Cleveland/Louisville duo, Loathes, make cloudy, haunted, sample-heavy ambient experiments. Their new self-titled EP reminds me in the best way of Leyland Kirdy's (also haunted) Caretaker project. Especially digging those first two tracks, but give the whole thing a spin, and also you should download it because it's free.
Funny thematic stream of consciousness in this found footage collage by Denver's Pacific Pride. Impromptu footwork leads to trombones leads to fruit leads to bugs. The images assist the guitar hook of "The Fruit, Whole" in making the experience juuuuuust unsettling enough that you'll watch it a second time.
"The Fruit, Whole" is gonna be released on cassette by Firetalk in November. Below is another great song by the same band! From April. More fruit stuff in this one too, so heads up.
Ginger Brit phenom King Krule has done it again, releasing another pissed, teen-angst riddled lounge piece. No LP yet, but he's got enough music out there that you could just throw together your own, you lazy bum. And if you don't quite get the weirdo appeal of this kid yet, this should help.
"Rock Bottom" is a 7" to be released Sep. 24th, by Rinse.
Great song, great cover. Produced by Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. Read more about France's Melody's Echo Chamber here. Read more about Portland-via-New Zealand's Unknown Mortal Orchestra here.
Got this little nugget in my inbox the other morning from Philly's Ladies Auxiliary:
Good morning!
Here's a special treat for anyone who ever bought or downloaded anything from our band, Ladies Auxiliary, on Bandcamp. Although we're slowly working on our next album, our summer project was recording a cover for the Guns N' Roses song "Don't Cry" (Alt. Lyrics), from their 1991 album, "Use Your Illusion II." We also made a video for our cover! We're pretty excited about em, and you guys are the first we're telling.
Eh, heh heh. So this is the video:
And this is a good live vid of them performing "Darryl," from their On the Shadow LP which I think I reported on in the spring (yeah, I did):
This might be one of my favorite Fly Lo tracks yet. And who'd've thought, Erykah Badu would be the one to make it so? Her vocals over that rolling beat just turn my belly in such a good way.
Look out for Until the Quiet Comes Oct. 1st on the one and only Warp Records.
London's Youthfall have a smooth new track on their Soundcloud, "From Fallen Eyes." Once fall starts comin around, this will be the perfect leaf-crunching song, so stick it in your back pocket. I'm actually really enjoying the three songs these guys put out last winter, as well. Check them all out below, and download them all for free.
Above is a Pepsi commercial from 1997, featuring Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, Bridget Hall, and a CGI'd baby. The original commercial is unsettling enough, but that doesn't mean it can't lend itself to the overall nightmare creeptease that is Mediafired's loopified rehashing--to their tune, "Pixies" (below). These ladies might look pretty at first, but those stares and smiles and fingers prove haunting when appropriately chopped and paired with the meat of a relentless vocal sample. And give me some of that fucking Pepsi!
Oh yes, almost forgot! Here is a stream of the new Mediafired album, The Pathway Through Whatever (from Beer On The Rug), which--taking a cue from one Daniel Lopatin--strains the sticky chaff of the last thirty years' heap of forgotten media detritus and molds it into a cosmic delicacy, to be appreciated only by the suavest of future-spacekings and retro-conglomerati.
Great new ditty from LA's Cold Showers, via Dais Records. Dais describes their new LP, Love and Regret, as "fusing the brash power of the shoegazers with the smoky compulsions of the no-wavers," and in lead single, "BC," the former is immediately obvious, while the latter isn't revealed until the second half of the song, when the solemn refrain "Oh / Woe is me" is punched deeper by a scratched out guitar solo, or two. Sounds more 90s grunge than 80s no wave to me, but we can meet in the middle on that.
Love and Regret will be dropping October 9th on vinyl, cassette, and compact disc from Dais.
I'm surprised I haven't put any old Smog goodies on here yet. "Nineteen" is off of 2000's Dongs of Sevotion, and, as with all the great songs by Bill Callahan, there's just the right amount of ambiguity, a puzzle, red herrings, and a huge twist. We arrive late on the scene, but get to stick around long enough to witness major things unfold.
This song is such a masterful example of Bill's ability to pull the appropriate feeling out of you before you realize what he's suggesting or why. The clash of a playful piano hook with the overall somber tone and tempo of the song evoke the scattered and unbridled emotions that come with teen intimacy (or adult intimacy for that matter): longing, fear, ecstasy, regret, guilt, and--over all--the eventual, fond nostalgia that emerges out of clear-headed hindsight.
Here is a sample of a sampler from the best offerings of Clan Destine Records. The Statement LP is for sure a statement, split between some of the best veteran splitters of recent memory: messy odester, Slim Twig; modern, sample-slinging Nicoesque songstress, Ela Orleans; noise-a-billy surf star, Dirty Beaches; and (my personal favorite) the aloof, and brash/beautiful U.S. Girls, AKA Meg Remy, who also designed the cover and art and so forth for this thing. This is an amazing collection of Canadian goodness, you guys. Not to be missed. Below are samples of each contributer, but much more is to be heard.
This new cut from Portland's Golden Retriever took me a few listens over the course of a few weeks, but I'm finally coming around on it, in a big way. Great for fans of Growing or Burning Star Core: pulsing, swirling, noisy, patient polyrhythms. I think it was the band name that kept me coming back. Makes me wonder how much great music I haven't given enough of a chance because I think what it's called is crappy. Anyway, bear with this one, and it's probably not the best idea to watch this video while you're driving.
"Serene Velocity" is from their LP, Occupied With the Unspoken, out now on Thrill Jockey.
Keep an eye out for this new Brooklyn band, TEEN, fronted by ex-Here We Go Magic member, Katherine Lieberson. The video for "Electric" (above) kills it and ills it. The one below is older and features Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver.
"Electric" is from TEEN's forthcoming record, In Limbo, out Aug. 28th via Carpark.
So...Deerhoof make "Cuban-flavored party-noise-energy music" now. Ahem...mmm. Had to share "The Trouble With Candyhands" for the fun of it. I mean, the cover alone is worth sharing. Their new album is called Breakup Song, and will be out on Polyvinyl Sep. 4. Noise jingles for parties!
And sample the album on their Jingletron. Only costs one token! Cute.
