Yesterday's good highlighted some of the year's best debuts, which makes today the perfect opportunity to highlight tracks from some of 20122s most impressive sophomore efforts. I can only imagine how difficult it is to follow up a debut album, especially when the sophomore release is in high demand. The bands below most definitely avoided the dreaded "sophomore slump", none better so than The xx. Coexist was my most anticipated release of the year and it exceeding all of expectations. Easily my favorite album of the year. And like yesterday's good, the tracks below are a very small [...]
One of the great things about this year of Pygmalion Festival is that since it was condensed to three days instead of the normal four days (or in the case of 2010, five), the festival organizers were able to fit a ton more of fantastic bands into one night, all killer no filler if you will. Friday night was the best example of that, starting with great sets by Tennis and Dirty Projectors in downtown Urbana. No slight to Best Coast, but as far as band's that play [...]
Jingles are fairly repugnant to the ears. Always have been; always will be. Yet similarly routinely, jangle tends to sound as effervescent now as it did yonks back when The Popguns were still firing off seductive charmers left, right, and bloody centre. Ah, The Popguns. Swoon. Best save some of that affection for Hills , however: hailing from over the Woodland Hills and far away, the L.A. five-piece combine the cutesy smacks of atypical seafarers Tennis with the scatty contentment of Bethany Cosentino's cruddy early demos to emit a wistful, if decidedly estival slo-surf . So [...]
Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Grimes, Tennis, Best Coast Song: Grimes - Oblivion (Maya Laner Cover) [download here ] What's so good? As of [...]
After taking its sweet time last year, summer has struck back with a vengeance. At least here in the midwest, 90+ degree temperatures and clear, sunny skies are quickly becoming the norm. Of course, with the changing of the seasons not only comes trips to the beach and increased slushie sales but exuberant, feel-good summer jams. As is our tradition here at Music For Ants, we're providing a mix that will hopefully soundtrack some of your 2012 summer memories. Download below or take a listen at Spotify . Enjoy! MP3 Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built [...]
Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Wild Nothing, Twin Sister, Deerhunter Song: Beach House - The Hours [download here ] What's so good? It’s always [...]
Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Song: Best Coast - Dreaming My Life Away [download here ] What's so good? What's interesting about the new Best Coast album The Only Place is that track 9, "Dreaming My Life Away," appears to have been released [...]
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Tired as fuck, I walked out of the "Killer Mike R.A.P. Music Showcase " Wednesday. After getting outside, I wondered why DJ Detox was bullshitting and not outside. I walked back inside and he was making small talk with the GZA. When I found the GZA and Detox, a small crowd had also found the GZA. I imagine he was probably looking for his publicist and got quickly tired of all us wanting pictures. [...]
![[hot off the press] SXSW 2012](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3998678_lg.jpg)
SXSW is right around the corner (March 9 - 18) and the music schedule is is now live. Other than CMJ , this is by far the best music festival in the US. I don't have the time and/or patience to list the hundreds of bands announced to play, but some of my favorites include: Alabama Shakes, Built to Spill, The Magnetic Fields, Talib Kweli, The Drums, Bear In Heaven, Deerhoof, The War on Drugs, Miniature Tigers, SBTRKT, Best Coast, M. Ward, Youth Lagoon, Tennis, Dan Deacon, Lana [...]
Visit post to download Sounds like: Best Coast, Cults, Surfer Blood Song: Tennis - Deep in the Woods [download here] What's so good? For our viewing pleasure, Denver indie-pop dwellers Tennis released the video for their latest B-side track “Deep in the Woods” alongside their newest Patrick Carney-produced single, “Origins” (out now via Forest Family). Be patient when you click "play" above - track takes about 16 seconds to kick [...]
Feathers are a group of four girls from Brisbane creating infectious lo-fi dream-pop. While some of their songs are lively and upbeat, a large number are darker and based on harmony rather than rhythm. Hunter’s Moon is an album full of different moods and well-executed hooks, not to mention some great vocal performances that are
We love it when a band arrives and in some intangible manner seems to sum up our detached, sweeping generalisations of the place from which they came. The Beach Boys sounded very Californian, right? The Smiths sounded very Manchester, didn't they? The Strokes couldn't appear from anywhere other than New York could they? Well, if you imagine the Eastern Gold Coast of Australia to be all slacker surfers, with a relaxed, sunny disposition, where partying and enjoying life is the common path of choice, then you're on your way to finding Gung Ho [...]
I've been sitting on this playlist some time. I had the general idea of which tracks to include at about the same time as the Nothing To Say Mixtape but I've held off for one reason or another. Stylistically, this is probably my most divergent mix and it matches the conflicted nature that led to its inception. It's pretty heavy on 602s influences and ambiguity though. Well, maybe not ambiguity, but I hadn't really interacted with such feelings for awhile until I was reminded again...call it artistic inspiration. Hope you enjoy it! [...]
Click image to support the band's album Sounds like: Best Coast, Beach Fossils, Slow Club "Summer Camp - Better Off Without You" What's so good? Christiana said it best when she described Summer Camp : "With so many bands endlessly attempting to encapsulate the spacey, entrancing, upbeat, synth-soaked music that overtook that decade, Summer Camp has effortlessly (and modestly) leaped right over everyone else." [...]
This is a picture of Sarabeth Tucek. She makes music that’s kinda of a downer, but it’s like listening to aural agony, and it’s amazing right after a late night of drinking with friends or if you just ran over a squirrel or something like that. Anyway, I thought this picture was just all kinds [...]
Happy Fourth everyone. For today, I thought I'd offer something a little different; a free mixtape (haven't done that in a while). The songs don't have any particular Fourth of July tinge or any super-American inflection behind them. They're just a bunch of songs that fit particularly well for summer 2011. You can check out the tracklist and grab the download below. So, enjoy. 1. Surprise Hotel - Fool's Gold 2. Vibrationz - Javelin [...]
by I_m_not_here Here's something light and breezy for a hot summer's day. Hope you enjoy. Download Tracklist 1. Metronomy - The English Riviera 2. Egyptian Hip Hop - Rad Pitt 3. Kisses - Midnight Lover 4. Tennis - [...]
by I_m_not_here Summery pop: breezy, fresh and enticing. Drop whatever you're holding, fling off you're shoes and dive into the nearest water source. These tracks always plant a firm smile on my face, and I think they will yours. Download Tracklist 1. Metronomy - The English Riviera 2. Egyptian Hip [...]
These days, it’s quite the thing to be in a band and, like, make sweet music with your spouse. But crucially, couples are doing so without a hint of Abba-shaped novelty. Even King Hippy himself, Devendra Banhart, is in on it all: just look at him frolicking around in the nude with his girlfriend in this new “love-in” promo video for Olivers Peoples sunglasses, unafraid of being called a soppy, willy-brandishing hipster. The next thing you know they’ll be writing songs together under an Ayahuasca-inspired moniker and asking for organic massage oil on their tour rider. [...]
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[MP3] Avec Sans’ ‘Hold On’
