Not long after celebrating the 10th anniversary of the classic Moon Safari, Air are ready to return with a brand new album in a couple weeks, Love 2. The record is the french duo’s fifth and their first since 2007’s Pocket Symphony. Unlike the last album though, the band handles all the vocal duties this time around, and once again employed the percussion work of Joey Waronker, who played with them on their “Close Up” tour in Fall 2008.
The album is not out until next month, but we have an excellent “preview” mp3 to share with you today here on The Futurist. The mp3 gives you a “mash up” of a handful of the new songs from Love 2, and should whet your appetite until it hits independent record store shelves.
Blitzen Trapper released an excellent sophomore album last year, Furr, that we all really liked here at WOXY. And now the boys are back, in the form of the Black River Killer EP. The EP features 6 new songs along with the title cut, which was also on Furr. The EP is officially out next week, but you can get it digitally right now from our friends at Lala.com.
This is a Lala exclusive, so bounce over to their site and download this right now! You can also stream the whole thing right now below.
(Enjoy another excellent writeup from our new contributor Paige Maguire) Since 1990, Chicago’s Tortoise has effortlessly defied easy categorization. Operating somewhere between Krautrock and prog, post-rock and jazz, the group and their longtime label (Thrill Jockey) have offered indie music much to be inspired by and indebted to.
It’s been five years since the band released a full-length with all new material, and we’re ready for it. Few do what these guys do well, making the remix, electronica, jazz and ambient noise play nicely with deep rhythm sections and patient atmospheres. It’s no easy task, but the veterans show they’ve still got chops.
Tortoise has always been somewhat genre negligent, but this record finds them articulating this flexibility with a stiff sort of force. At times, the songs float in a post-Virgin Suicides Air-powered dance club (“Minors”, “The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One”) reminiscent of the Tortoise we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. The real highlights on this album, however, happen in between those moments. “Gigantes” is a six and a half minute, busty jaunt through the band’s more upbeat tendencies, and “Monument Six One Thousand” pays homage to several modern day glitch and avant auteurs (Four Tet, Clark) with dancey blips. “De Chelly” goes post-modern, sounding like Wendy Carlos’ Beethoven performed in Eden. Closing track “Charteroak Foundation” meanders through elements focused on previously throughout the record, but at over five minutes begins to pull its partners down. I can’t help but wish that the album ended with “De Chelly” one minute longer, closed with a John McEntire drum solo heart attack.
Overall the album is meticulously arranged, perhaps too much so. Its brightest moments fuse Tortoise’s unmistakable sound with post-Tortoise inspirations, making it an unbelievably ambitious undertaking — like writing your own biography and finishing the last few chapters with comments on how much your children are like you. Always gorgeous and immensely listenable, Beacons is bound to appear on many end of the year lists.
It’s here! The WOXY.com iPhone application for your iPhone or iPod Touch is now available for free download in the App Store! We are pretty excited about this and hope you will love using it. This is the first version of the app and we hope to add new features down the road to continue to bring you more and more of WOXY.com on the go!
If you are unable to use the iPhone app though, there are still other ways to stream WOXY.com and WOXY Vintage from your mobile phone. Have a look below at some of these options after the jump… (more…)
Future Sounds first caught wind of Lissy back in November of 2008, when we got an early copy of the rough demos that would later be the Self-Taught Learner EP and instantly connected with the tough-chick vocals that are reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. A former graphic designer and high-fashion model, she appeared in places like Elle and SOMA and was the face of Chloe Sevigny’s clothing line, as well regular scene DJ in New York City. Yet, it was music that was always her calling. Lissy (real name: Lizzy McChesney) formed a band that caused enough of a stir that she’s recently signed with Wichita Records in the UK, and with Downtown Records in the US (what indie band wouldn’t be in heaven with that combo?).
We chatted them up and found out they are writing their forthcoming full-length and so gave Future Sounds & WOXY the exclusive preview of a new song, “U Bleed U” from the next batch of tracks.
The Lissy Trullie cover of “Ready For The Floor” rivals, if not tops, Hot Chip’s original version, but on this Friday morning after they played a sold out show at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles with The Virgins, they delivered a couple tracks we’ve been spinning on the weekly show live: “Boy Boy” and “Self-Taught Learner”. The band is still on the road with The Virgins rapping up a US tour before jumping over to Europe in Mid June for tour dates there.
Track Listing:
Bad Boy
Self-Taught Learner
U Bleed U (unreleased)
(For today’s “This Just In” feature, please join me in welcoming our new contributor Paige and get ready to hear a lot more from her in the coming months.)
The last full length Dave Longstreth and his Dirty Projectors released was 2007’s Rise Above, an imagined version of Black Flag’s Damaged culled together from memory. Since that brave if somewhat difficult release, Angel Deradoorian has joined the group permanently as bassist and vocalist, they’ve written with David Byrne, and generally risen to indie-fame with a slew of tours and festival performances. All this attention is remarkable considering the band’s reputation for being geeky, avant and generally difficult to listen to.
The steadfast Longstreth follower was probably pleased with the treatment of Rise Above: it was a noticeable development for him in terms of arrangement and execution, and the touring band he assembled (now his cast for Bitte Orca) raised the bar for just about everyone. The Projector novice could listen and become familiar with Longstreth’s loping vocals, the absolutely academic guitar work and the band’s love affair with close-range harmony and listener challenges without ever giving a damn about Black Flag. Compared to previous releases, Rise Above took the complexity of Longstreth’s songwriting to a new level but bordered on exclusionary. Bitte Orca marks a resolution between the songwriter that is, at heart, a pop artist and an avant composer simultaneously.
It’s unavoidable: Bitte Orca is a challenge. There’s absolutely no allegiance to traditional structures or signatures, and the three vocalists (Longstreth, along with Deradoorian and rhythm guitarist Amber Coffman) effortlessly play with each other’s voices through harmony and note-hopping gymnastics throughout. Still, Bitte Orca manages to be utterly listenable, lithe and concise. There’s no fluff here, no filler tracks. Rarely is such a brainy record so purely enjoyable.
Opener “Cannibal Resource” introduces the rest of the album as well as any lead track could. The off-kilter time signature, layers of vocal harmony and intermittent claps are pinned together by Longstreth’s guitar, which is remarkable considering the fact that the guitar only appears occasionally in the tune. Right away we’re asked to cope with the agility of the group’s songwriting, and yet here it is, track one, utterly melodic and memorable. “Temecula” and “The Bride” scream Jimmy Page immediately with both tune and production, slowing down the frenetic mood leftover from track one. Their ease and accessibility are sequestered for “Stillness Is the Move”, a jaunting, toe-tapping tune that introduces female lead vocals and a modest dose of four on the floor relief. “Two Doves” brings things even closer to earth with its loose homage to Nico’s version of Jackson Browne’s “These Days”. “Useful Chamber” — a sort of title track — brings Longstreth’s Page fantasy to fruition with a mid-song breakdown and fuzzed-out guitar chorus. Another highlight is transition-tune “No Intention”, a sweetly sung pop swash hoisted by intricate guitar noodling and soaring falsettos. All the while, Longstreth’s skills are met with remarkable technical precision from the rest of the band. As often as he is referred to as the driving force of this group, he’s been unbelievably generous with the group — they’re given the keys and asked to drive throughout.
At any point on this record, the ensemble is struggling between pop fancy and compositional esotericism, and though many will find the songs busy or overwhelming, careful listens reveal an astounding restraint in these arrangements. After years of burgeoning home recordings and rotating band members, Longstreth has released his most shining accomplishment yet — one that will earn him attention in circles that might surprise him. Longtime fans that are frustrated with increased accessibility take note: Bitte Orca might be more accessible than anything prior, but it’s certainly not any less dense. Easily one of 2009’s most gratifying and addictive listens.
Dave Allen, founding member of the critically-acclaimed post-punk band Gang of Four and blogger at Pampelmoose.com, a music, media and MP3 web site, brings his weekly Pampelmoose New Music Hour to WOXY. Below, listen to the latest Pampelmoose New Music hour, and download some of the music Dave has selected below as well.
Dave Allen, founding member of the critically-acclaimed post-punk band Gang of Four and blogger at Pampelmoose.com, a music, media and MP3 web site, brings his weekly Pampelmoose New Music Hour to WOXY. Below, listen to the latest Pampelmoose New Music hour, and download some of the music Dave has selected below as well.
We were recently turned on to Oklahoma’s Stardeath And White Dwarfs with their WB debut, a 7″ single for “I Can’t Get Away.” The guys have actually been together for a few years now, not only making music, but also working on the road crew for The Flaming Lips.
Both bands also recently partnered up for a cover of Madonna’s “Borderline” for a Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary compilation. It is also being issued as an exclusive 7″ single for Record Store Day this weekend. The band performed their cover here in the Lounge, although we cannot include it in the downloadable podcast for legal reasons.
What we can give you is a taste of their original cuts, which will give you a good idea of what to expect when their debut full-length The Birth is released later this Spring. You can expect the vinyl edition in stores on May 19th and the cd/digital download to follow on June 2nd.
Track Listing:
The Age Of The Freak
New Heat -interview -
The Birth
Those Who Are From The Sun Return To The Sun
Have a listen below to the latest Pampelmoose New Music Hour hosted by Dave Allen!
Dave has also been kind enough to host all the songs he played during his show if you enjoyed them, feel free to grab them below or on the archive page.
And don’t forget, the next Pampelmoose New Music Hour is slated for this coming Tuesday at 6pm ET right here on WOXY.com!
