After a 7" on OOAOO in 2011 and a delightful cassette release via Moon Glyph last year, Copenhagen psych quintet Halasan Bazar are set to drop their proper debut LP Space Junk, a twelve-track offering that will see the band around songwriter Fredrik Rollum Eckhoff once again tapping into the inexhaustible well of 60s and 70s folk and AM pop. First single "Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad" should give you an adequate idea about the group's sound, which is as sunny and sanguine as it is subtly cloudy and twisted, frankly speaking just like the song's title bluntly suggests. The overall tone is blissful though, woth Eckhoff's crooning more composed and confident than ever, and before we let those accusations of tiresome retromania seep in, let's all just admit that this kind of music simply never gets old.
The bad news first, the three overwhelmingly awesome tracks by UK duo Saa aka Old Apparatus' A. Levitas and Linn Carin Dirdal that we debuted recently and that so many other sites were rightfully excited about as well, have been taken down from the project's Soundcloud. So if you somehow missed out on that, poor you. However, those bad news most likely entail good ones as well, as such things of course usually mean that we can expect a proper release sometime soon (on a side note, the same thing just happened to another young and tremendously talented UK artist as well, Hubie Davison, whose excellent material will see a release on beloved Berlin imprint Leisure System). In fact, that's also what this little Facebook post suggests. Anyway, as some sort of consolation, the duo posted this little instrumental yesterday, an interlude that might not be in any way as significant as the previous tracks (not least due to the lack of Dirdal's fantastic vocals), but it's a nice little piece of ambient nonetheless, so we guess it'll do for now. More info hopefully soon.
Here's the first taste of James Ferraro's forthcoming, highly anticipated new mixtape Cold; pictures of its cover have been around for quite a while, and now "Blood Flow" should be a hint of what to expect musically, and well, it is just another surprise. The track is built around a very basic, snare-laden breakbeat, with cheesy synth pads meandering aimlessly in the background, but most striking are of course those echo-heavy, unashamedly romantic R&B vocals that sound like, oh, I can't even say right now what they sound like. A wounded polar bear perhaps.
The Cold Mixtape is out March 25. Watch this space.
Montréal’s Visage Musique (home of NFOP favourites Brusque Twins) can seemingly do no wrong. Rarely do they add a new band to their roster, so it's a momentous occasion when they do. It’s thrilling to discover a new act as good and fully formed as Violence, and it should be no surprise that Visage did the unearthing.
Ottawa outfit Violence's (pronounced the French way) beautiful take on minimal synth music expertly leads you through a range of emotions. It’s equally appropriate for when being bombarded by snow as it is for sunny afternoons spent in the park. People will break up at the beginning of one song, then start making out at the chorus. That isn’t to say the band is confused about what they’re trying to do—this is a decidedly confident debut EP. These are masterfully arranged and intricate synth-pop songs that evoke goths dancing to Deux in a 1980’s Parisian basement, while simultaneously sounding utterly timeless.
Get the self-titled EP digitally on bandcamp or on clear 12" vinyl via Visage Musique. Edition of 150.
The visuals might be a bit too wilfully occult, but "Labyrinth" itself, the lead-off single from Austin-based dream pop outfit Boy Friend's new four-track tape Secret City, is in itself another very strong reminder of the all-female trio's marvelous knack for light-footed, sorrowful melodies that will stay with you for days. Also, the video certainly has its charms, and there's no denying that it is somewhat appropriate. Watch it below.
The sun is out, spring is in the air etc. etc...anyway, it's the perfect day for some aptly drugged-out, psychedelic and (yes) hazy vibes by Lawrence, Kansas outfit Karma Vision. The video for the lovely, hopelessly nostalgic new single "Plastic Ocean" was shot during the band's recent tour along the West Coast.
Constrobuz is making a grand entrance into the year 2013. After releasing my favorite album of last year, Rain and Dust, the Raleigh, North Carolina beatmaker has done what I didn’t think was possible, and stepped it up another notch. The Great Struggle is like the soundtrack to some classic, epic film with a bunch of tragedy and huge battle scenes. It’s an impressive feat for someone composing almost solely from sampled music; an approach that often lends itself more toward a collection of beats rather than a smooth flowing narrative.
You can listen to the entirety of The Great Struggle below. There is no mention of a physical release yet, but I can’t imagine some label won’t jump on releasing it soon. For the time being, cop it digitally right here.
Sean Nicholas Savage is an artist about to explode, in a good way. After releasing several albums via his bandcamp and Arbutus Records, the label that released early Grimes records and more recently Doldrums and Blue Hawaii, he is preparing yet another album, titled Other Life and set to be released on April 30.
Lead single "Lonely Woman" sounds like it has been ripped from an 80s rom-com in sound and content. Savage plays the desperately loved up male, desiring an impossibly aloof female, who isn’t willing to commit. His voice furrows around the track, divulging from gentle whisperings to desolate cryings. ‘We could do our time together, filling each other up with pleasure, or you could go to bed with your freedom, but he’ll make you a lonely woman’. All of this theatrical emotion, Savage’s yearning, is played over some seductive keys and a solitary guitar that interact in a similar manner to the storyline of the song.
Last month Arbutus uploaded Taste of Savage: His Pupils Sing His Music, a compilation of covers of Savage songs performed by close friends, who describe themselves as his ‘pupils’. The record was really something and furthered the esoteric aura surrounding Savage. He has all the credentials to succeed on a large scale and furthermore is a more unique proposition than his contemporaries. However, it is probably less of a question of if he can and more of a question of whether he actually wants to.
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