11 Aug 2013 — Kelsie Brown
Drag-inspired crooner Alexis Penney's voice will turn heads. Associated with similarly-minded artists Miracles Club and SSION, Penney takes a house influence a little less literally and adds a darker, more seductive note reminiscent of 80s synth. Like the rest of Window, Penney's debut full-length release, "Your Eyes" was co-written and produced by Jamie Crewe of Poisonous Relationship and Nick Weiss of Teengirl Fantasy. Weiss' production provides the perfect backdrop for Penney to unleash his soulful vocal delivery. It's a soundtrack to a night out, made more clear by the official video, full of alcohol and drag queens.
Window is out now on Ecstasy Records. Watch the video for "Your Eyes" below.
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09 Aug 2013 — Andi Wilson
Heavenly Beat, aka former bassist of Beach Fossils John Peña, is back in the game with "Complete". The new single consists of many tropical beats and breezy inflections similar to his debut album, Talent. Yet, there is an undeniable mood within this pop track which leaves you feeling completely sentimental. Not to mention, Peña has a way of releasing his music with perfect timing, deserving to anthem any summer rooftop party.
Watch out for a Heavenly Beat's second LP to be released on Captured Tracks in the near future.
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09 Aug 2013 — Parker Bruce
French label Atelier Ciseaux, who were last seen in May putting out that awesome Police Des Moeurs EP, will now give us Street Gnar's (for riffs on gnar's meaning see here) Shrine EP on October 1. Street Gnar's real name is awesomely Case Mahan which sounds like the name of a small town detective. He's from Kentucky, and his music is posited like: "Repetitive, nervous tension and driving rhythms for a perfect dreamy sunday," which sounds about right. His vocals call to mind those of Seth Bogart from Hunx and His Punx and Cullen Omori from Smith Westerns. "Lift Up" is all light taps and tufting with a simple guitar part that sidles its way about groovily. In fact, the whole thing conveys a very parsed grooviness. Get your hands on the EP here before the 300 white vinyl are all gone! Also check out his album Kenwicked from February.
(via Ad Hoc)
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09 Aug 2013 — Henry Schiller
“Haymaker” has all the sleaze of a dirty south club banger, but the rhythmic intelligence of revered electronic composers and IDM musicians like mum (before Kria Brekkan’s departure, obvs). Feral’s ability to combine the heady and dynamic with the raw and lascivious should make the 24 year old quite a vivid fixture on the New York underground DJ circuit. Feral has been featured on a mix by Astro Nautico, Atlantics Vol. 3; you can check out more of his work here.
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09 Aug 2013 — Henning Lahmann
With a bunch of cassette releases, most notably on Night-People, still anonymous Californian project German Army is one of those URL-borne enigmas that seemingly have been around for ages without ever leaving much of a mark in the blogosphere at large, let alone the outside world of trees and birds and lakes and stuff. That this unfortunate fact, though probably intentional anyway, is very much undeserved, should finally be clear after taking a listen to Endless Phonics, the first GA effort that made it onto vinyl. The LP is an affront of sorts, unashamedly playing with long-abandoned tropes of 80s underground, chilling synth textures juxtaposed to motorik beats and more than aloof vocals that reveal an author who obviously doesn't give much of a damn about who might or might not care. It's all very cleverly arranged and without doubt the work of someone who exactly knows what he is up to. Check out album standout "Literacy in Opium" below – a brilliantly twisted sonic assault that however doesn't so much evoke images of approaching panzers than of some overly blasé hipster in a random big city basement, playing in front of a wilfully unimpressed crowd. In a good way that is.
Endless Phonics is out now on Monofonus Press.
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08 Aug 2013 — Kelsie Brown
Seattle musicians Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford have been quietly making music together as Cock & Swan for ten years. Their sound is deliriously pretty and lush, with minimal electronics setting the stage for Hungerford's dreamy vocal melodies. Their third full-length album, Secret Angles set to be released next month, is full of intricate and complex electronics drawing inspiration from trip hop and ambient sounds. We're excited to unveil the first taste. "Animal Totem" showcases the basis of Cock & Swan's sound in that toned down, dreamy way that we love. Keep an ear out for their next move.
Secret Angles will be released digitally on September 10th via Seattle-based Hush Hush Records. At that point a Kickstarter will be launched to push a vinyl release. A remix collection is also in the works. Stream "Animal Totem" below:
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08 Aug 2013 — Kelsie Brown
Brooklyn by way of Barbados teenage rapper Haleek Maul has been relatively silent since last year's releases with Supreme Cuts and The-Drum. After working with those artists, this new collaboration with NFOP favorite Forest Swords comes as no surprise. The UK producer weaves together eerie synths with hard-hitting percussion, providing a dark and hazy backdrop for Haleek Maul to spill his murky words over. It's a collaboration that makes almost too much sense, and we can't wait to see if anything more is coming.
No word yet on a release from Haleek Maul. Forest Swords' debut LP Engravings will be released on August 26 via Tri Angle.
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08 Aug 2013 — Trey Reis
The video for King Krule’s “Easy Easy” might be the most light-hearted we’ve ever seen Archy Marshall. He even smiles and looks like he is having fun a few times throughout the scenes of sauntering through the streets and swinging cricket bats on sunny rooftops. The lyrics still carry that conscious grief, but somehow sound hopeful over the high-strummed guitar that rolls in during the song’s chorus.
“Easy Easy” is the lead single off of the upcoming King Krule LP, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, which is out August 24 on XL Recordings, and is either a sign of all that teenage angst coming to a close, or just a random hopeful thought rising above the typical King Krule gloom we all adore so much.
Watch the video for “Easy Easy” below.
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