John Maus x Molly Nilsson

So I've been eagerly awaiting John Maus's upcoming album We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves ever since hearing its abso-fucking-credible first single, "Believer." So when I heard "Hey Moon," the fourth track on the aforementioned fifth album from the reclusive Minnesota native, I figured it was another product of his songwriting genius. Guess I was a little premature. The track is still awesome, but it turns out the song was actually originally written by the equally mysterious Stockholm freeform dream-pop singer Molly Nilsson.

She seems to be closely associated with the Dark Skies Association label, and she's touring the U.S. for the first time in November. She's still booking her tour, so send her a message if you want her in your town. The original version of "Hey Moon!" appears on her 2009 full-length These Things Take Time, and you can grab it below, along with the John Maus cover.

MP3: Molly Nilsson - "Hey Moon!"

MP3: John Maus - "Hey Moon" (Molly Nilsson cover)

Natural Child new album and interview etc.

Natural Child's debut LP, 1971, came out last Wednesday, 4/20. The kind of album it is, it's such a surprising and exciting thing to hear, because yeah it sometimes sounds like the Stones or more generally an album from 1971, except it's in 2011 and these are just some regular dudes; they haven't made history yet. But then, these songs are cause enough to reconsider how regular these dudes are. They're regular, I mean, in that they're not millionaires yet, not headlining music festivals at any California speedways yet, not making movies yet. On the other hand, the songs aren't regular at all, and the feel and the attitude, and that they did all this stuff all the while being just some regular dudes--none of that is regular. It's really new, however reminiscent of old it is. It's a sound that nobody's putting out, but that everybody's getting into. But it seems like Wes and Zack and Seth have been into it for a while; the Stones and Stooges and Neil Young and Bob Dylan and all those 60s and 70s rock and folk and blues records that everyone's looking for are their influences, except that they've figured out how to keep it at that, at just influences, and how to keep their sound theirs. The result is this solid album, which is like a showcase for how to be inspired but original, rock-n-roll but honest and still confident, high as fuck but at the same time talented as fuck. So the album rules.


The interview here is from a couple weeks ago. I talked with Wes and Zack on Skype about the West Coast half of their nationwide tour. After, I sent them a transcription to look over, but they had already left for the East Coast, the other half of the tour. I wanted to wait until we had it all straight before putting up this review and everything, too, so that's why it's only being put up now. I heard from Wes last night; he said the interview was "fucking hilarious" and "perfect." I asked him how the rest of the tour went and he asked me, "You ever seen Jackass 2? Jackass number two. It was just like that."

Here's a couple of back-to-back tracks from 1971.

"Yoko" - Natural Child

"Let It Bleed" - Natural Child

Pick up the album from the Infinity Cat store.

Also, I encourage you to check out Nashville's Dead's hell of a good album review. It's like, after reading that review, I had to think really if there was a point to writing this one.

And don't forget the interview below!

Read more »

Premiere: Swimming

Neil Lord (of Niall & Voyageurs et al.) sent me this track from his new project, Swimming, with Jared Hennessey (pictured above) and Brian Kupillas of Where's Lawrence?. Really great stuff, kinda sounds like Robin Pecknold singing for Real Estate, only with more sinister undertones than that pairing would imply. Swimming's album will be out "in the next few days," according to Neil, and the track below, "Summer Turtleneck," is apparently about "a guy coming to our bassist's door in Houston and asking, 'Do you wanna fool around?'" It's also going to be featured on the forthcoming Art Amiss 13 compilation.

Swimming will also be playing at the final show at the Brick House, along with Cats Purring denizens FLIGHT and Fort Smith surf-punkers Taifas. If you're not super stoked about this show already, you should be.

MP3: Swimming - "Summer Turtleneck"

Dirty Gold

You might remember Dirty Gold from their sundazed track "California Sunrise", which was our #19 track of 2010. In the meantime, these barely-out-of-high school kids have come out with their debut EP Roar. They still practice the same dreamy afro-pop as before, but this EP shows them broadening their range. Opening track "North" could be a lost Vampire Weekend cut, and closer "Overboard" is equally indebted to Teen Dream-era Beach House.

Listen and preorder Roar on their website, or grab it now on iTunes. And grab "Quiet Life," the fourth track, below.

MP3: Dirty Gold - "Quiet Life"

Watercolor Records

So I was reading up on the consistently wonderful Head Underwater and his post on Matthew Papich's Baltimore-based woozy/dubby sample-pop project Co La, and a few clicks later (while in pursuit of some Co La mp3s) I found myself on the website of Watercolor Records. I couldn't find any information on them except that they were based in Bmore, released mostly on tape, and had put out stuff by area mainstays Cex and Teeth Mountain.

There's tons of more music to be found though. Most of their releases are available for free download, and include the aforementioned (and excellent) Co La tape Rest in Paradise and an intriguing release by Ponytail guitarist Ken Seeno called Open Window, which will remind more than a few of you of the kosmische musik-inspired explorations of Emeralds.

Give it a click, though. Great ground-breaking stuff for sure. And grab the two mp3s by Co La and Ken Seeno below.

MP3: Co La - Dreamin (Hair Splitter Version)

MP3: Ken Seeno - Another Leaf Lying on the Ground

EMA

First off, an apology for not posting more often. We have always aspired to be a "real blog" and post at least once every day (maybe even 10 times a day) but we're still trying to find things to say.

Luckily, though, finding good music isn't the problem nowadays. EMA, the solo project of Erika M. Anderson (formerly of Gowns), is just the latest example of seriously badass music that's been appearing in the past few weeks. Her new album, Past Life Martyred Saints (out May 10 on Souterrain Transmissions), is full of grungy guitar shredding/destruction and frantic poetry in the vein of Kim Gordon (h/t yvynyl for the apt comparison). She herself describes it as "basement bedroom garage," which I think is also pretty descriptive.

Check the video for "California" above, and make sure to listen to first single "The Grey Ship" over on Soundcloud. It has this awesome transition where it goes from lo-fi to hi-fi; she has a post on her (interesting, candid & unpretentious) blog where she talks more about the process that went into recording that track. Other attractions on her blog include a review of a Lil' B show, babies in Cthulu costumes, and her shotgun-wielding family.

Anyway, the whole album is awesome. Get it when it comes out. I'm gonna post the mp3 to "California" (or maybe "The Grey Ship") below later, so if it's not there yet, drop by later.

tUnE-yArDs

If you've listened to tUnE-yArDs before, through her debut album Bird-Brains, her new single and video "Bizness," or her (allegedly) electric live act, you don't need me to tell you that her new album w h o k i l l (out April 19 on 4AD) is going to be good. But having listened to it virtually nonstop for the past 36 hours, I can tell you that it's amazing. Just the most unbelievable and exciting thing I've listened to in a long while.

The way she - Merrill Garbus - uses her voice (in timbre and melody) is kind of reminiscent of Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors, but she doesn't seem as densely preoccupied with the compositional aspects of her songs. That's not to say they aren't excellent compositions; they just seem to come more naturally to her than to Dirty Projectors. And then there's the minor detail that she does all of this by herself. Guitars, percussion, insane vocal multi-tracking, all of it.

Check the link below for the video for her first single, "Bizness," on Pitchfork.tv. I was going to embed it but the code didn't want to cooperate. Also, keep your ears open for the excellent tracks, "Gangsta," "Powa," "You Yes You," and pretty much every song on the album, actually.

Video: tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness" (Pitchfork.tv)

Shortcircles

Via the always-interesting Life:Aquatic, I've come across the music of shortcircles. shortcircles is Matthew Tamariello of Oakland, and he makes wispy, glowing tunes that exist somewhere between Air France and Baths along with nods to the Avalanches and instrumental hip-hop. His debut 3-track EP is available for free download via the Mapzzz bi-weekly EP series, also something worth keeping bookmarked. The georgous slow-building opening track "Iwishthatyouwould(pleaseloveme)" features a litany of perfectly-chosen vocal samples plus what may be the best use of a saxophone since Cut Copy's "Hearts On Fire."

MP3: shortcircles - "Iwishthatyouwould(pleaseloveme)"

Hear Hums

We're barely 40 days into 2011 and it's already off to a fast start. Aside from the quality LPs we've seen from Tennis, James Blake, and Smith Westerns, Hear Hums have dropped one of my surprise favorite albums of the year. We first heard from the Jacksonville, FL trio (wonder if they hang out with unouomedude?) on the Dope Mountain Fuck cassette, where their 6:23 marathon jam "Mokom Wolos" made episode #9 of our show. Then the beautiful Feels-inspired "BXYZ" made epsiode #14 of our show last week.

On their second album, Psych Cycles (Crash Symbols, 12/21/10), there are no shortage of beautiful songs, from the soundscapes of "Mokom Wolos" to the stuttering breakbeats of "Change" to the, well, sunsoaked shimmer of "Sunsoaked." And, of course, there's "BXYZ," which could legitimately be accused of sounding a little too much like "The Purple Bottle," but we're not going to bother with pedantic influence-spotting exercises because it just sounds so good.

Besides, Psych Cycles never lets one influence dominate. The fact that all of these songs can fit together in one album means you should go buy it now. It's only limited to 300 copies, and because Hear Hums are nice dudes, there's even a free download link further down the page.

MP3: Hear Hums - "Woo"

MP3: Hear Hums - "BXYZ"

Hear Hums Bandcamp

Hear Hums Blog

Crash Symbols Bandcamp

Young Prisms

As of today, I have 12 artists in my music library whose names begin with "Young." With so many fresh new artists claiming the moniker, it's only fair to ask: is it the next "wolf" or "crystal"?

Anyway, I first came across San Fran psych-fuzz-poppers Young Prisms on No Nothing Publishing's prescient Deadbeat Vol. 1 mixtape, which also included up-and-comers Dirty Beaches and Electric Sunset. Their contribution was a 46-second whirlwind of a track called "Fourtwenty Friendly", which first appeared on their 2009 sold-out Mexican Summer 12". Now they've taken things in a more shoegaze-based direction, giving their songs room to breathe. Check the soaring melodies on "If You Want To," the second track from their debut LP Friends For Now, just released on Kanine Records.

Also catch them playing with Melted Toys and JW local favorites Niall at the Lightbulb Club in Fayetteville on Thursday, 1/27.

MP3: Young Prisms - "If You Want To"

Natural Child

Natural Child is Wes, Zack, and Seth. They all have hot girlfriends and they roll the best weed in middle Tennessee. Their lives are probably going to be like this pretty soon. The last time I saw Natural Child was at this basement show near Belmont University in Nashville, and they were getting showered with beer and there was some guy hanging upside down from like a support beam.Everyone in the crowd was freaking out but in a way that was like, Yeah let’s get fuckin crazzzy 2nite! But then when Natural Child played their last song—which I’m pretty sure was called “Bad Man” and hasn’t been recorded yet but was, that night, like this thirteen-minute-long heavy kind of bluesy jam that went in and out of “I’m a Freak” by Wicked Lady and ended with a kind of Bad-Man-motherfucker-that’s-it-we’re-worn-out-how-are-you-all flourish and silence—when they played that song everyone was freaking out but more just still, watching, an internalized freak-out, because it was an unexpected sound and it went all the way, into something that everyone could recall from like the Rolling Stones and Iggy Pop and also like the damn blues which I guess is typical but this was harder and more badass and it was new and in front of them, and they couldn't believe it. It seemed like it made people remember that rock-n-roll is still fucking cool. The last song felt kind of like an announcement: this music is the music that you want to hear more music sound like. I mean that's how I felt, anyway.

A week ago Mark from yvynyl made the suggestion that 60s pop is going to be a big deal in 2k11, and I totally agree. But I think that that brand of rock-n-roll that's soulful and psychedelic but also kind of characterizes the 60s as a bad trip in which Brian Jones died in his pool is also going to be a big deal in 2k11--except I think in 2k11 it'll be funner and badder and less depressing--pool parties instead, etc. And Natural Child is going to be part of that big deal, I hope. As mentioned, they’ve been playing shows with Strange Boys, and VICE is putting out a Natural Child/Strange Boys split sometime in the near future, I think. They’ve also played a couple shows in NYC with Black Lips; one of the shows was on a boat in New York harbor (and I guess Brooklyn Vegan was there). About two weeks ago RCRDLBL posted one of their songs, “Nobody Wants to Party with Me,” and a long time ago Terry Richardson posted a photo of some dude wearing a Natural Child shirt on his tumblr.

They’ve got two 7”s out, as well as a cassette called Bodyswitchers, which will soon be available on vinyl/iTunes. They're right now working on an album of new stuff called 1971; look for it next year/in 1971.

These two songs are the first two tracks from their 7” called White Man’s Burden, the back of which looks like this.*

"White Man's Burden"

"Ray Thompson Blues"

You can buy their stuff through Infinity Cat Recordings.And don’t forget to check out their blog: naturalchildband.blogspot.com.

Craig Cruiser - Asleep on the Couch

Craig Cruiser - Asleep on the Couch

Craig Cruiser, aka Ben Wagner, sent us this lovely track, which complements the dreary winter weather. In the email, Craig Cruiser describes "Asleep on the Couch" as "inspired by winter" and "composed during a state of mania," but one would never guess this song was composed under such conditions. The song floats along through a nice landscape of sounds. The song is much more reposed. Check out his tumblr to download this song or check out his bandcamp for some other great tunes.

I Found Your Flower Crown

Ricky Eat Acid - I Found Your Flower Crown

Here in the south, autumn is finally beginning to fade and the colder weather is becoming more prevalent. Ricky Eat Acid is a project of Sam Ray's, which on the most recent EP, Sometimes We're Blue, is available to download for free from his bandcamp. This EP fits perfectly for those of us gearing up for the colder weather and taking drives to visit family for the holidays. The EP flows well on its lo-fi psychedelic ride.

sadness comes along

Photo by SPiDeR.

My laptop is getting old. It's a fossilized, four-year-old hand-me-down from my younger brother (sigh). I'm getting used to its propensity for underperformance. So when I reached the one-minute mark in "I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along," the new track by Ann Arbor, Michigan resident Jeremy Malvin's solo project Chrome Sparks, I figured my browser had just hiccuped again. I've never been so happy to have been proven wrong.

"I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along" is certainly among the best tracks I've heard this year. Beginning with a few chimes and a faded guitar riff, sort of like a forgotten version of Sigur Rós' "Hoppipola," it takes a minute before it hits you with that beat. The pulse keeps the warm, immersive track surging forward, like something out of Baths' Cerulean. It's no surprise he's been getting plenty of love from some of our favorite blogs.

Other blogs have been taking down his mp3s, so I won't post it, but I will link to his brand-new Bandcamp where you can grab "I'll Be Wait" along with another superb six-minute jam, "Our Love Is Heartbeats; Our Love Is Hot Beats" for just $1. This guy is worth your support - I can't wait to hear more from him.

Stream: Chrome Sparks - I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along

Chrome Sparks:

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Myspace

you can do anything

Watching Los Angeles female pop duo Hot as Sun's Youtube channel - and that's the only info available on them on the internets - gives me the feeling that they aren't "cool" in any conventional sense. They're not even trying. And I'm not even talking about appropriating uncool things for irony's sake - I mean hanging out in a suburban backyard, playing with babies on a Slip'n'Slide. OK, Slip'n'Slides are pretty cool. So are the tunes that these two ladies make - think carefully layered production à la Grizzly Bear with some added haziness (and bounciness).

Grab two tracks from their forthcoming EP from their bandcamp, and don't skip out on the playful music video to their new tune "New Town," animated by Deborah Stoll and Mark Steger.

EDIT: Apparently I completely missed their blog on their website. The dandelions turn into links! Who would have thought?

EDIT 2: They drew us a sweet picture!

MP3: Hot as Sun - Come Come

Weird Korea

Weird Korea - Weird Korea

Weird Korea are some college students from Purchase, NY. They haven't played much outside of the Purchase area, but they have snagged an opportunity to play with the likes of Titus Adronicus and Surfer Blood. They have released an EP titled, No Art // No Trade, which you can download for free from their bandcamp. The EP is a rocking 27 minutes of music. I suggest you download it and make sure to listen to the last track, which is an amazing 8 minute jam.

people they stare at me

Been really digging the new free EP from Jacksonville, FL based unouomedude (you-know-you-owe-me-dude). We've played his standout track, "Buildings" on our show before, and we're also loving the final track on his EP, "Happy Birthday." You can get his Marsh EP for free at his bandcamp. There are also a few tracks available for download on his last.fm page. If that's not enough for you, head over to his immaculately designed (but sometimes slow-to-load) website. He's not playing live shows yet, but here's hoping that he takes his blissed-out, glowing, beat-driven tracks on the road soon.

MP3: unouomedude - Buildings