Blog: Listen Before You Buy

You only get four songs. Like an exhale, it is momentary, but Pharmakon 's first widely-available recording, titled Abandon  (out on Sacred Bones) in the most foreboding way possible, stays with you long beyond its comparatively brief content. Margaret Chardiet is the voice in your ear, not whispering advice, but bellowing down your spine and through the soles of your feet. Her voice shakes the Earth to its very core, whether it's hitting you in the face or filtering through every nerve ending you've got. To feel something with Abandon , you must [...]

Smallpools ' debut single came at just the right time: with the crossover appeal of  fun. and the summery feel of The  Naked & Famous , the L.A. four-piece's debut single is guaranteed to be the soundtrack of the summer. Premiered by the taste-makers of  Neon Gold , "Dreaming" is a shimmery, soaring, synth-driven number whose catchiness and glossy vocals rival those of  Passion Pit , which is why the song has been #1 on Hype [...]

• Smallpools - Dreaming

Browsing the internet in early 2008, I stumbled across an off-kilter, folksy cover of one of my favorite songs, “Head Over Heels” by English duo  Tears For Fears . Naturally, I was intrigued. Only a few weeks later did Sam Amidon release his sophomore effort, under the name Samamidon , All is Well , a collection of Appalachian standards that resemble his latest effort, Bright Sunny South . After taking a break with his producer partner, Thomas Bartlett, they’ve reunited for this new round of [...]

Barely out of their teens, but blessed with a talent that belies their tender years, Wild Swim have – somewhat incredibly – already notched up almost a decade of experience as a band. Richard Sansom (vocals), Carlos Posada (guitar and keyboard), Jacob Lively (bass) and Sam Robinson (drums) have been playing together since they formed at school in Oxford, with Jamie Jay (also guitar and keyboard) joining two years later. “Our first ever gig was at a school concert when we were 11 or 12,” recalls Posada. “That was when Richard was asked [...]

It pains me to type out the title of Kanye West 's new album, but here goes: He's called it Yeezus , just in case you had any doubt about his inflated self-importance. Over the weekend he proved that he's a master of the digital music marketing age, by projecting his already-big face onto the sides of buildings in 66 locations across the world and singing snippets of a new song called "New Slaves" . Then the next day on Saturday Night Live he performed the track [...]

Photography by Nate Cover Like the  Yeah Yeah Yeahs ,  Phoenix has the right idea when it comes to a setlist: although they're currently supporting their latest effort,  Bankrupt! , which only came out a few weeks ago, they understand the importance of sticking to what their audience wants to hear, which is why I was beyond pleased that they ended up playing the entirety of 20102s  Wolgang Amadeus Phoenix , the majority of their latest release, along with pre- Wolfgang tracks "Too Young" [...]

Photography by Nate Cover Passion Pit is one of the few bands that I've seen many times throughout the years who can consistently put on a fun, energetic show - albeit a show that hasn't varied much these past four years.  Michael Angelakos is one of the most animated frontmen I've seen over recent years ( though he has nothing on   Karen O ) as he runs across the stage, not standing still for even a moment, making for [...]

Photography by Nate Cover It's not even contestable: 2012 belonged to Mr.  Kendrick Lamar . Between topping many year-end lists with good kid, m.A.A.d. city  and playing almost every coming summer festival imaginable, it's almost impossible not to have the young rapper on your radar. Hip-hop shows are tough, as it takes a lot for one to really stand out. I can honestly say that while having seen many hip-hop shows in my day, I can sadly count the number of great performances on one hand (with three of [...]

Photography by Nate Cover The  Sweetlife Festival 's 2013 lineup may have been the most fitting lineup for this summer, with some of our favorite up-and-comers along with the people responsible for some of this and last year's biggest releases. The only thing fishy about the lineup is the  Yeah Yeah Yeahs somewhat low placement, unexpectedly underneath Kendrick Lamar and  Passion Pit . Regardless of their somewhat low-placement, these Brooklynites had one of the largest and most enthusiastic [...]

Angel Olsen 's Half Way Home is being released on CD, which is just as well as it deserves to be out there and as accessible as possible. Astonishing critics upon its release last year, her second release on Bathetic Records was a bolt from the blue. From the album's opening track, "Acrobat," Olsen simultaneously announces and differentiates herself in an industry where heads all around were scratched as people sought to place her. New Kate Bush ? No, not nearly as whimsical. [...]

As DFA Records mentioned on Twitter , the biggest "dumb disco idea" was to have  Holy Ghost! release a song the day after the  Daft Punk  stream of  Random Access Memories   went live. Because of it this song might have slipped under the radar for some, but don't miss out because this eight-minute monster deserves all of your attention. "Dumb Disco Ideas"  is a classic DFA Records track in the production department, with the signature steady, crisp [...]

Talib Kweli's Prisoner of Conscious is a play on both his own reputation as a socially conscious rapper and on the term "prisoner of conscience" created by Peter Buchanan in his 1961 London Observer article "The Forgotten Prisoners." That article became a rallying cry of sorts for organizations committed to eliminating imprisonment based on race, religion, or political views. Kweli is well known for his politics, having been a vocal contributor to the Occupy Wall Street movement, while keeping his Twitter followers abreast of his latest social [...]

For a few years now, LA-based duo Michael David and Tyler Blake – Classixx to you and me – have been remixing. Phoenix , The Gossip , Active Child and The Ting Tings are among the outfits to have had songs treated to the pair’s summer-softened, bliss-exhaling interpretations and it’s been clear from these that David and Blake are two producers pleasantly in thrall to the  atmospheric loveliness of their home state, and the musical possibilities it suggests. This summer, [...]

Photography by Nate Cover Ever since they dropped "Hurricane"  about a year ago,  MS MR has been skyrocketing in hype, all while remaining in anonymity for the first few months of their existence. And after revealing that the male/female duo responsible for one of the most unique sounds these days is none other than  Lizzy Plapinger of  Neon Gold Records and  Max Hershenow , they have only continued to skyrocket into the blogosphere. Although there debut record,  Secondhand Rapture   via Columbia [...]

Ever since they announced their most recent batch of post-hiatus dates, I've embarked on a huge  Fleetwood Mac phase that sees me listening to the entirety of  Rumours   several times a week. When I first heard Haerts '  St. Lucia -produced  "Wings"   four or five months ago, I fell head over heels, as frontwoman  Nini Fabi  sounds a whole lot like my beloved  Stevie Nicks . I'm always a bit weary about seeing bands in their very early [...]

Photography by Melissa Scheinberg Although formerly known merely as " Beyoncé 's little sister",  Solange  has been really coming into her own as the new face of R&B these past six months or so, spearheading last year's long-overdue comeback of R&B alongside  Frank Ocean , where soulful vocals paired with minimalist production and Brandy b-sides were as just common across the blogosphere as the latest buzzy California band. With the newfound rise in R&B came  Solange 's gorgeous  True   EP - a collaborative effort alongside Dev Hynes ( [...]

At long last, everyone's favourite alternative R&B artist The Weeknd has revealed the first piece of new music from his upcoming album Kiss Land . The album's title track "Kiss Land" is close to eight minutes long and is the first new solo music we've heard since he dropped his Echoes Of Silence mixtape in 2011. Kiss Land (the album) is due to be released in late Summer/early Autumn, [...]

Photography by Becky Rother Playing to a sold out crowd, English trio Daughter - that played as a four-piece that evening - came on stage to adoration. Seemingly out of their element, lead songstress Elena Tonra modestly thanked the audience throughout. Having only played Chicago before at the space's sister venue, Schubas Tavern, the band played for over an hour, an impressive feat considering they had only just released their excellent debut, If You Love , this year. [...]

Los Angeles yacht-pop duo , Kisses , debuted in late 2010 with The Heart of The Nightlife , a collection of nine similarly tempered, danceable tunes. Kisses ’ low-stakes approach to indie-pop earned them some praise, calling attention to their quaint musical style. Now, three years later, Kisses sound more rounded-out due to stronger choruses and varied instrumentation, suggesting that the band is interested in pursuing trendy genres with grace. Kids in LA follows similar themes as [...]

With gorgeous, organic production and nods to R&B of the past and present, Marques Toliver's debut album, Land of CanAan , is a beautiful record that makes good on the promise of his first EP. Basing most of the music around his violin, Toliver creates an album that feels both intimate and expansive, making him an artist whose songwriting and virtuoso instrumentation has translated into a record that feels like you're listening to him and his cohorts play for you in a concert setting. Opener [...]