This morning, Liars announced their 11th(!) album, "A Ban on Plastic Bag Bans," out next year on Mute. It's absolutely wild to think the band (albeit with a revolving lineup) has been making weird music for us for almost 25 years. Check out new tune "Ice Pick, Kalamazoo" below and pre-order the LP here.
Brooklyn electro-pop artist Miss Grit dropped her new "Under My Umbrella" album a couple weeks ago, and it plays like an airy, synthy dream. Check out the gorgeous album opening "Tourist Mind" below and get the LP here from Mute.
Here's a new track from Jose Gonzalez's Junip project, this time around featuring a vocal assist from Sharon Van Etten. Listen to "Line of Fire" below and download the song here from Mute.
I don't get to do SXSW like i used to, partly because of my current job, partly because of my boys, and partly because of precaution what with a global pandemic that never actually went away. Anyway, i'm still going to try and catch a couple of day parties next week as able, and i've begun to investigate some of the artists playing that i've never heard of before, like Brooklyn artist Miss Grit. She's got a catchy electro-pop thing going on with new album "Follow the Cyborg." Check out the title track below and get the LP here from Mute.
I realize i was in the mountains for a few days, but that not one of you told me a new track from Fever Ray dropped last week is very disconcerting. I'll get over it i suppose, but let's listen to said new track. "What They Call Us" features production from Karin Dreijer's sibling and former The Knife bandmate Olof Dreijer and feels cold and exotic. Check it out below and download it here from Mute. New record forthcoming?
Avant garde band Liars has been functioning as a solo project for lead singer Angus Andrew for the last few years, still churning out albums on a regular basis. And it appears this August we'll be getting a new on in the form of "The Apple Drops." This morning we've got our first taste with "Sekwar." Andrew is channeling some serious Arab Strap vibes on this one, particularly with his vocal delivery, and i'm all for it. Check out the video below and pre-order the album here from Mute.
Here's some noisy, avant garde, kinda folky, kinda droney experimental music from UK artist Visionist. "Form" sounds like someone singing their laments in a steel factory, industrial noise swirling around reverbed vocals in a black and white world. Check it out below and order the "A Call to Arms" LP here on Mute.
I'll be honest with you, i had no clue that old school post punk band A Certain Ratio were even still around. And yet, here they come with a new album (their first in 12 years) later this month on Mute. And my first taste is pretty damn groovy. Watch the video for "Berlin" below and pre-order the record here.
I have an ever growing list of movies, both old and new, that i want to see, and one of those is the latest from Yann Gonzalez, "Knife + Heart." From what i understand, the film is basically a kind of homage to an old Giallo, but set within the gay porno industry, and with score from M83. Everything about that sounds amazing. This is the second film score that M83 has done for the filmmaker, and as M83's Anthony Gonzalez is the brother of the director, i'll assume we'll get even more in the future. Anyway, i haven't seen the film yet, but the score is fantastic. Listen to "Un Couteau Dans Le Coeur" below and get the record here from Mute.
They've been teasing out new material for a few months now, and today they make it official as Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn, otherwise known as Lost Under Heaven (or LUH), announce their sophomore follow up to one of my favorite albums of 2016. New album "Love Hates What Your Become" is due in January on Mute. Watch the video for new single "For the Wild" below.
Still super stoked about Liars' latest album "TFCF" later this month, and the band (now just consisting of front man Angus Andrew) is keeping that excitement up with the release of another track from the upcoming record. "The Grand Delusional" is an acoustic guitar driven tune that pulls from blues and lo-fi rock, smooshed and warbled and mutated all together. It's lovely. Listen below and get the record from Mute.
Holy shit, how did i not know there was new Liars album coming out next month? Easily one of my favorite artists since their inception 15 years ago, with a string of excellent, weird and noisy and challenging records under their belts, Liars are nothing if not strange and consistent. New album "TFCF" is due at the end of August on Mute, but in the meantime, listen to the beeping, rattling "Cred Woes" below.
Former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo has a new solo record due in September called "Electric Trim." The album features Sharon Van Etten on a number of tracks and feels like a lovely mix of crunchy, dusty rock. Watch the video for "New Thing" below and get the album from Mute.
I've always had a soft spot for Moby, and while he's not quite the pop cultural phenomenal force he was 15+ years ago, he consistently releases wonderful music. Now under the guise of Moby and The Void Pacific Choir, his latest album, "These Systems Are Failing," continues his kinda preachy, but still catchy electronic pop. Watch the excellent and depressing Max Fleischer indebted video for "Are You Lost in the World Like Me" below and get the new record from Mute.
We are finally getting an album from former WU LYF frontman Ellery James Roberts' ongoing project LUH (Lost Under Heaven) in a couple weeks from Mute. Watch the video for the anthemic "Beneath the Concrete" below and preorder the "Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing" LP here.
So it looks like we've got a new album from M83 heading our way in April, the first since 2011. "Junk" sounds like it will be a fun and playful record...and maybe a little weird. Take a listen to the goofy, but catching album opener "Do It, Try It" below and get the record next month from Mute.
LUH, or Lost Under Heaven, the project of former WU LYF front man Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn have a new track, "I&I," out with an accompanying video. It features production from The Haxan Cloak and is as somber and gorgeous as anything else you'll hear today. The duo recently signed to Mute, so hopefully we'll get an official release before the year is up. Watch and listen below.
Zola Jesus have a new album, "Taiga," out in October on Mute, and judging by the first taste of "Dangerous Days," they're going full on glorious electro-goth. It's dark and toe-tapping and you should definitely jam this one today. Listen below.
Well, Record Store Day blew in this morning like a tempest and has left my wallet and my heart dried up. I was able to procure pretty much everything i was looking for, minus a few odds and ends, and alas, the Liars "Mess on a Mission" 12" with yard in the vinyl eluded me. It's a bummer too, because it included the really awesome droney and darkwave remix of the track by Silent Servant. Listen below.
I'm having a difficult time deciding on how to describe the music of Ben Frost. There are elements of experimental electronic acts like Aphex Twin in the mix, haunting chamber music and bells, atmospheric drone and ambient textures, and an increasing intensity that sounds like the sky opening up and world shattering floods beginning. Listen to "Venter" below and look for the "A U R O R A" LP in May on Mute.
