Dope Body: "Leather Head"

Been kind of a strange trend recently of bands putting out videos (or just audio leaks) of b-sides to their singles rather than the usual a-side. I kind of don't give a shit when the results have this kind of oil tanker bass grooving beneath a minimalist, catchy rhythm. Ghost children of the almighty Jesus Lizard as far as I'm concerned.

Cadence Weapon: "Hype Man"

If there's a single element that completely sandbags many live hip hop shows it's the goddamn hype man. You know, the guy that won't let the rapper you actually came to see get two words in without screaming "JEEEEEEAAAHHHH!" over top of him. Yep, fuck that guy.

Dan Deacon: "Guilford Avenue Bridge"

Another 2012 holder just recently getting a video, "Guilford Avenue Bridge" is probably the most abrasive song off of Dan Deacon's superb-if-inconsistent America, an album which - as a whole - saw the Baltimore-repping producer greatly expand upon (if not largely abandon) the hokey 8-bit aesthetic that made  his 2007 breakthrough Spiderman of the Rings so compelling. It is, however, a logical extension of 2009's Bromst, a record that was intended to be his "real" breakthrough but that arguably fewer people heard than Spiderman.

The Soft Moon: "Die Life"

Apocalyptic to a fault, with a sound like a noise rock variant of Joy Division what else are you going to sing about but death, death, death? The Soft Moon have gotten a little more polished since last we visited them, but that extra production gloss has done little to temper their industrial doom aesthetic... Ra Ra Riot this ain't.

Zeroes was released late last year on Captured Tracks.

Venomous Maximus: "Path of Doom"

Is Texas the new Georgia when it comes to that dank stoner rock? Austin's got The Sword and New Orleans birthed Eyehategod and Crowbar... in between you've got Houston, and now representing H-Town proper is the fairly new retro-occult act Venomous Maximus, who actually have more of a unique, old school Euro doom thing going on compared to most of the domestic stuff. Beg Upon the Light is the band's first full length, which yours truly reviewed for Metal Injection here. Check out the video for single "Path of Doom" below:

Sky Ferreira: "Lost In My Bedroom"

As I type this the Billboard Hot 100 is topped by the likes of Rihanna's "Diamonds", Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble", and "Scream & Shout", an art-by-committee collaboration between will.i.am and Britney Spears.

Fuck you, there's no way you can tell me those songs are better or even more accessible than "Lost In My Bedroom". There are no offputting, rough edges on this song whatsoever, so explain to me how the Gaga and Ke$ha fans can't get into this... hell, Sky Ferreira is even signed to Capitol, an admittedly past-its-prime major but still home to chart topping acts like Luke Bryan and Katy Perry. Maybe it's a matter of time: WKMR fave "Ho Hey" is shockingly on the come up so anything is possible (PS: congratulations, assholes... that song has been out for a fucking year already).

Purity Ring: "Lofticries"

Production values are definitely of an era: it's easy to imagine "Lofticries" coming out back in the late 90's with more of a hazy, slowed down trip hop vibe. All of which is to say that the central melody has a timeless pop quality to it, not dissimilar to what Grimes is pimping these days (both 4AD artists, none too coincidentally). The Shrines album came out last summer - and singles from it were already being released in late 2011 - so presumably this is the last of the OG shit we'll see until the sophomore material is prepped.

Philipp Gorbachev: "Montana Blues"

Last song of 2012, folks. "Montana Blues" has that disco hi hat-driven, late night end of the world feel to it, I think. Or maybe I'm just trying to shoehorn it into a preconceived context so that I can wrap this up and get my holiday drink on already. Well, shit, if you're going to be that way about it maybe I shouldn't say anything at all. Merry fuckin' Xmas, arsehole.

Get this jimmy jam on Musica Comeme.

96wrld: "Pirmas Rudeninis"

"Pirmas Rudeninis" comes to us via the Renegades of Bump imprint's Ritmo Kovos vol. III comp. Bump is about as good a word as any for what 96wrld is getting himself up, gurgling bass splashes on a roller coaster ride with acid stabs as their conductor. Check out dude's Soundcloud page if you like his m.o.... he's been keeping busy.
(via XLR8R):

Kriget: "Holy Mountain"

Ever since Richard D. James retreated underground, there's been a dearth of experimental acts that are just so innovative that no one else seems to be able to successfully cop their steez. "Holy Mountain" is the first thing I've heard from Swedes Kriget, so I'm not ready to anoint them yet, but check out the way this track jumps unapologetically off the rails at the 2:00 mark, rattling about as if it's trying to find its mark again, but then settling on an entirely different path altogether. With only highly processed bass, drums and sax to their credit, they're not quite no wave, definitely not new wave... call it neu wave if you must. Definitely some krautrock in there.

You can get the 7" digitally here, with physical copies coming February 5 via The Control Group.

Parquet Courts: "Stoned and Starving"

"Stoned and Starving" is some ragged ass shit. The lead singer and the backups don't sound like they're even in the same time signature, but somehow it works. But goddammit, this is the last Texans-move-to-Brooklyn guitar act I'm posting on WKMR. Shit must cease.

The Presets: "Promises"

"Promises" brings back that Northern Soul-influenced synthpop of the early 80s, sort of a middle ground between Spandau Ballet and Level 42.

Othello Woolf: "Keep On"

Last round and then we're off until the first of the year. My NY resolution for 2013 is going to be getting back into the habit of posting daily, something I already needed to get back into the swing of, so it's kind of like a resolution freebie. Let's get this over with...

Othello Woolf sounds like the name of a really studied, possibly even stuffy singer-songwriter type with too many dusted off sonnets rattling around in his head. Nope, straight up cloud soul for that ass. Grab a free album + EP over at homeboy's website. Unfortunately the freebies do not feature "Keep On"... look for that track on a new album early next year.

How to Dress Well: "& It Was U"

The congregation in this video looks like an overdressed, underperforming aerobics class. Necessary to make sure no one missed the obvious gospel inspiration in the song itself, I suppose.

Much like The Weeknd, How to Dress Well is another one man experimental R&B producer masquerading under a group moniker. His sophomore "slump" doubled as his breakthrough album, with Total Loss being anything but a salvage job. That was dumb; I apologize.

The Invisible Hand: "Psychic Cat"

When I think Virginia I think Lamb of God and that's about it. The Invisible Hand are trying to change all that with the bubblegum garage of "Psychic Cat". The band members have a pleasantly non-trendy look about them while pounding out some convincing if lightweight power pop, so I'm naturally inclined to be on their side.

Get their Steely Dan-referencing Aja EP via Funny/Not Funny Records.
(via Stereogum):

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: "Muckraker"

Garage rock is one of those things that spent a good chunk of the late 70s/early 80s dominating punk rock before going largely dormant by the mid-80s, slumbering Cthulu-like deep beneath the surface world for years until it made a resounding comeback around the turn of the millennium with The Strokes, White Stripes, Hives, etc. Since then it's never been in any danger of going away, particularly in Australia, which now blesses us with the amazingly named King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. 12 Bar Bruise was self released on the band's own Flightless label back on September 7, but WKMR has been doing a lot of pre-holiday drinking over the last 90 days so we seem to have overlooked it up until now.

Pillowfight: "Get Your Shit Together"

Where do I recognize that cinematic backing track? Ah, I'm pretty sure I heard it on a Tarantino soundtrack which means he in turn stole it from someone else. Double down on my research? Fuck that. Pillowfight is a new project by Dan the Automator and the somewhat lesser known Emily Wells. Wells' vocals strongly recall the trip hop era of the late 90s, which seems to be the next big era to be revisited wholesale.

Nguzunguzu: "Smoke Alarm"

Hippos in Tanks is putting out some of the best sideways/bent techno in an era dominated by arena friendly dubstep and glossy house. "Smoke Alarm" has the backbone of an accessible trance tune but the formlessness of the song's structure stakes its claim deep in the leftfield frontier.

Beach Fossils: "Careless"

With the success of both DIIV and Heavenly Beat, things were looking pretty questionable just how quickly members of those bands would reconvene into Beach Fossils, the mothership. Well fuck me runnin' there's a new BF due February 19 on Captured Tracks. First single "Careless" is already pimping earholes worldwide, and you can peep that oh-so-Lou-Reed album art above.

Shout Out Louds: "Blue Ice"

For all the obtuse artists skewing the sounds of 80's new wave into something dense and impermeable, occasionally there comes along an act that plays it basically straight while still managing to showcase pop smarts of their own. Shout Out Louds are from Sweden, so that helps; "Blue Ice" occupies a middle spot equidistant between the Mexican standoff trio of Level 42, Simply Red and Chris Rea. You could substitute dozens of other acts but one gets the idea I presume.

Optica is out February 26 on Merge.