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Stream: mewithoutYou – Ten Stories

By Harri Gibson ⋅ May 10, 2012 ⋅ One comment

Ten Stories, the new release from mewithoutYou, is currently being streamed in it’s entirety on Spotify. The post-hardcore band experiments with spoken-word lyrics and various different genres to produce music that is definitely worth listening to if you haven’t heard it already. Vocalist, Aaron Weiss, provides an experience that can not be found in any other band, thus creating mewithoutYou’s signature sound.

Ten Stories Tracklisting:
01) February 1878
02) Grist For The Malady Mill
03) East Enders Wives
04) Cardiff Giant
05) Elephant In The Dock
06) Aubergine
07) Fox’s Dream Of The Log Flume
08) Nine Stories
09) Fiji Mermaid
10) Bear’s Vision Of St. Agnes
11) All Circles

[via TheNeedleDrop]

Jack White Makes Solo Debut With ‘Blunderbuss’

By Harri Gibson ⋅ April 21, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Jack White‘s debut solo album is set to be released on April 24th, 2012, however, despite White’s attempts to stop it being leaked (including sending promotional copies in the form of vinyl records only), it was leaked on April 15th.

The album portrays the jigsaw pieces of White’s career coming together to create thirteen exemplary tracks. A wide variety of genres are covered in the album from blues to garage rock, including White’s signature catchy riffs, and distorted vocals. Styles from all of his projects including The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather as well as from his musical influences like Son House are all definitely present in the album. It represents White’s chance to produce a record which is truly representative of him. In his own words, “I’ve put off making records under my own name for a long time but these songs feel like they could only be presented under my name. These songs were written from scratch, had nothing to do with anyone or anything else but my own expression, my own colors on my own canvas.”

Blunderbuss is now streaming on iTunes for free listening and will available for purchase on the 24th, including vinyl copies of the album from Third Man Records.

Blunderbuss Tracklisting:
01. Missing Pieces
02. Sixteen Saltines
03. Freedom At 21
04. Love Interruption
05. Blunderbuss
06. Hypocritical Kiss
07. Weep Themselves To Sleep
08. I’m Shakin’
09. Trash Tongue Talker
10. Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy
11. I Guess I Should Go To Sleep
12. On And On And On
13. Take Me With You When You Go

Blog Tapes: The Coachella Mix

By Frank Wu ⋅ April 14, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

[Blog Tapes] – Coachella from metrojolt on 8tracks.

About a year ago, some of us blogger folk decided to band together for a series of Monday Mixer playlists. We’ve proudly joined forces again to restart the series – bigger and better than ever before. Blog Tapes, the new mixtape collective featuring our favorite music blogs on the Internet today, kicks off today with its very first mixtape: 8 hand-picked songs from artists that are all playing at this year’s Coachella festival. Give it a listen above!

DJ Shadow – “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt”

It’s rare in music for something to completely transcend the strict boundary lines that separate genre from genre. For some reason, we feel the need to box what we listen to into such explicit categories that we’ve even created subgenres within genres and so on. Dream-pop? Surf-rock? Seriously? Since stunning audiences with 1996?s Endtroducing….., the very first album to be recorded using only sampled sounds, DJ Shadow has somehow managed to consistently avoid being defined by labels. By blending songs from all areas of the musical spectrum, DJ Shadow’s sample-heavy music is a fantastic look into the world of music that doesn’t have to be classified to be enjoyed. Seriously. – Frank @ Lost In The Sound

The Head and the Heart – “No One To Let You Down”

I’ve been a fan of this Seattle band for awhile. They’ve only released their debut album but they have a treasure trove of unreleased materials like “No One To Let You Down” to listen to and fall in love with. – Ian @ 1146 Miles

Grouplove – “Colours”

I thank my sister for my love of Grouplove, the 7? of Colours was a birthday present from her, chosen because of it’s excellent cover. Anyone heading to Coachella needs to put these guys near the top of their lists if only for the huge rolling choruses which have the noise of Doolittle-era Pixies and the energy of any festival headline act. The outro alone is made for mud-spattered singalong sunsets. –Marcus @ A Pocket Full Of Seeds

Oberhofer – “Gotta Go”

Brad Oberhofer deals in sun-ripened throwback fuzz-pop that is practically tailor made for singing along to in big crowds. You bet your ass I will be up in the mix belting out all the big “OOoohhs” during “Gotta Go.” In fact, the whole jam is prime sing along material. It’s Oberhofer’s thing. A handful of other Oberhofer gems are kicking around the internet and debut LP Time Capsules II is out now. If you don’t know these guys then skip the pool on Sunday and get to the Mojave Stage at 1:10 to join the sing along! – Brandon @ The Burning Ear

We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Act On Impulse”

Scotland has always had a rich heritage of music, but it is the emotive and fierce We We Promised Jetpacks that are carrying the Saltire with pride at the moment. The band have come a long way from their debut album, keeping the desperation and energy, but have now found a little warmth in their hearts as here in Act On Impulse. – Tim @ The Blue Walrus

Keep Shelly In Athens – “Hauntin’ Me”

One of last year’s discoveries that I’ve been keeping an eye on has to be Greece’s Keep Shelly In Athens. Seemingly coming out of nowhere to making it to the Coachella stage in the matter of a year, their set is sure to bring the perfect early afternoon vibes to the early afternoon crowd. I only hope I can drag myself to the fest early enough to see them myself. – Chris @ dailybeatz

Death Grips – “I’ve Seen Footage”

I’m not going to Coachella but if there’s one act I’d rush to see in a festival setting it would be Death Grips. The trio twist punk, hardcore and hip-hip into antagonizing soundscapes fit for a slaughterhouse. Their rhythm and noise formula is a fist in the air, fuck the system blast of energy well-suited for losing your mind under the hot desert sun. Tear the tents down! – Veronica @ Cream Team

Kaskade – “Turn It Down”

It wasn’t a surprise to me that this year’s Coachella is heavily EDM. The somewhat underground movement have been brought to the main stage- plus a DJ is many times cheaper than a band so the decision makes a lot of sense economically. Kaskade is my favorite dance act of the festival. His Fire & Ice album, released back in October 2011, is the reason I’ve been dying to see him live ever since. – Ben @ The Metropolitan Jolt

Listen: jj – “Beautiful Life”

By Frank Wu ⋅ April 4, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

jj make their triumphant return with the release of “Beautiful Life”, yet another beautifully composed song from the Swedish duo. And the first line? It goes something like this: “I’m so in this b*tch, see me glow in this b*tch, blowing dro in this b*tch, doing blow in this b*tch.” Classic.

This new song will appear on their forthcoming single jj n° 4 alongside another new song entitled “Burn”. Starting May 8th, you’ll be able to purchase the single from Secretly Canadian and Sincerely Yours either as a 7″ record or as a digital recording. Check it out below.

MP3: jj – “Beautiful Life”

Live Review: Death Cab For Cutie @ Shanghai, China’s Yunfeng Theatre (03/09)

By Frank Wu ⋅ March 30, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Band: Death Cab For Cutie
Location: Shanghai, China’s Yunfeng Theatre
Date: March 9, 2012

“Hello, we’re Death Cab For Cutie from Seattle,” Ben Gibbard timidly introduced his band after playing the concluding notes to “A Lack of Color”. But just as abruptly as the band began their set at Yunfeng Theatre, Ben’s introduction was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of cheers from the adoring crowd that was seeing them play for the first time. Earlier this month, Death Cab played their first ever show in China and for a city so hungry for international acts, Death Cab’s inclusion into the JUE Festival was a perfect way to follow-up Shanghai’s recent visits from Mogwai and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. And while the crowd wasn’t entirely that energetic throughout most of the show – perhaps influenced by the nontraditional rock venue, a smallish theatre that limited excessive jumping and dancing – it was clear that they were definitely into the show and the music being played.

From that point on, it was obvious that the band had settled into a comfort zone of sorts, launching into their more well-known tracks like “You Are a Tourist” and even a solo performance of “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” that had the crowd singing and swaying along. Although the tracklist was heavy with songs from 2003’s Transatlanticism (a total of six songs!), the band rounded out the evening by including songs from Narrow Stairs, We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, and The Photo Album.

Accompanied by waves of flashing lights, Ben even took a turn on an extra set of drums for an extended, heavily instrumental rendition of “We Looked Like Giants” where the band launched into a five-minute jam session. For the rest of the night, Ben alternated between playing the keyboard and the guitar, but of course, he was at his best behind the microphone, with the acoustics of the theatre and the diligence of the sound crew making his voice sound even better than on record. Those who weren’t awestruck by Ben’s stage presence and his vocal skills happily sang along, giving the theatre an extremely warm and intimate atmosphere that really complemented the music being played.

After going through 21 songs in just under two hours, Ben graciously thanked the adoring crowd and the band headed off surrounded by cheers from the packed theatre that just wasn’t ready to leave yet.

Setlist:
A Lack of Color
I Will Possess Your Heart
Crooked Teeth
We Laugh Indoors
Photobooth
Doors Unlocked and Open
Long Division
Grapevine Fires
Codes and Keys
Different Names For The Same Thing
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Title and Registration
You Are a Tourist
The New Year
Company Calls
Company Calls Epilogue
Soul Meets Body
Cath…
We Looked Like Giants
The Sound of Settling

Encore:
Underneath The Sycamore
A Movie Script Ending
Transatlanticism

Andrew Bird Visits Stephen Colbert

By Frank Wu ⋅ March 15, 2012 ⋅ One comment

To promote his new album Break It Yourself, singer-songwriter and whistling virtuoso Andrew Bird made an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show last night. After a hilariously one-sided chat with Colbert (well, what did you expect?) about his fanbase, his music, and more, Bird gave the audience a fantastic peformance of his new song “Eyeoneye”, as well as an exclusive web performance of “Danse Caribe”. Even while flanked by a full band, Bird handles multiple roles, switching between vocals to whistling to playing guitar to playing violin. You can watch the interview as well as the two live performances below.

Interview:

“Eyeoneye”:

“Danse Caribe”:

Video: Bon Iver – “Towers”

By Frank Wu ⋅ February 27, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Bon Iver‘s newest single “Towers” from 2011′s standout album Bon Iver is set for release by Jagjaguwar on March 6th. To promote its release, the band released a new full-scale music video for the song directed by Nabil Elderkin, who also directed the visuals for “Holocene”. You can watch the whole thing, which features the journey of an old man (and the sea!) as well as some curious drawings of towers, below.

Stream: Hooray! – bedhead remedy

By Harri Gibson ⋅ February 23, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Hooray! released their third album today entitled bedhead remedy. This album consists of ten perfectly crafted ambient tracks with a collaboration of noise, acoustic guitar, percussion loops, spoken-word, and synthesizers. For fans of shoegaze, this release is definitely worth checking out and is available for free download on Hooray!’s Bandcamp page.

In his words: “All my songs are made in one sitting. If they don’t get finished during that period of time, then they remain that way… (This makes for lots of unfinished/empty/demo-ish songs.) I like to think it’s not because of laziness, but because when I record a song it’s made purely from what I feel at that moment. And since I’m so all over the place and inconsistent with my thoughts & feelings that to try and revisit those feelings becomes nearly impossible. These songs are my attempt at capturing those feelings and thoughts and keeping them in a little jar. These songs are moments of my life that I’ll never get back.”

S. Carey Announces New Solo Effort ‘Hoyas EP’

By Frank Wu ⋅ February 21, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Bon Iver‘s S. Carey will make his solo return with a brand new four-track EP entitled Hoyas. Set for release on Jagjaguwar (home to Bon Iver), Hoyas was, according to the press release, recorded in an attic studio “using a single laptop and not much else… Some sounds were composed by handcrafted instruments and others by junk. At times, Carey tracked vocals using nothing more than his laptop’s internal microphone, and most of the beats and synthesized sounds were sequenced and arranged using stock-software.” Bon Iver bandmate Justin Vernon then mixed and produced the album, which is currently scheduled for a May 8th release.

In the meantime, you can watch S. Carey and Justin Vernon in their recent Bon Iver live acoustic session here.

Hoyas EP Tracklist:
01. Two Angles
02. Avalanche
03. Inspir
04. Marfa

Video: Bon Iver Live Acoustic Session At AIR Studios

By Frank Wu ⋅ February 17, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Working with record labels 4AD and Jagjaguwar, Justin Vernon and Sean Carey of Bon Iver sat down at AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall to record a breathtaking 25 minute live session, a stylistic contrast from the band’s recent shows with a full eleven-piece band. Instead, Vernon and Carey provide an intimate, sit-down session, performing songs from the Blood Bank EP and the band’s Grammy Award winning Bon Iver, Bon Iver while also throwing in a cover of Bonnie Raitt‘s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (which was also included as a bonus track from Bon Iver, Bon Iver).

Be sure to set aside half an hour this weekend and watch the session below, courtesy of 4AD and Jagjaguwar.