Posts published during April, 2010

04/27/2010

department of eagles – brightest minds

Not sure how I missed this news, but it seems as though Department of Eagles, the band/side-project of Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen (well, it’s not really a side-project since it existed before Grizzly Bear did) will be releasing an album entitled “Archive 2003-2006″. We’ve all probably heard/oogled over/loved their fantastic album In Ear Park which was released back in 2008, but now we’re going to get to hear a bunch of new/old material recorded prior to that album. It’s old because it was recorded in 2003-2006, obviously, but it’s new because we’ve never heard it before. This material was supposed to be their second album, but it just never saw the light of day for whatever reason. This is pretty exciting to me. The first track that has made its way onto the interwebs is called “Brightest Minds”. I really love it so far, and it’s much more upbeat than their other stuff. I’m curious to see what the rest of the tracks are like.

Department of Eagles – Brightest Minds

And since I love this group so much, here’s another tune from their first album The Cold Nose. I especially like the cool electronic beat which becomes much more apparent towards the end of the track. It’s a nice touch to compliment the lo-fi track.

Department of Eagles – Sailing By Night

buy it on Department of Eagles - The Cold Nose - Sailing By Night or amazon

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04/26/2010

the antlers/phantogram @ the blind pig 4.23.10

Just two short days after I returned from maybe the best weekend ever at Coachella, I was lucky enough to attend a show at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor featuring an old favorite in The Antlers and an up and coming favorite in Phantogram. A double bill that I could really get excited about.

The last time I’d seen the Antlers was last fall at the Majestic Cafe with about 25 other people, so I was surprised to see the line all the way around the block. But, both bands have gained a lot of attention since then, and it was a Friday night, as opposed to the Tuesday show I’d seen a few months back. After seeing Mike, Natalia and Anna (who I embarrassingly didn’t recognize at first) in line and chatting with them a bit, we finally got in the door around 10PM, luckily before Phantogram began their set. Notice anything interesting about the sign on the window?

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basement jaxx – my turn

While we’re on the topic of groups we’ve always heard of but never really listened to and don’t know anything about, now might be a good time to mention Basement Jaxx. The London duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton (how are those for some British names?) originally began by holding a club night called Basement Jaxx at various locations before starting to record their own scheisse under that name. And as it turns out there are actually tons of Basement Jaxx tunes that I know (and that we all know), but I just never knew they were by Basement Jaxx.

But recently I was smitten after “My Turn”, featuring Devonté Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion, was recommended to me. I really like the heavy beat, which is really heavy at times, but backs off when appropriate. Sort of a slow jammer. And the various strings that come in throughout really add a nice touch. I’m also digging the video a ton. There’s a great contrast between black and the bright colors throughout, and it’s a nice exercise in creative use of silhouettes. There’s something about this whole song that just sounds fresh and/or refreshing. Give it a look and a listen.

Basement Jaxx – My Turn

buy it on Basement Jaxx - Scars (Bonus Track Version) - My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion) or amazon

1 comments

04/25/2010

white hinterland – no logic (alan wilkis remix)

As someone who is just starting to get a little bit into White Hinterland and someone who has long been a fan of the remixes of Mr. Alan Wilkis, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that his latest remix was none other than “No Logic” by White Hinterland. The original tune is pretty low key, but Alan said he channeled Stereolab and Tortoise (good choices) to turn this into a funky quasi-psychedelic remix (I just said that last part, not him), and I would say he hit it out of the park. I especially enjoy the super retro sounding riff that you can hear all throughout the remix. You’ll know the one I’m talking about when you hear it. Here’s the original as well, for comparison’s sake.

White Hinterland – No Logic

buy it on White Hinterland - Kairos - No Logic or amazon

White Hinterland – No Logic (Alan Wilkis remix)

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the temper trap – sweet disposition (RAC mix)

I kind of think that “Sweet Disposition” by Australian band The Temper Trap is one of those songs that everyone knows and loves. A great example of this was at Coachella as we were walking to see the band. I was trying to explain to my cousin’s friend who The Temper Trap sounds like, unsuccessfully, because she had never heard of them. But as soon as the song started, she screamed, “I LOVE this song!” We’ve actually already featured a great remix of this tune by Mr. Alan Wilkis before, but now we’ve got another fantastic take on the tune by our friend Andre Anjos, better known as RAC. This one actually reigns the song back a bit, removing that really quick rhythm that permeates throughout the track. Instead, we are treated to some nice synth overtones that sort of become more apparent as the tune goes on. It’s kind of how this song would sound had it been written in another era, but the interesting part is I cant tell if it sounds like a throwback or the next generation. In the times of Saved by the Bell, is this the original middle school version, the one with Miss Bliss, whose niece young Zack Morris falls in love with, only to find out that she leads a double life as rock star Stevie? Or is it a look into the future, to The College Years at a time when dorm rooms and suites were so much bigger than they are today, and co-ed!? You decide.

The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (RAC Mix)

Thanks to philippe leroyer for the pic.

2 comments

04/24/2010

royal bangs – war bells

I really like rock songs that are overall pretty simple, but totally suck you in. And that’s something that I think Knoxville’s Royal Bangs is so very good at. “War Bells” is from their latest offering Let It Beep and it’s pretty happy number. I feel like Royal Bangs makes sort of electronic rock that doesn’t really sound electronic, and it creates a pretty cool effect. Either that, or it’s not electronic but sounds a little bit electronic, I can’t really tell. But regardless, they put together some catchy rock songs, and ain’t nothin wrong with that. If my awful, terrible, very not good description didn’t seem to make much sense, just take a look at the picture above. I think this picture pretty well sums up what this group sounds like. I also enjoy when my picture selection so perfectly fits within my predefined template so that it is fully integrated into the page.

Sadly, these kids were in town a few months back totally unbeknown to me, so I missed them. But I’ll catch them next time, gadget.

Royal Bangs – War Bells

buy it on Royal Bangs - Let It Beep - War Bells or amazon

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04/23/2010

marina and the diamonds – i am not a robot flex’d rework (passion pit remix)

This is the second time I am writing this post. The first time, I somehow inadvertently deleted the whole thing, and unlike every other post where it autosaves every 10 seconds, this one decided not to. Let’s try this again.

Ah, Marina and the Diamonds, another one of the all too many groups that I hear about all the time nonstop every day always but have yet to ever listen to. Fortunately during a recent gchat with my good friend The Music Ninja, he suggested that I give this remix by Passion Pit a listen and I happen to like it quite a bit. And it also doesn’t hurt that a quick image search shows that Marina rather enjoys wearing leotards. I can buy into that.

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Passion Pit right now. They’re coming to town next month and I’m still a little torn on whether or not I want to go. But then I listen to this remix and I think, “How can I not go?” Come on, you’ve got to admit, this is pretty great. I was a little unsure of how I felt about Marina at first, but now having listened to this a few times, I like her a lot.

I’m also a little confused on the official title of this song. Is this a remix of a rework? How does that all come about?

Marina and the Diamonds – I Am Not a Robot Flex’d Rework (Passion Pit Remix)

buy it on Marina and the Diamonds - American Jewels - EP - I Am Not a Robot (Flex'd Rework) [Passion Pit Remix] or amazon

3 comments

04/22/2010

[first listen]delorean – subiza

With the overwhelming amount of new music that I’ve been trying to trudge through lately (mind you, it is definitely an enjoyable trudge), I thought it would be a nice feature to add to the site to review some albums based on the first listen. I’m hoping to do this once a week, and I think there will be plenty of material out there for this to work. First up is an album that I am expecting to be a quintessential summer album based on their prior works, Delorean’s Subiza. I know most of you have heard this one already, but I’m sitting at the airport listening for the first time. Here we go!

1. Stay Close – The first single from the album is the only track I’d heard prior to this listen and I’ve already talked about what makes it so great here. Makes me want to have a dance party on the beach. As I am predicting most of this album will.

2. Real Love – Right off the bat, I love the distorted vocal sample. It’s got a bit of a “What You Know About That” vibe. A bit more of a slow burner, but still a nice dance vibe. A great example of how Delorean tracks have so many little bits and pieces working together to make something really beautiful. Didn’t expect this one to go on for so long, but I like the major reverb in the second half.

3. Endless Sunset – Starts out with a really nice beat. Whoa! Wasn’t expecting that big drop right in the beginning. This one’s gonna be fun. I just noticed that I’ve never really listened to a Delorean lyric, but I don’t feel like I have to. This music just speaks for itself. Nice synth coming in for the chorus, especially when the beat kicks back in.

4. Grow – This one sounds a little more house than the others. Really subtle. I’m barely 4 songs in and excited about the summer dance party possibilities. This might be the brightest of the songs so far, which says a lot.

5. Simple Graces – Hits you right away! Slower than the other tracks, but still pushing forward. Again, great use of vocal samples. Nice quiet section in the middle with some subtle bongos. Might be the chillest part of the album thus far, but still keeps your attention. Sounds like there’s a buildup in the works. Back to the opening theme before a quick percussion outro.

6. Infinite Desert – This one is a bit slower at the start as well. There’s a cool little thing going on with the rhythm and the piano working together. Just building more and more layers as the song goes on. Big change in the middle, and the percussion is mostly replaced with handclaps, but not annoying ones. And now the piano is replaced with juicy synth. Nice big finish. “Would you like to start, start a riot?” Yes, please.

7. Come Wander – Starts out quietly and bursts into one of the most driving tracks on the album. I know I keep saying this, but every song is just exploding with sunshine and happiness. There are a few breakdowns that remind me a tiny bit of Tensnake’s “Coma Cat”. Piano seems to play a bigger role.

8. Warmer Places – Still has the great dance beat, but sounds just a tad less happy than the others in the beginning. I didn’t love this one until the chorus, but now it makes more sense. There’s a sort of nice contrast between the verses and chorus. I think these end lyrics are saying “And if you want to we can drown our way back into the sun.” So I guess even lyrically it is all summer all the time.

9. It’s All Ours – What a great beat. It sounds a little tribal and a little South American influenced to me. Definitely stands out from the rest. This track sounds to me like it was meant to kind of calm you down from all the excitement of the rest of the album. Still really nice but quite a bit more lax than the others. A fitting ending to a great album.

So I think it’s pretty clear that I fully endorse this album. I can envision it falling heavily into my summer rotation. I do think I had a preconceived notion of what this album would sound like, but I think my notion was spot on. And I can only imagine I’ll like it more with each listen. I dig.

Also, while this album is prime for blaring on hot summer days, make sure you also take the time to listen to it through some headphones for the full effect.

Delorean – Come Wander

buy it on Delorean - Subiza - Come Wander or amazon

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