2012 was a great year for hip-hop. While many big names dropped much awaited albums the best surprises for me came from younger, lesser known talent such as Angel Haze, Joey Badass and Earl Sweatshirt. Amongst them, Kendrick Lamar definitely stands apart, and 2012 probably wouldn't have been as good if it wasn't for his astonishingly [...]
Fans expecting Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros to come out with 'Up From Below' part two may have been slightly underwhelmed by the band's follow up 'Here'. Whereas the band's debut may well have represented a joyous trip culminating in a grandiose dramatic sunset desert scene this sophomore effort is more like the ensuing [...]
Beach House returned after the success of 20102s 'Teen Dream' with an album that potentially surpasses its predecessor. The Baltimore duo are perpetually filed under the "dream pop" label but 'Bloom' not only showed that no one did it better in 2012 but, crucially, pushed the genre into new sonic landscapes. Victoria LeGrand and Alex [...]
Here is the first look at the video exclusive to Cougar Microbes readers of Mary at Midnight's debut single. Until recently little ol' Mary was confined to twiddling synth pads and tweaking pro tools in her lowly bedroom studio. A few random tweets and a pinch of self-promotion later and she's suddenly working with some [...]
Last year Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler set out to do the impossible: to record a Christmas album whilst largely omitting much of the schmalz associated with this merry season. On 'This Is Chrismtas' they succeeded in releasing a thoroughly enjoyable album. Having already toured the album in 2011 they were back at it [...]
Happy Christmas or anything else you are celebrating. Here are a couple of tunes with a twist to get you into the holiday spirit. The Hives joined up with Cyndi Lauper a few years back to release what is the ultimate anti-christmas anthem. It works a treat although Miss Lauper's transition from just a girl [...]
WHY? are an exultation of larks being shot down with a shotgun. Beautiful melodies, being trounced upon with irresistable beats and soulful yet dirty words. WHY? are a band that I think it is impossible to be bored with. Possibly one of the most underrated bands out there. A curious mix of analogue and electronic instruments [...]
Last year we interviewed Little People, AKA Laurent Clerc, hot on the heals of a fantastic Los Angeles performance with an audience eagerly awaiting his every tune. With his last album 'Mickey Mouse Operation' having been released back in 2006 there a great air of anticipation into what the musician/producer would do next. It's taken [...]
Bat For Lashes, AKA Natasha Khan, decided to isolate herself from the external pressures of those who expected a new hit in the vein of 20092s 'Two Suns'. The Brighton artist composed and recorded her new album 'The Haunted Man' in the Umbria countryside and this decision appears to have benefited her work. The Brighton [...]
Tiny Fingers has already made people standup and take notice with their 2011 release "Massive Fingers Spacetrip" which deservedly got the band attention in their native Israel. Earlier this year they followed it up with "Foreign Telegrams", an album conceived and recorded in one intense session. The genre hopping outfit continue their prolific spree re-emerging last month with what is surely their most ambitious [...]
Last November the touch paper was lit. What followed sent sparks flying out the speakers of all who listened and ignited a frenzy in the expectant public. Foals were back, and back with a bang. “Inhaler” is the first single from Foals’ new album ‘Holy Fire’ out in February and the band have taken a [...]
Rock n' roll plus photography - what's the downside? A new book, Dream & Drive, tells the story of The Kills last 10 years on the road, as seen seen through the familiar lens of a great friend, Kenneth Cappello. History in the making, if you will. As the title suggests, in looking back it became [...]
Last week we posted about Angel Haze and her new 'Classick' mixtape featuring some recognisable backing tracks. Earlier this year the NYC rapper dropped her 'Reservation' LP containing the brilliant 'Werkin' Girls' with it's tribal beat and jaw dropping flow. The video was released a few weeks ago and showcases Haze's at her most fearsome spitting lines like YOUR life [...]
The latest outing from Britain's biting Folk-Rockers, REVERE, is the first single to be released from an as-yet-unnamed album (released 2013) that signals their sound moving to an overall more urgent and grittier direction. The video itself is a fun watch, complete with Shining-esque 'creepy kid', sparse post-apocalyptic warehouse backdrops, and generally eerie "holy shit the [...]
My first experience of a Birdy Nam Nam show was an unexpected surprise as the French collective took the stage and blew my mind with their tag team delivery and bombastic live show as headliners at 20092s Parisian Rock En Seine festival. Though I hadn't done much homework about them before this appearance and did [...]
Ostensibly from New York, but very possibly hailing from a galaxy far, far away, Coheed and Cambria return with the latest instalment of their multi-faceted science fiction prog-rock saga. Lead track ‘Domino the Destitute’ features newly reinstated drummer Josh Eppard, back in the fold for the first time since 2005. Punctuated with guitar work and [...]
No matter how "zany" they come off; though the general public may be threatened by their "cult-like" appearance; as music fans we must realize it's OK! Because Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros sophomore release is not to be overlooked. Steadfast in their vision, the album, Here, comes fully realized: no weak spots, just earthy [...]
Angel Haze shows no sign of stopping the momentum she has gathered this year releasing her new mixtape 'Classick' last week. This is the follow up to this summer's 'Reservation EP' which catapulted the young artist further into public perception with her no holds barred rapping juxtaposed with a rich singing voice. Still when Haze [...]
I've always thought that if I was ever stranded on a desert island with only one album to keep me company, it would have to be 'The Velvet Underground & Nico'. The reason quite simply is that it's my favourite album of all time and the VU my favourite band. I also happen to like [...]
With all the footage from the film En kärlekshistoria being squeezed into a four minute music video, it would be easy to compromise the storyline due the small timeframe it has to be conveyed in. Instead, Summer Camp have managed to beautifully craft a vision of a purer, more idyllic time, as a Swedish 1970s [...]
Cougar Microbes
![Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Child [Official Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/9UVIlNWCckA_130.jpg)
![Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler - Zombie Christmas [Official Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/eGukj0g5gqY_130.jpg)
Inside "Magna Carta Holy Grail" with JAY Z + Samsung
No Age - C'mon Stimmung (not the video)
AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Official Audio)
CHVRCHES - Gun
Eminem – “Symphony In H”
SOUNDCLOUD WRAP: The Swiss
Kanye West x DJ AudiTory – Yeezus [Chopped & Screwed]
Robot afros
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