It's weird to think that Neil Halstead has already surpassed Slowdive's existence as a solo artistand frontman for Mojave 3. And while his former band's music stands the test of time as a highly influential and ground-breaking band Halstead continues to chug along making solid albums.
This video for Oh Mighty Engine's "Elevenses" shows a ghost lost in love, talking to Halstead at a cafe, then finally returning to the bedroom -- connecting with a lovely dance.
Neil Halstead: "Elevenses" - Directed by Christopher Piazza:
This brand new Dinosaur Jr.track, "I Want You To Know", is available for download at the trio's website. If you love Dinosaur Jr. then you know what to expect. I can safely say that fans will not be disappointed.
Kind of wish I was going to Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle this year (Sonic Youth, Deerhunter, Micachu...) and Austin City Limits (too many great bands to mention).
Photos of two of the loudest and most powerful live bands on the planet, Mogwai & The Twilight Sad, via Brooklyn Vegan.
Hey iPhone users! There's a new application called IHeartNewMusic that allows you to browse and stream through tons of music blogs. It costs $2.99 so I'm probably going to wait until some other kid develops a better one for free. Let me know if it's worth it.
Heard of Asher Roth? Of course you have, but I bet you wish you never did. Read the best take on the rapper's "music" over at Passion of the Weiss. Hilarious and accurate.
If you're in a band and you're looking for a new way to sell/stream your music simply and effectively then go to BandCamp now. You'll never need to use MySpace again...other than that last final post linking your fans to BandCamp.
Dim Mak has a porn division. Zach Baron from the Village Voice live blogged the whole she-BANG (sorry)!
Brooklyn's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart extend the life of their debut album with this brand new video for "Young Adult Friction". The clip is grainy and looks as if the quartet is casually shooting with some pals behind the camera.
Catch the band on tour this summer, including at stop at The Echo in Los Angeles on July 20.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: "Young Adult Friction" - Directed by Art Boonparn:
There are a few bonus tracks in here that I didn't postthis week, but they grew on me. It was pretty awesome to get new music news, and a brand new jam, from The Field.A Shoreline Dream have to be one of the most under-hyped bands in the country. And finally, if Sonic Youth continue to make music that sounds like "Sacred Trickster" for the remainder of their career then I'd be just fine with that.
We posted the stellar, sugary, noisy-as-fuck "Morning Light" a few weeks ago and now we've got ourselves a video. Director Joel Bentow uses footage of Gliss cruising around town, hanging at a hipster shindig (probably around town) and some colorful lighting that showcases what appears to be the director's perception of the band -- instead of focusing on the feel and heart of this outstanding track. One thing's for sure: almost every group on the planet now owns at least one Fender Jazzmaster.
Music scholar Toma fills in the gaps between the last release from Ultra Vivid Scene and the introduction of space-rock/dramatic melody a la Sigur Ros. His songs are undoubtedly influenced by atmosphere, natural surroundings and a certain Icelandic quartet, but on his new album there's much more going on. Some tracks are as simple as Toma playing an intimate and stark piano while others launch into space with digitally recorded sheets of guitar fuzz. It certainly sounds like a guy who's studying for a degree (career) in music, but the output here is brilliant and technical beyond belief.
Listen to "This Day" below. At first it sounds like a bedroom recording from a kid who just bought his first Macbook and some mics from Radio Shack. Then check out his other songs and have yourself a WTF moment.
"Who Can Say" shows the prom-ready Horrors rocking their disheveled hair and fuzz pedals to one lucky girl in an empty theater. It's the second single from the band's impressive sophomore album Primary Colours and sounds more like Psychedelic Furs than the previous Kraut-jam of "Sea Within a Sea".
Many people are going to avoid this release based on the group's "we all wear black to match our souls" outfits, but this album is better than most of the fickle, see-through indie-rock that's dominant in the press these days. And you can't turn down a Geoff Barrow-produced album can you?
The Horrors will be on tour in the U.S. supporting The Kills, including a show at the Henry Fonda Theatre on May 22. Should be a good one. Primary Colours drops May 5 on XL.
The Horrors: "Who Can Say" - Directed by Douglas Hart:
A Shoreline Dream are known for its sweeping, epic space-rock journeys, but on this track with Ulrich Schnauss the band pushes its sound deeper into the ocean. "neverChanger" sounds more digitized with the help of Ulrich. The production makes the band sound even more dreamy, atmospheric and vital. Apparently, the band's live shows are supposed to be amazing on every level.
Recollections of Memory is the latest album from this quartet, and it's loaded with goodies.Pick it up at ToneVendor.
Part of this clip looks like an ad for Celebrexwhile the other is a futuristic blend of shapes and movement. Sci-Fi doctor visit + spilled coffee + space = good video idea. I like it.
We first posted the MP3 of "Feeling.Love.Thinking.Of"during the release of the album, and in a SOSMIX, and I have to say that the full-length is pretty consistent when comparing it to this track.
Faunts: "Feeling.Love.Thinking.Of" - Directed by Ryan Bosworth:
You may be thinking that we post way too much media from French dream-pop masters M83, but this video is worth it. The band has been running a contest in what seems like forever for "We Own the Sky", and there are several other well done versions floating around Vimeo an YouTube that could easily qualify as an official video.
M83: "We Own the Sky" - Directed by Young Replicant:
I was guessing "Wired For Light" as the next single in line from School of Seven Bells. "My Cabal" is just as enticing, and very catchy, obviously. The real payoff is the extra remixes from Seefeel and Jesu that accompany this release.You can stream part of the tracks over at Ghostly.
Pick up the new EP on 12" vinyl or digital download on May.
Details:
1. My Cabal 2. My Camarilla [vinyl exclusive] 3. Chain (Seefeel Extraction) 4. Face to Face on High Places (Jesu remix) 5. Face to Face on High Places (Jesu remix) [instrumental] 6. Chain (Seefeel Extraction) [instrumental - digital exclusive]
London's The Big Pink may not be the best at choosing band names, but this Massive Attack meets Cocteau Twins jam is absolutely fantastic. It sort of has that 4AD sound to it also; shimmering electronics, metallic drum machines and futuristic synth/guitar waves. As the song moves along more bridges and melodies are revealed giving the song wings.
The Big Pink: "Velvet" - Directed by Rob Hawkins:
Get the Gang Gang Dance remix of "Velvet" at the group's official website.
I'm not sure how this got past me, but Christopher Willits, Zach Hill and Matmosreleased this gem of an EP under the name of Flossin,via Overlap Records. It's jazzy, futuristic, damaged, and superbly edited.Each artist mentioned cuts through in the mix with their personality on display -- working harmoniously -- which is not easy to do in a room full of talented, experimental musicians. To sweeten the deal there's also a beautiful remix of "Serpents" from Brad Laner, but you'll need to buy the release for that.
There's a free download of "Plant Speaking" courtesy of the label:
At the very last minute I caught The Drones on Saturday night and they were super good. Buy their latest album Havilah. Read more about the band, and get a download of "The Minotaur", over at Buzz Bands.
After a few run-throughs of "Saints" from local boys Army Navy I can't help but think that these guys should be getting more press and critical drooling than Brooklyn's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (guilty).I'm not slagging The Pains, but the craftsmanship of "Saints" in just so damn good.
The quartet don robes and other cheeky outfits while fake blood oozes from their mouth. It's a lighthearted video that reminds me why I started paying attention to these guys in the first place.
Sonic Youth's "Sacred Trickster" offers several points of entry via Thurston and Lee's wailing guitar progressions, which manage to stay clear and succinct while sounding fucked up and wild. The real shining moment here, though, is Kim Gordon's voice. It sounds like there some nice production and thought put into her mix (echo and reverb trails -- but not too much), and her vocal performance is the sharpest since...maybe ever?
This brand new Engineers track is a dead ringer for Slowdive's "Brighter" mixed with a shade of Pink Floyd-era Meddle. It's streaming over at the band's MySpace page, but you can also download it for free just by entering your email address at the link below. I hope the rest of the band's forthcoming album sounds more like the title track.
Or as I like to call it, Fingerprints day. If you're coming down to Long Beach for some vinyl shopping and in-store performances please avoid the 710 Freeway, and anywhere remotely close to downtown. The annual Toyota Grand Prix is happening and this city has turned into a weird hodge podge of detours, red necks, fixed-gear hipsters, frat dudes and tourists. What do they all have in common? They love to drink beer and watch fast cars, apparently.
Congratulations to Fingerprints for hanging in there all of these years. This city would be lacking without them. Now, if we could just get Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar to pack up and move here.
Performances at Fingerprints today celebrating Record Store Day:
Crystal Antlers: Live @ 12:00PM Bob Dylan Listening Party @ 2:00PM The Bird & The Bee: Live @ 5:30PM Matt Costa: Live @ 7:00PM
My mix from last week was deleted from the super-fun-great people at Blogger. Can you tell I'm a little pissed? I know what you're saying to yourself, "Hey Surfing on Steam! Don't you think it's time to switch to WordPress?" Yes, I do. Let's try this again and see if it holds up, otherwise I'm going to create a new code that differentiates a download from a stream...or switch to WordPress.
The Austin Chronicle has an interview with Kevin Shields. Buzz Bands is featuring a live review from last night's My Bloody Valentine eargasm at the El Rey Theatre.
L.A.'s Nosaj Thing first appeared on SOS in January with a remix of "Camel" (Flying Lotus). Since then we've been waiting for his debut album, Drift, coming in June via Alpha Pup. "Coat of Arms" is a dizzy, futuristic thumper that floats somewhere between space and Earth's atmosphere. Download this while you can.
Third Eye Foundation's debut album Semtex is a progressive piece of work, and possibly the very first album to marry IDM and post-rock. For years this record was impossible to find, and it was originally limited to about 1000 copies through Linda's Strange Vacation in 1996. "Sleep" is the best demonstration of Matt Elliott's ground-breaking work; warping guitars and feedback through a chaotic, yet structured, maze of beats. He's gone on to record countless releases for several labels, but Semtex will always be his trademark.
I wish I had Kate Simko's life. She basically gets paid to travel the world, record music, and create minimal, breathy techno, all the while hanging with friends and partying. Ghostly Intl. has a series of videos that captures many of its artists, including Simko below, and examines the label from the inside out. It's a refreshing study that unveils Ghostly as an imprint that works closely with its artists an their own creative vision. They're not just a bank account for musicians, they're also like a parent.
Blonde Redhead emerge from the studio to play a show in Norfolk, Virginia on April 25th.These eyes just turned green. The new NIN iPhone application dropped today (The Daily Swarm).
Doves' Kingdom of Rust gets a nice review over atPitchfork.
Apparently, The Breeders are into rollerderby big time. Check out the new video over at Rolling Stone.
Buzz Bands has a download of "The Minotaur" from the mighty Drones.
Cepia's "Hoarse" is misleading. While the title may suggest a rough and incoherent voice, "Hoarse" is as crystal clear and shiny as electronica gets -- boasting polyrhythmic shifts and colorfully calculated loops.
Huntley Miller is the man behind Cepia. His latest release, 2007's Natura Morta can be found via the super-dope imprint Ghostly International.
Micachu & the Shapes are going to turn a lot of heads this year. Their music somehow collapses Deerhoof, Animal Collective andThe Music Tapes into a choppy collage of pop. "Lips" is no where close to unbeatable album tracks like "Wrong", "Calculator" and "Golden Phone", but it serves as an introduction to Micachu's quirky melodies and tone-bending bomp.
Micachu & the Shapes: "Lips" - Directed by Drew Norton:
When Philadelphia experimental dream-poppers A Sunny Day in Glasgow embarked on their U.S. tour they delivered a bright, textured and organic wave of music that solidified all of the group's online praise. Fans were then treated to the Tout New Age tour EP, an expansion on their debut album.One of its standouts,"Laughter", is not quite up to par compared to most of the songs found on Scribble Mural Comic Journal, but it has a timeless quality and warm feel -- channeling The Cure, The Chameleons and The Sundays.
Metric's Fantasies came out today in the U.S., but we've got this bonus remix of the single "Help I'm Alive" from Brazilian duo The Twelves.If you like disco-house a la Daft Punk then this is right up your alley -- substituting the drums and melodies with synths and a propelling club beat. After all the treatments are said and done Haines' vocals still work pretty well within this framework.
We posted the excellent video for "French Navy" a while back, but after finally getting a hold of Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career we've decided that everyone needs to pick this up. It's as sweeping and poppy as you'd expect with Tracyanne Campbell's vocals oozing stories of heartbreak -- twee-popster boys will rush out and buy new journals for this one.
I try not to pimp local bands, mostly because so many of them suck, and I don't want to associate this blog with anything that sucks. Xu Xu Fang doesn't suck. In fact, their music is really good. They're celebrating the release of Seven Days Now. Here are the details:
Legendary producer Phil Spector has been found guilty in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. He'll face 18 years to life in prison, the sentencing goes down on May 29. Read more over at CNN.
Many of you have seen Sonic Boom's Spectrum as a full live band in the past six months -- playing as openers for My Bloody Valentine. Sonic and Co. have announced U.S. tour dates that begin in a few weeks in Philadelphia and end in San Diego, including a performance at The Echo on May 8.
In related news, check out Spectrum's current drummer Roger Brogan in his latest band Anglos, who we talked about here.
Schedule:
4/23: Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA 4/24: Sonar - Baltimore, MD 4/26: The Mercury Lounge - New York, NY 4?28: Middle East Upstairs - Boston, MA 4/29: Death By Audio - Brooklyn, New York 4/30: The Andy Warhol Museum - Pittsburgh, PA 5/1: The Dark Room - Chicago, IL 5/2: Neumos - Seattle, WA 5/4: Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR 5/6:Coopers - Nevada City, NV 5/7:Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA 5/8: The Echo - Los Angeles, CA 5/11: The Casbah - San Diego, CA
Foreign Born return on June 23 with Person to Person, the quartet's second full-length for Secretly Canadian. "Vacationing People" is the latest offering from the label and shows a more dense and precise approach while Matt P. delivers another solid vocal performance.
The new video from St. Vincent is a quirky fuzz-driven pop ode to, you guessed it, actors out of work. It's no secret that Annie Clark is a super-talented guitar prodigy, but her vocal melodies on this single are glorious.
St. Vincent: "Actor Out of Work" - Directed byIan Kibbey & Corey Casey:
ThisAddled edit of M83's breathtaking "You Appearing" sounds less like something you'd throw onto a mixtape and more like a music supervisor's wet dream. Most of Anthony Gonzalez's music is ripe for film anyway (love scenes, romantic interludes, documentaries, etc.), but this mix demonstrates how easily an atmospheric pop track can be prepped formainstream media, and a nice paycheck.And guess what? It still sounds beautiful.
In related news, M83 have a handful of U.S. tour dates in May. I hear the Belly Up Tavern is a great place to see a band, and not that far from Los Angeles either.
Yep, it's the first Giant Drag gig in ages. Annie and Micah return to the stage on May 16 at the Troubadour.
"May 16th in Los Angeles, Giant Drag, in its original form, come back to headline The Troubadour once more. Annie Hardy, Micah Calabrese, an audience of people looking at them and the songs that you’ve been listening to since 2005 (ish) and brand new jams you’re going to hear on the new record..."
I love this video, not for the song, but the cast of characters that includes Long Beach hommie Matt Allen (aka Ice Cream Man), the adorably funny Charlyne Yi from Knocked Up and comedian extraordinaire Fred Armisen. Yi and Armisen have great chemistry. They should think about doing a movie and/or comedy tour together.
Man Man: "Rabbit Habits" - Directed by Lex Halaby:
For years I've tried getting into Gliss. In the past the trio's music just came up short, never made sense to me, and I eventually put them out of my mind. They always sounded like a band that had the talent but never quite knew how to put the pieces together, until today. So here we are in 2009 and Gliss has recorded a stellar noise-pop track worthy of everyone's praise and attention.
I'm not going to pretend that "Morning Light" doesn't owe just about everything to The Jesus & Mary Chain, but the Reids don't own the rights to distortion, simple drumming, or breathy stretched-out vocal lines either. Gliss knock it out of the park using all of those elements, only they sound more endearing. I'm almost afraid to listen to their sophomore album Devotion Implosion -- worried it will ruin this experience for me. Fuck it.
It's easy to forget UK madchester/shoegaze act Sun Dial. Their sophomore album, 1992'sReflecter, lived in the shadow of RIDE's Nowhere and Going Blank Again, but contained some great pop songs heavily influenced by The Byrds, Pink Floyd and The Jesus & Mary Chain. "Easy For You" contains a super catchy, crisp guitar melody floating over a shuffling drum beat, and that rhythm was used by just about every band coming out of the UK during that period.
IfReflecter would have dropped just a couple of years earlier, and was actually promoted by college radio in the U.S., they wouldn't have been criminally overlooked. Nowadays Sun Dial's Gary Ramon is stillfronting the band, only now they sound like a parody of late 1980's hard rock. What a shame. |||Sun Dial: "Easy For You" MP3|||
The Thermals have been growing on me over the past few months, and this video for "Now We Can See" pretty much sealed the deal for me (via Stereogum).
Beat Crave features their "Top 10 Bands That Should Reunite, but Probably Won't".
Culture Bully has a massive live review with great pics of White Lies, Friendly Fires and The Soft Pack at Triple Rock Social Club.
Passion of the Weiss articulates what we're all thinking after experiencing the new Eminem video. I couldn't make it past the Kim Kardashian bit, I really tried.
It's hard to keep up with the amount of musical output from Santa Monica-based Daedelus. Just a couple of months have passed since I checked out his MySpace page and I'm already behind on his latest releaseFriends of Friends, Vol. 1.
In this sparkly clip for Daedelus' "LA Nocturn" hetakes center stage surrounded by patterns of light as he waves strategically over his Moneme. He looks like Gandalf casting spells -- minus the whole "Rip Van Winkle look" of course. It's all about color.
Daedelus: "LA Nocturn" - Directed by Eli Stonberg:
Kingdom of Rust is officially out today on Astralwerks in North America, and Doves are streaming the entire album at its MySpace page. I've browsed through the record a few times and its pretty solid. But the one track that really jumps out above the fold is "The Outsiders". It's brit-pop gone linear. Doves blur the lines between guitars and keys -- keeping the sound unified and driving while vocals swoon. Kingdom of Rust was worth the wait.
With the recent over-hype of all things "low-fi" I thought I'd offer a real gem, and demonstration of, the art of buried pop that's low on fidelity yet high on melody. Flying Saucer Attack's self-titled debut album is an indie rock classic. It's washed-out, grainy as fuck, and even manages to carve out hooks among the hurricane of fuzz. "A Silent Tide" reinforces this aesthetic with Rachel Brook's slinky guitar riffing, David Pearce's spooky delayed vocal and some computerized drums clamoring away in the background. It's a 4-tracklover's dream and, along with Third Eye Foundation, Movietone and AMP, helped launch the beginnings of post-rock in the U.K.
Chalk up another festival appearance for the reunited noise-pop legends. My Bloody Valentine has announced that they will perform at Way Out West Festival in Göteborg, Sweden, taking place August 14 and 15. Also joining the quartet are such diverse artists as Grizzly Bear, the Bronx, Basement Jaxx, Lily Allen, Calexico, Wilco, Arctic Monkeys and many more.
Check out the rest of their touring schedule:
4/18: Indio, CA - Coachella Festival 4/21: Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall 4/22: Dallas, TX - The Palladium 4/22: Dallas, TX - The Palladium 4/24: Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium 4/27: Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest Field 5/28 - 29: Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival 7/31 - 8/2: Jersey City, NJ - All Points West 8/14 - 15: Göteborg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
EXITMUSIC's thinly veiled electronic pop is tough to pin down. The music travels along picking apart Portishead, AIR and Come. On the stunning "The Decline of the West" pianos and guitar notes chime around a scattered drum beat that crawls along -- almost defeated -- barely keeping its head up. The track is cloudy and atmospheric but still very organic and original.
I just saw the band the other night for the very first time and was captivated by how smart and un-indie their music came across in a live setting. The majority of the set was ghostly, methodical, but still approachable. I haven't been turned on by a lot of L.A.-based acts in the past year, but EXITMUSIC is a local band that stands so far above the rest.
Women's standout jam "Black Rice" gets an upbeat kick in the ass thanks to this excellent remix from fellow Canadians Green Go. The sparse guitar and crackly low-fi mix was ripe for a treatment that's similar to something I wish Beck would have created on last year's Modern Guilt.I love the gated guitars and additional production; fuzzy synths, hand claps and fatter bass kick.Green Go also keep it simple and beat-centered, never attempting to out-do the original version. I'll be putting this track on mixes throughout the summer.
Stereogum's got an accurate account of SNL from this weekend. At least Phoenix was good.
More people need to start paying attention to Tame Impala and convince them to tour North America.Drowned in Sound has an interview with the Aussie trio.
Bibio's Stephen Wilkinson recently released his third full-length, Vignetting the Compost, on the highly-respected MUSH label in February, but his next disc of otherworldly Folktronica is reportedly coming out in June on Warp. It couldn't be a better fit for the UK artist seeing as his hazy, watery tunes recall so many crystalline moments created by fellow label mates Boards of Canada and the organic instrumentation of Nick Drake filtered through a broken grandfather clock. If there was a genre called "Future-Folk" I'd place Wilkinson at the top of the list.
You can bathe in the sounds of his forthcoming album, which at first listen sounds much more progressive (think Caribou meets Panda Bear), over at Bibio's MySpace page. Until we get some quality promo MP3s from Warp go check out "Mr. & Mrs. Compost" from his latest release.
Bibio's Ovals and Emeralds EP is out now digitally, and it's strong, but according to the MUSH website there will be a limited number of 10" vinyl copies very soon!
Autolux played loads of new songs from their long awaited sophomore album last night. It's almost impossible to find any live video of the trio that actually sounds clear or audible, but someone at Detroit Bar managed to grab these two new songs. The lighting in the venue was way too dark, that is until drummer Carla Azar asked them to make it lighter after about three songs. So the video is actually more appropriate for for streaming.
Even though "Census" is probably the closest they've ever come to validating the countless Sonic Youth comparisons I really, really dig it.Embedding has been disabled (lame). Watch/listen to "Kissproof" & "Census".
The Henry Clay Peoplewill be the Spaceland residency band in April. Get there early for the slew of great opening acts like Thee Mighty Angels and The Broken West. Amateur Chemisttook live photos of Autolux rocking Detroit Bar last night for the OC Weekly. Stereogumhas the exclusive stream of Justice remixing U2. Yikes.
Stereolab is going on a much needed hiatus. I'm willing to bet that 99% of their true fans are supporting this since they haven't made a dynamite album since Emperor Tomato Ketchup.
You Set the Scene has details on yet another new vinyl record shop called Origami.Let's be honest guys. I'm a huge fan of vinyl and will support the hell out of local digs like this one when I'm in town, but if great record stores like Aron's and Sea Level couldn't survive then why will these?
The main reason vinyl is "making a comeback" is because Generation X is getting older and are well into their careers -- therefore making more money to buy loads of cool stuff. They are also the last generation to understand the quality and beauty of vinyl while remaining financially able to afford MP3s via iTunes or any other digital outlet. It's also a good hobby: getting back to bulding the record collections we started in grade school/high school. I am one of those people and simply love purchasing colored 7" singles and albums with beautiful layouts. But the reality is that kids nowadays can get all of their music for free and/or prefer to stream it when they can't, and this proven trend is only growing. I sincerely wish all of these shops the best of luck, you're going to need it.
Lots of remixes in this week's SOSMIX. I've also been on a serious electronica/ambient kick this year, partially due to the lack of good indie rock and the solid output by DJs and electronic-based artists.
The new Stuart Murdoch-penned album, God Help the Girl, should hopefully push Belle & Sebastian to get off their duffs and create a new record. I miss those guys.
1. Audion: "I Am the Car" 2. God Help the Girl/Stuart Murdoch: "Come Monday Night (Catherine Ireton)" 3. John Vanderslice: "Fetal Horses" 4. Kyle Bobby Dunn: "Baltic Sea Kisses (Viul Winter remix)" 5. Lusine: "Jetstream" 6. Micachu & the Shapes: "Wrong" 7. Pontiak: "Honey" 8. Praveen & Benoit: "Embers (Machinedrum remix)" 9. Royksopp: "Happy Up Here (Holy Fuck remix)" 10. The Naked Hearts: "Call Me"
Fans ofUlrich Schnauss, National Skylineand School of Seven Bells need to brace yourself for the forthcoming album by UK dream-poppers Engineers. I've sort of fallen off the wagon after the band's 2005 self-titled debut, and to be fair it's been four years, but this breezy, electronically-charged track is very good.
Three Fact Fader is also the name of their sophomore album that should see the light of day sometime in June via Kscope Records. Check out the video below of the band mixing said record while listening to the head candy of "Three Fact Fader" :
Matthew Deargets around as a well-known producer and DJ, but this latestAudionseries, featuring the icy dub slow-tech of "I Am the Car", peaked my interest even more. Apparently he's going to release a single every month this year on the Spectral Sound label, which is part of the Ghostly International family. And if they all sound as brooding and smooth as this track then I'll need to order the entire collection.
Pitchfork completely misses the point (shoegaze, really?) regarding Swervedriver's first two albums, and the underrated scores that accompany them. When a classic record like Mezcal Head receives an 8.0 then it's time to start issuing pink slips.
Buzznet, or "Buzz Media", lays off 20% of its staff.
Neil Young is streaming his new album, Fork in the Road, on MySpace right now. Not what I expected.
I regrettably missed Young Widows at SXSW Wednesday night because my flight was delayed. Brooklyn Vegan has live photos and a review.
Paul Moyer is retiring, not doing anything music related (via LAist). I'm gonna miss that guy. On a lighter note it's National Grilled Cheese Month!
Kyle Bobby Dunn creates a repetitive, dark blanket of sound capable of isolating the most optimistic personality. The key here is anticipation. You don't expect a song so linear and overwhelming to keep chugging along, but it does for almost 5 minutes, then suddenly dissipates into a warm and comforting atmosphere.
Most of the other tracks found on KBD's forthcoming Fervency EP, coming April 21 on Moodgadget, are over 10 minutes long, brighter in tone and gentle on the cranium. But this track speaks volumes about his knack for creating ambient music.
I think this unofficial Animal Collective clip says more about the varied moods and vibrant feel than the iPod-esque clip that premiered earlier this year when the world was touting Merriweather Post Pavillion as the "album of 2009". After stepping away from that record for a couple of months it still sounds great, but nothing worthy of such accolades, and at such an early period. It just goes to show you how much importance is placed on indie albums these days, and how overly serious and frantic online journalismhas become.
Animal Colllective: "My Girls" - Directed by Rob Chesnutt:
12/14: The Meeting Places & Mere Mortals @ Spaceland
12/17: Sea Wolf & Imaad Wasif @ The Roxy
12/20: The Arms @ Spaceland
1/17: Adam Franklin & The Bolts of Melody @ The Echo
1/25: Girls @ Detroit Bar
It's weird to think that Neil Halstead has already surpassed Slowdive's existence as a solo artist and frontman for Mojave 3. And while his former band's music stands the test of time as a highly influential and ground-breaking band Halstead continues to chug along making solid albums.
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