St. Louis-based ambient artist Jake Leech is set to releases his latest record Brightest Night To Memory on Already Dead Tapes today. Incorporating gentle swirls of guitar notes and a sense of unexpected progression, the latest song from that release, the empty street and dark alleyway evoking "Crosstown," sounds as though it could be heard pouring out from some dark corner of some dead-end road. There are things hidden in that hiss and the soft cacophony of notes and gentle electronics. And they are just waiting for you to let your guard down. This isn't some [...]
In recent interviews, Vampire Weekend singer and lead guitarist Ezra Koenig has made mention of the fact that he and the rest of the band purposefully went against their pop instincts during the recording of their third record Modern Vampires of the City — specifically that if a song felt too radio friendly, it had to be distorted in some way. And while the songs on this album do hint at a darker perspective from the band than either their debut or Contra alluded to, the band, possibly despite their best intentions, have still made some of the catchiest, [...]
Wild Nothing, the product of sensitive songwriter Jack Tatum, has always worn his influences on his sleeve. First making his formal introduction with a heartfelt rendition of Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting” (initially made as a present for his then-girlfriend back in 2009), Tatum has left his musical focus on acts of this particular timeframe. Never venturing too far off the grid, Wild Nothing has only elaborated and honed in on his whimsical synth-driven sounds. It has become increasingly clear that this area is Tatum’s safe haven, but there are certain playful eccentricities found on Empty Estate that haven’t been [...]
My fellow Queens native Action Bronson never ceases to entertain me. In this Jason Goldwatch directed video for new single "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" Bronsolino hits the Queens streets with Riff Raff and showcases his cartwheel skills, his hustle, and some BIG women. And of course Bronson's culinary skills remain on point. "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" was produced by Harry Fraud. Purchase the single on iTunes and bump it in your jeep. Don't forget your vape. The post Video: Action Bronson - "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" appeared first on [...]
Friends since they were children, Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire of Smoke Fairies have grown up sharing similar musical tastes and influences. Bonding over their parents’ guitars and Jessica’s mother’s vinyl collection, the two women seemed bound together through this shared musical history. You can hear the sound of two artists working in tandem as Davies and Blamire work out their own frustrations, as well as a new found sense of confidence, amid detailed descriptions of cross-country road trips and the suffocating nature of becoming stationary, both physically and spiritually. Their sophomore LP Blood Speaks deals with how [...]
The new album by the Smith Westerns, Soft Will , is on its way to being released (June 25th via Mom + Pop in the U.S.; June 24th via Co-Op in Europe). We've already heard the closing track " Varsity " along with seeing the video for it, and now you can treat yourself to the likeable opening track, "3am Spiritual" which sounds much like the title implies it might before it changes into a brief staccato piano-led smooth jam. Listen below. The post Listen: Smith Westerns - "3am Spiritual" [...]
If there’s one thing you can’t fault the National for lacking, it’s an identity. Across six albums they have seen magnificent progress, artfully transitioning from booze-soaked barroom Americana to majestic, stadium-sized indie rock. The threads that have run through them all, underscored by the gloomy, ever-recognizable baritone of singer Matt Berninger, the lithe guitar work of the Dessner brothers and Bryan Devendorf’s imposing skill behind the drum kit, are thicker than ever on Trouble Will Find Me . The quintet’s development on their sixth record is fully audible, as they confidently plunge into quirky time signatures and key changes, fool [...]
Spoiler: Daft Punk’s new album, Random Access Memories , is a colossus. It’s ambitious in the way few dance records dare to contemplate, and in exactly the way you’d expect from a pair that have twice changed the face of EDM. Amongst the meekest of RAM ’s tracks is “Doin’ It Right,” a downbeat, elliptical piece that frames Panda Bear’s (a.k.a. Noah Lennox) swimmy vocals in a surprisingly intuitive fashion. It may be the most doleful piece Daft Punk have ever put their stamp on. “Everybody will be dancing,” the vocoder pledges, bittersweet like Daft Punk have never [...]
Wow 'Ye, you're crazy for this one! In advance of his appearance on Saturday Night Live , Kanye West has premiered a new song entitled "New Slaves" accompanied by visual projections on 66 buidlings across the world. The time and locations of the projections — which are of Kanye's face rapping along to the new song — are posted on KanyeWest.com . Consequence of Sound has found a video of the full track which you can check out below. Rap Genius already has most of the lyrics up as well but [...]
No one really knows where this track came from but rumors are this a new cut off of Wu's "reunion" album A Better Tomorrow due out later this year. Either way, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, RZA, and U-God all step up and deliver great verses on this Frank Dukes produced joint. Give it a listen and let us know which verse is your favorite in the comments below. Execution in Autumn by Soul Temple Music [...]
Even though The Zola's sophomore album, Ancient Mars , is so many months old that its release date is closer to last Christmas than it is to this present time, it still has the ability let its most infectious earworms play out in your head. "Knot In My Heart" is one such number, and arguably the best track from the album, and we here at Beats Per Minute are happy to premiere a brand new remix of the track by Nacey. Upon first listen you might rightfully wonder where The Zolas are in the picture [...]
“That night, I watched people fucking on my computer.” When these are the opening lines to your sophomore LP, you’re setting quite the standard for yourself. Concerned, however, is as for as possible from how Jenny Hval sounds beginning Innocence is Kinky . Throughout modern popular music, more artists than one can fathom have structured song craft around that most blatant human desire: sex. Pop stars employ it to capture our basest tastes; Serge Gainsbourg made it an entertaining obsession, while the likes of R. Kelly make it deafening, bombastic celebration. Most immediately noticeable concerning Hval’s new record, however, [...]
The Weeknd is back with the title track to his forthcoming LP Kiss Land . The nearly-8-minute track is as sexual as it is menacing — seems like Abel is up to his old ways. Listen below. Kiss Land , the proper follow-up to The Weekend's Trilogy (consisting of the House of Balloons , Thursday , and Echoes of Silence mixtapes) is due out later this year. [...]
Tempe, AZ punk outfit Destruction Unit has decided their 2013 agenda is "full-throttle". Hot off their searingly intense record Void in February, the band's not interested in making that the last you hear from them, revealing "Sonic Pearl" off an upcoming 73 to be released July 16 via Suicide Squeeze. This track sees Destruction Unit trying out some new things, most notably slicker production with a much greater emphasis on Ryan Rousseau's vocals. This is all leading up to their first release on Sacred Bones, expected August 20. They are also heading out to tour their mind-blowing live show [...]
Laura Marling quietly anticipated new album, Once I Was An Eagle , is coming up on us, hitting shelves on May 27th. Here's a new track from the album called "Once" which features Marling with her acoustic guitar, plucking and strumming away as producer Ethan Jones fits in some coyly noodling organ sounds. Have a listen below. The post Listen: Laura Marling - "Once" appeared first on Beats Per Minute .
Clubfeet's latest album, Heirs & Graces , has been making the rounds in their native Australia for a few months now, and just this week we here at Beats Per Minute ran our review of the record . While it's no perfect album, there are good moments to be lived through and new single "Cape Town" is one such number. Complete with disco aspirations and a deadpan bridge, it's a rather joyous affair that could well have you trying out the rest of Heirs & Graces . Listen below. [...]
Craig Hartley and Eli Friedmann, the genre-hopping duo Small Multiples, initially met when both were attending New School University in New York City. Time passed and the two went their separate ways but came back together when Hartley reached out to Friedmann to see if he'd be willing to play some new songs that he'd written. And so Small Multiples was born. The term "small multiple" was popularized by Yale professor emeritus and visual artist Edward Tufte and came to describe a method that allowed for "quick visual comparison exhibiting variety and scopes of alternatives." The duo use this concept as [...]
When Franz Ferdinand first arrived in the mid-2000s, they released a pair of albums just over a year apart. Then they slowed things down, taking almost four years to release their third album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand , and now they've taken another four years before today announcing their fourth full length Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action . The album will come out through Domino on August 27th. Followers of theirs on Instagram will have seen them hard at work in the studio, using many synths, which promises to be exciting on [...]
With the release of their second album Cold Spring Fault Less Youth only a couple of weeks away, and having already put out two great tracks in the form of "Made To Stray" and "Blood and Form," London duo Mount Kimbie seem to making a final push for our excitement by releasing another fantastic track called "You Took Your Time," which features fellow Londoner King Krule. Krule melds nicely into their electronic landscape, managing to be threatening but not overly so, and carrying the song nicely while Mount Kimbie subtly emphasise bits and pieces [...]
After the fairly quick one-two punch of Fuck Buttons' first two albums, 20082s Street Horrrsing and 20092s Tarot Sport , the duo went quiet for a while, releasing a few things here and there under different names. Although they never announced a split, we never knew when they would return. Now we do: June 23rd will see the release of their third album Slow Focus on ATP Recordings. The wait will surely have been worth it if this new album, the first they've self-produced, is as original and mind melting as their first [...]
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Arctic Monkeys | Do I Wanna Know? (Official Video)
Listen to Arctic Monkeys’ new single, “Do I Wanna Know?”
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Arctic Monkeys Release New Song And Video ‘Do I Wanna Know?’
