20 Sep 2013 — Parker Bruce
The video for NYC via Paris singer Petite Meller's new song "Backpack" is like an American Apparel ad directed by Jean-Luc Godard (see Pierrot Le Fou). On her Facebook she says: "Welcome to my lil ☠ Empire ☠! J♥'aime la philosophy, Lingerie et Le nuvo Jazzy pop." And indeed, "Backpack" has all that and more. Fittingly, one of the video's directors (the other is A.T.Mann) is an American Apparel photographer, Napoleon Habeica. In the beginning of the video, she reads aloud from a book, cigarette in her mouth, straw hat on head, sitting on a boat: "I dance the jazz with physical passion, real and surreal, terrifying and funny, nocturnal and diunrnal, usual and unusual, the tacky terror, the war and the madness, all those things, in my backpack." The piece has a slinky, a knife, dancing outside of a castle and in a chapel, and the awkwardness of a Wes Anderson movie. The song is very much in the Lorde vein, but this is probably my favorite description of her: "...she is often compared to a post-modern Mia Farrow with a Brigitte Bardot allure." Petite also fits in with Karley Sciortino, Myla Dalbesio, and Petra Collins (who is doing a t-shirt line for American Apparel – so you know). Basically, it all comes back to AA. Let's see what Petite will pull out of her 2013 equivalent of the Mary Poppins bag next since: "P E T I T E debut video 'NYC TIME'...was inspired by David Hamilton’s esthetics and represents the Voyage of rhythm to NYC."
You can snag "Backpack" on Petite's bandcamp page.
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19 Sep 2013 — Henry Schiller
It's appropriate that the opening track of Johnny Hawaii's Southern Lights debut, five song album has a (fairly obtuse) Twin Peaks reference in its title. "The Parrots Are Not What They Seem (They're Just Pigeons On Acid)" is a fine taste of the kind of retro meets phenomenological aesthetic that so consumed David Lynch and Mark Frost's classic television series. But the parrots (or owls, or pigeons) really are not what they seem, as Johnny Hawaii has swapped out Lynchian cool for a taste of tropical futurism, the substitution is much obliged; Southern Lights has all the meticulous development of a Mogwai album, but with about as much faux-erudition as the score to a popular early 90s television show (which is to say: not much).
I'm an immediate fan of any full-length album that has fewer than six songs, and every track on Southern Lights makes the most of the space it's been given. The seven minute "Canoeing Down A Quiet River" proposes exactly the kind of aural journey its title would suggest, and just like when you enter an actual river, we don't have to deal with any heady (see: boring) buildup into the good stuff. Johnny Hawaii lets us dive right in. This track in particular makes me think of a cross between the iconic score to John Lurie's Fishing With John, crossed with some of Person Pitch's more relaxed moments.
"Inner Beach" is suggestive of an even more pronounced Panda Bear influence, but Johnny Hawaii lives up to his own name by injecting everything with a sort of beach-ready anti-resistance. This is the kind of album that you just let wash over you. Forgive me yet another David Lynch reference, but it's almost like Mulholland Drive; there's enough substance that you could become lost trying to devise a tangible negotiation of the piece's form, but you're better off just letting it happen in front of you. Take this to the beach, take this on a drive, take this to bed on a rainy day; Southern Lights is all-weather relaxation in the form of cerebral compositions.
Southern Lights is out September 30 via Hands in the Dark and La Station Radar; listen to the exclusive stream below:
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19 Sep 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Berlin via Adelaide producer Jian Kellet Liew aka Kyson's new LP The Water's Way is finally about to be released, and according to his label, the ten (or thirteen, on the digital version) tracks on it are "a reflection of his time living in the long and harsh European winter". Indeed, the dominating mood is one of mild desperation, of longing for brighter days and warmer places, assumedly for both the body and the heart. It therefore feels perfectly appropriate to drop the LP in late September, when at least Berlin slowly but unmistakeably begins to evoke feelings of wintry isolation again after a wonderful yet much to brief summer. "She Said to Me Quietly" – the album's second longest track with just above six minutes – is especially wistful, with a slow, atmospheric melody buildup and a desolate vocal delivery that not so much immediately recalls trip hop or chillwave, as suggested by some, but rather Eraser-era Thom Yorke. Take a listen to the beautiful track exclusively below.
The Water's Way is out September 24 via Friends of Friends.
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19 Sep 2013 — Trey Reis
I sure do love Lillerne Tapes. They have this way of specializing in gorgeous simplicity buried underneath years of dust. It makes sense considering Lillerne Tapes founder, Gabe Holcombe’s own musical experimentation, most notably in Vehicle Blues and with this little-known project here, called Gelatin Kids. It makes me think of that band Magic Kids or maybe Casiokids playing music through a warbly, heavy blob of, well, gelatin, I guess. I love and hate it when band names make too much sense, but this far-off take on minimalist guitar jangles is too good to ignore. What else would you expect from the guy who runs one of the most consistently good tape labels in the entire Midwest?
Check it out below.
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18 Sep 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Tereu Tereu is the project of D.C.-based musicians Brendan Polmer and Ryan Little, an outfit that takes inspiration as much from fin de siècle U.S. guitar pop as from more UK-leaning smooth electronica, naming mid-period Ninja Tune as a distinct influence. The result is a compelling blend of sampled elements and gently developed, intricately constructed guitar harmonies that occasionally evolve into unobtrusive yet perplexing walls of sound. The duo's approach is particularly pronounced on the lovely "Spanish Lynx", a track taken from Tereu Tereu's upcoming full-length Quadrants, which is premiered below.
Quadrants is out September 24 on Bad Friend Records. Pre-order now over here.
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18 Sep 2013 — Andi Wilson
This one feels a little personal. Almost as if tree roots grew from my limbs and these songs represented the soil and ground. Experimental Gainesville, FL trio, Hear Hums, made up of Mitch Myers, Kenzie Cooke, and Brian Bo revive with their third release, EP. Myers, is also leader of Peace Arrow (who recently released an incredible album, ↑↓↑↓). The essence of this EP in particular sends reminders of Animal Collective's Sung Tongs. Even though the sounds are comparable, instead of any lyrics Hear Hums use all kinds of vocalizations, establishing a profound relationship between the listener and intimacy shaped in each track.
Bird chirpings and light-hearted pluckings introduce the opener, "Black Strings Bliss" shortly transitioning into "Porch Pursuits" with snaps, swirling styles of anything but words, and a cheerful, quirky flavor of noises. This pattern continues into "Ceiling Scraper", introducing the lovely vocals of Cooke. All sounds transpire back and forth, drum beats heavily rotate with random xylophones chimes and scrapings of random percussion. "Forever Treasure Friends" is the track where the roots of my tree (mentioned earlier) begin to dissolve into the soil. It is so uplifting to hear a song that consists of such intensity, while at the same time preserving peace. Moving on to "Root", my imaginary roots are dug so into the ground that the leaves are now blooming from its branches. The tension builds and eventually falls into the most comforting place, like reading a passage from your favorite novel. "Dumpster Find" picks up with complete boscage vibes that bubble around with more random percussion and silliness. "Crib Crawl" is probably the most extreme song. Hearing a cat's shrieking meows combined with an increased volume in chanting/coughing makes for an uncomfortable innervation that fits into the collection of songs just right. We end with "Adapt" where I picture it being 4am. The party is over, but the birds return, opening their beaks to start a new day. This EP takes me through an adventure of nostalgic childhood, which I don't feel bad about for one moment.
EP was just released from Northern Utah label, Inner Islands. You can order a cassette here.
Stream and download Hear Hums' EP and follow by watching the video for "Porch Pursuits" below.
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17 Sep 2013 — Henning Lahmann
"About Singers" is an appropriately baroque and lavish introduction to Montréal-based singer Jef Barbara's forthcoming album, Soft to the Touch. Integrating classy elements of outspoken, unashamed glam rock, Barbara's pretty, gently melancholic croon is brought to the fore where it may shine, though the subject matter may come across as rather hopeless: 'But a few years from now / They won't be remembered', "About Singers" closes, quite a bleak statement to start an album with. The song's visual realisation doesn't mess around either. From its retro text overlays to the shooting's analogue feel and mildly drugged-out effects, everything's there that might make you roll your eyes upon first encounter. But a closer look reveals that this here is so much more than merely clichéed, much maligned shtick; this is genuine passion.
Soft to the Touch is out October 1 on Club Roll Music. The About Singers single is out now, with a Laetitia Sadier duet on the flip. Stream both tracks over here.
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16 Sep 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Lobster Theremin is the new, quite remarkably named London-based imprint founded by Jimmy Asquith and Jay Donaldson, set up as an outlet "for new and emerging international artists of a tougher aural leaning" (read an interview about the label with Asquith over at Juno). The latter producer – and fairly recent Berlin transplant – is also responsible for Lobster Theremin's inaugural release under his Palms Trax moniker, the Equation EP, a four-track 12" with three original compositions of raw, unpolished house tracks infused by classic Chicago/Detroit tropes, accompanied by an intriguing remix courtesy of none other than Willie Burns.
EP standout "Late Jam" is built around a sluggish breakbeat and off-beat, edgy handclaps that carry the arrangement before a vintage acid bassline takes over, carrying the arrangement towards nocturnal groove structures that gently fall into interstellar synth interpolations with incidentally interspersed, scattered vocal inflammations for the additional Chicago twist. At the end of the day though, he really got me with those handclaps. Take a listen below (via Boiler Room, as subtly made clear).
The Equation EP is out September 30. Order the 12" vinyl now here, via Kristina Records, or Phonica.
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