Listen: Devendra Banhart – “Never Seen Such Good Things”

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Folk artist Devendra Banhart will release his eighth studio album, Mala, on March 5 through his own label Nonesuch. Banhart uses a mixture of both English and Spanish throughout his soft and smooth folk melodies. From the three tracks that have been released so far, it appears Banhart has shifted to a much more instrumentally sound style. The record feels a lot less raw than previous albums, such as Cripple Crow. This may be a result of the old Hip-hop recorder used for this album, although his sound has ultimately progressed in a subtle way. The album is currently available for pre-order on his website, and you can stream “Never Seen Such Good Things” below.

Tracklisting:
1. Golden Girls
2. Daniel
3. Für Hildegard von Bingen
4. Never Seen Such Good Things
5. Mi Negrita
6. Your Fine Petting Duck
7. The Ballad of Keenan Milton
8. A Gain
9. Won’t You Come Over?
10. Cristobal
11. Hatchet Wound
12. Mala
13. Won’t You Come Home
14. Taurobolium

Listen: LI–ON GREVIER – “Self-titled EP”

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LI–ON GREVIER is a music collective project introduced by Omri Horwitz who was originally a member of the band The Harold Wartooth, alongside Mike Mikocic. They have now released their first, self-titled, seven track EP.

Their sound can only be explained as incorporating an odd mixture of psychedelic and folk.The collaboration of sounds creates a calming, smooth tone that work perfectly for casual listening. The EP is described as “Collaborations between friends and artists. Everyone with their own backstory, their own influences; musicians” It is not something that was created just for commercial purposes but rather passion to work with friends to generate music that others will enjoy listening too, as much as they enjoyed making it.

“A Toronto music collective, an assembly of musicians and artists with talents that transcend genre and the humility to live their lives earthbound and eternal.”

Stream the EP below or on Bandcamp and check out their Facebook page.

Listen: Julia Brown – “to be close to you”

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Julia Brown’s full length album to be close to you has just been released. The release has a lo-fi aesthetic, with toy keyboards, guitars and various other instruments being used in the recording process between Autumn of last year up until last month. The songs as expected are amazing; full of true emotion and anthemic lyrics within an ambient masterpiece of an album. Tonight they are playing a show at College Park with Coma Cinema/Elvis Depressedly, Alex G, Pill Friends and Abi Reimold followed by an upcoming Summer tour.

To support the band, you can buy the album on their Bandcamp page on a “Name Your Price” basis or you can buy the tape version from Birdtapes. The download of the album comes with a fifteen page lyric zine, which is common with Ricky Eat Acid releases and the tape version comes with a sticker by a friend of the band Brad “brohloff”. From the band about the album, “any money paid for this music/donated to us goes towards funding the studio time we have booked between february and april, as well as helping us get the touring setup we need for the summer. please don’t feel obligated to pay, and feel free to grab it for free, but know that if you do donate, the money is helping us make more music.” You can stream the album below and more information about the band can be found on their Tumblr, and Facebook pages.

Listen: Brave Bird – “Maybe You, No One Else Worth It”

Brave Bird
Emo math outfit, Brave Bird have officially released their debut album Maybe You, No One Else Worth It after making a tear-jerking EP back in November of 2010. The album was recorded under the label Count Your Lucky Stars Records, known for twinkly emo bands such as Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) and Dowsing.

Compared to their EP this release has a much fuller sound with studio quality production, however it maintains its’ raw sentiment and emotion-driven vocals. Furthermore, much to my delight, three of the tracks from the EP have been revamped and are included on the release. You can buy the album as a 12″ LP or CD from here, and stream it below or on Bandcamp. They also have a spring break tour planned which you can see the dates of below.

Tour Dates:

2/28- Ann Arbor, MI (Hometown Record Release Party)
3/1 – Columbus, Ohio
3/2- Pittsburgh, PA
3/3- Salisbury, MD
3/4- Richmond, VA
3/5- St. Augustine, FL
3/6- Orlando, FL
3/7- Birmingham, AL
3/8- Atlanta, GA
3/9- Bloomington, IN

 

Listen: Hoodie Allen – Crew Cuts

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Before he embarks on a 28 city tour, the always-hard-working Hoodie Allen first made sure to drop his new 11-track album Crew Cuts. I say this every time Hoodie releases a new project, but it’s clear that he’s been working hard on polishing his sound, diversifying his style (even adding some doo-whop influences in), and improving on his craft. This time around, the former Googler lines up quite a few of his big-name friends (Chiddy Bang, Chance The Rapper, G-Eazy, Skizzy Mars) to rap all over his melodic, laid-back beats. Oh, and it’s free, so be sure to download the MP3s or stream on Soundcloud below.

DOWNLOAD: Hoodie Allen – Crew Cuts