Blog: The Needle Drop

Two New Hampshire bands with equal amounts of passion for vintage psychedelic rock and pop come together for a new 103 split that's getting released this month on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records. Grab a copy here , and stream two tracks from the 103 above. Enjoy!

• MMOSS - Nothing Left
• Quilt - Open Eyes

"Quasimoto," the alternate, bar-spitting persona of super-producer Madlib, has a new track out titled "Planned Attack." The song is set for release on Lord Quas' next full-length, Yessir Whatever . It's a collection of tracks that were recorded over the past twelve years or so, and you can find it via Stones Throw on June 18th. More info here , and enjoy! Check a review of Madvillain's Madvillainy below:

• Quasimoto - Planned Attack

Twelve Reasons To Die: The Brown Tape by Ghostface Killah If you're a big hip hop fan, no doubt you heard that the Wu-Tang's Ghostface Killah has a new collaborative album with producer and composer Adrian Younge. If you're a fan of the LP, then you won't wanna miss The Brown Tape , which is a track-for-track revision of the album, produced entirely by Apollo Brown. New beats, new vibes, same great bars. Enjoy! Check a review of Twelve Reasons To Die Below :

The Dillinger Escape plan drops yet another track from their forthcoming album, Prancer , which will be dropping in May on Sumerian Records, and they've attached some visuals to it as well. All gore, partial nudity, and disembodied limbs aside, what the band has done here ins pretty intense. The speed, dizzying riffs, and and heavy breakdowns make this track an absolutely thrill from front to back. Enjoy!

Mac DeMarco covers Weezer Jangle pop prince Mac DeMarco drops a smile-inducing performance of Weezer's "Undone" thanks to the good people at The Onion 's A.V. Club . DeMarco and his band don't seem to ache over recreating every detail in the song perfectly. Instead, to go for a more raw energy, and emphasize the song's chorus with hilariously goofy vocal harmonies. Enjoy! Check a review for Mac DeMarco's 2 below:

Download / RSS

Unfortunately, the latest Yeah Yeah Yeahs album is one of those instances when the album's lead single seems to be the best track, dwarfing nearly every other song on the album with ambition, glitz, and great songwriting. The rest of the album is a bit spotty, in my opinion. WATCH THE REVIEW

On Ghostface Killah's latest project, he's working with composer and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge. Together, they create a fantastically conceptual album that's loaded with all the b-movie thrills a Wu-Tang fan could ask for. WATCH THE REVIEW

On his latest full-length, Philly singer-songwriter Kurt Vile shows more ambition through his approach to psychedelic folk with longer songs, detailed instrumentation, and sublime production. WATCH THE REVIEW

On its latest full-length effort, Phosphorescent's Americana tunes are sounding more mellow than ever due to some incredibly smooth, reverbed production. WATCH THE REVIEW

R&B enigma Janelle Monáe drops a new single, which features Erykah Badu on vocals throughout much of the track. It's an incredibly funky number with a huge emphasis on synth chords that remind me of some of Prince's best tracks to come out in the early 80s. While the track starts off a bit cheesy, a rap verse comes through during the later portion of the song with a strong set of bars that empower the song's themes of femininity and strength. Give a listen, enjoy!

• Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. Feat. Erykah Badu

Metal experimentalists Wreck And Reference have a new 73 on the way titled No Content , and the project has seen fit to drop one of the tracks from it via music video. "Absurdities And Echoes" doesn't have the strong black metal vibes that came through on last year's No Youth, but the song is incredibly textured and atmospheric. There are loads of noisy, sharp textures that pierce the spacious synths and drums the band sets against these vocals that sound too tortured for words. Enjoy! Check a review of Wreck And Reference's No [...]

A collection of tracks from East Coast beatmusic producer Lord RAJA , which have been assembled into a new, free EP titled Rubies . Loads of subdued grooves, atmosphere, and wonky textures on this thing. Enjoy! / via /

• Lord RAJA - Pistol Syrup

Co La is the pseudonym of Maryland music producer Matthew Papich. He's got a new album on the way via the Software Label, and the tracks he's dishing out sit at an interesting crossroads, incorporating samples, danceable grooves, and an extremely strange sound palette. Papich has an ear for sounds both experimental and accessible, and blends them together in the track featured in the music video above, "Deaf Christian." As far as the video, uh, I'll leave it to you to make sense of that. Co La's Moody Coup will be dropping on May 7th.

All Our Masters in Suspicion EP (2013) by Birth of Flower Connecticut rock trio Birth of Flower drops a new track from their forthcoming EP, and the song shows and impressive change of pace in their style. Over the handful of years the band has been active, they've essentially evolved from a speedy, Minutemen-influenced post-punk band to something that feels much more influenced by drone and psychedelic rock. The band's punk energy is still there in the playing and sound on "They," but the track feels something much more adventurous and experimental is guiding things through [...]

MGMT mysteriously drops a new single over the weekend titled "Alien Days," which sees the band staying steadfast in their direction toward the more out-there sounds in psychedelic pop and rock music. After the release of Congratulations a few years ago, MGMT saw grimaces from fans of their previous pop singles and those who marginalized the duo as yet another overnight pop sensation. Their next full-length has been forecast to be just as strange-if not stranger-than Congratulations . I don't know what this will mean for the band's career, but I [...]

• whoismgmt - Alien Days

A new single from electronic music duo Disclosure . Eliza Doolittle tops the track with some vocals that call back to some of the sounds that were coming out of dance-pop tracks that were coming out of the 90s. In fact, much of what Disclosure does seems hugely influenced by this era of music, but there's enough contemporary flash in the production to keep things feeling fresh and modern. Look for the duo's debut album, Settle , on June 3rd. Enjoy!

Savages drop some visuals and a new track from their forthcoming debut album, Silence Yourself . The message behind that title comes through via some spoken word right at the start of this track, which, when the instrumentation kicks in, turns into a fast and driving piece of post-punk with reverbed guitars and crashing drums. The band's lead singer even finds herself pulling off some dance moves eerily similar to that of Joy Division's Ian Curtis . Look for Silence Yourself , on May 7th via Matador Records, and enjoy!

With tracks like "Minotaur" teasing toward its release, I thought Floating Coffin would be a catchy, energetic, and colorful garage rock record. Rather than follow suit, many other tracks on this LP riff endlessly with unadventurous guitars and uninspiring song structures. WATCH THE REVIEW

Sweden's Ghost returns with a new full-length that's loaded with glitzy production, more details, and longer tracks. It's the tunes that end up getting lost in translation much of the time. WATCH THE REVIEW