New Track – CW Stoneking : The Thing I Done

Classic electric chicken grease somewhere between Ray Charles & Tom Waits from eccentric Australian bluesman CW Stoneking.

Hailing from Australia’s remote Northern Territory, Stoneking grew up listening to gospel, ragtime and Chicago blues, citing American musicians including Son House, Robert Johnson, Skip James and Bukka White among his earliest influences. “When I first heard it I thought it was kinda funny music,” Stoneking explains, “because it was so deconstructed and not really adhering to any rules that I’d been told music [should] fit into.” .”Hearing Stoneking perform live is, somehow, like listening to an old ‘78 recovered from a dusty attic in New Orleans.”-The Guardian

New Track – Donald Cumming : Game of The Heart

720x405-Donald-Cumming-1-Kat-VillacortaDonald Cumming, Former lead singer and founder of the band The Virgins. will release his highly anticipated debut solo album, Out Calls Only, on June 16th on Washington Square, the label imprint formed by Razor & Tie. Listen to the first track “Game Of The Heart”, recorded at East Village Recording Center with additional work done at Sullivan Street Studios in Manhattan.

Video – Moon Duo : Animal

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After sharing debut single, “Animal,” which has an early West Coast punk viciousness unique to the Moon Duo catalog, the band is now presenting the video directed by and starring skateboarding legend Richie Jackson. As described by Ripley, “We loved Richie Jackson’s skate videos, the idea of a psychedelic skater, something outside of the norm. We contacted him and he had the idea of doing the world’s first skate video without a skateboard, and we were sold right there.”

Shadow of the Sun is available for pre-order now. iTunes’ pre-orders come with an instant download of “Animal,” which, in a nod to a great pop tradition, will also appear as the A-side of a 7-inch packaged with each copy of the vinyl edition and exist as the final track of the album on the CD and digital versions. 

Video – Chromeo : Old 45’s

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In Chromeo’s new video for “Old 45’s”,  Dave kicks it with HAIM before Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) shows up to steal his girl. 

Video – Alt-J : Left Hand Free

alt-j-finalThe new video from U.K. indie rockers Alt-J, directed by Ryan Staake, is 2:47 minutes of pure southern summer envy.  The track is from the bands forthcoming album This Is All Yours which officially drops September 22.

Video – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah : As Always

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A new video from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for “As Always” from the new album Only Run out  June 3. The video, directed by David M. Helman, shows actor Wil Daniels deep in a never-ending night of debauchery and explodes with an unexpected twist at the end.

Nelio – New Mural and collaboration with Poet in Buenos Aires

Posted in New Art, top story

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 French artist Nelio is back in Buenos Aires, with a new mural project collaboration with the poet . 

(Pics courtesy of  The Artist)

 

New Track – Yann Tiersen : Midsummer Evening

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A Midsummer Evening is the first track from Yann Tiersen’s richly, textured, upcoming album, ∞ (Infinity) –  out on Mute Records May 2oth.

“The idea was to start with toy instruments as a reference to my early works, then manipulate the sounds electronically. Then I added a new layer of acoustic instrumentation, and repeated the same process. Finally I repeated the process once more with strings, so the whole album was a constant back and forth from acoustic to electronic to digital, and then back to analogue.” (Yann Tiersen)

 The new track is streaming below.

SpY’s Street Art Project in Madrid, Spain

Posted in New Art, top story

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The four Blah posters were posted over existing advertising from Scientology Church and Catholic Church.

Video – Avec Sans : Hold On + Left-Field Remix

Avec Sans are soon to be releasing new single “Shiver”. In the meantime check out the remix they did of last single “Hold On”. It’s the first time we’ve seen an original video re-envisioned to fit a remix. Both videos are by Chief Productions and Sing J Lee (Pins/Chvrches director) and both the original and the stuttering, left-field remix are audio/visual feasts.

New Track – Sterling Fox : Ghost

Check out the latest song from NYC rock and roll singer Sterling Fox. “Ghost” is a tribute to 1950s teenage tragedy ballads. Best known for having produced Lana Del Rey’s breakout hit “Video Games”, Fox is now hard at work on a full length album on his indie label Silver Scream Records. He is also featured on “Shame on Me” on the new Avicii album True.

Video – Small Black : Breathless

Small Black have premiered their new video for “Breathless” today via VEVO’s Indie Wednesday. Directed by Nick Bentgen, the video is a last burst of summer road trip before the weather turns. The strikingly intimate, yet disjointed images run together in a rush of nostalgia. Kolenik says the song itself is about “feeling free of your own body with the ability to look down at yourself and evaluate.”
There is also a live version of the video, commissioned by Stillwater Artisanal, the brewery that created Small Black’s namesake beer. Filmed at 285 Kent in Brooklyn and Ovvio Arte in Nashville, with live recording from 285 Kent and footage from Ian Perlman, the video takes you inside Small Black’s energetic & entrancing live show.
Small Black released their latest record, Limits of Desire, earlier this year and it has garnered glowing reviews and support from varied corners. Pitchfork called lead track “Free At Dawn” “Simultaneously understated and anthemic” and says “[Small Black] are absolutely going for it.” Stereogum praised the album as “lush and widescreen” and Other Music said, “it’s as if the rainbow colors are now being refracted through a flawlessly cut diamond.”

Video – Caveman : In the City

Watch Caveman’s horrifying new video  for “In the City” starring Julia Stiles.  A tourist couple visits New York City for the first time. They soon discover that underneath the surface of the playground of the city, lies a world of darkness and horror.

Get a free MP3 –  “Shut You Down'”

Listen to the rest of the album here:

Live – The National @ Greek Theatre, LA

On Saturday night, The National played their first of two nights in the new hometown to frontman Matt Berninger; this time at LA’s historic Greek Theatre. The 6,000+ capacity was certainly a marked change of scenery from the 350 person Bell House in Brooklyn where I last caught them, just prior to the release of High Violet.

What anyone who has ever been to one their performances can attest, whether the stage is tiny or is amongst the biggest in the world, The National deliver one of the most memorable experiences imaginable. Reviews will abound with what songs they played, but I’d prefer this review to talk about the growth of a band and my experiences as a fan of that band hitting success in perfect stride. Having first caught them in Louisville, KY in 2007 (and being so enamored with the performance where my friends and I bought tickets to the following night’s performance in their former-former hometown of Cincinnati, OH) and seeing the blatant nervous ticks of a man not yet comfortable performing on a stage in front of a couple hundred people to seeing that same man, six years later, running through a sold-out crowd of 6,000 people sing-screaming all of the lyrics to their songs made me, as a fan, feel incredibly proud. There’s something about The National that creates a really deep connection with its fans which is why I think that they’ve had the success they’ve had. They’ve never had the regular radio-play outside of the KCRW/NPR/College Radio world. What they have, however, are heartfelt songs about realistic experiences that encourage fans to connect on a quasi-personal level. I hear “Apartment Story” and I picture my wife and I getting ready for hosting a dinner party. I hear “Conversation 16” and I think about loving her so much and feeling like I fail her. I hear “I Should Live in Salt” and I think about how mad she can make me. I hear “About Today” and I think about how scared I’d be to lose her. I hear “Abel” and I think of the inanity of some of my friends. I hear “Terrible Lie” and I ask myself where I’m heading. The National have written the soundtrack to our lives.

Perhaps I’m just self-centered. Hell, I am writing a concert review and somehow making it all about me. I feel like Matt could appreciate that. But the story that The National tells is a bit of the everyman story that all of its fan can empathize with and connect to. If you don’t believe me then you should have heard the chants of “Baby, We’ll Be Fine” or “I Was Afraid, I’d Eat Your Brains.” You can hear it the voices that it’s not just singing along with miscellaneous words. Everyone of the 6,000 in attendance singing along sang with true emotion. And yet the story isn’t confined to the lyrical content. The Dessner and Devendorf brothers create a mood and energy befitting and perfectly complementing the story.

If there’s one thing that The National does as good as write amazing songs, it’s put on an amazing performance. Totting around the ever present bottle of wine (which I’ve seen him share on stage with his mother, “Uncle Jack,” and thousands of adoring fans), both Matt and the Dessner brothers have learned to own the stage. A stage now outfitted with one of the most impressive and gorgeous light shows I’ve ever seen (a photographer’s dream). But, I suppose that’s what years of touring and becoming seasoned billboard-charting veterans will do. In the beginning it was largely Matt and occasional touring member Padma Newsome putting on the show, but it’s great to see that everyone is in on the show these days.

I had wondered in advance of the show whether the setlist would be “Trouble Will Find Me”-heavy, the recently released 6th Studio album. Having a catalog as deep as theirs with two releases since my last opportunity to see the band, I’d expected to hear far less of the old material. Fortunately, we were treated to a 24 song set spanning Alligator to Trouble, with, what Matt might call, a “good mixture” across the albums. The setlist was near perfect. Being a new Californian myself, I’d have loved to have heard “All the Wine” for the crowd’s reaction alone. But the closer, Vanderlyle/Crybaby Geeks, from 2011’s High Violet, was undoubtedly the highlight of the night. Stripping down to an acoustic set. For all of the raucous,  and stage antics, light show, guitar-shredding, drum-deconstruction, The National is a band about the song and the fans are about right there with them. While About Today may have magically brought the crowd to a hush for those final few lyrics…”may I ask you, about today?” For Vanderlyle, the immense crowd became pin-drop quiet for the encore-closing acoustic song up until we were compelled to chant along in unison…”Vanderlyle, Crybaby, Cry…oh the waters are rising, still no surprising you…Vanderlyle, Crybaby Cry…man it’s all been forgiven, swans are a-swimming, I’ll explain everything to the geeks!” I wanted to cry myself. It was a beautiful moment. It summed up the emotions, both from a songwriting perspective and a performance perspective, of everyone taking a part in that moment.

-Cory Greenwell

Setlist:

  1. I Should Live in Salt
  2. Don’t Swallow the Cap
  3. Bloodbuzz Ohio
  4. Sorrow
  5. Sea of Love
  6. Demons
  7. Afraid of Everyone
  8. Conversation 16
  9. Squalor Victoria
  10. I Need My Girl
  11. This Is the Last Time
  12. Slipped
  13. Baby, We’ll Be Fine
  14. Abel
  15. Slow Show
  16. Pink Rabbits
  17. Graceless
  18. England
  19. About Today
  20. Fake Empire

Encore:

  1. Humiliation
  2. Mr. November
  3. Terrible Love
  4. Vanderlyle Crybaby/Geeks (Acoustic)

MP3 – Classixx : All You’re Waiting For

Classixx are giving away their summer anthem “All You’re Waiting For”,  which got Best New Track honors from Pitchfork. The bouncy tune featuring Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem is free via iTunes Single of the Week. Their debut album Hanging Gardens is out now.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/all-youre-waiting-for-feat./id643409609

MP3 – Happy Lives : Feeling Right

 

 

 Listen – Happy Lives :  Feeling Right

 
 

Brooklyn’s Neo-pop group  Happy Lives take an entirely different direction on their first focus track  “Feeling Right”, stepping deeper into the absurd and unknown. “Feeling Right,” is a youthful gloom-pop track sung from the perspective of two teenage lovers.  The un-named female part swoons over her boyfriend, Jimmy, while Jimmy, crooning like Elvis, has a little less to say. Playful and sarcastic, the song manages to capture the quintessential feelings of teenage angst: “Tense and horny, what a special story.”  If you are looking for the band’s previous grungy, intense machine sound- you won’t find it here.  Sounding almost unrecognizable from the previous EP, Happy Lives probe an entirely new landscape of abstract thought here – weird, bouncy and unbelievably catchy. 

Live – Thao with The Get Down Stay Down @ The Troubadour, LA

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down concluded their national tour with Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside on Monday night at the Troubador in LA. The tour was in support of their latest, “We The Common,” an album that shows great maturity, musicianship, and even civic-mindedness over “We Brave Bee Stings And All.” Seeing Thao on stage, it was clear where her passions now lie, namely that WTC is about a lot more than the songs on the album and Thao’s work with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners is pervasive.  By 5 songs into the set, Thao had already flipped through virtually every instrument on the stage. It was impressive to behold. And yet, for all her artistic maturity, she nevertheless has been able to retain that youthful spunkiness I was first drawn to in 2008. That spunkiness was never felt stronger than when “Move” transitioned into a medley with Ludacris’ “What’s Your Fantasy?” or perhaps on her duet with Sallie for their cover of The Ronettes’ “Be My Little Baby.” The pointedness of Thao’s songwriting is almost comically genius, with playful, scathing lines like ” I was always on your conscience, but you were only on my mind” and “don’t we live too long, don’t you wait too much” and the onstage delivery is equally ironically cute. Further, songs like “Kindness Be Conceived” translate wonderfully despite Joanna Newsom’s absence. Her time away from the spotlight seems to have done great things for her, but it’s great to have her back. Sallie Ford’s performance was equally fun, having an almost doo-wop sound and instantly danceable. Songs like “Fried Green Tomatoes,” though somewhat silly, were incredibly fun and perfectly compliments the Thao fanbase. Though I’d not heretofor known Sallie Ford, I’m sold as a huge fan.

-Cory Greenwell