Vukari

As we bring our July to a close, we may as well ride the month out on some atmospheric post-rock-black-metal with shoegazey undertones.  Why the heck not?  Take a listen to "Din of Consciousness" from Chicago band Vukari below, and grab their En To Pan EP here.

Primus returns with a Willy Wonka tribute!

And so...the original Primus lineup is back with a new and fascinating album, a complete cover of the soundtrack to 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," and a tour to support it.  "Primus and the Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble" hits the shelves in October on ATO Records.  Word on the street is the vinyl will be chocolate brown in color, with the exception of five golden records inserted at random.

I want that golden ticket.

Take a listen to the band's trippy take on "Pure Imagination" below.

Red Ox

 I finally, finally, finally got to go out and catch my friend's band Red Ox last night and dive deep into their sonic swirl of drone, doom metal, proggy synth rock, psych, and just a hint of stoner metal.  It's a fantastic mix, and a proper debut LP should be on the horizon in the future.  In the meantime, check out a couple of pics from last night's performance at The Mohawk and listen to an old live recording of "And in the Night Bind Us/Drought" below.

La Hell Gang

Like walking through some windy, desert landscape, evading the sandworms, high on spices and lack of oxygen, "Thru Me Again," the latest album from Chilean psych trio La Hell Gang feels like some forgotten trip from our old and chemically exploitative days.  "So High" is just that, all drone and textures and layer upon layer of sound to drive you deeper into the ether, deeper into your own headspace.  Listen below and grab the record from Mexican Summer.

Mad Max: Fury Road

So, i have to admit that after watching the trailer for the upcoming Mad Max reboot/prequel, "Mad Max: Fury Road," i am beyond excited.  It looks amazing, and basically like the equivalent of pure visual adrenaline.  It could be the summer movie of 2015.  Watch out Avengers.  Watch the trailer below and judge for yourself.

New music from Iceage

Here's a new jam from Denmark hooligans Iceage.  "The Lord's Favorite" finds the band trading in their normally nihilistic brand of post-punk dread for some seemingly stomping cow-punk vibes...and it totally works.  Watch the video below, and maybe a new record on the horizon.

Chopping Mall

"I guess i'm just not used to running around in a shopping mall in the middle of the night being chased by killer robots."

And so, one of my favorite stupid horror movies from the 80's gets a long overdue soundtrack reissue from the great people over at Waxwork Records.  Chuck Cirino's synth score uses just the right amount of goofiness to balance out the otherwise ominous bleeps and bloops...because after all, this is a movie about killer robots in a mall.  Pre-order here now and listen to "Main Title" below.

Digitalis Midlife Crisis mixtape

Digitalis is an excellent record label that specializes in electronic music, ambient jams, drone, synthesizer opuses, experimental music, and just plain, all around weirdness in general.  And they're located in Tulsa, Oklahoma of all places.  In May, the founder and head of the label turned 35 years old, and to commemorate the occasion, he offered up a sampler of sorts with 35 tracks from the label's roster.  It's really damn good.  Download it here and pay what you want.  In the meantime, you can stream the whole thing below.

Ritual Howls

Ritual Howls hails from Detroit.  The trio craft driving, haunting songs with touches of goth and industrial steam into their post-punk stew.  It's pretty catching, and i'm really digging on first single "Zemmoa" from the band's upcoming "Turkish Leather" LP due in September on Felte.  Listen below.

King Tuff

Got rained on and drenched this morning...drinking bad coffee...sitting at work...bored...harumph.  Good thing there's a new King Tuff record on the horizon.  "Black Moon Spell" comes out in September on Sub Pop, a new collection of lo-fi, garage-psych wonder.  Take a listen to the summer-tinged "Eyes of the Muse" below.

Mansions on the Moon

It's damn hot out there today, so here's a pool party jam for your evening from LA band Mansions on the Moon, a fun, dreamy little synth number.  "Don't Tell" is the first single from the band's upcoming self-titled LP, so grab a fruity cocktail, ease your feet into the blue, and listen below.

Download the track from the band here.

Liars remix Devendra Banhart

As a huge fan of any and everything Liars get their hands on, their sprawling and creepy remix of Devendra Banhart's "Golden Girls" is right up my alley.  It should be right up your alley too, a weird kind of dance track that sways and back and forth from spooky grooves to haunting ambience to sustained noise and beats.  Listen below.

Death from Above 1979

While i was on vacation, i somehow missed the new jam from Death from Above 1979.  How dare me?  "Trainwreck 1979" sounds like a Death from Above 1979 song...and that's pretty damn cool.  In November, you can find me watching the duo perform at Fun Fun Fun Fest.  In the meanwhile, watch the video below and get "The Physical World" LP in September on Last Gang/Warner Bros.

Vashti Bunyan

Here's a new one from the upcoming new album from folk chanteuse Vashti Bunyan.  "Across the Water" is the first single from "Heartleap" which Bunyan herself has said will be her last record.  That's a bummer...but the song is beautiful.  Listen below and look for the album in October from DiCristina.

Ricky Eat Acid

Ricky Eat Acid is a moniker used by Maryland producer Sam Ray, and his single "p u l l (may 15)" is...something.  The jam is smooth and entrancing, but with some choppiness and warped vocals thrown into the mix to make you feel just a little high.  Listen and download below.

Myrkur

Myrkur, if press releases are to be believed, is a one-woman black metal act hailing from "the darkness of Scandinavia."  That's pretty awesome.  And the music is a haunting mix of shredding guitar licks, guttural screams, enchanting female harmonies, and enough feedback and reverb to keep the shoegaziest of shoegazers content.  Consider me a fan.  Relapse are set release the self-titled EP in September.  You should get it, and you should listen to "Nattens Barn" below.

Doll Food

The sound of gentle singing voices choked in a sandstorm...a blissful, psychedelic acid trip with the natives from everywhere...seeing past the structures and into the ether...a collection of warbled samples, sounds, and textures as our shamanic guide horse.  It's all Doll Food.  Listen and trip to "Speed Freaks in Love" below and get the "Marrow Deep" cassette from Not Not Fun.

Coral Cross

Coral Cross is the metal-ish project of Jorge Elbrecht (formerly of Lansing-Dreiden)...and...goddamn, it's pretty rad.  "The Coldest Steel Across Your Face Slides" ebbs and flows, trading in periods of guitar bombast for quieter and proggier moments that give the track an ethereal vibe.  It's really good, and i hope more is on the horizon.  In the meantime, you can get the 7" from Mexican Summer.

Tim Hecker - Amps, Drugs, Mellotron

Speaking of free singles on Adult Swim, two weeks ago, the site released a haunting and beautiful track from experimental, drone, ambient artist Tim Hecker..."Amps, Drugs, Mellotron."  Looking to come down from the Sleep jam, then listen to this.

Sleep - The Clarity

Wanna hear the first new Sleep song in years?  Of course you do.  Well, slick your hair back out of your eyes, hit that gravity bong, grab a cheap beer, and let the stoner metal majesty of "The Clarity" wash over you in all of its 10-minute glory.  And, thanks to Adult Swim, you should be able to download this bad boy for free tomorrow.

Los Angeles Police Department

Hailing from LA (go figure), Los Angeles Police Department is a little, lo-fi candy for the soul.  Take a listen to the short and sweet pop nugget "She Came Through (Again)" from the forthcoming self-title LP on Forged Artifacts.

Cluster Buster

As per usual, some of our favorite music around these parts comes from a plethora of artists aping on the 80's horror movie synth score aesthetic.  The music seemingly creeps into my brainspace and stays there.  Cluster Buster already has one excellent release for 2014, and new album "Total Terror" just dropped this week on Future 80's.  Go here to download the album for the evil price of $6.66 and listen to "Female Protagonist" below.

RIP Tommy Ramone

RIP Tommy Ramone.  I realize i'm a week late with this, but i've been on vacation.  Bummer news.  It's hard to believe that they're all gone now.

Sorry Folks! Park's Closed

We're taking a breather here at the Incubator for the next week...but we'll be back, fresher than ever.

The moose out front should've told ya.

Fight Bite

It seems like we haven't heard from Queens by way of Denton, Texas dreampop duo Fight Bite in a while (2012 to be exact), what with Leanne Macomber gallivanting around with Joel Ford and making synth pop music as Ejecta.  Well, that may be remedied in the near future, as a "mixtape" of sorts has surfaced from Fight Bite, a collection of some stripped down odds and ends from the band called "Swissex Mixtape."  Listen to it below and download it here.

Conveyor

Ambient experimental band Conveyor provided a live score to screenings of George Lucas' 1971 film "THX 1138" in New York back in December and January.  New album "Prime" is a chronicle of those performances...and it's hypnotizing.  Playing like some kind of lost and droning krautrock masterpiece, "Prime" feels like staring into some synthetic abyss, a singular point of light just too far away to see.  Needless to say, it's fantastic.  Listen to "Theme I (Edit)" below and pre-order the album from Gold Robot Records.

Alex G

A stripped down and fuzzy lo-fi wonderland, mining for textures and nuggets of a simpler time, grooving in our bedrooms, playing with our second hand recording devices and prized possession guitars, smoking pot, sneaking beers, hanging out in parks and holding hands with the whole future opened wide in front of our eyes.  Philadelphia songwriter Alex G's "DSU" album sounds like that.  Listen to "Serpent is Lord" below and go here to download the whole album (name your price).

alt-J

Full disclosure: when alt-J's first album came out a couple of years ago, i didn't get why people reacted so strongly.  It's not bad or anything, but it just never hit me the way it seemed to hit so many other folks.  At best, i would have called it serviceable.  All that being said, i'm really digging the band's new single, "Hunger of the Pine," the first taste of new album "This Is All Yours," out in September on Canvasback/Infectious.  The song is moody and eerie and contains a Miley Cyrus sample of all things.  I also think there's a sample of Hans Zimmer's "Journey to the Line" from the score to "The Thin Red Line," but i can't find any confirmation on that.  It it's so, remember you heard it here first.  Listen the track below.

Happy 4th of July!

image courtesy of perfectaphoto.com

Have a great 4th of July weekend everybody!  Let's be careful out there.

Foxes In Fiction

I first heard Foxes In Fiction last year on a collaborative 7" with dreamy, shoegazey, ambient group Benoit Pioulard.  They kind of dropped off my radar after that until "Shadow's Song" from the upcoming "Ontario Gothic" LP surfaced yesterday.  It's absolutely beautiful.  A somber, but hopeful mix of ambient and droney textures, wall-of-sound beats and vocal effects, and the lovely violin of Owen Pallett.  The album is about the aftermath of a family member's death and the subsequent attempt to put one's life back together.  Moving stuff, and based on this first single, i cannot recommend it enough.  Listen below and pre-order the record on Orchid Tapes.

Tony Allen

Legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen has played with an array of different musicians over the years.  One of those musicians is Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn.  Allen drummed in such Albarn led bands as The Good, The Bad, and The Queen and Rocket Juice and The Moon.  With new solo album "Film of Life" due in October on JazzVillage, Allen has recruited Albarn for vocals on the stunning, summery track "Go Back."  Listen to it below.

Apparently Death Grips broke up...

So, apparently again, i will not be seeing Death Grips at Fun Fun Fun Fest, as the duo have broken up.  I suppose it should really come as no surprise.  Hell, this might all be some sort of extended performance art bullshit the group seems to trade in.  There's the break-up note above.  Oh well.  C'est la vie!

Scott Walker and Sunn O)))

Earlier today, 4AD released a link to this website...with the words "Scott O)))" in glorious black, white, and red.  They have since confirmed that legendary artist Scott Walker is make a collaborative album with drone metal band Sunn O))).  This is an unbelievably cool announcement, and a record is due by year's end.  I'll keep you posted.

Earth

Evidently, we get a new album from Seattle's droney doom wunderkinds Earth later this year...and that's always a plus in my book.  Take a listen to "From the Zodiacal Light" from the forthcoming "Primitive and Deadly" LP out in September on Southern Lord.  It's like getting lost in a sand storm.