Slyd

Song: Slyd

Artist: !!!
Album: THR!!!ER




Promo Fail 2010...

Days ago I was pleasantly surprised to have a new !!! song come out of nowhere.  Saw it on Tumblr, it was noted that they'd been on a hiatus for a while, I remembered Myth Takes fondly, and couldn't believe I hadn't heard any new !!! since 2007!

Well maybe me, but as I do more research this AM I realize... they had another album come out in 2010.  What?  How do you follow new music pretty closely and completely miss a new album from such a great band.  Embarrassing.  And yet it seems to be happening to me more and more... am I slipping or is it an inevitable result from the ubiquitous and all-consuming sea that is internet news?

Well, while I get to discover Strange Weather, Isn't It?, I'm also really enjoying new single "Slyd" from the cleverly named upcoming THR!!!ER, which is set for release at the end of April.

!!! (pronounced, and sometimes written as, Chk Chk Chk) are an experimental dance-punk act from California.  Really worth checking out if you don't know them... give "Slyd" a listen and see...

"Slyd" is an experimental, cluttered, throbbing, beast of a song that sounds great with headphones.  Quite beat heavy... it's really a mind blower.

Get your weekend off on a trippy, pounding note.

Enjoy.

Slyd

Easy

Song: Easy

Artist: Sheryl Crow
Album: Easy (single)




It's odd when an artist can be on top of the world, continue to write great music not unlike the work that had them on the top of the charts... and nobody seems to care.

Sheryl Crow will certainly be okay, but the Lilith Fair is long over and female singer-songwriters that were once industry heavyweights can't get arrested.  Music tastes are cyclical... so when is the next female singer-songwriter, girl-power reign?

Sheryl isn't taking chances... after releasing the return-to-form Detours in 2008 and the bluesy 100 Miles to Memphis in 2010, Crow is "going country," a loyal, if smaller audience, by signing to Warner Music Nashville with plans for a "country" album later this year.  Our first taste is the sun-drenched feel-good single "Easy" which sounds like... Sheryl Crow.

Hasn't Crow always been a little country?  Maybe the "rock" guitars are turned down a touch and the twang turned up slightly, but "Easy" is full-on Sheryl Crow.  It's certainly in her wheelhouse/comfort zone, but it's also pretty great... like the return of an old friend.

"Easy" deserves to be as ubiquitous this coming Summer as "Soak Up the Sun" was in 2002.  A groovy ode to stay-cations and loving the one you're with.

Oh and P.S., just realized "All I Wanna Do" is almost twenty years old.  Think about that for a second.

Enjoy.

Easy

Impressions of You

Song: Impressions of You

Artist: The Virgins
Album: Strike Gently




It's been quite a while since we heard from The Virgins, NYC-based rock and roll act that had a modest success with their self-titled debut album back in '08 due to the popularity of single "Rich Girl," which was listed on Rolling Stones' best songs of 2008, was covered by Little Boots, and remixed with amazing results by The Twelves.  Killer song... had a sophomore-slump fear crushed the band?  Well... here comes "Strike Gently."

I'd forgotten about the band until seeing the album highlighted on Spotify, so I've been listening to it here and there over the past two weeks and things have finally clicked with me.  They sound a bit different to me than their debut, a little less urgent, not as rough and tumble... regardless, I'm really liking this record.

I'm getting a little Dire Straits vibe from them, a touch of Talking Heads, bit of The Cars and a lot of Elvis Costello... "Strike Gently" has a sorta-arty 80s rock record feel to it.  (If this last sentence has raised our interest, listen to this record now.)

This isn't a flashy record but it's tight and solid.  May take a bit to grab hold as it did for me, but this is some stellar, evocative rock and roll happening here.  Check it out.

Enjoy.



Impressions of You

Prima Materia

Wheel of Fortune

Welcome to Japan

Song: Welcome to Japan

Artist: The Strokes
Album: Comedown Machine




I don't know what happened.

It's been twelve years since The Strokes roared onto the scene with their electrifying debut, and now the ten-year anniversary of their even-better sophomore album "Room on Fire."  But then "First Impressions of Earth" came and things just sort of unraveled from there.  I didn't dislike that record, nor did I their last, 2011's "Angles."  I just have had a hard time caring.

I've been listening to "Comedown Machine," their sort-of fast follow-up and unfortunately finding myself in the same situation... this is not a bad record, it has moments, but I'm just not caring.  Sadness.

While I sit here trying to come up with something mildly profound or even half-interesting to write about this record, I keep thinking I should re-listen to their albums one after another and try to see a bigger picture.  This is a great band, one that has given me a ton of joy and yet things are not the same.  Are their any surprises here?  Is it me?

As I listen to "Comedown Machine" I'm a little too obsessed with my own disappointment in it, in the band, in rock and roll in general... to tell you anything of real interest or importance.  I think it's best for you to take a listen on your own.  This is the fucking Strokes after all.

I like "Welcome to Japan" though.

Enjoy.



Welcome to Japan

Tap Out

All the Time

Dream

Song: Dream
Artist: Forest for the Trees
Album: Forest for the Trees




An odd curio from the 90s, Forest for the Trees was a collective lead by Carl Stephenson, who has problems releasing their only full-length album due to a nervous breakdown that delayed the release for many years.  Stephenson, aside from Trees, is also best known as a co-producer of Beck's "Mellow Gold."  The psychedelic cut-and-paste sound of "Gold" is all over Tree's 1997 album, and would have come almost four years earlier if not for the breakdown.

The only single "Dream," did make a bit of a splash on MTV's Alternative shows, with modest success in it's "Buzz-Bin."  It's trippy and melodic, and probably the catchiest thing on the mostly experimental sounding album.

Beck is also on the album, and hearing it with "Mellow Gold" in mind, it's hard not to hear it as a blueprint of sorts to that albums junkyard-beat sound collage.  If you're a fan of "Gold" this is required listening, you'll be surprised at the similarities.

Enjoy.

Dream

Nobody Else

Song: Nobody Else
Artist: Dusky
Album: Nobody Else EP




I bit of deep house to get you into the weekend...

Dusky are London-based duo Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman, whom formerly were know as Solarity, a progressive/deep house combo.  They released their debut album as Dusky; "Stick By This" in 2011, the "Nobody Else" EP was just released this month.

I've been digging the sexy mood of the four-track "Nobody Else," which combines their love of classical music structures as well as deep electronic beats and textures.  I suppose it could be considered background music, but the production is top-notch and these songs go places vs. just "being there."

I like this, check them out.

Enjoy.

Nobody Else

What I Never Knew

It's Not Enough (feat. Janai)

Black Belt

Song: Black Belt
Artist: John Grant
Album: Pale Green Ghosts




Sophomore album that takes a more electronic turn from former The Czars singer John Grant.

Grant lives in Iceland where he recorded "Pale Green Ghosts" with Biggi Veira of Gus Gus, helping that more electronic sound he's given to the record in comparison with the mostly folk-y "Queen of Denmark."

Sinead O'Connor recorded the title track of that album on her latest album and she returns the favor by adding backing vocals on "Pale Green Ghosts."

I'm still wrapping my head around the record, but immediately loved the opener, title-track as well as second track "Black Belt," which has a great propulsive slink to it.  Things change a bit of a turn on "GML," which continues the deadpan delivery but adds minor absurdity to the lyrics... it's funny, yet serious... a head-scratcher. (GML stands for "greatest mother-fucker.")

I wasn't familiar with The Czars, or Grant's solo debut, but this record is one to check out.

Enjoy.

Black Belt

GML

Pale Green Ghosts

Counting

Song: Counting
Artist: Autre Ne Veut
Album: Anxiety




This is such an odd record.

Just two days apart friend(s) and reader(s) Melanie and Luis asked me if I'd heard this record, and if I hadn't I should... I hadn't, so I did, and I didn't get it.  BUT, I kept throwing it in my days' playlist at work and continued to be a little whatever about it.  That was about two weeks ago and now after I don't know how many plays, a lot in the AM, a couple just in the background while deep into office work... and suddenly, I got it.

Autre Ne Veut is New York-based musician Author Ashin, and "Anxiety" is his sophomore album after the self-titled debut from 2010.  I haven't listened to that, but will probably throw it into todays playlist. (EDIT: Not on Spotify, boo.)

So how do I describe "Anxiety?"  Well, it's got an 80s R&B feel wrapped in an almost psychedelic sense of experimentation and production.  While he's not female, this album sounds like what would have happened if Whitney Houston did an album with Yeasayer.  Let that sink in... as that's "Anxiety." (Though FYI, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" isn't a cover.)

It's best to just listen to the damn thing and remember, you might not like it off the bat but just keep listening.  It's nuts.  I really respect, and often line up with Melanie and Luis' tastes, so I'm glad I stayed with this record.  It bears many hidden strange strange fruits.

Enjoy.



Counting

Play by Play

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

A tout a l'heure

Song: A tout a l'heure
Artist: Bibio
Album: Silver Wilkenson




Another recent discovery, "A tout a l'heure" is the new single from Stephen Wilkenson, a.k.a. Bibio, English music producer and artist.  It's the first music released from his upcoming seventh album, "Silver Wilkenson," which is expected out in May.

"A tout a l'heure" has a magical charm that grabbed me instantly.  I've listened to his most recent album because of it, 2011's "Mind Bokeh," which is also very very nice.

I find his music a little hard to describe, it's electronic with a lot of acoustic guitar and organic percussion ... you really just have to listen.  Today I'm checking out his Warp Records debut from 2009, "Ambivalence Avenue"

Nice stuff.

Enjoy.

A tout a l'heure

K is for Kelson

Ambivalence Avenue

Under the Sun

Song: Under the Sun
Artist: Louie Austen
Album: What a Comeback!




Louie Austen is a classically trained bar and jazz crooner/vocalist born in 1946 whom began dabbling in electronic music in 1999 and began releasing albums.  He coined the term "electrocrooning," as a fit for what he does... which is sort of like old school House, or at least current-sounding House with an older feel...

Hell with it, Louie is right... it's best described as Electrocrooning.  Well done.

Late last year I got Austen's latest album, "What a Comeback!" and have really enjoyed it.  Perfect for a cocktail party or possibly even swank urban dinner... this is an album that will fit a variety of moods as well as ages of party quests.  I didn't really consider it WeCast-worthy... or should I say appropriate, but I keep going back to it... so why not!  It's good.

Austen was very active in the 2000's releasing an album or EP once a year, but "Comeback," possibly titled as it's his first since 2009.  (listen to that Timberlake)  I haven't listened to any of his older material, but have noted that much of it is on Spotify.

This is good to get your Monday/week going in a smooth yet punchy, classy fashion.  Find out more about the man from his official website.



Enjoy.

Under the Sun

Leanne

Love Machine

One Day/Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix)

Song: One Day/Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix)
Artist: Asaf Avidan & The Mojos
Album: One Day/Reckoning Song




Was recently introduced to this amazing remix from last year that I can't get enough of.

Asaf Avidan is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician and the lead of Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, a folk-rock band from Jerusalem that formed in 2006.  They've released three albums, with "Through the Gale" (2010) being their last.

"Reckoning Song" is a track from their debut album "The Reckoning." (2008)  Wankelmut is a German DJ who worked with Asaf and Ori Winoker to produce the One Day/Reckoning Song remix which became an international hit and found huge comercial success in European territories last year.

Evocative.  Hypnotic.  Transcendental.

Listen to this song right now.

The edit is great, the full club is more of a journey.

Enjoy and Happy Friday.

One Day/Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix-Edit)

One Day/Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix-Club Mix)

So Close

Album: So Close
Artist: Kidnap Kid
Album: So Close




Really digging this new single from British DJ/Producer Matt Relton AKA Kidnap Kid.

After winning "Best Electronic Song of 2012" on iTunes with "Vehl" last year, Kidnap Kid is heading out this month on a 16-date tour with a stop at the Ultra Music Festival.

I hadn't heard "Vehl" until this AM... and it's alright, but "So Close" is pretty ace... lush electronics with ethereal vocals by Sinead Harnett.

Lovely, gorgeous, and all that.  There's also a great Club Mix as part of the single package and another tune, "Animaux," which you can hear below.

Enjoy.

So Close

Vehl

Animaux

Go With It (feat. MNDR)

Song: Go With It (feat. MNDR)
Artist: TOKiMONSTA
Album: Go With It




Been loving this new single from Los Angeles-based TOKiMONSTA a.k.a Jennifer Lee, indie dance/electronic producer currently playing SXSW and gearing up to release what appears to be her second full length album this Spring on Ultra Records.

"Go With It" features MNDR who supplies vocals for the track, an artist that I recommend you check out again.  (You may recall I highlighted her debut album back in August, I do recommend you listen to the whole thing.  Here!)

TOKiMONSTA released an album back in 2010 ("Midnight Menu") which I haven't heard, but I did check out her 2011 E.P. "Creature Dreams," which is much more downtempo/trip-hop than this new single would lead you to believe.  That said, it's very good downtempo at that... cluttered sounds and stuttered beats, all done with an organic edge.  I like it.  Take a listen below.

Find out more on the official website.

Enjoy.



Go With It

The Force

Darkest (Dim)

Running to Your Love

Song: Running to Your Love
Artist: Ilya Santana
Album: A Western Tale




Recent discovery from last year, Spanish producer/DJ Ilya Santana's debut album "A Western Tale," a spacey, disco-infused, house record that mainly works as a mood piece, but has a couple killer single tracks off it.

Santana just released the "Starchaser" EP/single, which I liked okay... but happened to take a listen to "Running to Your Love" which was off the debut album.  Whoa.  It hit me immediately and I had to hear more.  Unlike "Running," "Starchaser" is mostly instrumental... and the same can be found on "A Western Tale."

I really liked this record... perfect for a space-themed cocktail party, or interdimensional transcendental experience.  This is a ride baby... and it's sexy.

"Running" is an obvious highlight, but you should listen to it from start to finish.

Enjoy.



Running to Your Love

A Love Scene

Never Seen Such Good Things

Song: Never Seen Such Good Things
Artist: Devendra Banhart
Album: Mala




It's actually been quit a while since we've heard from Devendra Banhart, the once pretty prolific singer-songwriter since his debut album in 2002.  At most two years would pass between albums but the tomorrow release of his eighth studio album "Mala" will be his first since 2009's "What Will Be."

"Mala" isn't much of a break from his established style, sublime folky melodies with some "out-there" lyrics, and a strong dose of "WTF."  Banhart is back in all his "freak folk" glory.

But on the other hand... "Mala" has a groovy ambiance to it that sets it apart from some of his previous work.  And despite the jump from singing in English to Spanish to a bit of German here and there it flows in a beautiful way.  This is an amazing mood record that's great in the early AM (when I've played it the most) but also, I would imagine, sounds great on the late late.

I typically have one track per album I become completely obsessed with with Devendra, which I'm still trying to work out on "Mala."  Serious nominees include "Never Seen Such Good Things," which has such a pleasant feel, some 50s style to it... hard to explain.  Sublime.  Then comes "Your Fine Petting Duck," (this album's animal track) which starts as a nice, folky track, that then turns into a throbbing German-stye dance track. (?!?!)  WTF indeed... a complete head-scratcher that manages to work.  Loving "Won't You Come Over" as well.

If you're not a fan, "Mala" won't change that, but if you're not familiar, this might even be a nice place to start.  Great record.



Enjoy.

Never Seen Such Good Things

Your Fine Petting Duck

Won't You Come Over

First Days of Something

Song: First Days of Something
Artist: Young Dreams
Album: Between Places




Norwegian indie-pop act dropping their debut album "Between Places."  Beach Boys-esque harmonies with a touch of their psychedelic leanings as well.

I'm loving recent (and I believe third) single "First Days of Something" as well as previous "Fog of War."  Beautifully layered and Summer-y.

Band is helmed by Matia Tellez, and fluctuates between seven and twelve members.  They remind me a bit of I'm From Barcelona... though that comparison isn't quite right.  Maybe a little Death Cab, Vampire Weekend, and/or a lighter Arcade Fire.  Eh don't listen to me... just do it for yourself below.

Enjoy.

First Days of Something

Fog of War

Young Dreams

When You're Dancing

Song: When You're Dancing (feat. Induce)
Artist: Gigamesh
Album: When You're Dancing




First heard of Gigamesh via the insane(ly good) remix of Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart."  I've been listening to a couple of proper singles and really enjoying what I'm hearing, some better than average dance music.

Gigamesh is Matthew Thomas Masurka from Minneapolis  a DJ/Remixer/Producer best known for producing Mike Posner's 2010 single "Cooler Than Me" as well as various remixes by the likes of Foster the People, Two Door Cinema Club, and Ladyhawke to name a few.

He just released a single this year, "Enjoy" which is great, but I'm stuck on "When You're Dancing," which is a bit Disco, a bit 80s, and a lot of amazing.  I see Eddie Murphy getting into hilarious R-rated (hence 80s, not that Nutty Professor-type shit) shenanigans to this.  Madcap.  Hot.

And according to Wikipedia, we share a birthday. :)

I think this guy is really one to watch.  Take a listen to his stuff below via a WeCastPlaylist.  More added as it happens.



Enjoy.

When You're Dancing

Enjoy

All My Life

Upstarts

Song: Upstarts
Artist: Johnny Marr
Album: The Messenger




I've read many a rock historian note that at the demise of The Smiths it was the band's guitarist and co-songwriter Johnny Marr that was thought to be the one to watch, the one to really take the rock scene by storm, not Morrissey.  But Mozz garnered almost instant and continued solo success twenty plus years after The SMiths demise, while Marr has bounced from band to band with middling success, despite his hard-earned, and unquestioned "legend" status in the history of Rock and Roll.

It could be the history of his career, and the fact that it's now a whole thirty years since The Smiths were formed, that makes his debut as a solo artist on "The Messenger" so surprising.  Also the fact that it's actually rather good.

Marr's voice isn't so exceptional, and sonically maybe there isn't any new ground being mined here, but it's all done so well, the melodies solid in their crunch or dreamy quality, and you forgive his codger-take-on-technology-and-the-world, because despite the eye-roll quality of the grumpiness, there are some real truths there.  And track-for-track, it's a pleasant and varied record in the best ways.

I've been listening to the record for a couple weeks now and it's certainly quite a grower.  I'd never connected with any of Marr's post-Smiths projects, but probably suffer from the fabricated competition that was inflicted upon he and Morrissey, whom I was (and patly still am) completely infatuated with.

But I throw that all out with "The Messenger," which has made me stand up and listen... and realize that at any age, you can still make that statement, and be a messenger for the world.

Enjoy.



Upstarts

The Right Thing Right

I Want the Heartbeat

Hollywood

Song: Hollywood (feat. Penguin Prison)
Artist: RAC
Album: Hollywood




RAC, or the "Remix Artist Collective" are a group of remixers with goals beyond "Club Music."  They currently have three members, and formerly two.  Andre Allen Anjos, whom resides in Portland is the founder and most active member of RAC.  Other current members include Karl Kling, also of Portland, and Andrew Maury of Brooklyn.

They have been described...

"Unlike many electronic remixes, which are commonly technical and precise, RAC mixes embody a unique aesthetic based around emotion and nuance, an almost intangible warmth and innate playfulness."

Alright.

"Hollywood," aside from being a killer track, is notable in the RAC story as it's the first original track they've done.  Written and produced by Anjos along with Penguin Prison's Chris Glover (who does vocal duties) "Hollywood" was released in May of last year.  How did I miss this?

RAC have remixed Lana's "Blue Jeans," Gossip's "Heavy Cross" and "Perfect World," as well as for the likes of Bloc Party, Phantogram, Chromeo, Ra Ra Riot, and U2 amongst others.

Enjoy.



Hollywood
RAC "Hollywood featuring Penguin Prison" from GreenLabelSound on Vimeo.

Blue Jeans (RAC Mix) - Lana Del Rey

Heavy Cross (RAC Mix) - Gossip

If So

Song: If So
Artist: Atlas Genius
Album: When it Was Now





The new Phoenix may ultimately disappoint with it's "experimental" leaning, but thankfully... there is a winning substitute; Australia's Atlas Genius.

From Adelaide, South Australia, this four-piece gained initial exposure from their single "Trojans" released in May of 2011.  It was added to MTV2's "120 Minutes" early last year and added to Sirius XM's Alt Nation station, raising the bands profile further.  They signed to Warner Brothers Records and released a debut E.P., "Through the Glass" which included "Trojans," "Back Seat," and "Symptoms" last Summer.

All of the songs on the E.P. made it to their debut album "When it Was Now," which just came out last month.  I'm loving the album and especially new single "If So" and album-starter "Electric."

You'll hear elements of Phoenix, Shy Child, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, etc.  Good band, check them out.

Enjoy.



If So

Trojans

Back Seat

Work

Song: Work

Artist: Iggy Azalea
Album: The New Classic




This song is so bloody ridiculous... an immediate write-off.

But now I sorta can't stop playing it.  Head over heels!?!?

This is the first official official single taken from Iggy's coming-this-summer debut album "The New Classic," which has found a home on Mercury Records.

I'd heard of Ms. Azalea (via the minor Iggy vs. Azealia Banks stan war) but hadn't actually listened to anything she's put out.  Los Angeles relocated via Miami by-way-of New South Wales-then Sydney Australia, Iggy came to America by telling her parents, at 16 that she was "going on holiday" to Miami...  then didn't come back.  She's released a couple mixtapes, singles, videos, etc. after getting attention with some YouTube freestyle videos.

I haven't listened to any of it... blinded by my Team A.Banks bullshit which may be the reason I initially thought-it just an older, slutty big sis version of "Swagger Jagger."  (which it really sounds nothing like, but straddles that line of silly-enjoyable, and impossibly, annoyingly juvenile ) And now I have it on repeat.  Hmm.

You very well may hate this.

Workworkworkworkworkinonmyshiiiiiiiiiit.

Enjoy.

Work