Online Advertising nikon coolpix digital camera

This Music Wins has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 6 seconds. If not, visit
http://www.thismusicwins.com
and update your bookmarks.

Thursday 29 April 2010

Midweek Round-up #29/4 - Peter Wolf Crier, Baths, Sleigh Bells, Interpol



Peter Wolf Crier have been around for a while but my awareness of them certainly hasn't - they've only really become real to me in the last week or so, at a time where I've been fairly busy with creating my own album releases and trying to keep my head above water with the mounting levels of things I need to catch up on in time for this Summer. The new song from Minnesota folk-pop duo is called Hard As Nails, and joins an already very strong repertoire of material for a band who only formed in August 2009. Peter Pisano you may know from Wisconsin's very own Wars of 1812 - but when this quartet's hiatus commenced, he began spending his days teaching at a local primary school, continuing to write folk songs. When he felt confident enough to share them with drummer and producer Brian Moen, of Laarks and Amateur Love, the duo signed to Jagjaguwar Records. For this reason, I instantly associated this band with all those fellow labellers Odawas, Volcano Choir and The Besnard Lakes, but this band aren't quite so murky in the recording - they are more clear cut and confident than withdrawn and introspective, they showcase the exact kind of enthusiastic indie-folk charm you would expect from a band dropping a full-length album so quickly. Inter-Be hits stores in the US and UK on May 25, 2010.

Peter Wolf Crier - Hard As Nails (MP3)
Buy Peter Wolf Crier's Inter-Be, due May 25, 2010 via Amazon.com

The second major update of this week is to do with the 21 year-old producer and remixer Baths, whose latest remix, this time of Fol Chen's new(ish) track In Ruins - is dubbier and darker than anything he's dropped before. I posted two tracks from his upcoming album 'Cerulean' last month, check the post out here to hear for yourself the kind of variety i'm talking about. The album is out on Anticon records on June 22, 2010.

Fol Chen - In Ruins (Baths Remix) (MP3) (previous posts on Baths)
Buy Fol Chen's Part 1, out February 2009, via Amazon.com

As if M.I.A hadn't created enough stir this week already with her comical anti-ginger video (which was removed by Youtube on Wednesday) - her fellow N.E.E.T labellers Sleigh Bells announced officially that they would be releasing their debut album, entitled Treats, on the already overcrowded May 11, 2010. The bone-shatteringly loud Tell 'em is being released as the bands promo single, made downloadable from yesterday via the duo's rather excessive website. Its loud as ever, and still has that distinctive M.I.A sound to it that I just can't place.

Sleigh Bells - Tell 'em (MP3) (previous Sleigh Bells posts)
Buy Sleigh Bells' Treats, due May 11, 2010 via Amazon.com


Sleigh Bells weren't the only band to release a new track from their latest LP - Interpol followed suit, unveiling Lights from their as of yet untitled fourth album. The band, based in New York, revealed that they will be releasing a drip feed of information concerning the new album including tracklisting, MP3s, tour dates and album art. Post-punk influenced and reverb drenched as every - Lights is available to download either from their website or below.

Interpol - Lights (MP3) album TBC

Bloc Party lead singer Kele Okereke's solo project took its first outing this week when 'Tenderoni' premiered on Radio 1 - and I have to say, my view that Bloc Party are well on the way out has been just about confirmed. For a band who had the courage but not the creativity to create music different from Silent Alarm, the latest offering mixes what sounds like post-2007 Bloc Party, David Guetta and the music from that Citroen C4 advert with the dancing car which garnered so much Youtube attention in 2005. Not a great track, but Reading Festival friendly (about as much as I expected). Judge for yourself below.

Kele - Tenderoni (Radio Rip) (MP3)

Finally, I hate to self promote but I'm going to do it anyway - embedded below is the debut EP 'Blood, Its On Every Wall' of my own band, Kinnie The Explorer. This is our first EP and we only unveiled it yesterday night. Its available for download on bandcamp (and in the side of this blog) at name your price download until next week. Check out the original blog postmyspace and please, have a listen below. (Sorry!)

Kinnie The Explorer - Sleep (MP3)
Kinnie The Explorer - From The Floor (MP3)
Kinnie The Explorer - Blind Spider (MP3)
Kinnie The Explorer - Fairy Lit Hung Flowers (MP3)


from the Blood, Its On Every Wall EP - 28/4/2010

via Bandcamp






Monday 26 April 2010

New Album: Ólafur Arnalds "..and they have escaped the weight of darkness" (June 8, 2010)


There's not many words to describe artists like Ólafur Arnalds - the kind of heartfelt semi-ambient music Sigur Ros won the hearts of the world with is about as close as comparisons come. Blending subtleties of ambient electronica with organic piano keys, Arnalds' weightless arrangements captivate all the way from the eery harmonics of classical music to full-blown orchestral harmonies and progressions. Þú ert sólinin, solely instrumental as ever, is no exception. Taking into account one full-length album and three short album releases, the latest of which being 2009's 'Dyan 1909', the new song which surfaced last week as a free download has already become on of my favourite by the Icelandic 23 year-old.

Ólafur ArnaldsÞú ert sólinin (MP3)
"..and they have escaped the weight of darkness" is out June 8, 2010 on Erased Tapes. (Amazon)

Album Review: MGMT - Congratulations (April 13, 2010)






























MGMT
Congratulations (April 13, 2010)
Columbia Records
Psychedelic/Pop/Synth-Rock

The unmeasurable success of Oracular Spectacular was undoubtedly due at least in part to the strength of its singles - I remember on listening through my album purchase almost three years ago being slightly underwhelmed by an album I thought would be full to the brim with generation-defining songs in the heroin-infused vein of 'Time To Pretend'. However the musical duo were rightly worshipped on the success of that haunting song, from a  band who emerged from the musical wilderness straight to the top of so many festival bills, radio playlists and world album charts. "Kids" followed it up, and pretty quickly they were being remixed by the likes of Justice and Soulwax to create songs which would remain as acceptable indie-dancefloor tracks until the summer of 2009 and beyond. MGMT's brilliance in 2007/8 however, in no way guarded against the kind of second album backlash that so many bloggers have already begun to launch against the duo.

For the oddness of MGMT's second album, aptly titled 'Congratulations', can be interpreted in two ways. Measuring the album on a scale of 'one-to-Oracular Spectacular' is the route that many bloggers seem to have taken. For example, Hannah Simon's review for Indie Shuffle has no time for the new LP, she calls them "immature musicians" before going on to claim that the new material "may as well me mindless noise". It is true that Congratulations and Oracular Spectacular are very different albums - but "mindless noise" is just totally speculative.

The second way this album can be interpreted is as an album in itself - aside from the media frenzy, press hype and mainstream expectation which the two musicians could never have forseen. Comparing Congratulations to its predecessor is like comparing siblings. The instruments, sounds and key parts of the music are shared - but the influences are wildly different. MGMT, this time round, have taken a hypothetical acid trip to the 70s. David Bowie is the first musician to spring to mind - and elements of T-Rex style glam rock ring loud and clear throughout. Take 'Congratulations', a song beginning with an idle blues bassline, joined quickly by an ambling, glitchy keyboard. This song is as 70s as they come, mixed up with all those MGMT sounds which we know so well from the last instalment. There's background acoustics which album opener "Someone's Missing" also exhibits - which also appear on 12 minute epic 'Siberian Breaks', the song perhaps most likely to captivate the listener to the extent of some of the last album's better sections. Other than the modern instrumentation this duo engage with, I find it difficult to find many influences within this century that I can confidently say form a part of the new album's creation.

Almost every essence of modernity and sanity has been removed aside from equipment, and even the most recent of influences - Mercury Rev, still falls within 20th century boundaries. The spaced-out vocals and jangling guitars so typical of Spacemen 3 and the former are an occurence which makes all the more logical sense when producer Peter Kember and his Jason Pierce associations are taken into account. This space-rock, Bowie inspired psychedelia doesn't stop at the music either. Take a look at the full set of lyrics for Siberian Breaks, weighing in at over ten minutes in length and finishing with the reflective observations that "forces you see breathe can always go into hiding// and wait 'till it passes over// or stay far gone for all eternity". As a recent interview revealed, MGMT are uncomfortable with the earthly situation they find themselves in - and Congratulation's lyrics certainly suggest a far-gone attempt at escape from the world where they're shooting heroin in Paris, living fast, and dying young.

The apology about the new album the band gave following the mainstream backlash against Flash Delirium seems like an odd move to me. Why should a band apologise for making a stand against the mainstream success of their debut? Congratulations is pure creativity with far more depth than the single orientated debut. It is by no means an amazing album - but I already find it infinitely more interesting as a unit that I ever found Oracular Spectacular.

MGMT - Flash Delirium (MP3) (thanks to Stay Loose)

Introducing.. His Clancyness - Summer Majestic (25/4)



His Clancyness is the solo project of Jonathan Clancy, a Canadian native who has been the subject of some serious Pitchfork love ever since his rendition of So Bored hit the blogosphere in June 2009. Ten months on from the Wavves cover, Saturday saw his return with the news via Myspace blog that a new LP is in the works via Secret Furry Hole and Ester. In celebration, Clancy also dropped us a wonderful new track - Summer Majestic. Mixing 80s dream pop melody with an unmistakable echo of Arcade Fire in the vocal, the punchy percussion, jarring basslines and reverb-soaked guitars join equally hazy vocal layering to create a snippet of late summer surf nostalgia. In a murky psychedelic dash for something even less direct than the former releases, acoustics are even more distantly recorded, and even more looped and layered on the new track. Squealing lead guitar lines are almost as manipulated as the voice, eventually taking precedence over the downbeat and beachy rhythms which bind His Clancyness' music together.


His Clancyness - Summer Majestic (MP3)
His Clancyness - So Bored (Wavves Cover) (MP3)


Buy/Pre-order His Clancyness's music via Myspace.
 


  

Sunday 25 April 2010

Weekend Round-up #25/4 - M.I.A, White Hinterland, Caribou + more.


Alan Wilkis emailed me earlier this week with his latest remix, this time of White Hinterland's No Logic. For those of you unfamiliar - White Hinterland is an American folk singer-songwriter and jazz pianist from Portland, Oregon who's third album Kairos came out in March of this year on the Dead Oceans label (also Nurses, Bowerbirds, Frog Eyes). Alan Wilkis, on the other hand, is a remixer from New York who for the last five years has been putting his creative synthesized spin on the likes of Phoenix, Yeasayer and The Very Best. Together they have created a wonderful, naturally flowing dance track which whilst bringing out the freak folk element to White Hinterland's music, also plays on the ambient dance themes and futuristic feel to much of her latest album 'Kairos'. This is definitely one to download, and both White Hinterland and Alan Wilkis are artists to keep close tabs on.

White Hinterland - No Logic (Alan Wilkis Remix) (MP3from Kairos
Purchase White Hinterland's Kairos (2010) on Amazon.com

M.I.A announced this week that the follow up to Kala, still nameless, will drop June 29, 2010 in the US. The track 'Born Free' has also sufficiently swarmed the internet since its leak on Friday to justify posting it up here for you all to hear. The new song samples Suicide and, as any long-time fan of the Sri Lankan producer will know, presents a vastly different M.I.A to the one who released Paper Planes in 2008. 

M.I.A - Born Free (MP3from the new album, due 29/6 via N.E.E.T
Buy Kala (2008) on Amazon.com

Another new track comes our way from London all-girl DIY punk trio PENS this week, who via Art Fag released You Only Love Me When I Tell You I'm Wrong this month. The sheer amount of blog-hate this band seem to get, its a wonder this band is still playing - full marks for perseverance? The new track marks more of the same from the garage punk band - with screechy bubblegum harmonies, overdriven guitars and uncontrollable feedback. Check out my review of 2009's Hey Friend What You Doing?

Buy Hey Friend, What You Doing? on Amazon.com, for a surprisingly good import price.

After picking up both JJ no2, and JJ no3 for £11 combined at Rough Trade East last Saturday, i've been somewhat obsessing over the Swedish dream pop duo of late. In a cover of a band that I still know nothing about, JJ released Ceo Birthday (of Semi Jeremih) this week. Its a classically influenced piano led track with the beautiful vocals we've come to expect of this band. In a similar style to some of the XX's covers, JJ have taken what sounds like an RnB original, and turned it on its head. If you haven't already, get yourself a copy of JJ no 3.

Buy jj no 3 on Amazon.com

I introduced Caribou's new album Swim on the blog earlier this year, and although I haven't yet got myself a copy, i've watched the music world become more and more obsessed with Dan Snaith's new tunes. In keeping with my policy of buying the album as long as its available, and only downloading remixes and singles until I have it in my hands - I came across the Spirituals remix of new album track 'Sun' earlier this week, in anticipation of my next pre-order. I can honestly say I haven't heard many better remixes this year. This remix takes Snaith's bass-heavy psychedelic pop music and turns it into a glitchy dance track with an urban groove - mixing scatty beats against sampled psychedelia to create an all-encompassing dancefloor landscape. Remixes don't come much better than this - highly recommended.

Caribou - Sun (Spirituals Remix) (MP3)
Buy Caribou's Swim - out June 4, 2010, via Amazon.com

Finally, this week sees the break-up of the creators of one of my favourite albums of 2008 - Voxtrot. By no means are they giving it up straight away though, they've booked themselves in on a final US tour in celebration - sure to be an emotional road trip for all the die-hard Voxtrot fans out there. RIP.




Album Review: Cloud Nothings - Turning On (March 1, 2010)





Cloud Nothings
Turning On (US - March 1, 2010)
Unsigned (album release via Speakertree/Bridgetown Records)
Chillwave/Lo-fi/Pop
File Next To - Wild Nothing/Beach Fossils/Wavves

The latest (and youngest) band to emerge from the lo-fi pop explosion of the US comes in the form of Cloud Nothings. Formed as the solo project of 18-year old Dylan Baldi, the band put on their first ever live show just last year, and dropped the self-released debut 'Turning On' via Speakertree and Bridgetown Records March 1, 2010. This year has already seen them play dates with Beach Fossils and Abe Vigoda, and a short tour with Nathan Williams (aka Wavves) will commence this coming June across the US. The Cleveland, Ohio pop band's debut record has undoubtedly been a success.

Whilst the vocals are mostly inaudible, and the guitar sound full and distorted, to call Turning On an aggressive or inaccessible album would be a grave mistake. The elements of punk which this album conveys come purely in the song structures - when the overall sound comes closer to the emerging surf pop scene out of California from this year and the last. 'Chillwave' as shaky as the term's definitions are, is certainly still vague enough to incorporate this band - especially when you take into account their associations. Memoryhouse, the Canadian dream pop project of Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion, have done a wonderfully ambient remix of Hey Cool Kid (an original album track which I shared back in February), and the shows with ambient garage/surf band Beach Fossils move them closer on the scale to the aforementioned movement.

Standing at just 26 minutes, this scratchy lo-fi pop album sounds like the part-time work of a musician very closely associated with the scenes he now forms a part of - and the latest in a long line of dreamy overdriven pop bands to make a stunning debut this year. Opener Can't Stay Awake is perhaps the loudest and most punk-influenced track on an album which over its half hour development becomes a relaxed guitar pop album with few points of reference, you can pick up two tracks below and a remix, and check out my last post on this band, featuring personal favourite album track, and suitably sarcastic 'Hey Cool Kid'.

As Kevin informed us on the last post - Turning On is available now with free shipping from Bridgetown Records, a deal you shouldn't let get away.

Cloud Nothings - Can't Stay Awake (MP3)
Cloud Nothings - Turning On (MP3)
Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (Memoryhouse Remix) (MP3)

Thursday 22 April 2010

Midweek Round-Up #22/4 - Two Door Cinema Club, Best Coast, Lissie + more


Blog-favourite Best Coast really knows how to build hype - she dropped three new tracks last week on the Something In The Way EP (pick up two of them below) before going on to announce last week that her new single, featuring new tracks 'Far Away' and 'Everyone's Gone' will drop May 3 via Eskuche Headphones. She will also play Camden Crawl and Great Escape Festival 2010 as well as more than 25 other dates across Europe in May, on what is shaping up to be a potential breakthrough tour for the lo-fi pop duo. As if all this wasn't enough, the video for "When I'm With You" (featuring Ronald Mcdonald) has also premiered on MTVU - and you can watch it below. All these tasters, and still no album confirmed - just how much more can she play with us?

Best Coast - Something In The Way (MP3)
Best Coast - The Road (MP3)


Two Door Cinema Club's US tour with Phoenix begins this Saturday, and as if to mark the celebration ensuing from the undeniable success of last month's Tourist History, Kitsune has dropped us a lovely remix of Something Good Can Work courtesy of The Twelves. I've also included song What You Know, because as far as what I know goes - this song hasn't left my head for days. As much as I've tried to dismiss this band as 'NME friendly indie pop', I just know that when Reading Festival comes around I'm going to welcome the opportunity to see them play with open arms. Their debut album might just be my next purchase - and if you want to make it yours, look no further - Tourist History on Amazon.com

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) (MP3)
Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know (MP3

In a new cover that couldn't more opposite to her last, Lissie Maurus (stage name Lissie) moves from Lady Gaga to Metallica for her latest cover - with an acoustic rendition of 'Nothing Else Matters'. On what Myspace are calling a 'Myspace Exclusive', even though she played it at SXSW and its all over Youtube, Lissie brings Metallica's anger down to acceptable levels.




In terms of new albums - there's a full album stream available of The Hold Steady's Heaven Is Whenever (due  May 4, 2010 via Vagrant/Rough Trade) and LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening (due May 17, 2010 via Parlophone). Crystal Castles self-titled album number two, originally slated for a June release, has been pushed forwards following a leak to tomorrow (4/23). The National's new album has also leaked, and I can proudly say I haven't indulged, and don't intend to - despite this being the release I am most excited about from this year to date. Like good honest citizens, you can pre-order High Violet from Amazon.com on this link.


This Is Happening on Amazon.com
Heaven Is Whenever on Amazon.com

LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change (MP3)
The Hold Steady - The Sweet Part Of The City (MP3)
The National - Afraid of Everyone (MP3)

Looking to the week ahead, Monday sees the release of Performance's new single The Living, which you can listen to on this handy Soundcloud link. I feel a comparison to Cold Cave is appropriate - the euphoric electro lead line certainly sounds like something the New York duo would come out with, but this time mixed with Manchester vocals akin to other bands of the city such as The Whip, who incidentally were produced by band member Joe Cross. Another member co-wrote the upcoming Hurts album (which I've already featured) - and formed an 80s inspired side project called Kiss In Cities. The whole overdriven pop effect of this band  is huge and well worth a listen, so please do. As I mentioned earlier, 5-tracks are available via Soundcloud.



Sunday 18 April 2010

Weekend Round-up #18/4/2010 - Black Keys, Beach House, Slow Club + more.


The sixth Black Keys album comes out next month, and if you've bought tickets for their upcoming US tour - you'll have already received your two free downloads and totally free pre-order of the 12" LP 'Brothers'. As ever with this duo, its to be excited about - they might not have invented their genre, but they've certainly mastered it. Tighten Up and Next Girl are two garage-blues anthems from the 15-track, which was mixed at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Alabama, with contributions from long-time producer Dangermouse.

Black Keys - Tighten Up (MP3) from Brothers - May 18
Black Keys - Next Girl (MP3) from Brothers - May 18


Darwin Deez have popped up yet again in somewhere I wasn't expecting to see them, this time an advert on Channel 4 UK. Judging by the facts we have (the debut came out only this week, and, they are going to be on UK television) we have a potentially very successful band on our hands who are looking all set to do very well in the UK this festival season. I plan to rendez-vous with them at the Great Escape Brighton and Bestival, but until then...

Judging from the state of the Hype Machine's links to Darwin Deez posts, the record label (Lucky Number Music) are operating a no tolerance policy on friendly, promotional MP3 downloads. So I advise you strongly to take the advice of Its The Money Shot, and don't use any of his handy links to a full album download. Looks like the frankly irritating Sound Cloud is the way forward if I'm going to avoid trouble, sorry.

 Darwin Deez - Constellations by LuckyNumberMusic

 Darwin Deez - Radar Detector by LuckyNumberMusic


Darwin Deez came out on April 12, 2010 - buy Darwin Deez (CD) or Darwin Deez (MP3) via Amazon.com


Ben Lear contacted me earlier this week. He's a singer/songwriter who recorded his Lillian EP for a musical he's put together. Its going to première at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on May 21st with a 15 piece band. As he put it: "its a 15-piece folk opera about a man, who scuba dives into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to reclaim all he's ever lost" This kind of thing is exactly why I want to move to  New York City. If you're around, why not make a trip down. The music from the EP is also really nice. I don't have any MP3s, but you can listen to/pick up the 3-track Lillian EP from his bandcamp for just $2.99. Go ahead.

Slow Club dropped their latest video for 'Giving Up On Love' on Thursday morning, featuring an exclusive performance from Mackenzie Crook, who sits in deep thought, looking slightly bemused on a fairground ride for the duration of the video. 'Giving Up On Love' is the third single from the second album Yeah So, which came out on July 2009 on Moshi Moshi Records. Pretty soon they are heading out on tour with a few of my favourite underground acts at the moment - Veronica Falls and Spectrals, including a date at London's Koko. Record Store Day also sees the limited edition 12" vinyl re-release of Yeah So with hand-painted artwork and nine extra tracks. Very nice.

Slow Club - Giving Up On Love (MP3) single out May 24, 2010 on Moshi Moshi Records.



Canadian dream pop band Stars also had new material last week, dropping their new single 'Fixed' as the preview for their new album The Five Ghosts due via Soft Revolution (their own label) on June 22, 2010. Vocals of Amy Millan are immaculate as ever, but this time with music featuring much harder synth work and stronger beats than anything from 2007's In Our Bedroom After The War. Metric would be a rash comparison to make from one new song, but they certainly appear to be suddenly inclined that way. Pick up the new one below, and search Amazon.com for The Five Ghosts.

Stars - Fixed (MP3) from The Five Ghosts - June 22


Beach House also gave away a special edition 12" yesterday for Record Store Day, including the UK radio edit of Zebra and The Arrangement. There's only 500 Copies worldwide for release, but you can hear MP3s of The Arrangement and download Zebra (UK Radio Edit) below.

 Beach House - The Arrangement by Bella Union

Beach House - Zebra (UK Radio Edit) (MP3)

Buy Teen Dream via Amazon.com

Friday 16 April 2010

Album Review: Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can (March 22, 2010)





Laura Marling
I Speak Because I Can (March 22, 2010)
Virgin Records (UK)
Folk/Indie Folk/Acoustic


Laura Marling is one of those distant public characters who whilst shunning the limelight in a celebrity sense, on the musical side of things never fail to impress with their innovation and creativity. Off the back of a stunning debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim.. the undisputed first lady of British folk attracted as much mainstream attention for her seventeen years as she did for her playing ability and lyrical prowess. At the time in a relationship with Charlie Fink of Noah & The Whale, the folk-pop band's lead singer in turn produced Marling's first album. But the demise of this relationship in the years following eventually led to not only Noah & The Whale's controversial 'First Days of Spring', a downbeat shoegazing album and partial tribute to their relationship, but also a long-standing break from her wealth of 2007 musical collaborations for the young musician. Growing closer to and frequently touring with Mumford & Sons - Marling eventually entered into a relationship with lead singer Marcus Mumford.

Perhaps linking music with high profile relationships is not standard practise for an album review, but when all three parties in this supposed London folk soap opera write so personally and beautifully about their inner emotions, these ties seem so much more relevant. I Speak Because I Can.. is filled with themes of depression "I'm clearing all the crap out of my room // trying desperately to figure out what it is that makes me blue" - the breakdown of relationships, as well as natural and religious imagery. Indeed the first track of the album, Devil's Spoke tells of lust and fragility through the medium of religious reference "hold your devil by his spoke and spin him to the ground". The sinister feel behind the lyrics of this song are matched and exceeded by some of the darkest folk chords Marling has recorded to date. In a similar vein to previous album opener 'Ghosts' - she tackles issues head on in 'Devil's Spoke' with a high tempo and emotionally strung song-writing unparalleled across the rest of the album.

Confrontational is the word to describe I Speak...The title is certainly suggestive of an empowering ability to take things into your own hands, an idea not so clear from Alas, I Cannot Swim. I Speak.. It has its tranquil moments, a lot of them - but it is often the calmest introductions which ultimately come to brood with the most sinister strums and the darkest of piano notes. This album is truly as turbulent as they come. Alpha Shadows brims with anger, "I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall" proceeding an intense and dynamic build up into the shades of personality that Marling's lyrics merely touch upon. Blackberry Stone and Made By Maid are more relaxed, and really bring out influences from Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell in the 60s folk recording style. The switch from Charlie Fink to Kings of Leon producer Ethan Johns certainly plays a part in this. As the acoustics have got crisper, so has the range and texture Laura Marling's voice - which through her polite song-writing, she manages to imply far more than she forces demonstrations. Notes and melodies which are comparatively simple Marling pulls off with a vocal sound and honest delivery like no other.

In short, I Speak.. certainly proves that a singer so offended by a one-time comment from a fan that her songs were "pretty folk songs about boys" could not be further from some of her given descriptions. I Speak.. displays ever-stronger poetic lyricism in better recorded, increasingly dynamic and mood-swinging traditional folk music. Laura Marling has exceeded all expectation in her follow-up.

Laura Marling - Blackberry Stone (MP3)
Laura Marling - Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) (MP3)


Thursday 15 April 2010

Midweek Round-up #15/4: New Deer Tick, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Crystal Castles + More


I spent the first half of this week locked-up at The Ranch Recording Studios in Southampton recording my band's first EP (more news on that coming soon), but despite this minor pre-occupation taking up twenty four hours of my last three days - what filtered through the blogs and news services in terms of new music certainly didn't pass me by. Monday saw the fantastic announcement from Reading Festival organisers that Surfer Blood, Girls and Wild Beasts were to be added to the already improved 2010 line-up; one which has already seen Yeasayer, Crystal Castles and Phoenix booked in on the Radio 1 Stage. The festival was at no point going to compete with the provisional Glastonbury, Great Escape, or even Bestival line-ups for this Summer, but perhaps in the light of these further announcements, my vain and naive hope that Reading Festival might become a collection of great musicians as well as a festival of under-age drinking, becomes ever so slightly more realistic.

Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes (MP3) from Astro Coast - Out Now

On the subject of Girls, in the lead up to Mates of State's projected release of 'Crushes (The Covers Mixtape)' - they've dropped us a cover of Laura from 2009's 'Album' to wet our appetite - and although slightly cringey at times, the boy-girl harmonies from the Peter Katis produced duo certainly bring out a different side to the surf-pop anthem. The National, yet another band on that coveted Katis roster, had news of their own this week when they revealed the star-studded collaboration list that May's High Violet will feature. According to The Quietus Justin Vernon is the main harmony on 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks' and Richard Reed Parry from the Arcade Fire also features heavily on the record. Sufjan Stevens also personally revamped 'Afraid of Everyone' on what is promising to be The National's strongest instalment yet.

Mates of State - Laura (Girls Cover) (MP3) from Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) - Summer
The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio (MP3) from High Violet - May 11

In terms of new tracks, the biggest news of the week came from LCD Soundsystem, whose new songs are sprouting up across the blogosphere. A radio-ripped version of erratic dance track Dance Yourself Clean politely reminds us that James Murphy belongs with Hot Chip, and official single I Can Change is sounding equally as good, if a bit Caribou-esque. Murphy has stated that 'This Is Happening' is most likely the last LCD Soundsystem album. As mentioned in the post title, Deer Tick also dropped a new track last week from his upcoming album, The Black Dirt Sessions. 20 Miles features a twangy acoustic guitar and soulful blues/country vocals. The new one is out May 8, 2010 via Partisan Records

LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change (MP3) from This Is Happening - May 17
Deer Tick - 20 Miles (MP3) from The Black Dirt Sessions - May 8.


As pictured at the top, my next update deals with new London based band The Shimmer, who have already created quite a stir with their lo-fi rock tracks No Surprise At All and Lovers Void. In return for your email address, they've agreed to hand over another free download - Crash. Its not got quite the same pop-vibe as the former tracks, but with a dark overdriven bassy sound, and distant vocals - The Shimmer use the Kasabian electronica formula to create captivating shoegaze pop music.

The Shimmer - Crash (MP3)

Crystal Castles aired their new track Doe Deer on Radio 1 this week, and I found a Radio 1 Rip this morning on We All Want Someone To Shout For. The post has got it pretty spot on, its short, bad sound quality and tagged up by Radio 1 DJs - but at least its food for thought for those of us too eager and intrigued to wait until Record Store Day to find out what the band have been up to musically since 2008. The song sounds like electro-thrash, with a short repetitive riff clipping the sound quality joined by aggressive and inhuman screams from Alice Glass. You have to hear it to believe it, the new album is definitely going to be interesting. Joining Doe Deer is the Midnight Conspiracy Remix of Crimewave, an airy French Disco influenced take on the 2008 hit from the Chicago-based remixers.


Crystal Castles - Doe Deer (MP3) (Radio 1 Rip via We All Want Someone To Shout For) from Crystal Castles - June 7, 2010.

Crystal Castles - Crimewave (Midnight Conspiracy Remix) (MP3)

Search Amazon.com for Crystal Castles

Finally, if you're a regular reader, you'll appreciate my love for Technoir MA. This week, they've dropped a new video for their track 'Sparks', shot in Boston and Somerville, Massachusetts by Evan Ragon. You can watch it below or read my 2/B EP Review, which the duo released themselves in 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbXvPwhwGRU (for some reason Youtube's embedding is failing today, however the link is well worth a click)


Monday 12 April 2010

Album Details: Johnny Flynn - Been Listening (June 7, 2010)



Johnny Flynn (For Fans Of: Laura Marling/Mumford & Sons/Noah & The Whale)
Been Listening (June 7, 2010)
Transgressive
Roots/Acoustic/Soul


Johnny Flynn yesterday announced further details of his new album 'Been Listening', due June 7, 2010 via Transgressive, along with a European and UK Tour, including dates with Mumford & Sons in April and with his band The Sussex Wit in May. New single (due May 31) 'Kentucky Pill' is being offered from today as a free download and supposedly provides the 'perfect introduction' to Flynn's latest instalment of close-knit storytelling folk music. Having only heard limited snippets of debut 'A Larum' and the Sweet William EP, I'm more familiar with the artist through compilations and a drip of MP3s than in any real sense, but I have to say that the new recordings impress me.

The new song puts into practise a groove which two releases worth of songs have hinted at to date; but by no means is this a 'mainstream single' of sorts, rather a brilliantly arranged and rootsy jam session with soulful vocals and jangling strings. Grand brass sections over traditional folk instrumentation coupled with unaccented and honest vocals perfectly justify his classification alongside those such as Jay Jay Pistolet, Jeremy Warmsley and Noah & The Whale on the British anti-folk scene. Indeed even Laura Marling, who Flynn has toured with in the past, offers her vocal prowess to a duet on one of the album tracks. Download new single 'Kentucky Pill' below, buy the album, and check out his upcoming tour below.

Johnny Flynn - Kentucky Pill (MP3)
Johnny Flynn - The Box (Live @ Hush) (MP3) props to Summer Days Through The Folkish Haze

Buy A Larum on Amazon.com

Search For Been Listening on Amazon.com



With Mumford & Sons:
Fri 9 April Rotterdam Motel Mozaique Festival
Sun 11 April Copenhagen Lopeen
Mon 12 April Stockholm Debaser Club Stage
Wed 14 April Cologne E-Werk
Thu 15 April Berlin Astra
Fri 16 April Munich Backstage Werk
Sun 18 April Hamburg Docks
Tue 20 April Lille Le Grand Mix
Fri 23 April Lyon Epicerie Moderne
Mon 26 April Utrecht Tivoli
Tue 27 April Brussels Ab Club
Thu 29 April Zurich Rote Fabrik - Clubraum
Fri 30 April Bologna Covo
Sat 1 May Rome Circolo Degli Artisti

Johnny Flynn and The Sussex Wit on tour:
Sun 16 May Birmingham Glee Club
Mon 17 May Leeds Cockpit
Wed 19 May Manchester Academy 3
Thu 20 May Glasgow Oran Mor
Sat 22 May Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sun 23 May Bristol Thekla
Tue 25 May Brighton Komedia
Wed 26 May London Electric Ballroom

Highlands Tour (All Dates Solo):
Fri 28 May Ullapool The Ceilidh Place
Sat 29 May Stornoway Era
Mon 31 May Inverness Hootanannys
Tue 1 June Aberdeen Caf Drummond
Wed 2 June Dundee Dukes Corner 

Sunday 11 April 2010

Album Review: Trips and Falls - He Was Such A Quiet Boy (March 22, 2010)


Trips and Falls
He Was Such A Quiet Boy (March 22, 2010)
Song, By Toad Records
Pop/Experimental/Indie

Trips and Falls hail from Montreal, and became the latest Song, By Toad Records signing at the end of last year. After a six month wait, their début album 'He Was Such A Quiet Boy' came out on my 18th birthday, March 22, 2010. As is so frequent with the Scottish label, a long-standing favourite of mine, the band play music which is as strangely compelling as it is odd-sounding, this time featuring at times directionless vocals set loosely over clanking semi-ambient sounds. For me, the band strike a more organic similarity to High Places in vocal style - displaying mild twee elements above the mist of psychedelic brass sections. But despite all of this, structure is retained into something vaguely catchy, into cold-hearted pop songs whose chilling nature will come back to haunt you.

The band's myspace page begins to expose the secrets of their sonic unpredictability. They label themselves progressive/bluegrass/pop and Jacob Romero plays an ambiguous set of 'various instruments' as well as vocals and guitar. Ian Langohr contributes percussion. Backing vocals, shakers, bass and keys are shared between Ashleigh Delaye and Amanda Caron - who incidentally also play 'Estrogen'. But the band certainly don't allow themselves to be limited by such a standard set-up. 

The two tracks which I am allowed to share are two of the denser arrangements, the strangeness of the titles is far more representative of what Trips and Falls are really like. Drawing elements from psychedelic pop bands in the vein of High Places, as well as an eery, and perhaps oversimplified similarity to Ben Gibbard in vocal delivery, Trips and Falls are as ambiguous as their band name. Almost progressive changes in tempo appear designed to pre-occupy rather than confuse, and the background sound-pallete remains as creepy and impersonal as Menomena's or indeed Brighton band Esben & The Witch's eccentric arrangements. If my aim has been achieved, you'll be intrigued enough to press play/download.

Trips and Falls - How Do You Do.. (MP3)

Search Amazon.com for Trips and Falls
Buy 'He Was Such A Quiet Boy' direct from Song, By Toad Records

Saturday 10 April 2010

New Album: Meursault - All Creatures Will Make Merry (24 May, 2010)


Meursault
All Creatures Will Make Merry (24 May, 2010)
Song, By Toad Records
Lo-fi/Indie Rock/Folk

I guess the fact that this one passed me by just confirms how busy I've been recently. Meursault are one of my favourite bands, and later this month Song, By Toad records will be releasing their second album, the follow up to the classic Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, with hand-printed copies available from today. I'm yet to get my act together and order myself a copy, but the preview track 'Crank Resolutions' is fantastic - opening with whirring lo-fi noise before the entry of scattered percussion and synth-harmonics which make the track into a true melancholy builder - exactly what Meursault do best.

Marking a step away from the Nothing Broke EP, one almost wonders where the five-track fits in to Meursault's discography - it was a wonderful showcase of the band's acoustic prowess, with Neil Pennycook's distant and distorted vocals to accompany - but was very different indeed to the traditional lo-fi folk meets hard-edge electro of Pissing On Bonfires. The new one is shaping up to be far more similar to the last, lead singer Pennycook even describing the new album as 'epic lo-fi' when asked to put together the album's blurb.

Meursault - Crank Resolutions (MP3) (pre-order at Song, By Toad Records)



Album Review: Tunng - ..And Then We Saw Land (March 1, 2010)

This is a post blighted by DMCA takedown requests - i've removed the MP3 links but still got a second DMCA, now i've removed the photo too - everything on this page is totally my own work. If i get another takedown request, something is seriously wrong.

Tunng
..And Then We Saw Land (March 1, 2010)
Full Time Hobby
Folktronica/Folk/World

As pioneers of the folk-tronica movement in Britain from 2003 onwards, London-based folk band Tunng were always going to turn a few heads when they announced that they would be collaborating with Tinariwen for a performance at Glastonbury Festival. Now over, it seems that this year-long love affair of African rock and British folk now lives on purely in its resultant influence, an influence which this album suggests has rooted itself firmly within Tunng's post-2009 songwriting. This is not to say its taken them over, the truth is far from it, but whilst some portions of the recent album delve closer to indie pop (Hustle), and others associate themselves with more traditional British folk and elements of psychedelia (October), at certain points the album feels suitably overdriven to warrant a few African comparisons. The first occasion this occurs as far as I'm aware is during 'Don't Look Down Or Back' - a song where despite shared verse vocals and quietly fingerpicked guitars accompanying simply a vague electronic whir, the mega-chorus contribution and electric guitar lead are certainly suggestive of the respected Tuareg musicians' wake. 

The amount of influences that Tunng display on each of their albums, this not excluded, is monstrous - to categorise them as 'world music' would not go amiss. This again, is another strength that this album plays to. October, around the middle of the 52 minutes, begins traditionally with a reserved pick at the acoustic guitar, but with an offbeat entry descends into a relaxed and somewhat lounge-jazz section. At around 2 minutes, after a lyric of 'winter skies', this hesitates and builds into a psychedelic outro with glitches and samples returning in their full force after their absence from the first half of the album. All the time the music is lightly and calmly accompanied by the hushed dual vocals of Mike Lindsay and Becky Jacobs (curiously also the younger sister of British experimental electronic musician Max Tundra). Santiago continues this theme but with an electronic bassline in comparison to a far more organic vocal and instrumental - the Caribou influence which really comes in to its own towards the end of the album here needs to be re-inforced.

And Then We Saw Land is the latest show of strength from Tunng, categorised by a host of influences which as always manage to set this album out from the last. Two years in the making, the album exhibits elements of electronic experimentation, natural imagery, extended song structures and production expertise all condensed into the indie pop formula - with a few quirky features (such as the mega-chorus as explained here) added in for good measure. If you've never listened to Tunng before, now is the time - And Then We Saw Land marks one of their most accessible yet. If you're already a fan, this album provides interesting new angles on ground covered and fantastic new ones to match. Either way, Tunng's latest is a production masterpiece and a certain candidate for album of the year.

Buy ..And Then We Saw Land on Amazon.com




Introducing.. Baths - Cerulean (June 22, 2010)


Baths
Cerulean (June 22, 2010)
Anticon Records
Chillwave/Glitch-Hop/Lo-Fi

Every time I check back to Pitchfork there are more lo-fi bands from the US inhabiting its pages - Washed Out, Toro y Moi and Neon Indian amongst others have made it big time - but its the attention it pays to small-time producers like Baths is that which I like in particular. Baths is the latest to be getting some (as its now widely known) 'pitchfork lovin' - and it is definitely justified. Mixing hip-hop and lo-fi together in true Toro style, 21 year old Will Wiesenfeld's Anticon-Record grooves echo with ambient pop hooks and barely audible hushes of psychedelic dance music. Falsetto vocals enter the mix intermittently, as does heavy sampling, creating not just fantastic songs, but a relaxed chillwave feel not amiss to British producer Gold Panda. His debut album is due June 22, 2010 on Anticon records and follows dates through summer with White Hinterland, Dosh and Knightrider on the West coast. The tracklisting is as follows; he's dropped two free previews in the form of Maximalist and Hall - but if you require, as I did, you can stream most of the album via his myspace.

Baths - Maximalist (MP3)
Baths - Hall (MP3)

Cerulean
01. Apologetic Shoulder Blades
02. Lovely Bloodflow
03. Maximalist (MP3)
04. ♥
05. Aminals
06. Rafting Starlit Everglades
07. Hall (MP3)
08. You’re My Excuse To Travel
09. Rain Smell
10. Indoorsy
11. Plea
12. Departure


Free Blog Counter

Wikio - Top Blogs - Music
Related Posts with Thumbnails