Posts tagged Listen
Listen/Download: Antony And The Johnsons - Rise
At the start of the week we got a comment on our Facebook page from a project called Coral Rekindling Venus, as they say:
“Coral Rekindling Venus is major work for fulldome digital planetariums by acclaimed artist Lynette Wallworth.
It is an extraordinary journey into a mysterious realm of fluorescent coral reefs, bioluminescent sea creatures and rare marine life, revealing a complex community living in the oceans most threatened by climate change.”
Still not entirely sure what that it is (sounds cool though), but they did mention they’d be giving away a brand new track by Antony And The Johnsons called “Rise” that presumably features in their film somehow. Now you can download that track for yourself below, and if you know what Antony Hegarty is capable of, it’s nothing short of the grandiose majesty that abounds almost everything he creates.
Check it out in the video below, or head over to their site and donate to download the MP3.
Connect with Antony And The Johnsons: Facebook | Last.fm | Website
Review/Listen: - Nick Waterhouse - Time’s All Gone
In an era of mass-produced, Garageband manufactured music, authenticity can be a hard to find. The title of this album, “Time’s All Gone”, hints at a throwback to simpler times, and so it is: at the height of “Time’s All Gone”, you can almost imagine being in the room with Nick Waterhouse as his band play small snippets from another time, his regal backup vocals, his own unsettling voice, and the noisy band that are too riled to play better. It’s reminiscent of a past three decades before his time while still seeming new and fresh, as if it happened only a moment ago. There’s humbleness about this album that doesn’t seem contrived. It’s fast, noisy, rowdy, and gritty, but it feels natural, without coming off as a duplicate.
On the opener, “Say I Wanna Know”, you can almost hear the hiss of the needle touching the vinyl as the drums kick in, the harsh brass overwhelming the song before Waterhouse sings. What follows is what feels like a party in a narrow club on a street that’s always wet, with the band almost invisible from all the smoke floating overhead. On track, “Don’t You Forget It”, you can nearly hear the horn almost seems to give a smoky rasp.
“Raina” earns the title of my favorite track, mostly due to the fact that Waterhouse doesn’t quite have the strength vocally to carry the song. The backup vocals bare most of the weight, but it’s his sincerity that gets the last word. While every track seems perfectly arranged, every detail scrutinized, it’s the roughness of the sound that makes it seem just as slapped together as it is supremely constructed. “(If) You Want Trouble” might be the best result of this formula. The rapid fire call-and-response between the band and vocals makes everything feel of the moment. Even on “Indian Love Call” Waterhouse nails the stereotypes of the era he so successfully apes, complete with faux-Indian percussion sounding more like a rain stick, delivered with a wink. The most primal moments are when the band are left to their own devices, specifically in the closer “Time’s All Gone Pt.2”. It’s the organic movements of each instrument that create a tension that is both poignant and fierce.
On summer nights as a child, I would often listen to old records, 45s mostly, with my grandfather, as the adults would play cards or watch sports in the other room. It was those moments I was taken back to constantly throughout this release. Deriving from the late 1950/early 1960s doo-wop, the mono-production is as flawed as the wobbly vinyl I use to spin. You can hear the earnestness in the SoCal singer/songwriter’s shouts, grunts, or snickers. It’s the album’s lightness that makes it so approachable. The central theme of love in all its forms make it indeed a labor of one, a love letter to a time and sound that clearly speaks to Waterhouse as much as it does to others like me. Stream “Time’s All Gone” below.
Connect with Nick Waterhouse - Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Website
Listen: Summer Camp - “Always”
Listen to the title track off Summer Camp’s upcoming EP, “Always”, out July 10 via Apricot Recording Company/Moshi Moshi.
Last week we posted “Life”, our first listen at UK indie pop duo Summer Camp’s latest EP, “Always”. And now, to send us off into the weekend nicely, they’ve sharing the title track.
“Life” was definitely more electronic-oriented than their past stuff, and “Always” continues that trend, though this one is far more upbeat, in a disco-in-the-eighties kind of way. These guys really have a really great thing going on right now. Listen to “Always” below.
Connect with Summer Camp: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Soundcloud | Last.fm
Listen/Download: Phédre - Aphrodite (Beta Frontiers Remix)
I’ve been talking lately about how much I enjoy the videos Phédre release, hoping one day to see them direct some El Guincho videos.
So far that hasn’t happened, but they have been dropping song-of-the-year contenders for the last couple of months, namely “Aphrodite” and “In Decay”, for the former of which has now been giving the remix treatment by label-mates Beta Frontiers, all 80’s-tinged and electro-sounding, just as you’d expect it to be.
Connect with Beta Frontiers – Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Bandcamp
Connect with Phèdre: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Website
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Listen/Download: Till Death - “Forever”
Till Death is the new project from Owl Vision and Frank Major, two guys whose previous work Iâm only vaguely aware of, âForeverâ is a testament that such moderate recognition and their presence within the social psyche of our scene is about to drastically change.
This is baby making music for bangers and the recreational bath salt swimmers. âForeverâ is complete grime swallowed by one of the sexiest tones of sin Iâve heard. The breakdowns nudged by the constant adrenaline fueled high-hat and bass-line driven by some dangerous spirit of ill-intent lead me to believe Till Death are either possessed or have cut a bargain with Satan himself.
These Swedes have combined the montage level infection of Health with the dripping suave coolness of Digits all of which hides in the same industrial darkness as V A L I S, this is the sickest Electro can get.
Connect with Till Death - Facebook | Soundcloud
Listen: Liars - Octagon
In just over a week Liars will release their sixth studio album “WIXIW” (pronounced “wish you”) via Mute, though a few days ago the band/label dropped a new track that passed by without much fanfare.
On Tuesday they’ll release the first single from the album, “No.1 Against The Rush”, with “Octagon” just appearing on the album itself and not on a single. It’s got a huge Radiohead vibe to it, like something that would’ve come out of an “Amnesiac” and “In Rainbows” hybrid.
Listen: CocoRosie + Antony Hegarty - Tearz For Animals
At the start of the month we treated you to the exquisite new track by CocoRosie, “We Are On Fire”, their new 7” single that was produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek and featuring Antony Hegarty from Antony And The Johnsons on the flipside.
If you’re still spinning “We Are On Fire” then give it a rest and listen to the b-side “Tearz For Animals”. Antony Hegarty’s always had that ability to make everything his vocals flow onto turn to gold and this is no exception, all glistening and resonating and wistful.
The single was released at the start of the week and you can still grab your copy if you didn’t already.
Ones To Watch: Tiny Victories
I’ve been sitting on this post about Brooklyn’s Tiny Victories for months. I absorbed the band and mulled over what to say, I kept trying to see them live and decided that my writing would wait until then. Not that recordings and performance should be viewed as inclusive, but they coexist. Both inform what you know as “the band”.
Tiny Victories is, surprisingly, just two people: Greg Walters and Cason Kelly. While both are multi-instrumentalists, during their live setup you will see Kelly mostly behind drums, while Walters is on vocals and keys - sampling live sounds and audience members throughout and incorporating them into the tracks that you can hear on their first release “Those Of Us Still Alive” EP.
The first time I heard “Mr. Bones” I felt that rare but familiar feeling of that fantasy scene in that coming-of-age movie where someone is running and everything culminates in this epic romanticism. It had this John Hughes emotional tug and reminded me strongly of General Public’s “Tenderness”. That is to say, what a single! It’s that song that makes you believe in anything. Two decades ago, I would spend an entire sunny afternoon with my finger tensely levitating above the “Play/Record” buttons on my stereo waiting to hear this song on the radio.
“Gravitron” is another unmistakeable gem, with Walters’ low octave vocals set against a bright synth-laden backdrop, it’s almost like a perfect amalgamation of Passion Pit and Future Islands. Do you remember The Russian Futurists? One of my favorite tracks was the opener to their eponymous 2003 album “Let’s Get Ready To Crumble”, which starts by saying ”I make pop ‘cause that’s where my heart goes, I don’t call it art, no sir.” Tiny Victories is bubbling over with such sentiment; its songs’ hazy, magnetic layers contoured by sweetly tense pulses. The arrangements would put a twinkle in Paul Simon’s eye.
Their debut “Those Of Us Still Alive” EP is a really impeccable sampling of what I hope is the best is still to come. It may have come out early in the year, but these are the songs that will make your summer.
Dig in: watch the video for “Mr. Bones” and listen to the whole EP below.
Connect with Tiny Victories: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Bandcamp
Video: Ski Lodge - A Game
After releasing “A Game” back in 2011, Ski Lodge are now back with a video for it, one that’s violent and sexy at the same time. I’m not sure if this chick is sexy because she’s sexy, or because she’s dangerous. You decide, let me know.
Connect with Ski Lodge: Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | Last.fm
Video: A Place To Bury Strangers - You Are The One
Watch the new video for A Place To Bury Strangers song “You Are The One” below, taken from the album “Worship”. Like your music video Grindhouse-y? You’ll love this.
Connect with A Place To Bury Strangers: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Website
Listen: The National - The Rains Of Castamere
As you wait for The National to finish up a new album you don’t have to wait to hear new music by the band.
This time, though, it’s not really their own track but instead them performing the song written by George R. R. Martin, the creator of Game Of Thrones on the soundtrack to which this song appears.
Yes, you read that right. Everyone’s favourite sourpuss band The National will appear on the Game Of Thrones soundtrack, performing this song penned just for the show, “The Rains Of Castamere”. Last year they released “Exile Vilify” for the Portals 2 video game, so they’re no strangers to stepping outside of their normal realm of music distribution.
Connect with The National: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Website
Review/Listen: Grass Widow - “Internal Logic”
San Francisco-based trio Grass Widow, made up of Hannah Lew (bass), Raven Mahon (guitar), and Lillian Maring (drums), collectively share duties on vocals, weaving together melodies steeped in metaphor as gleamed from each of the members’ personal narratives. Always shying away from directly referential, confessional song structure, this lo-fi post punk band steadfastly refuses to get behind one specific front person.
Since 2010’s “Past Time”, the band has toured extensively throughout the US, the UK, continental Europe, and China. In the meantime, they founded their own label, HLR, and wrote several of their own music videos under the direction of Lew, who has also directed videos for other Bay Area artists such as Hunx And His Punx and Shannon And The Clams . They’ve opened for the likes of Sonic Youth, The Raincoats, and Wild Flag, had a cameo appearance on Portlandia, and will soon be hitting the road in June to headline their own tour in support of their latest endeavor, “Internal Logic”, out May 29th.
From the first track, “Goldilocks Zone”, through a hazy, electronic build-up, the vocals are gradually introduced, instantly starting off with a more sophisticated and compelling lead-in. It is obvious that Grass Widow have gained both confidence and musical proficiency since “Past Time”. There is a more adaptable and spatial quality to their current offering: though they sound more tight, this tightness affords them the confidence to reach a little further afield and explore more complex musical territory.
Grass Widow’s vocals, which on previous efforts tended to roll over one another so rapidly that they were just as often dizzying as they were sublime, have been amped up to their full potential on “Internal Logic”. Extra clutter is cleared away, leaving behind what ought to have been there all along: uncompromisingly unique vocal contributions from all three, all of which come together to form a greater whole. This added sense of structure and wholeness was exactly what was lacking on their previous endeavors, in which songs sounded potentially gorgeous but seemed more like brief two second sketches, wisps of several good ideas, rather than a fully formed final product.
“A Light In The Static” is a great step up into a paired-down, spooky instrumental, done on a simple acoustic guitar that manages to evoke wonder and confusion succintly and delicately. The vocals on “Spock On Muni” are tight and together, the instrumentation also more vibrant. Also, it never hurts to make allusions to the best of all the Star Trek films (Geek Cred!).
Still, this album has its limits. The midsections is problematic, as Grass Widow seem to struggle with merging their garage band sensibilities with a more psychedelic, expiramental direction. Emerging from a standard flow of basic guitar noodling, they start to gain momentum and deviate in promising directions. Unfortunately, just when a song begins to show that it has found an interesting segway to another level of complexity, it will fizzle out or change direction again just a little too soon. Some of these gons could, and perhaps should, have been split in two.
I am nonetheless grateful to hear Grass Widow playing with more instrumental complexities, as there’s definitely a sense of greater things to come from this band. Certainly the hugely evocative album-closer “Responses To Photographers” suggests as much: played on what sounds like an aging, slightly out of tune upright piano, it evokes fragility and the idea of confronting invasiveness by weaving a layer of protection in the face of over-exposure.
This is comfortably Grass Widow’s most succinct and well-crafted album to date. While their music is at its most promising when it finds its way down interesting and surprising paths, their musical style still remains a little wobbly. Nevertheless, they are heading in the right direction, there are just a few kinks that need to be ironed out in order for Grass Widow’s sound to catch up with their abundant vision and artistic integrity. Judging from the leaps and bounds evident between their last album and “Internal Logic”, the best is yet to come.
Connect with Grass Widow - Facebook | Twitter | Website | Soundcloud
Listen: Marissa Nadler - The Sister (Full Album Stream)
Chalk up Marissa Nadler’s new album “The Sister” as another of this year’s stunningly sparse and haunting releases, alongside Daughn Gibson, Perfume Genius, Sigur Ros, and John Talabot.
Stripping away the instrumentation and production you hear on so many albums these days, she’s left bare the fragile emotion in her voice and acoustics of her guitar and piano, occasionally slipping in the perfectly-timed thud of a kick drum.
“The Sister” will be released on May 29th via her own Box Of Cedar label, and below you can listen to the entire beautiful thing, though calling it a “thing” is doing it a disservice.
Connect with Marissa Nadler: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Website
Video: DIIV - How Long Have You Known?
Currently one of the most-talked about, and praised-ridden new bands doing the rounds this year is DIIV. We’ve written about them so you know they must be good, but you shouldn’t let our insignificant words sway your decision to check them out.
You should listen to us, though, and there’s not much to be said about their new video for “How Long Have You Known?” other than singer Zachary Cole Smith creates the best. drug. ever. Need further proof? “Doused”.
Video: Jaill - House With Haunting
True story: I’ve seen a ghost. I’ve seen a couple, actually, but they weren’t just dudes hanging around with bed sheets over their heads, they were legit ghosts. I can’t tell you the story otherwise they’d give away the secret information about myself that I keep secret, but just believe me, ok?
They weren’t like the ghosts in Jaill’s new video, though. These guys are fuckin’ assholes. The worst kind of ghosts are the ones who steal all of your stuff (including your girlfriend), your beer (most important), your food, and they ruin your garden. They’re like Gremlins, but ghosty.
“House With Haunting” is another new cut from the band’s upcoming album “Traps” from which we’ve already heard “Perfect Ten” and “Waste A Lot Of Things”.
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