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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”

LI–ON GREVIER
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”

JB
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

Stream: Hesitation Wounds – “A. Smith (The Death Of A Teenager)”

Hesitation Wounds
Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré has started a new band with Jay Weinberg (ex-Against Me!), Neeraj Kane (The Hope Conspiracy), and Stephen Lacour (ex-Trap Them) called Hesitation Wounds. The band is set to release a self-titled 7-inch on Secret Voice Records, and is streaming a new song called A. Smith (The Death Of A Teenager). Check out the stream here or below! Preorders of the digital EP and 7″ are available on Secret Voice’s website.

Bolm released this statement regarding the background and formation of Hesitation Wounds:

“Hesitation Wounds is the combined sound of different backgrounds and 5 hours of song writing. In May of 2012, the idea was to combine friends (some of whom had never met) from different bands and see what could happen in one afternoon. Jeremy Bolm, vocalist of Hesitation Wounds (and Touché Amoré), commented, “I told Neeraj Kane (The Hope Conspiracy, Suicide File, Holy Fever), Jay Weinberg (ex-Against Me!), and Stephen ‘Scuba’ LaCour (Ex-Trap Them, True Cross), ‘Let’s write as many songs as we can on Sunday and record them on Monday.’ Jay was in town and Scuba agreed to come out from Arizona for the weekend. What we came up with was three songs and an intro. We recorded them Monday afternoon with long time friend and always-available-for-my-stupid-shit, Alex Estrada. Lyrically, the songs are about witnessing the murder of a friend, the life and death of the inspirational underdog folk singer Phil Ochs, and the overall reality of life. Sonically, it’s an abrasive / no strings attached outpouring of fast and heavy hardcore not far off from the bands we’re already responsible for. We’re proud of the outcome and we hope you enjoy.”

Listen: R.L. Kelly – “Life’s A Bummer”

R.L. Kelly
R.L. Kelly today released her debut solo album accurately titled Life’s A Bummer. The album was mastered by Warren Hildebrand of Foxes In Fixtion and reminds me of the works of Elvis Depressedly and Ricky Eat Acid albeit with female vocals. R.L. Kelly covers one of my favorite Alex G songs titled Change, which I was content to see on the release. The other five original songs emotionally draw you into the lyrical lo-fi atmosphere  and leave you mesmerised. R.L. Kelly will also be featured on the new Coma Cinema release. The album is available to download from her Bandcamp page and you can stream it in its’ entirety below.

Watch: The Front Bottoms – “Mountain”

The Front Bottoms
The Front Bottoms, acoustic punk band from New Jersey have released a video for their track Mountain from their 2011 self titled album. Known for frontman Brian Sella’s relatable lyrics, The Front Bottoms have recently finished recording their sophomore album and now fans are eagerly anticipating a release date.

Here is what Matt Uychich, drummer of the band had to say about the video. “We had picked up a bunch of fireworks on tour and when we got home we had a few days off. So, we called up our good friend Mark Jaworski and asked him if he wanted to bring his camera along, drink Four Loko and light them off. This is what happened.”

You can purchase their self titled album digitally from iTunes, or purchase a 12″ vinyl version of it from Bar/None Records. For more information about the band check out their Facebook page.

Tour Dates:

Feb 19 @ The Sinclair Cambridge, MA

Feb 20 @ Bowery Ballroom New York, NY

Feb 21 @ World Cafe Live Philadelphia, PA

Feb 22 @ The Recher Theatre Towson, MD

Feb 23 @ Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC

Feb 24 @ New Brookland Tavern West Columbia, SC

 

Stream: Cool Serbia – “Kill Someone”

CoolSerbia

Cool Serbia is three piece Noise-pop band out of Brooklyn. They formed in 2010 and over the past year have been touring throughout the East Coast. There was a bit of buzz about these guys, yet I could never get my hands on any of their material. I eventually came to the realization that they had not actually released any material. Kill Someone is the only song I’ve ever managed to find, it’s got a very jangly guitar vibe to it but in a loud shoegaze manor.  On March 5th they are going to release their first EP, pre-orders are available now through their bandcamp. It’s said that the band will tour the US after the release, yet dates don’t seem to be public. Check out their Facebook for more information. Kill Someone can be streamed below and will be featured on the EP.

Listen: Future Islands – “The Definitive Collection” LP

Future Island
Future Islands recently released a double LP collection. This collection compiles all of their music from 2003-2005 when they were known as Art Lord & the Self-Portraits. The LP includes downloads for all four original albums, mastered LP tracks, 2 early live shows, rare demos, “Sad Apples, Dance!” a compilation track. The LP is limited to 1,000 copies and is currently available on their website.

Tracklisting:

– Side A
1. I’m the Law (live)
2. Art School Dropout (live)
3. Too Many Artists (live)
4. Little Line Drawing (live)
5. (We’re in the Same) Bubble Baby
– Side B
6. Skeleton
7. Bouncing Away
8. Self-Portrait Anthem
9. Galapogos Wasteland
10. Bowl of Cherries
– Side C
11. Lantern Sigh
12. Street Pharaoh
13. We Were Flames
14. Pineapple Smiles
15. Let’s all cut our hair the same & ride around in a Le Sabre
– Side D
16.Atlas
17. Pyramids
18. I, I, I
19. City’s An Animal
20. Death Too Prou