After being embraced wholeheartedly by the music blog community with his 2008 pop twist on Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” (re-dubbed “I Want Those Flashing Lights”), it was looking like Canadian singer-songwriter-producer Colin Munroe was on the fast-track to doing big things. Following the release of the equally-adored mixtape, Colin Munroe is the Unsung Hero, later that year however, Munroe-as-solo-act faded from the scene, only popping up on occasion via guest spot gigs in the time since (including collabos with Black Milk, Slum Village, Travie McCoy and Kidz In The Hall) with little word on when his official debut project was to arrive.
This week, Munroe contacted us via e-mail to explain what the bleeping deal was: “There were some things that needed dealing with and that dealing is almost done.” A bit cryptic, but, hey, at least we know that the album is still on the way (hopefully sooner rather than later)…and look at that, he’s even opted to bring his solo hiatus to an end with an offering of a brand new cover. Of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U”, no less.
Admittedly, it’s not as amazing as the Kanye re-do nor as dynamic as the Purple Rain original (it’s impossible to beat Prince), but Munroe’s thumping, electro-shimmered production against his plaintive, Auto-tune-tweaked croon creates a fairly pleasant ethereal allure, making it an easy-to-appreciate re-introduction to the man’s appeal.
With pop music growing more and more gimmicky by the minute (Will the Age of Auto-Tune ever be over?) and brand new sub-genres popping up on the daily (making it damn near impossible to keep up with them all), it can oh-so-refreshing when something new comes along with the power to blow you away while also toying the line with being “traditional”. “Painkillers”, from Tennessee-born/ London-based singer-songwriter-actress Lauren Pritchard, is one of those type of tunes, proving that the classic recipe of great vocals, striking lyricism and classy production can still be an intoxicating brew in the crazy music landscape of 2010.
Here, supported by the impeccable rock & soul-fusing arrangement skills of acclaimed producer Eg White (Adele, Duffy, James Morrison) and the always stellar drum work of The Roots’ ?uestlove, Pritchard captivates with her amazingly earthen and bluesy tone offering an inside glimpse into her post-breakup blues and the suicidal urges it brings forth.
Yeah, her lyrics edge into the disturbing as she moans over how even if she were to overdose on the bottle of pills she’s gripping while speeding down the freeway, it likely wouldn’t make her heartache go away, but with those three great aforementioned songcraft elements in place, this downer of a situation is hard to resist not revisiting over and over again.
If the rest of Pritchard’s forthcoming full length debut, Wasted In Jackson, ends up just as good as “Painkillers” hints it will be, we urge the newcomer to start making room on her mantle right this minute, because it’s bound to get filled with a ton of awards in the coming years.
After checking out the “Painkillers” video, and a remix of the tune handled by drum & bass icon Roni Size, head on over to Pritchard’s website for info on where to cop the Painkillers EP.
A new addition to the ever-bulging eccentric female singer-songwriter lane, New Zealand-born/ Australia-based Kimbra makes quite the first impression on debut single “Settle Down”, a desperation-soaked plea for her fantasy beau to ditch his girl with the fancy car and go steady with her so they can raise a child together named “Nebraska Jones” (“She’ll have your nose…”).
Sound a lil’ kooky? Yes, but her marrying this teenybopper daydream to jazzy-curlicued, stop-start phrasings and a whimsical arrangement that starts with nothing but “boom-buh-boom-bah” mouth-noise and handclaps before being filled out with layers of sub-Timbaland quirk-funk and cutesy tip-toe piano plinks just show that being a bit “out there” is the name of her game…a fanciful lil’ game we wouldn’t mind hearing a little more of.
New York singer-songwriter/ The Knocks road dawg Samuel has long been touted as a future pop sensation in the making amongst the music blog scene (we hyped him here two years ago), and later this year we’ll finally get to see if those predictions prove correct once his Columbia/ Startime-backed debut Trains To Wanderland arrives.
Current single “I Heart NY” (from Samuel’s new EP, available here and here) hints that mainstream success shouldn’t be that tough of a hurdle, its sugary ice cream truck plinks, infectious “da-da-da”‘s and charming lyrical snapshots of growing up amongst the “street lights” and “golden summers” of the Big Apple all adding up to one hard-to-resist summertime soundtracker; but if that’s somehow not reason enough to keep your ears tuned to what Samuel’s cooking, you might at least get a kick out of hearing him tweak Drake’s Top Ten ballad “Find Your Love” into a fuzzy, lite funk-pop groove.
Alt-country-tinged indie-pop singer-songwriter Lissie has received plenty of acclaim within the past year, winning over critics with last year’s Why You Runnin’ EP, then sending the blogosphere all gaga over her rustic renditions of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”. That adoration should only continue as more ears become enamored over the Fleetwood Mac-evocation and heartland charm found within her newly dropped major label debut Catching A Tiger, a surefire bet for Best New Artist attention come next year’s Grammy’s.
On stand-out album track “Stranger”, Lissie nicely blends her classic C&W influences with the dense ’60′s girl group shimmer of Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” pop, but she manages to avoid the doe-eyed girlishness that typified most of those acts, her whiskey-soaked delivery presenting her as no dainty pushover as she dismisses the advances of a wannabe suitor.
Instantly turned off when she notices the ring on his finger (“I thought you said/ That you were single,” she dryly growls), Liss does her best to make him feel as silly and small as possible over the next three minutes, hitting him with a series of turn-downs that build from the simple and direct (“You’re not the kind of man that I wanna give my love”) to menacing threats (“This thing goes, you’ll just be rubble”) as he continually refuses to acknowledge her non-interest in him.
As salty as her lyrics get, though, the arrangement’s twinkling gallop and churn coasts along nicely, ending on an anthemic high of twangy bliss that only heightens the independent woman pride (“I’m not yours, I am mine”) she fades out with.
In an effort to prove that we’re not completely out of the loop when it comes to what’s been making waves within the music blog scene in recent weeks, enjoy this quick run-through of some of the more high profile new videos/ releases we’ve missed out on commenting on due to…uh, we’ll just say “real life” (and a few WordPress issues) getting in the way:
Sleigh Bells “Tell Em”
Anything you’ll ever read about this Brooklyn boy/girl noise-pop duo (vocalist Alexis Krauss and songwriter/ guitarist/ producer Derek E. Miller) is bound to note the band’s love for insane volume levels just as much as it’ll hype how crazily infectious the tunes hidden beneath all the ear-punishing distortion are.
Believe these words on both accounts.
“Tell Em”, the first single from the Sleigh Bells’ debut album Treats (due May 11th on Mom + Pop/ N.E.E.T.), may lead to one having early deafness, but bet you won’t be able to resist repeat doses of it’s rat-a-tat drum, turned-up-to-eleven guitar riffage and laser sound effects assault, nor Krauss’ pureform coos sweetly encouraging today’s young’uns “you can do your best today” betwixt it all.
Last summer’s chillwave/ glo-fi movement taught us the glories of music that was meek-sounding, of shitty quality and awesome; expect the upcoming warm weather season to be all about start-up bands/ acts co-signing the equally awesome louder-than-loud and shitty quality formula of the Bells.
We’ll politely decline from adding to the increasingly tiring “Is she copying Gaga?” rattle concerning Aguilera‘s new (meh) one, and just say this: when it comes to desperate slutty Christina, we’d rather give “Dirrty” a re-spin.
Is it bad that we wish we could just fast-forward to the next Aguilera album era already?
Christina’s Bionic drops June 8th.
Ciara featuring Ludacris “Ride”
Looking to get her career back on track after the commercial fumble that was her last album (2009′s Fantasy Ride), Ciara smartly hearkens back to a previous career highlight on new single “Ride”, re-heating the winning, “seductive ‘crunk & b’ crawl + Ludacris cameo” formula of “Oh” with an extra slathering of naughty sex kitten on top of it.
“I can do it up and down/ I can do circles/ To him I’m a gymnast/ This one is my circus,” she sings, nicely illustrating such bedroom talents with a slew of eye-popping body gyrations (amongst other “I’m not a little girl anymore” visuals) in the accompanying video.
Yeah, the hook claims it’s the “beat” that she’s riding “like a mother-[bleeping] freak”, but a ten-year-old could figure out what she’s really talking about.
Eminem “Not Afraid”
Capping months of track-owning guest appearances on joints alongside Drake & Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and B.o.B (not to mention the killer freestyle track “Despicable”), Em‘s “Not Afraid”, the first taste off his next full length Recovery, lands as another lyrical stunner, with him surprisingly coming across as equally compelling when preaching positive about living a “clean” lifestyle as he does when he’s flexing his more loony and murderous-minded material.
Only problem is, while we’re excited to hear he’s become aware of how awful the various “accents” and pop star/ tabloid staple-spoofing had become, “Not Afraid” feels less and less interesting with each successive listen (maybe it’s that ’80′s arena rock-styled hook), and we’re not necessarily sure we’re ready for an entire album of Eminem getting all uplifting on us.
Surely Kim has done something scandalous in recent years to inspire at least one Recovery song that throws back to his bat-shit crazy rhymes.
Josh Ritter “Another New World”
From the critically-acclaimed folk singer-songwriter‘s newly released sixth set So Runs The World Away (currently streaming in full over at NPR.org), a seven-minute-long story song set atop beautifully sedative acoustic guitar pluckings and dreamily sirenic muted horns about an Arctic explorer and his crew and the tragic horrors that befall them in the midst of a voyage in search of the “new world”.
Doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? Take a chance and hit ‘Play’ and you’ll be surprised how misty-eyed you get once it gets to the part where the protagonist is forced to set fire to his beloved ship in order to stay alive.
Most attention concerning this final single from the nearly two-year-old I Am…Sasha Fierce will more than certainly fall on it’s strange, but definitely sexy, retro-themed video (with Bey once-again rocking the Bettie Page ’50′s pin-up look) rather than the song itself; but the cut (co-penned by sister Solange) manages to be somewhat fascinating in it’s own right with the steely-voiced diva turning herself inside-out trying to figure out why a man would choose to willfully bypass such a catch (especially one with “beauty”, “class”, “style” and, most importantly”, “ass”) to a tightly-wound ’60′s soul strut.
There’s an uncomfortable oddness brewing about Scottish pop newcomer Alex Gardner (the newest act to emerge from the Xenomania House of Hits) and his debut single “I’m Not Mad” that we just can’t shake.
Maybe it’s because the eighteen-year-old’s young Elvis looks present him more as a tween silver screen superstar from some Twilight/ Harry Potter-like franchise than an up-and-coming singer-songwriter. Maybe it’s because we can’t wrap her minds around the idea that his esophagus would produce such a stiff, semi-soulful-leaning, husk-hued voice (think a high-school-aged Rick Astley), or maybe it’s just that said voice never quite manages to perfectly gel with the subdued electro-pop fizz of the single, possibly adding to the record never quite taking off the way it initially hints.
Despite this melange of head-scratchingness surrounding it, or perhaps, because of it, “Mad”, a slightly confusing narrative based around classic soapy love games, manages to stick in your head, repeated listenings eventually elevating it’s overall flatness to sublime pop levels.
Check out both the Xenomania-helmed version and an acoustic take on “I’m Not Mad” below and cop the single through iTunes.
Atlanta-born Cody ChesnuTT made quite an impression eight years ago when he unleashed his rave-reviewed double-LP debut, the lo-fi funk/ rock/ soul/ pop homemade brew The Headphone Masterpiece, especially after one of the album’s tracks, “The Seed”, was re-spun by The Roots a year later, emerging as one of the hip hop band/ current late-night TV highlight’s most beloved creations ever (that would be “The Seed (2.0)”). Frustratingly though, he’s since failed to really follow through on all that initial momentum, making the curious decision to cruelly tease fans in the eons since with a couple of sporadically released one-off singles rather than the full-length follow-up they truly desired.
Perhaps as an attempt to keep from completely falling off the edge of our memories, ChesnuTT has returned with a new “tease” in the form of the recently released “Come Back Like Spring”, a far-too brief (it clocks in at just under two minutes) acoustic concoction that beautifully captures his excitement for the new season’s arrival.
Softly crooning atop soothing guitar pluckings and his own delicately layered harmonies, ChesnuTT brings a smile to your face as he vividly illustrates the perfect day unfolding around him, noting the scent of “Honeysuckle on the wind” and the sounds of lawnmowers revving up down the block. Not even the stings of nibbling ants and mosquitoes or the threat of pollen to his allergies can ruin the moment, nor his upbeat mood.
Disappointingly, just as one has been overtaken by a similar sense of bliss through the song’s gentle soul sway, Cody rudely snatches it all away, fading out the song after a single serving of it’s chorus.
Damn C.C., the least you could do after all this waiting we’ve had to endure is entertain us with an entire song. Oh well, guess that means we’ll have to give “Come Back” double the multiple re-spins to achieve satisfaction, while keeping our fingers and toes crossed that it’s out-of-nowhere arrival is an early preview of some soon-to-drop sophomore album.
Grab the track, and a bonus (Cody’s original “The Seed”), below.
Obviously geared more towards the “opposite” side of Everything But The Girl half Tracey Thorn‘s third solo album Love And Its Opposite, first taste “Oh The Divorces!” is a devastating one, dripping blue melancholy at every turn as Thorn bemoans the many marriages fracturing around her.
Tracey’s voice lacks none of the throaty, reserved beauty it has soothed listeners with for three decades now and here, when pressed against what opens as a stark piano lullaby, her calmed vocal touch proves even more arresting, evoking a tinge of exasperation when she’s hit with the news that yet another close friend’s relationship is in dissolution.
From there, all types of emotions are sparked as she wonders aloud if she could have somehow softened some of her friend’s pain by giving her an earlier heads-up (“I should have guessed that day that his phone wouldn’t take your text”), fires curses at the cheating beau (“He was a charmer, I wish him bad karma”) and then starts to question the strength of her own relationship (“I examine my heart/ See how it stands, wonder if it’s still in safe hands”). Most crushing though, is when she begins to list the further consequences oft overlooked when one initially walks down the road of infidelity: “Now there’s kids to tell, and legal bills, and custody…”.
Sigh. This one will have you yearning for a drink (and the instant need to phone your mate to make sure everything’s still on the up-and-up) when it’s over.
Love and Its Oppositearrives May 18th on Merge. Look for the single’s 7″ vinyl release, featuring a cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Taxi Cab” as its B-side, on Record Store Day, April 17th.
It’s no question that the greatest thing to emerge from the introductory season of HBO’s mildly received, new original How To Make It In America (aside from Kid Cudi’s thespian contribution) is the show’s theme song “I Need A Dollar”.
Sounding like it was peeled directly off an old Bill Withers’ album, the haunting track, by Cali-born Stones Throw-signed vocalist Aloe Blacc, is a potent slice of gritty throwback soul that compellingly nails the frustrations of being down and out.
“I need a dollar dollar/ Dollar that’s what I need,” Blacc moans on the hook, his weathered tenor projecting nothing but sunless woe as the arrangement’s insistent horn blurts and piano key strut illustrate the caged-in suffocation he’s mired in. And little hope emerges as the track progresses, it’s depressive, spiritual-esque air growing even thicker with gloom as Blacc unsuccessfully pleas for his boss not to let him go (“But he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door”) and ends up spending the last of his dough on his “good ol’ buddies” whiskey and wine in an attempt to grasp some sort of temporary solace.
Is it a bit of a “Debbie Downer” record? Totally. But damn if it’s polished retro sound and bleak, relevant-for-today narrative (especially heart-crushing inquiries to the skies like “What in the world am I gonna to do tomorrow?”) don’t grab you smack dab in the middle of your gut, making for a handy go-to reference to quiet “fogey”-ish acquaintances who spend their days endlessly whining about how today’s music lacks the depth and soul of yesteryear.
Catch the video below, anticipate Aloe Blacc’s Good Things album sometime later this year, then take a listen to an amazing gem from the singer’s 2006 set Shine Through: a cover of John Legend’s “Ordinary People” done entirely en español (!!!) and given a light tropical spritz.
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
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(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
After being embraced wholeheartedly by the music blog community with his 2008 pop twist on Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” (re-dubbed “I Want Those Flashing Lights”), it was looking like Canadian singer-songwriter-producer Colin Munroe was on the fast-track to doing big things. Following the release of the equally-adored mixtape, Colin Munroe is the Unsung Hero, later that year however, Munroe-as-solo-act faded from the scene, only popping up on occasion via guest spot gigs in the time since (including collabos with Black Milk, Slum Village, Travie McCoy and Kidz In The Hall) with little word on when his official debut project was to arrive.
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