BEAK KAEB

You really can't go wrong with anything from Geoff Barrow, whether it be prog rock, krautrock, film score, hip-hop, or Portishead.  His latest comes from his proggy project BEAK, a new EP also featuring songs from alter-egos KAEB.  The whole this is a weird and wonderful mix of prog, krautrock, psych, folk, and experimental tinkerings.  Listen to KAEB's ghostly "When We Fall" below and get the album here.

UPDATED: I tried to use the full name of the bands using the proper "greater than" and "less than" symbols used, but it freaked blogger out, so we're left with what we've got.

2 8 1 4

I'm tired today.  I think a weekend's worth of live shows and drinking coupled with running around outside with my son and his cousins may have finally cracked me.  So, here's a hazy, ambient soundscape from members of Telepath and Hong Kong Express called 2 8 1 4 that perfectly captures my rundown mood.  Listen to "Huīfù" below and be on the lookout for the "Atarashī Ni~Tsu no Tanjō" LP soon on Not Not Fun.

Kylesa - Lost and Confused

October continues to look like a pretty goddamn amazing month for new music, so we may as well go ahead and throw a new record from Savannah metal band Kylesa into the mix.  "Exhausting Fire" hits October 2nd on Season of Mist, but go ahead and listen to increasingly psych-metal vibes of "Lost and Confused" below.

Cub

While we're celebrating a new upcoming release from Zombi, we may as well get giddy about the score for the upcoming horror film "Cub."  The film is about a homicidal maniac terrorizing a cub scout troop (just like the Weird Al song!), and the music comes from Zombi's Steve Moore.  You can also pre-order this one from Relapse and listen to "Intro and Credits" below.

Zombi

Hazaa!  This October sees the triumphant return of Zombi, with the duo's new record "Shape Shift," just in time for Halloween.  The new album finds the band focusing on a more live prog rock sound, with plenty of horror score motifs sewn within.  I'm stoked.  Pre-order the record from Relapse and listen to "Pillars of the Dawn" below.

Faith No More at Austin City Music Hall

And here are some pics from the Faith No More set at Austin City Music Hall on Sunday.  It was hot as hell in that place, and we saw more folks escorted out by security than i've ever seen at a concert before, but FNM were unstoppable.  And they played "Everything's Ruined" and "King for a Day."  I'm still giddy.

Failure at Emo's

Last weekend, i essentially became a 17-year old again and got to see both Failure and Faith No More in concert.  Both shows were pretty goddamn amazing.  Here are some pics from the Failure show.

Flatliner

Austin electro-duo Flatliner released their debut "Black Medicine" EP today via the always excellent Holodeck Records.  Part video game adventure, part schlock horror score, part driving through European tunnels at night, the EP pulses and blips and thumps, a portal to some pixelated wonderland.  Listen to "Blasted Highway" below and get the record or cassette here.

Thou - Eyehatethou

Thou are the latest group to bring you an awesome free single courtesy of Adult Swim.  "Eyehatethou" is a tribute of sorts (at least in title) to fellow Louisianan metalheads Eyehategod, and it's a heavy, bombastic piece of sludge.  Start your day off right.  Listen and download below.

Golden Dawn Arkestra pics

Last evening, i was able to catch a free show by Austin's Afro-psych-soul-funk masters Golden Dawn Arkestra.  I'm pretty sure they blew my two-year old's mind.  Here are a couple pics below and listen to the band's "Selemat."

Ghetto Ghouls

Austin garage rock act Ghetto Ghouls are readying their sophomore effort, "Collisions," for release next month on the excellent Monofonous Press.  Take a listen to the fuzzed out "Hezbollah" below.

Marissa Nadler covers Black Sabbath

Marissa Nadler is no stranger to haunted, broken-hearted anthems, so she seems a natural fit to take on Black Sabbath's "Solitude," from their 1971 album "Master of Reality."  And her take is absolutely beautiful, a ghostly and stunning marvel.  Listen below.

Fuzz II

Damn Ty Segall is prolific.  The California garage rocker just announced the follow up to his stoner rock band Fuzz's 2013 debut, the aptly titled "II," out in October on In The Red.  Listen to "Pollinate" below, and be sure to look for me at that band's set at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest in November.

Hinds - Chili Town

Hooray!  Today we get a new track from Madrid garage rock group Hinds, a band who has been making me excited for almost a year now since their debut 7" came out.  Their bouncy, raucous SXSW performances last March only increased that excitement.  Take a listen to the lovely and breezy "Chili Town" below, which will be included on the ladies' debut LP, hopefully out sometime this Fall.

Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge

Evidently, legendary rapper Ghostface Killah is popping up in all the music sites today because of some perceived slight from rapper Action Bronson.  Like most rap beefs, the whole thing is stupid and generally just amounts to a bunch of chest-swelling bravado and ridiculous machismo.  And that's a shame, because we should be focused instead on how Ghostface has released two excellent albums this year, one being his recent collaboration with BADBADNOTGOOD, and the other being his latest album, "12 Reasons to Die II," a new collaboration with producer Adrian Younge.  It's basically hip-hop meets old school film score.  Oh, and Raekwon's involved as well.  Listen to "Return of the Savage" (which also features RZA) below and grab the record here.

Meow the Jewels

I'm just going to leave this here...our first full taste of El P's and Killer Mike's Meow the Jewels, the kitty-cat remix of "Early" called "Meowrly."  Enjoy.

Robocop

Ever since the soundtrack to "Drive" garnered so much acclaim and hype, director Nicolas Winding Refn has jumped full in on the recent vinyl soundtrack resurgence by curating releases for Milan Records.  The most recent is Basil Poledouris' score for Paul Verhoeven's 1987 satiric action masterpiece "Robocop."  Awesome.  And check out the excellent album cover from Jay Shaw.  Listen to "Drive Montage" below and grab the record here.

Wilco - Star Wars

I have never been the biggest Wilco fan in the universe, but every now and then, Jeff Tweedy and company will release a track or an album of their progressive, poppy brand of Americana that will just stick to my brain.  Today, the band released a whole new album called "Star Wars" for free (for an email address) on their website...and that's pretty cool.  Stream the whole thing below and go here to download.

Swervedriver - Winter Depths

As per usual, the Adult Swim free singles coming out this summer are a diverse bag of goodies.  The latest comes from reunited shoegazers Swervedriver, following up their reunion record from last year.  "Winter Depths" is a cold and glowing little number, meant for post-dusk meanderings or late night introspective thinking.  Long live Swervedriver.  Listen below and download here.

Casino Hearts

Casino Hearts is the project of Reno, Nevada's Jacob Rubeck, a collection of fuzzed out, reverby, lo-fi jams that feel almost ethereal, like floating into space on the sounds created by cheap instruments on cheap recording equipment in a dingy garage somewhere.  It's perfect.  Listen to "Bad Kids" below and get "The Best of Casino Hearts" download here, or the cassette from Danger Collective Records.

Picnictyme

It's starting to get hot here in central Texas, temperatures nearing 100 degrees, the days just begging to spent on boats on the lake, in tubes on the river, or with cocktails by swimming pools.  Dallas' Picnictyme have a slinky, summery jam for your outdoor aquatic adventures.  Listen to the sexy groove of "Burnin Up" below.

Jom Comyn

Jom Comyn is Canada's answer to sitting alone in your room, lights dim, still, brooding.  Think subdued, dark-tinged, introspective folk filtered through alt-rock guitar amplifiers fed to you in some nameless, smoke-filled club in the 90's.  Grab the latest "Black Pits" EP cassette here in collaboration with BART Records and listen to the album closer of the same name below.

Demons

I think it's been pretty apparent over the last few years that i'm a giant proponent of horror films, Italian scholck, horror film scores, film scores in general, prog rock, Goblin, Claudio Simonetti, and limited edition vinyl shenanigans meant to dupe collectors like me out of my money.  And here we have something that incorporates all of those things with Rustblade Records' reissue of Simonetti's score for the 1985 film "Demons," prog-horror goofiness at its very best.  And, it's limited to 666 copies pressed on blue vinyl.  I'd be an idiot not to buy this.  Watch the "trailer" for the album release below.  And for God's sake, go watch "Demons" if you've never seen it.  It's a lot of fun.

Peacers

Peacers is the stripped and hazy garage-psych project from former Sic Alps main man Mike Donovan, featuring an assist on the boards from Ty Segall, and the band's new record is a collection of perfect, little fried nuggets for your summer listening pleasure.  Listen to "R.J.D. (Salam)" below and grab the self-titled album from Drag City.

Black Channels

Not that i was ever skeptical of the endeavor to begin with, but Death Waltz Records' foray into non-soundtrack releases, aptly titled Death Waltz Originals, has been pretty damn cool, featuring music from Umberto, PYE Corner Audio, and more.  The latest is an EP from UK duo Black Channels, a blending of horror film score aesthetic, gothic synths, haunting folk vocals, and patches of industrial ambience.  Listen to "Oracles" and "Depth of Field" below and get the record here.

Jean-Michel Jarre and M83

I'm not sure how i managed to miss this beautiful collaboration between French electronic composer Jean-Michel Jarre and M83 last May, but here's the video for "Glory" in all of its...um...glory.  The tune will be featured on an upcoming album from Jarre that also features assists from Massive Attack and Tangerine Dream (recorded before Edgar Froese passed away).  Should be pretty cool.  Watch the video below.

Wand - Stolen Footsteps

Not content with just releasing one of my favorite records of the year (March's "Golem"), LA psych-rock screamers Wand are set to release that album's follow-up the September.  "Stolen Footsteps" is the first taste of new record "1000 Days," and whereas "Golem" was an explosion of fuzzy guitars and bombastic riffs, this new single signifies a freakier, more psych-synth driven sound.  It's a nice complementary record.  Listen below and get the album from Drag City.

Helen

A couple of years ago, Liz Harris of Grouper fame put out an awesome 7" with fuzzy, lo-fi-shoegaze band Helen.  I always figured it was just a one-and-done kind of thing, but thank the heavens i was wrong.  Helen will be releasing a full-length LP called "The Original Faces" on Kranky in September.  Listen to lead single "Motorcycle" below.  Hooray!

Micachu and The Shapes

Way back in 2009, i randomly picked up and album called "Jewellery" by Micachu and The Shapes, a collection of weirdo, left-of-center, and eccentric pop songs.  It was cool and interesting, but as time went by, i kind of forgot all about it.  Then, last year, the eerie soundtrack to Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin" made its way into my earholes, a score composed by Mica Levi...who, for a while, it never occurred to me was the Mica in Micachu.  Well, she's back, with her first new work since that soundtrack, with Micachu and The Shapes' third album "Good Sad Happy Bad," out in September on Rough Trade.  Listen to first single "Oh Baby" below.  It's a subdued and warbly wonder.

Sheer Mag

I seem to have a crapload of stuff to do right now, so here's a rockin' and glammy jam from Sheer Mag's second 7" that i overlooked last April.  Listen to "Fan the Flames" below and grab "II" here.

Deaf Wish

Listen to Melbourne, Australia's Deaf Wish.  The four piece band sound like your favorite noisy, guitar-oriented, throwback act, but without being all annoying about it.  You know what i'm talking about.  Listen to the quick blast of "They Know" below and get the "Pain" LP in August from Sub Pop.

Broken Bat (Ty Segall, Dale Crover, and Steven McDonald)

Happy birthday America!  Ty Segall, Dale Crover of the Melvins, and Steven McDonald of Redd Kross/OFF! are combining their forces to create a record together.  The project is called Broken Bat, and you can sample the first taste of what to expect below with "Take My Medicine."  USA!  USA!  USA!

More info to come as it unveils...

Bell Witch

Funereal doom metal to score your slow march into the abyss crafted by two dark souls out of Seattle, Bell Witch's sophomore effort, "Four Phantoms," practically oozes despair.  The record is bleak and brutal and haunting, but also powerfully engaging.  Listen to "Judgement, In Fire: I - Garden (of Blooming Ash)" below and get the record from Profound Lore.

Beach House - Sparks

Dreampop duo Beach House are back this August with a new album of lovely and floating pop nuggets.  First single "Sparks" finds the band channeling their inner Kevin Shields to marvelous effect.  Listen below and grab the "Depression Cherry" LP August 28th on Sub Pop.

Golden Dawn Arkestra

Here's something i should have written about last year: some funky, psych-tinged, mind-expanding Afrobeat from Austin, Texas from 10-piece band called Golden Dawn Arkestra.  It's exactly what funky, psych-tinged, mind-expanding Afrobeat should sound like, and that is to say wonderful.  Listen to "Afropocalypse" below and check out the rest of the record here.  The band self-released their self-titled EP, so i'm not sure where to tell you to go to buy it.