heaven is an incubator: March 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

SXSW Recap over on Joup...

Kate Tempest

Head on over to Joup now to read my full recap of SXSW 2015, the week that was.

No Joy

Montreal's No Joy are readying their third album, "More Faithful," for release in June on Mexican Summer. First single "Everything New" is a hazy and dreamy piece of shoegaze love. Listen below.

One of the great sci-fi head trips of the 1970's was Saul Bass's "Phase IV," a film about scientists studying a hive of rapidly evolving ants. The movie is stark and heady, and the score by Brian Gascoigne and David Briscoe only amplifies that, a surreal and swirling mix of droning electronics, dusty synthesizers, and periods of classically composed beauty. Waxwork has seen to finally distributing the soundtrack on beautiful vinyl. That's the cover art above. Listen to "Phase IV" below.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Failure - Hot Traveler

One of my longtime favorites, Failure, got back together last year for a string of shows and a couple of new singles, and now a new album, "The Heart Is a Monster," is slated for release in June on INgrooves. It's their first record in almost 20 years. Listen to first taste "Hot Traveler" below.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Prurient - Dragonflies to Sew You Up

A couple of weeks ago, i mentioned the upcoming new album from experimental noise maker Prurient, "Frozen Niagara Falls." And here's our first taste with the simultaneously gorgeous, haunting, chaotic, and ugly "Dragonflies to Sew You Up." This album is going to be a beast. Pre-order now from Profound Lore.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Tame Impala - Let It Happen

Take a listen to new disco ball highlighted single from psych rock band Tame Impala. "Let It Happen" comes from the group's as of yet untitled third LP and feels like a pulsing, subdued psych dance jam, a synthesized lament-filled boogie. If it's a new direction for the band, i think i dig it. If it's just a little one-off dalliance, i still dig it. Listen below.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Merzbow and Xiu Xiu

Record Store Day is swiftly approaching us, and one of the more interesting releases on the docket is a collaborative album from Japanese noise artist Merzbow and LA's experimental Xiu Xiu. Fittingly enough, the record is called "Merzxiu," and it's two sprawling, epic tracks of noise, dissonance, drone, and more noise. This is what the world ends to. Listen to "Merzxiu B" below. The record will be out on Record Store Day, though Kingfisher Bluez has a limited number of copies available for pre-order for those with no record stores in their area.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Federale

While i wasn't able to catch them last week, one of the bands i learned about during SXSW is the Spaghetti Western infused psych rock of Federale. The band, featuring members of Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Angels appear on the excellent soundtrack to Iranian vampire flick "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night," which should have an online release from Mondo/Death Waltz in the near future. The songs used on the soundtrack originally came from the group's 2012 album "The Blood Flowed like Wine," which you can get here. Listen to the dusty and desperate title track below.

Earl Sweatshirt - Grief

Check out the video for Earl Sweatshirt's excellent new jam "Grief," taken from his new album, "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside." This kid just gets better and better and better.

The Go! Team

It's been awhile since we last heard from the instant-nostalgia samplerama outsider pop that is The Go! Team. I didn't realize how much i missed them. Listen to the title track from now album "The Scene Between" below and grab the record from Memphis Industries.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Torres

One of the genuine surprises for me last week during SXSW was artist Torres, and her sundrenched and hazy style of alt-rock, a sound totally indebted to much of the music i listened to in my teenage years, but done in a way that felt refreshing, like more than just a revival act. She's got some elements of PJ Harvey in her sound...and that's always an excellent thing. Listen to "Strange Hellos" below and be on the lookout for the "Sprinter" LP in may on Partisan.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Some pics from SXSW 2015

Well, another SXSW has come and gone, and we're all a little more tired than we used to be. I saw a ton of great bands, somehow managed not to find any free beer, got a little sunburned, discovered some new music, and felt old whilst surrounded by stoned teenagers. -Some highlights included Viet Cong and their one-armed brother (he broke it earlier in the day), the bouncy, noisy joy of Madrid four-piece Hinds, Bully's 90's alt-rock revival, and Kate Tempest's awesome hip-hop flow. Check out Joup in the next few days for my full recap, but for the time being, here's a shitload of pics from the week.