KILLER COVERS || James Blake: "A Case of You"

Probably the highlight of his recent Enough Thunder EP, James Blake's cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" washed away a lot of the bland taste the rest of the EP's material left in my mouth... or perhaps it was the other way around, the rest of the material flooding my once rejoicing palate with numbing dullness, kind of like eating a fine Belgian chocolate and washing it down with a lukewarm Keystone Light.  Whatever, I clearly suck at analogies.

Dub Phizix & Skeptic: "Marka"

If Die Antwoord ever do a covers album I'm nominating this song as first single.  Instrumentally it's a little more in the traditional d&b vein, but the dark, wobbly bass line and freakily exotic vocals would make it prime cover bait for the South African novelty act.  Even if Die Antwoord never get around to doing it justice, "Marka" is a damn satisfying treat in its own right.  Chew your food, bitches!

Four Tet: "Moma"

"Moma" is Four Tet's contribution to the We Are the Works In Progress comp benefiting post-tsunami Japan. I think it comes in a Hazmat sleeve or something.  You can preorder it here but don't tell them WKMR sent you, because that drives traffic to our blog and we gotta keep this shit on the kvlt tip.


Four Tet - Moma by Four Tet

Sleigh Bells: "Born to Lose"

Been listening to this band for awhile but just now realized Derek E. Miller - one half of Sleigh Bells - used to be the guitarist for Poison the Well... which is weird, because I haven't thought about that band in quite awhile but out of nowhere found myself wondering what happened to them the other day.

"Born to Lose" is not a cover of any of the umpteen other songs with the same name, but what it is is the first single off the upcoming sophomore LP Reign of Terror out Feb. 14th.

Thieving Irons: "So Long"

When Pela broke up two years ago, one contingent branched off and formed We Are Augustines, while guitarist Nate Martinez resurfaced with Thieving Irons.  Now you know as much as I do.  Sometimes background is irrelevant and the music establishes its own place in time.  "So Long" can also be downloaded for free via their Bandcamp page.


Thieving Irons - "So Long" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Pinch: "Retribution"

Dubstep years are even more cruel and abbreviated than dog years, so O.G. maestro Pinch is practically like the Zeus of this shit, with releases stretching all the way back to 2005.

"Retribution" is the first half of a 12" old boy just dropped on Swamp Records.  I don't even know how you'd call this stuff dubstep anymore and, indeed, the official sales page just lists it generically as "bass music".  Good enough for me.



PINCH - RETRIBUTION - SWAMP81 [clip] by DJ PINCH

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour: "Heart Attack"

First post of 2012, bitches and/or hoes! I'd love to sit here and tell you about all the new features that WKMR has in the pipeline, but nope: gonna be same shit, different day.  So let's get on with it...

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour hail from Copenhagen and walk that same kind of glossy-yet-quirky pop tightrope that the 80's new wave bands were known for: slightly off kilter vocals, toy instrument melodies, dance-able yet sounding just as great driving down the freeway with the top down... which is all a way of saying that any given one of their songs could spill over into generic, pseudo-indie pop (a la the Ting Tings) or serve up true retro pop gold (a la the Go-Go's, Dee-lite).  If this one wasn't the latter this blog post would not exist.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Heart Attack (Single) by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Fucked Up: "Turn the Season"

This has been out for awhile but we're just now getting a video.  It's been amazing to me how few year end lists this has reached the upper echelons of.  As far as punk concept albums go David Comes to Life says everything that can possibly be said about why American Idiot is the overrated piece of shit that it is.

Sinkane: "Jeeper Creeper"

Ahmad Gallab, Yeasayer drummer here.  Not quite Balearic, not quite Reggae, "Jeeper Creeper" slinks along over a multi-ethnic panoply of worldbeat influences.  The vocals bring it all back stateside.  There's been a lot of this belatedly sunny indie pop coming out so far this winter.  Hopefully spring won't invoke another Joy Division revival for sheer congruence if nothing else.

Guards: "Do It Again"

I'm going to assume you already know about the Cults connection and just move on.  No sign of a full length album on the way, but depending on who you ask these days singles are the future, long players are dead, so instead we'll just scramble to keep track of these scattered, under-the-radar singles.  "Do It Again" is the latest, and this one should catapult Richie Follin into the upper echelon of indie pop songwriters.  Faultlessly catchy and instantly memorable, this one would have made a top notch summer anthem if Follin hadn't inexplicably chosen to release it in the grey midst of winter.

[EDIT 2/8/12: adding official music video]:

School of Seven Bells: "The Night"

Interestingly, the whole 80's synthpop revival has taken us nearly chronologically from the stripped down, Gary Numan-cum-post punk circa 1980 to the more ornate, borderline mainstream pop of the mid-to-late 1980's.  School of Seven Bells definitely fit into the latter category, although upcoming LP Ghostory will be their third.


School of Seven Bells - The Night by Consequence of Sound

The Jameses: "5th Dimension"

This is 60's psych-pop rendered as modern dance music, a deft touch on the editing console turning a simple carousel melody into an oscillating kaleidoscope of refracted arpeggios.  Or something of that sort.

"5th Dimension" - not a Byrds cover, by the way - is the b-side of The Jameses' new single, "Caribou", their sophomore 7" on Captured Tracks, home of Heavenly Beat and Thieves Like Us among other indie contenders.

KILLER COVERS || Holy Ghost!: "I Wanted to Tell Her"

Cheekily paying homage to cheesy movies of the 80s has become a trend in music videos the past few years - I still like to watch that J-Lo Flashdance one on mute - so hey, what about Rad?  Holy Ghost got you.  The throwback aesthetic is all the more appropriate considering this is a cover of the early Ministry jam "I Wanted to Tell Her" from their synth pop/pre-industrial period.

Major Lazer: "Original Don"

If you're ever unclear on what you should be doing in your band's music video, it's easy to fall back on synchronized dancing featuring bladed armaments.  Throw in a Betty White substitute and, voila, your meme cake is ready to be adorned with celebratory candles.

Pontiak: "Lions of Least"

I somehow overlooked these guys at SXSW last year, but they push the same kind of bluesy, boogie down buttons that Black Keys push without really sounding much like them.  If you're willing to content yourself with loose analogies you could also characterize this as White Stripes with more balls.  Whatever, "Lions of Least" is the distilled essence of all that was great about post-Zeppelin 70's hard rock.  Get your horns in the air and shut the fuck up.

Echo Ono will be out on 2/21/2012.


Pontiak - "Lions Of Least" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Young Dro: "Maserati"

...and just I get finished praising Aleon Craft for not falling into that typical bling/frat boy trap that too many rappers from the ATL fall into, here I go posting a bling-happy frat boy track from Bankhead, GA who is actually signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle record label (also: getting real hard to take you seriously as an MC when you have "Young" or "Lil" preceding your chosen nom de plume).

Fuck it, though, this shit is catchy as hell and one counter-example doesn't disprove that, for all the Outkasts and Goodie Mobs, Atlanta is still largely rapping at an 8th grade level.


Young Dro - Maserati from Tamarcus Brown on Vimeo.

Aleon Craft: "Make It Out" [feat. George Clinton]

As near as I can figure that's a heavily syrupy George Clinton on the chorus, but otherwise this track is all about Aleon Craft, an up and coming Atlanta rapper who fortunately eschews the Luda/T.I. blueprint and is instead in more of the Outkast alterna-rap mold.  "Make It Out" is off of his second album, Mothership Decatur, which can be digitally downloaded here.

Willie Evans Jr.: "Introducin'"

Kanye's not the only one that can produce his own tracks while also being a showcase rapper (although I would argue his MC skills aren't for shit to begin with):  enter Willie Evans Jr.  His beats may not aspire to the same Mt. Olympus heights as Ye's but at least he can string a clever couplet together.  Plus have you ever heard an album with crayon & magic marker cover art that out-and-out sucked?  Such things just do not happen.

Danny Brown: "Blunt After Blunt"

I don't know why I've never gotten into weed.  I don't get the creative/imaginative vibe going when I toke up, it just numbs me out, not dissimilar to popping pain pills but without the drowsiness.

Oh, who are we kidding?  WKMR has never inhaled.

[UPDATE: 4/24/12: added 3:33 Remix (see below)]:

The Niceguys: "Ari Gold (Remix)" [feat. Bun B]

Bun B is showing up everywhere these days.  That's hip hop in general in 2011: sharks don't sleep, you sleep ya get slept on.  Non-stop releases are the norm, endless mixtapes... I don't know how anyone is making any money off this shit anymore.  Anyway, The Niceguys are a new group out of Houston - not that you need that Texas connection to get Bun on your cut - and I assume "Ari Gold" is off some up-and-coming album or mixtape, because it's not on their sole release so far, 2010's The Show.

I'm also damned if I can place that guitar sample, even though it's intimately familiar and on the tip of my brain.  If anyone knows what it is serve me up a comment.

[EDIT 1/7/12: updating with official video]:





  The Niceguys Feat. Bun B - "Ari Gold" Remix by TheWellVersed