by Andrew Sacher Cold Specks at BV-SXSW 2012 ( more by Amanda Hatfield ) Cold Specks (aka Al Spx) released her debut LP , I Predict A Graceful Expulsion , this week (5/22) via Mute/Arts & Crafts. As teased by early singles , Al Spx has a real knack for this soulful singer/songwriter stuff, and the full album lives up to its expectations. Think somewhere between a stripped down version of Adele [...]
El-P – Cancer for Cure NYC legend El-P is back after a 5 year break with a clanking, monstrous, inventive masterpiece of underground hip-hop, and alongside Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music (which EL-P als produced) it is one of the best rap releases this year.
A chorus of strong female voices top this week's list of new releases, none more promising than that of young London-via-Ontario singer-songwriter Al Spx, a.k.a. Cold Specks , whose head turning debut, as our Music Director, Don Yates, describes, is "a powerful, emotionally moving set of gospel-steeped folk-pop with a dark, hushed sound featuring muted guitars and solemn piano along with occasional strings, horns and choral backing singers accompanying her velvety, deeply soulful vocals and spiritually brooding lyrics." Singer/actress Aleksa Palladino ramps up the intensity with her Devon Church, as Brooklyn duo Exitmusic makes good on the [...]
Date Wednesday, May 23rd Location Stubbs Doors 900 pm Tickets $12 from Frontgate Man, so many great bands are playing in town this week, and another to add to that list is the Canadian group, Great Lake Swimmers . Their original incarnation had them crafting quieted folk numbers, but as they've continued to grow, [...]
Considering she started her Cold Specks project only about a year ago, Al Spx is startlingly realized for such a young artist. Her scarred-but-commanding voice has turned an increasing number of heads over the past few months with just a scant few tracks, like the indelible " Holland ," but I Predict A Graceful Expulsion is a record bigger and more ardent than any one piece of it could indicate on its own, making everything Spx has done to this point seem like mere warning shots. The songs here are as wide as they are towering, weighing with a feeling [...]
The best of new album streams this week in A-Z form. See recent album streams in the category page. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave Cold Specks - I Predict A Graceful Expulsion Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Here El-P - Cancer For Cure Gossip - A Joyful Noise Hilary Hahn And Hauschka - Silfra [...]
We've been all over the Scandinavian artists that have graces our inbox lately, but we'll avoid it this week as it all pertains to death metal, so instead we have some much more pertinent stuff, mainly Exitmusic, Torches and Blue Foundation. In a decided wind-torn, shoegaze rock, Exitmusic 's Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church arrive on the scene with Passage . Palladino's voice quivers with a damaged macabre that Anna-Lynne Williams (Trespassers William) perfected with a get-on-with-it style like Matt Berninger (The National). Passage should show up on year-end lists for all it has. If some [...]
About a year ago I got an email from Al Spx with a link to "Holland", the haunting and arresting debut song from Cold Specks , her latest musical project. She told me she was from Etobicoke, currently living in London, England, and that she thought I might like the song. Like was an understatement. There was little else in the email, leaving more questions than answers along with an indelible first impression. I've had time to absorb I Predict a Graceful Expulsion , Cold Specks' much anticipated debut, and can safely [...]
Words: Jack Thomson Cold Specks is the stage name of Londoner Al Spx , originally from Ontario, Canada, who has been making the most beautiful music, describing it in her own words as "doom soul". In listening to her songs, it's clear that she's been heavily influenced by American gospel from the Deep South, and this is very apparent in her latest single 'Blank Maps'. The track as a whole, like [...]
It's hard not to be suspicious when an artist arrives on the scene with grand claims to have brought with them their own, unique genre. It all smacks a little too much of record company heads up meetings or the time when an NME journalist allegedly invented the New Wave Of New Wave for a bet. So here comes Cold Specks , the spearhead of the "doom soul" movement - although we'd be pushed to name you any of those bringing up the rear. Born in Toronto, based in London, you feel that Al Spx needs a pretty impressive [...]
Cold Specks found its stage name in James Joyce's Ulysses: "Born all in the dark wormy earth, cold specks of fire, evil, lights, and shining in the darkness."
The story goes that Al Spx – aka Cold Specks – is a false name, created by the 24 year-old Canadian to divert attention away from her real family name. However, it's the fact that they simply don't approve of her career in music, rather than actually protecting them that's the issue, and consequently we're left with the rumour of a backstory that hints at rejection, discouragement, and the desire to break free. It's the wonderful kind of promotional fodder that a music critic laps right up. And it might seem cliché for me to mention it [...]
The story goes that Al Spx – aka Cold Specks – is a false name, created by the 24 year-old Canadian to divert attention away from her real family name. However, it's the fact that they simply don't approve of her career in music, rather than actually protecting them that's the issue, and consequently we're left with the rumour of a backstory that hints at rejection, discouragement, and the desire to break free. It's the wonderful kind of promotional fodder that a music critic laps right up. And it might seem cliché for me to mention it [...]
Patrick Watson - "Into Giants" Directed by Brigitte Henry. AlunaGeorge - "You Know You Like It" Directed by Laurence Matthew Blake & Matilda Finn. Georgia Anne Muldrow - "Seeds" Directed by Charles Sicuso. Cold Specks - "Blank Maps" Directed by Olivier Groulx. We Are Serenades - "Oceans" Directed by Ted Malmros. Lower Dens - "Propagation" Directed by Sebastian Mlynarski. Lightships - "Sweetness In Her Spark" Directed by The [...]
It is Friday and I am on an extended long weekend (because that is how I roll) and wanted to throw some videos and a few songs at ya to see what sticks. It will all stick. Wanted to post on a new video of Zachary Lucky and Carly Maicher for "Leaves are Falling" that they played in Liverpool, Nova Scotia during their current cross Canada tour. I mention this as they will be here in Calgary tonight at a House Show (I'm out of the loop on that) but they have an official show at the Ironwood [...]
Maandag komt-ie uit: I Predict A Graceful Expulsion van Al Spx, a.ka. Cold Specks . Een plaat om naar uit te kijken, zoveel bewijzen de singles Holland, Blank Maps en het net uitgebrachte Winter Solstice wel.
Hey there! You should read this original post on the hill by going here: Polaris Possibilities:: Part 3 Polaris of Darkness As we get close to June, it means that I've got to start eliminating the pretenders from the contenders for the 2012 Polaris Prize . There are countless records that deserve to be on my ballot and won't get included, and like any subjective vote, there will be adoration showered on records I can't stand. So be it. I try to keep an active list of my "favorite records" but the [...]
Canadian-born, London-based singer songwriter Cold Specks (a.k.a. Al Spx) has been drawing hushed plaudits over the last couple of years with her brand of spectral southern blues. Dubbed "doom soul" by Spx herself, the Cold Specks style revolves around a heady blend of simple, slow-burn melodies and a sepulchral atmosphere suited to combing the unforgotten past, summoning vengeful ghosts. And then there's Spx's voice, a gravelly wonder that tempers its power with a texture and tragedy that's often reminiscent of Billie Holiday at her world-weariest. As Cold Specks' first full-length showcase, debut [...]
If you hadn't already heard Cold Specks (aka Al Spx) called "doom soul," you'd probably come up with the label on your own. The soul part is obvious, but there's a weight about this album, both lyrically and sonically, that gives it a gospel-like quality, except without any of the "I've seen the light" parts. There's a heavy dose of macabre in I Predict A Graceful Expulsion , but it's done with a beautiful delicacy, like a death-obsessed female Justin Vernon raised on Southern blues and blessed with a powerful voice. The album drops on May 21st. [...]
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mp3s :: Best Downloadables of 2012, Vol. 2
