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king khan and the shrines // darkness

Be prepared to be amazed and thoroughly entertained.

 

king khan and the shrines  //  darkness

 
King Khan and the Shrines don’t play. This is a band fronted by Arish Ahmad Khan, the band’s Berlin-based, Montreal-born, Indian frontman and he has a way of getting inside your head and heart. The spooky (but good) video for Darkness is a stop-motion animation delight. We can thank the five-person German animation collective Hylas for that. This is the rare case of a video (almost) upstaging the song. No matter they both work extremely well together.

The track Darkness, is taken from the band’s release “Idle No More” (it drops  September 3rd via Merge Records), and ts first in six years, reflects Khan’s own obstacles. “I sort of had a breakdown and was undergoing these serious psychiatric things, so I had to turn off my brain completely,” he revealed. “These tracks come after thinking I’d never write music again.”

But also, the albums title is more than meets the eyes. King Khan offered this statement on the release:

“It has been a lengthy hiatus, but we have finally finished our latest “masterpiece” and named it after an incredible indigenous-rights movement that is happening right now called Idle No More.”

The album’s title undergoes multiple dualities, it also urges us to get up and do something meaningful. Don’t just complain, get engaged. Khan says, “It’s all about taking pain and suffering and turning it into joy,” Khan said. “That’s the music people need the most.” I couldn’t agree more. Peace.
 

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she & him // volume 3

The duo She & Him = M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel. And their soon to be released Volume 3 (May 7th) will be landing happily upon eardrums as far as the eye can … hear. But why wait when you can check it put muy pronto, NPR is streaming it here, right now. If you’re among the first 500 to pre-order the cd, cassette or digital download via Merge Records  you will receive a free Robin blue copy on vinyl. How cool is that? Peace. Continue reading “she & him // volume 3”

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M. Ward // The First Time I Ran Away (Video)

M. Ward is a busy man, but when he’s not making beautiful music with Zooey Deschanel as the duo She & Him, he has been slowly putting together his forthcoming 8th studio album A Wasteland Companion. The album is slated for a March 10th release, but until then check out the song, “Primitive Girl” and the Joel Trussell video for the song, “The First Time I Ran Away”. Both are excellent because that is how M. Ward rolls. To pre-order the Wasteland Companion head on over to Merge Records and do the damn thang. By the way, you can also get the single “Primitive Girl” on iTunes. Peace. Continue reading “M. Ward // The First Time I Ran Away (Video)”

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lambchop | gone tomorrow


 
I cannot think of another singer/songwriter/guitarist with a more tranquil voice as that belonging to Kurt Wagner of Nashville’s perennial country band Lambchop. His vocals are at once old-timey speakeasy and by turns possess a mellow dangerous magic. On the bands 11th release Mr. M you get treated to more of what you expect from this subtle powerhouse of strings and twang. And with beautiful songs like, “If Not I’ll Just Die” and “Gone Tomorrow,” I think it’ll be hard not to want this for yourself. Also, you can stream the Mr. M album release for a limited time at Merge Records. Enjoy. Peace. Continue reading “lambchop | gone tomorrow”

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imperial teen // runaway

Perennial favorites of the Indie power-pop scene the music making ménage à trois + 1 Imperial Teen is sounding as sweet as ever. With the release of their fifth studio album Feel The Sound the San Fransisco-based band is all set to win over a slew of additional fans in 2012. Check out the first release “Runaway” and you’ll not only “feel the sound” but it’ll feel you right back, as it weaves its soothing sonic tendrils all up in your head space. But what about the rest of the album you may ask? Don’t worry, I got audible proof positive that’ll obliterate any lagging doubts (Damn naysayers!). Go to Merge Records and stream the entire album ’till the cows come home. You’re gonna want to sing along too, so check out the lyrics here. See, I got you covered. But, Roddy Bottum, Lynn Perko Truell, Will Schwartz, and Jone Stebbins, well, they got the music, and isn’t that the reason you’re here? Peace. Continue reading “imperial teen // runaway”