Air Waves

Air Waves is the dreamy and melancholy project of Nicole Schneit, and "Parting Glances" is her latest album.  Recorded with Woods member Jarvis Taveniere and featuring some guest vocals from Lower Dens' Jana Hunter, the record already sounds like it's a winner.  Take a listen to the weary and crawling "Milky Way" below and get the record in September from Western Vinyl.

Wavves x Cloud Nothings

Wavves and Cloud Nothings made a record together.  It sounds like what you'd get if Wavves and Cloud Nothings made a record together.  That's not a slight or a rub or anything, as the album is actually quite noisy and good.  Stream the entire "No Life for Me" album below, download it here, and grab the vinyl from Ghost Ramp.

Nervosas

Here's a jangly, raucous punk jam from Ohio band Nervosas, taken from from their upcoming self-titled sophomore record on Dirtnap.  Listen to "Parallels" below.

HÆLOS

So, i've been digging through a lot of the acts that i'm unfamiliar with that are playing upcoming festivals in Austin in the fall (ACL and Fun Fun Fun Fest), and i'm discovering that there is plenty of stuff i need to be paying closer attention to.  Take London's HÆLOS, an electronic pop band that feels like some mutant offspring of Massive Attack, Portishead, or any other number of like-minded artists from the mid/late 90's.  Count me as a fan.  Take a listen to "Earth Not Above" below and grab the EP of the same name from Matador.

Love

Öxxö Xööx

Here is some ridiculous and awesome heavy metal from France's Öxxö Xööx, an avant garde doom-hybrid full of operatic highs and crunching, abyss-seeking lows.  New album "Nämïdäë" plays like some kind "Metalocalypse" riff, but man it's a lot of fun.  Listen to "Därkäë" below and get the album from Blood Music.

Meg Baird

Here's a moody and melancholy new lament from Meg Baird, formerly of the psych-folk band Espers.  "Counterfeiters," from new album "Don't Weigh Down the Light," slinks and crawls and oozes along gently strummed, echoing guitars, while Baird's hushed coo whispers softly on the back of your neck.  Listen below and grab the record from Drag City.

Destruction Unit

Here's a new one from Arizona rabble-rousers Destruction Unit from their forthcoming "Negative Feedback Resistor" LP on Sacred Bones.  "If Death Ever Slept" features an assist to the mayhem from Alex Zhang Hungtai, formerly of Dirty Beaches.  Listen below.

RIP James Horner

RIP James Horner.  The film score composer reportedly died in a plane crash yesterday.  Listen to his beautiful Suite from 1990's "Glory" below.

Creepoid

Philly quartet Creepoid's new album "Cemetery Highrise Slum" is out today on Collect Records, and true to form on the band's earlier output, they funnel elements of punk, grunge, shoegaze, noise rock, the avant garde, and pop into their tunes.  Take a listen to the shoegazey ballad "Shaking" below.

Mamaleek

Pushing the envelope and defying genre expectations seems to be the soup du jour for San Francisco two-piece Mamaleek.  At once, the duo's new LP, "Via Dolorosa," is snarling and ugly, a blast of noisy racket, guitar wails, clipping drum beats, and mic-in-a-room, black metal screaming.  And then things get more subdued, calmer waters even.  Piano melodies join the fray.  Electric tones dial back the ferocity.  And then the screams and din return, and then things get warbled and strange, and then it's suddenly all over and demanding you play it again.  This is great, boundary breaking stuff.  Listen to album opener "Nothing But Loss" below and get the record from The Flenser.

Starry Eyes

A little horror film that kind of snuck up on me earlier this year was Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer's "Starry Eyes," a dread-fueled tale of Hollywood dreams and devil cults with a pretty brutal ending.  I loved it.  And i loved the synthy throwback score from Jonathan Snipes.  It's out now on Waxwork Records.  Listen to "End Credits Extended Mix" below.

Cherry Glazerr

It's that time of year again, weeks and weeks of free jams courtesy of Adult Swim's singles series.  All summer long, be on the lookout for new free music from the likes of Chromatics, Slayer, Run the Jewels, Thou, Swervedriver, and more.  Week 2 brings us some raucous, post-ish punk from California three-piece Cherry Glazerr.  Listen to "Sip 'O Poison" below and check back with Adult Swim every week for more.

Locrian

Excellent.  We've got some new music from experimental-drone-metal band Locrian on the horizon.  New album "Infinite Dissolution" gets its inspiration from Elizabeth Kolbert's novel "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History," about mass extinction due to climate change.  The record is as uplifting as you would think it would be, a post-apocalyptic bombast.  Listen to "An Index of Air" below and grab the album next month from Relapse.

RIP Rick Ducommun

RIP Rick Ducommun.  As my wife said, i believe a memorial screening of "The Burbs" is in order tonight.

KINS

London quartet KINS are set to release their "Cyclical" EP next month on East City Records, and judging from the band's 9-minute single "Little Dancer," we're looking at some huge, expansive, and moody music.  "Little Dancer" feels big, a growing throb of slow beats, cold synths, and haunted vocals that eventually climax into a cacophony of sound.  Listen below.

London O'Connor

A sweeping, building bounce of a synth pop jam, chugging along with sections of pulsing spoken word, flashes of rapping, and a sing-songy chorus of "I hate your guts," makes the latest from London O'Connor's upcoming debut album "O∆" an irresistible little earworm.  "Guts" has been on repeat in my brain for the last 24 hours.  Listen below and look for the self-released album later this month.

Grim

Just in case you though it was getting a little to bouncy and peppy around these parts, here's some subdued and foreboding industrial drone from Grim, taken from new album "Maha," out on Steinklang Industries.  "Yellow G" is haunting and calling and feels like you've just joined a surreal cult you have no business being apart of.  Listen below...and tremble.

Grid Knights

Currently batting a thousand with their compilation releases is record label/art collective Retro Promenade, and their latest collection of synth explorations pays tribute to "Tron."  "Grid Knights" and all of its "Tron" inspiration, follows previous albums indebted to "Twin Peaks," John Carpenter, and "Miami Vice," and it's a pulsing, sweeping wonder.  Download the album here, check out the rest that the label has to offer here, and listen to Renz Wilde's "Mainframe" below.

RIP Christopher Lee

A week ago, we lost one of the greatest character actors of any generation, and one of my all-time favorites.  I don't think we'll ever have another actor cool enough to play a villain in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and the James Bond series, as well as playing Dracula, ever again.  Cheers to you Sir Christopher Lee.  May you rest in peace, tormenting your foes for all eternity.

Beck - Dreams

Hey, there's a new Beck song.  It's called "Dreams," and it's really fun and bouncy.  Could this be the return of fun Beck?  Listen below, and be on the lookout for a new record in the future.

Shamir

Whoa.  I'm back on the grid after a much needed vacation on the beach and away (for the most part) from social media and the internet in general.  And holy shit, i missed a lot of stuff.  Whether it be music, dinosaurs breaking box office records, race fights at a swimming pool in small town Texas, white people pretending to be black people, and a whole lot of cool people passing away.  Anyway, it's back to the grind.  So here's a jam off of probably what will be the party album of the summer, "Call It Off" from Shamir's "Ratchet" LP on XL.  There's a lot of sexuality at play on the record, but in a way that doesn't matter.  Gay?  Straight?  Transgendered?  Androgyny?  Whatever.  It's all good, and none of that matters anyway.  Let's just dance and have a blast doing it.  "Ratchet" is pop perfection.  Watch the puppet-fueled video below.

The I.L.Y.'s

I've got to be honest that i've reached the point where Death Grips shenanigans no longer interest me, as they seem to be unending...forever and ever and ever.  That being said, the music keeps me glued to their trolling bullshit nonetheless.  The latest is an album the band made available for download on their twitter page by an entity known as The I.L.Y.'s.  Speculation as to what this is has been abundant online, but the general consensus seems to be that it is a side project with drummer Zach Hill on vocals.  I buy that.  And you know what?  It's pretty damn good.  Stream the entire "I've Always Been Good at True Love" album below and download it here.

Fucked Up - Year of the Hare

Canadian troublemakers Fucked Up are set to release the latest in their series of Zodiac-themed singles, "Year of the Hare" in a couple of weeks on Deathwish Inc.  These boys and girls are still one of the best live acts around, and new music from them is always grand and welcome news.  Go here to listen to the 20-minute jam and watch the interactive video.

Tenement

Here's a wonderful, poppy little rocker from Wisconsin's Tenement from the trio's new record "Predatory Headlights."  "Dull Joy" feels like a callback to the DIY punk of the 90's.  Listen below and grab the record from Don Giovanni.

Flying Saucer Attack

The last few years have seen a whole slew of releases from long-quiet bands and artists that i listened to 15 to 20 to 25 years ago.  Revivals, reunions, renewals, and so on.  I guess that means i'm getting old.  The latest comes from Bristol's lo-fi/ambient/noise/folk band Flying Saucer Attack, with a new album called "Instrumentals 2015," their first album in 15 years, due in July on Drag City.  Watch the Peter Strickland-directed video for "Instrumental No. 7" below.  The stark imagery used pairs perfectly with the solemn tones of the song.

Algiers

Algiers are here with a debut, self-titled album on Matador.  I had never heard of them until today, and brother, i am hooked.  The band are a call back to a time when gospel, soul, garage rock, and screaming, growling punk rock intertwine seamlessly to get under your skin, into your earholes, and taped to your brain, all the while feeling wonderful and brand new.  Watch the video for "Black Eunuch" below and get the record tomorrow.