Blog: One Thirty BPM

Photo by Valerie Macon The Grammy Awards shocked the public last year by giving Album of the Year to Arcade Fire's The Suburbs , which spawned not only widespread confusion from the public (searching "who is arcade fire" on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of the ceremony provided comedy for days), but countless think-pieces on blogs like this one about the Grammys' sudden hipness. All of that goes out the window this year. The nominees for the major awards are as safe as you could ever imagine they'd be, and the announced performances [...]

Mark Kozelek, one of the most prolific and consistent singer songwriters in indie rock, will release a new album this May entitled Among The Leaves . It is the fifth album Kozelek has released under the Sun Kil Moon moniker and apparently "finds Mark relaxed, singing playfully about his life as a musician while retaining the melancholic spirit of his 20 year catalog." The 17-track album was recorded between October and January in San Francisco, mostly on Mark's nylon string guitar. The album was apparently recorded "impulsively" which has brought out a "more raw and humorous side [...]

School Of Seven Bells are just a couple weeks away from releasing their third album, Ghostory , and have offered a remix of track "Lafaye" by Scissor Sisters. Pretty cool, right? Download the tune below and look for their new full length on February 28th via Vagrant.

This week Sharon Van Etten released her third album Tramp , which we have given our Recommended badge . Back in November Sharon was in Paris and took part in Un Soiree Du Poche for La Blogotheque - the same people who bring us the fantastic Concerts a Emporter (Take Away Sessions). For the Soiree Du Poche sessions they invite an artist to perform an acoustic session in a small Parisian apartment. Sharon's session has finally been released and, as expected, she is perfect for it. The session [...]

For those of you craving new Cut Copy music, your fix is coming in the form of a solo EP from their bassist, Ben Browning. Releasing on March 19th but begun prior to the recording of Zonoscope , Lover Motion will be released on Cut Copy's Cutters label. The effort features fellow Cut Copy member Dan Whitford helping out on synths and production from Architecture in Helsinki members Gus Franklin and Haima Marriott. Below, you can listen to first single "I Can't Stay" as well as a video for the track. You will be [...]

On April 3rd, Screaming Females will release their new, Steve Albini-produced album, Ugly , via Don Giovanni Records. You can check out their first single below, titled "It All Means Nothing," which premiered earlier on Rolling Stone . Also, check out Screaming Females as they make their way through a short record store tour, for which we have the dates below. Screaming Females Record Store Tour: 2/11 Brooklyn, NY - Don Giovanni Records Showcase @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 2/12 - [...]

On their recent trip to Australian radio station Triple J to perform a session in support of newest album Something , Chairlift had to perform a cover for the radio station's segment Like A Version . The band decided to cover Beyonce's "Party," from her most recent album 4 . They even invited in special guest Kool A.D. from Das Racist. Chairlift and Das Racist have been close for a while now, with each group helping out with production or features on each other's past records. The cover is a nice chilled out [...]

Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and myriad other bands most of which we probably don't even know about, has announced the release of a new album under his Moonface moniker. This quickly follows up his first full length album with this name, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped , which came out just last August. The new album is called With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery . The first half of the album title is in reference to the fact that Krug recorded the album with a Finnish band called Siinai [...]

Here's the new Domo Genesis and Wiz Khalifa collaboration that we've been hearing about on Twitter these past few days. Did you hear that? That was the sound of a thousands of lighters sparking. MP3: Domo Genesis - "Ground Up" [Feat. Wiz Khalifa]

• Domo Genesis - Domo Genesis - Ground Up feat. Wiz Khalifa

My introduction to Sharon Van Etten – and I'm sure I'm not the only one who found her this way – was through The Antlers' Hospice . I just had to know whose haunting voice that was singing at the end of "Thirteen," and so I discovered her debut album, Because I Was In Love , a collection of songs full of the heartbreaking vulnerability that her Hospice guest spot had promised. Next came Epic , which showed Van Etten gaining a lot of confidence both in her songwriting and herself as a person, but [...]

Lil B, oh Lil B. Does he want to blow up, or doesn't he? Considering the guy's work ethic, you'd certainly think so. If you're only familiar with the Im Gay fracas, just take a look at a list of his mixtapes. Yes, one of them is 676 tracks. The kid works with something like the ethic of a crazed Curren$y, less concerned with continuous loyalty and respect, instead looking to enwrap as many new followers as possible with every move. Plenty dismissed - and continue to dismiss - the Californian due to his sloppy and [...]

First and foremost, let's dispel the rumor that Alcest is a black metal band. Everything from their press clippings to even the very promo copy used for this review refers to them as such. Those familiar with the career arc of Alcest (or those who are at least acquainted with their early Tristesse Hivernale demo) understand how little the current incarnation of the band has in common with its metal roots. On Les Voyages De L'Âme , fewer vestiges than ever remain of Alcest's black metal past, replaced by a sweeping sound that has far more in [...]

"Tarpit" has always been a fan-favourite for listeners of Dinosaur Jr., and since first appearing on You're Living All Over Me it has become one of their most well-known tracks from the album alongside "Little Fury Things" and "The Lung." The song to this very day really demonstrates the creative and influential genius of the band, featuring all of the quintessential fuzziness that made many fall in love with them during the day. Now the big reveal comes that J. Mascis has reworked some of these old Dinosaur. Jr tracks with the help of Built To [...]

Life On An Island has just released their third compilation tape, featuring previously unreleased material from 19 Long Island bands. You can stream the whole release below or head over to their mailorder page where you can get one of 100 limited edition spray-painted cassettes in plastic cases with a screenprinted 113x143 poster. Only $5! You can read our spotlight of the small-town label here . Life On An Island Compilation vol. 3 by Life On an Island

Original photo by Ture Lillegraven The podcast crew assembles for the 11th episode of the BPMcast to discuss Super Bowl drama, Grammy drama, and Earl Sweatshirt drama as well as albums from Air, Lindstrom, Van Halen, Sharon Van Etten, and John Talabot. The guys also reveal how they got to be music critics with our first official user question. Tracklist Intro/Outro: Shabazz Palaces - "Blastit" Interlude: Earl Sweatshirt - "Home" Air - "Sonic Armada" Lindstrom - "Deja Vu" Van Halen - "She's The Woman" [...]

Photo by Philip Cosores For seemingly no apparent reason besides pure generosity, The Rosebuds are giving away a strong cover of the Talking Heads' classing "Road To Nowhere" on their Bandcamp . The tune manages to walk the line of being faithful to the original while still sounding very much like The Rosebuds, and you can listen to it below. Download the track in exchange for your email here . Covers by The Rosebuds

If you've ever pondered what Dinosaur Jr. songs might sound like if they were synth-pop songs, then on April 21st, your though process can be fully complete, as that dream will come to light. In a quite inventive way of looking back and remembering his time in Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis will release an album that will consist of nine different Dinosaur Jr. tracks reworked, with the help of Built To Spill's Brett Nelson, all in a synth-pop style. Come April 21st (which is also Record Store Day), a limited edition (of 500) purple vinyl of the [...]

After the release of their 2011 album 808s & Dark Grapes II, Oakland duo Main Attrakionz have set out some dates to make up their first tour, climaxing in their show at SXSW in March. Along with this, they've also released a new track called "Focalin," which you can download below. Check out the tour dates beneath. MP3: Main Attrakionz - Focalin 02-10 Claremont, CA - Pomona College 02-19 Miami, FL - Grand Central 03-01 Boston, MA - Middle East Upstairs 03-02 New [...]

• Main Attrakionz - Focalin

In case you didn't know, Third Man Records entrepreneur Jack White is continuing his dizzyingly unpredictable collaborations by teaming up with that wonderful Welsh heartthrob (what?) Tom Jones for a 73 single, due March 5th. As Consequence of Sound points outs, the lead track, "Evil" got a play on BBC6 Music yesterday, and there's a stream below for your listening pleasure. And it's a pretty great cut too, full of snazzy horns, fierce Jack White guitar lines, and a quite unexpected instrument break and fade out/in. Get your knickers ready to throw, and have a listen. [...]

Photo by Philip Cosores As Pitchfork have pointed out, Merrill Garbus and her tUnE-yArDs band are set to delve in soundtracking. They'll play on the 23rd April, during the San Francisco International Film Festival, and will re-work some of their own tracks to provide an audio accompaniment to some classic Buster Keaton films (19202s One Week , 19182s Good Night, Nurse! , 19212s The Haunted House , and 19182s The Cook , to be particular). Overall, that should equate to 88 minutes of music, so there'll be [...]