Blog: Lower Frequencies

Unfortunately, Lower Frequencies will have to go on a month long hiatus from posting. I'll be in India for a few weeks and internet cafes don't exactly do the trick. Anyways, listen up on the new LPs from Vampire Weekeend and The National and we will be back in no time.

And to send us off on our month long hiatus is a track that we recently can’t get enough of. I like to describe their sound as tropical, but they can be characterized by their smooth, catchy guitar riffs and unconventional song structure. Way Yes were quick to follow up last year’s great album Walkability with Tog Pebbles, a record that’s easily atop the year’s best. “Macando” got a bit of a tribal vibe, made apparent by the heavy drums and strange howling. And if it doesn’t get you with the catchy guitar melody, just wait until the climactic [...]

Providence’s Magic Man continue their effortless evolution into synth-rock juggernauts with “Nova Scotia”, lifted from the new EP “The Fox Den Demos”. Sleek, cool, and irresistibly danceable, the track stands apart for achieving a purely organic luster without sounding overprocessed and jacked up on studio embellishments. Likewise, voice and words wittily avoid big hackneyed emotions, instead flashing up in clever turns of phrase (“Sometimes nothing says it all”, “Tomorrow turned into yesterday/Why’d you take your time?”). The candy-swirl of synths marks the sound as technopop, but the beat is essentially straightforward rock; this one’s made more for a bedroom—dancing headphoned, [...]

The indie-pop heart throbs from Vampire Weekend have announced a new album, Modern Vampires of the City , to be released later this month. Fans have been treated to a quick, less than 3 minute single titled "Diane Young," and the track is quite promising. It's also almost comical, and appears as if the band members decided one of its early, unpolished forms was what worked best. The song begins with a pattering drum beat interspersed with minimalist guitar licks in their signature twangy, island feel. It becomes a bit heavier, building layers of drums and synth under Ezra [...]

Sure, Lower Frequencies features a lot more electro-pop and experimental rock than hip hop, but that doesn't mean we don't recognize talent when we see it. Chance The Rapper is an up and coming artist from Chicago and his new mixtape, Acid Rap is his coming out party. "Cocoa Butter Kisses" is incredibly smooth, spotlighting Chance's relaxing, raspy voice that is refreshing in a world of harsh, Tyler The Creator voices. And hey, Chance even got Twista to sing a verse! Remember that guy! Just like 1999 brought Joey Bada$$ the fame he [...]

• Chance The Rapper - Cocoa Butter Kisses (ft. Vic Mensa & Twista)

Yinyues is an emerging chillwave producer out of the UK. So far that’s about all we know of this apparent newcomer to an already booming electronic scene. Though it’s obvious after hearing his most recent single “Everything” that Yinyues is intent on immediately making a name for himself. It’s a moving, cinematic blend of lovely piano melodies, heavy drums, and the exquisite voice of Mimi Page. Keep an eye out for this exciting new project in the months ahead.

BRAIDS’ moody new track, “Amends”, sounds like a conjuration, or better still a séance. A patch of heavy hiss is abruptly pierced by a pulsing bump-and-tick, as if an old analog receiver were suddenly receiving a nether-worldly transmission. Then Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s vocals curl through the mix like smoke summoned shamanistically by the low, repetitive beat. The track could be heard as a deconstruction of dub-step, further draining its murky soundscapes down to a hypnotic tangle of voice and percussion. At the very least it’s an arresting meditation on the flickering borderlands dividing body and machine. Yearning softness keeps colliding with [...]

Consisting of two multi-talented guitarists and singers, The Milk Carton Kids are a quickly rising folk duo out of Los Angeles, California. This track is off of their new album The Ash & Clay, and seems to represent the most cohesive style of the two as they work to find their voices. "Hope of a Lifetime" begins with a complex array of acoustic guitars that intersects with the calming union of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan's two quiet voices. The song is whimsical and sentimental all at the same time, but is a bit sadder if you focus on their [...]

Today, Orlando based band Saskatchewan released their debut album, Occasion . This band fuses Beach Fossils guitar with Future Islands' synth and 802s drum beats. The product is a well produced, new wavy shoe gaze sound, whatever that means. But if "Youth Ministry" doesn't hook you right away, wait until the 2:25 mark when everything becomes quiet. Suddenly those beautiful synths have the spotlight and it all comes together. As with any song with the word "Youth" in the title, "Youth Ministry" is a euphoric epic. Definitely check out the rest of their LP. [...]

Folly And The Hunter have got skills. There’s really no better way I can illustrate my endearing feelings toward this Montreal three piece. They are self described as basing their sound in “American folk tradition and pull inspiration from contemporary indie and post-rock trends.” And in this regard I like to compare their sound to master folksmith Bon Iver and post-rock legends Sigur Rós. But there are no words or comparisons I can give to exemplify just how good their sophomore album Tragic Care really is. “Vultures” is a dreamy, atmospheric masterpiece - a track you’d expect to hear at [...]

Superhumanoids’ “So Strange” is about love in a place that isn’t really a place. Some may take this for an ethereal romance, flung across dreamy distances. Others will pick up on the hint in the opening lines about driving, culminating in “you make me hate this town”: ah, so it's Los Angeles then. Either way, the track, taken from their new album, “Exhibitionists”, should earn legions of fans. Every element is superb, from the tasteful funk guitars curling over the casual kick of the drums, to the iridescent smear of synth, to Sarah Chernoff and Cameron Parkins dueting as lovers [...]

Iron & Wine's Samuel Beam has been exploring various instrumentations and styles since his early, whispered bedroom recordings that made up The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002). In his 8th studio album, titled Ghost on Ghost, he continues to increase the tempo, even incorporating heavy drums and brass instruments. "Winter Prayers" is one of its mellowest tracks and begins with percussive acoustic guitar, complemented by trickling piano keys. Later on, earthy vocal harmonies fill in the gaps and build throughout the song. Beam's lyrics are vaguely sad, and it takes a few listens to really grasp the subjects of the [...]

Radiation City is an budding Portland band who are getting ready to release their latest LP, Animal In The Median . "Foreign Bodies" comes off this LP and boy is it sure fun. It's pretty easy to understand what this track is all about after the first 10 seconds or so. The winner is the flute sounding synth that rolls up and down above the sunny guitar rift, giving the track all the energy it needs to keep alive for its four minute runtime. Overall, this is music that is enjoyable to listen to, especially as spring time starts [...]

• Download MP3 » 5ForeignBodies.mp3

Moon Bounce has figured out the formula to make it onto Lower Frequencies. First, add a lush piano melody and accompany it with some heavy bass. Throw in there some chopped and screwed vocals, slow it down, speed it up, and top it off with a sick guitar solo. And that’s the basic gist for Moon Bounce’s “She Goes 2 She”. It’s a soulful RnB jam that’s got us at Lower Frequencies wondering where this Philadelphia producer has been all our lives. [...]

Stolen Jars is the musical project of Cody Fitzgerald, a current sophomore at Brown University. I recently saw them open for Magic Man in Allston, MA. After about a minute into the first song, I immediately made the connection to Andrew Bird. Nearly every song Cody played involved looping his guitar three to four times over itself. It allowed him to make intricate guitar licks that that the two female vocalists could harmonize with and the drummer could then provide the power for. "Stitches" is a good idea of what Stolen Jars is all about. The track is [...]

Poliça’s new track, “Tiff” (featuring Justin Vernon), is another seamless blend of electronic and R&B the band does so well. With the rest of Poliça nailing down a sultry, vaguely threatening atmosphere, the star is singer Channy Leaneagh, who seductively delivers a scattershot dramatic monologue brimming with vivid details and dark suggestions. She manages to make her words drift, stretch, and snap in a tumble of bewitching poetry; the story may be murky, but her emotions are searing and unmistakable. The cause of all this luxurious desolation isn’t clear; “need my TV, need my meds”, she sings at one point, [...]

Remember Rogue Wave, the smooth folk-pop band that came out with beautiful songs like "Lake Michigan," only to disappear a little while later? Well they're back, and have announced a new album called Nightingale Floors to be released in June. They recently posted the single from the record, and it sounds very promising. "College" takes a more polished approach than the material off of Asleep at Heaven's Gate (2007), filling in the band's typical spacey guitar licks with full, driving chords. Frontman Zach Schwartz maintains the band's sentimental feel, and keeps the new track dynamic with off-kilter tempo changes and [...]

Ever since " BTSTU " and " Jasmine " were released, the world has been craving a full length from the incredibly talented producer, Jai Paul. Last Saturday, Paul seemingly released his debut album on his bandcamp page. It consisted of 16 tracks and none of them had names. Unfortunately however, there has been a lot of confusion and controversy over whether or not the album was officially released by Paul. In either case, the tracks were in fact recorded by Paul and they are just as innovative and awesome as anything he has done in [...]

TOKiMONSTA is the pseudonym for LA based electronic producer Jennifer Lee. Lee wasn’t on our radar until we heard her wonderful collabo with MDNR “ Go With It ” earlier this year. It’s one of many great tracks on her gorgeous sophomore album Half Shadows which hit stores last week. “Spilling Autumn” is an atmospheric, dreamy synth pop anthem similar to that of Lower Frequencies alum White Blush . It’s a familiar, yet refreshing sound that’s bound to make TOKiMONSTA an eventual household name. [...]

You may not think it if you only heard his debut LP, but James Blake loves hip-hop. Blake is a producer at heart, and before his self-titled album, he created some amazing tracks using lots of different hip hop samples, ( Kelis for example). So here comes "Take A Fall For Me," the fourth track off Blake's sophomore LP, featuring the almighty RZA. As RZA has proven time after time, he can fit in pretty much anywhere. The collaboration is seamless and RZA's vocals are restrained in exactly the way it should be. Although the track does [...]