Windows down, volume (and bass) up for this one. These mysterious UK samplers have been releasing beats under the guise Stumbleine since 2010. This track is the strongest link in their new EP/mixtape Spiderwebbed and is equal parts ambient and sexy; unassuming and glowing. I love what happens around the 3:20 mark when the tempo plummets into almost a new song until the fade out. Get ready to snap along and pretend you understand the words.
After giving this one listen and seeing that Freelance Whales had a hand in it, I did a double-take. The track sounds remixed by an electronic DJ, not our beloved, rockin’ Whales. The beginning dreamy piano riff becomes saturated with dueling, soulful vocal lines and heavy synths. Doe Paoro‘s voice and haunting lyrics are impossible not to sing along to. The young and talented singer-songwriter mixed with experimental indie-rockers makes for a silky-smooth and tasty track you can’t listen to just once. All musicians involved call NYC home, so let’s cross our fingers for some future collaboration.
Young Wonder, an electro-pop duo hailing from Cork, Ireland, dropped an eponymous debut EP in April of last year. But it wasn’t until their single “To You” was released in early December that people began to wonder about Young Wonder. They say their songs are filled with “big beats, pitched vocals, euphoric synths” and the sweet timbre of front-woman Rachel Koeman. The group’s primitive, colorful aesthetic (evident in the track’s music video) brings to mind Crystal Fighters while the sounds verges on Purity Ring wanna-be.
No remix I’ve heard thus far does the song justice, but they each offer up different, unique takes on the original. The “Keep Shelly in Athens Remix” dubsteps it up and distorts the vocals beyond recognition while “The Ambassadeurs Remix” elongates and chops up the ambient trance parts.
Look out for their Show Your Teeth EP coming Spring 2013.
Foals released the second cut from their forthcoming album Holy Fire. Just like its preceding single “Inhaler,” “My Number” grabs you right from the first few bars. The bouncy rhythm laced with lofty guitar riffs juxtaposes some angst-laden lyrics. This song turned my anxious anticipation of the new album into an unwavering optimism that it will be a 2013 must-hear.
Hopefully they’ll give us at least one more before Holy Fire drops Feb. 11th.
I can’t get enough of this. UK rockers Foals finally unveil a piece of their third album, Holy Fire — a move long-awaited by fans worldwide. The heavy reverb and chunky guitar layers are fit to fill arenas and create a U2-like sound at the chorus. Foals continue to straddle the punk-rock line, but “Inhaler” shows a continued shift away from the breathless, fragmented punkiness of Antidotes (2008) and into a thicker, more cohesive rock sound displayed in 2010’s Total Life Forever.
The accompanying video is as explosive and unruly as the song it carries. It’s a showcase — maybe even a celebration — of the diversity of artistic expression, from graffiti to break dancing. Frontman Yannis Philippakis and the rest of Foals exude the energy and intensity commonplace in their live shows, as sparking trick bikes and hypnotic dance sequences mix together in the black-and-white half-pipe.
Holy Fire is out in the UK on Feb 11th. No US release date yet. So in the meantime, flip your cassette tape from “inhale” to “exhale” and press play.
The indie-pop foursome Alt-J took the world by storm with their September debut, An Awesome Wave, which recently snagged the esteemed Mercury Prize. For all curious but haven’t yet tried it: if you press alt-J on your keyboard it makes the Greek symbol for change. That’s what the name means. ∆ join Mountain Man (three Vermont folk singers who previously backed Feist) in this track set to appear on the soundtrack of the upcoming film Silver Lining Playbook. It’s the synthetic, syncopated beats we love from Alt-J, combined with thicker (and higher) vocal harmonies from their collaborating female voices. They mix in some playful brass, major-minor switchbacks, and witty wordplay around the track’s title.
Hear Alt-J’s cinematic debut and check out Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence on the big screen November 21st.
This song just absolutely blows my mind. ON AN ON have attached to it a weird montage/video collage documenting the history of space exploration? I, for one, want to see the three band members (formerly of Scattered Trees) play music. Maybe in the next video.
Their debut album, Give In, comes out January 29th, 2013, on Roll Call Records.
