November 20, 2009
When we first heard onetime BTW Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka El Guincho, we were drawn in by "Antillas," a song we described as "a five-minute bundle of clattering loops and sunny harmonies." It was from the self-released Alegranza!, before he'd signed to XL, who reissued the collection. Almost two years after being hooked we have an "Antillas" remix by XXXchange. It shows up on one of two double 12"s that feature remixes of the track by the likes of Architecture In Helsinki, Prins Thomas, Banana Clipz, etc. (Mad Decent's releasing one, Young Turks the other.) It's nice being reintroduced to the song, especially as we inch closer to winter. In this take, you'll here the original's loops buried beneath, and weaving through, a slew of new sounds.
Continue reading New El Guincho - "Antillas (XXXchange Remix)"...
Posted at 4:31 PM by brandon in
Tags: El Guincho | XXXchange
latest by Vlad Stoian
After Solange covered Dirty Projectors, a band on Domino, it's only fair the Londoners who sing "Dominos" have a go at a song by Knowles' sister. Fitting into A Brief History Of Love's romantic aesthetic, they put their mark on Beyoncé's "Sweet Dreams." It was recorded on Radio 1. As mentioned, Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell easily move between clattering post-Suicide, icy synth balladry, and radio-friendly electro-anthems (often with Jesus & Mary Chain and Happy Mondays echoes). So, which Big Pink do you get here? The moody, stripped-down result actually goes better with B's '80s-inflected cover art than the original.
Continue reading The Big Pink Cover Beyoncé...
Posted at 9:41 AM by brandon in
Tags: Beyoncé | The Big Pink
latest by Sound Verite'
November 19, 2009
Just when you thought musicians had left behind their wolves and crystals in favor of whales, this vintage psychedelic London quartet arrives with Tidings. Thing is, the collection gathers recordings made by main Wolf Jack Sharp in Bedford, England between 2005 and 2007, so technically they were right on time with the Wolf thing. Their sound, though, comes from a different time entirely. Or, as the well-written press release puts it:
Stitched together in a style reminiscent of Faust or early Mothers Of Invention, the songs lay nestled in snatches of field recordings, winding tapes, squealing feedback, studio outtakes and the voices of dead relatives.
The band's official debut will be out sometime in 2010. For now, here's one unstitched and upbeat outtake, "October Fires." A lot happens in its 4:20 (yes).
Continue reading New Wolf People - "October Fires"...
Posted at 2:15 PM by brandon in
Tags: Wolf People
latest by Brian
Fan Death don't skimp on the video treatments: The clip for "Reuinited" featured a number of roadside cameos (Axl Rose, Marilyn Manson, Björk, others) via excellently unconvincing, often creepy lookalikes. This time, taking a turn into the white trash, we find an overweight dude in sweats and wife beater (and fairly hip hair) cuing up a Fan Death aerobics-style VHS video, seemingly in search of titillation, but he ultimately drops the remote and goes somewhere else entirely. He can only get there after grabbing a can of pop, giving the old guy in the basement a jar of pickles (?), and pulling out his paint samples.
Continue reading New Fan Death Video - "Cannibal"...
Posted at 11:20 AM by brandon in ,
Tags: CCENTURIESS | Fan Death
latest by Glen
Hella active drummer Zach Hill's in (and has been in) more bands than you want to try to list, but we've most recently caught him helping out Boredoms and Marnie Stern and toughening up Wavves (more on that in a sec) when not releasing his own "solo" material. In Chll Pll Hill he does what the band's name suggests, joining forces, calming down (a bit), and harmonizing with Hexlove's Zachary Nelson, who layers lapping electronics (complete with dark/"funky"/sometimes gentle pop hooks) over submerged drum play. You get a taste in the self-directed strobed video for "Tales From The Crypt," an spacey bit from Aggressively Humble. It finds Hill stepping to the mic and carving out his eyes with monsters and negative hand gestures.
Continue reading New Chll Pll Video - "Tales From The Crypt" (Stereogum Premiere)...
Posted at 10:15 AM by brandon in ,
Tags: Chll Pll | Hella | Hexlove | Wavves | Zach Hill
latest by Diamond Ceiling
Harry Patch, the longest surviving UK veteran of World War I, lived an honorable life, his very existence serving as a reminder to countless others of how far we've come, and at what cost, in matters of international conflict and discourse. And thanks to an initially subpar rocker beef that's blossomed into something going on classic, Harry Patch has also served as a reminder of the life of composer Harry Partch, and how far we've come in matters of incorporating his 43 tone scale into countless blog posts. To recap: Radiohead wrote a song for Harry Patch the Tommy, which the Fiery Furnaces' Matthew Friedberger mistook to be about Harry Partch the musician. After castigating the band for "brazenly and arbitrarily associating [themselves] with things that [they] know people consider cool," which never happened, Friedberger tried to backpedal with a tongue-in-cheeky retort that again missed the mark, closing with: "Matt would have much preferred to insult Beck but he is too afraid of Scientologists."
Continue reading New Beck - "Harry Partch"...
Posted at 9:34 AM by amrit in ,
Tags: Beck | Harry Partch | Radiohead | The Fiery Furnaces
latest by wi_ngo
San Francisco's the Fresh & Onlys make for great autumn listening. There's something gothy about their psychedelic rock 'n' roll swing, but the sort of vintage wind-blown vibe that's more internal than dyed hair or eyeliner. That atmosphere was definitely there on "Invisible Forces" and "Dude's Got A Tender Heart." You know, a sort of refined Gun Club garage thing (they still do mention Buzzcocks, Mekons, and Country Joe and the Fish as favorites). As far as their employment info, bassist Shayde Sartin explained:
I'm the only one currently with a full-time job. I work at Amoeba Records on Haight Street. I have for 8 years. Tim worked there as well until recently. Wymond is a dad and student. Kyle bar backs and moves furniture, hangs art and whatever else he can get.
I spoke with Sartin about his 9-5 at Ameoba. In the spirit of our record store discussion, after you're done, check out his Jewelled Antler-related work in Giant Skyflower Band, Skygreen Leopards, and truly great/sadly missed Flying Canyon.
Continue reading Quit Your Day Job: The Fresh & Onlys...
Posted at 3:45 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Shayde Sartin | The Fresh And Onlys | Tim Cohen
latest by Chuck
Earlier today we presented you with Real Estate's mellow update on "Green River." We called the guys busy then -- new album, forthcoming EP -- and I think it's appropriate to repeat it now: Here's "Sandglider" from Real Estater Matt Mondanile's ambient Ducktails project. It's a ambling outtake from his Landscape LP. If you want to position it somewhere, "Sandglider" has more immediate forward momentum than "Roses" and keeps up just fine with "Landrunner," albeit with a slightly somber gait.
Continue reading New Ducktails - "Sandglider"...
Posted at 1:44 PM by brandon in
Tags: Ducktails | Real Estate
latest by yuktails
