Tomorrow Yeasayer is set to release the long awaited follow up to All Hour Cymbals with their new one Odd Blood. Recently they put out “O.N.E.”, the second single from the album. I’m digging okay, but not as much as the first single “Ambling Alp”. XXXchange took their chances with a remix of “O.N.E.” whilst my boy Alan Wilkis kicks it up a notch with his version of “Ambling Alp”. Take a listen:
About a year ago I received a 5 track demo from a fairly new DC band True Womanhood. Their sound was truly unique. Not overly complicated – guitar, vocals, drums, and the occasional strange sound I couldn’t quite place. The trio of Thomas Redmond (vocals, guitar), Melissa Beattie (bass, aux), and Noam Elsner (percussion, aux) have since played a slew of area shows and have been highlighted on many blogs. They have just released a new EP Basement Membranes on local Baltimore label Environmental Aesthetics (home of Weekends, Lands & Peoples, In Every Room, and more) and holy crap is it good. I knew when they put out the digital single of “Magic Child” a little while ago that they had seriously grown as artists, but hearing this explosive EP has put them on another level. I’m guessing that working with J. Robbins and Death By Audio had an effect for sure. The difference between these new versions and the older demo versions is pretty drastic. The rhythmic intensity on the EP is simply breathtaking and powerful. I know that seems cliche – but its the friggin truth. Also, as I stated on our post about the “Magic Child” single, Thomas Redmond’s voice has blossomed into its own powerful entity within these songs. Previously it seemed to just blend and waver between its other musical counterparts, but now Redmond’s vocals charge to the front. There’s not much else to say but GET THIS EP then beckon them to get a-workin’ on the LP.
Yes it’s snowed quite a bit here in the Baltimore area. Hows about yous? While you’re watching tv, reading books, sittin’ fireside, or generally enjoying life in your cave why not enjoy this little mix of winter related tracks (sorta) I’ve put together in my newly discovered spare time.
Thanks to Analog Giant and their pretty swell top ten 2009 albums list. This list turned me on to Lindstrom and Christabelle’s Real Life Is No Cool (which AG selected as their top LP of 2009) – an album I completely missed out on. If you can imagine some sort of alternate reality where Michael Jackson was a Norwegian woman and waited 30 years to release Off The Wall – then you’d probably be listening to something sounding quite like Real Life Is No Cool. The duo of Hans-Peter Lindstrom and Christabelle Solale summon that disco funk pop r&b early 80s spirit then splatter it with their modern Norwegian electronic seductive electronic whispering charm. I slept on this album. Don’t make the same mistake.
So there’s a “CRIPPLING” snowstorm upon us here in Baltimore. Some are dubbing it the Snowpocalypse. It looks like this is it. It’s been real…
Seriously though, lots of snow on the way and with this impending doom it feels only right that I make a few comments on the new EELS LP End Times. Yup you guessed it – it’s a downer of an album about the last days. That being said, I really dig it. Since last years release of Loco Hombre and this new LP, I’m starting to believe EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett is a modern day Tom Waits with a freakish Nick Drake sensibility. While End Times isn’t a “play anytime” album for me, I’ve enjoyed it quite a lot over the last few days of listening. And this track simply makes the album for me:
One of my favorite tracks from last year (though it didn’t appear on any of my lists) “Invisible Forces” by The Fresh And Onlys has just spawned its video counterpart. This track made its way onto so many personal playlists of mine with its eerie lo-fi garage sisters of mercy haunt. Check out this equally eerie woods ritual video directed by Craig Oliver and Nathan Gulick:
It’s Thursday and I’m tired. It’s been a long week of moving and what I’m really in the mood for is RE-LAX-A-TION. When I get off work I’ve got some time reserved to just sit and space out a bit. Two tracks that will easily fit my mood will be Body Language’s remix of Toro Y Moi’s “Timed Pleasure” and CRACKS‘ remix of Atlas Sound’s “Sheila”. Atmospheric…psychedelic…and a good beat (so I don’t fall out). Try them on for yourself:
Saratoga Springs, NY. Skidmore College. Mostly known in the music world for the place where Ratatat hooked up. Perhaps in the near future it will be known for the place that is home to the duo of Phantogram. Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel make up the twosome that have their debut LP Eyelid Movies about to surface on the fine label of Barsuk.
Imagine some fantastic world where Portishead, J Dilla, and School Of Seven Bells could some how meet and create some stellar cosmic dark soul rough cut trip hop. This is where Phantogram resides. The music on Eyelid Movies draws from artists like that in a big way and it really appeals to me. Sparse yet booming beats, a minimal sample or two, usually some sort of guitar riff, and the soulful vocals of Barthel (though Carter also sings on a few).
It’s dark and cold around Baltimore. I have Eyelid Movies blaring and it seems to just melt into the cityscape around me.
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