The Sky Report - Albums of the Year

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

3. The Antlers - Hospice

4. Fever Ray - s/t

5. The Horrors - Primary Colours

6. Atlas Sound - Logos

7. Natureboy - s/t

8. The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away

9. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

10. PJ Harvey & John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By

11. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

12. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

13. The XX - XX

14. Sharon Van Etten - Because I Was In Love

15. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

16. The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control

17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

18. Nite Jewel - Good Evening

19. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - s/t

20. Real Estate - s/t

21. JJ - n° 2
22. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
23. Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
24. Antony & the Johnsons - The Crying Light
25. Girls - Album
26. Woods - Songs of Shame
27. White Denim - Fits
28. Ganglians - Monster Head Room
29. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
30. Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
31. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
32. Dark Was the Night (compilation) - various artists
33. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
34. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
35. St. Vincent - Actor
36. Royksopp - Junior
37. Masterface - Freedom Tower
38. DâM-FunK - Toeachizown
39. Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
40. Telepathe - Dance Mother
41. Wavves - Wavvves
42. Gossip - Music For Men
43. The Sandwitches - How To Make Ambient Sadcake
44. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
45. Jeremy Jay - Slow Dance
46. Discovery - LP
47. Here We Go Magic - s/t
48. Micachu - Jewellery
49. Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy
50. Night Control - Death Control

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

Best of 2009 - Guest List - Frankie Rose

As a precursor to our impending year-end list, we've asked some of our favorite artists to select their five favorite releases of 2009. As a past member of bands like Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose has quite the midas touch. Now she blazes ahead with her new band Frankie & The Outs, just another vivid chapter in the Frankie Rose saga. The new band plays "Beach Party" on New Years Eve at Cameo Gallery with fellow "Guest List" band Beach Fossils, as well as Surfer Blood, and We Are Country Mice. Flier and Frankie Rose track below.

Here are Frankie's picks:

Moon Duo - Killing Time (ep)

Grass Widow - s/t

Pearl Harbor - Something About the Chapparals (ep)

Best song - Atlas Sound (ft. Laetitia Sadier) - "Quick Canal"

Best new NY band - STARRING

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

New ATLAS SOUND Virtual 7"

Bradford Cox continues his prolific output by posting this new free virtual 7" on his Deerhunter blog. "Doctor" is an awesome cover of The Five Discs. It also comes backed with the new track "Screens". Mediafire link below.

Download Virtual 7"

ATLAS SOUND - Logos

Today Bradford Cox releases the 2nd LP under his side project moniker Atlas Sound and I feel it is poised to score high on many year-end lists. Logos was originally leaked in its unfinished form back in 2008. Cox was so outraged by the leak that he vowed never to officially release the album. Well, thank god he did, because it is well worth the release.

"Cox on Logos: "My last album was a bedroom laptop type thing. Very introverted. Logos is an album that was recorded all over the world. It's not about me. There are collaborations with other musicians. The lyrics are not autobiographical. The view is a lot more panoramic and less close-up. I became bored with introspection. This was also the case with Deerhunter's Microcastle LP, which was written during the same period.""

Listen to the standout track "Quick Canal", featuring Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier on vocals.

New ATLAS SOUND - Criminals

Bradford Cox recently debuted the new Atlas Sound track ¨Criminals¨ during a Deerhunter set for NOISEVOX at Piano´s. The track is taken from the new album Logos, due October 20th.

ATLAS SOUND - 'Recent Bedroom'

Here is an unofficial video for Atlas Sound's "Recent Bedroom", directed by Savannah College of Art and Design student Michael E. Palm. Also, do yourself a favor and explore the plethora of mixes at Bradford Cox's blog. The Deerhunter and Atlas Sound frontman has an endless knowledge of music and his mixes are always full of exciting new discoveries and rediscoveries.


Atlas Sound- Recent Bedroom from Michael E Palm on Vimeo.

THE CHAP - Mega Breakfast, Plus ATLAS SOUND Remix

The Chap are an experimental band from London who have "an unconventional approach to making music in the form of assymetrical-yet-catchy songs." Their latest album Mega Breakfast was recently released in Europe and is expected to hit North America on July 1st.

Longtime fan Bradford Cox has remixed the new track "They Have a Name" under his Atlas Sound moniker. I might also add that Atlas Sound's debut LP Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel is one of my favorite records of the year so far.

Check out both the original version and the Atlas Sound remix of "They Have a Name" below:

The Chap - They Have a Name (mp3)
The Chap - They Have a Name (Atlas Sound remix) (mp3)

FREE SUMMER SHOWS NYC - River to River

The best part of living in New York during the summer is all the amazing free shows. The annual River to River Festival just announced their lineup:

Wire, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, Sonic Youth, St. Vincent, No Age, Ted Leo, Mary Weiss (Shangri-La's), Atlas Sound, Akron/Family, Dirty Projectors and more.

I'm most excited about Wire, No Age, and Atlas Sound, but the experience of the festival is also a great part of a sultry, summer Manhattan day. Most of the shows are free at Southstreet Seaport. Sonic Youth is at Battery Park on July 4th and the tickets are free, but require getting tickets at rivertorivernyc.com (not sure exactly when they become available).

More on Free Summer Shows NYC soon...

DEERHUNTER - "Cryptograms Mix Tape"

Bradford Cox of Deerhunter has just released the first sessions of the recording of "Cryptograms" as an ambient sort of "tape collage". Die hard fans should eat this up! Read more about the origins of this recording here.

DOWNLOAD - Deerhunter - Cryptograms mix-tape (24.53 MB)

ATLAS SOUND

Atlas Sound is the side project of Bradford Cox, front man for Atlanta band Deerhunter, who made a big splash in 2007 with their stunning psychedelic album “Cryptograms”. On a brief hiatus from his work with Deerhunter, Cox is prepping his debut LP for Atlas Sound – “Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel”.

The new LP finds Cox continuing his sonic journey through atmospherics and hypnotic anti-lullabies. Though, unlike Deerhunter, Atlas Sound’s recordings are a solo effort. Cox recorded everything himself onto a 4-track recorder, with some guidance from Brian Foote of Nudge. These songs, with titles such as ‘Quarantined’, ‘Recent Bedroom’ and ‘River Card’, are melancholy ruminations on topics such as children suffering from AIDS, the death of his aunt, and a lonely Puerto Rican boy abandoned by his mother and orphaned by his father. By all accounts, “Let the Blind Lead…” seems a very personal project.

As a lonely teenager himself, Cox spent a great deal of time listening to krautrock records and bands like Sonic Youth, The Stooges and Stereolab, influences that are very present in Deerhunter’s work. But with Atlas Sound, Cox seems more inspired by say, Brian Eno – delay effects, electronics and subtle layers – a more soothing, therapeutic sound than the blistering distortion of “Cryptograms”.

Cox has assembled a full band to accompany him as he takes Atlas Sound on the road in February. Fleshing out the band will be Brian Foote, as well as Adam Forkner, Stephanie Macksey, Honey Owens and Perry Ferall. The tour kicks off in Athens, Georgia on February 16th and wraps in Los Angeles in March.

The debut full-length album “Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel” will be released February 19th via Kranky Records.

-Originally published as part of "Buzzworthy" at Kevchino.com.

Atlas Sound - River Card (music video)

GRIZZLY BEAR - "Friend"

Today Grizzly Bear are releasing "Friend", an EP of "new, reworked, and re-recorded material (including covers and collaborations)". To be more specific, here you'll find the band's takes on classics like The Crystals' 'He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)', covers of Grizzly Bear by CSS, Band of Horses, and Atlas Sound, as well as collaborations with Dirty Projectors and Zach Condon (of Beirut).

Unfortunately, Grizzly Bear's appearance on Conan O'Brien tonight has been cancelled due to the Writer's Guild strike, but the band will be doing a free show at the Virgin Megastore (Union Square) on Wednesday. Grizzly Bear will take the stage in the cafe at 7:00 pm, but it is a good idea to get there early.

"Friend" tracklist:

01 Alligator (Choir Version) (w/ Zach Condon and Dirty Projectors)
02 He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)
03 Little Brother (Electric)
04 Shift (Alternate Version)
05 Plans (Terrible vs. Nonhorse: Sounds Edit)
06 Granny Diner
07 Knife (CSS)
08 Plans (Band of Horses)
09 Knife (Atlas Sound)
10 Deep Blue Sea (Daniel Rossen Home Recording)