It ain't over 'till the ref whistles for full time, as you know very well if you're gripped by World Cup fever, but having reached the half-time of 2014, this is a good time to catch our breath and have another listen to these 40 albums that, in our opinion, have stood out in the music game so far.
Who's going to be the most valuable player of the year? Could it be one of our current Top 40 picks, or is it possible that the best is yet to come? We'll find out in December, meanwhile, here are the first ten albums in our 2014 half-time list, presented in alphabetical order:
Our first list of favorite albums for 2014 just before the end of February shows that the New Year has had quite a good start with at least four excellent LPs that I’m sure are going to be included in many "Best of the Year" lists 10 months from now.
Warpaint’s self-titled sophomore work was everything we were expecting from this band and more. The four girls took their time in making this album (it’s been more than two years since their debut, "The Fool") and experimented with their sound, writing the songs all together for the first time and letting in new influences.
This new approach has worked wonderfully well and with the help of producers Flood and Nigel Godrich, Warpaint have created an album that takes them to the next level. The impeccable rhythm section provides the grooves that will lure you in their world, the ghostly guitar lines and ethereal vocal melodies will make sure that you’ll never want to leave - a simply enchanting experience from start to finish!
Newcomers Temples, from Kettering, UK, have submerged themselves in '60s psychedelia and with "Sun Structures" have given us a great debut, filled with melodic psych-pop that may not reinvent the genre but offers many memorable songs that will brighten your day. A very promising start, indeed!
Dee Dee Penny, meanwhile, the leader of Dum Dum Girls, has done it again. "Too True", her band’s third record, is another excellent work that brings to the foreground '80s gothic rock and '90s indie pop influences. The roots of the Dum Dum Girls sound remain in '60s and '70s garage and punk, but these new elements along with the hi-fi production values bring out a bigger and brighter sound that testify to Dee Dee’s intention to keep evolving as a songwriter.
Mark Kozelek’s status as a great singer-songwriter is well established through his numerous albums with Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon and his solo work.
His latest release, "Benji", the sixth Sun Kil Moon LP which features contributions by Steve Shelley, Jen Wood, Will Oldham, and Owen Ashworth, is undoubtedly one of the best in his 25 years in the game, a record that captivates with the narrative strength of its confessional stories and the simple yet powerful acoustic arrangements. Even if you’ve never heard any of Kozelek’s previous records, make sure you lend an ear to "Benji" and start by listening either "Ben's My Friend" or "Richard Ramirez Died Today of Natural Causes", two of its many highlights.
Top 15 Albums
1. Warpaint - WARPAINT
2. Sun Structures - TEMPLES
3. Too True - DUM DUM GIRLS
4. Benji - SUN KIL MOON
5. Wig Out At Jagbags - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
6. Trouble - HOSPITALITY
7. Cheatahs - CHEATAHS
8. Cursing The Sea - SEPTEMBER GIRLS
9. Weird Sister - JOANNA GRUESOME
10. Matangi - M.I.A.
11. Cupid Deluxe - BLOOD ORANGE
12. Real Hair EP - SPEEDY ORTIZ
13. Tally All The Things That You Broke EP - PARQUET COURTS
14. The Remainderer EP - THE FALL
15. Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 13 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
Top 15 Tracks
1. Love Is To Die - WARPAINT
2. Rimbaud Eyes - DUM DUM GIRLS
3. Birth In Reverse - ST. VINCENT
4. Ben's My Friend - SUN KIL MOON
5. I Miss Your Bones - HOSPITALITY
6. Shelter Song - TEMPLES
7. Get Tight - CHEATAHS
8. Lariat - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
9. American Horror - SPEEDY ORTIZ
10. Sugarcrush - JOANNA GRUESOME
11. He’s Seeing Paths - PARQUET COURTS
12. Sexodus ft. The Weeknd - M.I.A.
13. You’re Not Good Enough - BLOOD ORANGE
14. Heartbeats - SEPTEMBER GIRLS
15. Will You Be My Mom? - CHILDBIRTH (mp3 via KEXP blog)
To start off 2014 on the right foot, here's a Top 5 of highly anticipated new releases coming to a store near you in the next few weeks:
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
St. Vincent - Digital Witness
"Digital Witness" is the second track to surface online from St. Vincent's self-titled fourth album, out February 24th. Sounds awesome, as did "Birth In Reverse", the first track we've listened from the new album back in December, available as a free download by signing up on the mailing list here.
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Wig Out At Jagbags
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Lariat
"Wig Out at Jagbags", the sixth Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks album, is already out. The title of the first cool release of the year is inspired by Dag Nasty's LP "Wig Out at Denko's" (according to this interview).
Warpaint - Warpaint
Warpaint - Biggy / Love Is To Die
It's now more than three years since the release of Warpaint's excellent debut album "The Fool", but on January 20 the wait for its highly anticipated follow up is finally over. Get psyched up with "Biggy" and "Love is To Die", the first two tracks to become available for streaming.
Dum Dum Girls - Too True
Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys and Girls Club
We are already psyched up for Dum Dum Girls third album (out at the end of January) after seeing the girls presenting live several of the new tracks at their Athens gig last month (more about that here). Our new favorite? "Rimbaud Eyes", but I'm sure there will plenty more to love. In the meantime, let's take another look at the slick looking video for "Lost Boys and Girls Club"
Speedy Ortiz - Real Hair EP
Speedy Ortiz - American Horror
Speedy Ortiz was one of the best new bands we've come across in 2013, with their album "Major Arcana" landing at #21 of our year-end Top 30 list and in the Top 5 of our debuts of the year. The band is returning in February with the new EP "Real Hair" and the excellent "American Horror" is one of its highlights.
It was about time… After three years of chasing the Dum Dum Girls around the Mediterranean (check out here our impressions from our first encounter at Barcelona’s Primavera Festival in 2010 and here our 2012 review from their appearance at Lisbon’s Optimus Alive) the band finally paid a visit to our part of the world for the live presentation of their forthcoming third album "Too True", out at the end of January 2014.
2013 was an unusually quiet year for Dee Dee and her band but judging from the new songs that we had the opportunity to listen live on Sunday, it’s obvious that it was time well spent. The sound of the Dum Dum Girls is evolving, taking inspiration from dark '80s pop while slower, sensual psychedelic rhythms fight for domination with the garage rock drive of the early days.
The mix of new and old material worked very well on stage and despite some technical issues with the sound (there were three guitar players on stage, but at times the guitar sound was too low in the mix) and a couple of false starts, the band easily won over the audience with its energy and pop hooks.
From the old favorites that remain in Dum Dum Girls’s set list I particularly enjoyed "I Will Be", "It Only Takes One Night" and "He Gets Me High" while I certainly missed "Jail La La", our 2010 Single of the Year. From the "Too True" songs, "Rimbaud Eyes" is the obvious new killer hit, while "In The Wake Of You" and new single "Lost Boys & Girls Club" also stood out.
For the finale, they played once again their excellent cover of the Pale Saints’ "Sight of You" (check it out here from their Lisbon set), a song we’re certainly hoping they’re going to put down on record soon, and "Lord Knows" as the encore. In conclusion, a great gig to see out 2013 from a band that we cannot get enough of… already looking forward to our next encounter, somewhere in the world!
Dum Dum Girls played: Bedroom Eyes, I Got Nothing, In The Wake Of You, He Gets Me High, Are You Okay?, Under These Hands, I Will Be, It Only Takes One Night, Rest Of Our Lives, Rimbaud Eyes, Season In Hell, Lost Boys & Girls Club, Sight of You (Pale Saints cover). Encore: Lord Knows
Here's their new single "Lost Boys & Girls Club" from their Athens live debut at An Club:
Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys And Girls Club (live @ An Club, Dec. 15, 2013)
Exactly five years ago Cool Music Central made its debut on Blogger.com with this post. Although C.M.C.’s online presence in one form or another goes all the way back to 1999 (click here for a glimpse of the past - our February 2003 homepage!), I think a little celebration is in order for the occasion.
And what better way to celebrate our blog’s birthday than with the music of the artists that have been featured the most in the 372 posts that we’ve managed since March 6, 2008. At the bottom of the page you can see a cloud of all the labels we have used for our posts. Based on these indisputable facts that reveal our musical infatuations of the past five years, we present you a special playlist with killer tracks from the 12 most blogged about artists and bands in our five year presence on Blogger:
CMC's Cloud Playlist: The first 5 years
1. The Fall (17 posts)
My all-time favorite band, still going strong after 37 years. Album number 30, titled "Re-Mit", will be out in April - expect the post-count to rise even further. By the way, happy birthday to renegade genius Mark E Smith who turned 56 yesterday. Here's "Bury" (the parts 2+4 version) off "Your Future Our Clutter", our 2010 Album of the Year:
The Fall - Bury pts 2+4
2. Dum Dum Girls (16 posts)
If Dum Dum Girls didn't exist, I'd have to invent them myself! The sound, the style, the melodies, the vocals - all the elements of my ideal noise pop group present and correct. "Jail La La" off their debut album "I Will Be" was our 2010 Single of the Year:
Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La
3. PJ Harvey (14 posts)
"Let England Shake" was the only PJ Harvey album to be released in the past 5 years (not counting the '09 collaboration with John Parish), but not only did it become our Album of the Year for 2011, it also gave us the top single of that year, "The Words That Maketh Murder". Of course, PJ Harvey was also on the top of several other lists we have published here, including Best Album of the '00s for "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea". As you can understand, this is not a passing fling, this is love...
PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
4. Nick Cave (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds & Grinderman - 6 & 5 posts)
Another long-term relationship of ours going all the way back to the pre-internet era. In the past 5 years we have covered gigs from both Nick Cave outfits and declared the previous Bad Seeds record "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" as our 2008 Album of the Year. With the recent release of the fine "Push the Sky Away" LP, the number of Nick Cave-related posts has already started to go up.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
5. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (10 posts)
OK, this is more of a fling than the band that I would take home and introduce to the parents. 2011’s "Belong" was a fine record but the main reason for being included in this esteemed company was our infatuation with their near-perfect self-titled debut album from 2009 that took the C-86 indie pop sound and updated it for a new generation.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
6. Sonic Youth (9 posts)
I cannot tell if Sonic Youth’s hiatus is permanent or not, but without a doubt this band’s influence on the guitar rock sound will remain eternal. Here’s "Sacred Trickster" off their last studio album, 2009’s "The Eternal":
Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster
7. A Place To Bury Strangers (8 posts)
One of Sonic Youth’s most talented disciples, true believers of the "plug in and destroy" noise tactics. "To Fix The Gash in Your Head" off their self-titled debut album was the single with which they made their C.M.C. debut.
A Place To Bury Strangers - To Fix The Gash in Your Head
8. Telepathe (8 posts)
Our favorite new band of 2009 that earned Album of the Year with their excellent (and, may I say, criminally underrated in other esteemed publications) debut "Dance Mother". A new, long overdue album is expected this year.
Telepathe - So Fine
9. Anna Calvi (7 posts)
She is one of the most promising new artists to emerge from the UK in recent years and her eponymous debut album was at the top of our 2011 Best Debuts lists.
Anna Calvi - Blackout
10. Mark Lanegan (7 posts)
The magnificent voice of grunge-days favorites Screaming Trees, has been ever-present in recent years thanks to his numerous collaborations. "The Gravedigger's Song", one of our top-rated singles of 2012, is off "Blues Funeral", the record with which Lanegan made his triumphant solo return.
Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song
11. Cat Power (7 posts)
2012 was the year of the Cat with both Album and Single of the Year going to Chan Marshall. Here's the latter:
Cat Power - Ruin
12. Metric (7 posts)
And finally, with another seven posts dedicated to them, we have Metric who scored Single of the Year in 2009 with "Help I'm Alive" off their awesome fourth album "Fantasies":
The most interesting albums, singles and EPs of the very busy September release schedule:
Albums
Sun
CAT POWER - Sun DINOSAUR JR. - I Bet On Sky BOB MOULD - Silver Age THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - Meat And Bone THE CORIN TUCKER BAND - Kill My Blues THEE OH SEES - Putrifiers II ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Centipede Hz GRIZZLY BEAR - Shields THE XX - Coexist TOY - Toy THE SOFT PACK - Strapped DEERHOOF - Breakup Song STARS - The North THE FRESH & ONLYS - Long Slow Dance WOODS - Bend Beyond CALEXICO - Algiers MENOMENA - Moms THE HELLO SEQUENCE - Negotiations CULT OF YOUTH - Love Will Prevail LIGHTNING BOLT - Oblivion Hunter DIVORCE - Divorce THE PHEROMOANS - Does This Guy Stack Up? THE RAVEONETTES - Observator MELODY'S ECHO CHAMBER - Melody's Echo Chamber MARIA MINERVA - Will Happiness Find Me? THE GASLAMP KILLER - Breakthrough HOLY OTHER - Held HOW TO DRESS WELL - Total Loss THE SEA AND CAKE - Runner DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT - Love This Giant BAND OF HORSES - Mirage Rock ALBERTA CROSS - Songs Of Patience THE VACCINES - Come Of Age THE KILLERS - Battle Born JENS LEKMAN - I Know What Love Isn't MINUS THE BEAR - Infinity Overhead SIC ALPS - 12 BRUXA - Victimeyez SILLYBOY - Nature Of Things THE FOREIGN RESORT - Scattered & Buried
Sights and sounds from the sixth edition of Optimus Alive '12, the music and arts festival which took place at Lisbon, Portugal between July 13th and 15th. In the first part of our coverage we bring you photos and videos from our favorite performances of the first two days of the event. The third day, which had the strongest line up of the weekend and Radiohead as the headliners, will be the subject of our next post.
Let's start with Friday the 13th; unlucky for some, but pretty cool for me as I got to see live for the second time one of my favorite new bands, the delightful Dum Dum Girls (do you remember the first time? - if not, check out here our Primavera Sound '10 story).
Dum Dum Girls (July 13th)
The Dum Dum Girls are growing up so fast! In the two years since their debut album, the awesome "I Will Be" which is already considered a classic in C.M.C.'s book, the band hasn't stopped touring and producing mind-blowing rock'n'roll. "He Gets Me High", from the same-titled 2011 EP, was the energetic start of their enthusiastically received early afternoon set at Palco Heineken, the festival's second stage, and what followed, was a well-balanced selection from their two full LPs, one track from their early days ("Catholicked") plus a taste from things to come ("I Got Nothing" from the upcoming "End of Daze" EP and "Lavender Haze").
Their performance reached its climax with a great cover of Pale Saints' late '80s obscure classic "Sight Of You" (originally from the 1989, 4AD EP "Barging into the Presence of God"). The 50-minute set included the following: He Gets Me High, Catholicked, I Will Be, Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout, Heartbeat (Take it Away), Rest Of Our Lives, Always Looking, Bedroom Eyes, Jail La La, Hold Your Hand, Wasted Away, I Got Nothing, Lavender Haze, Sight of You.
Other, not necessarily music-related, highlights from the Dum Dum Girls set: Dee Dee's platinum blonde hair, the incredibly cool bass-playing style of new recruit Malia (she's also a photographer and filmmaker, having directed videos, among others, for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and D.D.G.'s "Coming Down" - see also here) and the Dum Dum Girls flag that found its way onto the stage. Later on, all four Dum Dum Girls were spotted right at the front of the festival's big stage, enjoying The Stone Roses' set, while Malia was also there for Refused - great musicians and great music fans as well!
Zola Jesus (July 13th)
My second favorite performance of the day, however, was not that of the recently reformed Roses (as I've explained before, nostalgia is not my thing), but Nika Roza Danilova's late night set at Palco Heineken.
Nika, aka Zola Jesus, came onstage just before 2:00 am dressed in shades of white and sporting a feathery hoody, saying she was happy it wasn't Friday the 13th anymore. Accompanied by a three-piece band (keyboards, violin and drums) she presented a surprisingly high-energy set, involving a lot of dancing and even a daredevil climb up the stage - not at all what you'd expect from the new Goth Queen! The ace, but not as well attended as it should have been, 45-minute set relied on recent album, "Conatus", without neglecting older material. Set highlights included "Sea Talk", "Shivers", "Night" and the closing "Vessel" which you can watch at our playlist below.
The Stone Roses (July 13th)
The first and last time I've watched The Stone Roses live was a little before their break-up, at their best-forgotten 1996 Reading Festival appearance, which featured half the original line-up. If I'd had the chance to see them in their glory days, I would probably have stayed at the second stage for Santigold's performance, but since this was my first and probably only opportunity to see the real Roses in action, I made it to the front-right side of the OptimusStage (close to the Dum Dum Girls posse as luck would have it - I wasn't stalking, honestly!) for their triumphant return.
Their warmly received hour-and-a-half set included everything that a Roses fan would like to remember from the Madchester heroes heyday, with the best ones coming of course from their stellar debut ("Made of Stone", "She Bangs the Drums" and obvious set-closer "I Am the Resurrection" were my favorites of the night) plus some of their earlier and later highlights with "Sally Cinnamon", "Love Spreads" and the sprawling "Fool's Gold" standing out. Without a doubt, a very enjoyable trip down memory lane; here's the complete set list: I Wanna Be Adored, Mersey Paradise, (Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister, Sally Cinnamon, Ten Storey Love Song, Where Angels Play, Shoot You Down, Fools Gold, Something's Burning, Waterfall, Don't Stop, Love Spreads, Made Of Stone, This Is the One, She Bangs The Drums, I Am The Resurrection.
The best of the rest: Refused (July 13th), The Antlers, Here We Go Magic, Big Deal (July 14th)
Refused, live @ Optimus Alive '12 (July 13)
From the rest of the first day performances, reformed Swedish hardcore punks Refused stood out with a roaring set at the big stage, which brought their highly respected and influential '90s material to a new audience, too young to catch them the first time around. Although I did enjoy their set, I have to admit that I'm a bigger fan of charismatic front-man's, Dennis Lyxzén, next band, The (International) Noise Conspiracy. How about getting that gang back together as well?
The Antlers, live @ Optimus Alive '12 (July 14)
The second day of the festival had The Cure as the headliners who we have seen in better days, so we decided to get some rest and prepare for the much fuller third day. What we did see and enjoy however on July 14th, was the moving, emotional rock of The Antlers, the psychedelic, melodic pop of Here We Go Magic (both from Brooklyn, NY) and the romantic, hushed guitar tones of boy-girl London duo Big Deal.
Here We Go Magic, live @ Optimus Alive '12 (July 14)
Big Deal, live @ Optimus Alive '12 (July 14)
Coming up in part two of our Optimus Alive '12 report: Radiohead, Caribou, The Kills, Mazzy Star and Warpaint (not necessarily in that order).
Meanwhile, watch below a playlist featuring "Sight Of You" by Dum Dum Girls, "Vessel" by Zola Jesus and "Waterfall" by The Stone Roses:
Optimus Alive '12 playlist featuring Dum Dum Girls, Zola Jesus and The Stone Roses
I've said it before and I'll say it again: in 2011 the girls have all the best tunes. Case in point, the list with our favorite albums for the first half of autumn, where the female voice is ever present, with seven records in our Top 10 coming either from women or woman-fronted groups.
Our two top records for the current period (and a sure thing for the year-end Top 10 list) come from all-girl bands: the indie-rock powerhouse (a more fitting word, I think, to describe them than the tired “supergroup” tag) of Wild Flag and the awesome Dum Dum Girls, the ultimate embodiment, in my opinion, of the new girl-group guitar sound.
The idea of a group combining key members of Sleater-Kinney and Helium sounded great from the beginning. Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony had already given us a brief glimpse of what they could achieve together several years ago with their one-off single as The Spells. Now, with the added firepower of Janet Weiss’ fiery drumming and Rebecca Cole’s energetic presence behind the keyboards, the storming guitar melodies created by Brownstein and Timony and the superb combination of their voices never sounded this good. The chemistry that creates Wild Flag’s pure rock sound is truly a thing of great beauty. The end result is just what the doctor ordered: an astonishing record, brimming with passionate punk-rock energy, dizzying guitars, wild rhythms and melodies that stick to your brain for weeks.
The combination of bittersweet '60s girl-group melodies and rocking garage-punk guitars with a few twists of '80s lo-fi shoegaze buzz has become ever-present in today’s indie rock scene. The list is already quite impressive and growing, from Vivian Girls, to Best Coast to the just out-of-the-gate Veronica Falls, but, at least for my money, nobody has done a better record than the Dum Dum Girls’ astonishing debut “I Will Be”. At least not until now, that Dee Dee and her Dum Dum Girls return with their sophomore album, the exquisite “Only In Dreams”.
The blueprint of the sound remains the same, but the year and a half spent on the road since their debut came out in spring 2010 helped the band to grow stronger and more confident as musicians, while the production by Richard Gottehrer and Sune Rose Wagner has given them an even fuller, more flesh-out sound, a long way from Dee Dee’s first bedroom recordings. Although the subject matter behind most of Dee Dee’s new songs is dark and painful, the record never succumbs to misery, with Dee Dee’s majestic vocals, the band’s soaring guitar melodies and the driving rhythm section giving the songs an optimistic, uplifting feel (with “Wasted Away” being one of the best examples). A great work that solidifies the Dum Dum Girls' position as the leaders of the girl-group pack.
The other amazing women in our music life this fall include Eleanor Friedberger, the voice of The Fiery Furnaces, in her first solo venture, the captivating “Last Summer”, Annie Clark and her third record as St. Vincent, the rightly highly acclaimed “Strange Mercy”, Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, with “Conatus”, her best album to date, Jonnine Standish, the hypnotic voice behind HTRK’s slow-motion haunting-dream sound that you can find in “Work (Work Work)” and Liela Moss, the stunning front-woman of The Duke Spirit who are back with their third record, the fittingly titled “Bruiser”. Our fall Top 10 is completed with the new albums by Stephen Malkmus (also a keen admirer of women’s musical talents as the Jicks line-up included both Joanna Bolme and Janet Weiss, before moving on to Wild Flag), Handsome Furs (where, now ex-Wolf Parade, Dan Boeckner joins forces for the third time with his other half, Alexei Perry) and The Rapture, the only all-dude band here. Girl-power indeed!
Here are Cool Music Central’s Top 20 Albums and Tracks for the first half of autumn 2011:
Top 20 Albums
1. Wild Flag - WILD FLAG
2. Only In Dreams - DUM DUM GIRLS
3. Last Summer - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
4. Strange Mercy - ST. VINCENT
5. Mirror Traffic - STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS
6. Work (Work Work) - HTRK
7. Conatus - ZOLA JESUS
8. Sound Kapital - HANDSOME FURS
9. In the Grace of Your Love - THE RAPTURE
10. Bruiser - THE DUKE SPIRIT
11. Skying - THE HORRORS
12. Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped - MOONFACE
13. I Am Very Far - OKKERVIL RIVER
14. Dye It Blonde - SMITH WESTERNS
15. Black Up - SHABAZZ PALACES
16. Leisure Seizure - TOM VEK
17. Colour Trip - RINGO DEATHSTARR
18. E.S.P. - LOVE INKS
19. Badlands - DIRTY BEACHES
20. The Church Of Synth - THE CHURCH OF SYNTH
Now that we're all back to business, it's time to catch up with all the latest interesting album and single releases of the last couple of months, just to make sure that nothing important slipped under the radar while we were all too busy with our summer plans:
Albums
STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS - Mirror Traffic THE HORRORS - Skying ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER - Last Summer BEIRUT - The Rip Tide MOONFACE - Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped WOODEN SHJIPS - West MALE BONDING - Endless Now SHE KEEPS BEES - Dig On THE COOL KIDS - When Fish Ride Bicycles WASHED OUT - Within And Without CSS - La Liberacion CRYSTAL ANTLERS - Two Way Mirror SCREAMING TREES - Last Words: The Final Recordings CEREBRAL BALLZY - Cerebral Ballzy WIDOWSPEAK - Widowspeak BALAM ACAB - Wander / Wonder SOFT METALS - Soft Metals MARIA MINERVA - Cabaret Cixous THE WAR ON DRUGS - Slave Ambient UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - Unknown Mortal Orchestra I BREAK HORSES - Hearts LITTLE DRAGON - Ritual Union KANYE WEST & JAY-Z - Watch the Throne LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter IV WU-TANG - Legendary Weapons ZOMBY - Dedication DIMBLEBY & CAPPER - Choose Your Head MIRACLE FORTRESS - Was I The Wave? RICHARD BUCKNER - Our Blood WOLF GANG - Suego Faults GOLD-BEARS - Are You Falling in Love? BRILLIANT COLORS - Again and Again ARMY NAVY - The Last Place BROWN RECLUSE - Evening Tapestry THE MEN - Leave Home ARAABMUZIK - Electronic Dream RAZIKA - Project 91 PURE X - Pleasure CUT OFF YOUR HANDS - Hollow MEDDICINE / ASSS - Split PICTUREPLANE - Thee Physical SLEEPER AGENT - Celabrasion HARD-FI - Killer Sounds AZARI AND III - Azari and III
And as a fall preview, here's the track that made my week: listen and download below "Bedroom Eyes", the first proper single off "Only In Dreams", Dum Dum Girls' sophomore album. The track, according to Dee Dee, is "a special sort of confusion and frustration brought on by lack of sleep". Enjoy:
In the second installment of Found Sound we have an interesting mix of buzzing guitars, weird electronics, oddball humor and peculiar, yet catchy time signatures. Not to mention a very fresh bonus track (made its debut today at P4K) by our favorite girl group. Let's dive right in:
Hold Kiss Kill's debut single "Our Last Waltz" was an instant favorite of this blog back in February and it also made it in our Top 40 Tracks of the Year so far. "Death Pleasures" along with "Neon Girls" comprise the band's recently released second 7 inch / digital download and continues exactly where that killer first single left off. Expect even louder My Bloody Valentine-type guitars with dreamy vocal melodies trying to rise to the surface only to be drowned in the beautiful chaos.
Just as I thought that everything was getting suspiciously quiet on the Witch House front, here comes a split album by two of the most impressive acts on last year's excellent "Isvolt" compilation: Fostercare a.k.a. Brooklynite Marc Jason, and the mysterious †‡† (or Ritualz for those who cannot read hieroglyphics) from Mexico. "†‡† vs. Fostercare" is out at the beginning of September on Robot Elephant Records, meanwhile here's a first taste from the LP with Fostercare's spooky electro track "Low" and Ritualz's techno-industrial instrumental "III", a track that seems to have escaped from the soundtrack of "Blade Runner".
Scumbag Philosopher - God Is Dead So I Listen To Radiohead
Somehow I get the feeling that the members of Scumbag Philosopher are not huge Radiohead fans but they do have a taste for The Fall who they recently supported on a UK tour. The hilarious single "God Is Dead So I Listen To Radiohead" comes from the witty LP "It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing" which will be appreciated by fans of post-punk speak-singing who were disappointed by Eddie Argos's recent turn to plain simple singing on the latest Art Brut offering. Also recommended to those who remember fondly the mid-'90s Prolapse records or the late '80s period of I, Ludicrous.
"Three Way Answers" is the opening track of Love Of Everything's forthcoming 4-track single "Sooner I Wish". The band is the solo project of Joan of Arc bassist Bobby Burg whose recent divorce was the source of inspiration for the bittersweet yet very catchy guitar melodies that you're going to hear in his latest release.
And the bonus, come-down track: Give an email in the widget below and get "Coming Down", the first taste from the forthcoming, sophomore Dum Dum Girls' LP "Only in Dreams". Mark your calendars - the highly anticipated record is expected September 27:
A selection of some of the most interesting releases of February 2011:
Albums
PJ HARVEY - Let England Shake RADIOHEAD - The King of Limbs THE TWILIGHT SINGERS - Dynamite Steps BRIGHT EYES - The People's Key LYKKE LI - Wounded Rhymes LA SERA - La Sera THE BABIES - The Babies YUCK - Yuck …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD - Tao Of The Dead MOGWAI - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will ASOBI SEKSU - Fluoresence FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS - Hunger DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - Go-Go Boots
CHAIN AND THE GANG - Music's Not for Everyone RAINBOW ARABIA - Boys and Diamonds TORO Y MOI - Underneath The Pine DEMDIKE STARE - Tryptych NICOLAS JAAR - Space Is Only Noise JAMES BLAKE - James Blake THE STREETS - Computers and Blues CUT COPY - Zonoscope PURO INSTINCT - Headbangers In Ecstasy YOUNG GALAXY - Shapeshifting TELEKINESIS - 12 Desperate Straight Lines GRUFF RHYS - Hotel Shampoo PAPERCUTS - Fading Parade AKRON/FAMILY - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT EAST RIVER PIPE - We Live In Rented Rooms THE LOW ANTHEM - Smart Flesh DAVID LOWERY - The Palace Guards
The big event of the month in the singles department was the return of The Strokes with their first new track in five years "Under Cover Of Darkness", a first taste from their eagerly anticipated comeback album "Angles", which surfaced as a free download for a couple of days for subscribers of their mailing list.
But as you might expect if you've been following this blog for the past year, the highlight of the month for us is the release of the brand new Dum Dum Girls EP "He Gets Me High", out this Monday for Europe and Tuesday for America from Sub Pop. The band who was at the top of our year-end Singles list for 2010 with the awesome "Jail La La" is returning with 4 new tracks including a stunning cover of The Smiths' classic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". Production duties were handled by front-woman Dee Dee along with girl group sound expert Richard Gottehrer (best known for composing the classics "My Boyfriend’s Back" and "I Want Candy" but also the co-producer of Dum Dum Girls debut LP "I Will Be") and Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes (their new album is coming in April). Get it here.
Another girl-related highlight in February's single releases is the first offering from Vivian Girls forthcoming album "Share The Joy". The track "I Heard You Say" is one of the girls' best moments so far and it certainly raises our expectations for their third full length which is expected in April from Polyvinyl (get the free mp3 here). But that's not all the Vivian Girls-related fun in store for us this month! La Sera, Katy Goodman’s side-project, just released a fine self-titled debut LP accompanied by the 7" "Devil Hearts Grow Cold", while Cassie Ramone along with Woods’ Kevin Morby just released their first full length as The Babies, a lo-fi supergroup of sorts which also includes Bossy drummer Justin Sullivan and Stupid Party’s Nathanael Stark on bass.
