Where the food sounds good, and the music is pretty tasty too.
The Archdukes hail from Queensland, Australia and it’s just another indication of the great indie music to be had down-under. The song Time Stands Still is the latest single release from this dream-gaze foursome. Let me know if you like ’em. Peace. Continue reading “archdukes // time stands still”
The four-piece LA-based electro project Rare Times release the second track Cloudy from their forthcoming Mist EP courtesy of Feel So Reel Records. In case you missed it, after the jump check out their February release the Missionary EP. This is some sensuous music here, the perfect pairing for those moments of seduction or thoughtful introspection. Peace.
Continue reading “rare times // cloudy + watched over”
Baptist Generals begin their latest album Jackleg Devotional to the Heart with a star bursting cacophony of sound, imagine an aorta rupturing and your close. Machine En Prolepsis is not only a harbinger for the ensuing eleven songs, it is also a green light and it signals the lurching locomotive that this album is, forward and forever on upon rusted, misaligned tracks. The music is smart and painfully honest twangly-soul-folk and it sounds even better with the non-sobriety of late night musings.
The Denton, Texas-based Baptist Generals make the kind of music you want when you graduate from the top 40 folk acts and you’re ready to sink your teeth (and ears) into the raw meat of a damaged, limping, yet hopeful heart. This is pulsing bass lines and a palpitating drum kit, and lopsided ambient spirit noise threading through Chris Flemmons’ spit-grimed and soul fractured voice.
Singer/Songwriter Chris Flemmons describes this release as his “love album”, yet it rings of the unrequited variety rather than the reciprocal arrangement we all seek. Embedded throughout are sporadic rants and woeful sidesteps, instances of what sound like an avalanche of colliding instruments, perhaps a chipped scalpel and bent forceps commingling restlessly with twisted guitar strings choking and gurgling inside a semi-drunken voice-box.
This is an album of blue painted hurt, it is desperately beautiful. But finally the Jackleg Devotional to the Heart is a shrouded opportunity, it is the mask you wear when you don’t want to pretend that everything is alright. So, buy the ticket for the train is coming round the bend. Peace.
Continue reading “baptist generals // jackleg devotional to the heart”
Monkytown Records partners with NPR to present Moderat’s new album, II, in its entirety via their “First Listen” series. Continue reading “moderat + || = npr’s first listen”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. gets major props for not only making such a stylish song, but musically speaking the track If You Didn’t See (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor) kicks the damn door open and hacks into your circadian rhythms. So, if you’re dreaming of magic dye-dyed disco balls whilst wide awake and dancing now you know why. The Detroit-ers dropped their Patterns EP earlier this year, they’re are four tracks on the EP and IF You Didn’t See Me is the crown jewel of the lot. Peace.
Continue reading “dale earnhardt jr. jr. // if you didn’t see me (then you weren’t on the dancefloor) + data remix”
Bilby and Cuckoos are both Australian artists and they have released an affectionate and admirable 3-track EP. According to a press release Bilby (Harry Moxham) hails from the beaches of Northern Sydney, and he makes his style of lo-fi folk-pop from the comfort and confines of his bedroom. So, maybe that’s the reason the songs he produces sound so intimate, with the frailty of weather-worn and honest confession. The artist Cuckoos aka Sam Wotherspoon makes his contribution with the track Strange Daze, it’s a slow dirge wrapped in wispy sensuousness; the foggy outskirts of a forlorn heart. This EP is a treasure. Love it, play it. Peace. Continue reading “bilby + cuckoos // split ep”
Summer Camp is fresh. No, really. Fresh is the first single from the duo’s (Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley) forthcoming self-titled sophomore album Summer Camp courtesy of Moshi Moshi Records. I like it’s disco-y vibe and Ms. Sankey’s voice has never sounded better. Peace.
Continue reading “summer camp // fresh”
Wildlife Control is a transcontinental collaboration between brothers Neil and Sumul Shah. Drawing on the creative energies of their respective cities, New York and San Francisco, the brothers blur the lines between visual art, music, and technology. Their aesthetic combines sampled and synthesized sounds plus visuals in an alchemical mixture works well, but you don’t have to take my word for it, let the music play. Peace.
Continue reading “wildlife control // ages places + different”
Mackenzie Scott aka Torres is the consummate indie DIY-er. Yes, she’s the artist who writes the music and performs the songs, but she is also familiar with personally hand packaging individual vinyls and shipping them out to buyers. And, she’s overly familiar with stuffing download codes into the records. Such mundanus (pulling out the late Latin, watch out) tasks are par for the course when you own what you do as an independent artist. You’re the boss, the employee, and everything else in-between. Continue reading “torres // honey”
Emily Schuna founded Human Nature Records and since they’re a smallish outfit (but oh so good) I thought I’d offer a bit of exposure. And, since I’m a big Justin Vernon/Bon Iver fan let’s get things started with a remix Ms. Schuna composed for the Indaba remix competition a while back. After the jump you’ll see a couple additional artists on the Human Nature roster. Hope you like ’em. Peace. Continue reading “emily schuna | human nature records”