Blog: Listen Before You Buy

Tweet Die Antwoord is a rave-rap duo from South Africa who bring a unique style to their hip-hop while their past completely mysterious. The duo consists of Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er , who both alternate between rapping and singing on each song. Ninja seems to be the driving force behind Die Antwoord , his thick accent acting as a constant reminder of just how different he is from other prominent voices in hip-hop. Yo-Landi's voice [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Oh Land 's song "Speak Out Now" below, taken from the album "Oh Land". Connect with Oh Land – Website / Facebook / Twitter

Tweet Listen to Death Grips ' new song "Blackjack" below. Last year the relatively-unknown Death Grips released one of the fiercest, loudest, most intense albums (mixtapes) of 2011 with "Exmilitary" , and they've announced that this year they're releasing two more albums, the first of which drops in April. Swapping brain-hemorrhaging guitars for guttural synths and reverb-laden vocals being played backwards, "Blackjack" is immediately the most striking track [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Big Deal 's song "Talk" below, taken from the album "Lights Out". Connect with Big Deal – Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud

Tweet Watch the new video for Jay-Z & Kanye West 's song "Niggas In Paris" below, taken from the album "Watch The Throne" . Buy the album from Amazon - MP3 / CD / Deluxe CD

Tweet Sometimes when I listen to music, I know I am getting a piece of the artist's heart right there in the song. That feeling is nearly matchless. That's how I felt when I first heard Suburban Dirts . Rockabilly rock hasn't sounded this raw yet well-delivered in a long, long time. Frontman John Wheatley sings like he grew up during the same era as our grandfathers, with a hint of our time around the edges grounding him. Alluding [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Cults ' song "You Know What I Mean" below, taken from the album "Cults" . Connect with Cults - Facebook | Twitter | Website | Last.fm

Tweet The release of Sharon Van Etten's third album, "Tramp" , couldn't have come at a better time, as it arrives almost simultaneously at the same time as another newer female musician releases her first, yet highly anticipated album, that is Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die". I couldn't help but note some interesting contrasts and comparisons between the two, as I recently read a piece over at Spin that defended Lana and I felt [...]

Tweet From the bouncy jangle of album starter "Eighth Avenue" , it's immediately clear Brooklyn trio Hospitality have come a long way from 2008's debut six song EP – and not just the kind of growth that's afforded when you stop recording in your apartment and actually enter a studio (although that's sure to have had a positive impact as well). On their debut album, Amber Papini captures the ineffable spark of their EP's best tracks and [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Brick + Mortar 's song "20 LB" below, as part of SXSW's Artist Showcase. Connect with Brick + Mortar – Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp / Last.fm / Website

Tweet As the story goes, when Frànçois Marry arrived in Bristol, England from France in 2003, he wrote a note accompanied by a picture asking for people to make music together with, taped it in his window, then proceeded to check out local car boot sales for instruments. Starting out with a hodgepodge of found instruments (including a keyboard he played with his foot), Frànçois began playing live in Bristol in early 2004. 2005 - 2007 saw him collaborating with various local [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Niki & The Dove 's song "The Fox" below, taken from single "The Fox". Connect with Niki & The Dove - Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm

Tweet Listen to Boy Friend 's new song "Bad Dreams" below. On March 6th, Austin, TX duo Boy Friend will release their debut album "Egyptian Wrinkle" , after a good year or so of releasing material out into the world. Their anthemic, ethereal, and haunting vocals are now a staple for the band, either creeping you out when you listen to them in a dark lonely room, [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Dustin Wong song "Pink Diamond" below, taken from the album "Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads". Connect with Dustin Wong - Soundcloud | Last.fm

Tweet Listen to Fanfarlo 's new song "Vostok, I Know You Are Waiting" , taken from their new album "Rooms Filled With Light" . Though it didn't make the final cut of the regular version of Fanfarlo's new upcoming album "Rooms Filled With Light" , this new track did make the special edition release as a bonus track. You can tell why when you listen to it, [...]

Tweet Recent years have seen two trends take over pop music, and, consequently, the charts: electronic music and female vocals, oftentimes together. 2010 saw the UK introduce, among many others, obviously, two young faces that were great exponents of the cross between electronics and female vocals: Marina and the Diamonds and Ellie Goulding . Now, there's a new bright young face to introduce: Foxes . Foxes , born Louisa Rose [...]

Tweet Watch the new video for Zulu Winter 's song "We Should Be Swimming" below, taken from the same single, out on February 27th. Connect with Zulu Winter – Facebook | Twitter | Website

Tweet Watch the new video for Cold War Kids ' song "Minimum Day" below. Keep up to date with Cold War Kids – Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm

Tweet Watch the new video for Band Of Skulls ' song "Sweet Sour" below, taken from the album "Sweet Sour" . Connect with Band Of Skulls – Facebook / Twitter / Last.fm

Tweet Listen to the new Veronica Falls song "My Heart Beats" below. If you heard anything from Veronica Falls ' debut self-titled album from last year, you'll know that it was hardly the most joyous album you heard all year, packed with ominous songs and morose subjects (like finding love in a graveyard and "bad feelings" ). Listening to "My Heart Beats" , though and you might just [...]