It’s no great secret that sadly, here in 2016, the music blog world has devolved into an endless stream of click-baitey ‘news’ articles and an aggressive pissing contest of sorts between similar publications of who can post something first. So, not to be TMN’s resident grumpy music nostalgist or anything, but whenever tunes are missed on a writer’s initial radar and surface some weeks down the road, there has been an unsatisfying feeling lingering in many writers’ souls in that they “missed the boat” and no longer feel compelled to post said song as it may effect their ‘credibility’; even though they may in fact be completely infatuated with a song or album, thus quelching an opportunity of a share from someone who genuinely enjoys it. Which is a silly thing to think about anyhow, as many of us started primarily as enthusiastic music lovers who only ever covered the music we loved, and not the music that comes with the largest PR & publicity push. Phewww….
Basically, after the long winded and caffeinated semi-rant, what this writer is trying to say is that: “I’ve fallen madly in love with a band and tune which dropped a month ago; but I just have to share it with whomever will listen via my tiny, web-based soap box!” The tune and band here in questions is “Cold Light”, from former Divine Fits and Wolf Parade member Dan Boeckner’s latest project Operators. “Cold Light” plays like a breezy, early New Order single, but in place of Bernard Sumner’s tender refrain lie the passionate howls that have become Boeckner’s trademark over the years. Just captivating stuff to this writer’s ears really. Operators, which features Boeckner’s former Divine Fits bandmate Sam Brown on drums and Devojka on keys, recruited Holy Fuck’s Graham Walsh (who also holds chief production credits on records for Viet Cong & Alvvays) as their chief sound engineer, and we think the results alreadyspeak for themselves. “Cold Light” marks Operators’ debut single from debut long-player Blue Light, due out 4/1 on Canadian imprint Last Gang Records (pre-order here), so until then, get your kicks by either catching them live on one of the many tour dates listed below, or by streaming Operators’ impressive lead single above.
2/26 – The Red Dog (Peterborough ON)
2/27 – The Grad Club (Kingston ON)
3/28 – Schubas (Chicago, IL)
3/29 – 7th St. Entry (Minneapolis, MN)
3/30 – Reverb Lounge (Omaha, NE)
4/1 – Lost Lake (Denver, CO)
4/3 – The Bartlett (Spokane, WA)
4/4 – Sunset Tavern (Seattle, WA)
4/5 – Fortune Sound Club (Vancouver, BC)
4/6 – Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR)
4/8 – Social Hall SF (San Francisco, CA)
4/9 – Bootleg Theater (Los Angeles, CA)
4/10 – Soda Bar (San Diego, CA)
4/11 – Valley Bar (Phoenix, AZ)
4/13 – The Sidewinder (Austin, TX)
4/14 – Three Links (Dallas, TX)
4/15 – The Raven Tower (Houston, TX)
4/16 – Gasa Gasa (New Orleans, LA)
4/17 – The Earl (Atlanta, GA)
4/19 – DC9 (Washington, DC)
4/21 – Baby’s All Right (New York, NY)
4/22 – Boot & Saddle (Philadelphia, PA)
4/23 – Middle East Upstairs (Cambridge, MA)
2015 was quite the year in the world of music. While much of this writer’s work comes within some corner of dance music, many of my favorites this year fell somewhere between the worlds of electronic-pop and every different iteration of indie one could come up with. We finally got those largely anticipated LP’s from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Beach House, Tame Impala, Disclosure, Grimes & more (heck even New Order made a resurgence), but we were knocked off balance by more than a few surprises as well. While many critics and blogs were busy championing those aforementioned artists & albums; tunes from Lower Dens, Calvin Love, Thundercat, Youth Lagoon, Kurt Vile, Motorama, Mas Ysa, GEMS, Autre Ne Veut, and loads more quietly stirred their fair share of competition into the pot. While whittling down to just 15 songs (plus even more ‘Honorable Mentions’ at the bottom) was perhaps one of the more painstaking things you could put a (semi) serious music journalist through, it was an enriching undertaking and hopefully I managed to dig up a few tunes you may have missed in 2015 to your end-of-the-year lists. Enjoy, and let’s hope 2016 offers just as many amazing highs.
15.) Gilligan Moss – “Stasis”
One of the more exciting producers to grab our attention in 2015, Brooklyn via Chicago producer & sound artist Gilligan Moss released one of the most neglectfully under-reviewed entries into this year’s list of album contenders, the excellent, genre-skirting EP Ceremonial. It was tough to choose just one single, but we arrived on the EP’s closing tune:”Stasis”. Hopping out of the gates with a rolling arpeggiated synth, clicky percussion and a light dose of grand piano, “Stasis” chases down a synth-pop prognosis and smashes it to bits with hints of a sensible psych influence and club-first house foundation. Gilligan Moss treats the tune’s vocal just as craftily as his instrumentation, cutting and looping effortlessly through hazy and delicate incantations that sound somewhere between Sean Ryder’s most indulgent bellows and the Macintosh computer SimpleText application used on OK Computer’s “Fitter Happier”. Just beautiful stuff to our Ninja ears really. For a real taste of Moss’ range, don’t skip on the rest of Moss’ Ceremonial either, to get a much clearer grasp on why he’s been targeted as one of our ‘ones to watch in 2016′ list.
Coming in with one of the most criminally underrated albums this year, Escape From Evil, and hailing from one of the more overlooked indie scenes in Baltimore (see: Future Islands, Beach House), Lower Dens also quietly dropped one of the most beautiful singles of the year in “Ondine”. At first glance, “Ondine” appears to be a sugary-sweet pop ditty, as its syncopated drum-machine cadence, light & glittery synths, and cherry guitar layering set the perfect backdrop for Jana Hunter’s aching lyrics to unfold on. But, when she repeats the song’s devastating vocal hook -“I will treat you better” then bellows the most painful iteration of “Hold On” we’ve ever heard- you just can’t help but to fall like a broken feather into its center. Hold on for a minute while we go cry.
“Annie” was the alt-pop posterchild of 2015. With its asymmetrically bent synth stabs and Palomo’s breathy incantations, it’s the kind of breezy, faux-dub/tropical pop synthesis that acts like Tears For Fears and Duran Duran concocted to mass pop stardom in the early 80’s. “Annie” fluidly bends a kind of electronic instrumentation that soothes the most vicious of new-wave revivalists with the kind of forward thinking, pop experimentalism that seems to excite those *ahem* droves of snooty music writers as well. If you missed it, back in October Ninja Dom put together an incredible review of Neon Indian’s 2015 return to the LP formatVEGA INT’l Night School, which does much more justice to each track than this writer ever could.
2015 was a huge year for Brooklyn based multi-instrumentalist John Jagos, and this was the single that started it all. “Wake” sputters out a balmy, smooth vocal wrapped around his usual brand of off-kilter, hand-keyed electronic pop structuring for a feel that is simultaneously familiar, unique and addictive. “Wake” leans ever so slightly toward a corner of yacht-rock that would make Bill Hader & Fred Armisen’s Documentary Now! fictional supergroup ‘The Blue-Jean Committee’ tip their hats, but the ambient tones utilized here wash over its listener like an enveloping fog to create a soundscape that touches upon numerous aural aesthetics. “Wake”, was an entrancing and utterly lovely tune combining a number of things we love about Jagos’ Brothertiger project and a welcome peak into his excellent 2015 Out Of Touch LP.
Long time staples of every indie-writer-in-the-know’s list of genre pushing acts, Deerhunter’s follow up to 2013’s Monomania, Fading Frontier, delivered more than a few bright spots. On “Living My Life”, Deerhunter delivers a special kind of syrupy pop creaminess –which hasn’t been the most affixed comparison to their experimental pop catalog. Encased in a gauzy, droning splash of guitar and precisely sourced electronics, “Living My Life” wields the kind of majesty that so many critics demand of their most high-minded musicians; especially of Bradford Cox. Quite simply, it’s a sad song that feels happy, and an incredible single entry into one of the decade’s most impressive libraries.
10.) DIIV – “Bent” (Roi’s Song)
From the reverby, amorphous guitar chords to its paced drumming; “Bent” lets its listener settle in warmly before Zachary Cole Smith’s icy vocals penetrate its sonic terrain. On this record, Smith’s cadence is an achy one, rising and falling like the sleeping chest of whoever you’re sharing your bed with, but without nearly as many affectations as were in play on their debut long-player Oshin. But his incantations aren’t distant either, coming across as intimately as a shared conversation over a pillow case, while Devin Ruben Perez’s bassline plucks along heartily enough to subtly captivate its listener without delineating from the rest of the tune’s lovely instrumentation. We’re chomping at the bit for the release of 2016’s Is The Is Are and this was one of the biggest reasons why.
“Gosh” (and pretty much all of Jamie xx’s amazing 2015 LP In Colour) is a musical study in perspective. What starts under a fully magnified scope focused on heavy bass and a simple vocal hook, gradually pans further and further out, flipping from a microscopic gaze to a telescopic overview, until its almighty, high-pitched synth crescendo clobbers through a soup of chopped and sampled percussion to shatter everything apart, simultaneously opening even more space for In Colour to rebuild with a sort of Big Bang cyclicality. There’s just so much at play within this one 3 minute sonic trek, it’s overwhelming. With two solo albums and two albums with The xx under his belt, yung Jamie has quickly become the genre-pushing “it-boy” amongst both the underground dance heads and indie nostalgists all at once. And it’s tunes like this which help solidify his place in the spotlight.
8.) Roosevelt – “Night Moves”
Roosevelt has long felt like an act waiting for that one crossover hit before spilling over into mainstream consciousness. While we’ve been waiting pretty patiently for another full body of work after 2013’s phenomenal Elliot EP, we were luckily held over by “Night Moves” as a single which popped up unannounced on Greco-Roman Records’ Soundcloud earlier this year. On “Night Moves”, all of Roosevelt’s sonic elements for which we’ve grown to love are still there; the warm and suffuse melodies, the soothing psychedelia and the streamlined pop structures, but this time around they’ve wrapped themselves much more closely than ever to the realm of dance music. Carefully layed out acid synth -which leans into Phuture’s 1987 vision more than his tastemaking contemporaries might stray towards- worms its way throughout a thick sea of pop mutations, while a steady four-four kick never relinquishes its hold on the entire track. We could go on for hours about the finely tuned single that was “Night Moves”, but we’ll just let you listen instead.
Idaho seems like quite the unlikely place for genre-pushing experimentalist pop acts to flourish, yet here we are almost in 2016 and Youth Lagoon finds themselves sitting in the heart of Boise, churning out some of this writer’s favorite music of the young decade. After 2013’s incredible Wondrous Bughouse, we’d been patiently waiting for a follow-up, and Youth Lagoon returned as sharp as ever in 2015 with Savage Hills Ballroom. The album’s second single, “Highway Patrol Stun Gun,” was inspired by one of the absolute worst media themes this year: increasing reports of police violence. About the tune, band mastermind Trevor Powers stated: “With all the police brutality in the media, it seemed like every single day there was some element of chaos—but in different forms. It just got so bad. I feel like we live in this shitstorm now where there’s so many corrupt people in high places, people getting away with all this shit. So, I sat down and I decided to just write whatever came to my mind. Living in Idaho, it’s easy to feel isolated from all of these events, and that was sort of my way of dealing with it.” “Highway Patrol Stun Gun” features notable characteristics of previous Youth Lagoon work, like Powers’ ambling, innocent tenor, but also diverges; incorporating a much wider variety of instrumentation coupled with an acute sense of careful production. While we grew just as tired of the repeated police brutality headlines, we’re just happy that Powers chose to deal with the aforementioned “shitstorm” with such a great tune.
6.) Kurt Vile – “Pretty Pimpin”
A simple, fingerpicked indie-folk guitar loop dominates most of Kurt Vile’s beautiful b’lieve i’m goin down opener “Pretty Pimpin”, but it’s in the rolling opus’ lyrical details where it all blossoms into something much more. A most basic encounter with his reflection in the bathroom mirror sends him into a daze: “Who’s that stupid clown blocking the bathroom sink?” he quips, trying to “recognize” and come to grips with “the man in the mirror”. Vile’s Slick Rick level of storytelling is on full display on “Pretty Pimpin” and cracks the door wide open for by far one of the brightest LP entries to 2015. Clearly Vile’s time since leaving THe War On Drugs has done the dazed superstar a world of good.
5.) Mac DeMarco – “The Way You’d Love Her”
In just two-and-a-half minutes, “The Way You’d Love Her” displays just about everything we love about Canadian indie-maestro. Perhaps there is none better at dragging a wave of sarcastic ribbing through the wide-eyed, hopeful, heartfelt ballad than Mac DeMarco. On “The Way You’d Love Her”, Demarco’s faintly mumbled reverberations take center stage as with much of his most stirring work; hypnotizing and drawing its listener into the romance – until he gives a little yelp and breaks the mood with a classically Demarco, pitch-controlled, indie-surf guitar solo to wrap things up. How could you not just swoon to this one?
Perhaps the most exciting and perplexing artistic entry into this writer’s constantly expanding list of new groundbreaking acts, Thomas Arsenault’s Mas Ysa project shot straight into our hearts with a bullet this year; especially behind power-single “Look Up”. Hurtling drums and cascades of synth propel “Look Up” forward throughout its quick duration, but the most welcoming addition to Mas Ysa’s sonic toolbox, and one we think pulled him from art-house-hipster’s iPods into more mainstream territory, was an acoustic guitar that plays like it was lifted straight from Ben Gibbard’s The Photo Album stem collection. “Look Up”‘s end result wonderfully displays a compelling growth in Mas Ysa’s craft, and one that’s got us beyond excited for what 2016 brings from Mas Ysa.
How one unique kid from North Las Vegas managed to take the entire indie-pop world by storm will always be beyond me. Shamir Bailey never had an army of press or publicicsts behind him; rather the wunderkind producer/singer/songwriter let his debut LP Ratchet and its gorgeous slices of tuneage speak for him instead. Hell, it wasn’t even until at least four months after Ratchet‘s release that it was even available on torrent clients. Now, in 2015 that, ninjas, is called flying under the radar. But, it was largely the radio success of lead single “On The Regular” which pushed Shamir from a cooped up bedroom artist to ‘Late Show’ darling. “On The Regular” was the hyper addictive blend of Warehouse era Chicago house swing, 80’s synths that lean in on you like the arm of someone on a NY subway, pop structuring and of course Shamir’s delicate refrain; which all resulted into our favorite purely pop cut of the year.
2.) Tame Impala – “Let It Happen”
The sea-change from the deepest throws of psych-rock displayed on Innerspeaker and Lonerism presents itself immediately on Currents’ opener “Let It Happen”- a tune we’re sure you’re familiar with. Right off the bat, Tame Impala diehards may have noticed an immediate structural change as an analog four-four snare and kickdrum pattern takes center stage with next to nothing in the realm of those scuzzy and heavy guitars we’ve grown accustomed from Kevin Parker’s baby. That is of course, until six minutes in, you’re clobbered by a loopy and simple four-chord guitar progression which only really enhances this track’s ambient minutiae. But it’s the entire build and movement that seals its listener into Currents from this one single. There’s more nuanced hi-pass drum filtering put into “Let It Happen” than most bands would dream of utilizing in their entire careers, save for cdance producers (which after “Elephant” isn’t too surprising really) signaling Tame Impala’s careful and precise attention to not only their lead single, but the album as a whole. “Let It Happen” simultaneously cracks open Currents like a punch in the gut, while giving the long-player the necessary room it needs to breathe and evolve as an entire movement. Quite honestly, it may be this writer’s favorite opening to any album within the annals of time, and if you it, be sure to check out another one of Ninja Dom’s insightful and captivating LP reviews for Currents here.
On “Them Changes”, the six-string Brainfeeder bass virtuoso known as Thundercat has strayed from the post-breakup day-to-day struggle thematically found frequently on his last LP Apocalypse, and this time glumly arrived at full-blown devastation. The tune is a warning shot of sorts, as “Nobody Move/There’s Blood On The Floor” forms the first line and only digs further into the overwhelming finality and acceptance of heartbreak similar to a cop stumbling across a murder scene. While lyrically, “Them Changes” is a morbidly morose view into Thundercat’s expansive headspace, musically, he’s built one of the richest soundscapes of any 3:00 minute single in history. It’s got emotional turmoil sung in a masculine yet delicate falsetto, and it’s got a heaping spoonful of noodly, six-string bass funk. Two worlds have never collided so beautifully. It’s only fitting that Thundercat’s most notable Brainfeeder cohorts Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington make appearances -albeit in small doses- on his biggest, perhaps even career-defining single. No one wanted to miss out on the fun of “Them Changes” in 2015.
Honorable Mentions:Tame Impala – “Disciples”, “The Less I Know The Better”, “Eventually”, “‘Cause I’m a Man”; Tobias Jesso Jr. – “Hollywood”; Chromatics – “Shadow”; NITE-FUNK (Nite Jewel & Dâm-Funk) – Can U Read Me; Disclosure – “Nocturnal”; Tundran – “Kimono”; Drake – “Know Yourself”, “Hotline Bling”; Grimes – “Flesh Without Blood”; Beach House – “Sparks”; Tanlines – “Pieces”; The Arcs – “Put A Flower In Your Pocket”; Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – “S.O.B.”; U.S. Girls – “Window Shades”; – Best Coast – “Feeling Ok”; YACHT – “I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler”; A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Days & More Nights”; Motorama – “Heavy Wave”, “Impractical Advice”; Kelela – “Rewind”; Favored Nations – “I Can See You”; Calvin Love – “Automaton”; Viet Cong – “Silhouettes”, “Continental Shelf”; Autre Ne Veut – “Panic Room”; GEMS – “Living As a Ghost”
Less than four bars into New York dream-rock posterboys DIIV‘s latest single “Bent (Roi’s Song)”, and it’s pretty clear you’re listening to a DIIV record. From the droning assymetrical guitar chords washed out with reverb aplenty to its paced drumming; we were settled in glowingly by the time Zachary Cole Smith’s icy vocals penetrate “Bent”‘s sonic terrain. This time around, Smith’s cadence is an achy one, rising and falling like the sleeping chest of whoever you’re sharing your bed with, but without nearly as many affectations as were in play on their debut long-player Oshin. But his incantations aren’t distant either, coming across as intimately as a shared conversation over a pillow case, while Devin Ruben Perez’s bassline plucks along heartily enough to subtly captivate its listener without interfering with the rest of the tune’s lovely instrumentation. In all honesty, this writer is finding it difficult believing that DIIV’s impending LP Is the Is Are won’t shoot towards the top of many a music jobber’s end-of-the-year lists. The now four-piece have certainly come a long way since simply being Smith’s solo project (and a name change from “Dive”), and if their performances over the last Summer are any indication, we’re expecting great things for a lengthy amount of time from them.
Looking around the crowd at the newly minted Social Hall SF, it was apparent that the diehard group of fans had little idea what they were hearing. Attending a show by a favored artist is an unforgettable experience; the anxiety and foreboding feeling that they may bomb the performance, the hope against all hope that the one favorite song played on repeat 300 times that one summer is on their set list, the lofty and unrealistic expectations of them noticing your pinpoint gaze from the stage.
All of those unstable feelings – coupled with the awkward notion of repeatedly bumping shoulders with complete strangers – are made more bearable by the overarching fact that the mass of people is musically in sync. Artists take huge risks when touring a new album pre-release; when a fan base comes together to experience their latest works before hearing a single song, the performance can either fall flat or amaze. Alan Palomo’s performance, thankfully, accomplished the latter. Despite vague familiarity with the new material, the cluster rocked and swayed to the arrangements that have made Neon Indian into a renowned electronic producer.
Between his own eccentric swinging hips and a charmingly flat-footed signature shuffle (falling somewhere between Motown and Disco), Palomo also managed to keep an often-times lost crowd energized and in the moment. Continue reading →
Perhaps our favorite single common thread around the staff at TMN is the ability to showcase artists in our favorite cities across the U.S. We’ve been able to bring some of our absolute favorite artists’ live shows over the years as presenters, and this Thursday (10/22) in Denver, we’re incredibly proud to bring another very special show to the Mile High City with Teen Daze. Fresh off of the release of another excellent and critically applauded LP addition to the enigmatic producer’s catalog (he uses only his first name professionally), Morning World, Teen Daze will no doubt bring with him another excellent incarnation of an expanding live show to Lost Lake Lounge. We’ve been able to gradually witness Teen Daze’s steady evolution from his earliest work, which was often times lumped in with the ‘chillwave’ movement, to an artist whose rhythms and melodies have taken center stage and allowed the Western Canada based producer to offer a more engaging, and even dance-oriented concert experience. Needless to say we’re chomping at the bit for another chance to see Teen Daze in such an intimate venue.
The night’s opening flavor kicks off quite tastefully as well with Portland via Buffalo ambient-pop experimentalist Cemeteries. Also coming off of an extremely well executed LP, Barrow, which had us drawing up comparisons to the current arc of post-punk revivalists and darkwave flag bearers including The Soft Moon, and A Place To Bury Strangers. Just excellent stuff really. Rounding out the bill is newly formed Dream-Pop troupe Shark Dreams, who thus far have released only one demo and have our curiosity piqued with their worthy entry into the world of singles.
Of course, when we present a show, we’d rather not just talk about it, but get our savvy readers in on the fun as well, so we’re giving away not one, but two pairs of tickets to this Thursday night’s show. As always, entering our contest is beyond simple. Just “like” Teen Daze, and The Music Ninja’s Facebook pages, and comment below on why you’re excited or deserve to win. That’s it! We’ll notify our winners Thursday afternoon, the day of the show at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Stream our preview playlist below to get your ears ready, and good luck!
There are a few rules, of course:
– The event is 18+, so tell all your friends to increase your odds of winning!
– You are responsible for your own transportation.
– You must bring a valid form of ID to pick up your tickets at the Lost Lake Lounge door.
– You must find a TMN representative and let them buy you a drink (perhaps a Red Bull for our non legal friends?)
L.A. four-piece Forebear have been quietly carving out a special place in many a critic’s heart since unloading their first four tasteful, genre straddling and cinematic indie-rock tracks over the last year. Consisting of some of the Los Angeles area’s most prolific professional musicians -who as individuals have worked with everyone from Feist & Bastille to Randy Jackson & even Keith Urban- Forebear consists of ex-Wise Club frontman Scott Goldblaum weaving melodic guitar and sharing vocals with the rangeful Molly Rogers (who herself also adds carefully strung viola and keys), rounded out by the methodical rhythm section of Nick Chamian’s bass and Mike Musselman’s directed drumming. The quartet’s forthcoming EP, Cody, from which we have the distinct pleasure of debuting its first single “People’s Champ”, carries with it some lofty expectations as famed producer Scott Gordon (Alanis Morissette, Ringo Starr) has taken lead production reigns for what is quite the exciting pairing of notable engineer and burgeoning indie act. “People’s Champ” is a wonderful first taste of Forebear’s impending EP -a poignant and dazed track narrating the story of lost love through a drizzling and reverb soaked vocal, hazy guitars and melodic hooks and we can’t wait to consume even more of their uniquely detailed sound. We’re getting all primed and excited for the rest of Cody, but for now, revel in all that is Forebear’s shiny and new ‘TMN Premiere’ “People’s Champ” above.
