I talked about the new Junior Boys a little bit here last week and now a couple days later they have shared a few tracks from their forthcoming album Begone Dull Care. Seems like a very promising LP, hopefully some remixes and limited vinyl pop up soon after the album drops.
Tracklist:
1 Parallel Lines
2 Work
3 Bits and Pieces
4 Dull to Pause
5 Hazel
6 Sneak a Picture
7 The Animator
8 What It’s For
Anytime I start hating on living in Brooklyn it totally redeems itself within days. The other night I was searching for music to listen to and stumbled upon a post that said Beirut free show in Brooklyn and I looked at the clock and just grabbed a taxi and got there right on time for the first song. Beirut live is worth $30+ in my mind, the man has my full support, his voice was exactly what I wanted to hear after listening to a ton of instrumentals all day long.
I got into Sun Ra probably later than most people, every time someone tells me a story about him playing live its always really absurd which is great to hear.
Mike Dykehouse had an LP that come out a few years back that he attempted to make shoegaze via only using his computer and a guitar plugged into it. The LP came with a couple of these short interludes all the way thru that I really loved, maybe one day he’ll revisit them and make epic longer versions? I can only hope. The artwork for the Midrange LP was done by Deanne Cheuk which many of you may already know.
I saw Keith Kenniff play live a few months back as Goldmund hoping he’d maybe sneak in some of his Helios work in as well but there was no need, he did all these slower piano pieces that I really enjoyed. This track Evelyn off his new LP The Malady of Elegance I recommend as a nice introduction into his work.
[audio:concubine.mp3] [audio:saga.mp3] [audio:dyke.mp3] [audio:evelyn.mp3]
As some of you maybe already know, Charlie Cooper — one half of Telefon Tel Aviv) — passed away last week. We just wanted to pass on our sincere condolences to his close friends and family. Charlie, your genius will be missed.
Todd Hido’s photography grabbed me right from the first image I saw, it first reminded me of Nadav Kander and also Gregory Crewdson who shot that Yo La Tengo cover awhile back.
I feel like i’ve used up all the adjectives that describe dreamy post rock already in this blog so its really hard to explain how beautiful this song is without using the same old ones. Can you just imagine being back in the mid 80s and just watching VHS’s of Cocteau Twins live shows in poor quality and driving around listening to this on cassette and sharing it for the first time with friends? so so good.
This has become my favorite Deerhunter song after going thru their catalog over and over. Listening to all the parts that make up the song, i’d be even content with just the hand claps and the pitched up synthesized voices that go thru the whole song.
I don’t think Ariel Pink gets your attention right from the beginning if you put in one of his records. It’s a sound that grows on you, this song has this early 90’s local cable recording quality to it and how he sings the chorus is addictive to listen to.
The Sundays at times ride this thin line of something you wouldn’t play for friends but you just can’t deny the songwriting and musicianship here, if I heard this live and at this quality i’d think they’d be one of the best band around.
[audio:hiccup.mp3] [audio:drglass.mp3] [audio:forkate.mp3] [audio:goodbyes.mp3]
One of my favorite records that I loved playing out when I DJ’ed was Four Tet – Pause because it had so many good dj set starters no matter where you played. Lately all i’ve wanted from Four Tet is for him to stop collaborating with other musicians and start on another record like Pause or Rounds, just a detailed melodic driven 180 gram colored vinyl that I can stare at and listen to all day.
I just posted Bon Iver a couple weeks ago but another EP popped up which was decent, could of been amazing but there’s this song called
“Woods” on it that I couldn’t handle to the point that I just threw that track away. As for this track “Blood Bank” I think it might be better than any track off his recent LP.
Junior Boys just announced they have a new LP slated for April 7th in the US, the album is called Begone Dull Care. I’d put Junior Boys down as the most listener friendly cross over band to play when you have a variety of friends over. “Under The Sun” is one of the more simple songs the Junior Boys have done but its so rewarding.
I don’t know much about Damn Arms besides remixes, as for dance music its pretty similar to your Cut Copy, College, and Midnight Juggernauts. The thing I do like about this song is the flute, i’m not gonna lie it grabs my attention and also reminds me of this Paul Simon video.
[audio:ruin.mp3] [audio:bloodbank.mp3] [audio:underjr.mp3] [audio:pt1.mp3]
I can’t add much to what has already been said on the internet/reviews/interviews of all of Mark Kozelek’s projects. If you haven’t listened to Red House Painters before then be warned its some of the saddest music. This song “Mistress” is actually upbeat compared to everything else plus he has some distant distortion going on that really works out nicely.
Windy & Carl don’t get the credit they deserve, I mean they run a wonderful record store called Stormy in Michigan, they release on Kranky and have been doing this sound longer than most that are still in the game, the noisy and lovely post rock game.
This High Places song is everything I wanted Mum to do after their first record, this is a very well written about band that deserves all the love they’ve received. Highly Recommended.
[audio:mistress.mp3] [audio:windy.mp3] [audio:highplaces.mp3]
Self Titled Magazine posted an amazing mix that was done by Michna and curated by SV4(Owner of Ghostly International), here is what they said:
“It all started with a record sleeve, a minimal blend of Michael Segal’s Boy Cat Bird characters and a Pacman-like logo plastered across a stark black background. Weighing the potential purchase based on nothing but a record shop recommendation and the cover’s simple, striking design, we scooped up Ghostly International’s inaugural Idol Tryouts compilation despite not even knowing who Dabrye or Matthew Dear were.
With Ghostly’s 10th anniversary looming on the horizon this year and School of Seven Bells just weeks away from gracing the cover of self-titled’s third digital issue, we thought we’d ask one of the label’s most promising new signings (Michna, a beat conductor/DJ/former Secret Frequency Crew member who also goes by the name Egg Foo Young) to craft a mix of Ghostly’s scene-spanning influences. He’s joined by Ghostly founder Sam Valenti IV (a.k.a. SV4), a sometime DJ who helped curate Michna’s crate. Together the pair emerged with a heady 60 minutes of melancholic dance music (Pantha Du Prince, Sascha Funke), Italodisco (Giorgio Moroder), essential electro (Kraftwerk), and an ambient house anthem (Orbital’s “Halcyon & On & On”) that left self-titled scrambling for our old copy of The Brown Album. Indie kids are encouraged to uncross their arms and join the fray, as the set ends in a mascara-smeared trifecta of the Depeche Mode, the Smiths and the Cure.” Read more here
Orbital – Halcyon & On & On (FFRR)
Joey Beltram – Enegy Flash (R+S)
The Persuader – What’s The Time, Mr Templar (Svek)
Sascha Funke – Safety First (Kompakt)
Pantha Du Prince – Suzan (Dial)
Klein & MBO – Dirty Talk (Zanza)
Gino Soccio – Remember (Atlantic)
Giorgio Moroder – The Chase (Casablanca)
Der Zyklus -Elektronisches Zeitecho (Gigolo)
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Interdimensional Transmissions)
Kraftwerk – Numbers (WEA)
Air – Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi (Dopplereffekt Mix) (Source)
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (Maxi Single Live Version) (Mute)
The Smiths – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (Rough Trade)
The Cure – Close To Me (WEA)
The Cure – Close To Me (Closest Remix) (WEA)