Starflyer 59 tribute

Old school shoegazers Starflyer 59 are getting the tribute treatment courtesy of Candy Claws and Mike Adams & His Honest Weight.  SF59 have the notoriety of being the only openly Christian band i've ever adored (forgiveness please Pat Boone).  Get it from Flannelgraph Records and go to the link below to listen to Candy Claws' cover of "Do You Ever Feel That Way?"  It's pretty.


http://soundcloud.com/octopuswindmill/candy-claws-do-you-ever-feel

My Best Friend

Coming at you straight outta Brooklyn, My Best Friend make epic, triumphant pop rock jams to let us all know everything is going to be OK.  "In Ghostlike Fading," their debut album, will be released from Warp in February, but you can listen to the awesome "Cracking Eggs" below.  Hazaa!

Italian Horn

New York's Italian Horn have a cool, lo-fi shoegaze rock thing going for them.  They kind of sound like Flying Saucer Attack got together with Guided By Voices and recorded an album together (GBV's Robert Pollard designed the cover collage).  Grab the "Red Affair" EP from Dais and listen to the title track below.

Red Affair by italianhorn

Bebetune$

Electronic freakoid composer James Ferraro has a side project by the name of Bebetune$.  Ferraro's work can be pretty out there at times, so needless to say, electro-weirdness abounds here as well.  You can download the "Inhale C - 4 $$$$$" mixtape for free here, and be on the look out for a new mixtape ready to drop in February.  Listen to "##Black and Red#" below.

BEBETUNE$$$- ##BLACK AND RED # by B E B E T U N E $

Fatale

We don't talk about comics nearly enough around here (we love them), so without further ado, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' latest series "Fatale" (from Image Comics) is one of the coolest books i've read in along time.  The comic combines elements of film noir-style detective pulp with Lovecraftian horror in a tale, that in its first issue, has already hinted at Nazis, goons, magic, and monsters.  This looks to be one of the better series of the year.  Hooray!

So there.  We talked about comic books.  Hooray comic books!

Mark Lanegan Band

Former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan finally sees it fit to release a new record of solo material (this after his excellent work with Isobel Campbell, Greg Dulli, and Josh Homme) in the form of "Blues Funeral."  Lanegan uses his trademark smoky growl and snarl to usher in the impending apocalypse.  It's gonna be awesome.  Look for it in February from 4AD and listen to album opener "The Gravedigger's Song" below.

Let's Groove

Vancouver producer extraordinaire Teen Daze offers up a chopped-disco reworking of Earth, Wind & Fire's 1981 jam "Let's Groove."  Keep ringing in the funky new year.  Listen below.

Let's Groove by teendaze

Whores

Now that we have your attention, check out the sludgy, stoner metal of Atlanta's Whores' "Ruiner" EP, recorded with Harvey Milk's Kyle Spence.  Listen to the whole thing at the band's bandcamp page and get the record from Brutal Panda (possibly the best label name ever).

Frankie Rose

The lovely Frankie Rose (formerly of Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls and Crystal Stilts) is back with a new LP in February from Slumberland called "Interstellar."  Check out the jangly, shoegaze-lite pop of first single "Know Me" below.

Frankie Rose - Know Me by Slumberland Records

Happy New Year from Raekwon

Getting even more hyped for the upcoming Wu-Tang show at Emo's East in two weeks, Raekwon adds to the excitement by dropping a new mixtape, "Unexpected Victory," that you can download for free right here.  Take a listen to "Chinese Marines" below, featuring Mobb Deep.  Hooray!

Raekwon featuring Mobb Deep - Chinese Marines by Oscar213