Phantogram

Soft and mellow, mixed with ’street beat’ sounds of shoegaze, trip hop, odd dreams (the kinds I had when I would take Nyquil before sleeping; since stopped) describe the aptly named, ‘Eyelid Movies’, the first outing of duo Phantogram. What an awesome album cover. I’ve given a few tracks on this album a listen, but thus far only really love ‘When I’m Small’, which is the reason behind the post. This track is a sonic boom, with it’s lo-fi crackle, severe melodic loops, dreamy atmosphere and Sarah Barthel’s, slow, ancient, mesmerizing vocals.

Phantogram - When I’m Small

Phantogram - As Far As I Can See

The Coming Arrival of Dark Horses

Dark Horses is a band not yet on the scene. But they might possibly break through some of the sequestered art circles that they’re probably being whispered about in. And they might break through if they keep producing tracks like ‘Alone’. I in fact don’t know anything about them, save for their myspace page, which tells me that they’re from the U.K., are fronted by a Swedish seductress by the name of Lisa Elle. She pours out her voice in a slow, cloyed fashion, with peppers of boredom and sensuality. I came across the track in a video I saw for a photoshoot for Fault Magazine. Video below; it’s shot very well, in an extreme cinematic style and the music suits it perfectly.

Dark Horses - Alone

Gorillaz’s New Single

The Gorillaz’s latest single, ‘Stylo’, is pretty sensational. It’s off of their third album, ‘Plastic Beach’, set to release in a few days. The song features Mos Def and Bobby Womack. Womack, who hadn’t even heard of Gorillaz, but did the track solely because his daughter is a fan of the virtual group. All his lines are ad lib as he was told to sing whatever came to mind. Love and politics is what he belts out. The album itself characteristically features a phenomenal lineup of artists, from the above mentioned to Gruff Rhys of Neon Neon, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed and two Clash members (Paul Simonon and Mick Jones).

‘Stylo’ itself is a pretty slick track. A little aggressive, a little modern disco, and always dark. It’s euphoric and urgent at the same time, mellow rapping and blues singing, bass lines and groovy synths; it’s addictive. And it’s followed by an even cooler video, which my sister, Nadia, brought to my attention. This mini cinema styled action sequence is beautifully shot, consisting of a car chase, popping guns and rifles, Bruce Willis playing a bad ass, pseudo bounty hunter. The cinematography is flawless, from the zoomed in shots of the classic Chevys, pavement close ups speeding by, and surreal graphics. All in all, a great production.

Gorillaz - Stylo

http://www.vimeo.com/9933609

All The Other Kids With The Pumped Up Kicks

Well, if I’m correct, I believe Foster The People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ will be the song of 2010’s summer. The fascinatingly catchy tune has a few months to filter its way through the blogosphere, and by the time summer rolls around it’ll have enough popularity to be played during backyard bbq’s, top down road trips, pool parties and anywhere warm, feel good vibes are required.

And this is pretty impressive for a currently unknown band, with no album, not even an EP, and having only played their first gig a few weeks ago. Their website is sparse with a few other tracks, but nothing that matches the splendor of this song. I love it in case you haven’t noticed. The lo-fi, muffled vocals, the airy melody, and the ‘Young Folks’-esque whistling. I just wonder what the ‘pumped up kicks’ they’re talking about are. Maybe the Reebok Pumps from our youth?

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

El Perro Del Mar

El Perro Del Mar, which translates to ‘The Dog From The Sea’, is a solo project by Swedish singer Sarah Assbring. Her track, ‘Change of Heart’, features fellow Swede, Lykke Li (I love her) on vocals. The sound is melancholy, lo-fi pop, but I’m really loving the Rakamonie remix. The mix keeps the doleful tempo, but slows down the tune to a tempestuous sound, with a thick bass riff that underlines the emotion.

El Perro Del Mar - Change of Heart (Rakamonie Remix)

The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

Ah, time for a little cheese. I’ve been told by many readers how much they liked The Script track, ‘Breakeven’, so here’s another one for you all. My friend Bryant sent it a long, and I have to admit, I like it, even though I still think its not really that original. But hey, sometimes it doesn’t need to be to enjoy. I also kind of find the singer’s unrelenting effort to win back his lost love a little admirable.

The Script - The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

Angeles

Oh how I love Elliott Smith. I was watching ‘The Girl Next Door’ again the other day (how I love that as well, one of my favorites) and though I’ve always noticed its perfectly scene picked soundtrack; from when Matt sees Danielle for the first time (’Killing Moon’ by Echo & The Bunnymen), to their first talk in the diner (’Something In The Air’ by Thunderclap Newman), to when Danielle pulls him out of school and their romance begins (’Take A Picture’ by Filter), to when they kiss for the first time (’This Year’s Love’ by David Gray), I somehow missed Elliott Smith’s ‘Angeles’. Like all his songs, I love how the lyrics create a greater story than what they say, which is always aided by his sad, whispery, yet hopeful voice.

Elliott Smith - Angeles

Paper Romance

Classixx (below) places a nice touch of bounce and dance on to Groove Armada’s otherwise listless track, ‘Paper Romance’. They take it from an aggressive, anger fueled anthem to a slightly cheerier affair. It comes off as a youthful song of emotional pangs, shunning the problems with a weak hearted lover, but in a way to make oneself feel better about unrequited love. The almost child like vocals (sung by Saint Saviour as on their track ‘Drop The Tough‘) display their irritation by singing, ‘I don’t want to take a chance/On your paper romance…anyway’.

Groove Armada - Paper Romance (Classix)

Do You Like Bass?

That’s what Classixx asks while they deliberately pump it out through their song, ‘I’ll Get You’, so hopefully you do. Classixx has been primarily known for their remixes, but have been coming out with a few of their own tracks, this one being a summery club grinder. Good remixes by Treasure Fingers and Gigamesh.

Classixx - I’ll Get You

Classixx - I’ll Get You (Treasure Fingers Remix)

Classixx - I’ll Get You (Gigamesh Remix)

VEGA’s No Reasons

I absolutely love VEGA’s track, ‘No Reasons’. This thing is solid, on repeat for the past few days, my song for the upcoming summer. I think it’s just fantastic. I love when you come across that one track that just stands out from all the others, it has that little extra umph from the regular sounds you’re chunneling through your ears. And now I’ve built this track  up for disappointment. But don’t let that be so!

Regardless, VEGA is Alan Palomo, as I briefly discussed in my Miami Horror post. He used to be the front man for the ever awesome Ghosthustler (that ended way too soon) and he’s gone solo under the name VEGA. He is also the main man in Neon Indian, a group which is fairly new but the one that has gotten the most attention of all  of his projects. I myself am not a huge Neon Indian fan, find it a little too dreamy. Regardless, the work Palomo has done in Ghosthuslter and as VEGA has been some of my favorite. And I can’t get over his voice; the youthful tinged, achey crooning.

VEGA released his debut EP, ‘Well Known Pleasures’, (a reference to Joy Division’s debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’) last year. The sound is pretty similar to a lot of stuff on this blog, summery, disco infused house with a side of dreamy electro drifts. Palomo just does it better. Fun fact was that Ghosthustler was always Nintendo orientated, seen by their video for ‘Parking Lot Nights’ and some of their marketing material. But VEGA designs his name like Sega as seen on the above album cover. He’s moved on.

VEGA - No Reasons

Transference

Spoon released their latest album, ‘Transference’, a few weeks ago, and to my slight heartache, I didn’t like it all that much. First Vampire Weekend, now Spoon and I’ll probably feel the same about Hot Chip’s latest. Not really much to say about ‘Transference’. It’s gotten pretty good reviews, described as tight, raw, though I feel it lacks style, funk and connection like their previous songs. Besides ‘Got Nuffin’, which I’ve already covered, the only tracks I like are below, mainly ‘Nobody Gets Me But You’, because it’s got that slap of Spoon funkiness yearning to break out.

Spoon - Nobody Gets Me But You(Removed Upon Request)

Spoon - Out Go The Lights(Removed Upon Request)

Asobi Seksu

There are only portions of this song that I like. It’s a track by Dreampop group, Asobi Seksu, called ‘Familiar Light’, remixed by Twins. I think what I really like is the vocal portions that speed up a long to the more dancey remixed music. So push through the first few seconds, it gets better.

Asobi Seksu - Familiar Light (Twins Remix)

Back In Your Head

My roomate, Larry, was listening to this Tegan & Sara song, ‘Back In Your Head’, that I hadn’t heard before and quite liked. It’s from their 2007 album, ‘The Con’. It’s upbeat, has a great piano riff, and the girls sing about wanting to get back into their lover’s head, even though they stray from the relationship and run. Hmm?

Tegan & Sara - Back In Your Head

Lo-Fi-Fnk Returns

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the boys in Lo-Fi-Fnk but they are out with a new track and it’s pretty good. It’s a grower and I like it more than on first listen. It’s softer than their previous material but definitely as catchy. It’s super bass thick and bubbly.

Lo-Fi-Fnk - Marchin’ In

Begone Dull Care

I just went through Junior Boys’ latest album, ‘Begone Dull Care’, that came out last year, and it’s pretty amazing. I have two opposing feelings towards it though. I feel some tracks are subtle, calm background tracks that you wouldn’t put on to listen to specifically, but then there are a handful of super crafted songs that really standout and shimmer on their own. Most of the tunes are driven by the soft, smooth R&B-esque vocals of the group that standout nicely against the backdrop of the soft, electro pop/funk. Every song is finely created with amazing studio hardware. At least that’s how it sounds. My favorites in order below.

Junior Boys - Hazel

Junior Boys - Parallel Lines

Junior Boys - Work

Junior Boys - Dull To Pause

O.N.E.

Yeasayer’s second album, ‘Odd Blood’, will be released in a few days (Feb 9th). I previously posted about one of the tracks, ‘Ambling Alps’, and here is another one I like. ‘O.N.E.’ continues on the sunnier side of sounds for these fellas. These boys have slightly reinvented themselves as purveyors of skiffly, electro pop. It’s all rhythmic and catchy for Yeasayer, though through their lyrics we see the glimpses of the deep brooding they served us with prior, as Keating (in his ever brilliant voice) sings, ‘You don’t move me anymore/And I’m glad that you don’t/Cause I can’t have you anymore’. It’s a nice mix of emotions.

Yeasayer - O.N.E.

On Board With My Girls

On most ‘best of’ lists for 2009, Animal Collective’s eighth studio album, ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’, was #1. And many of that album’s tracks were on people’s ‘best songs’ lists, primarily, ‘My Girls’. I never sat down and gave ‘Merriweather’ a proper listen, not sure when I will, and I’ve only heard a scattering of the tracks. But one day my friend Jon told me to listen to ‘My Girls’. I did just that, and liked it, but only recently have I started to really enjoy the song (perhaps because I hear it everywhere). Call me late to the table, but here it is. ‘My Girls’ is a great track because it builds up from a synth splattered whisper that rummages till the end of the song, though on top of it soft booms of percussion and vocalized choruses grow in a communal, washing wave of sounds.

Animal Collective - My Girls

Earthquakes & Sharks To Start Us Off

‘Earthquakes and Sharks’ by Brandston is a really old song. They played it an episode of O.C. way back when. But it shuffled on my iTunes and I wanted to post it because it’s a lot of fun. It tells the sunny tale of a man traveling to Mexico and California but getting into the worst luck every possible way. It’s upbeat, open and plays with jangly, sharp guitars. The track is one of those summer songs you drive to with the top down.

Brandston - Earthquakes and Sharks

The Rocky Road To Dublin

As mentioned before, I’ve always loved Irisk Folk music. There has always been something nostalgic, sad and beautiful about it. As one of the readers of this blog wrote when I posted ‘On Raglan Road’ by The Dubliners, ‘It’s the deep sadness with the promise of joy that is most attractive about Irish folk’ (thanks R Frederick). I couldn’t have said it better but I don’t think I could ever describe how it makes me feel. Another great song I love is ‘The Rocky Road To Dublin’ by The Dubliners. The song flushes my imagination with visions of old Irish countrysides perfumed with sea water, filled with young, porcelain skinned maidens dancing in green pastures, in circles, holding hands, celebrating a bustling festival. Perhaps it’s all those old medieval movies that fill my head with that. Either way, I was returned to this song again as it was featured in ‘Sherlock Holmes’, which I recently saw. ‘Rocky Road To Dublin’ is a 19th century Irish song written by D.K. Gavan, ‘The Galway Poet’, for the English performer, ‘Harry Clifton’. It tells of a man’s experience as he travels from Tuam to Liverpool. The song was recited a few times in James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’.

The Dubliners - The Rocky Road To Dublin

Vampire Weekend Gives Up The Gun

The #1 album in America is Vampire Weekend’s second outing, ‘Contra’. After giving it a listen I didn’t really like it. And this coming from a serious Vampire Weekend fan. I can’t say why exactly. They keep fenced in to the same sound as their first record; a mixture of indie and afro pop, though ‘Contra’ ventures into the realm of reggae, electro and calypso. Given the similar aesthetic it was a given I’d like it. Not so. I feel the new songs aren’t as catchy, driven or interesting. The only track I absolutely love is ‘Giving Up The Gun’, by far the most ‘accessible’ and ‘mainstream’ of the songs. It’s a great one actually. I love the frantic and thick start/stop of the drums, Ezra Koenig’s always smooth and youthful vocals, Rostam Batmanglij’s colorful and lush arrangements, and the simple rhyming of the verses.

Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun (Removed upon request)