The Lumineers [Listen & Watch]

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Tom

This band has done a good job of being heard in the States, and they’re about to bring their stomping feet and country strings to Europe. I discovered them from a cool blog called instagigs – worth checking out.

Lumineers released their self titled debut album in April this year, and managed to squeeze into the top 10 of the Alternative Chart position. They even recently played on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno .

“The Lumineers walk that line with an unerring gift for timeless melodies and soul-stirring lyrics”

A few tracks on the album stick out for me. I really appreciate short, well strung songs, and Flowers in Your Hair and Ho Hey are both under 3mins, and are probably the two most catchy tunes. The band are known for wearing their hearts on their sleeve; the general themes are of broken relationships and unfair love – but somehow you still feel good when listening

One song from the album that stands alone for me is Flapper Girl, this is the kind of song that would be on the B-Side of an EP. It’s subtle melody with relaxed vocals breathes a warm breeze into the album as it nears towards the end.

The band are currently on tour, and are set to play in the Uk on the 17th of September at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. Click here to treat yourself to their album – it’s a good investment for when the sun is shining and you’re swinging in your hammock.

Check out their newly released music video for Ho Hey. Simple idea executed very nicely:

Ride – Going Blank Again (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [Reissue]

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Martin

Of all the bands that came out of the Thames Valley shoegaze scene in the early 90s, I hold Ride the dearest. As well as owning the gargantuan amount of effects pedals and an intimate knowledge of My Bloody Valentine records that the scene required; they could also write tunes with memorable sonic hooks. Continue reading →

Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes [News/Listen]

Posted on July 29, 2012 by John

Stephen Ellison is a very busy man. He runs his own record label, Brainfeeder; is a producer for many of the artists on that label and also produces his own music under the moniker of Flying Lotus. He has recently announced to the world that his fourth full length album will be released on 2^nd October, and will be titled, “Until The Quiet Comes”. It will be released on Warp Records who released two of his previous three albums, his 2006 debut album titled “1983” was released on Plug Research. You can see the album cover and tracklisting for “Until The Quiet Comes” below. The album will feature guest appearances from Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, both from Radiohead, as well as Erykah Badu, Thundercat and Laura Darlington. He will embark on an autumn tour to support the release of this record which includes two UK dates:

3/11 – Brixton Academy, London
9/11 – Warehouse Project, Manchester

Further dates can be found here

Until The Quiet Comes:

01 All In
02 Getting There [ft. Niki Randa]
03 Until the Colours Come
04 Heave(n)
05 Tiny Tortures
06 All the Secrets
07 Sultans Request
08 Putty Boy Strut
09 See Thru to U [ft. Erykah Badu]
10 Until the Quiet Comes
11 DMT Song [ft. Thundercat]
12 The Nightcaller
13 Only if You Wanna
14 Electric Candyman [ft. Thom Yorke]
15 Hunger [ft. Niki Randa]
16 Phantasm [ft. Laura Darlington]
17 me Yesterday//Corded
18 Dream to Me

In addition to all this new album goodness, Flying Lotus has also released a single as part of the Adult Swim Singles Series 2012. It was released on Monday (23^rd July) and is available for free download. It is a collaboration with OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt and someone who calls themselves Captain Murphy. It’s a belter

In addition, FlyLo has also just released the third instalment of his Lovers Melt mixtape series - “Another mix for your summer some things you may know some things you may not”. It is available as a free download from Brainfeeder.

You can now see why I started this post by saying he is a busy man, but lets hope it stays that way.

Blanck Mass – White Math [Listen]

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Martin

Blanck Mass, the electronic solo project of Benjamin John Power, one half of the excellent noise duo Fuck buttons has a new 12” White Math / Polymorph out 21 August 2012.

The 12” released via Oneohtrix Point Never’s Software Recording Company follows last year’s stunning self titled debut LP. The album was an ambient noise masterpiece that evoked otherworldly sounds in its waves and washes of noise.

The new track White Math pushes the sound in a different direction; evoking the sound of 90s analog techno, it tips its hat more to the sound of Orbital rather than the pulsating drone of Fuck Buttons.

Listen to White Math here:

The 12” will be available from the Blanck Mass bandcamp page.

softwarelabel.net

The Antlers – Undersea EP [Review]

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Tom

“Undersea is the feeling of suspension – memories suspended in time and space, energy suspended in the air around us.”

It’s finally come ashore, The Antlers‘ latest EP named Undersea has been teasing fans with sneak previews and imagery for weeks.

People were somewhat surprised when the Brooklyn based band announced they were going to release a new EP in the summer since they had recently released their second album Burst Apart (2011). It seems lead singer Peter Silberman isn’t wasting any time.

Their first release was Hospice (2009), a critically acclaimed concept album that sent shivers down your spine. The Antlers launched into the music scene with haunting melodies combined with beautifully fine-tuned lyrics which started a tidal wave of excitment amonst the eclectic listeners around the world.

Undersea went on release in the US yesterday, and is to be officially released in the UK on the 30th of July. It’s another concept piece with a principle theme of the watery underworld. This is their most experimental and also uniform release. The 4 track EP has a constant chilled tone of swelling instruments and rippled beats. The distinct vocals of Silberman are what create the Antlers atmospheric sound which proves to be very successful in this EP.

It would be hard to not listen to the EP in one go, each track blends into the next creating a feeling of submersion. The opening track, Drift Drive eases you into the EP so well, it’s possibly my favorite track of the EP, the pacing sets the tempo for the rest of the tracks which as I mentioned – harmoniously drift through your ears.

Since yesterdays release, the EP has received mixed reviews, which in my mind can’t quite be justified yet, it’s a concept album, and it’s going to need time and a few listens to really understand what it’s all about. I personally find it thoroughly enjoyable, it would be hard for Antlers to go wrong with their current setup.

The Antlers are currently on tour, and will be making a stop in the UK on September 1st for the glorious End of the Road Festival. I saw them play live there 2 years ago and had the pleasure of taking Peter’s portrait (photo at top). Hopefully i’ll squeeze the rest of the band in the frame this year.

Undersea tracklisting:

Drift Drive
Endless Ladder
Crest
Zelda

Check out the first track Drift Drive which they released a few weeks back.

Daughn Gibson [Listen]

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Tom

Think Nicolas Jaar meets John Maus. From Pennsylvania comes Daughn Gibson, originally a member of stoner-metal trio Pearls and Brass, Gibson’s new blend of music is a mix of folk and dub-step. He’s got a way of combining dirty rhythms and heavy beats with harmonic vocals. It’s like Perfume Genius with muscle.

To quote Pitchfork, “His thick baritone breezes confidently over the songs, lassoing hook after hook, redeeming his burnt-out characters through song”

This track, In The Beginning is one of my favorites from his debut album All Hell (2012), and is a good starter track to get you into the rest of his stuff. He’s currently touring in the US, let’s hope he takes a trip to London soon.

Sounds of the Summer Olympics [Listen & Watch]

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Martin

While here in Britain we cannot guarantee the summer weather, we can count on some high calibre musical acts to craft the sound of the London games.

First up we have the official song of the games courtesy of Muse. Survival channels all the pomp and ceremony of Muse at their most Queen-like into five minutes of all the over-the-top rock anthem you could wish for. It’s oh so slightly overblown, but so are the games themselves. The track builds and soars in all the appropriate places, to quote Matt Bellamy “it expresses a sense of conviction and determination to win.”

It will be broadcast when the athletes enter the stadium and in the period before medal ceremonies. The track is also set to appear on the group’s next album The 2nd Law, which will be released in September.

A nice promo with archive footage from previous games has been released, can viewed below:

Next we have The Chemical Brothers, I’ve always associated the duo with tearing around tracks at high speed – ever since repeatedly listening to the track Loops of Fury whilst playing Wipeout 2097 on my Playstation in the 90s. So, it seems apt that they’ve been tasked with creating the official Theme For Velodrome. The track takes its cue from Tour de France by Kraftwerk, but builds upon the sound with some heavier beats and some robotic voices. As with the Kraftwerk track the repetitive nature of the songs electronica fits nicely with the pace and movement of the sport. I can already see it sitting well on round-up highlight clips of the cycling.

Unfortunately, it would seem even penning an official tune for the games won’t get you any tickets for the event – “We did ask but no one’s come through yet. At the moment neither of us has any …” revealed Ed Simmons.

Listen to a radio rip from Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show here:

Other official Olympics songs include: Good Morning to the Night by Elton John vs Pnau, and Good Life by Delphic.

As for the television coverage, the BBC are running their own idents for the broadcasting of the games and have approached the band Elbow to write the theme. This makes perfect sense as their track One Day Like This has pretty much been featured on every sporting broadcast by every broadcaster since its release in 2008. Elbow have composed a six-minute track called First Steps, with a choir taking on the vocals.

The track is suitably epic and has a main melodic theme that can be pumped up for the victorious moments and toned down for the quieter more contemplative losing reactions.

A rather nice ident has been created by RKCR/Y&R and it can be seen below, along with a clip of the Elbow track:

Muse band website

The Chemical Brothers website

Elbow band website

BBC 2012 website

Free 78 minute UNKLE Sounds set from James Lavelle [Listen & Download]

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Martin

James Lavelle, DJ, electronic recording artist and founding member of UNKLE has released the latest UNKLE Sounds mix on soundcloud.

The mix, entitled The End Pt. 1 includes many UNKLE tracks from their last few studio releases, remixed by the likes of Trentemøller, King Unique and 16 Bit Lolitas.

Originally categorised as a trip-hop project in the mid 90s, UNKLE have evolved over the years into a full band, employing a variety of guest artists and producers. They regularly remix tracks as UNKLE and perform DJ sets as UNKLE Sounds.

Listen and download the mix below:

The tracklist of the mix:

1. Intro
2. Trouble In Paradise – UNKLE
3. Let The Lord Shine A Light On Me (UNKLE Remix) – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
4. F.E.A.R. (UNKLE Remix) – Ian Brown
5. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (A Cappella) – Daft Punk
6. Restless (16 Bit Lolitas Remix) – UNKLE
7. The Runaway (A Cappella) – UNKLE
8. Natural Selection (Future Beat Alliance Remix) – UNKLE
9. The Answer (Trentemøller Remix) – UNKLE
10. Reign (String Reprise) – UNKLE
11. Reign (King Unique Remix) – UNKLE
12. No One Knows (A Cappella) – Queens Of The Stone Age
13. Money And Run (16 Bit Lolitas Remix) – UNKLE
14. Heavy Drug (Album Version) – UNKLE
15. Heavy Drug (King Unique Remix) – UNKLE
16. Heavy Drug (Future Beat Alliance Remix) – UNKLE
17. Heavy Drug (Fergie Remix) – UNKLE
18. Follow Me Down – UNKLE
19. 24 Frames (Redux) – UNKLE
20. Tomorrow Never Knows (A Cappella) – The Beatles
21. The Dog Is Black (Barry Jamieson Remix) – UNKLE
22. Heaven (Charlie May Remix) – UNKLE
23. Sayonara – UNKLE
24. Burn My Shadow (A Cappella) – UNKLE
25. In A State/God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters – UNKLE/Moby

UNKLE Website

Emil Friis [Listen & Watch]

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Tom

Emil Friis is a solo musician from Copenhagen, Denmark. He started out wanting to be a filmmaker, but states that, ”For some reason which I’m still not quite sure of, I started writing songs”.

I came across his music while watching a fashion promo, and was completely drawn to the very atmospheric and filmic sound. The track’s called Sand In Your Eyes and there’s a video that’s been made for it, which in my opinion is very well executed.

He’s released three albums which you can stream here. He also has a bunch of recordings on his Soundcloud. I’d recommend checking out a track called The Man In The Wind which sounds like it was recorded in a bar – it’s a good’n.

Ladies and gents I give you Sand In Your Eyes…

The xx – Angels + New album info [News/New Tracks]

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Sam

“It’s been a long time since we’ve played you anything new. This song is called Angels, it is the first single from our new album, Coexist. We’ve been playing this song live recently, so it feels good to share with you the version we’ve been working on for so long. We hope you like it. xx The xx” - The xx facebook

The xx are finally back with the follow up to their phenomenally successful 2009 debut ‘xx‘. It’s been a while since we’ve heard any new material, something the band are clearly aware of, and after their runaway success The xx have since fascinated me with how exactly they would follow up their minimalist debut.

What they’ve come up with has neither shocked me, nor disappointed me as Angels delivers the sound we’re so familiar with yet steps up its game in terms of maturity in song writing and production polish. It’s an evolution of the sound in every sense of the word. Still incredibly relevant, it’s The xx through and through; and no fan should be disappointed unless they were yearning for a different direction on album number two. It’s a lot more confident as well with Romy Madley-Crofts beautiful vocals appearing more sure and pronounced than previous material. If anything it’s a little short and is missing any sort of climax. Take it as a preview or taster of things to come when Coexist makes it to record store shelves this September. Whatever the reception, it’s guaranteed to be as cinematic and addictive as xx was back in 2009 while retaining all that make The xx such a force in popular music.

Coexist is set for release on 10th September 2012 and can be pre-ordered via The xx website. There are plenty of places to choose from and pre-orders from iTunes or The xx store come with a download of Angels for you to saturate your eardrums with on the run up to release day.