LCD Soundsystem Watch 2k10 - This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem announced their new album title - This Is Happening, and revealed the cover, above.

May 18th.

That is all.

The Hold Steady Watch 2k10

The Hold Steady are about to release their new album Heaven is Whenever on May 5th, and we have these two gorgeous gems to keep us occupied until it comes out. The first, "Rock Problems," released by NY Mag, is a classic Hold Steady anthem with a crazy guitar riff right in the middle. The second, and newer, track is called "Hurricane J," and is an equally epic track with lyrics focusing on that eternally messed up girl the Hold Steady has known forever.

The tracks don't necessarily seem groundbreaking, but considering that they were written and demoed in the back of their tour bus, theyre solid pieces and I'm excited to see how the rest of the album shapes up

The Hold Steady - MS|OS

The Hold Steady - Rock Problems

The Hold Steady - Hurricane J

Joker - Tron

Oh dear. It's pretty easy to forget about dubstep until you hear someone like Joker. This kid is seriously blowing my mind. Check out some of his mixes.

Joker (MS) | (T) - Tron (MP3)

Jon Hopkins

Jon Hopkins is yet another in a long line of British electronic artists that I have come to enjoy. I discovered him, much like probably way too many other people did, because at some point I listened to the new(est) Coldplay album, Viva la Vida, and then later discovered that the only part of the album I really liked was really just a collaboration between Coldplay and Jon Hopkins (namely, the loop that is used both to open and close the album). And by collaboration, I mean sampling, because it's really just a clip that the band took from the full Jon Hopkins track "Light Through The Veins," which would later become the centerpiece around which his own 2009 release Insides was built. Well, I had discovered that track almost a year ago, but I had never thought to get the full Jon Hopkins album. That was a mistake, because it's fucking good. Why this guy doesn't get more attention is beyond me; Insides was actually his third album. Here's what you're missing out on:

Jon Hopkins - OS|MS

Jon Hopkins - "Light Through The Veins"

Jon Hopkins - "Second Sense"

Cassius

In honor of the mix that I'm working on (French House 4 Life) I'm going to be a lazy bastard and post a very, very old Cassius song. I know, I know. Weak. But I don't see anyone one else jumping to update the blog!

Anyways, Cassius were one part Boom Box and one part Phillipe Zdar, and with their work as Cassius they layed down the basics for what would come to define French house for the next decade. This song, "Foxxy," was their first release, and is still one of the highlights of the entire genre. You should listen to it.

Cassius - MS

Cassius - Foxxy

LCD Soundsystem Watch 2k10 - First Single "Drunk Girls"

LCD Soundsystem has leaked the first single off there yet to be titled upcoming album. Its called "Drunk Girls," and its... pretty good. It has alot of the energy and rawness of their early singles, like "Yeah," as well as alot of the verbal adeptness if such tracks as "Losing My Edge." Nothing that jumps out with the sublime beauty of Sound of Silver, but its nice to hear some of that infections energy coming of James Murphy golden pipes (well, dirty bronze tubes, at least) once again. Its only available on youtube at the moment, but you should still give it a spin for a nice little preview of what awaits.

Also on the net is a bit of this song "Pow Pow." Due to be release on April 30th, only a bit of it is available, but its hella disco and if you loop the track infinately you can barely even tell that only about a minutes available...

LCD Soundsystem - "Pow Pow"

LCD Soundsystem - MS|OS

Phoenix Release Free Live Album!

Ultimate crossover French indie rockers Phoenix just released a live album from a performance in Sydney today! The recording is great, the setlist is awesome (a bit Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix heavy, but whatevs) and they included the perfect amount of young, presumably hot Australian girls screaming in the background. For those of us who have been with Phoenix ever since the beginning, when Pitchfork named them the "soft rock strokes," -booooo, P4k, - this little live album is a great victory lap for the band that deserved the success they've found the most. Grab it! Listen to it! Love it!

1901 collaboration video

PHOENIX | MySpace Music Videos

Phoenix - OS|MS

Phoenix - Lasso (Live in Sydney)

Phoenix - 1901 (Live in Sydney)

Broken Social Scene Watch 2k10

Sorry for the even more extended absence - lack of internet access kills, kids. Or does lack of internet kill kids? Regardless, Broken Social Scene just released two tracks off their upcoming album! They are sooo fucking good. The first is called "Forced To Love," and is a classic, forceful Broken Social Scene that shows that they still have the energy and passion to bring another great album.

I'm almost even more excited about "All to All." Its a synth filled, dreamlike track, and even though this isn't the sort of track that usually grabs my attention from BSS, something about the atmosphere really, really reminds me of classics like "I'm Still Your Fag" and "Late Nineties Bedroom Rock For Missionary."

I am soooooo excited for this album...

Broken Social Scene - MS|OS

Broken Social Scene - "Forced To Love"

Broken Social Scene - "All to All"

Health Care FTW

In honor of last night's historic passage of health care reform, I give you the celebration music of the gods, courtesy of Fuck Buttons:

Full. Blast.

Fuck Buttons: MS|OS - Olympians (mp3)

Snapshots: The Big Pink @ Neumos

I had the chance to see The Big Pink play Neumos last friday!! Here's a couple quick shots of the band I took during the show. They really cooked it up. I, personally, loved last year's A Brief History of Love. Some people don't agree... but they can suck it. In my top ten for emerging bands of 2009 and definitely one of the best shows of 2010, so far! Then again, I was ultimately cross-faded, so take heed. <3

Alubm Review: MGMT - Congratulations

I'm finally having a chance to sit down and listen to our beloved MGMT's new album Congratulations. For bands like MGMT, follow-ups are always tricky territory. I'm sure each of you can name a band for every finger that's completely fucked up LP2 - especially bands that gained a considerable about of notice for their first album. MGMT was a huge part of the electro explosion. They erupted onto the scene in a big way with a big sound, reinforcing themselves along the way with some absolutely killer remixes.

For Congratualtions, it sounds like they are taking the ever trickier route of transforming their sound. Congratulations should be seen as a separate volume rather than a new chapter. The band has opted for a much grander, more broad, encompassing sound the second time around. Making appearances, in no particular order: acoustic guitars, screaming electric guitars, strings, horns, flutes, trippy-synths, normal-synths, vocoders, reverbs, hella feedback ('ghost-like,' at times), chanted choruses, and songs that sweep between each effortlessly. The sound, especially the vocals, reminds me much of early Arcade Fire or even early Flaming Lips, if you can imagine that being applied to a still very MGMT sonic touch.

The lead single, 'Flash Delirium,' left many people, including me, completely turned off. I'm happy to say that after a couple listens through the album I am thoroughly impressed with the precision and poise MGMT has displayed in releasing a second album that could have easily been a mediocre rehashing of their first. Flash Delirium itself makes an incredible amount of sense, in context. 'Someone's Missing' sounds retro-dreamy while the 12+ minute 'Siberian Breaks' is a landscape of amalgamated sounds. The followup 'Brian Eno,' named of course for the God of Sound (whom sometimes goes, simply, by 'Brian'), is a thrashing of epic proportion, signaling the movement to a Deerhunter-like sound for the last stretch of the album. The album's title track 'Congratualtion' closes the album off with an acoustic conquering of the lyric "As strange is it seems, I'd rather dissolve than have you ignore me" - a fitting salutation. If you're looking for that re-hash then I am terribly sorry but you would do best to leave this album out entirely. Congratulations is a Dali if Oracular Spectacular was a van Gogh. Sonically, the album is intensely interesting at every turn, offering sweeping tempos and beats that are downright boppy at times. Some songs sound intensely natural while others, like one of the album's heavy hitters 'Someone's Missing,' sound chronically disillusioned - in a trippy sense [of sound], which I very much appreciate. If any new band's follow-up could ever be considered experimental - ladies and gentleman, I give you MGMT:

MGMT (OS) | (MS) | (W) - Flash Delirium (MP3)

PS: The album was recently leaked, hence clicking the official site link above will take you to a page where you can stream the album in its entirety. MGMT, as stated on the site, opted to allow streaming of the album rather than letting the first wave of listeners be scene-only pirates. If you enjoy it, please do buy it on 4/13! <3

St. Patrick's Day/Kells Aftermath - Stout Pounders

Hey Y'all

Sorry for my extended absence - its been a crazy couple days. Yesterday, especially, as I worked 16 hours shift at Kells, the hands down busiest bar in Seattle, on St. Patrick's Day, bar backing for the main bar. 16 hours with no breaks, on my feet, not having eaten a single thing all day, running back and forth through a totally packed bar, lifting kegs of beer shoulder height, all while wearing dress clothing and a tie. I think I'm going to die now, so I'm going to be a real asshole and just post some of the music played live last night that helped me make it through the night.

The Stout Pounders, a local Seattle Celtic Folk band, rocked the main stage for the a good part of the evening. Their mix of traditional instruments and modern rock swagger was highly reminiscent of the work of The Pouges, and they did a great job getting the afternoon crowd moving. They played an excellent mix of traditional and non-traditional folk music, as well as folk renditions of alternative music such as Nirvana's "Come As You Are" and Flogging Molly's "What's Left On The Flag." I had a chance to meet the lead singer Darin briefly, and he was a characteristic and energetic force for the band.

Stout Pounders - MS|OS

Review: The Morning Benders - Big Echo

I will begin this post by openly affirming that everyone who contributes to this blog at this time can't fucking stand Grizzly Bear. Put more specifically, I think what we really can't stand is Grizzly Bear's success. I don't know about Jon and Keegan (although I sort of do because we all had a bit of a collective epiphany the last time it came up in conversation), but I see Grizzly Bear as a band that people like because a bunch of critics say everyone should like them...even though I have yet to meet someone who actually likes their music. It's sort of how I used to feel about Radiohead before I got into them....but I really don't think I'll ever change my mind about Grizzly Bear. I've seen them live, I've given both their albums ample chances to actually impress me and give me at least something memorable that I can focus on and say "well at least there are one or two really good songs/moments/anythings." But no. Those moments don't exist with Grizzly Bear. Ever. And therein lies the fucking problem. But everyone goes on and on about how perfectly their songs are crafted, how great the production is, yada yada.

I'm not saying Grizzly Bear completely fucking sucks. I might think it sometimes, but I wouldn't say that (except maybe to Jon and Keegan). At the very least, they have some interesting harmonic tendencies. No, what I'm saying is that Grizzly Bear's success (much like Animal Collective's, in my opinion) is really undeserved, and revolves much more around a few overly influential dickwaving critics than the actual music. If I hear one more person say that Grizzly Bear is a band of "indie rock saviors," I'm going to punch him in the face.

Which is where we get to The Morning Benders. This band definitely has Grizzly Bear influences, but it keeps those tendencies under wraps and uses them as accents that complement their music instead of allowing them to take over. In short, the Morning Benders are what Grizzly Bear would sound like if they were worth listening to:

Their second album, Big Echo, was released a week ago, and I've listened to it 5 times already just in the past 12 hours. Grizzly Bear's bassist/producer Chris Taylor helped out with the studio mixing, which is the perfect role for him and which does add a lot to the entire work without bastardizing it (a quick side-note to this is that listening to Big Echo has fully convinced me that picking the right mixer is easily the biggest make-or-break decision for a band. Just as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would have been a folksy misstep had it not been for Jim O'Rourke, I can see this album having been somewhat of a bore had it not been for Taylor).

In the end, I think there are several reasons I really like this band. First, I think their sound, unlike Grizzly Bear's, matches the area they hail from. Grizzly Bear has always sounded like a New York operation blindly grasping at a sound that will appeal to people out west; The Morning Benders are from fucking Berkeley, and you can tell. And I like that. You get a perfect sense for the surroundings out of which that the music has grown. The release date of the album also couldn't have been better: this is the best spring/summer anthem I have heard in...well, we all went to school in Seattle, so it's been a longassed time. But most importantly, I find myself constantly hearing moments in their songs where I think to myself "Wow. This is what I always wished I could get out of Grizzly Bear, but with this I don't have to try so goddamn hard." It seems far more effortless for this group, and I sort of hope that Chris Taylor walked out of the studio at the end having learned just as much as did the band members themselves.

The Morning Benders - OS|MS

Caribou

Dan Snaith, a.k.a. Caribou, drops his new album on April 20th! Check out the new track, "Odessa." Excellently badass drinking/walking/doing anything music, if you ask me. I think this album is going to be really good, and I'm glad to see him mixing up his routine like this:

Download the track for free here.

The Hold Steady

:)

Shit's goin' down in May.

*excited*

Pantha du Prince

House and techno are big genres. Reading about their origins only complicates the issue, as they have grown into such a umbrella terms that I don't really even fully understand why anyone even bothers with them anymore. That a group like Justice and can have their sound reduced to "French house" seems a bit ridiculous to me, because it does a disservice both to their sound as well as providing people with a ready-made label they can smack onto any given type of music, just for the sake of being able to call it something.

That being said, the evolution of these terms is interesting to me if only as an academic exercise. Why a certain type of music classifies as something specific is much less interesting to me than seeing what types of people get into what types of music. Someone who can seem very shy and introverted might only be able to study while listening to Rob Zombie. A kid from London might like an over-the-top American experimental pop group because it gives them a worthwhile glimpse into our country and its scene, or maybe just because music like that doesn't get made where that person lives.....or maybe just because it's fucking ridiculous and you can jump around to it while throwing back PBR and chain-smoking! Whatever the reason, I always enjoy trying to dig at the upbringing and the culture behind a given artist just as much as objectively analyzing the music itself.

With this in mind, I suggest giving Pantha du Prince a spin. He's from Germany, and his style could be classified six ways to Sunday, but I think the best way to think of it is like a cat that doesn't necessarily jump right on your lap the first time you meet, and is gonna do what he's gonna do. I have a feeling (and I may be wrong, but it's fun to think about) that this guy's personality is channeled directly into his albums without being filtered too much, if at all. This isn't music you have to be patient with; this is music that has to be patient with you. Most every song begins as stripped-down as it can possibly be while still representing some musical idea, and takes its time to allow you to naturally follow its progression. There are no sudden, jarring shifts, yet it's also not music designed for a purpose (i.e. for people to dance or rave to). There is never a moment where the listener is jolted out of the hypnosis the music creates, but the hypnosis isn't as important as seeing how the songs unfold to bring you along for the ride. Even when the music fills into its complete form, the listener was allowed to see the naked process. It's like watching cells divide and grow into a person. What begins as a series of scattered clicks and background noise will be a pulsating, hoppin beat 5 minutes later, with nothing skipped in between. It's an amazingly simple concept, but he does it so well that you never get bored, and it can be played again and again without losing its effect.

I think a good introduction to Pantha du Prince would be the track "Saturn Strobe," off his 2007 album This Bliss. It's easily one of my favorite songs of his (and I'm really glad someone made a video like this to go along with it):



Yeah. I know. Just take a second and soak that in. Now for "Satellite Snyper," off his brand new album Black Noise. Just let this roll all over your ears. It's like raindrops caressing your soul:



Teh sex. Also: best. night. driving. music. ever.

Pantha du Prince - MS|OS

The National - New Song pt. 2!

Awesome! After the debut of "Terrible Love" on Jimmy Fallon's show, we have a preview almost the entire album! They played 'secret' show in Brooklyn last night, and although I wasnt able to make in time to see them (sad), there is one pretty good youtube video that came out of it. Its called "Vanderville Cry Baby," and although I'm not as big a fan of it as I was "Terrible Love," its still pretty awesome.

Also floating around the nets are these live version of "The Runaway" and "Blood Ohio Buzz." For awhile I wasn't sure that if this was really going to be on the album, but it turned up on the setlist last night so here we go. "The Runaway" is another slow song, but "Blood Ohio Buzz" is more like the anthemic successes of the past that we all know and love.

The National - MS|OS

The National - Runaway

The Nation - Blood Ohio Buzz

Goldfrapp

I was recently turned onto this delicious band that entirely slipped under my radar (thx mols:) ). Thank goodness this band is [hella] on my radar. Their new album, Head First, to be released via Mute Records on March 22nd, is the most accurate depiction of neo-80's electro feel-goodery I've heard in some time. The album reeks of hair spray, conjuring images of neon tracksuits and cigarettes. It sounds like Top Gun in an alternate universe future where the F-14's are covered in disco ball mirrors and Tom Cruise finally admits his bisexual tendencies. The album encapsulates the feel-good, fuck-all attitude that characterized the lost generation of the eighties. Breathy vocals smother pulsating synthpop lines on the more up-beat tracks bringing a sound that can only be described as moving. You can almost picture yourself driving through the Arizona desert in a cherry red convertible with a marloboro in your mouth and a pretty girl on your bench seat. It feels like energy, or youth; it feels like falling in love.

Other tracks will toss you into a foggy dream room; down-tempo beats walking you slowly down the street on a sunny day with a hazy head. Take this album on a walk on a nice day and don't take it too seriously. The music is powerful and the lyrics are catchy. This is, by far, the most fun I've had with an album this year, so far. Many thumbs up.

Goldfrapp (OS) | (MS) | (W) - Rocket | Alive



Buy on Lala!

Ryan Adams

Mr. Adams would like us to take him seriously as metalhead. Ryan Adams has always been one of my favorite alt country artists - Heartbreaker and Gold are two of my favorite records from the genre. Sadly, Adams went far, far downhill very, very quickly. He released 12 LPs and 5 EPs last decade alone - not counting his side-projects. You could say he's been 'busy' but the quality of his work has dropped significantly since his early years when his solo project was his sole project.

Here's another project. Orion - A self-described 'legit metal' record. Adams has fooled around in metal before; tinges of the genre can be heard in his early records especially. This is, apparently, quite different. And, if the track below has anything to say about that, I believe it. I don't really know if I'm qualified to deem anything 'legit metal' but this... well this is something. It falls more into the category of 80's hair metal than anything resembling metal in its current state, but that makes sense in the context of a kid growing up listening to precisely those kinds of bands. Consider it a back to roots attack from the hyperactive artist. Adams is 'pulling a Tarantino,' if you will. Enjoy.

Ryan Adams (OS) | (MS) | (W) - Electrosnake

Spillway

Local shows/bands are always hit or miss; most of these shows fall into the latter category. I've seen my fair share of local acts playing mediocre to fairly incompetent shows at a variety of locales (mostly Oly). I've also had my mind blown to pieces by a couple of these acts.

Last night, I'm happy to say, I had my mind ravaged by the sound of Spillway. The band, originally from Dallas, TX, has recently taken up post in Seattle with three of the original members and two locals. I sat through the [mediocre] openers and threw back a couple beers to take in the venue: Cafe Racer, a hipster bar (by all means) characterized by its 'home-like' feel: multiple rooms over a split level, inhabited by a wide range of cliques doing their own thing in each area. The 'stage' was just one of these rooms, but it felt 'garage like.' [It's certainly worth visiting]

I was expecting next to nothing and I received quite the opposite. It took all of ten seconds for me to fall in love with the band and they continued to impress throughout, driving my desire for more. Like a drug, enjoyment only brought more desire and it wasn't long until my subtle sway to the sound gave way to full-on dancing/head-banging action.

This is the best local act I've seen since Starfucker.

Their sound can only be characterized as a landscape: guitars climbing mountaintops; rolling bass and a thumping synth ripping canyons from rock; monstrous drumming pulling the song through swinging tempos; lo-fi vocals pulling a layer of fog to the ground, if only for their twangy peaks to emerge victorious on top. Seriously. I heard tints of bands like Built to Spill, Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Okkervil River... Self described as a rock/folk/punk group, Spillway merges a number of influences, obvious or not, into something cohesive that I can honestly call the most unique sound I've heard in a while. Each song has movement to it: varying velocities carry you to the top of a peak and toss you off, effortlessly, seamlessly, to a hole in the ground, pitch black and frightening. With few slip-ups, the band could be called impressive if only for the near-perfect execution of their ideas.

The recordings on the myspace page are a tad dated and I'd say that the sound has changed considerably since their Dallas days. I'm not sure if the lo-fi vocals was intended last night, but you won't hear it in these tracks. The band will be recording in the coming weeks and they've said they'll send me a track or two, so DO look forward to that. I'll be keeping close tabs on this band as they develop.

Also check out their official site and download their first album 'Any Old Place' (It's VERY good). They have their upcoming release listed as 'Stop Dreaming/The Northernmost Fisherman.'

Next show is April 4th at The Comet Tavern w/ Motopony. Who wants to come with?

Spillway (MS) | (OS) - Hair n Bone | UPDATE: *Rise and Rise and Fall* | Fader Parader

The National Debut New Song On Jimmy Fallon

I may still be on the fence about Jimmy Fallon's new show, but I'm a staunch supporter of anything The National does. They debuted the lead track from their upcoming album High Violet on Jimmy's show last night and it sounds like vintage National, with a slow, epic buildup packed with emotion the way only these Brooklyn indie rockers can do. Its called "Terrible Love," and its wonderful.

Album out May 11th!

The National - OS|MS

The National - Terrible Love (Live)

Charlotte Gainsbourg Tour!!!

Yeah, she's hot. And French. And an awesome singer. And she just announced the dates for her North America tour. And she'll be in Seattle on April 14th @ The Crocodile Cafe.

Yeah. Look at that picture one more time. Now be fucking stoked. Unless you're going to Portland on that same day to see The xx @ The Crystal Ballroom. Decisions, decisions...

Massive Attack w/Damon Albarn

In honor of the recently released albums Heligoland and Plastic Beach – by Massive Attack and Gorillaz, respectively – I post this video in honor of crossover performances. Enjoy:

I will shit a brick if this happens at Sasquatch.

Two Reasons Why I Can't Wait For Of Montreal's New Album

This: "Bananas Rice Applesauce Toast"

.....and this:

False Priest comes out at some point this year. Get your pig suits and smoke grenades ready, fuckers.

Neon Indian

YES! A new track from one of my favorite new bands of 2009. Sounds like their sound is maturing a bit, perhaps even moving away from the chillwave sound that drove their first LP. Give it a listen! I wish I could post the MP3, but fucking Pepsi would shut down the blog (that's happened before). So, enjoy this nice, refreshing taste of Neon Indian brought to you via FUCKING PEPSI! If you feel like wading through the ad-infested site, there is an MP3 you can download w/ no strings attached (minus the abhorrent agreement you have to make not to re-distribute it).

[I do not endorse drinking copious amounts of high fructose corn syrup... and I'm sure NI doesn't either. But thx pepsi!]

KAVINSKY MOTHERFUCKERS

Kavinsky. The man behind of some of my favorite French speed electro that ran parrellel to the bloghouse era of 2k8 is back a new EP entitled Nightcall. An EP which was mixed by SebastiAn, who turned Kavinsky's "Testarossa Autodrive" into the most testosterone fueled electro explosion of the whole era. An EP which was produced by motherfucking Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. With vocals from Lovefoxxx from CSS!

"Nightcall" itself is not exactly a return to that unabashed energy, but its a super slick track thats definately worth a listen.

However, the true highlight, at least, for myself, is "Pacific Coast Highway," which is a return to that energy, and is perhaps the closest thing to "Testarossa Autodrive" that there can be, as a reporter tracks an high speed chase. I have no idea why Kavisnky knows how to perfectly soundtrack an 80's influenced high speed pursuit, but he does, and it works.

You should probably check out "Testarossa Autodrive" if you missed it, because its one of the coolest things ever.

Kavinsky - MS

"Nightcall"

"Pacific Coast Highway"

Removed at request

YACHT Quicky, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the YACHT

Jon has a long love-hate relationship with YACHT. For the most part, that conflict arose from the severe impact the break-up of The Blow had on me. Jona Bechtolt went on to form YACHT, playing shows with some great opening acts for a couple of years (I saw them with Architecture in Helsinki and Vampire Weekend). Recently, Claire Evans joined the team and the duo produced See Mystery Lights, one of 2009's big surprises and certainly in my top ten for the year.

I decided to give the band another chance last two summers ago when a festival in Astoria was canceled and promptly rescheduled, very last minute for Portland. The first leg of the festival was on a sunny afternoon in West Portland, beyond the industrial district, on a cliff looking out to an expansive mountain range. The mood was oh-so-fitting for the local sound-bands that Jona was introducing. There was an incredible energy in the air, just pure love for music.

For the second leg, we all filled our flasks and headed down to an alley on the Eastside where the rest of the, much louder, bands played. I was there to see E-Rock and not so excited for YACHT but I stuck around because of the passion and willingness to contribute to the Portland community that Jona exhibited throughout the day. I figured, even if I don't like his music, this man is incredible.

And then he played some early versions of tracks from See Mystery Lights - it was whiplash.

The sun was entirely absent and the alley was dimly lit by the streetlights and a couple well-positioned shop lights. The music reverberated between the walls, creating something of a typhoon of sound. A man in a bar across the street began verbally harassing Jona before the crowd broke into a chant of "fuck off" sentiment while Jona and Claire brought us seemlessly into 'The Afterlife.'

Brilliant. Exquisite. This DFA Records oldie is certainly a goodie! I can't wait for the bands follow-up. Check out this mash-up I recently found: a mashup of 'I'm In Love With A Ripper' and Dominique Young Unique. Not everyone's bag of chips, I'm sure, but we all need a little delicious hip-hop mashers every once in a while. Yummy.

YACHT (OS)/(MS) v. Dominique Unique Young (MS) - I'm In Love With a Hot Girl

ALSO! The band recently announced something very big, which is described in thorough, weird detail in the following video. In brief, YACHT has added three new members to the team who will be known as The Straight Gaze. YACHT and The Straight Gaze will be touring with LCD Soundsystem in North America and Europe this year. Fuck yes.

YACHT & The Straight Gaze (PT. 1) from Jona Bechtolt on Vimeo.

Titus Andronicus - New Album!

Titus Andronicus is a great band. That much is obvious. The Airing of Grievances is an incredibly strong debut, with spiky punk rock made all the more meaningful with the shoegaze, lo-fi buzz that envelops it.

You know what else they are great at? Naming stuff. Being English majors all, they must be painfully conscious that their band's name is a reference to Shakespere first and most unbelievably violent revenge play - a Tarentinoesque romp through an ancient Roman world of murder, cannibalism, gang rape and incest. The first albums title is equally awesome, being the name of a coveted ceremony of Festivus, the Christmas celebration made popular by Seinfeld.

So what are they talking about in Monitor? It can be hard to tell, with inscrutable liner notes and the inablility to make out most of what the lead singer barks - but it turns out its the Civil War, as the Monitor was the first ironclad ship which was deployed during the civil war (you know those ugly tent looking things? yeah). Titus Andronicus decided to use their 2nd album to honor the upcoming anniversary of this great conflict, and have appropriately shifted their approach. The songs hear are longer, more epic, and tinged with an atmosphere that recalls the work of The Pouges or The Dropkick Murphy's.

I haven't had a chance to make it through the whole album yet, but what I've heard is solid and interesting. And this song, "A More Perfect Union," seems fairly emblematic of the character of the album as a whole. And its good!

Titus Andronicus - OS|MS

Titus Andronicus - "A More Perfect Union"

Minus the Bear

Y'all,

I'll come out and be the first to say that I'm not a big Minus the Bear fan. Seattle's darling band has released a few very averagely good records over the years and created a fan base that spans oceans. They are, to me, the remnants of Seattle's grunge - among other NW favorites like Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. They are the natural, direct evolution of that dead genre and, likewise, embody a sound that 'sounds NW.' Seattle's grunge movement captured the contrast between the raw energy of a newly bustling city, surrounded on all sides by some of the best nature has to offer in this country, with the general feeling of what it's like to live here. As Seattle died in the late 90's, so did grunge. From the ashes emerged a new kind of post-rock that embodies [imo] the mundanity, general dreariness, and out-of-touch feeling that graces our land for a majority of the year (it rains here a lot, btw!). Minus the Bear, as well as the other bands mentioned, have built mountains of sound: tall, twisty, complex, guitar-driven masterpieces.

So what is Minus the Bear up to on their upcoming LP release Omni (May 4; Dangerbird Records)? New record label + new toy = new sound. The album, named after the Omnichord synthesizer, will not be that complex guitar mountain masterpiece fans are expecting. And I expect that the scene will take notice. "My Time" is the synth-driven lead single from their upcoming release. The track marries the MTB vocals and general MTB caveats with a retro-future synth sound that could make Michael Angelakos' head turn. It's everything you would expect from MTB, except not. I'm wondering how hard it will be on the fans to swallow the new sound. I've listened to plenty of MTB in my time - Planet of Ice is one of my favs in my record collection - but I've never been able to get over the severe bland taste that develops in my mouth after back-to-back replays. It's like drinking soda; the first can is just as quenching as you'd expect it to be, but the second just tastes like corn syrup. MTB builds albums - not iPod filler; they're like books - you don't reread them back to back and you don't skip through to your favorite parts.

If MTB can build an album off of this sound, it has the potential to bring forth something new in Seattle's music scene. Not that the ideas presented in this song are anything special, just different. A new decade; a new sound. Let's just see what happens. Please, listen for yourself (you've been warned).

Minus the Bear (Wiki) | (OS) | (MS) - My Time (mp3 via Box)



UPDATE: Just listened to a couple new tracks off the forthcoming release. Can't wait to see how they bring it all together!!

New Amon Tobin Album!

Ho. Ly. SHIT.

So I discovered two things today that I should have known sooner. The first is that Splinter Cell: Conviction is coming out next month, which I thought would never happen and which I had stopped thinking about. This might seem musically irrelevant, but here's how my brain operates:

1. Man, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was awesome.

2. What was even more awesome about Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was the fact that somehow they got fucking Amon Tobin to do the entire soundtrack.

3. I love, LOVE that soundtrack. It might be the best shit he's ever dropped. I'm really glad he's contributing to the new Splinter Cell game!

4. Hey, I wonder what my favorite Brazilian musician is up to anyway? After all, Foley Room came out in like, 2007, right? That's 3 years! Maybe he's touring! Or maybe I should go check out his website and HOLYFUCKINGSHITHE'SINTHE

5. STUDIORIGHTNOWWORKINGONANEWALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6. Is there.......a new track.......per chance.....?

7. FUCK YES THERE'S A NEW TRACK!!!

The album isn't named yet, but the track is called Hey Mr. Tree. Enjoy having Amon Tobin unleash 500 different drum effects upon your brain-hole at once (enjoy the visualizer too). Fuck, I cannot wait for this album:

Amon Tobin - Hey Mr. Tree

Amon Tobin - MS|OS

Some other older fav Amon Tobin tracks that people might dig:

Amon Tobin - Bloodstone

Amon Tobin - Four Ton Mantis (YT)

Late Entry: Lindstrøm & Christabelle

Just have to shoot out a quick mention for this INCREDIBLE album that's taken me far too long to listen to. This is, easily, my second favorite LP of the year of the year so far. Complete and concise in its ideas, it presents itself with the utmost energy. I can only really describe it as banger disco making love to MJ. The entire album is butter. Do yourself a favor and spend an hour with this record. HOLY SHIT.

PS: Keegan, post some Lindstrøm baby.

Lindstrøm & Christabelle (MS) - Lovesick

Buy @ Amazon

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

I've had the chance to spend some quality time with the new Gorillaz album and I'm happy to say that I consider it a wide success. Sonically, each of the Gorillaz albums has been very distinct. Plastic Beach is no different. The myriad of performers on this album each contribute a unique sound, but underlying everything is a dream-like, twangy, afro-poppy sound. This album, honestly, swings. On a first run through, I was turned off by the, seemingly, less powerful sound. On multiple relistens, I can safely say that some tracks on this album will swing you softly around the dance floor while viciously beating the life out of your face (via ears). Not all of the tracks here are as solid as others, and Plastic Beach does come off a bit more like a B-Side album this time around (even for Gorillaz), but it's welllll worth a listen. It sounds like Albarn and Hewlett cherry-picked artists that would understand their idea and let each of the artists take the song and the concept of Plastic Beach and do whatever they wanted with it. What you end up with is an incredibly diverse record in which we can bob to Snoop, chill to Lou Reed, and straight up bounce to Gruff.

The lead single on this album, in my opinion, is Rhinestone Eyes. No guest starts here. As far as I know this is just Albarn and Hewlett.

Wanna get the shit beaten out of you? Turn it up to 11.

Gorillaz (OS)| (MS)Rhinestone Eyes (mp3)

Listen/Buy @ LaLa and if they EVER tour again, make god damn sure you don't miss it.

Do Yourself A Favor And Get Into The Antlers

Sorry for the blog-clogging on my part, but this suddenly dawned on me when it randomly came back up on my iTunes: I forgot how much I love The Antlers, and how not nearly enough people know about them. I could go into detail about them, but I think watching a video of them playing two of my favorite songs of theirs in the back of a Parisian cafe will probably tell you more:

The Antlers - Two / Epilogue - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

The Antlers - MS

@ Neumos on May 5th w/Phantogram!!!!!!!!

Four Tet Remixes Caribou

Keegan likes Four Tet. I like Caribou. Four Tet makes baller remixes. Enjoy:

Tim's Track Of The Day: "Kid Klimax" by Atlas Sound

I'm going to start putting up a short post every day with a link to or video of a track from an artist I have recently discovered, or who people might have overlooked. To keep it brief, I just discovered Atlas Sound. Which also means I discovered Deerhunter. Which all basically means I just discovered Bradford Cox. His ambient stream-of-consciousness style endlessly juxtaposes the staggeringly beautiful against the disturbed and fucked-up-ugly in a way that Animal Collective only wishes it could (although this album does feature an appearance by Panda Bear that I can actually stand). Anyway, this a really beautiful song, and I hope you enjoy it!

Cheetah luvs!!!

Atlas Sound - MS

Deerhunter - MS

Wilco Sandwiches, Anyone?

Wilco never looked so tasty.

Review: Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Frightened Rabbit released their newest album on March 1st, and the cheetah was lucky enough to score a cop (thank god for imports, yeah?). And its good. Its very good.

One of the hardest things about their last album, for all of its brilliance, was that the entirety of the album depended on the repeat of the same structure. A good structure at that, and an interesting way to make the album as hard hitting as it ultimately was, but the adherence to this theme was undercut by the unbelievable quality of the first song "The Modern Leper." It made the album hard to access when they perfected the format on that first shot. And while songs like "The Twist" took cues from LCD Soundsystem, among others, to experiment and make the album one of the finest of 2008, and the decade as a whole, the album never entirely clicked as a whole.

So what to think about this new effort? How can it stack up against an album whose biggest flaw was that one of its songs was too good? The answer is - reverse the format. Explore different themes. For as similar as something like Frightened Rabbit will always sound to American ears, it couldn't be anymore different. Like opposing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the the only thing that makes them so different is how similar they are.

This album is, in certain places, simply bigger. Almost like a Snow Patrol or a Coldplay, and I mean that in the kindest sense, this album sounds like Frightened Rabbit shooting for the edges of a stadium, writing songs that use their essential intimateness to skyrocket their album to the most essential and meaningful of places. Songs like "The Loneliness and the Scream" and "Skip the Youth" perhaps emphasize this the most, with choruses whose chants reach almost anthemic levels.

None of which is to say that that Frightened Rabbit has traded any of their defining intelligence or speed of emotion to create The Winter of Mixed Drinks. Whereas the last album took a microscope to one man's crises of emotion and loss, an examination of the self-loathing and pain of that situation, here we see Scott Hutchinsen look at ideas such as escape, freedom and rejuvenation. This is an album where we see our hero learn to accept to move on, acutely aware of what he felt but with a new direction to send his attention. The lead singles most acutely bring this to the listener's attention, "Swim Until You Cant See Land" sounding like the protagonist doing exactly what the title describes, before finally finding the realization he needs to move his psyche forward. "Nothing Like You," which is as close to "The Modern Leper" as the album comes, as potentially depressing as the title sounds, contains lyrics as simple and as poignant as "She was not the cure for cancer."

So here we are. An album with a wider range, one that flows smoother than their last effort. But one which never quite reaches the emotional rawness of The Midnight Organ Fight. I cant say that this album is as good as their last effort, but I can definitely say that I like it as much.

((cheetah loves))

Frightened Rabbit - MS|OS

Frightened Rabbit - No One Like You

New Gorillaz!!!

Shiiii. The new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, is streaming in its entirety at NPR. Snoop Dogg is definitely on the opening track. Get that shit all up in yo animated grill:

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

I ruv Owen Pallett

Formerly known as Final Fantasy, Owen Pallett, who is perhaps best known as the man behind the string arrangements used by Arcade Fire, recently released his first solo album under his real name: Heartland. It's fun, playful, slightly cheeky, cinematic, and extraordinarily diverse. And he's @ The Crocodile on May 8th! Here's the video he just released for the song "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt." Enjoy!

Owen Pallett - MS

Nada Surf New Song

Im tired. This song is pretty good and I like Nada Surf. Hooray!

luv

Nada Surf MS|OS

Nada Surf - Electrocution (Bill Fox)