Archive for July, 2010

Oh, okay, one more. This time, a snippet of something I’m probably going to review sometime this weekend: Kim Taylor’s “Lost and Found”, from her Little Miracle album. It’s a rather pretty thing – dramatic in its own chamber piano pop way, but somber enough to put one in mind of a sort of less sultry Hope Sandoval. Whatever your opinion of it, you can’t argue with the price: the free empeethree can be downloaded by right-clicking THIS, and hitting Save As, or however you kids are doing things these days with your Macs and your trackballs and your drugs. You can stream it below, too. (Or, indeed by simply left-clicking on the link above. This site has magicks I was unaware of.)

Kim Taylor – Lost And Found by CrashAvenue

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Is that Gollum impersonating a clown? If anything, the illustration above, that’s actually the cover art for Robert Plant’s upcoming new solo album titled “Band of Joy“, depicts a very interesting scene.

If you’re curious how the new Robert Plant album sounds, you can check out his cover of Los Lobos’ “Angel Dance”, where the former Led Zeppelin frontman lays down some tight dirty blues vocals on top of a swampy instrumentation.

[MP3] Robert Plant – ‘Angel Dance’

Band of Joy is out September 13 on Rounder Records. [via Direct Current]

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Bubbly, seriously creepy eyes put in contrast crossed with trippy instances of various characters make the video for Chromeo’s latest single “Don’t Turn The Lights On” an enjoyable view. The solitary pair of eyes strolling around the scenery towards the end of the video is hilariously golden, and that, solely, is enough to hit the play button below.

The Canadian duo’s third full length, titled “Business Casual“, is due September 14th for release via Electrofunk. Check out the band’s North American tour dates after the jump.

MON 7/26 WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 Club
TUE 7/27 PHILADELPHIA, PA Trocadero
THU 7/29 NEW YORK, NY Bowery Ballroom
FRI 7/30 BOSTON, MA House Of Blues
SAT 7/31 MONTREAL, QC Metropolis
MON 8/2 OTTAWA, ON Capital Music Hall
TUE 8/3 TORONTO, ON Phoenix
THU 8/5 DETROIT, MI Majestic
FRI 8/6 CHICAGO, IL Lollapalooza
SAT 8/7 MINNEAPOLIS, MN First Avenue
TUE 8/10 CALGARY, AB Flames Central
WED 8/11 VANCOUVER, BC Commodore
THU 8/12 SEATTLE, WA Showbox Market
FRI 8/13 PORTLAND, OR Roseland
MON 8/16 SAN DIEGO, CA House Of Blues
THU 8/19 SALT LAKE CITY, UT Twilight Concert Series
FRI 8/20 DENVER, CO Ogden
TUE 8/24 AUSTIN, TX Stubb’s
WED 8/25 DALLAS, TX Palladium
THU 8/26 NASHVILLE, TN Cannery Ballroom
FRI 8/27 ATLANTA, GA Masquerade
SUN 8/29 LOS ANGELES, CA Hollywood Bowl

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Sticking with the theme of popular rock bands’ guitarists doin’ their own “string” (thing), I notice that My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel has emerged from under his floppy fringe, politely brandishing a brand new album, All Birds Say, which is due out at the (wag)tail end of August. Strangely, his website seems to wilfully ignore the existence of Broemel’s previous album, Lose What’s Left, presumably because it was made pre-indie-fame, as opposed to ignoring it because it was rubbish, which it wasn’t. Whatever the reason for the cheerfully determined omission, the new album is certainly being vigorously trumpeted. It’s available for pre-order here in as many as four separate varieties (all of which strangely claim to include an immediate download of the album, meaning the digital version isn’t really a pre-order, so much as it is an order), and the accompanying blurb rather brassily declares this thing:

This is the kind of album that epitomizes the vinyl experience; an instant classic that is sure to stand the test of time.

I’ll admit upfront that I’m a rather enthusiastic fan of MMJ, but that seems – just slightly – hyperbolic. Then again, I haven’t heard the album in full, only a free download of “Heaven Knows”. Which is quite nice, but I’m resolutely unsure of its ability to stand the test of time. Perhaps the other songs are more memorable – I hope so. Anyway, here’s the download.

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Chris Shiflett, the Foo Fighter-who-isn’t-Dave-Grohl (no, not Taylor Hawkins. And no, not the goofy-looking guy what used to play extra guitar for Nirvana – Dirk Gently, or whatever his name was. Because Nirvana songs totally needed two guitars. Not him. The other one. Anyway) recently released his first album with his new side-band, The Dead Peasants. Which is an awful, awful band name, I know, but let’s not let that derail the very point of this post: that they have also released the video for their lead single, “Get Along”. And quite pleasing it is too. So I’ll embed it below, and allow you to savour its charms. Meanwhile, I’ll investigate getting a review copy of the album.

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What better artists to soundtrack the follow-up to Tron, one of cinema’s most daring futuristic movies, than the robot affectionate duo Daft Punk? The influential house group was commandeered to deliver both the score and soundtrack for Tron: Legacy’s very colorful and SciFi environment. A challenging task, indeed, but from the looks of it, the French duo not only stood up to the task, but they’ve actually out done themselves! Just check out the two stream below and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The first one is a glimpse of the musical score, while on the YouTube player you’ll be able to hear clips from the heavily electro infused soundtrack. Yeah, Daft Punk is back in top shape!

Daft Punk – Tron Soundtrack (Sampler)

The Tron: Legacy soundtrack is due out November 26th.

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Last year I was introduced to Clubfeet, a very promising three-piece electro band from Australia which marvelously fused ’80s disco pop with modern day synth pop. Today, I learned that Clubfeet is releasing their debut full length “Gold on Gold”. Upon further digging, I found “Count Your Lovers”, a sweet and soothing french disco song, beautifully arranged in hypnotic keys and uplifting synth lines.

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Someone with immense patience and attention to detail uploaded the above YouTube clip, in which Inception’s by now famous shattering brass intro is put face to face with a synchronized version of Edith Piaf’s “Je Ne Regrette Rien” in the same tempo. The similarities are remarkable and, frankly, a bit disturbingly odd. I’m not sure if Hans Zimmer, the famous compositor put in charge of SciFi blockbuster soundtrack, was in any way inspired by Edith’s piece and decided to borrow it or this is just a strange coincidence. Whatever happened, the fact remains that this is indeed very fascinating.

Speaking of “Inception”, I’ve yet to step in the theater, but from what I’ve read and heard this a movie destined to ascend to the SciFi cinematic hall of fame, up there among Blade Runner, Brazil or 2001. This might just be Chris Nolan’s magnum opus.

Did anyone get a chance to see the movie, and if yes, how was it?

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I know I’m a bit late on the bandwagon with this one, but better late than never. I’ve been meaning to post Cut Copy’s latest new song off the Aussies’ upcoming new album for a week now, since it got released as a free digital download at the band’s website, alas forgetfulness bested me. For those of you who’ve yet to listen to this enchanting song, point your eager clicks to the download link below and be prepare to “ohhh”, “yeaah” and “ahhh” (!!?!) along with the band’s easing harmonies and arrangements. Cut Copy’s new album is expected to surface in early 2011 on Modular. [via The Burning Ear]

[MP3] Cut Copy – ‘Where I’m Going’

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Caribou’s latest full length “Swim“, released this April, is somewhere in my top 10 fav of the year so far. If you’re not that well impressed, it’s enough to sample Daniel Snaith’s Odessa or the techno infused, feel good track “Sun”, whose music video premiered earlier. While sub par compared with the quality of the song itself, the Simon Owens directed video however does a pretty good job in conveying the ecstatic nature of Sun.

CARIBOU – Sun from Caribou on Vimeo.

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