Often a bands name is a statement of how they see themselves, sometimes it’s simply to grab the attention or to make a statement. Rarely a bands name is so synonymous with the music; a wonderful embodiment of what you hear and what you read on the page (or web browser in this case). Of course that’s all very subjective, and a sweeping statement of sorts, but take a look at that name, Slowly Rolling Camera, before you hit play and take a few seconds to imagine what you are about to hear. Continue reading →
I’m getting a sense of Déjà vu here, I swear it was about this time last year I wrote about Magnus Birgersson’s last release under his Solar Fields monicker, Random Friday. As with his prior release Origin # 01 however, this one is a look back in time specifically focusing on the period between 2003 and 2009. Continue reading →
This is old news if you saw it posted last week, but Bonobo makes a return this April with the release of his new album The North Borders. With the announcement he’s unleashed new track Cirrus as a free download. It’s got real groove and sounds a little more experimental than anything we’ve heard before from Simon. I’m especially looking forward to this one as it’s always been fascinating to see how Bonobo has evolved over the years. The artwork’s brilliant (click on the image to see the hires version for those who don’t want to ruin there eyes). The video for Cirrus is also worth a look with some great visuals that marry to the music perfectly. Don’t forget to do your music library a favour and grab yourself the free single.
The album’s due April 1st (2nd in North America), lets hope it’s not an April fools! There’s also some new live dates to accompany the new album, to make things easy head over to this link for a full (and fairly extensive) listing. Continue reading →
Houses have been very quiet since their debut album All Night (2010). They’re one of my favourite ambient / electronic artist, and I had the pleasure of seeing them live last year in London. Finally there’s some movement from within their den; a video preview of their new album A Quiet Darkness has creeped out, and is due to be released on the 16th of April via Downtown Records. Continue reading →
Aussie psychedelic rockers Tame Impala are back with the quite frankly brilliant Elephant. First single from Lonerism, the follow up to their brilliant 2010 debut Innerspeaker, it’s chugging riffs, driving rhythm, seriously infectious bassline, fuzzy warm production and epic jams (all in the space of three and a half minutes!) evoke some serious early Pink Floyd vibes and even, as Martin pointed out to me across the office, hints of a heavier Beatles in there – If you really imagine, you can hear John Lennon in those vocals. [sorry, couldn't resist.] It doesn’t stray from the sound they forged previously but they’re definitely back with a bang. It’s classic production and ethos meet a modern energy and style that really no one else manages like Tame Impala do. Elephant is a big tune and a great way to bring in the new album, no question about that.
Elephant is out now; available in all the usual places, and full-length Lonerism follows on October 5th (Australia) / October 8th (United Kingdom) / October 9th (United States). Preorder links can be found over on their website. Track listing is as follows.
Lonerism
1. Be Above It
2. Endors Toi
3. Apocalypse Dreams
4. Mind Mischief
5. Music To Walk Home By
6. Why Won’t They Talk To Me?
7. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
8. Keep On Lying
9. Elephant
10. She Just Won’t Believe Me
11. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control
12. Sun’s Coming Up
Update: The debut single from Archipelago has since been debuted on www.thelineofbestfit.com. It’s an upbeat and slightly more playful sound for the Hidden Orchestra yet retains the sweeping cinematic feel of their debut and live shows. The single is officially out in September, in the mean time have a listen on Soundcloud.
Original Story:
Hidden Orchestra have announced ‘Archipelago’ as the follow up to their inspired 2010 debut Nightwalks. It’s due October 1st on Tru Thoughts, which is tantalisingly close yet so very far…
Sadly there are no audio samples as yet. In the mean time check out Footsteps from the debut Nightwalks. Hidden Orchestra’s sound can be described as a sweeping,emotional and incredibly cinematic experience with strong jazz and classical influences layer with organic sampling.
On a side note, I’m particularly fond of the continuity between artwork which comes courtesy of Norman Ackroyd.
It’s been five years since the well praised Wincing the Night Away and The Shins are back featuring a new line-up with Port of Morrow, arguably their strongest record yet.
Mercers dabblings with Danger Mouse on the superb 2010 Broken Bells record is evident with a slightly more electronic sound bubbling away in the background throughout, it’s never at the forefront but it’s noticeably subtle – a nice evolution of the sound Mercer has crafted for The Shins. It’s also unmercifully catchy; something The Shins have always managed and over time has become apparently easier for Mercer judging by how many of the tracks have been jammed in my mind the last two weeks. Vocal melodies bounce effortlessly along with the music (check out The Rifle’s Spiral (below) & Simple Song for prime examples) and this is really one of my favourite elements of the album. James Mercer really is a genius when it comes to the flow of his lyrics. It’s pretty straight up Indie Pop but goddamn it sounds effortless and so very, very confident.
Five years is a long time and if the sound of Port of Morrow is anything to go by it’s not just Mercers vocal melodies that have been honed, the production is sublime and a leap forward from previous efforts. It’s smooth, warm and well balanced, nothing is lost in the mix and it sounds bright and summery. It doesn’t sound like it’s taking elements from any one decade of the past 40 years but blending carefully the best of all of them. Pacing is well managed with a comfortable blend of slower mellow tracks and more upbeat singles helping the albums rhythm and never really outstaying its welcome. If there was ever any doubt after the line-up changes and five year gap between albums, it is very clear that James Mercer is back. He is The Shins and he’s back, familiar yet better in nearly every way.
If you’re a fan of The Shins you should be checking this album out, I have no doubt about that. If you don’t fall into that camp and you’re on the fence, then you could do a lot worse than checking out this brilliantly catchy Indie Pop record. Finally, it also benefits from excellent artwork courtesy of Jacob Escobedo who also worked on the Broken Bells artwork.
Track listing is as follows (complete with highlighted highlights).
This is exciting news, I’m a big Bonobo fan to the extent I’d say he’s pretty much one of, if not, my favourite artists around. Black Sands released to critical acclaim in March 2010 and was an absolutely fantastic album supported by a superb tour with a live band. Now almost two years later Ninja Tune is releasing a remix album which will also see Simon leave the band behind for the live shows and take to the decks again. I’m looking forward to this one as the list of artists throwing down the remixes is pretty decent.
It’s landing on the 13th of February so not long to get those pre-orders in. There’s a Bonus 5″ vinyl to be snapped up and all physical orders will ship with another bonus CD of remixes. Something for the collector there!
Track listing is as follows:
1. Prelude (Lapalux’s Finger on the Tape Remix)
2. The Keeper (Banks Remix)
3. Kiara (Cosmin TRG Remix)
4. Eyesdown (Floating Points Remix)
5. Eyesdown (ARP 101 Remix)
6. Eyesdown (feat. Andreya Triana & DELS)
7. All In Forms (FaltyDL Remix)
8. Ghost Ship
9. Stay The Same (Mark Pritchard Remix)
10. Eyesdown (Machinedrum Remix)
11. All In Forms (Mike Slott Remix)
12. Stay the Same (Blue Daisy ‘Not Quite the Same’ Remix)
13. Brace Brace
14. Black Sands (Duke Dumont’s ‘Grains Of Sand’ Reconstruction Edit)
