28

Destroyer has a new video for Kaputt-highlight "Savage Night At the Opera"



Destroyer - Savage Night at the Opera from Merge Records on Vimeo.

27

The second single to be offered from Future Islands' forthcoming On the Water, "Balance," has a new video
Via s. an▲cker



Future Islands - Balance from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Future Islands Tour...

Sat Sep 3 Los Angeles, CA Fuck Yeah Fest
Sat Sep 10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival
Sat Oct 1 Grand Rapids, MI Pyramid Scheme
Tue Oct 25 Washington, DC Black Cat *@
Wed Oct 26 Millvale, PA Mr. Small's Theatre *@
Thu Oct 27 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern *@
Fri Oct 28 Detroit, MI Magic Stick Lounge *@
Sat Oct 29 Kalamazoo, MI The Strutt *@
Sun Oct 30 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall *@
Tue Nov 1 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry @
Wed Nov 2 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room @
Thu Nov 3 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Saloon @
Fri Nov 4 Norman, OK The Opolis @
Sat Nov 5 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest
Mon Nov 7 Marfa, TX Padre's @
Tue Nov 8 Santa Fe, NM VFW @
Wed Nov 9 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge @#
Thu Nov 10 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court @
Fri Nov 11 Boise, ID Neurolux @
Sat Nov 12 Seattle, WA The Vera Project @
Sun Nov 13 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios @
Tue Nov 15 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill @
Wed Nov 16 Santa Barbara, CA Muddy Waters @
Thu Nov 17 Los Angeles, CA The Echo @
Fri Nov 18 Long Beach, CA Alex's Bar @
Sat Nov 19 San Diego, CA The Casbah @
Sun Nov 20 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room @
Wed Nov 23 New Orleans, LA Circle Bar @
Fri Nov 25 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree @
Sat Nov 26 Atlanta, GA The Earl @
Sun Nov 27 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle @
Mon Nov 28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox @
Thu Dec 1 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom @
Fri Dec 2 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie @
Sat Dec 3 Baltimore, MD Ottobar @

* w/Javelin @ w/Ed Schrader's Music Beat #w/Pictureplane

26

We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011)
John Maus

Download it here

25

 The King of Limbs Remix Series (2011)
Radiohead



01. Give Up the Ghost (Brokenchord RMX)
02. TKOL (Altrice RMX)
03. Bloom (Blawan RMX)


Download it here

24

The prolific Grouper has a new limited 7" out from the Marfa Recording company, "Water People" b/w "Moving Machine." It's sold out at the moment, but will be available next month from Mississippi Records.

Download it here

23

I am very excited to bring you news of a new album from Future Islands, On the Water
It will be released on October 11 from Thrill Jockey

 






























01 On the Water
02 Before the Bridge
03 The Great Fire
04 Open
05 Where I Found You
06 Give Us the Wind
07 Close to None
08 Balance
09 Tybee Island
10 Grease


The press release is quite interesting, give it a read...

Future Islands' romantic synth sound scales new heights with On the Water, the Baltimore trio's most ambitious and fully realized statement yet. Built around a song cycle exploring love, loss, and memory, their latest album finds the band continuing to deliver pounding rhythms, swelling melodies, and undeniable hooks - but finding new ways to probe inner space and tug at hearts.
Convening in March 2011 in Elizabeth City, NC's historic, waterfront Andrew S. Sanders House, vocalist Samuel T. Herring, bassist William Cashion, and keyboardist Gerrit Welmers lived together in a space that served as both studio and sleeping quarters. The band used this tranquil retreat to refine their most reflective and mature batch of songs to date, adding new material in the process.
What emerged is a lush yet visceral album about two parallel journeys--one physical and one psychological. On the Water's narrator offers enough detail that their story feels personal, yet open enough that any listener can inhabit each twist and emotional pang as their own.
Travelling on foot, we seek something - an exorcism, an epiphany, an ending. Memories wash across us as in life: non-linear, linked by emotional resonance rather than conventional chronology. And so, the pain of letting go channeled by "The Great Fire" collides with a moment's fleeting serenity in the Eno-esque "Open"; the triumphant rallying cry "Give Us the Wind, " despite its confident declaration of individual strength, remains a mile away from final chapter "Tybee Island." It is there the song cycle ends, and what is discovered in "Tybee Island" will be as different as the lives lived by each person who finds their way to this album.
On the Water may unearth aural memories as well. The mind may flash upon our first encounters with New Order's "Ceremony," David Bowie's "Heroes," or The Cure's Disintegration, memories which, are continually reborn and re-imagined in the context of the here and now. And as the song-cycle's narrator comes to terms with his own memories, his singular journey collapses into the collective experience of album-closer "Grease." It is here that the "I" of the nine previous songs collapses into the "we" of Future Islands, now singing the literal journey of the people who came together by the ocean to deliver these songs into our ears. Far from just a narrative trope, the ocean played an integral role in On the Water's creation. The bulk of the album was recorded with waves pounding sand mere feet away. The album opens and closes with field recordings made by the band on a nearby dock, and one pivotal track, "Tybee Island," began with vocals recorded on the beach (subsequently fleshed out in the studio with additional instrumentation).
The ocean inhabits every note of these songs. On the Water is an addictive ride that demands repeat listens, eagerly awaiting the test of time. To produce these results, Future Islands fleshed out its sound with the additions of cello, violin, marimba, and field recordings. As with their 2010 breakthrough album In Evening Air, On the Water was produced by frequent collaborator Chester Endersby Gwazda, perhaps best known as producer of Dan Deacon's Bromst. Noted guests include Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner, who provides vocals on "The Great Fire," and Double Dagger's Denny Bowen on live drums and additional percussion.
For all its undeniable weight, On the Water is not a sullen concept album. Every track on the record works both as a contribution to the whole and as a stand-alone pleasure, evident in the insistent throbs, addictive melodies, and stirring vocals of tracks like "Close to None," "Balance," and first single "Before the Bridge."
Make no mistake, On the Water is a record that aims to both break your heart and heal your wounds. 


The first single is called  "Before the Bridge," released on a sold out 7" b/w b-side "Find Love

It is is available to download here


If you are unfamiliar with Future Islands, I most highly recommend their last album, 2010's In Evening Air. It is undoubtedly one of my favorite records of the past 5 years, and certainly one of 2010's very best releases. They are also an incredible live band

Future Islands' website is here
& their MySpace is here

22

"Terra Incognita," the first single from Atlas Sound's new album Parallax, can be streamed here

21

"Fall Creek Boys Choir," Justin Vernon & James Blake

20

Bjork's fourth Biophilia single "Moon" can be streamed here
MP3 soon!

Headphones recommended 

19

Antony singing "Cut the World" with the Heritage Orchestra at the Wilderness Festival

18

Bjork's Biophilia cover

17

Tonight I saw my beloved White Denim play the Magnet Club in Berlin. Their second album, Fits, is one of the top albums of 2009, and their new record, D, sounded brilliant live

See them if you can!

16

Today I would like to share a feature The Quietus has written on the fire rioters started at the Sony/PIAS warehouse in London. The warehouse is a distribution center for nearly 150 different independent labels. The feature provides a list of some of the labels effected, as well as some suggestions for albums you may be interested in buying to help support these labels in such a difficult moment for business - among those included by The Quietus are Bjork's Homogenic and Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me, two of my very favorite records, as well as Destoryer's Kaputt, one of 2011's best offerings. Please be reminded that this is already an icnredibly difficult time for independent labels and record stores, and they very much need the support of listeners like yourself. If you are an independent music fan, it's very likely that an artist you like is represented by one of these many labels. I invite you to give it some consideration.

You can read the feature Help PIAS Labels By Buying Today - 20 Suggestions here

Among the labels effected...
4AD
Fat Cat
Domino
Drag City
Jagjaguar
Kompakt
Mute
Rough Trade
Secretly Canadian
Sub Pop
Thrill Jockey
Warp
XL/Beggars

15

Watch the Throne (2011) Deluxe Edition
Jay-Z & Kanye West

01 No Church in the Wild (ft. Frank Ocean)
02 Lift Off (ft. Beyonce)
03 Niggas in Paris
04 Otis (ft. Otis Redding)
05 Gotta Have It
06 New Day
07 That's My Bitch
08 Welcome to the Jungle
09 Who's Gon Stop Me
10 Murder to Excellence
11 Made in America (ft. Frank Ocean)
12 Why I Love You (ft. Mr. Hudson)
13 Illest Motherfucker Alive
14 H.A.M
15 Primetime
16 The Joy (feat. Curtis Mayfield)

Buy it on iTunes now (out physically 8/12/2011)
Download it here

14

Last night I saw Bon Iver play at Mountain Park in Holyoke, MA

Bon Iver have really come into their own as a band, and Justin Vernon put out a truly incredible performance. The live arrangements, particularly from Colin Stetson (sax) and Rob Moose (violin), were nothing short of brilliant. If you haven't heard their new album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, I suggest you find it today- it happens to be the best album released in 2011 so far

Perth
Minnesota, WI
Towers
Brackett, WI
Holocene
Beach Baby
Hinnom, TX
Wash.
Blood Bank
Flume
Michicant
Re: Stacks
Calgary
For Emma

Skinny Love
Beth/Rest
Wolves

Highlights: "Perth" "Minnesota, WI" "Blood Bank" "Beth/Rest" "Wolves"

13

"Virus" is here a few days early!
I will continue to update the stream link until (and add a download link only when) we have a full quality file

Download it here

The following essay is included in the "Virus" app (pictured above) within Biophilia, written by musicologist Nikki Dibben. Each song has one

In "Virus," Björk captures her relationship with a recurring throat infection —candida, a normal part of the human body system but one which causes infections when it overgrows. Fungi such as candida grow in a close and long-term relationship with plants and animals —what’s known as "symbiosis"—and it’s this bond which Björk describes.
Björk’s lyrics reference well-known symbiotic relationships : mushrooms and trees, viruses and human. Viruses are incredibly abundant and found in every ecosystem on earth, infecting animals, plants, and bacteria. Whereas animal species replicate cell division, viruses need a host cell to make copies of themselves, sometimes lying dormant, but often resulting in the death of the host cell. The virus app takes you through the drama of this life cycle.

Björk’s deadlier inspirations for virus include parasitic symbiosis in which one organism benefits at the expense of another, often by taking over the host, or even changing the host’s behaviour — an alarming analogy for love between humans! For example, a parasitic worm infects the garden snail, making its eye stalks swell and throb with larvae so that the stalks resemble caterpillars, and causing the snail to crawl to the top of foliage at sunrise—something they would never normally do. This lures birds to eat the larvae with reproduce in the gut of the bits who excretes the eggs, and these are then eaten by other snails who themselves become infected.

Another inspiration from nature was the control of ants by a parasitic fungus : the fungus attaches to ants as they cross the forest floor and releases chemicals in the ants’ bodies that cause them to fix to leaves a certain height from the floor where they die. the fungus then sprouts from the head of the dead ant and the spores drop to the ground, starting the cycle again.

Listen to the song’s juxtaposition of its grim subject matter with its romantic-sounding music —an irony you’ll find more often in the music of the sugar cubes, of of Björk’s earlier bands, than in her latest solo work. We get a musical hint that all is not well in the symbiotic relationship just before the fourth verse when there is a sudden shift to a new key, wild modulation, and pitch bends in the choir on the lyrics "you fail to resist".

As in other tracks from Biophilia, Björk uses musical sound and structure to communicate her ideas in "virus". For instance Björk took the idea of a virus multiplying and created its sonic equivalent in the busy gameleste arrangement, using a generative music program —a sequence of rules expressed as an algorithm (a set of mathematical interactions) which operate on musical material put into the program such that the compositional process takes on a life of its own.

Instruments containing copper, like gameleste, cymbals, brass and hang (a bronze flying-saucer-shaped object struck with the fingers) appear throughout Biophilia and it was a happy coincidence when Björk discovered that copper was used to cure candida. The use of generative computer programme highlights the similarity between biological and digital (computer) viruses, linking the themes of music, nature and technology that run through Biophilia.

12

This week, the song in heaviest rotation is "Athol-Brose" by the Cocteau Twins, from their superclassic Blue Bell Knoll LP. It happens to be one of my favorite Cocteau Twins songs

I've been working on a post about the Cocteau Twins and their music, hoping to finish it soon

11

Air France released a new single today, their first release since 2008's fantastic No Way Down EP
It's called "It Feels Good to Be Around You," and you can download it from Sincerely Yours here

10

Bjork's Biophilia track list has been revealed in the credits of the Biophilia iPad/iPhone app, and by the order of the tuning forks displayed in pictures for Biophilia: The Ultimate Edition.

As you may know, Bjork is my very favorite artist. If you're a bit lost with the onslaught of new Biophilia information, please check back here for a large post about the wonders and workings of Biophilia as its release nears (Sepember 26!)

The next single to be released from the album is "Virus," next Tuesday, August 9!


Biophilia

01. Moon
02. Thunderbolt
03. Crystalline
04. Cosmogony
05. Dark Matter
06. Hollow
07. Virus
08. Sacrifice
09. Mutual Core
10. Solstice

www.bjork.com

9

Fantastic performance from the incomparable Merrill Garbus on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night