Nerve Salad

Producers/remixers James Ford and James Shaw formed Simian Mobile Disco in 2005, following their departure from the experimental electronic rock band Simian.

Delicacies, SMD’s third album, centers around tech-house instrumentals based around slow builds, minimal melodies, and wide-open, between-beat negative spaces as well as a second disc of the tracks mixed together. The tracks are all named after foods, but don't expect any sensual material. Delicacies is a hard-hitting nine-tracker of pounding club cuts, most of them over eight minutes long. Unlike the past two albums, they ditched vocals altogether here, creating an album that caters less to a pop dance music audience and more towards those who like to dance at non-mainstream clubs or for dance music aficionados and makers. Yet like great dance producers from Kraftwerk to Kompakt, they know how to balance innovative sounds with simple, feet-tugging beats. Lacking the retro flair of 2007's Attack Decay Sustain Release or the parade of guest features on 2009's Temporary Pleasure, Delicacies is still a delicious treat for dance fans.

Try my favorite track, “Nerve Salad” here.



Get your own copy of Simian Mobile Disco's Delicacies here.

Lover's Start

To describe How to Dress Well in a sentence, I would have to say it's lo-fi R&B. Research fellow Tom Krell grew up listening to the likes of Keith Sweat, singing along with the songs, even the high notes. When he hit his twenties he started making droney music. Perhaps his solo moniker marries the two, as these songs are melodic yet distorted, sounding both from decades ago and futuristic. It's a distinctive album amid others that attempt a retro sound. Listen to "Lover's Start" here.



Get your own copy of How to Dress Well's Love Remains www.alternativemusic.com/Artist/1016065.

Stars 4-Ever

The trilogy is complete. The third installment of Robyn's Body talk ep series is here as the full-length album, aptly titled, "Body Talk". It intersperses the songs from the first two parts with new songs, not merely mimicking the order in which they appeared on the prior albums. If you are looking for a great, pop-dance album, this is it. The songs appeal to a mass audience while throwing in numbers with Royksopp and Snoop Doggy Dogg to spice it up. Robyn signals that she is here to stay and that she keeps up with the the current trends. Take a listen to "Stars 4-Ever", a new song here.



Get your own copy of Body Talk here.

Everybody's Weird Except Me

Stereolab’s trademark sound -- a droning, hypnotic rhythm track overlaid with melodic, mesmerizing singsong vocals, often sung in French and often promoting revolutionary, Marxist politics --is deceptively simple, providing the basis for a wide array of stylistic experiments over the course of their prolific career. Throughout it all, Stereolab relied heavily on forgotten methods of recording, whether it was analog synthesizers and electronics or a fondness for hi-fi test records, without ever sinking to the level of kitsch.

The group re-teamed with producer/arranger Sean O'Hagan for 2008's Chemical Chords, a collection of short, poppy songs that was released by 4AD. Two years later, the album was followed by Not Music, a collection of material recorded during the same sessions.

The careful song selection and sequencing of this mix is intended to play like a proper studio album, and mostly, it does, even with the 8-minute-plus remixes acting as centerpieces. And while obviously similar in sound to Chemical Chords, the record is suffused with as much joyous synth experimentation, astral effects and flourishes, and buzzy motorik rhythms as Stereolab's mid-career efforts.

Needless to say, if you're hoping for a career-defining endcap, this is not that record. The new, non-remix tracks on Not Music ignore much of Stereolab's omnivorous career-- there's no space-age bachelor pad music, no bossa nova flourishes, and no sign of the rawer avant-garde leanings that shaped their earliest records. Instead, the set continues in the taut, propulsive pop vein of their more recent releases.

Album opener "Everybody's Weird Except Me" is sweet yet dry, using the richness of Laetitia Sadier's nonchalant alto to cut the cuteness of the melody. The track plays off the dichotomies Stereolab have come to love-- old-fashioned pop tropes delivered by whirring, futuristic instruments, with cold detachment rubbing up against whimsical lushness and cerebral orchestrations played with charm. Take a listen and be soothed here.



Get your own copy of Stereolab's Not Music here.

Promises By Nitzer Ebb

Look who's back after a 15 year hiatus? Why, it's Nitzer Ebb with Industrial Complex! Get ready to shake your fists and do your industrial aerobics! This album sounds just like what one would expect--dancey, synthy, full of attitude, somewhat dark but not very brooding. One reviewer describes their sound like Depeche Mode if they kept to their darker synth sounds. That's a fair description--they're not just recreating the percussive techniques of the past, but updating their sound. Old fans who used to listen to Belief on cassette (like me) will not be disappointed.

Listen to the first track, Promises here.



Get your own copy of Industrial Complex here.

Horse by Brian Eno

Small Craft on a Milk Sea is Brian Eno's first album on Warp Records, a marriage of design and ambient goodness. This album vacillates between the glowing ambient songs we've come to expect from Mr. Eno and songs incorporating guitar riffs, IDM beats and other electronica. The first track on the album gives you a false sense of security, as it sounds mellow, luscious and what one expects from Eno. From there it's a steady build towards sounds that challenge what ambient music is all about.

Take a listen to Horse, track 5, when things start to get a bit more abstract and the Small Craft on a Milk Sea takes a twist...



Get your own copy of Brian Eno: Small Craft on a Milk Sea here.

Peer Gynt (Grieg) by William Orbit

“This album is a follow up to Pieces in a Modern Style. Some people climb mountains, some people play Sudoku, but I get immense pleasure from doing these remixes…what drew me to classical music is the way it’s put together. I love the challenge it poses and I love trying to unpick it and find out how it works…sometimes taking diabolical liberties and sometimes being totally faithful to the original…”
--William Orbit

Listen to Peer Gynt here.


Get your own copy of Pieces in a Modern Style 2 here.

Solitude Is Bliss

Tame Impala are a rock trio from Perth, Australia. Innerspeaker is their debut album, a psychedelia-heavy outing that toys with paisley pop, stoner vibes, and an expansive array of swirling guitars.

On first listen, Innerspeaker provides a lot of dots to connect: There are patches of late-60s American psychedelia, buzzy Motor City riffage, and decades of Brit pop, ranging from the pastoral pop of the Kinks to the vivid expansiveness of the Verve to the narcotic warmth of the Stone Roses. Frontman Kevin Parker shares an eerie vocal similarity with John Lennon, both in tone and in the way he allows his voice to soar with each melodic turn or rhythmic surge. Though most of the album is a little restrained lyrically, Parker's rapturous phrasing conveys the meaning. Mixed by Flaming Lips collaborator Dave Fridmann, each component is here is set on an even plane, allowing bass lines and delay-swept guitar bursts to melt into one another, cultivating a uniform feel that's vintage, far-out, and irrepressibly cool.

Listen to "Solitude is Bliss" from Innerspeaker here!



If you want your own copy of Tame Impala Innerspeaker, email marta@alternativemusic.com

Come on Sister

Like their fellow indie class of 1996 alumnus Wes Anderson, Belle & Sebastian have created their own precious world out of the remnants of ‘60s pop culture, filtering it through the aesthetics of the ‘80s underground, maintaining a style and sensibility through shifting fashions. A new Belle & Sebastian album doesn’t surprise; it reassures while managing to find a few new wrinkles in its vintage threads. Write About Love, their seventh studio album, is cut from the same cloth as its 2006 predecessor, The Life Pursuit -- it’s also produced by Tony Hoffer, who gives Belle & Sebastian a crisp, clean, full sound without turning them antiseptic, with much of it swinging like London in the mid-‘60s -- but it has its own distinct character.

Listen to "Come On Sister" from Write About Love here.


Get your own copy of Write About Love here

No Age--Valley Hump Crash

Cool Retro Sound from Los Angeles' No Age.

Listen to "Valley Hump Crash" here.



Get your own copy here

OMG - it's OMD!

They're baaaack!

Check out the track "The Right Side" here:




get one here.

Land Of Giants

The original press release from June 1, 1982, announcing the release of land of giants debut single Cannibal Dolls/ Seven Men opened with the line; “land of giants - three talls and a girl”. It went on; “Their combined heights are twenty four feet and one inch. From this elevation they are granted perspectives that lesser groups can only dream of.” It ended with; “Their debut single is a rarefied and effortless blend of technology, timing and great height.”

Heady stuff – but then again it was a time of style over substance. The minimalist electro pop band featured Anya Varda (vocals), Henryck Jesiak (synthesizer), John Tucker (programs and synthesizer) and Marc Wonnacott (synthesizer and back up vocals). Jeff Packer of Boys Brigade made a guest appearance providing extra percussion.

That summer, the single was a top hit in Toronto's alternative clubs and receiving regular airplay on alternative radio. That July in Germany, there was a review of the single in Guerilla Beat and that opened the door that made the single available in small numbers through Polydor Germany as an import that Christmas. In New York City the single made it on to the turntables of some of that cities hippest clubs. In September, they recorded Thing Called Love, Fountains, and I Will and a video was shot for Cannibal Dolls (unfortunately now lost). Supplies of the original pressing of the single had run out by Christmas and since the band was talking to record companies the decision was made not to press further copies. Instead the band concentrated on recording further demos. Shortly after that, rumour has it that John Peel played the single on his BBC radio show early in 1983. The next recording session early in 1983 brought a rocky Security Squad, featuring John Tucker on guitar, and an early rap fusion Fire with Fire that had John Tucker rapping alongside Anya's vocals. Music historians might find it interesting that Kenny McLean of Platinum Blond fame joins in on the backing vocals. Later in the spring of 1983, John Tucker became one of the first in Canada to own a Fairlight CMI (computer musical instrument) and land of giants started experimenting with the new technology, which resulted in Just Yet. Rusty Egan of Visage, and Midge Ure of Ultravox fame both expressed an interest in producing the album, but talks with the record companies fell through later in 1983. John Tucker's commercial music business Keen had started to blossom and he left to concentrate on that.

The remaining members took some time to regroup and re think things. A new member (Jon Andrews) was brought in to attempt to put together a live show. This didn't pan out although Jon, Henryck and Anya recorded a three-song demo, under the land of giants banner in the spring of1984. Marc Wonnacott returned to the project at the end of 1984 and later that winter he and Henrych built a studio in Henryck's dining room where they recorded Room with A View, and Key To Your Heart in early1985. Again the tape was well received by the industry, but again, they wanted to hear more. Unfortunately, time had run out for land of giants and everyone decided it was time to move on to other ventures.

Today Anya lives in Los Angeles, Henryck lives in Toronto and is involved with the film and television industry and renewing his interest in music, John now resides in Canada's west and remains active in music scoring and production (still utilizing his faithful vintage Fairlight CMI Series III). Marc is an artist, who still writes songs from time to time and lives in Toronto. John Tucker has re mastered all the material and it sounds amazing.

Check out the track "Cannibal Dolls" here:



Get it here

Matthew Dear - Black City

Black City is Matthew Dear’s third album on Ghostly International, and it’s his darkest and most engrossing work to date.




Get it here!

What if The Smiths and The Wedding Present had a baby?

I think it would sound like this - adorable music from Finland’s Cats On Fire!



Get it here!

dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains...

ARCADE FIRE - THE SUBURBS

Written, arranged, performed, and produced by the Arcade Fire and co-produced by Markus Dravs, The Suburbs was recorded around Montreal and New York over the past two years.

Check out the track "Suburban War" here:



Get your own copy of "The Suburbs" here.

you are such an idiot idiot idiot idiot

THE BOOKS - THE WAY OUT

Produced and recorded in the Books' home studio, “The Way Out” continues their tradition of patching together an astounding array of found sounds into a cohesive work.


Check out the track "A Cold Freezin' Night" here:


Get your own copy HERE.

School of Seven Bells

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - DISCONNECT FROM DESIRE

School of Seven Bells is Ben Curtis (formerly of the Secret Machines) and twin vocalists Claudia and Alejandra Deheza (both formerly in the band On!Air!Library!). Their latest album is “Disconnect From Desire,” and it is a dream-popper’s dream. My favorite album of 2010 so far - a must listen!!

Every track is a winner, as far as I'm concerned, so start by checking out the opening track (Windstorm) here:



Get your own copy of "Disconnect From Desire" here.

Gonjasufi - A Sufi & A Killer

A Sufi & A Killer is the debut album by Gonjasufi (Sumach Ecks), released by Warp. The album was produced by Flying Lotus, The Gaslamp Killer, and Mainframe.

Ecks said of the album, "I didn't want it to be too easy for the listener. I wanted it to hurt a little bit. I wanted it to get into a spot in the head that hasn't been hit." Of its title he said, "The Sufi side of life has helped me with my killer side so I try not to attach myself to any label. There's a Sufi and a killer in everybody, man, and I'll be whatever I have to be just to make it through."

Check out the track "Klowdz" here:


Get your own copy here.

stars - the five ghosts

Returning to work with Tom McFall, who produced the group’s 2005 album “Set Yourself on Fire,” Stars recorded their fifth outing in their home city of Montreal, writing together as a unit in the studio.


Check out the track "Fixed" here:



Get your own copy of "The Five Ghosts" HERE.

Fembots have feelings too

Swedish singer Robyn's "Body Talk Pt. 1" EP is one of three she plans to release in 2010. Again featuring Robyn teamed up with Klas Ahlund of the Teddy Bears, this EP, though only 8 songs long, runs the gamut from techno to dancehall to Swedish folk!

Check out the track "Dancing On My Own" here:


Get your own copy HERE .

Ellen Allien - Dust

ELLEN ALLIEN - DUST

Known as a DJ, fashion designer, and label head, Ellen Allien is most famous for her production work. Dust is her seventh full-length as a producer. This time around she worked with Tobias Freund, also a mainstay in the Berlin electronica world. Dust is released by Allien's own BPitch Control label, and Allien describes it as having a “warm immediacy” compared with her previous efforts.

Check out the track "Ever" here:


Get your own copy HERE.

sleigh bells

SLEIGH BELLS - TREATS

The New York City duo Sleigh Bells emerged in the fall of 2009 with rhythmic pop songs that combine overdriven guitar riffs and sugary female vocal melodies. “Treats” is their debut album.

Check out the track "A/B Machines" here:


Get your own "Treats" HERE.

where did the night fall

UNKLE - WHERE DID THE NIGHT FALL

Thiis band seems to keep getting better - for me, Unkle has gone from being a band I somewhat ignored, to a band whose releases I look forward to. “Where Did the Night Fall” is the fifth studio album by this British electronic act. James Lavelle employs a whole range of talented guest collaborators, including Mark Lanegan, Autolux, and the Black Angels, to create a sonically dense record.

Check out the track "The Answer" here:



Get your own copy .
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This is Happening

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - THIS IS HAPPENING

LCD Soundsystem returns with their fourth album, the follow-up to 2007’s “Sound of Silver.”

Check out the track "I Can Change" here:


Get your own copy of "This is Happening" HERE.

New Pornographers

“Together” is the fifth album from Canadian-US collective The New Pornographers, featuring Neko Case and Destroyer's Dan Bejar, in addition to bandleader and chief songwriter A.C. Newman.

Check out my favorite track, "Crash Years," here:


Get your own copy of "Together" HERE.

These New Puritans

THESE NEW PURITANS - HIDDEN

These New Puritans hail from England’s Southend-On-Sea, and consist of Jack Barnett, his twin brother George, Thomas Hein and Sophie Sleigh-Johnson. They first came to prominence with their 2008 debut album, Beat Pyramid.



Their latest release, "Hidden," is one of my favorites of 2010 so far!

Check out the track "Attack Music" here:



Get your own copy of "Hidden" here.

Caribou - Swim

Throughout his decade-long career under the name Manitoba and now Caribou, Dan Snaith has retained the same brilliant melodicism and musical experimentation, but he’s varied his focus on each release. The latest offering from Caribou, “Swim,” explores the realm of dark electronica and dance music.

Check out the track "Odessa" here:


Get your own copy HERE.

Congratulations!

So tired
Soul searching
I followed the sounds to a cathredal
imagine my surprise to find that they were produced by
Brian Eno

past the gates
quite stark
the roses trimmed and the windows dark
I see the walls through a limestone crack
not red not blue not yellow but black
and all the space left for you
if the sky was synthesized you'd probably know

he taught me many things
the wisdom of o bleak stratagems
the prophet of a sapphire soul
presented through creative freedoms
and everything i say is true
cuz if i was telling lies it'd probably show

i can tell that he's kind of smiling
but what does he know?
we're always one step behind him, he's Brian Eno
Brian Eno

when I was stuck he'd make me memorize elaborate curses
tinctures and formulas to ditch the chori and flip the verses
my whole foundation came unglued
when i tried to humanize by ambient light
dipping swords in metaphors yeah but what does he know?
he's go the whole world behind him he's Brian Eno
Brian Eno!

he promised pretty worlds and all the silence
I could dream of Brian Peter George St John Le
Baptiste de la Salle Eno

well all alone by the oldest stone where the shade
trees grow the creature by the water feature with a
ghostly glow making sure that time's preserved
well we reap what we sow he's go the whole
world behind him he's Brian Eno



Buy it here.

(Measure)

FIELD MUSIC - FIELD MUSIC (MEASURE)

Following a self-imposed three-year hiatus, the UK's Field Music returns with a new 20-track double-album of artful English pop. Powered by brothers and co-frontmen Peter and David Brewis, Field Music's line-up now includes Kev Dosdale (guitar and keys) and Ian Black (bass).

Check out the progalicious track "Let's Write A Book" here:




Get your own copy of "Field Music (Measure)" HERE.

The Be Colony

BROADCAST & THE FOCUS GROUP - INVESTIGATE WITCH CULTS OF THE RADIO AGE

From their beginnings in Birmingham in 1995, Broadcast’s aesthetic has remained a combination of their love for film, library music and electronics with psych-pop colour – a style which has gained them fans including musicians such as Flying Lotus, Tim Gane from Stereolab, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound and Dangermouse.

The Focus Group is Julian House, long time friend of the band and renowned artwork designer. House is co-founder of the Ghost Box label, which in the last few years has birthed a cult of its own with releases reflecting its creators' obsessions with library music, English folklore and the eerie feel of vintage programmes for schools and colleges. His music as the Focus Group offers some of the most enchanting distillations of all the above, instantly complementing Broadcast's own long-standing aesthetic.

'Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age' is their first collaborative release.

Check out the track "The be colony" here:



Get your own copy HERE.

Eyelid Movies

HER
PHANTOGRAM - EYELID MOVIES

From their Barsuk Records bio:

“Phantogram's music sounds like it's made by a band from the city. Electronic loops, hip-hop beats, shoegaze, soul, pop — each finds its way into their songs. Unexpectedly, the band doesn't live and work in a major urban center, but rather calls the town of Saratoga Springs, NY (population 26,186) home. Despite the cultural influence of local Skidmore College (where fellow beat-experimenters Ratatat formed) and a relatively small scene of adventurous musicians and listeners, Saratoga isn’t exactly teeming with fans of J. Dilla, My Bloody Valentine or Serge Gainsbourg.

But Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, the duo that make up Phantogram and who grew up in the even smaller nearby municipality of Greenwich, have flourished in Saratoga. In fact, the town itself isn't rural enough for their taste — they drive almost every day another 45 minutes into upstate farmland to a barn they call Harmony Lodge to write and record. Serving as their homemade studio/practice space/think-tank/bat-cave, the barn is equipped with various samplers, tapes, records, synths, drums, and both percussive and stringed instruments. It's there that Phantogram allows their natural surroundings and metropolitan influences to meld together creating beautiful, beat-driven dreamlike pop songs.”

Check out the track "Mouthful Of Diamonds" here:


Get your own "Eyelid Movies" HERE.

BESNARD LAKES - ARE THE ROARING NIGHT

The Montreal band Besnard Lakes, fronted by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, has released 2 previous albums, “Volume 1,” and "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse.”

Their highly anticipated third album, “Are the Roaring Night,” doesn’t disappoint!

Check out the track "Glass Printer" here:


Get your own copy HERE.

Plastic Beach

GORILLAZ - PLASTIC BEACH

The Gorillaz are a project by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett (creator of Tank Girl), involving four animated characters -- 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel -- who make up the hip-hop band. Their latest album, “Plastic Beach,” features an all-star cast of guest artists, including Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Mark E. Smith, Gruff Rhys, and De La Soul.

Regular CD version ON SALE FOR JUST $9.99 for a limited time only!!

Check out the track "Rhinestone Eyes" here:


Get your own copy of "Plastic Beach' HERE.

Permalight

ROGUE WAVE - PERMALIGHT

Though Zach Rogue spent much of the time before the recording of Rogue Wave's fourth album confined to bed rest with a slipped disc in his neck and a paralyzed arm, “Permalight” is filled with upbeat tracks that are cheerful, danceable, and full of joy.

Check out the title track here:


Get your own copy HERE.

Odd Blood

YEASAYER - ODD BLOOD

The music of Brooklyn's Yeasayer is an eclectic, genre-bending journey into pop, rock, Middle Eastern and African musics, folk, and dub. Their new album, “Odd Blood,” is on Secretly Canadian Records.

Check out the track "Madder Red" here:


Get your own copy of "Odd Blood" HERE.

Jega - Variance

Jega (a.k.a. Manchester's Dylan Nathan) has finally completed his brand new record for the Planet Mu label. “Variance” is split into two nine-track discs. Disc one is “light,” evoking a mood of joy and hope, while disc two is “dark,” exploring the darker side of electronica.

Check out a track here:



Get your own copy HERE.

Geeks Rule!

HOT CHIP - ONE LIFE STAND

Hot Chip formed in 2000 - members Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard had previously worked together and attended school together in Putney, London. The current line up was completed when occasional collaborators Owen Clarke, Felix Martin and later Al Doyle joined the band full time in 2003.
The fourth full-length album from the band, “One Life Stand,” is perhaps their most accomplished. A bit mellower than the breakout album “The Warning,” but a truly enjoyable listen, with a good mix of danceable tunes and slower ballads.


Check out the title track here:


Get your own copy of the CD or deluxe CD+DVD here.

It's shark week...

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND - SHARK REMIXES, VOLS. 1-4

My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer–songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden. Worden has also performed with Sufjan Stevens as a member of the Illinoismakers. While living in New York City, Worden began writing her own material, which had one foot in her classical training and the other in the avant rock she was discovering. My Brightest Diamond mixes elements of opera, cabaret, chamber music, and rock.

Check out my favorite track here:



Get your own limited, numbered, signed edition here.

School of Seven Bells

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - ALPINISMS

The Ghostly International label’s School of Seven Bells is comprised of members Ben Curtis (formerly of the Secret Machines) and twin vocalists Claudia and Alejandra Deheza (both formerly in the band On!Air!Library!). Their latest album is “Alpinisms,” and it gives the listener a terrific combination of psychedelic electronica and dream pop.

Check out the track "Wired for Light" here:


Get your own copy here.

Islands

THE MARY ONETTES - ISLANDS

Sweden’s Mary Onettes follow up their terrific debut. Described by critics as the perfect mix between A-ha and The Jesus and Mary Chain, the foursome survived a difficult recording process (first someone stole the hard drive that held all the music the band had recorded, then the backup hard drive failed), to release “Islands.”http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Check out the track "Puzzles" here:


Get your own copy here.

Happy Families

BLANCMANGE - HAPPY FAMILIES PLUS

This digitally remastered and expanded edition of the synthpop duo's debut album includes twelve inch mixes of the hits, rare mixes and the non-album b-side “Business Steps.” Produced by Mike Howlett, this 1982 album features all the early hits, including “Living On The Ceiling,” “God's Kitchen,” “Waves,” and more.

Check out the extended version of "Living On The Ceiling" here:


Get your own helping of Blancmange here.

Fever Ray - Deluxe!

FEVER RAY - FEVER RAY DELUXE

This deluxe three disc (two CDs + DVD) edition of the 2009 debut album from Fever Ray (a.k.a. Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of The Knife) includes two bonus tracks on the main disc, a bonus live CD containing 12 cuts and a DVD that features five music videos and more.

Check out my favorite live track here:


Get your own copy here.