Gnarls Barkley - Run (ft. Justin Timberlake)
Beach House - Heart of Chambers
Underworld - Boy, Boy, Boy
The Juan Maclean - By the Time I Get to Venus
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
MADONNA - Hard Candy, Tracklist Revealed
As I've confessed before, I am a huge Madonna fan, so pardon while I divulge. The new album has been given the title Hard Candy and will be released April 28th via Warner Bros. The above Dazed & Confused cover is new! Hot! The first single, "4 Minutes", will be released in late March, with a video featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, expected to debut any day now.
Madonna will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC on March 10th.
Hard Candy tracklist:
1. Candy Store
2. 4 Minutes
3. Give it 2 Me
4. Heartbeat
5. Miles Away
6. She's Not Me
7. Incredible
8. Beat Goes On
9. Dance Tonight
10. Spanish Lesson
11. Devil
12. Voices
TAKEN BY TREES - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
If you haven't already, you really should check out the new Taken By Trees single, a beautiful cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N Roses. Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes, Peter, Bjorn & John) gives the classic track a charming makeover that lovingly reinvents it.
The debut album Open Field was released last June via Rough Trade Records.
If you're in San Francisco, be sure to catch Taken By Trees at Great American Music Hall on Saturday, March 1st. They also play The Roxy tonight in LA and the Triple Door in Seattle on March 4th.
STREAM - Taken By Trees - Sweet Child O' Mine
Taken By Trees - Sweet Child O' Mine (music video)
HEADLIGHTS - Some Racing, Some Stopping 80%
Indie pop band Headlights return with their sophomore LP Some Racing, Some Stopping, the follow-up to their 2006 debut Kill Them With Kindness. Led by the male/female duo of Tristan Wraight and Erin Fein, Headlights hail from Champaign, Illinois, a moderate-sized farm town located about 135 miles south of Chicago. Written and recorded entirely in Wraight’s isolated farmhouse outside Champaign, Some Racing, Some Stopping has an auburn-tinged tone that makes it the perfect soundtrack to these chilly days of winter.
The album begins with the slow burning anthem, “Get Your Head Around It”. The delicate opening strains gently pull you into a dream-like story, before bells, drums and “ooh-ooh’s” build into a swell. Wraight sings about overcoming those pesky mistakes that humans are so prone to, urging one, possibly himself, to swallow the past and march on. With its marching band crescendo, the track tells the same story musically.
The album’s first single, “Cherry Tulips”, perhaps best highlights the band’s knack for boy-girl harmonies. The hyper-romantic track showcases Fein’s gorgeous angelic voice, one that’s rich with delicate nuances beneath the fragile sweetness.
“I want the sea,
I want the whole sea
For you and me
For you and me”
Guitars lovingly swim around Fein’s voice, before embodying a very effective high-pitched slide loop at the climax that instantly recalls the Talking Heads.
On the topic of influence, it would be hard not to mention the occasionally distinctive similarity in style to that of the New Pornographers, or even a more lighthearted Arcade Fire. The frequent use of coed harmonies, slow-building anthems, and meticulous storytelling makes the comparison most notable on the driving third track “Market Girl”, which utilizes sleigh bells, instantly catchy hooks, and a euphoric guitar solo as Wraight reminisces:
”I remember I was five,
sitting, watching fire in the sky;
when it was easier for me to feel
different on the 4th of July
And the fireworks,
they’d always make me cry”
The elements embodied by Headlights come together most seamlessly on “Catch Them All”, a stand-out track that amazingly builds into a sort of epic tour de force in well under three minutes. The track is the closest thing here to resemble the blistering rock ‘n’ roll heights of Kill Them With Kindness.
Some Racing, Some Stopping is a solid improvement on their first record, showing a maturity and a grace that is bound to grab many new fans in the coming year. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Headlights become an indie major in the months ahead.
Some Racing, Some Stopping is available now on Polyvinyl Records.
Originally published at kevchino.com.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
JEREMY JAY - 'Beautiful Rebel'
"Beautiful Rebel", a new track from L.A. singer-songwriterJeremy Jay, immediately caught my attention. Sure it sounds like a cross between T.Rex and David Bowie, but the song is like listening to a vintage classic. Jay first grabbed attention when he put out the six track Airwalker ep last November. Now he is prepping the debut album A Place Where We Could Go, out April 22 on K Records.
Jeremy Jay is playing a handful of shows at SXSW next month. The new single 'Alpha Rhythm' will hit the streets (or headphones) in May.
Jeremy Jay - Airwalker (music video)
A New Song Emerges From THE B-52'S
A new song has emerged from The B-52's hotly anticipated new album Funplex. The new song, "Hot Corner" sounds as if it was recorded during the Cosmic Thing sessions. It's good to see them picking up right where they left off years ago.
In related news, some are ackowledging the Athens, GA resurgence.
Funplex is released March 25 via Astralwerks.
The B-52's - Hot Corner (mp3) via rollingstone.com
Funplex tracklist:
1. Pump
2. Hot Corner
3. Ultraviolet
4. Juliet Of The Spirits
5. Funplex
6. Eyes Wide Open
7. Love In The Year 3000
8. Deviant Ingredient
9. Too Much To Think About
10. Dancing Now
11. Keep This Party Going
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
PACIFIC! - Reveries
Pacific! are yet another exciting new act from Gothenburg, Sweden who make airy, romantic synth-pop. Their new album Reveries is released tomorrow as an import via Dolores Recordings. The new single "Number One" comes with a fantastic animated video, directed by Stephane Manel. Check it all out below.
You can purchase Reveries here.
Number One by pacific!
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Hot Lips by Pacific!
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Underground Alert - A FAULTY CHROMOSOME
A Faulty Chromosome hail from Austin, Texas [correction: Burbank, CA, though they seem hellbent on relocating to Austin] and make adorable, romantic indie pop. Their new album is called As An Ex-Anorexic's Six Sicks Exit, ....
Check out their bio, new video, full album stream and a couple of mp3's below:
"a faulty chromosome is a slopbucket of shoegaze tremolo, hand-claps, 8-bit blips, water-damaged mister rogers records, mashed casio chords and drum machine’d beats--all bundled up in a warmish childhood memory of hiding beneath the kitchen table in 1986 with their uncle’s overweight cocker spaniel (what was her name? keebo? keeno?). for neophobes and/or the musically nescient, a faulty chromosome (sort of) sounds like: the feelies + new order + half japanese + pavement + my bloody valentine + shaggs + yo la tengo + pere ubu + sebadoh + belle & sebastian + suicide. sort of. they are the quiet kid who hides in the library at lunch time drawing pictures in textbook margins. at worst, enjoyable noise. at best, a charming mess (i guess?)."
A Faulty Chromosome - Jackie O (music video)
A Faulty Chromosome - Jackie O (mp3)
A Faulty Chromosome - Them Pleasures of the Flesh (mp3)
Stream the entire album here.
Friday, February 22, 2008
STRANGE BREAKS & MR. THING
It blows my mind that this amazing new compilation of rare breaks has taken so long to be compiled. The collection is packed with one awesome track after another. At present, the collection cannot be purchased as a whole, but individual tracks are available digitally at bbemusic.com.
Here's what the label has to say about the compilation:
The sound of the sixties and seventies has never been so sought after
as at the present moment. You could even argue that modern music just isn't good enough. As evidence consider this: contemporary producers and artists are often looking back to get inspired - insert staggering number of examples - so you can safely say that even in this digital age the beating heart of modern R&B and hip-hop is still vintage soul, funk and jazz.
This is why BBE Records have teamed up with DJ/Producer Mr Thing, to dig deep into his extensive collection to compile a series of albums of rare and sought after breaks. This series reflects brilliantly on his dedication to digging for those untouched and unrivalled samples and breaks as you hear him use in his DJ sets. As a DJ, Mr Thing never fails to engage the crowd with his winning combination of hip hop and funk breaks spiced up with his legendary mixing and scratching skills.
The first installment in the five part "Strange Breaks & Things" series contains superb songs; some you've probably never heard of, some which may make you go: "I recognize this sample!"… because it was once used as the backdrop for a classic Hip Hop track. If you liked the legendary "Strange Games" compilation series on BBE compiled by the likes of Kenny Dope & DJ Spinna, you'll love "Strange Breaks & Things".
The Discoettes - Yes We Can Can (mp3) (from Strange Breaks & Mr. Thing)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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