Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Vitalic: "Stamina"

Hey, a hard hitting, peak hour club banger with absolutely no trace of bro wobble? Fuck's sake, I'd almost start to think there's life left in this here techno thing after all!

Head over to Urb for an exclusive, downloadable remix by Le Castle Vania.



Egyptian Hip Hop: "Yoro Diallo"

A friend of mine was complaining the other day that for all he'd know from reading music blogs the only styles currently being recorded were folk, hip hop and electronic. "Not far off", was my somewhat oversimplified reply (texting is not the place for nuanced arguments).

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Rwake: "It Was Beautiful But Now It's Sour"

NSFW-ish.

The Sword: "Apocryphon"

Out today - and apparently up early on Spotify as of at least yesterday - Apocryphon is more of the same from Austin's own The Sword. This band has pretty much established themselves by now as Mr. Dependability... those other bands might change but The Sword never will. They're like the Motorhead of uptempo stoner doom. Fuck yeah.

Meshuggah: "Demiurge"

Almost feels like the rise of the lyric video is already starting to make these performance clips obsolete - in an expense vs reward kinda way - but with Scion A/V footing the bill Meshuggah went ahead and knocked out this belated single from an album that's been out since March. Isn't it already time to start thinking follow up?

Deftones: "Tempest"

Long hard road out of Hell for Cali's Deftones lately, bassist Chi Cheng climbing that slow hill to recovery while Sergio Vega respectfully fills his duties. Koi No Yokan (out November 13) isn't exactly a comeback record - the first post-Cheng product, Diamond Eyes, came out two years ago - but it's the first that can be taken at face value without the story of Cheng's accident being front and center.

"Tempest" isn't the 'tones' most challenging song musically, but it's a reliably catchy number that proves they can still hit that infectious 90's groove when they need to.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

DJ Shadow: "Listen" [feat. Terry Reid]

Remember back when Moby blew everyone's minds by releasing a techno album steeped in old school folk blues? Yep, 1999's Play was not only the Mob-ster's high water mark, but it also marked the last time anyone gave a shit about him. Needless to say his breakthrough was absorbed into the zeitgeist but those innovations have rarely been regurgitated in the decade since.

Perhaps taking note of recent successes such as Bobby Womack's The Bravest Man in the Universe and/or Norah Jones' ...Little Broken Hearts, both of which saw the artists updating their palette with minimalist, tasteful electronic touches, DJ Shadow enlisted semi-obscure UK blues singer Terry Reid to guest on "Listen", one of two new tracks on his newReconstructed: The Best of DJ Shadow comp. Shadow's production takes a back seat to the catchy, traditionalist verse-chorus-verse structure of Reid's singing. Hopefully this will spark a resurgence in the blues great's career. He's fucking great on this.

Xosar: "Night Jam"

"Night Jam" is that late night afterparty come down for when the chick you've been stalking through back alleys manages to escape and you have to return home empty handed. Even sociopaths need something to relax to. For the well adjusted among you Xosar's malevolent bassline means you'll probably have a bad time.

Cold Cave: "A Little Death to Laugh"

Tidy little sound Cold Cave got going for them, grimly fiendish goth vox insisting on business up front while squiggly, upbeat synth lines scream party in the back. It's like if Erasure went darkwave, which is exactly what Erasure should be doing right about now.

This 7" is supposed to be getting a release via Heartworm Press but damned if I can find it on their site, so shoot on over to Cold Cave's website if you want it.

Melé: "Space Jam"

While everyone is losing their shit over "loud war" EDM merchants like Deadmau5 and Skrillex, artists creating a more austere, restrained form of epic dance are largely getting overlooked. Enter Liverpudlian Melé, a 20 year old selected by Time Out London as one of the "DJ Stars of 2012". In spite of that he's not getting the Vegas residencies and whatnot, but that's probably for the better of his artistic development.

You can download his Melé Vanelé Volume 1 mixtape here.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Fool's Gold: "Leave No Trace"

If Rhino had plugged this into one of their Children of Nuggets box sets as an April Fool's Joke no one outside a few LA scenesters would be in any position to call bullshit. According to Facebook these guys just got back from Israel after touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which seems like an odd pairing but you gotta get that exposure, son.
(via Off the Radar):
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

AlunaGeorge: "Your Drums, Your Love"

The Weeknd doesn't have a monopoly on syrupy, left-field R&B. The duo of Aluna Francis and George Reid. In addition to making a splash with their You Know You Like It EP earlier this year (and the blanket Pitchfork coverage which attended it), they've also remixed the likes of Lana del Rey and Friends, not to mention being remixed themselves by Friendly Fires and Bondax. "Your Drums, Your Love" is their most impressive work to date, the electro vox on the chorus being the kind of thing that Kanye drools over.
AlunaGeorge on Nowness.com.

KILLER COVERS || Dum Dum Girls: "Trees and Flowers"

Strawberry Switchblade had one album in 1985, bookended by a small handful of non-LP singles that stretched their oeuvre out from 1983-86. Dum Dum Girls have covered their final single, "Trees and Flowers", on their new End of Daze EP. The EP is largely a collection of material that was recorded for last year's Only in Dreams album but left off for not fitting in with the upbeat, girl group pop sound that the LP represented. The shoegaze/dream pop sound of the EP is definitely a right turn from the sound DDG have become known for, but considering how many bands are revisiting the dream/noise pop template in 2012 I wouldn't be surprised to see this become a permanent direction for the band.