

While artists' font and capital/non-capital letter choices for their work are often obnoxious, Gang Gang Dance member Brain DeGraw's new work on the moniker of bEEdEEgEE is pretty excellent.  A nice bag of 80's style synth pop twisted and perverted through a drugged out world beat lens and layers of experimentation and drone effects.  Oh, and you can dance to it.  Debut album "SUM/ONE" is due next month on 4AD.  In the meanwhile, listen to "Flowers" featuring Lovefoxxx below.

Thug Entrancer

Chicago by way of Denver electronic artist Thug Entrancer has a new double album due in February on Mexican Summer/Software.  "Death After Life" consists of 8 parts of dark beats, blips on the radar, and light synthetic flourishes.  This is the sound of driving at night through dark tunnels in Eastern Europe.  Listen to "Death After Live IV" below.

The Stranger

James Leyland Kirby has been making different kinds of music, though all in an experimental vein, for a number of years, recently putting out extraordinary works of ambience on the moniker of The Caretaker.  The man's got a new project called The Stranger, that weaves analog synth tones, fuzz, ambient noise, drone, and various bleeps and bloops to fine effect...moody, ethereal bliss.  Take a listen to "Where Are Our Monsters Now, Where Are Our Friends?" below and get the "Watching Dead Empires in Decay" LP on Modern Love.

The Cremator

Well, it's Thursday, so here's a Finders Keepers reissue of some weirdo Czech film called "The Cremator."  The score was composed by Zdenek Liska and is very pretty.  Listen to "Spalovac Mrtvol" below.  Goodnight everybody.

Ghost B.C.

The band of Satan's minions that is Ghost B.C. just released an EP of covers produced by Dave Grohl.  That's pretty much all you need to know.  Check out the Nosferatu-inspired cover art above and listen to the band's take on Roky Erickson's "If You Have Ghosts" below.  Then get the album from Loma Vista.

Kiss of the Damned

Today i had the chance to watch the Xan Cassavetes film "Kiss of the Damned," a modern take on vampire erotica.  Visually and thematically, the movie was a perfect homage to European vampire flicks of the 60's.  Not to mention the score by Steven Hufsteter.  It reminds me of the music you would hear in a Jess Franco movie.  Absolutely perfect.  Check out the film (currently streaming on Netflix) and listen to "Kiss of the Damned Love Theme" below.

The album is currently being distributed by Finders Keepers.

Temples - Mesmerise

After an excellent 7" release earlier this year, British psych rock outfit Temples are prepping their debut full length LP "Sun Structures" for release in February on Fat Possum.  Listen to first single "Mesmerise" below.

Found Vinyl: Demon - The Unexpected Guest

Just look at that album cover.  Is it a demon's snarling, ugly face or a body builder's torso?  It doesn't really matter, because it's delightful and delicious cheese.  In a lot of ways, cheesy 80's British metal is the best kind of metal.  Classic riffs, goofball lyrics, and grand posturing is such an easy pill to swallow when there's a complete and utter lack of irony.  That earnestness and "Hail Satan!" goofiness make Demon's 1982 album "The Unexpected Guest" such a fun ride.  Sonically, there's a lot in common with Judas Priest and the other acts that came out of Britain's new wave of heavy metal in the late 70's and early 80's.  Did i mention that it's fun.  This is the kind or record that makes me want to cut my hair into a mullet, put on some tight jeans and a tank top, and go hang out in a parking lot somewhere smoking cigarettes and glaring at passers by.  Yeah, it's that kind of record.  Take a listen to "Don't Break the Circle" below.



Are you adequately pumped up?  Now, here's "Deliver Us from Evil."



And finally, here's "The Grand Illusion."  No go out there and rock!

Ed Askew

Autumnal albums recorded by older artists in their twilight years have a way of stripping all manner of bullshit from their work, chipping the songs down to their bare essence.  They can be knowing, world weary affairs.  They can be denouements.  And usually, they can be quite awesome (read: Johnny Cash, Lee Hazlewood, Warren Zevon, etc).  Ed Askew comes from underground of strange and outsider psych-tinged country and folk from the 1960's.  At 71, he just released a new album, "For the World," on Tin Angel Records.  The album consists of beautiful and melancholy songs, a journey into old age.  Listen to the title track, featuring Sharon Van Etten, below.

The Mistys

English duo The Mistys are a fuzzy, mutant pop band with touches of trip-hop, electronic experimentation, and techno scuzz swirled throughout the mix.  Dark and smoky atmospherics, a somewhat lo-fi production aesthetic, and a pulsing beat place these guys square in the middle of my music radar.  Get the band's debut full length album "Redemption Forest" from their Other Ideas imprint and listen to "Behemoth" below.

Jack Name

John Webster John is the touring guitarist for psych rock act White Fence.  He also records his own brand of psych pop under the moniker Jack Name.  Debut album "Light Show" is out in January on Drag City.  Groove on the mix of psych vibes, garage stomp, and glam swirl of first single "Pure Terror" below.  It channels all the good stuff.

Sannhet

Brooklyn instrumental metal trio Sannhet bring a full on sonic assault with their sound, an almost brutal cacophony of black metal drums set to reverb-drenched, frantic guitar riffs.  The mood is ominous.  The end is nigh.  Listen to "Lions Eye / You Thy_" below and download it here.

Happy Diving

Northern California's Happy Diving have perfected the sound of listening to music in my bedroom when i was a teenager.  Crunchy and melodic, the band's throwback sound still works.  Listen to "Sincere" below and be on the lookout for a self-titled EP on Father/Daughter Records early next year.

Death Grips - Government Plates

Though their constant cancelling of dates and festival appearances (Fun Fun Fun Fest in particular for me at least) is irksome, i am consistently blown away by every release from noise-rap group Death Grips.  The duo just put their latest album "Government Plates" up online for free download yesterday, and it's, for lack of a better word, intense.  Sped up techno beats bleeding into the red while hollered vocals pummel you to a pulp.  Listen to "Feels like a Wheel" below and get the album here.

M83 - Ali & Matthias

After some pretty excellent work on the soundtrack to "Oblivion" earlier this year, M83 has another movie score in the pipeline, this time for Anthony Gonzalez's brother Yann's film, "You and the Night."  The song "Ali & Matthias" sounds different than most of M83's previous work, more organic, less synthetic.  At any rate, Gonzalez has said that the music is an homage to the scores from 1970's French love films.  I'm hooked.  Listen below and be on the lookout for the digital release later this month on Mute, and a physical one sometime next year.

Steve Moore

Steve Moore's (Zombi, Miracle, Lovelock, etc.) 2010 solo album "Primitive Neural Pathways" is something that i sadly just stumbled upon.  The album plays like an analog synth soundtrack to an old 8mm science film from the 60's that they still would have been showing kids when i was in junior high.  So, get your planetarium shoes on and listen to "Orogenous Zones" below.  Get the record from Dangerous Age.

Raum

Grouper's Liz Harris is certainly keeping herself busy these days with wide array of side projects and collaborations.  Her latest is an effort with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma called Raum.  A gorgeous array of looped and echoed vocals, feedback, fuzz, and wonderful humming drone, the music sounds like sinking into the carpet of your bedroom...but in a good way.  "Blood Moon" is out next week on Glass, house.  Listen to the title track below.

Fun Fun Fun Fest 8: Day 3 pics

And all good things must come to an end...which is good because i was out of money and my body was starting to reject the steady diet of Shiner beer and junk food.  Highlights of the day include reaffirmation that The Polyphonic Spree will always put me in a good mood, listening to the Mortal Kombat theme song whilst watching tacos being blasted out of a cannon, seeing the kids from Unlocking the Truth with their mom eating Twinkies, The Men, and Gojira.

The lowlight of the day was the sound issues that prevented Killer Mike from being able to perform, though he tried his damndest.

Until next year then.  Take a gander at some snapshots below.

Daily Twinkie consumption count: 5.

The Polyphonic Spree

The Men

Cloud Nothings

The Julie Ruin

The infamous taco cannon

Washed Out

Killer Mike

Deltron 3030

Gojira

MGMT

Fun Fun Fun Fest 8: Day 2 pics

Some Day 2 highlights were Antwon's raunchy set, everything about Quasi's set, finally seeing Television and Sparks, and the search for Coco.  Take a look at some pics below.

Daily Twinkie consumption count: 5.

Antwon

White Lung

Merchandise

Flatbush Zombies

Chromatics

Television

Quasi

Quasi

Sparks

Ice-T

Fun Fun Fun Fest 8: Day 1 pics

Oh Fun Fun Fun Fest, the fest that's so fun, they're literally giving a Twinkies away.  Day 1 was chilly and awesome with some notable highlights being the ridiculous covers medley performed by Mac DeMarco (snarky, snarky, snarky), Thee Oh Sees proving consistently that they are the best live band in the county, Johnny Marr performing some Smiths classics, Bill Callahan opening his set with a cover of "White Light, White Heat," and the aforementioned free Twinkies.  Check out some pics below.

Daily Twinkie consumption count: 3.

Active Child

Poolside

Beach Fossils

Ceremony

Mac DeMarco

Johnny Marr

Kurt Vile

Thee Oh Sees

Bill Callahan

Snoop Dogg