New Music Friday - April 8, 2016

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

DTCV - Confusion Moderne DTCV was formed by James Greer, formerly of Guided By Voices, and Lola G as Détective in 2012. The duo started out opening for GBV during tours. It's a trans-Atlantic partnership, Greer is American while Lola G hails from France. It's Lola's background that influences the lyrical content of their music most, as all lyrics are sung in her native French. Confusion Moderne is their second album together. Watch: "Capital Ennui" Watch: "Bourgeois Pop"

Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack The initial announcement of Frightened Rabbit's fifth album scared me at first. I am on the band's mailing list and the wording of the first sentence of the email made it sound, to me, like they were announcing a breakup. Thankfully, that was not the case and the band announced this Aaron Dessner-produced album. It follows their 2013 album, Pedestrian Verse, and Scott Hutchinson's 2014 self-titled solo album as Owl John. Watch: "Get Out" Watch: "Woke Up Hurting"

Gallant - Ology It's rare that a cover, no matter how good or interesting, gets me into a new artist. I was highly impressed, however, with Gallant's recent cover of Sufjan Stevens' "Blue Bucket of Gold," recorded with the original artist on piano. His rendition lifted an already-emotional track to even higher levels of intensity. He has such a beautiful voice, I knew I had to check out the debut album from this young artist. Watch: "Weight in Gold" Listen: "Bourbon"

Kweku Collins - Nat Love Kweku Collins is a young rapper from the outskirts of Chicago. There's been an renaissance over the past few years of hip hop from Chi-Town, with growing popularity of artists like Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa, as well as the continued dominance of Kanye West. He contributes his own unique take on music, with folk, neo-soul, and classical influences. This is his debut album. Listen: "Ego Killed Romance" Listen: "Stupid Rose"

Woods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light Woods have been one of my beloved bands for a long time; I first fell in love with their 2010 album At Echo Lake. They are one of those bands who rarely stray from a distinctive sound, but who manage to make albums that each stand out on their own. Their ninth album finally sees them moving from their standard style. Influenced in part by artists like Mulatu Astatke, they've added African jazz to their repertoire. Watch: "I See in the Dark" Listen: "Can’t See At All"

Other Full-Length Releases

Ben Watt - Fever Dream Watch: "Gradually" Watch: "Between Two Fires"

Colin Stetson - Sorrow Watch: "Sorrow - I " (Extractt) Listen: "Sorrow - III" (Extract II)

Deakin - Sleep Cycle Watch: "Just Am" Listen: "Golden Chords"

HEIDEMANN - Detectives Listen: "Last Chance" Listen: "I’m So in Love" (featuring Nancy Whang)

Kim Myhr, Jenny Hval, & Trondheim Jazz Orchestra - In the End His Voice Will Be the Sound of Paper Listen: "Something New" Listen: "Mass"

The Lumineers - Cleopatra Watch: "Ophelia" Listen: "Sleep on the Floor"

M83 - Junk Watch: "Do It, Try It" Listen: "Solitude"

Mayer Hawthorne - Man About Town Watch: "Cosmic Love" Watch: "Love Like That"

Niki and the Dove - Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now Watch: "So Much It Hurts" Watch: "Play It on My Radio"

Parquet Courts - Human Performance Watch: "Dust" Watch: "Berlin Got Blurry"

Tim Hecker - Love Streams Watch: "Black Phase" Watch: "Castrati Stack"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Babeheaven - "Heaven"/"Friday Sky" Watch: "Heaven" Listen: "Friday Sky"

fka twigs - EP1 Reissue Watch: "Ache" Watch: "Hide"

Morly - Something More Holy Listen: "Plucky" Listen: "Something More Holy"

Nosaj Thing - No Reality Watch: "N R 2" Listen: "N R 1"

River Tiber - "Illusions" Listen: "Illusions" (featuring Pusha T)

Tokyo Police Club - Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness (Part 1) Listen: "Not My Girl" Listen: "PCH"

New Music Tuesday - June 17, 2014

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Releases

Alexis Taylor - Await Barbarians Alexis Taylor is primarily known for his work in the electronic group Hot Chip, with which he has been performing since 2000. Many members of the band have been engaged in side projects such as LCD Soundsystem, About Group and The 2 Bears. Alexis, however, has sidelined as a solo act. He released his debut in 2008 and a follow-up EP in early 2013. Watch: "Elvis Has Left the Building" Watch: "Without a Crutch (2)"

The Antlers - Familiars Familiars is The Antlers' follow-up to the incredible 2011 release Burst Apart. Each release from the band has, in a metaphorical way, approached a different subject, from heartbreak, to sexual frustration, to sadness. Their latest is no different; it explores the subject of death, using self-discovery as the metaphor (man, that's dark). Their use of sound remains largely consistent, if not at least becoming more solid in their approach. Watch: "Hotel" Watch: "Palace"

Kasabian - 48:13 There are some typical avenues artists take to name albums; the name of an album track, the artist's name, a lyric on the album, or even the number of the album in the artist's discography. British indie rock outfit Kasabian is taking a fairly new, or at least infrequently used approach; the album's title is also its length, 48 minutes and 13 seconds. The tracks on their latest have actually been given names, the artwork does show the length of each track, though. Watch: "Eez-eh" Listen: "Explodes"

Klaxons - Love Frequency The Klaxons manage to create music that sounds like a futuristic indie punk, yet still incorporates distinctive styles from the past few decades; including new wave and psychedelia. Predictably, their music is extremely enjoyable to listen to; though not extremely deep. Love Frequency is their third album and a follow-up to 2010's Surfing the Void. Watch: "Show Me a Miracle" Watch: "There Is No Other Time"

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence I have been extremely apprehensive to check out Lana Del Rey's music. She seemed to be a pop chanteuse manufactured specifically for the hipster crowd and, after seeing a lackluster SNL performance of hers, I was convinced she had nothing really to offer. I was intrigued, though, when it was announced that her sophomore album was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. While I'm not convinced she's a great artist, after a few listens I consider to be an interesting artist and one worth listening to. Watch: "Shades of Cool" Listen: "Pretty When You Cry"

Sam Smith - In the Lonely Hour Sam Smith first shot to fame as a guest vocalist for other artists, most notably on "Latch" by Disclosure and "La La La" by Naughty Boy. Last year, he began releasing his own solo material, and proved that he can stand on his own and possibly heralding in a new era for British crooners. In the Lonely Hour is his debut record. Watch: "Money on My Mind" Watch: "Leave Your Lover"

Say Hi - Endless Wonder Say Hi may be thought of as a band, but is really the solo work of musician Eric Elbogen, who sings and plays all of the instruments on his records. He began his career in 2002 and has fairly consistently released one album per two years since. Endless Wonder is his eighth album. Listen: "Such a Drag" Listen: "Critters"

Siinai - Supermarket Siinai is a Finnish rock band who contributed to Moonface's (Spencer Krug) 2012 album Heartbreaking Bravery. This is perhaps very fitting, as their music is unique, but all instrumental. They served as a good accompaniment to Krug's vocals. They are back to being just Siinai, though; Supermarket is their first record since that collaboration. Watch: "Shopping Trance" Watch: "Entrance"

The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do the Heathen Rage The Soft Pink Truth is a house band that was started by Matmos frontman Drew Daniel as a dare (someone didn't believe that he could create house music). Albums were released in 2003 and 2004 from the project, then they went quiet for awhile. They return this year with an album of heavy metal covers, done in a house/electronic style. The album features contributions from M.C. Schmidt, Antony Hegarty and Jenn Wasner. Watch: "Black Metal" Listen: "Ready to Fuck"

Willie Nelson - Band of Brothers Despite his age, Willie Nelson has been an incredibly prolific recorder and performer. He's released four albums just in the past two years and estimates that he performs around 150 concerts per year. Despite this, it's been a long time since he's released an album of songs that he himself has written, nearly 20 years. Band of Brothers marks his return to writing. Watch: "The Wall"

Other New Releases

Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll Reissue Cocteau Twins were a highly-influential dream pop band active from 1979 and 1997. Two of their better known albums are getting reissued this week; Blue Bell Knoll was initially released in 1988 and was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution. Watch: "Carolyn's Fingers" Listen: "Blue Bell Knoll"

Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas Reissue Heaven or Las Vegas was the 1990 follow-up to Blue Bell Knoll. It would go on to be included in a number of "best of the decade" lists and has often been considered to be Cocteau Twins' best work. Watch: "Heaven or Las Vegas" Watch: "Iceblink Luck"

Dave Sitek - "God Damn Beauty" Dave Sitek is primarily known as a multi-instrumentalist for TV on the Radio and as a producer. He has also started making a name for himself as a solo artist. He released his debut, Maximum Balloon, in 2010 and is following up with a new single. Listen: "God Damn Beauty"

Detroit Swindle - 64 Ways: The Remixes (featuring Mayer Hawthorne) House band Detroit Swindle released a full-length album, Boxed In, in March of this year. That album included a track with vocal contributions from Mayer Hawthorne. That track has been remixed by a number of producers, including Kraak & Smaak. Those remixes have been compiled onto this release. Listen: "64 Ways" Listen: "64 Ways" (Kraak & Smaak Remix)

Joakim - "Bring Your Love" (featuring Luke Jenner) Joakim, another house producer, also released an album earlier this year. Luke Jenner, formerly of The Rapture, was included on a track off the album, which is now seeing its single release. Watch: "Bring Your Love"

The Knife - Shaken-Up Versions The Knife released an incredible fourth album last year following a seven-year new music hiatus for the band. Songs from that album are getting "shaken-up" with reworkings of the original compositions. Watch: "Without You My Life would Be Boring" (Shaken-Up Version)

Red Hot + Bach The Red Hot Organization is an association dedicated to fighting AIDS. To support their mission, they have released a number of themed albums, featuring contributions from many prominent musicians. In the latest, musicians use Bach compositions to create new music. Contributors here include Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Julianna Barwick. Watch: Julianna Barwick - "Very Own" Listen: Shara Worden - "Time Drinks Three Shots" (from "You Us We All")

St. Vincent - "Digital Witness" St. Vincent released what may turn out to be the best album of the year this past February. "Digital Witness" was a stand-out from the album and is getting released as a single backed with a remix of the track done by Darkside. Watch: "Digital Witness" Listen: "Digital Witness" (Darkside Remix)

Sufjan Stevens - Enjoy Your Rabbit Reissue There's a connection between these last two artists. Before breaking out on her own, Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) spent time in the touring band for Sufjan Stevens. This was after he released this album in 2001. The musician's sophomore album, based on the Chinese zodiac, is getting a reissue this week. Listen: "Enjoy Your Rabbit" Listen: "Year of the Ox"

New Music Tuesday - July 16, 2013

New Full-Length Releases

Chris Schlarb - Psychic Temple II Chris Schlarb is an artist and composer signed to Asthmatic Kitty. I hadn't actually heard his name until an early single for the album came out, which featured fellow AK-signee Sufjan Stevens (one of my all-time faves). I liked the single well enough, so I've decided to check out the album, as well. Maybe this will prompt me into checking out more of the Asthmatic Kitty artists! Listen: "'Til I Die"

David Lynch - The Big Dream Lynch is a legend in film, he directed Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. He has many other creative endeavors, though, including painting, design and, of course, music. At 67, this is just his second solo album (the first was 2011's Crazy Clown Time), though he's done collaborative work for much longer. He's gotten some pretty awesome guest vocalists on his albums. His first featured a song with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. This one has a bonus track with Lykke Li (below)! Listen/Watch: "I'm Waiting Here"

Mayer Hawthorne - Where Does This Door Go Hmmm, is it just me or does it seem like a variety of styles of soul music have become incredibly popular in the past couple of years? As popular as the experimental sounds of Solange and Janelle Monae have become, artists looking to a past era have, as well. Mayer is the second kind, he has a bit of a throwback sound. This is his second album, but I've waffled a bit on checking him out. However, I am listening to the album right now and it is definitely a good one! Listen/Watch: "Her Favorite Song"

Other New Releases

Autre Ne Veut - "On and On" First, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim started moving away from animated programs. Now, they're starting to move away from the television medium. The network began releasing singles from a variety of bands and musicians recently. At first, many were with hip hop and garage bands, but they've become broader since. Autre Ne Veut, an R&B artist, is the latest offering from the network. Listen: "On and On"

The Joy Formidable - Silent Treatment EP The Joy Formidable released their second album, Wolf's Law, earlier this year, "Silent Treatment" is one of the songs on that record. Of course, a new album never means that's all the new music that a band has. This EP features an all new song from the band, "All This Promise," as well as a remix of the title track and a live version of another Wolf's Law cut, "Tendons." Listen/Watch: "Silent Treatment"