mixtape maestro (2.0)

Newbie Louisville, Kentucky four-piece The Pass construct a fierce indie dance-rock boogie that’s sure to rank amongst favorites come year-end music list-making time with “Colors”, the title track to the their newly released introductory EP.

The track’s main riff, a punchy, cock-sure cyclone of ringing guitar funkiness, houses an instantaneous spark, the kind that haphazardly seeps into your brain in the A.M. and leaves you floating through air the rest of the day, the echoing of it’s contagious rhythm in your head all that’s needed to keep your personal mood on a life-loving, sunny tip.

Are their other elements to “Colors” were mentioning? Of course: it carries cool vocals and a solid hook that’s just begging to be sung along to while driving down the highway in the middle of the summer with your friends; for us, however, it’s all about that central strut of a groove.

Peep it (and fall in love) below.

DL: “Colors” (alt)

Uncategorized dance-rock, indie pop, indie rock, kentucky, the pass

Tucked away in the mid-section of their hyped-to-the-heavens second offering Odd Blood, the admirably near-uncategorizable Brooklyn indie-rockers Yeasayer go even odd-er (if such a thing is even possible) by getting all early-00’s teen-pop on our asses with the computerized white boy funk workout of “Love Me Girl”.

Far different than anything they’ve ever put to tape, at it’s core, “Love Me Girl” teeters on being an awkward mess, it’s struggle at finding a comfortable common ground between New Romantic swooning and Timberlake-ian herky-jerk R&B glitch never quite gelling as well as the band seems to think it does.

So why do we stamp it as being an album standout, anyway? Partly because we kinda-sorta dig the nervous tension in the song’s lyrics (it follows one man on the verge of an emotional breakdown as his current relationship fizzles out before his eyes); but mostly because of it’s begging-to-be-looped two minute long intro, a dramatic synth-based build-up excitingly peppered with animal cackles and haunting vocoder tags that hints of the best rave ever bursting alive around you at any moment.

Take a listen to the amazingly launched cut below, followed by a bonus offering of The Very Best’s merry overdub of Odd Blood’s lead single “Ambling Alp” (shouts).

“Love Me Girl”:

BONUS DL: Yeasayer “Ambling Alp (The Very Best ‘Mulomo’ Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized brooklyn, indie pop, indie rock, the very best, yeasayer

Summer may be months away in reality, but it definitely doesn’t seem that way when the feel-good buoyancy of First Rate People’s “Girls’ Night” is spilling through your speakers.

Here, the Ontario-based seven-piece piece together a fetching swirl of indie rock, R&B and bedroom-pop style stamps, the song’s encircling male and female leads at times feeling like two different songs being mashed together in perfect harmony.

We’re not particularly clear what the two singers are going on about (something about sending postcards and crashing an all-female outing), but honestly we could care less, because what is fully understood, is that by the time this two-and-a-half minute tune has faded out on a sunny high of chirpy guitars and that crunchy, hip hop-esque drum track, we’re immediately hit with the uncontrollable need to hit “replay” so that we could be immersed in it’s catchy goodness all over again.

Expect a full-length debut from FRP sometime later this year.

DL: “Girls’ Night” (alt)

Uncategorized bedroom pop, Canada, first rate people, indie rock, ontario, summertime

After sugar-coating our ears with the endlessly fascinating Afro-trop-pop lullaby “Horchata”, ever-polarizing indie rock prep boys Vampire Weekend move on to the official first single of their well-anticipated Contra set with “Cousins”, a rambunctious ball of ska and surf rock-tinged energy stuffed in an utterly perfect running time length of two-and-a-half-minutes.

“You were born with ten fingers and you’re gonna use them all”, sings Ezra, and he wasn’t kidding judging by the varied bag o’ rapidly spun musical tricks that are on display on this contagious “A-Punk” sibling, including speedy dual guitar festivities that burst to life out of nowhere, drummer Chris Tomson’s tireless back-and-forth contribution of swift drum rolls and double-time poundings, and a stomping finale anchored in jinglin’ bell-assisted jubilance that whould get the biggest Scrooge you know overcome with holiday spirit.

Oh, how this album can’t come fast enough…

BONUS DL: “White Sky (‘Live with Jimmy Fallon’ Performance)” (alt)

Uncategorized afro-pop, contra, indie rock, ska, vampire weekend

The fourth release lifted from The Noisettes‘ excellent (and nowhere near as big as it should be) Wild Young Hearts album, “Every Now & Then” sees the London band staying in line with previous singles “Wild Young Hearts” and “Never Forget You”, doling out another magnificent fusion of ex-lover nostalgia with a ’60’s soul-pop-inspired musical frame.

But whereas those tracks hid frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa’s regrets over past romances behind perky arrangements, illustrating a sensibility that she had for the most part healed with the passing of time, “Every Now & Then” follows an opposite route, finding her still handicapped by an enormous heartache with moody guitar and swirling strings depicting her inner despair with a moving dramatic flair.

“You see we were never through/ I never said I loved you/ Even when we said goodbye/ I never thought it was the last time,” a down-in-the-dumps Shingai recalls, a single moment of solitude or a certain song being played on the radio instantly filling her mind with tearjerking memories of secret kisses in a certain former love’s bedroom and the postcards he would send inked with “stories (that) would excite me”.

With her yearning for a gust of wind to bring him back into her life and light up “this empty room” she dubs her current depressing existence, Shoniwa’s sorrow cuts so deep, you can’t help but be pulled into the doldrums alongside her, especially once the arrival of a stunning Bond theme song-like climax of swollen orchestration and piercing cries of being “down, down, down” come into play.

Catch the song’s music video below, then take a listen to one of our favorite cuts from Mick Boogie and Terry Urban’s must-have Noisettes vs. Kanye West mash-up mixtape Wild Young Heartbreak: “Saturday Night Paranoia”, Chicago production duo Christian Rich’s metallic-sleek marriage of the Noisettes’ revenge fantasy “Saturday Night” with West’s whip-crack heavy, new wave jaunt “Paranoid”.

DL: “Saturday Night Paranoia (Christian Rich Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized 60's, christian rich, indie rock, kanye west, london, mick boogie, mixtape, noisettes, retro

By now, most of you have already heard the news, downloaded the track and spent the rest of the day playing it over and over like crazy. But just in case your internet connection was down or you were trapped in some bear cave or something, let’s catch you up to speed.

Vampire Weekend’s website had indie music-lovers in a state of anxiety-filled panic trying to figure out what a mysterious posted clock was counting down to. Many assumed that when the clock struck zero, the public would be gifted with the first taste of the band’s highly anticipated sophomore offering Contra. Guess what? You may give yourself a gold star because that assumption was correct.

The band have so kindly offered as a FREE download (yay!!) Contra jump-off joint “Horchata”, and since it’s premiere, bet there have been plenty of people suddenly overcome with a feeling of thirstiness after listening to the tune (that is, when they’re not hitting up Wikipedia trying to figure out what a damn “balaclava” is).

While guitar-free and more electronic-lenient, “Horchata” still finds Vampire Weekend planted firmly in the land of whimsical, Afro-pop-tinged infectiousness, with frontman Ezra Koenig painting a pleasant lyrical portrait of him sipping the rice-based beverage on the eve of Winter as frilly little xylophone notes dance around him. As the song goes on, the arrangement gets even more colorful, thanks to short bursts of stomp-y percussion delirium and a symphonic climax that seems to whisk you away into a whirlwind of candy canes and gumdrops.

It’s all very kooky and Saturday morning TV-feeling (you could imagine cartoon blue birds flitting around Zoenig in the recording booth), but if you’re like us, after the umpteenth repeated listen you still won’t have enough of it’s candied quirkiness.

For those who haven’t circled the date on their calendars already, Contra OFFICIALLY arrives January 11th/ 12th, 2010.

Uncategorized contra, indie pop, indie rock, vampire weekend

We thought the only thing Michael McDonald bothered to do these days was record endless covers of old soul and Motown classics, but the unmistakable voice behind cherished faves “What A Fool Believes” and “I Keep Forgettin’” (and, er, this), and the man who vocally inspires at least one Top 20 contestant on American Idol each year, has definitely triggered our cheers with this one: a new B-side take on Grizzly Bear’s new Veckatimest single “While You Wait For The Others” in which he TAKES THE LEAD.

What’s most surprising here is how natural it all feels, conjuring up jumbled feelings of awe and glee when taking in the sound of McDonald’s rounded, blue-eyed soul yarl atop “Others”‘ psychedelic lurch, betwixt the chorus’ swooning male harmonies or bouncing around with that whole “want…want…want” breakdown highlight.

Our heads hadn’t yet stopped spinning after catching Jay-Z and Beyonce swaying along to GB at one of the band’s concerts, but then to get this…and learn that it’s really, really good!?! Oh how we adore your mysterious ways, Universe!!

We’ll be good (this time!!) and just give you a stream of the track below (head here for official ordering options), but as a consolation prize, snatch up two alternate versions of “What A Fool Believes”: Jim Burgess’ classic 12″ disco remix and Aretha Franklin’s saucy 1980 cover version.

Grizzly Bear featuring Michael McDonald “While You Wait For The Others”:

DL: “What A Fool Believes (12″ Jim Burgess Remix)” (alt)

DL: “What A Fool Believes (Aretha Franklin)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, 80's, blue-eyed soul, doobie brothers, grizzly bear, indie rock, jim burgess, michael mcdonald

We wouldn’t be too far off from the general consensus in the regretful admittance that most of our excitement over A NEW ARCTIC MONKEYS ALBUM quickly dissipated the first time we actually laid our ears on the thing. Like grumpy old folk who like things to always be the way they were, it was just too much of an extreme switch-up to find the usually lively Sheffield blokes attempting to sound “all growed up” with the collection’s sludgy, dark rock boogie atmospherics and Alex Turner’s sudden over-leaning on elongated vocal croons.

But we also wouldn’t be alone in truly believing that after a few spins, Humbug’s initial inaccessibility eventually melts into being a solid enough third trip out, successfully re-formatting the Monkeys’ sound to keep the band from sounding like they’re only regurgitating past glories while igniting a flicker of promise for the routes to be taken on successive releases, where these maturing kinks are hopefully ironed out and the band grasp a better way to balance their earlier appeal with their understandable yearn to traverse different terrains.

If there was any one track presented on Humbug to target as THE stepping stone from the Arctic’s past to their future, it would have to be “Cornerstone”, the collection’s most immediately pleasing offering and the one that’ll likely warrant reason to keep re-visiting Humbug the most in the long run.

Bearing both a melodic pop catchiness and Turner’s beloved grasping of keen-eyed lyrical detailing (“I thought I saw you in the Parrots Beak/ Messing with a smoke alarm/ It was too loud for me to hear her speak/ And she had a broken arm…”), two elements that made the band’s first two albums must-haves, “Cornerstone” is grounded enough by it’s slowly churning arrangement to stay in line sonically with it’s Humbug trackmates, and arguably ends up standing as one of their best creations yet.

Here, Turner Morrissey-ly mopes around town all hours of the night, so hung up on an old love he starts “seeing” her at every pirate-themed pub he enters (The Battle Ship, Rusty Hook, Parrots Beak). But every time he gets close enough to one of these “ghosts” to spark their intrigue, he quickly ruins any shot at a new romance by requesting to call her the name of his ex. Which is kinda creepy.

Even more creepy? His chorus’ decision to take the scenic route home while in a taxi, all so he can spend more time smelling his boo’s “scent on the seat belt” or the bizarre ending verse that finds him finally getting the girl: his former love’s sister!! “She was close/
Well you couldn’t get much closer,” Turner sings matter-of-factly. We guess.

Uncategorized alternative, arctic monkeys, indie rock, sheffield, UK

A lengthy touring spell. Handful of one-off concert events. The release of a couple bootlegs. A comic book. A short story. Throat surgery. A brand new blog.

In the year-and-a-half since dropping his 2008 solo debut Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, UK-born dance-punk-turned-Americana-esque-indie singer/songwriter Lightspeed Champion seems to have done everything but bless the public with a proper follow-up to that near-brilliant collection. Apparently this set is already completed and awaiting the proper pieces to fall in place for it to get an official release date (Industry politics *sigh*), but never the lazy one (as figured by all his aforementioned activities), the man born Dev Hynes has already delved deep into his next next project, a psychedelic rock & funk-based side gig going under the moniker Blood Orange that he’s been teasing for a while now via posted demo tracks.

The latest, and best, cut heard so far from this forthcoming era is “S’Cooled”, a circuitous hypnotizer built on heavy bass chugs, persistent hi-hat hits and flittering guitar, that feels like it was inspired after one of LC’s darkest days (“Losing all my friends for sure/ We were left inside this hole…”, he emotes in his best Prince pout) and has definitely got us anxious for not only it’s final polish, but what else Blood Orange have cooked up.

Keep checking BO’s MySpace and Lightspeed Champion’s (quite fascinating) blog for future postings of this increasingly intriguing project.

DL: “S’Cooled” (alt)

Uncategorized alt-soul, alternative, indie rock, lightspeed champion, singer-songwriter, UK

Just in case you needed a brand new reason to be head over heels in love with The xx, the much blog-beloved UK act delivers another winner with new single “Basic Space”.

Seducingly minimialist and, in keeping with their signature, coolly dark, “Basic Space” spends it’s opening verse rocking nothing but odd drum machine tones as leads Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft drowsily trade off twisted lines of devotion towards one another.

Gradually, other musical elements (ringing guitars, lone synth hits, lingering basslines) are brought in to help add some color to the creeping nocturnal soundscape, but never once do these additions make the song lose grasp of it’s sexy, bare-boned allure, as the band retain enough space in between the instrumental tracks to keep things both captivatingly off and gorgeously weird.

Pre-order the band’s debut album (due August 17th), via Rough Trade.

DL: “Basic Space” (alt)

Uncategorized indie pop, indie rock, the xx, UK