A week of debuts, 2 weeks of Coachella, Record Store Day is less than a week away and a whole lotta pop from this week to share. It is all here for your listening and viewing pleasure in no particular order.
First grab a look at Ty Segall with Tim Presley as White Fence perfoming “Scissor People” at Room 205 bathed in the static technicolor light from photo-negative images of this same perfomance projected on themselves. The song heralds from their upcoming album Hair and here you can see for youself the shred and dagger inner-triumvirate guitar battle between Ty, Tim and Mikal Cronin to create a face melting trinergy that hype and words fail to contain. Hair comes out April 24 on Drag City.
League510 continues to represent that East Bay area code with some heat with 808s and Apehouse TV warehouse grapes on the video for “We Out Here.” The League of T.K., Other Realm, Mr. Knowitall, Monty, and Mk Smith are taking it to another level of hype with Knowitall's Housten styrofoam to-go beat, which leans towards the Bay Area's well-known appreciation for southern influences and offerings. Listen for more as the crew is busy working on their forthcoming LP and more videos and official leaks are almost certain in the near future.
White Arrows have plans to drop their debut Dry Land is Not a Myth June 19 on Votiv Music and we are proud to share with you their music video for their new track “Get Gone”, guaranteed to give you the dizzies with analog VHS manipulations enhancing your viewing/listening experience. Look for these LA dudes on tour with Beat Connection stateside along with Givers and a European excursion with White Denim in May. Check your local relevant listings for details.
Del the Funky Homosapien is a busy man these days. We just reported on the release of his mixtape West Coast Avengers[ WCA LIMITED TO FELA] and now we have word of another Parallel Thought collaboration called Attractive Sin. Here we present to you the first in a series of non-album loosies with “If Ya Don't” sampling the Dap Tones and capturing an organ breath almost as cool as Del's chill flow.
From Sydney's Royal Headaches is the raging “Psychotic Episodes” that turns meltdowns into pure gold. This must have been what “19th Nervous Breakdown” probably sounded like to your parents or what “Everything Falls Apart” by Hüsker Dü was for that cool alt aunt of yours who 'was totally there.' Even amidst the fast paced garage punk and pop, the band is quick to remind you in a chorus that, despite the abundance of energy, they are “not feeling good.” Could have fooled us! Royal Headaches promise more good times on their debut self-titled LP due May 8 on What's Your Rupture?
Check out the Canada's MC's Saukrates and O'Brien coaching some hockey little league in the video for “Say I.” Perhaps the duo will encourage their friends south of the border to rep more hockey in their video other than arbitrary display of an LA Kings cap for the sake of looks and superficial style legacy alone. Look out for Saukrates' upcoming album Season One later this April.
From subway busking in NYC suways are postgrads from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Moon Hooch. Creating a self-styled approach to dance they call Cave Music, their protocol calls for two saxophones, drums, with word of a contrabass clarinet when needed. Catch the Brooklyn buskers perforiming Low 4 around NYC in this video by eDsanca.
Having just turned you all on to Skaters' “Schemers,” today we have the accompanying video shot and directed by Kelsey Bennett, Rémy Bennett and Monroe Robertson. Here, idle days of playing video games turn to fantasies of the 50 foot woman, the women from mom's 80s aerobic videos turned hostile, with sets and stop animation courtesy of artist B. Thom Stevenson.
Also get a listen to Junior High's “PSA”, bringing back those middle school memories of overhearing super synthesizer productions being played on the sophisticated adult stereos of the time. Look for their self-titled debut May 22 on Tapete Records.
Oakland label West in Dust dropped this compilation for stream or direct download featuring the créme de la créme from their East Bay roster. Given the house-y buzz coming from across the Bay Bridge these days, there is no better time than now to support, listen and shuffle a toe, leg, or two should you feel so inclined.
Big news from Austin, TX this week: from now on Yellow Fever will from now on be known as Deep Time. We feel all special because we got the bragging rights of talking to the Austin duo when they were still the going by the designation of the 'Fever. While the name has changed, Jennifer Moore contiinues to tear up the mic, guitars, organ, etc with Adam Jones keeping the backbeat in steady working order. Listen to the surf-indie-girl-pop of “Clouds” here and keep watch for Jennifer and Adam on tour now with The Sandwitches. Deep Time is set to release their self-titled release July 10 on Hardly Art.
Cadence Weapon, the alias of Roland Pemberton, dropped some boombox candy with the track “Conditioning.” He's graduated from the blog academies to become City of Edmonton's star Poet Laureate, and he's seeking to do the following:
“What is poetry anyway? What makes a song pop? Or rap? Why are humans obsessed with naming things? Why do people do the things they do? These questions are what draw me to create and are what I hope to explore as the city poet. ” (via)
We applaud Mr. Pemberton's recent achievement and look forward to hearing the first CW album in about four years time where we understand he has been working with Grimes amid other guest artists/producers. Hope In Dirt City comes out May 29 on Upper Class.
The Stepkids dropped the heavy “Suburban Dream Remix” featuring the talents of Pharoahe Monch & Homeboy Sandman with the tracks remixing handled by the French hip-hop group Union. The result is a groove that sounds like ascending and descending keys with Pharoahe and Sandman spilling a word on mellatonin over dosages, brights lights, the fight to survive and expanding further on the Stepkids' “Suburban Dream” platform.
Be afraid, very afraid because the second ∆AIMON EP Flatliner is coming April 17 from Tundra Dubs. “Current” throws you in the grip of a tumultuous sea storm with no life preserver, “Black Cross” brings you to the shores of a digitally enchanced hell, “Choke” brings a dark mist with occaisional gun blasts, “Mirrors Fade” is the alternative song that you imagine the Haunted Mansion ghost singing instead of “Grim Grinning Ghosts Comes Out to Socialize” or whatever, title track “Flatliner” is the personification of a hospital ECG machine gone evil, “Emptiness” has the anxiety of being chased by hell hounds while the digital bonus track “Evil Eye” we suspect might be a subtle nod to Amon Duul II's “Eyeball Shaking King.” Get in on this now.
The beat continues the subterranean journey through the trap door with Lee Bannon with the Roman decadence of his Caligula Theme Music EP. The Sacramento beatsmith creates dream wave for colosseum gladiators and spectators alike in tracks in the grip of meditation and attention to “Kings & Stones” to “Color Calm” that flows indiscernable vocal chops into the acquaduct channels of serenity. However, we must warn you about the alluring and ominous intro “About a Blur” that begins the gradual release into the warm waters of “Ultra Frown.” Enjoy.
Because we love to hear Tycho's “Dive” remixed every which way, here is Memoryhouse's take on the maleable title track. Drum and bass fans rejoice as the track is thrown into a fog dew that rides through on an equestrian cab powered by the rhythms made by the horses hooves hitting the ground's drum. Tycho's Dive is out now on Ghostly International while the Memoryhouse remix is available now on vinyl from the Ghostly store.
Give it up for Portland, Oregon's Illmaculate and OnlyOne with their track “Territorial” and Ill's video for “Under Their Radar, Over Their Head.” Claiming St. John's block, we can look forward to appearances from Tech N9ne, Inspectah Deck, Illmac's crew Sandpeople with production from G_Force and Trox Diesel on Illmaculate's upcoming album Skrill Talk slated for release April 17 on Wapikya Records.
On the video for “Under Their Radar, Over Their Heads” video directed by Sam Lingle, Ill explains the vision: “I wanted to do a performance-based video with gritty aspects to highlight those same attributes in the song.”
Chappo's “What Are You Kids On?” asks the age old question that shakes up the sleepy masses whenever new sounds emerge from what seems like thin air. Recorded in NYC's Sunhouse Studios, their debut LP Moonwater drops May 15 on Majordomo Records/Shout! Factory while the band can be seen touring with of Montreal this Spring/Summer along with an appearance at this year's Bonnaroo.
Before you hear it elsewhere, here is Yuck's new single “Chew” that they released in time for their Coachella performances tonight and next Friday April 20 out in the Indio, CA in the middle of who knows where. Chew it together.
In our digital correspondance with Adam Olenius of Shout Out Louds, he described to us the semi-secret meanings behind his debut album with Markus Krunegard of Laakso under the moniker of We Are Serenades:
“Criminal Heaven is a place where everything is allowed. Where you can mix vodka with milk. Where big waves of voices crush into mountains of drums. It is also our debut album.”
Look for the Adam and Markus on their tour of the US this May while their Criminal Heaven drops April 17 on Cherrytree Records/Interscope. In the meanwhile to the duo's much talk about 'third voice' harmonizing on their single “Birds” with a sepia toned video directed by Frode & Marcus.
Deer Tick is going on an April through July North American tour with Fruit Bats in a town near you, but first a new song called “Born at Zero” from their new EP Time.
Seattle's Nouela shared a lovely listen to “Fight.” With a minimalist acoustic piano approach with light electric touches the real treat is Nouela Johnston's voice which contains a range moving from blues territory to other degrees of intensity and passion. Nouela's debut album Chants is slated for release on June 12 through The Control Group.
More Lee Fields & the Expressions love with his recent video for “You're the Kind of Girl” directed by Jeff Bierman. Music for book ending your evening en route to or from your destination, get your copy of Mr. Fields' Faithful Man now from Truth & Soul Records.
Prinzhorn Dance School released their newest single “I Want You” from their second album Class Clay out now on DFA Records. As the slow moving beat plods around the yearning lyrics, a grunge-y stripped down bass line left over from 1991 provides the right thump to guide your feet.
With recent debuts from First Person Shootr, Twin Steps, Young Magic, Future Twin, Blithe Field; be sure to catch the following listen to this limited time stream of the Grave Babies' Gothdammit EP prior to the April 17 release on Hardly Art. Poised as one of the year's best releases, the EP's opener “Fuck Off” provides the charging powerchord build most artists reserve for long playing opuses. “Mourning Heir” does more than word play off morning bed head but faithfully revises the new-romantic sound in a tonal ecstacy that only the 45 can relate. “Nightmare” is the big single ode to dream terrors before “Bloodstains” surrounds you with synthesized spectres and a mock-macabre that leaves you you wanting more after the 2 minutes and 58 seconds are up. “Wasting” is a slow electric buzzer with an almost clandestine series of low level recorded guitars that might encompass the vision you had of futurist music back in the late '80s/ early '90s. Get an exclusive listen now to one of 2012's best releases.
