As you may have already heard, Baltimore native* Josh (or J) Tillman recently left Fleet Foxes. It would appear the move was made to pursue is solo career full-time. Tillman has already released seven full-length albums under his own name and is now gearing up to release his debut LP for Sub Pop as Father John Misty. The album, titled Fear Fun , will be released on May 1st. MP3: Father John Misty - "Hollywood Forever Cemetery [...]
Among the many great 2011 releases I didn’t manage to cover before 2012 appeared was Falcons’ mini-LP Indian Summer . It’s a seven-song collection of instrumental music that’s built upon hip-hop style beats. And while seven tracks of extended beats might seem like something that might require central points of rhyming or singing, you end up realizing that vocals, or lyrics of any kind, would be more of a distraction than anything -- detracting from the strength of the music as it currently exists. This Oakland/Vancouver duo finds a happy median between hip-hop, world, and IDM, and they certainly [...]
Brooklyn's Matty Fasano is a versatile musician, evidenced by his solo work with ARMS and LCD System. His latest solo effort, the Living In Armchairs EP, is out this week, and it's bound to be one of the most beautiful releases you'll hear in 2012. Centered around Fasano's soothing, incredibly harmonious voice and equally as moving piano playing, Living In Armchairs posits itself somewhere between pop and classical. As the name might suggest, this four-song collection is an undeniably comforting body of work -- one that's serene and inspiring. If [...]
You already know that we (tip of the hat to you, Quinn) make mixtapes . Well, other people ( big ol' blogs like Stereogum ) do too. To quote those folks, "This was an incredible month for free hip hop MP3s..." I'm excited about one release in particular, and that's NO 1 2 LOOK UP 2 from Big Baby Gandhi. It's rap a la Das Racist (literally, their label released it), so the record is purely for you stream-of-consciousness fans who thrive on wordsmithyness and odd song [...]
Jonquil - "It's My Part" Like a cross between Foals and Wild Beasts, this is both danceable and relaxing. Outside of its gentle but distinguished chorus melody, "It's My Part" is propelled by math rock-meets-afropop styled guitar riffs. It almost sits on the dividing line between winter's chill and summer's warmth. "It's My Part" is from Jonquil's new album, Point of Go . Point of Go [...]
MP3: I AM DIVE - "A Morning Walk" If you've ever woken up to world veiled with a dense fog, you've undoubtedly felt a natural sense of curiosity: what lays just past that curtain of fog? Even if you're quite familiar with your surroundings, this change in appearance makes the world seem sort of infinite and a mere reflection of reality. Maybe it's just in my experience, but when such a heavy fog is draped around my town, I feel like I'm still dreaming. "A Morning Walk" is evocative of this feeling with its [...]
As previously reported around the web, Vancouver rock 'n' roll duo (some may say "garage rock" or "noise pop" duo) Japandroids are set to release their third album, Celebration Rock , on June 5th via Polyvinyl. Today, the guys unleashed a fierce new track, "The House That Heaven Built," from their highly anticipated follow-up to 2009's critically-acclaimed Post-Nothing . Take it for a spin. High volume is recommended. Listen @ SoundCloud If Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band started toying with pop punk, [...]
Photo by Cam Archer MP3: 200 Years - "Solar System" "Solar System" may introduce itself as a simple, hushed acoustic track with its somewhat stark beginning, but it's this very simplicity that makes it all feel rather spacious in the end. By leaving so much negative space untouched, the song grows into an increasingly tender piece that connects intimacy with universality. It's quiet, maybe even a bit reserved, but it's no less moving, or engaging. "Solar System" [...]
Joshua McCormack - "Galaxy of Doom" Honestly, the first time I heard this song, I thought "What the?" Afraid to admit that the sentiment leaned more towards a negative one, but on my second listen through, I found myself taken in by its wild unpredictability. Whether it's the initial punk and hardcore attitude, the pop and funk-tinged R&B a la Prince, or the bluesy howls that mark the stops in the first half's verses, "Galaxy of Doom" pretty much defines the tag "unclassifiable." McCormack's knack for making sonic twists into hooks is [...]
In case you didn't happen to hear the good news, Spiritualized will be releasing a new album April 16th entitled Sweet Heart Sweet Light . No, the image above isn't included for irony or just because it's nice to include a picture with my silly, little write-ups. What you see above is the official cover art for the aforementioned Spiritualized album. Jason Pierce (or J Spaceman, if you prefer) and co. have had this record in the oven for about two years, apparently -- not to mention the other year Pierce spent mixing the album. So, why wait any [...]
Friend Collector (feat. members of The New Flesh) is a noise rock/punk band from right here in Baltimore. Most will take them as just a bunch of rampant noise with no purpose, which is missing the point. From what I've gathered, this is a band that plays with reckless abandon and an inescapable fury of noise in order to obliterate expectations. Instead of attempting to make something from a mold of another band or familiar sound, these guys are freeing their demons in a most unadulterated manner. Certainly, this isn't going to be a band for everyone, but [...]
Glasgow sextet The Moth & The Mirror craft what could almost be described as mini operas. It's not that their songs are especially dramatic or rather ostentatious, but they are certainly just as impressive and powerful due to their ambition and scale. Ok, so "opera" is really a poor descriptor or point of reference, but it certainly hints at the band's willingness to create something bigger than themselves. The Moth & The Mirror clearly know how to create songs that are expansive, detailed, dynamic, and utterly beautiful. They're one of the few bands I've heard as of late that's capable [...]
It's time for another edition of "What's Your Muse?" The concept is simple: We ask a band/artist to choose a song that means a lot/the most to them. Then, they record and send us a video of themselves describing why they chose the song. Think of it like a collaborative video mixtape project. In this edition, we hear from Cats In the Basement. Chances are, if you have a ton of cats [...]
If anyone cared to remember when I used to post more, they'd remember that I'd occasionally freak out because the folks over at NPR: First Listen offered something really special. Well, it's been too darn long. Back in 2010 , I wrote briefly about Esperanza Spalding's sophomore effort Chamber Music Society . Whether you're a jazz enthusiast or not, it's tough to deny that this 27 year-old woman is oozing talent. I was so taken aback by [...]
It's March, so Madness is on the mind. For a lot of folks, the madness is NCAA Basketball and the road to the Final Four. The music industry, however, deals with its own insanity this month, as a near-immeasurable amount of talent arrives in Austin, Texas for South By Southwest. SxSW has become a haven for fledgling and fringe acts alike, all of them crowding into venues to play showcases populated by the industry's best and brightest talent scouts. The festival can serve as a launch point for new and stagnant careers alike, as PR firms [...]
Baltimore-native duo Beach House -- which let's face is pretty much one of the most lovely and magical duos of the past decade -- will release their highly-anticipated fourth album, Bloom , on May 15th via Sub Pop. The record was co-produced with Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, !!!, Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead), who worked on the band's great, critically-acclaimed breakthrough record, 2010's Teen Dream . It sees the band continuing to explore a more fleshed out, a much richer, sound. It sounds like Beach House, but it also sounds like something entirely new, [...]
Back in January of this year, I shared the new Conveyor single entitled "Mukraker." The single is actually part of a split with the b-side featuring "gulf hymn," a song by another Brooklyn band called ILLUMNTR. Take a trip by listening to the track below. gulf hymn (NEW SINGLE) by ILLUMNTR If you ever wondered what R&B might sound like in the future -- say if a bunch of dudes who were into psychedelia were involved -- here it is. With spacey layers of vocal harmonies [...]
In case you missed it, synthpop/Italo Disco outfit Chromatics will be releasing Kill For Love , the highly-anticipated follow-up to their much beloved 2007 LP Night Drive , very soon (the release has been delayed due to some mastering issues). We've already heard the cover of Neil Young's "Into the Black" along with two other album tracks, and now we have another album track to spin entitled "Candy" via a new music video. It's another in a series of videos produced by Italian filmmaker Alberto Rossini. Hear and see the eerie daydream below. [...]
One of my favorite releases of 2011 was Death Grips fantastic and refreshing mixtape/LP Exmilitary . It was aggressively raw and unlike any other thing out there, especially in the field of hip hop. And hot off the heels of such a stellar debut, Death Grips are gearing up to release not one but two new albums this year starting with The Money Store on April 24th. The group has also signed with Epic Records (I know, right? Didn't see that coming, but awesome), who will handle the release of the new albums. Hear [...]
Ever since I heard the first song off of Bravestation's 2010 EP, I've been a fan. Following a productive and successful 2011 that included their first tour of the UK, the Toronto band is gearing up to release their debut LP. The as-yet-untitled album is, in my estimation, going to be one of the year's best releases, and today Mixtape Muse has the honor of sharing "Signs of the Civilized," a brand new song from the album. When I first wrote about Bravestation, I said there was something clearly unique about their sound, and, as you'll [...]
Mixtape Muse
Numbers: 25 or 6 to 4
Boards of Canada – Reach For The Dead
L D R U – The Tropics
