Best Coast

Okay.. so I listen to Pocahaunted a decent amount last year. After releasing something almost every month without fail, I thought that they just all-of-a sudden...disappeared. Apparently what happened to them was the singer, Bethany, formed Best Coast... I totally missed that. Not only that, but she started making 60's beachy pop music with the same lo-fi hiss sound that made Pocahaunted such a .. well.. haunting band. I actually like this stuff a lot better in the sense that it's immediately appealing. As she said on her myspace, "I hope everyone likes it and can make out to it on a beach blanket this summer." Well... I totally missed that too... but I can make out to it on my couch huddled under a blanket for warmth (won't happen). If you're familiar with other music blogs you probably think I'm poaching from, say, Stratosphering. You're right. But I didn't know this stuff existed until now because she only released 7" vinyls and I've never seen a MP3 version until now. So I'm unoriginal.. whatevs. Also they have like 8 people writing for them. It's just little ol me over here. So there.




Art Fag 7"





Make You Mine 7"

Sleigh Bells Demo Disc

I want you to listen to this band. Bad. So bad I'm just gonna say a lot of fucking naughty words to get you to pay attention. COCK MILKING ASS DOMINATING CUMSWAPING FUCKITY FUCK FUCKER POON TOON TOWN BONER BENDING ASAIN SHIT BATH... PENIS! ...I've lost my train of thought. The point is... this is cool, pay attention. That is all.




Sleigh Bells Demo

Salem: Water EP

Just in case anyone missed the extra link in the comments section of the last Salem post... here it is again! I've been listening to the track "Skullcrush" quite a bit lately. I wish Salem would just put out an LP already. These EPs are decent and all... but it just doesn't hold up to multiple listens. Instead, you end up doing what I do... listen to one or two tracks and move on to other music. I could bitch and moan about all these half-assed albums and EPs, with their limit edition vinyl or cassette only releases, but I won't (much). Now it's one thing if an ESTABLISHED band wants to do an exclusive 200 copies only 7" or something... but when these nobody bands come out of nowhere and only press 200 copies of their album... only to get it downloaded off the internet like 30,000 times... it really makes no sense to me. (Seriously... the last Salem post was downloaded over 2500 times. More than almost anything else I've posted... and I'm not the only one who has it on their blog either). Okay... I'm working on a "Pitchfork Best New Music" MEGAPOST... but I'm too lazy to put all that work in, so instead I'm getting all this other shiz outta the way first. Expect it soon though. PEACE!




Water EP

Sleigh Bells: Crown on the Ground

WOW... I was browsing the interwebs and I stumbled upon this crazy song. It's like someone took a poppy dance worthy track and blew it up with a fuckin A-BOMB! (Or is it Fuckin-A bomb?) Pretty cool.

Hermit Thrushes: Slight Fountain

Okay... I decided to do one more post tonight to make up for my recent inactivity. If you missed my post on Hermit Thrushes last album go back and check it out... it's definitely worth it. Go ahead... I'll wait.... Okay? Ready? If I were in a traditional band (guitars and drums and all that) I would want to be making music like these guys do. They gracefully drift between this purposeful dischord and pop melody style of songwriting that makes what they do so interesting. Every track, no matter how weird or composed sounding, never takes the easy way out. You think you know the rhythm or the melody and then they smash you in face with a crazy or unexpected change of direction. It's disorienting... sometimes to it's detriment... but they manage to cut out of the track just before it gets too old (most of the tracks average around 2 minutes). And that really says something about the bands commitment to their sound. They REALLY aren't self indulgent at all. They know when to call it quits. They write music complex music with the mentality of DIY punks... it makes what they do really and truly unique....which, in this day in age, is almost impossible.





Slight Fountain

Washed Out: High Times

I wrote a big rant about all this "blog-friendly" music hitting the scene, and how most of it is forgettable or relatively mundane... and that we will all barely remember it in about a year. But then Blogger decided to crash in the middle of it and it deleted the whole post. So then I had no motivation to rewrite anything. Also the devastating loss of my precious complaining (which was really long and whiny) made me not want to write for a while.... but I have SO much music... I need to share it even if I don't say anything of value. Anyway.... I said something like "Washed Out was actually a nice little surprise in the midst of all these mediocre acts floating around these days." Blah blah blah. It sounds like jazzy dreamy grooves put through filters played on an old record player at the beach. Oh and he actually sings a little bit, unlike most of these artists. Reminds me a little bit of Bibio only way more lo-fi. And now that I'm jobless once again, expect that I will be posting on more of a weekly/daily basis from now on...at least I hope.




High Times

Cold Cave: Love Comes Close (Video)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart x 2

Yeah yeah... I know everyone already has this. I've been sitting on this download for months. Think of this as cleaning out my mediafire closet. Well good news is that if you don't have this, then you've been missing out. Despite the fairly ridiculous name there are definitely some great tunes to be had here. Amazingly catchy pop tunes with some amazingly interesting production. Think Jesus and Mary Chain meets Belle and Sebastian... only these guys rarely go below mid tempo. Their self titled debut will go down as one of the best of the year for sure, and the EP is pretty decent too.... as far as EPs go.




ST





Higher Than The Stars EP

Um, WHY? do ESKIMOs have so many words for SNOW

I make myself lol sometimes. Holy shit, by the way... does Yoni Wolf read my blog? Or does he just read my mind? Back when their last album came out, I was complaining how I wish they would just make an album sans the rapping for once... and lo and behold we have Eskimo Snow. Way to do exactly what I want. For my next wish, can Pavement and The Pixies both reunite and make new albums, then tour together near where I live? MAKE IT HAPPEN, MUSIC GODS! Anyway... I was thoroughly pissed when I read the review for this album from Pitchfork. For me... this is the album I've been waiting for from these guys. Sure it's more tame and less challenging than previous efforts... but it feels the most SINCERE or all their efforts, even when Yoni's tongue is buried deep in his cheek. It's more focused as a whole to me. Yeah, I have most of my favorite songs on other albums... but those albums I have to skip at least half of in order to get to the worthwhile songs. Minus "On Rose Walk, Insomniac", I can listen to the whole album on repeat for hours. His lyrics are so freaking genius to me. They are equal parts heartbreaking and silly, sometimes all in the same sentence. Like on "Even the Good Wood Gone" where Yoni imagines himself as a Pharaoh buried in some ritualistic fashion, only to wake up alone, realizing his death is just as sad as the everyday man's death. And then he switches to poking fun at his own meaningless eventual death by bemoaning, "When I'm REALLY buried, I'll be buried in Cleveland". In the sense that there is "no flash photography" allowed at his grave in the museum, there is no flash photography at his real grave because really no one cares enough to want to take a picture. Either way both rituals are kind of a joke to him. The absurdity of death is prevalent throughout the album (like most WHY? albums), but it never gets too heavy because there is always a sly lyrical or sex joke to make you giggle. The jokes are so sublte though... and they themselves are sort of sad in a way.... or in some instances...weird. At one point he talks about wearing his ex-girlfriend's dead ex-boyfriend's boxers. The play on words is funny, but the idea is kind of disturbing. Thankfully there aren't many more instances like this.... haha. But if you like Why?... then I'm sure you're used to it by now. The music is more orchestral than previous efforts. Alopecia eluded to this new style shift... but this album is so much more jazzy and fluid. It's probably the most traditional sounding album they have to date. But in this case "traditional" actually works in this bands favor. According to Pitchfork this is the opposite of how they feel. To them this was their "safe" record. But to me "safe" translates to relatable or universal. Is that enough air quotes for you? Yeah, me too. The album ends on probably one of my favorite lyrical notes with "Eskimo Snow", where Yoni tells us, "I hum these prayers in secret/and sung them through speakers in rooms for people to hear it". This loaded lyric represents what it is to be a songwriter. You write these insanely personal things all alone... these little prayers or confessions, then you go out and release them to the world hoping that someone will hear it and get what you were trying to say. It seems like a brutal process... and in this case, it certainly wasn't in vain.





Eskimo Snow

Dimlite x 3

I know... it's been a LONG time. Well first my grandmother had a stroke (again) and I was busy with that... then all these blogs that I really love and follow started getting taken down... which had me worried, so I laid real low for a while. But there is so much good music out there, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I'm excited! Are you!? I AM!!! Okay. Dimitri Grimm aka Dimlite has been making some of the TIGHTEST beats in recent years. He somehow slipped under my radar but that's okay because I get to catch up all at once... and now you do too! These are his major releases, i.e. his first EP and his two following LPs. There are other singles and 7"s out there but I just wanted to focus on his best material. My favorite is probably his most recent LP "This is Embracing" from 2006. He has been promising a new LP for a few years but has yet to deliver. As far as I know he's planning on releasing a new EP instead. Can't wait! If you've never heard any of his music before, think instrumental hip-hop with a penchant for not sticking to one genre. Unlike fellow beat makers, Dimitri is focused on the song as a whole, not just the groove. Sure... this genre has got like 500 people all trying to be Flying Lotus or J Dilla... and falling severely short. So in order to do something noticeable, you have to be a face exploding genius and do something to make yourself stand out. Well, wear a damn mask, cause face explosions can get messy. Enjoy.





ADD





Runbox Weathers





This is Embracing

OH SHIIIIIIII

My computer (aka my girlfriend's computer... lol) IS FIXED! FINALLY. So yeah... I recomend not using geek squad, as they are probably the most freakin disorganized bunch of social cast-outs I have had the pleasure of dealing with. At least they don't falsely advertise themselves... they are, in fact, a squad of geeks. Good news: I have a TON of stuff I want to share and a decent amount of time to post it. Bad news: I have yet to upload it all to mediafire. Give me a day... check back and I should have at least a few things posted. Ahhhh... good to be back... tomorrow... good to be back tomorrow. PAYCE!

Singin' in Japanese

Here ya go Kim. This album, minus the first track, is all sung in japanese... and the thing about this, that is different than most other japanese music, is that THIS IS ACTUALLY GOOD. I did a big post of Deerhoof awhile back. So if you like it, go backwards and download more. Sweet.





Deerhoof-Greem Cosmos EP

Cold Cave x 2

Electro noise? Dark wave? Noise pop? Electro punk noise pop? Experimental synth pop? I don't really know what to call it... besides FREAKIN AWESOME. Baaazzziiiiinnng! (I can't believe people read this shit.) Hyperbole and stupidity aside, this is some pretty interesting stuff . Cremations is a collection of rarities, demos and live tracks that explores the more abrasive fuzzy, hissing, distorted side of Cold Cave. Their new debut LP, Love Comes Close, is quite different, in the sense that it explores the lighter, pop side of their sound more than their previous efforts. On a weird side note, I have heard that Fall Out Boy plagarized some lyrics from a previous Wesley Eisold (Cold Cave frontman) hardcore punk project. He won an out of court settlement and is now listed in the liner notes of two of their albums. How hilarious is that? Almost as funny as Fall Out Boy is bad. Also, one of the members of Cold Cave, Caralee McElroy, is part of the indie group Xiu Xiu. Now you know some stuff about the band... don't you feel cooler? Wait til you hear the music... it makes you like +10 cool.





Cremations





Love Comes Close

Jay Dizzle fo shizzle x 2

I recently got a request for some J Dilla from blogger bud, Shaun (see my blogroll for his blog "A Blog Ain't Too Much To Love")... I didn't know if wanted to do a post or not because his stuff notoriously gets pulled down fairly fast 1. Because his record label cares A LOT and 2. because his hardcore fans know that his mother (Ma Dukes) can barely pay her bills and she gets (a small amout of) money from every album sold, thus the fans report the posts to blogger.com or to the file sharing network out of respect to the memory of Dilla and his mother. I TOTALLY understand this sentiment, trust me... but hear me out. If people out there who don't know about Jay Dee come to listen to his stuff by downloading it for free... they will NO DOUBT be hooked and want to buy MORE J Dilla merchandise. It's happened with me hundreds of times. This is how it usually goes: I don't know who an artist is... I go download a few things... If I like it I go out and buy ALL of that artist's albums or my favorite albums in their catalogue. Now... the artist would have NEVER had my money if I hadn't sampled it for free at first, because I will not buy an album without knowing that I already am going to like it (unless I REALLY know the artist well). That's how most people work on these music blogs. Sure, some people are going to just download it and not pay for anything and that's that. But those people are in the minority in my experience, plus they would not have paid for it regardless of whether or not they can find it for free. Okay, end rant.

Shaun asked for his best stuff, but honestly his best depends on what you like most about specific albums. I'm not a huge fan of hip-hop so I don't like his albums where there is a lot of rapping. I appreciate Dilla more as a producer and beat maker/DJ.... so my favorite albums are of his stuff with the LEAST amount of rapping over it. I mean, Donuts is such a good record in general, I think all fans of his work will recognize it as the most cohesive and focused product he ever released... even if you are a fan of his rapping. This is probably the most essential album in any Dilla collection (and the last album he release himself before his death) with all others being preferences of what style of J Dilla you like most. Also, if you watch adult swim every night like I do, you will also hear like 5 of his songs off of Donuts on their "bumps" in between shows. It's kind of annoying because I now associate a lot of his best stuff with strange transitions from shows to commercials. Damn them and their good musical taste! I also included the new Jay Stay Paid with this post because I was happily surprised by the amount of really amazing material in this disc. Yeah, there is rapping on it. Most of it is totally chill... so I was okay with it... but where the album truly shines (as usual) is with the instrumental tracks. So start with these two and see where this takes you... and especially with Dilla... if you like it, PLEASE PLEASE go buy it and support his mother, whom he wrote Donuts for on his deathbed (literally) so that she wouldn't be stranded financially after he was gone. God damn. This post is way too serious... haha

Donuts

Jay Stay Paid

Modest Mouse: No One's First and You're Next

Sup brohammers? It's been a while since my last post, partially because I have been busy with work and partially because I am insanely lazy. But I recently came across some new leaks that I've been really anticipating and I wanted to share my joygasm with the rest of you. This little ditty is Modest Mouse's new EP that has B-sides from their last two albums. If you still like Modest Mouse (I've gone through some fallout with this band after their Good News album)... then this is definitely worth a listen. There are some really amazing gems on here. "King Rat" is such a fucking awesome song... I am incredibly surprised that it didn't find it's way onto any album. Like previous B-side efforts like Building Something Out of Nothing, this ends up being just as good or in some cases better than their LPs. Sure, it's not perfect... but for the most part an incredibly successful tease to grease up my desire for another LP, which, I'm sure, is exactly what they were aiming for.

P.S. The file doesn't have artist name or album title, so you will have to add them yourself after you download.




No One's First and You're Next

Swans: Love of Life

Since the last Swans album did so well, I figured I would put up another one of my favorites. I think this one has actually surpassed WLFTMOI as my new favorite Swans album. So if you liked the other one, please pretty please try this one. It's in the same vien as the other really... it's all "hey we used to be super metal but now we are all organic folkish other-worldy new wave rock pop... but don't worry we kept the dark lyrics" and whatnot. Like the last album, this one is also out of print. So, feel no guilt... download and check out another brilliant gem.




Love of Life

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

HEEEEYYYYY... I can't sleep so here is one more for tonight. I randomly heard this when it leaked a little while ago. Kind of put it off and then my friend reminded me about it (he was gushing about how good it was) so I came back and ACTUALLY listened to it, and gee gosh golly I am glad I did. Like the title, the music for the album is also ambivalent in the sense that it is content where ever it ends up. Some songs are folkish, some songs are totally glitched out electro, some sound like they could be pulled off a madlib/j-dilla album. It's totally all over the place, yet for some reason it all fits together so wonderfully. This one is definitely a grower... it's getting better and better the more I listen to it. I've never heard an album that's so indecisive with it's direction but holds together as whole more than this one. This album is like a family, with the tracks as the relatives... some are your crazy as hell uncle, some are your loving mother, some are your edgy cousins... but for some reason they all share a common bond and generally belong together (provided you weren't molested by one... and even if you were, don't worry because music can't rape you...yet. Well maybe financially and emotionally. Unless your music of choice is Michael Jackson, then it can do all of the above... RIP by the way) Wheeeew... I've never thrown that many non-sequitur jokes in to one parentheses before. I need a nap.




Ambivalence Avenue

Lightning Bolt: Wonderful Rainbow

I figured it was time for some melt your face, brain hemorrhaging, ear drum exploding "music". Lightning Bolt... hmmmm... I don't know exactly what to say because there is SO much to say. Well first they are a duo... one dude plays crazy as fuck drums and occasionally screams into a self constructed megaphone face mask (so his crazy as fuck drums are unhindered, like they would be with an actual microphone in the way, I imagine... and it sounds cooler too) and the other dude plays distorted insanely loud bass guitar (you would never guess just by hearing it). What makes these guys so great is while they are making crazy, fast, loud, distorted music... they are doing it in such an artful and jazz oriented way that it's almost like structured chaos. It's like these guys sat down and said, "how can we write jazz/classical music in the most abrasive hardcore way possible with only two instruments?". Don't get discouraged if it sounds too intense (even though it is)... there are moments of beauty and actual melody more often than not (skip to the second track if you don't believe me). These two are literally virtuoso musicians.. and that's what makes it so interesting... because you know they could make any music they wanted, but they chose to do something in your face and compelling. This is by far their most accessible album... and trust me... it's a good thing. I've heard that they will play a show anywhere if you call them and promise them 200 bucks... they play basements, garages, lawns... pretty much anywhere. The only price you pay (minus the 200 bucks) is losing your hearing, pissing off your neighbors or shaking your mom's china off the shelf. Seriously... they are that loud. Look up any youtube video of them live and the people next to the front are all rocking out... with their fingers in their ears. Check it and DIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!




Wonderful Rainbow

HOLY SHIT

Fucking Amazing. I might just buy an Xbox for this.

Swans: White Light From the Mouth of Infinity

If you know anything about Swans, you know how crazy their career has been. They started as this slowed down hardcore metal band with brutally violent lyrics that inspired none other than the likes of Kurt Cobain (see his journal of 50 favorite albums and you'll find "Young God" at #50...On a side note, I think he got the idea for "Rape Me" from that album).... But more than that... they have changed more as a band over the course of their career than almost any band I've ever heard. This album is a great example. They ditched the deep growling chanting, screaming, and heavy metal for acoustic guitars, melody, world music elements and ACTUAL SINGING. It's almost an entirely different band... but still really really great. This is probably the album that best blends both worlds of their style. Heavy handed lyrics, guitar noise, pop, folk, and acoustic elements mix together better than I could have ever imagined. It's always fun to see what a band does when they get bored with their style and HAVE THE BALLS to actually change it to what they want. It makes you wonder what some other bands would sound like if they weren't so afraid of losing all their fans. This is a personal favorite of mine although most of their discography is incredible. This album is actually out of print... so don't feel bad about downloading, because it's the only way you can have it! Check it.




White Light From the Mouth of Infinity