Profound Perceived: Walk With Me - Profound Perceived, aka Cliff Robinson, is an electro-synth wave artist from Las Cruces, NM. When I initially heard Profound Perceived 's first EP, I was struck by how aggressively his beats popped over the ebbing and flowing of synths and indecipherable lyrics. As it continued, however, I really began to get an idea of his musical prowess and the creativity that seemed to flow out of every synthesized layer. To say I was excited for this LP is an understatement. When you begin to really listen to [...]
Fallulah: Escapism - Imagine if you will, one of the more powerful of the female characters in Game Of Thrones decided to put out a modern pop album today. This might be a stretch and I might just be excited about Game Of Thrones coming back, but that's what I'm thinking Escapism sounds like. Many of the songs have a gravitas that is created by really rich drumming that is almost tribal in its rhythm. Honestly, some of the drumming sounds like it is emanating the the hull of a ship [...]
DeltaFoxx: DeltaFoxx EP - The collaborative project of two DJs is the definition of a good time. Popinigis and Quizzik met years ago, often playing together on the party docket, and have finally made all our dreams come true with the release of their debut EP, DeltaFoxx EP . This EP is an explosive party waiting to happen; all packaged neatly in four vastly differing and amazing songs. Although this EP is barely a quarter of an hour, the second you hit the repeat button you are guaranteed to have a sundry experience. The great thing about [...]
Letherette: Letherette - Wolverhampton based electronic sound entity Letherette , aka Andy Harber and Richard Roberts, makes its full-length debut with this self-titled album. The duo met in secondary school and has been making music together ever since, releasing a string of EPs over the past few years before signing to Ninja Tune . Their latest work takes elements from a variety of electronic genres and fuses them into a single glittering wall of funk. In this way, the video to the track 'D&T' (a retrolicious video collage featuring footage of just about [...]
Cold War Kids: Dear Miss Lonelyhearts - For Cold War Kids , releasing a new album has always been a daunting task. They have the cards stacked against them even before their newest album, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts , hits the shelves. Critics and hipsters alike have been quick to pan the band’s religious undertones and though I do admit that Cold War Kids certainly do make frequent nods to the big man upstairs, I think that to focus on that aspect is to ignore the fact that this band is making perfectly good music... and [...]
The Empty Bottle hosted a night of art pop gems on Saturday March 30th, featuring two local one-man acts, Jimmy Whispers and Advance Base , and touring band Parenthetical Girls as headliners. It was a show made up of charming frontmen, couples hand-holding, and dark songs that made smiles. Up first was Chicago’s Jimmy Whispers , main man of Light Pollution , performing as a solo project. Insistent upon enlivening the sparse crowd, Whispers started his set with some pushups and a gap-toothed grin. A [...]
This Is Head: The Album EP - This is Awesome. If the purpose of an EP is to get people excited about an upcoming CD, or a future collection, this EP serves its purpose. The band, made up of four members - Adam Jacobson, Henric Claesson, Björn Wiking and Tom Malmros – released its first album, 0001 , in 2010. The “about us” section on their website talks about the creative process behind their new album, The Album, which is expected later this year. The writer of the biography says [...]
Letherette is an electro-dance duo from Wolverhampton, UK. They've been building a following by releasing 2 EPs and remixes for the likes of Bibio and Bonobo for the last few years and now, they're finally gearing up to release their first self-titled LP on April 15th. To say we've highly anticipated this for a while doesn't really cover our excitement for it. I should make it clear that this is a fan video . It is in no way sanctioned by Letherette themselves and for all I know, they hate [...]
The Gray Havens: Where Eyes Don’t Go - January rings in the new year. That’s no surprise, common sense actually. It’s the same thing every year with parties and celebrations everywhere. However, this January brought us The Gray Havens . Start your celebrating again, but this time, do it with this duo. They describe themselves as “narrative-pop-folk-esque, but I’m going to just stick with pop folk. I’m not usually a pop kind of music advocate but this, this is different. The difference I found in The Gray Havens is the feeling [...]
Bonobo: The North Borders - Having listened to, and enjoyed their former album, Black Sands , I was very pleased to see that Bonobo had dropped a new album this March. I immediately got my hands on The North Borders , remembering old tracks like ‘Kong’ and ‘El Toro’ and knowing that I was in for something exciting. Just glancing at the track listing I could already imagine the variety of flavors and textures that would be present in this new work. The album showcases four different featured artists, [...]
The DHDFD's: French Fries - It seems that winter is finally giving up its vice like grip on us here in Chicago. There are birds chirping, suns shining, and there a few more degrees on the thermometer every day. Finally, spring is here, summer is nipping at its heels and I’m ready for another summer filled with great music and shows. On mornings like this, I get the urge to relinquish my seasonal depression, come out of hiding and greet the day. Accompanying me on this great day of returning to the outside world is [...]
The Mo-Odds: Soto - The Mo-Odds newest EP, Soto , starts off at a full sprint. And it stays that way, until the very end. It’s loud, fast, and full of soul. But the impression doesn’t last long. The songs are explosive, but their fuses are short. Every second counts on this over-before-you-know-it album, but if you listen attentively, you’ll notice some incredible things. It’s no secret that the Mo-Odds model themselves after the best blues rock artists of the 1960s. Their Facebook pages list The Animals as [...]
Polyvinyl sent me Psychic Twin 's gorgeous white vinyl Strangers 73 a few weeks ago, and I was hooked before the first track was done playing. Erin Fein, Brett Sanderson, and Jonny Sommer comprise the '80s-esque synth pop trio, creating and performing their own unique and darkly romantic sound. I caught up with Psychic Twin on their way through Chicago at Schubas , the second stop on their tour, and talked to them before their show about their creative process, their 73, and Erin Fein's dance moves... VS: How’s the [...]
Generationals: Heza - Generationals are a New Orleans indie pop duo consisting of singer-guitarists Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner. Known for creating easy going, malt shop jangles, the band is set to release their third full-length album, Heza on Tuesday. Promoting the new album, they will be kicking off their national tour in Baton Rouge on April 11. Appearing with an insanely catchy single, 'When They Fight, They Fight' in 2009, off of their first album Con Law , the duo set [...]
British Sea Power: Machineries of Joy -Hey everybody, go outside. Experience life, attempt to understand the world and recognize that we're all a part of a greater ecosystem. While you're doing all that, pop in your ear buds and give a listen to British Sea Power 's Machineries of Joy , and you just might reach a higher level of consciousness. That's perhaps a grandiose way to describe the possibilities and capabilities of this album, but the concept of universality and an appreciation of the natural wonder of the world does [...]
Blurred City Lights: Neon Glow EP - Blurred City Lights consists of Dean Garcia and Jarek Leskiewicz. Before teaming up with Leskiewitz, Garcia was known for his work with Curve and SPC ECO . Neon Glow is the duo’s first EP and even though their lyrics are little, they have Rose Berlin, as a special guest vocalist. As this album starts out, the first track is self-titled 'Blurred City Lights'. This song starts off with dream-like melodies before the vocals kick in. A very chill song, and in my opinion a good [...]
Freeze-Tag: Eskimo -Freeze-Tag is Marcus Alan Ward, an Ohio native with an affinity for electronic music, and as he puts it, the unification of visual arts and music. After surprisingly spending his earlier years in screamo and post-hardcore bands, Ward created Freeze-Tag in early 2011 as an effort to intertwine his love of art and art history with the broad range of music he had been exposed to. His new record, Eskimo , uses lyrics and soundscapes to create a universe that is equally as beautiful to look at as it is to listen too. The [...]
CHVRCHES: Recover EP - Recover , the first EP from Scottish band CHVRCHES (which, yes, is pronounced “churches,” if you were unsure), has one of the best electropop sounds I’ve heard all year: they are, dare I say it, “cool.” The band is comprised of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty, all of whom are on synthesizers and vocals – and major points to all of them for the latter, because the vocals go a long way in making this album a standout among others of similar styles. There’s a prettily [...]
Hearts of Black Science: We Saw the Moon - The Swedish duo of Daniel Anghede and his childhood best friend Tomas Almgren have been together musically since 2005, and their style has remained much the same since then, through two full-length albums and two EP’s. Their signature shoegaze/goth/electronica mixture was picked up almost instantly when they started, and is equally in demand now. Their newest EP, We Saw the Moon , is a variation on the same formula that has worked for them before, and will continue to work for them in [...]
Wavves: Afraid of Heights - American indie rock group, Wavves , just debuted their fourth album, Afraid of Heights . Even with the different lineup changes that this band have gone through, I am glad to say that it has only helped them. This album has tunes you can relax to, dance to, and just plain have fun with. The album's transitions from one song to the other- The way one song ends, is how the next one starts. So as a whole, it's like one continuous track. The first single from the album is [...]
Violent Success
Weekly Mix Vol. I
Life Is Precious Survival Kit
MP3: The Weeknd – Kiss Land
