2

Meet Mac Demarco. He hails from Vancouver, British Columbia but has transplanted to Montreal. It's hard to describe what he does as other than laid-back fun, with simplified guitar lines and non-pretentious singing. I almost didn't want to give it a chance because it seemed so good-natured and sweet and reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett. If anything, 2 borders on sounding so cohesive the songs become indistinguishable from one another. The album's gentle acoustic closer, "Still Together," does much to even out the rest of the album, wrapping up the eccentric smoky guitar jams and tongue-in-cheek moments of 2 with an unexpectedly sweet slice of spare, devotional balladry. DeMarco is still a befuddling character, but the compressed landscape of 2 takes steps away from his cartoonish beginnings toward something equally strange, but possibly more grown up. Buy your copy of 2 here.

Instrumental Tourist

Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and Tim Hecker go together like chocolate and peanut butter. This collaboration between the drone-based musicians is improvisational in nature, with the two meeting up in Brooklyn to book some studio time together. Most of the album doesn't feel like a meeting of the minds so much as a melding of them. Says Daniel Lopatin on Pitchfork.com, "The idea was not to overthink. I didn't want a commercially fabricated studio environment; I just wanted long stretches of time where we're more or less just going at it. There was one point seven hours into it where we were fucking famished and exhausted, and we were like, 'Jesus, we have to stop now and eat.' We work until we're dead, then we have a huge meal." To me this sounds like the working method of any artist deeply ensconced in their project. It's difficult, in the best possible way, to tell which artist contributed which elements to any given track; one could make a guess about the glitches and torqued string melody on a piece like "Uptown Psychedelia," but the way Hecker and Lopatin combine their styles into a versatile mix of melody, drone, and distortion on "Ritual for Consumption" and the title track is too seamless to dissect. They also explore the possibilities of seemingly hokey/patronizing "ethnic" instrument presets, including the koto, sitar, and lap steel, to transcend their intended uses,"it was a way to sidestep the world music debate while using the palate of world music in some weird way-- almost like a fantasy interpretation of what world music is", says Tim Hecker. The title "Intrusions" hints at the album's questioning of "exoticism" and cultural appropriation, but its mix of glitched electronics and penetrating drones that get pinched into shrill spikes stands on its own. Overall, Lopatin and Hecker take the sounds in their intentionally limited palette to places they may never have been expected to go, and the journey is intriguing and frequently lovely. That Instrumental Tourist's music was recorded in three days makes it all the more impressive, and bodes well for the rest of the SSTUDIOS albums. This makes for a great album to listen to while practicing meditation or as background music whilst working on something creative or as a wintry soundtrack. Recommended if you like: Seefeel, Mountains, either member's solo work, Diskjokke, or Dntel. Watch and Listen to Intrusions here: Buy Instrumental Tourist here.

Crystal Castles III

The Heavily anticipated Crystal Castles (III) has arrived!! I sincerely hope they keep up the untitled albums, thus forever confusing people and boggling computer databases. By keeping their albums untitled, they force us to take in the whole album, not looking for a "title track" to be the pinnacle of their message, rather the sum is greater than the parts. This is Crystal Castles' most serious set of songs yet, with a darker tone and streamlined sound that dovetails with its motifs of outsiders, injustices, and revolution. Ethan Kath and Alice Glass' second album showed the duo was expanding their 8-bit vocabulary, and that comes to fruition here, particularly on the album-opener "Plague" and "Wrath of God," where Glass' distant rage and Kath's shadowy, claustrophobic synths invert their previously fiery electro-punk into something colder and more lingering. II standouts "Baptism" and "Not in Love" provide the template for some of III's best moments. Melody plays a bigger role on III than it did in Crystal Castles' earlier music; gone are the noisy moments from II that made me wanna jump around and pump my fist into the air. Instead, from Glass we get a more refined and nuanced singing to the beautifully ominous feel of "Mercenary" and especially "Child I Will Hurt You," which closes the album with a sparkling sadness. Artistic progress is as much about subtraction as it is about addition, and on III, Crystal Castles have made room to be sad, angry, pretty, and danceable at the same time. That's an unusual mix of emotions, and while it might be condescending to say that they've grown up, they've certainly outgrown many of the preconceptions about what their music can be. Watch and listen Plague (and other songs) live from the Reading Festival this summer. Cue the fog machine and seizure lights. Buy your copy of Crystal Castles (III) here FYI: the vinyl is not out yet and the release date is yet to be determined. Stay Tuned!!

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

For a band to get better on their sophomore effort is a rarity, yet I declare that Tame Impala has successfully accomplished just that on Lonerism. Less guitar focused and more of a dive into the realm of pop music, this album sounds like what John Lennon would song like if he was a young man of today. Blending the familiar with the far out, Tame Impala channel a Revolver-esque psych-pop experience. This shift from the guitar-heavy sound of the debut to a more synthed-out approach gives the album a more expansive feeling, allowing for new textures through layer after layer of melody. As with Innerspeaker, sonic architect Dave Fridmann handles the mixing, and though he wasn't involved in the recording process, Lonerism definitely shares the producer's knack for using the space as an instrument in and of itself. This layering of not just sounds, but environments, creates a serene and lonely patchwork of sound, texture, and atmosphere that's a pleasure to explore, offering something different with every journey into its swirling haze of classic pop melody and modern, more experimental, construction. Please take a lovely listen to "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" (and no, this isn't a jab at the election, just a title coinkidink) here: Email marta@alternativemusic.com to inquire about purchasing Lonerism on CD or LP.

When I first caught a glimpse of the new Bat For Lashes cover, featuring Natasha Khan in the buff, holding an also naked man over her shoulders, I was fleetingly concerned. What is this art school tomfoolery? Considering her art school pedigree I gave it the pass and was intrigued--what happened to this lady to inspire man straddling? This was one of the first hints that she was taking a slightly different tack with this set of songs. More proof came with "Laura," the soft, spare ballad she picked to be the album's lead single. While Khan explored her flair with character studies on Two Suns, this song's intimacy and the keenly observed details in lyrics like "your tears feel hot on my bedsheets" felt more like a natural progression from songs like "Sad Eyes," off of Fur and Gold. As that album (and Two Suns' more restrained moments) showed, Khan's singing and writing are more than strong enough to be more or less naked, and she finds freedom in this throughout most of The Haunted Man. It seems that this album is a reaction to a break up post Two Suns, where classically the chanteuse is in love and her lover is her equal and muse, which leads to the inevitable fraying of the spirit due to heartache. Yet the lyrics go beyond one man, she digs into issues with her father as well. Feeling alive is a refrain on many of these songs, most vividly on the proudly sexual "Oh Yeah," where Khan is "waiting like a flower to open wide" and the unearthliness of her upper register adds a fairytale sparkle to her desire. This mix of rawness and delicacy makes her among the best of all the Kate Bush disciples dotting the early 21st century pop landscape at emulating the will-o-the-wisp willfulness of La Bush's work, particularly on the silvery, shivery opening track "Lilies" and "Winter Fields," which soars above the English countryside with just a little bit of fear shading its wonder. When The Haunted Man strays from these sparer sounds, the results are mixed: the tribal/primal rhythms and vocals on "Horses of the Sun" add to its rough-hewn beauty, but the electronic squiggles and processed vocals on "Marilyn" are distracting and indulgent. Still, much of The Haunted Man caters to Khan's strengths, and songs such as "All Your Gold," "A Wall," and "Rest Your Head" are among the catchiest she's written in some time. Focus and restraint might not sound exciting in and of themselves, but The Haunted Man is more direct than any of Bat for Lashes' previous work, and manages to keep the air of mystique around Khan that has made her one to watch and listen to since her early days. Fans of electronic music may have more to latch on to with this one, also fans of Florence & The Machine and Lykke Li. buy your copy of The Haunted Man here.

Hail Bop

If there's a hole in your heart left by the absence of the Beta Band, well, look no further, because Django Django is here! "Our name has absolutely nothing to do with Django Reinhardt", says the band. By the time of the release of the July 2009 debut 7" "Storm," critics had already latched onto their vocal and experimental similarity to cult folktronica pioneers the Beta Band. In fact, drummer Maclean was the younger brother of Beta Band and Aliens keyboard player John Maclean -- a link that both raised their profile and justified the comparisons. Django Django similarly betrayed a knowledge and love of electronic music and Joe Meek's production techniques, alongside an ability to throw together seemingly disparate styles. Filled with sirens, bells, and surf guitar, their second single -- April 2010's "Wor" -- sounded like the Ventures jamming with Hot Chip. While friend and Glaswegian video artist Cara Tolmie provided vocals and cello on the equally playful flip, "Skies Over Cairo," Grace designed the minimalist artwork that housed this inventive material. The group's self-titled debut arrived in 2012 and was a Mercury Prize nominee. Take a poppy listen here: If you want a copy of the self-titled Django Django release, email marta@alternativemusic.com

Modeselektor is an electronic music band formed in Berlin, featuring Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The group draws heavily from IDM, glitch, electro and hip hop. In an interview the group said regarding their sound: "Happy metal, hard rap, country-ambient, Russian crunk. We don’t like it if people tag us as being a certain style or school or scene or whatever. We don’t really care about all that." With the second volume of what seems set to become an ongoing series from the duo's flagship label, the Modeselektor boys have compiled 18 exclusive tracks that go from bass music to techno to glitch to juke to what are essentially experimental electronic works, and they've managed to do so without the typically schizo, jarring qualities that often plague label compilations. Yet the main building block is techno, albeit not a straightforward approach. Techno and bass excursions may be obvious inclusions here, but electronic music's experimental side has also become prominent part of the Monkeytown sound, particularly since the label signed Mouse on Mars last year. The veteran producers recontextualize Chicago footwork as a sort of jazzy, 8-bit juke workout with their contribution, "Humoslab." Not every track is a winner, but the depth and breadth of artists, scenes, locales, and musical movements showcased here is not only impressive, but also serves as an indication of what a credible tastemaking unit Modeselektor is. Take a listen to Sudaka Invasor here, with guests, Frikstailers. Buy your copy of Modeselektor's Modeselektor Proudly Presents Modeselektions Vol 2 here.

A genre- and gender-defying mix of rock, pop, and dance inspired by burlesque, drag queens, and glam rock, New York's Scissor Sisters made a splash in late 2003/early 2004 with their neon-bright Scissor Sisters (whose name is slang for a lesbian sex act) came from the cutting edge of New York's nightlife and gay culture, incorporating elements of burlesque and drag shows, as well as performance art, into their theatrical live shows. This was the perfect setting for their music, which gleaned the best of Elton John, the Bee Gees, the B-52's, David Bowie, and many other artists with a campy sense of humor and impeccable style. The Scissor Sisters followed Night Work's dancefloor triumphs with Magic Hour, a set of songs that seem more comfortable when they don't feel like dancing. Not that the group doesn't try to keep Night Work's momentum going: Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, and company recruited Pharrell Williams and Calvin Harris to co-produce a couple of tracks, and invited Azealia Banks to rap on "Shady Love." While Magic Hour may not be as satisfying to fans who just wanna dance as albums like Night Work and Scissor Sisters were, it should please those who enjoy the band's formidable songwriting skills as much as cutting a rug -- and at the very least, it reaffirms that Scissor Sisters still have more depth than some people give them credit for. Listen to "Let's Have a Kiki" here: Buy your copy of Magic Hour here.

While there may be other worthwhile releases this week, sorry, no one trumps the almighty My Bloody Valentine. This week, we have in stock some extra copies of the remastered, double CD set of their 3 EPs Collection, EPs 1988-1991. For a band with so little output, their mark on the guitar world and the shoegaze cannon is legendary. Many bands have tried to emulate their sound, but there can be no other. Such a specific treatment of guitars and angelic voices. I consider their work an essential component of any music collection. Five stars, all abound! For fun, listen to Instrumental Number 2, a deep cut, one not instantly recognizable as MBV. I wanted to pick something less obvious than Swallow, Soon, or Glider. See if you can pick out the bass line and percussion that appears in Madonna's "Justify My Love." Hmmmmmm...perhaps Prince (the writer of the song) was a MBV fan? Common sample? Buy your copy of My Bloody Valentine's EPS 1988-1991 by emailing marta@alternativemusic.com

Night & Day

My favorite group of British Synth Pop Nerds are back with In Our Heads, their fifth full length album since 2005's Coming On Strong. Hot Chip hail from London, bursting onto the music scene with an EP, Mexico, in 2000. The voices of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard are a fine study in contrast. Taylor offers dreamy, effortless falsettos that cut to the heart of the beauty of performers like Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake (minus any of the pretentiousness of Radiohead or even Coldplay, or the bland vocal acrobatics of Remy Zero). Meanwhile, scattered throughout the record (and in the occasional duet), Goddard offers a tone that sounds a bit more world-weary and at times almost gruff in comparison to Taylor, calling to mind Damon Albarn's cool monotone tendencies. The group signed to DFA in 2005 and released the Over and Over EP, as well as the excellent 2006 full-length The Warning. Hot Chip kept busy in 2007 by supporting The Warning with singles and consistent touring, and released a DJ-Kicks mix album. Late that year, the single "Ready for the Floor" heralded the arrival of Made in the Dark, which featured some of the band's most focused grooves and poppiest melodies to date. The mellower One Life Stand followed in 2010, along with a remix collection later that year. In our Heads remains pretty consistent with the outfit's past releases, including slower ballads, quirky pop, danceable numbers, and their idiosyncratic brand of weirdness. They are amongst one of my favorite contemporary groups. They fill the void that Erasure and Bronski Beat left in me. Watch "Night and Day" here: Buy your copy of Hot Chip's In Our Heads here.

It's been eight years since Orbital have released an album. With the release of 2004's Blue Album, however, the Hartnolls announced that they were disbanding Orbital. After the split, Paul began recording music under his own name, including material for the Wipeout Pure PSP game and a solo album (The Ideal Condition), while Phil formed another duo, Long Range, with Nick Smith. Blue Album. Unsurprisingly, that wasn't the end of their partnership. Five years after the Blue Album, the Hartnolls announced their live reunion for 2009's Big Chill festival, as well as a 20th anniversary tour. The collection 20 followed in due course, as did a comeback single, 2010's "Don't Stop Me." This year, they have released their eighth full-length, Wonky, with a throwback sound inspired partly by its producer, Flood, and partly by Orbital's sound back in the early '90s. While I don't think they will ever be the same Orbital we fell in love with on the Brown Album or Snivilisation, Wonky's sound stands pretty close. It's good that they are still around in the age of Deadmau5 and Skrillex, showing the kids at the festivals how it used to be done, that electronic music has a distinct history. They make an attempt at a dub-step-esque style on the track Beelzedub and they manage to do so respectably, without sounding too much like a cheap knock off. They are, afterall, Orbital, if it's being done in dance music, they can acclimate well yet keeping their artistry. Not realizing it, my album pick is New France, the song which has Zola Jesus guest singing on it, the same song as their single on Pitchfork. This is another cue as to how Orbital has kept up with the more radio-friendly song lengths and thinking ahead as what are more marketable songs. In this age, where a musician really needs to be able to break digital markets, this may be their way of staying relevant. Yet I do not feel anything about their history as music makers is compromised by making shorter songs. There's just more to love, rather than a few long songs. Listen to New France here: Email marta@alternativemusic.com to buy your copy of Orbital's Wonky.

A Species Out of Control

One of my favorite electronic duos from England is back with Unpatterns. Producers/remixers James Ford and James Shaw formed Simian Mobile Disco in 2005, following their departure from the experimental electronic rock band Simian. The 35-year-olds are known worldwide for “Attack Decay Sustain Release” in 2007 and “Temporary Pleasure” in 2009. In between regular DJ gigs, the gents created “Unpatterns” over two years in their home studio, jamming on 1970s analog gear. “We took much longer on this one and we were more selfish,” says Shaw. “We knew we wanted to do something more psychedelic and maybe a bit warmer.” Layering simple sequences atop one another, the two sought the audio equivalent of a “moire pattern” — a visual effect that can be seen on textiles like silk, bird feathers, or simply by walking past two parallel chain-link fences. “You’re waiting for that effect to happen and when you get it you’re like, ‘Sweet, thank you very much.’ You’d have to be much smarter than either of us to plan it from the outset,” Shaw says. “We just do loads and loads of tunes and come back to them. It doesn’t really make any sense to do proper documentation.” Going along with the Moire Pattern, there is also a mobile App that was created as a collaboration with Kate Moross and Boreal Kiss. It allows you to listen to the entirety of the album while playing with a host of the aforementioned patterns. The patterns are manipulated on a touch screen, allowing you to create shifting and evolving interference patterns. Thanks, Bjork, for setting the pace for other electronic acts to start making app-friendly music. I know I will be pretty tempted to purchase said app, as my iphone has become a vital, yet completely frivolous tool within my existence. Overall, the sound of Unpatterns is a step back to a sound SMD have been cultivating since 2005. Less cold, minimal techno than Delicacies, it has some vocals and a warmer sound, still being a danceable album or great for the car. I predict this album will be a necessary addition to your summer soundtrack. Feast your ears to "A Species Out of Control" here: To purchase your copy of Simian Mobile Disco's Unpatterns, email marta@alternativemusic.com

Stay Down

Cancer For Cure is a triumph of imagination and intelligence in service of personal and political unease. Rapper-producer El-P imagines himself as a dot on a radar screen, tracked by unknown hunters, working his way across some surreal bureaucratic hellscape. On “Tougher Colder Killer,” a soldier kills a man for reasons he can’t quite explain. The victim’s last words—that there’s always someone bigger and better above him who can wipe him out—reverberate long after he’s left the battlefield. On “The Jig Is Up,” he asks a woman who for some bizarre reason wants to spend her free time with him, “Tell me who sent you here? What agency?” Yet just because El-P is paranoid doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be followed. Like the best works of science fiction, Cancer For Cure is compelling because its unsettling narratives aren’t purely fantasy. El-P is in peak form here, madder than ever, slickly weaving dense, cerebral verses packed with internal rhymes through a machine-tooled version of classic New York boom-bap with a gnarly sound combining part KRS-One, part Cabaret Voltaire. There’s always a muffled cacophony of nasty voices just on the outside of a sealed subway car, through the ceiling of his poorly constructed apartment, or at the other end of a deep chemical stupor. “I’ve got memories to lose, man,” he admits on “Works Every Time.” But this isn’t pity-seeking, it’s pure pragmatism. El-P lost his good friend and collaborator Camu Tao to lung cancer in 2008, and the sense that the loss has tainted everything in his life pervades the record. The album ends with El-P’s laser-focused assertion that the memory of his friend keeps him locked in, pushing through the muck. It’s cold comfort, but it’ll work for now. Preview Stay Down here: Buy a copy of El-P's Cancer4Cure here.

Back From Mystery City

Guess who's baaaack? It's Blakula, my favorite Italian, creepazoid, film score music-maker for non-existent films! Maccari and Bellentani are an Italian duo (in case you couldn't tell) who started making cosmic disco together a few years ago as The Diaphanoids. They first appeared as Blakula in summer of 2010 with Permanent Midnight, an album that delivered left-field disco with campy horror film flair. Back From Mystery City follows a similar blueprint, with the core duo employing a cast of live musicians (including string ensembles, brass ensembles and the Prague Symphony Orchestra) to perform their organic disco compositions. All of the tracks were composed, arranged and produced by Maccari and Bellentani and recorded in Rome in 2010 and 2011. This sophomore effort is consistent with the first as it's a strong album from start to finish. I fully enjoy putting this on at work and letting the afternoon take a cinematic turn! Listen to the title track, Back From Mystery City, here. email marta@alternativemusic.com for your copy of Blakula's Back From Mystery City.

Inhale

By now, you might know that Geoff Barrow is of Portishead fame, but he has stayed busy outside of his Portishead duties. Not only did he produce albums by the Horrors and Anika, but early 2012 saw the release of another album from his band Beak> and of two other very different but equally successful projects: Quakers, an underground hip-hop collective that made his fondness for crate-digging more explicit than it had been since Portishead's early trip-hop trailblazing days, and Drokk, a collaboration with composer Ben Salisbury. As the title Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One suggests, this is an imaginary soundtrack (or "outsider's perspective," as the duo described it) to the long-running cult comic strip Judge Dredd, which spawned the Sylvester Stallone movie of the same name and began appearing in the British sci-fi anthology 2000 A.D. in 1977. As a celebration of the strip's 35th anniversary, the album couldn't be more affectionately geeky: Salisbury and Barrow recorded most of the soundtrack with a vintage 1975 Oberheim 2 Voice Synthesizer, which gives the soundtrack an authentic late-'70s feel that channels John Carpenter's spare, creepy synth-based scores, especially Escape from New York. Drokk's mix of dead air, dark, viscous analog synth tones, and thrumming arpeggios is hypnotic and intense but never too claustrophobic -- like any good soundtrack, this album is more about creating a mood than calling attention to itself. Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One is a recommended listen for anyone who appreciates Goblin, Zombi, and dark soundtrack albums. Selecting a singular track from this concept album is kind of absurd, but hey, here's Inhale. Buy your copy of Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury's Drokk here.

Santigold is back with Master of My Make-Believe, with its bad-ass album cover, featuring herself as four characters. On a casual listening level, she seems like a less cracked-out M.I.A. But if one gives her a deeper listen, there is a more varied song structure and greater bag of tricks. Frontwoman Santi White and John Hill continues to co-write, but with White gaining pop star status, he takes the back seat, as they enlist the help of A-list producers Diplo, Switch, Boyz Noise, Buraka Som Sistema, TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, Ricky Blaze, and Q-Tip. Multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin (Beck, Flaming Lips) and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs also make a huge impact on the sound of the record, with Karen O contributing vocals on the leadoff "Go!" and Nick Zinner scattering delicious guitar texture across the tracks. MOMMB is a thickly crafted album that took four years to complete. At surface value, it isn't drastically different than the debut, but it's never predictable. Instead of delivering an album's worth of bangers, Santigold expands on downtempo dub and pop ballads like "Shove It" and the commercial crossover hit "Lights Out." Fans of those songs will enjoy the synth reggae fusion of "Pirate in the Water" and the severely catchy hooks of "Disparate Youth." When not dabbling in reggae (like on the Beastie Boys album cameo "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win"), White -- whose favorite band is appropriately the Smiths -- continues to be masterful at appropriating sparkling '80s arrangements. This is the kind of album that can fully define her sound, but is still multifaceted and well crafted enough to be exciting. Listen and watch this pop ditty, "Disparate Youth" Buy your copy of My Make-Believe here.

Weep Themselves to Sleep

Surprise!!I am recommending Jack White's heavily hyped solo effort, Blunderbuss. I wasn't crazy for the White Stripes and what turned me around was Dead Weather. Thanks to that side project, I am giving this a chance. It could be that I was primed for this sound growing up with Classic Rock and being a HUUUGE Guns N'Roses fan as a kid. Yes, GN'R. Why do I mention them? The piano stylings on this album are straight up Axl Rose circa the Use Your Illusion Tours, when he would dedicate a portion of the live show to sitting at the baby grand and noodlin' away and pouring his twisted heart out. Like Axl, White is putting out something from the heart here. I haven't deeply studied the lyrics, but ya can because a lovely lyric book is part of the album packaging. There is something very familiar sounding on this album, very Nashville with the slide guitar and keys, mixing with a warm guitar sounds from AM radio circa the mid nineteen seventies. I didn't expect to like this album, but after a few listens, it still holds up. I think one might have to be in a particular mood for this, if this style of music isn't your daily thing, but all in all, an album that stands out amongst this month's releases. Try "Weep Themselves to Sleep" on for size. Buy your copy of Blunderbuss on CD & LP here.

Vava Voom!

Sometimes you just gotta say, "what the bleep" and choose something kinda surfacey, indulgent, and mainstream for a listen. Last we I had Madonna, this week I have selected Bassnectar's Vava Voom. Perhaps I am fixated on my upcoming mini-vacation, but I want to hear some tunes that evoke fun, feeling carefree, and evocative of warmer weather. I found nothing terribly gripping this week to review, but the new Bassnectar is out and I say, "Hail to Bassheads!!"

Bassnectar is the stage name used by DJ, producer, and remixer Lorin Ashton, one of the more popular and influential figures in California's electronic music community. Bassnectar's music is known for its eclecticism, embracing elements of extreme bass, dubstep, breakbeat, and other IDM styles, as well as shifting tempos, contrasting moods, and dynamics that go from gentle to bruising and back during the course of a set. A significant amount of Bassnectar's music also has a strong activist streak, and Ashton uses his work to promote social and political causes and to foster a sense of community.

In 1996, Ashton started learning how to DJ, and coupled with his earlier experience in percussion, he recorded four-track demos with his band and studied electronic music at the University of California in Santa Cruz, soon mastering the basics of spinning and producing dance music. He started producing recordings for other acts in his spare time, and in 2001 he was invited to remix a track by Michael Franti & Spearhead for a single. Later that same year, the first Bassnectar album was released, Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks, which Ashton produced and released on his own label, Amorphous Music. While his first few albums earned him a buzz on the indie electronic scene, the fourth Bassnectar album, 2004's Diverse Systems of Throb, expanded his audience and influence, and since then, Bassnectar has issued a steady stream of albums, singles, and podcasts on which he has collaborated with artists including KRS-One, Ellie Goulding, Perry Farrell, Buckethead, and Gogol Bordello, as well as producers Diplo, BT, DJ Vadim, and Rjd2. Bassnectar also became a popular live attraction, with Ashton spinning up to 150 nights at year at venues ranging from clubs and warehouses to festivals such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. In 2010, he got into the festival game himself, staging his first Bass Center Festival in Broomfield, Colorado, featuring sets by Dan Deacon, That 1 Guy, Brother Ali, and many more, as well as Bassnectar.

Compared to his other albums, Vava Voom seems like the most thrown together just for the fun of it--not a clear directional flow, many guest spots, and offering the producer at his most commercial (the club hit, title track with Lupe Fiasco), his most headphone-oriented (the otherworldly "Laughter Crescendo" sounds like a '70s sci-fi soundtrack outtake), and surprisingly, his most sexy (thousands of little dubstep babies are going to their own "drop" to "Nothing Has Been Broken" and Tina Malia's breathy vocals). Sometimes you just gotta fuggedabouttit. Besides, this is the music that's right on the pulse of the most popular electronic dance festivals and the cross-genre guest spots assure the greatest possible audience and I like that.

Ya might as well watch the video while listening to the first single, with Lupe Fiasco.
Kinda ridiculous, but it even had moms bopping in the shop yesterday! Cheers!



Buy your copy of Vava Voom here.

PS--he is coming to Rochester's Armory on Record Store Day, April 21!!

PPS--We will be opening on 9am on Record Store Day! Come early, get the first picks!!

I'm Addicted

Perchance I am predictable in that I'd have to feature the new Madonna, MDNA.
It seems trendy these days to spell your album or band name without vowels; we had MSTRKRFT, MGMT, SBTRKT, TRST and now Her Madgesty has jumped the bandwagon, in addition to playing with the acronym for the chemical compound in ecstacy, MDMA. She has always been a clever gal and perhaps she wants us to think that listening to her music will soar our spirits into the upper echelons of bliss.

On MDNA, she is back with producer William Orbit and goes full throttle into the current pop-dance likes of DeadMau5, Benny Bernassi, or David Guetta. It's fist bumping anthems that only Madonna can do--references to turning the radio up, to boys, to girls, to being a sinner. Honestly, I cringe at her referring to herself as a "girl" when she is 53, but hey, she's in shape and doesn't look her age (maybe with some dermatological help?) and can still get men half her age, so mazel tov. I don't care for the single," Gimme All Your Luvin", but the opener, "Girl Gone Wild" gets my attention, as let's remember, I had my come-uppins while listening to dance music and raving with candy necklaces and UFO pants. On a whole, we are told the story of divorce, that Guy Ritchie only wanted her for her money, that there is not enough love in the world for her, that she would give anything and everything of herself for a man willing and capable of providing her with an endless and unconditional love right back. Instead, she is having fun with younger and very handsome males, in a sense bringing her full circle, back to her beginnings as a Boy-Toy.

If you are any sort of music snob, or hate dance music or Madonna, then this might not be for you. If you are a lifelong fan such as me, or looking for something fun to listen to while getting ready for a night on the town or having dranks with friends, give the Material Girl your time and money.

Here's my Jam, "I'm Addicted" (the other hott track, deep cut is "Some Girls", by the way):



Buy your copy of MDNA here
PS--vinyl comes out mid month!

Four Gardens

Los Angeles-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Julia Holter blurs the boundaries between indie music, modern composition, and electronic music in her own work as well as her collaborations, which include work with Nite Jewel's Ramona Gonzalez and underground folk icon Linda Perhacs. Holter grew up in a musically inclined family -- her father is a guitarist who once played with Pete Seeger -- and studied electronic music at CalArts. After graduation, she began releasing music at a prolific rate: in 2008, she contributed tracks to Monika's 4 Women No Cry, Vol. 3 as well as a Human Ear compilation and released the CD-R album Cookbook on Sleepy Mammal Sound. The following year, Holter began working with the Dublab collective, appearing on a volume of their In the Loop series of vinyl compilations and performing with the Linda Perhacs Band.

This album is haunting and full of reverberations and the ghostly quality of her voices harkens Kate Bush but updated. She makes me think of Phillip Glass' compositions but less harsh and with a feminine touch. I didn't expect to like this, but with these sparse soundscapes Ekstasis (greek for out of the body, or ecstasy) makes for great background music or else, to be enjoyed on headphones. She is unique and if you give this album a chance and let it go a little bit world music/new age but yet very 2012, you will be rewarded. It also makes a great companion piece for those who enjoyed last year's Tim Hecker output, Ravedeath, 1972. Ekstasis has similar mood, with more upbeat segments yet an album that would be labeled as conceptual.

Listen to Four Gardens here:



Buy your copy of Ekstasis here.

Prey

It's About time we got this in!?!?!?!

The third proper full-length by the London DJ collective is very different from its predecessors, as one might hope after a dozen years. The change-a-minute beats-and-pieces approach taken on their early work, which competed with their Ninja Tune peers Coldcut for complexity and willingness to throw just about anything over a beat, has been largely abandoned in favor of actual songs and a relative degree of conceptual unity. As its Heavy Metal-ish (the magazine) cover art might indicate, this is a somewhat sci-fi album, with a movie trailer announcer's voice muttering stuff about falling stars and space on the interstitial tracks, like a sampladelic take on Robert Calvert's poetry from Hawkwind's Space Ritual. Guest vocalists like The The's Matt Johnson and J.G. Thirlwell sing about fear and alienation ("How could anyone know me when I don't even know myself," asks Johnson) over backing tracks that combine futuristic momentum with an almost retro-Manchester feel (the keyboards on "Giant" may put some listeners in mind of Charlatans UK) and thick beds of polyrhythmic percussion. "The Illectrik Hoax" is even built around a '60s-ish garage guitar riff. Surprising as it may be, coming from masters of the quick-cut DJ collage, The Search Engine is a journey worth taking from beginning to end, uninterrupted.

Kev's blog is way awesome and worth checking out:
He is spinning on Record Store Day in England!

Now, Listen to this song with J.G. Thirwell:



Buy your copy of The Search Engine here!

Dressed For Space

When we first received the TRST CD for our listening stations I thought, who is this hot mess tranny? Did Twiggy from Marilyn Manson get bloated and start a solo project? No and No! This no-frills cover photo is very telling: they're not messing around! Hailing from Toronto, Trust is the electro-goth duo of Robert Alfons and Austra's Maya Postepski. Not very much is known about them other than they formed in 2009, released their first singles, "Candy Walls" and "Bulbform" in 2011 before signing with Arts & Crafts for the 2012 release of their debut full length, TRST.

Frankly, I love it. I didn't know what to expect, all I heard was that it was electronic. Immediately it grabbed me with its deep synth hooks, with similar qualities to Crystal Castles, only without the shouting. It's very catchy, if you can stand the vocals which are somewhere between David Gray and Paul Banks. You can clearly imagine this as fist-pounding music played at a goth club, but there is far more to it than playing into a genre or nostalgia or anything cheezy. The songs feel like sordid tales into a dark mind and we are present for the diagesis, boxing through the thoughts to make it outside. Recommended if you like early synthy Ministry, Front 242, Crystal Castles, or John Maus.

Listen to Dressed For Space here



Buy your copy of Trust--TRST here.

It's not often that a talent like Andrew Bird comes along and sweeps me off my feet. Now, I don't normally go for the singer-songwriter thing because I'm typically more inclined towards instrumental music or genres where the lyrics aren't that important. For me, the best songwriters can be summed up by Bob, Tom, Johnny, Leonard, Bruce, and Vic (Dylan, Waits, Cash, Cohen, Springsteen, and Chesnutt). Perhaps I'm a bit reductionist, but I haven't heard much in the ways of newer writers that tops the old vanguard. Enter Andrew Bird: a Chicago songwriter/violinist that blends jazz, Gypsy, folk, and rock elements into his distinctive style. Believe it or not, he's been at it since 1996 and Break It Yourself is his twelth album!

Recorded mostly live at his studio barn in Western Illinois, Bird, drummer/percussionist Martin Dosh, and guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker have crafted a sunny, unpredictable set of tunes that reflects the pastoral Mississippi river valley that birthed them. Meandering and soulful, the album relies on the usual pizzicato loops, orchestral flourishes, and oddball subject matter that's preoccupied Bird since 2003's Weather Systems, but for the first time since his Bowl of Fire days, it feels less like a one-man band. This album really struck me with its sense of honesty, urgency, and the sensation that I was listening to someone playing for me in their living room. I tend to be cynical of overly lyrical songwriters, but in the case of Bird I am beaten by his integrity--his panache cannot be feigned.

Listen to Lazy Projector, with it's lush strings, here:



Watch a performance from 2009 here:



Buy your copy of Break It Yourself here.

Lafaye

My favorite current Dream-Pop is baaaaack with their third release,Ghostory. School Of Seven Bells formed in 2006 as a trio (including Claudia Deheza) and released their debut full-length, Alpinisms, on Ghostly International in 2008. The group’s appeal grew exponentially, with their signature sounds stemming from pieces of electronic subgenres and shoegaze bands before them. By 2010, the group released the critically acclaimed Disconnect From Desire on Ghostly International and Vagrant. Ghostory is truly their defining work, beautifully crafted and haunting, with the story of Lafaye permeating the psyche long after the music stops.

Recorded in-between tours, Ghostory exemplifies a fervent progression of SVIIB’s growth as artists, preserving the common themes found on their last two releases but exposing them in different fashions. The familiar ethereal and enigmatic tones are omnipresent, surrounded by layers of influences from ’80s pop, shoegaze and ambient electronic sounds. However, Ghostory comes with a story in mind; the tale of a young girl named Lafaye and the ghosts that surround her life.

“Everyone has ghosts”, says Alejandra Deheza; “They’re every love you’ve ever had, every hurt, every betrayal, every heartbreak. They follow you, stay with you.” This detailed storytelling is evident from start to finish on the record, weaving a tale that moves between a fervent synthesized adventure and spacious lyrical euphoria. Tracks like “Love Play” and “Show Me Love” create a hauntingly indelible atmosphere that grab attention with the ambitious wordplay in the center of it all. Surrounding tracks like “Lafaye” and “Scavenger” entice the vibe of previous School of Seven Bells releases with their steadily dance-centric tempo and uplifting melodic progressions. Ghostory flows seamlessly and effortlessly, a result of the shared songwriting process.


Take a listen and watch the video for "Lafaye":



Buy your copy of Ghostory here.

Bleeding Muddy Water

Those who liked the moodier, more atmospheric material on the last Mark Lanegan Band offering, 2004's Bubblegum, will find much to enjoy on Blues Funeral -- an album that has little to do with blues as a musical form. Lanegan has been a busy man since Bubblegum. In the nearly eight ensuing years, he's issued three records with Isobel Campbell, joined Greg Dulli in the Gutter Twins, guested on albums by the Twilight Singers and UNKLE, and was the lead vocalist on most of the last two Soulsavers offerings. Produced by Eleven guitarist Alain Johannes (who also fulfills that role here as well as playing bass, keyboards, and percussion), Blues Funeral finds Lanegan in a musically ambitious place. His voice is deeper, smokier, but more restrained, even on the few straight-up rockers.

While the album is sequenced seamlessly, with varying textures and dynamics, there are standouts. Of the two tracks that feature the mysterious guitarist Duke Garwood, "Bleeding Muddy Water" is a mournful, midtempo dirge. Dulli's guest spot on backing vocals on the Ennio Morricone-inspired spaghetti westernism of "St Louis Elegy" is beautifully rendered; Joshua Homme lends his guitar to the over-the-rails rock in "Riot in My House." Electronics also have a prominent place on Blues Funeral -- and not merely as atmospheric add-ons. I was very surprised to hear this, as I never expected somewhat of a techno beat with his voice on it. "Harborview Hospital"'s meld of keyboards and guitars touch on U2's Joshua Tree period and late-'80s New Order. Weird as that reads, if anything, these expansive retro sonics provide Lanegan's raspy baritone a foil, with added texture that lends not only a sense of beauty, but walks out the tension between elegiac lyric and harmonic lyricism. "Leviathan" is the only thing that really approaches blues here, though it's via a 21st century approximation of Led Zeppelin's darker, airier moments on Physical Graffiti. Blues Funeral, while an adventurous, strident, and complex album, will likely polarize longstanding Lanegan fans. If one is looking for the kind of balls out rock that he's made with Queens of the Stone Age, this might be a bit too "soft" for you.

If you already love Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, then Mark Lanegan is your man.

Listen to "Bleeding Muddy Water" here.



Buy your copy of Blues Funeral Here.

Coum

Richard Fearless, aka Death In Vegas, emerged in the UK in the late 90's with some of that era’s most unusual records, fusing electro, dub, rock, psychedelia, soul and solid-gone experimentation to create a sound that was spacious and other-worldly, while also segueing with the pop mainstream. His new album, ‘Trans Love Energies’, marks a return to his roots in minimal techno, deploying the rudimentary gear behind all the classics of the original Detroit/Chicago era to try and spirit up fresh atmospheres.

In Autumn 2009, Fearless was buzzing about being reunited with some of his vintage analogue electronic gear from his old Contino Rooms studio. After five years living in different cities, he and his old ’Vegas engineer, Tim Holmes, had gone their separate ways. Hiring a new room at Andrew Weatherall’s Rotters Golf Club studio in Shoreditch, Richard found himself newly emboldened to tinker around solo in his electro-sonic playground.

It's fun to note Richard's palette of gadgets-- a 303, an 808, a 909, a Korg MS-20 synth, a Roland SH-09 – the stuff that inspirational old Trax and Metroplex tunes were made on. In New York, he’d been grooving the whole Cold Wave revival of 1980s synth music, snapping up records on the Minimal Wave label by obscure old groups like Linear Movement, as well as tracking back to old favourites like Harmonia’s ‘Notre Dame’, or David Bowie’s ‘Low’ album. Also, by the by: Detroit’s Perspects/Le Car, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Syd Barrett, Jackno, Exuma, The Black Angels and Howlin’ Wolf.

When he played the first fruits of his labors to friends and associates, they’d all say, This doesn’t sound like Black Acid, this sounds like Death In Vegas – an alias, which Fearless had subconsciously considered laid to rest. Assuming that identity again, just him on his own, was finally something he was prepared to take on at this point in his life. It would also entail finally going properly public, on record, as a singer.

“It wasn’t a conscious thing for me to sing with Death In Vegas,” Richard says, “but one good reason for me to do it was, there weren’t going to be loads of guests singing on this record. You know what? I toured four albums without vocalists. I always had to treat the original vocal tracks [in pre-production], and really make them sound like samples, because, say, with ‘Scorpio Rising’, we obviously wouldn’t be having Liam on tour with us. If I did another whole album with just guests on it, I wasn’t gonna want to tour it. It’s just boring. So, it was a bit like, Right, I’m back on the vocal thing.”

So, that’s Richard you hear at the beginning of ‘Trans Love Energies’, reciting an elegy for a succession of songwriting heroes, against ‘Silver Time Machine’’s VU-meets-TG desolation, and yowling over ‘Black Hole’’s pulsating baroque-‘n’-roll grandeur. Originally, The Kills’s Jamie Hince had been lined up to sing and play guitar on ‘Black Hole’, but when scheduling proved difficult, Richard tried it out himself. “I’m really glad I did,” he says, “it feels like it’s more mine this way”.

Richard hadn’t entirely closed himself off from the idea of working with other singers. He had a certain epiphany on hearing ‘Beat On The Pulse’, the debut single from Austra, on Toronto’s Paper Bag label, particularly the operatic tones of Katie Stelmanis. He dropped them an email, and quickly received a reply gushing about her love of Death In Vegas. At the end of Austra’s European tour, Katie stayed on in London for a couple of days, which actually ended up nearer three weeks, and voiced her parts ‘Your Loft My Acid’, and ‘Witch Dance’, which have more of an ethereal, Cocteau Twins-y feel than the full-tilt operatic belting for which Stelmanis is becoming renowned.

Having just started out on the path to discovering his own voice, Fearless says he’s into using it with a firm consciousness of its place in the whole production. He cites Matthew Dear’s ‘Slowdance’ as his model – haunting electronic pop music, which points resolutely forward into the remainder of the 21st century. ‘Trans Love Energies’ is palpably, urgently, on the same page.

“The best dub and the best techno – it’s all about minimal components, conjuring up the most feeling from the least tools. If you can trigger emotion with the most minimal amount of sound, that’s job done as far as I’m concerned.”

You make the call with Coum here:



Watch an interview!!



Buy your copy of Trans-Love Energies (or get caught up on others) here.

Mind Bending

Back On Time

Plug —
Back On Time

ZEN177

Released 09/01/2012

In early 2011 Luke Vibert (who happened to be bringing to Ninja Tune HQ cushions designed like 808 drum machines as a present!) said that he had just found some, long-lost never heard before DATs dated 1995-1998 and entitled Plug. This we are sure will bring bearded pogoing type excitement for many of you but for those that doesn't happen to here's a quick recap....

In 1996 Blue Angel Recordings (later Blue Planet) an imprint of the legendary Rising High label released the Drum 'N' Bass for Papa album by Plug AKA West Country king of kitschtronica Luke Vibert, whom at that time had only released under his Wagon Christ moniker. The album cover was an old picture of his professional magician grandfather Frank which only added to the oddness in the best of ways. The album was largely ignored by the D'n'B purists at the time, however it was hailed by many beyond, and remains to this day one of the acclaimed records to emerge from the buoyant and hugely influential electronic scene of the south-west in the 90's. Alongside people like Aphex Twin, Tom Middleton, Grant Wilson-Claridge and Jeremy Simmonds and away from the lights and police of the big cities they put on club nights, filled cassettes with new tunes, hijacked the pirates and revelled in all that was original, twisted and like nothing else before. And whilst there is no doubting the talent of all these individuals, it has always been Vibert's keen sense of humour and also funk that enabled him to evolve to a stage to make a landmark release such as Drum 'N' Bass for Papa.

So a few years later and somewhat ahead of the curve, Vibert shook up D'n'B - at that point no album had been released in the genre that departed from the formulaic template. Avant-jungle that wasn't made for the "club", the album was an eccentric bolt from the blue, it shocked many of Vibert's contemporaries but went on to influence many, most notably Squarepusher.

At the same time Luke's Wagon Christ project was being snapped up by Chemical Brothers A+R man at Virgin Records for his 3rd album, so a new name was needed for his eccentric d'n'b output, and Plug was born. Until now Plug has yielded just one album - possibly only a humble man like Luke Vibert would have a whole album of top-quality electronic tracks just sat around for over 15 years and not release them. The 10 tracks on offer here include the proto-garage vocal stylings of "Feeling So Special", the demented circus-organs of "No Reality", the hilariously titled "Come On My Skeleton", the old-skool rinse out of "Mind Bending", the skewed bollywoodisms of "A Quick Plug for A New Shot" and all with impeccably produced jungle credentials as the bed.

Sounding brand new as well as being a lost classic from a electronic icon, Back On Time is a release that anybody interested in the progression of dance music should be very curious to hear and enjoy.

Listen to Mind Bending here:



Buy your copy of Back on Time here.

Summertime Sadness

Oh Lana Del Ray, I did not want to like you. But after seeing your miserable, kafka-esque performance on Saturday Night Live, I felt for you, a little. If any of you haven't heard, critics and celebrities alike have panned her appearance on the show a couple weeks ago. It could have just been nerves or as she admits, that she's just not a good performer. Take a look. It's pretty painful, but I get a kick of the awkward holding herself and hair flipping.



Lana del Ray was born Elizabeth Grant. Born to Die is her major label debut on Interscope Records. Up until a few months ago, no one knew of her. Part of the reason Del Rey inspires so much ire is that her persona is somewhat made up. Three minutes of Internet browsing will tell you a few things: She had once been a struggling singer-songwriter from Lake Placid, where her father was in the domain-name business. It is not clear whether she was a trust-fund baby or she really lived in a trailer park, which is what she later told Complex magazine.

But, most controversially, she looked quite different as Lizzy Grant. She used to wear her hair short and bleached it blonde. She did not wear ball gowns. Her lips were considerably thinner. (She has denied getting lip injections.) She did not look like the gangsta Nancy Sinatra—which is how she describes herself. She looked more Mary Ann than Ginger.

But then her new music, now produced by Emile Haynie of Kid Cudi fame, stole a dash of Mazzy Star’s heroin slumber, fused it with so-called sad core soul, and paired it with mournful, poignant lyrics about a lovelorn girl. And her vocals were being sung several octaves lower. The result: Lizzy Grant had turned herself from sweet and airy to sultry and dark. The first comparisons that came to my mind were Shakespeare's Sister meets Portishead.

For the tastemakers, learning about Lizzy Grant was “the beginning of the backlash,” she says. It was almost intensified by the fact that they were being swindled by a pretty young woman. The interesting thing is female singers invent their personas all the time,” she says, citing Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Beyoncé.

The key difference between someone like Katy Perry and Lana Del Rey is that it’s understood and accepted that the former is the invention of a bigger image-making machine. But someone like Del Rey dredges up those age-old questions around authenticity in art: Can she really sing? Is she a true artist with a real vision? Is she just a puppet of the record label? Did she write her own lyrics?

After listening to the entire album and comparing it to her performance on TV, it is my estimation that her sound is made "in a lab", as I like to call it--lush strings, heavy-handed production that's layered in a way that's incredibly noticable. I'm not inherently against such things, but I warn you, this isn't an "indie" album. There is nothing lo-fi about it. And yes, there isn't anything denoting a "struggling" singer-songwriter.

However, it's definitely worth a listen.



Buy your copy at the shop! It comes with a free 7" Single and she is on our listening station for the month of February.

Email marta@alternativemusic.com if you want to special order a copy.

Nate Will Not Return

This week I have selected The Fall's Ersatz GB. It was released late last year, but as a fan, I must include this as this week's pick. While it may not be their best album, they still have a few very rockin' tracks that get yer foot a'stompin. At this point, the legacy of Mark E Smith outshines the music. He has been notorious for firing his band every couple of albums so the fact that they have made 3 or so albums together is something worth mentioning. I hope to see them live someday, as I have only heard remarkable things.

For fun, I have included a lengthy review of this album. I have never deferred to a second reviewer but I think Tjames Madison succinctly and very entertainingly tells the tale of the new album. I don't think I could have said it any better myself:

Rock your ears off with Nate Will Not Return here:


Buy Ersatz GB here.

I Know

If you don't know who David Lynch is, well, I don't know what to tell ya. He's only one of the most fascinating people of the twenty first century! His album, Crazy Clown Time has received many reviews last year and it made my top twenty of 2011 list. In honor of his upcoming birthday on the 20th, I have selected his album as my pick of the week. It's like a soundtrack to a non-existent film. The single that people have heard, "Pinky's Dream" with Karen O is misleading, as there are not many female vocals on the album nor is it a rockabilly album. This isn't like listening to the Twin Peaks soundtrack or Julee Cruise. However, if you are versed in some of Lynch's films or have watched him on Twin Peaks, then this output should not be that surprising of an album for you. There is plenty of tense, repetitive bluesy music permeated by reverb and echo. His interest in transcendental meditation comes through in the spoken word track, "Strange and Unproductive Thinking"and even in "Noah's Ark" and "Football Game". They might seem like strange ramblings through some kind of vocoder but they are worth a listen. His lyrics are more or less what you might expect: simple, fragmented, and a bit dull on the page, but threateningly voiced in his high, twanging pitch. There is definitely nothing else like this album at the moment.

Check out the ethereal grooves of "I Know" here.



Watch my favorite Lynch segment from the Twin Peaks Series!



Buy your copy of Crazy Clown Time here.