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The Raindoggs // Was It Necessary (Ft. Larisa Montonaro)

After the sun has gone way down. Long after the gallon of Jack Daniels lies gasping and hollow on some nameless hotel room floor. Long after the stale scent of spent cigarettes and the animal odor of wrung out bodies wafts into naked memory. After the scathing accusations, the scorn and cursing. After the bar fights and public displays of disaffection, and long after the distant echo of sirens fades out of earshot along the neglected edges of town.  After she’s slapped your face. After you’ve pulled her hair. After the lover with the least amount of interest in the relationship wields their power for the very last time, and leaves a body glistening and panting, but undeniably sated and sad. So recklessly alone now, and staring into the vapory hole through which they’ve exited your life. This song will play on. And yes, with shaky fingers attempting, but failing horribly, to light that last much needed cigarette. This song will play on and endlessly on. If ever there was ever a song to ride off into the uncaring sunset to, the latest “Was It Necessary” by Austin-based The Raindoggs is it. Peace.

“Was It Necessary” Featuring Larisa Montonaro

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De La Soul aka First Serve // Must B The Music

Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and Pasemaster Mase have put  time-in, as legendary rhyme-heavyweights De La Soul from wayyyyyy back in the day. Let’s put it this way, De La Soul are to Hip Hop what escargot, truffles and caviar are to discerning foodies. The trio representin’ Long Island, New York are back at, and sounding fresh and as vibrant as ever. Well, at least two previous members have taken to the reinvention chamber and step out to greet us anew as Deen Whitter (aka Plug 2 / Dave) and Jacob ‘Pop Life’ Barrow (aka Plug 1/ Pos. The recent incarnation is known as First Serve and it comprises a big picture concept of band, soundtrack, a storyline to a yet to be film and  perhaps a few other unmentionables. Rest assured guided by French production duo 2 & 4 (aka Chokolate & Khalid) it will something to which you measure what you did and when. Although the First Serve LP Must B The Music, is slotted for a March 26th release check out the Dazed Digital exclusive premiere of their latest video, Must B The Music. Enjoy! Peace. Continue reading “De La Soul aka First Serve // Must B The Music”

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Simian Ghost // Wolf Girl (Video)

I am going to approach this review of Swedish dream-Pop auteurs Simian Ghost as if you’re just hearing about them for the very first time (and that may very well be the case). Whether or not you know who Sebastian Arnström is or isn’t is irrelevant, to a point. I suppose if you only want to impress friends and acquaintances with vocabulary enough to name drop and feign hipness, then I suppose you are now sufficiently well-armed to do such a thing. But, such information is far removed, and serves little (if any) purpose in how the music will ultimately enter through the conduit of your ears and sough softly through your brain cells like a pastel colored watercourse winding its way into the deeper waters of tranquility. I bid you only this, cast ulterior motives  aside and just enjoy a thing for the sake of enjoyment. The songs created by Sebastian Arnström come armed only with an ego-less beauty and a mischievous need, not for vanity, but to bruise the soft tissue of your heart with the imprint of sweet and plaintive adoration. The forthcoming album, titled Youth, will be released on March 5th via  Heist Or Hit Records. Peace. Continue reading “Simian Ghost // Wolf Girl (Video)”

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The Shins // September (Simple Song B-Side) Video

Hot off the press! Check out the “Simple Song” 7″ B-Side “September” by The Shins. It is a beautifully somber affair, and it only further whets our collective appetite for the March 20th Port Of Morrow LP release.

You can get The Shins Simple Song 7″ release next week (Valentine’s Day) at your participating Record Store Day dealer. Peace. Continue reading “The Shins // September (Simple Song B-Side) Video”

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The Dø // Tightrope (Janelle Monáe Cover) Video

The Dø is French/Finnish experimental pop-duo Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy. I strongly suspect they’re not be from this planet. Which would explain quite a lot. No matter their origins,  the they create music is an incredible sound treat to your ears. I reviewed this band way back when their Both Ways Open Jaws album dropped mid-November on this side of the Atlantic. I particularly loved the first single “Dust It Off” as it’s still playing on loop inside my head. However, I’m making room inside my skull for the band’s additional sweet rendition of Janelle Monáe‘s song “Tightrope,” it is gonna really tickle your fancy place. And if that doesn’t do it for you (it will), then check out The Line of Best Fit session of the song “Slippery Slope” and I think the brassy horns will blow your hair back for you, in a good way. Peace. Continue reading “The Dø // Tightrope (Janelle Monáe Cover) Video”

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Megaphonic Thrift // Raising Flags

Bergen, Norway is generally known as “the Gateway to the Fjords of Norway.” But, no one told me I’d find the white-water thrashing guitar of super psychedelica band Megaphonic Thrift. I think I need to get out of the country, and particularly, I need to hop a flight to take in the burgeoning Norwegian music scene. And if you don’t understand my enthusiasm for the land of the midnight sun then listen to the songs “Raising Flags” and “Tune Your Mind.” And on that musical note, I rest my case. The MT‘s latest release drops on February 7th and I am most definitely copping this STAT! Peace. Continue reading “Megaphonic Thrift // Raising Flags”

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Natalie Prass // Bird Of Prey (Video) Our Sunday Best

Natalie Prass Media 2
 
Music is a funny thing. And more often than not music chooses you and not the other way around. What I mean is, although we are constantly inundated with tons of music. An almost endless deluge of sound, some voices rise above. Revealing, only certain songs, or bodies of work, really reach and speak to us in tomes of soul-speak. And, if you approach music with any degree of discernment you’re not easily seduced by trends, or by what someone else claims is the next big thing.

With singer-songwriter Natalie Prass the music reaches you by cutting through to the heart of what makes a song special. Delivery and emotion. When Ms. Prass open her mouth listeners are rewarded immediately by the two most important elements of song writing; song structure, and delivery, and in this case a beyond beautiful singing voice.

Funny thing, I came to know how Natalie Prass by way of a serendipitous occurrence. No lie. Recently, I was provided with an advance copy of songs to review by a band I (Cherub) really respect and like a lot. And one of those songs on their forthcoming album features Ms. Natalie Prass. And although I imagine there were a lot of people who could have potentially sung the lyrics on their song, these guys had the good sense, and taste, to pick the best person for the job. Because, what Natalie brought to this particular song was a large bit of tenderness and an ethereal voice. Which turned my heart into a pool of melted reddish jelly. I played the song over and over, at least 3-4 times before I snapped out of it and performed a Google search on her name and hit the jackpot; I found her Bandcamp and Facebook pages, then her website natalieprass.com.

First, I came upon the song “Earth Angel,” and just as soon as it pricked my ear like the soft muzzle of newborn foal, I was seduced. This sweet revisitation of an old classic is nicely done(understatement). But then I listened to the song “Bird Of Prey,” from Natalie’s Sense of Transcendence EP (2011) and I’ve been playing it pretty much non-stop. The song really comes alive when she plays an acoustic set on the video below after the jump.

What a perfect song for our Sunday Best pick and an ideal song to unfurl the morning. My advice, Get your ears on any and everything associated with Natalie Prass. She can do no wrong, musically speaking that is. Song birds are a dime a dozen, but birds of paradise are a rare breed. Peace. Continue reading “Natalie Prass // Bird Of Prey (Video) Our Sunday Best”

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Mirel Wagner // No Death (Video)

The songs of Mirel Wagner are not for the faint of heart. No, this collection of songs are weighted with leaden lyrics. So much so, listeners may be rendered immobile in an attempt to closely examine their neutron star density. Music and lyrics aside, these songs are fashioned into greater meaning by the method of Mirel Wagner’s staid delivery more than anything else. Ms. Wagner’s almost still-life performances etch with charcoal and dark shades upon her vocal sketchbook. And her style isn’t one of mimicry. No, her delivery is lyrical shadows waltzing to the quiet inhalations of barely breathing song. And the effects are as beautiful and original, as they are chilling. But, these are standard issue for 23-year-old Mirel Wagner, and March 27th will see her songs available for public consumption. Just don’t choke on these fleshless femurs of songs, just nibble at the edges and take your time digesting each and every one. And when looking into this  songstress’s musical eyes, which may appear motionless on the surface, make no mistake about it, their profound depth of meaning runs deep. Peace. Continue reading “Mirel Wagner // No Death (Video)”

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tops // turn your love around

Luckily for music lovers, the music scene today is much like the universe, it is continuously expanding. Just about every day or so a new band is materializing and casting their songs into the fray. Being the amateur astronomer that I am, whilst stargazing recently I spotted the band TOPS streaking across the sky of my purview. Now, I’m not one to succumb to wild conjecture concerning bands of another time and place, but I must admit this band has a sound not well known nor oft encountered, let alone appreciated. But, as always so much of a band’s appeal is determined by exposure to the right audience, and I’m hoping the audience I write for is listening with their ears wide-open. When I first listened to the song “Turn Your Love Around” it reminded me of  something out of the mid to late 60’s era. It sounds 60’s chic with a modern anesthetic and sensibility, not so much flower child, as an reinvention of the likes of an Marianne Faithful or Gayle McCormick, but conjoined with present day 21st century modernity. Yes, it may sound a bit 60-ish, strutting around in new white knee-high boots, but it also sounds new and capable of introducing listeners to a classic sound reexamined. Both the songs “Turn Your Love Around” and “Diamond Look” are tracks from the forthcoming  full-length album Tender Opposites. You can Pre-Order via Arbutus Records a cassette format or CD. However, the cool thing about the cassette is it will have: Continue reading “tops // turn your love around”

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Fox The Cat // The Old You (Video)

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” —Heraclitus

When you listen to Chicago-based 5-piece Fox The Cat (cool name by the way) you immediately pick up on a certain honesty and simplicity pouring forth from their music; like a spiritual geyser unleashed. One gets the feeling this is music well-wrought from a place not easily accessible to a lot of bands.  And too, like the above quote by Heraclitus, these songs are ever-changing. Not because they are mercurial or insubstantial, but because they are mood- and thought-provoking odes to life and living. And, because of the veritable richness and depth of the songwriting, deeper meaning can be discerned from each and every listen. So, it is hard to believe these guys recently assembled this already well-formed band in October of 2011. Perhaps, this is the kind of chemistry made possible by the close friendship shared between each band member. Watch the live acoustic rendition of their song, “The Old You” and you feel the intimacy and raw quality slip into a cracked window inside your heart. Below, check out the band’s self-titled EP after the jump. Casey, Abe, Jimmy, Luke and Paul thank you for the beauty of what you’ve rendered from the collective opening of your hearts. And, if only by virtue of our delighted first impression alone, Fox The Cat are most assuredly a band to watch. Check out the band’s Facebook page for the free EP download. Peace. Continue reading “Fox The Cat // The Old You (Video)”