50% Hipster: Richard Edwards

Sunday, December 16, 2018

New Music Friday - June 1, 2018

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Father John Misty - God’s Favorite Customer

Josh Tillman has been a very prolific artist since starting his career in 2004, with 12 album both under the name J. Tillman and under his newer moniker, Father John Misty. He's followed up his last record, 2017's Pure Comedy, fairly quickly, with an album he jokingly referred to as its Pure Comedy 2 while touring for the previous record.

Watch: "Mr. Tillman"
Watch: "Date Night"

LUMP - LUMP

LUMP is the latest record from the spectacular Laura Marling, partnering with Mike Lindsay of TUNNG. It's a short, but sweet album. Vocally, the record is similar to her solo work, but Lindsay's involvement lends a different instrumentation to her sound.

Watch: "Curse of the Contemporary"
Watch: "May I Be the Light"

Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past

Prass scrapped the initial follow-up to her 2015 self-titled debut following the 2016 election. A different record came out of her frustration with the results. She channels those frustrations into an R&B-inflected record that calls for unity in these times.

Watch: "Short Court Style"
Watch: "The Fire"

Neko Case - Hell-On

Only Neko Case could make me look beyond the worst album art I've seen this year (I'm sorry Neko, though I still love you). She is as masterful as ever on her seventh album, showcasing the sounds she's developed both as a solo artist and with The New Pornographers, as well as introducing some new ideas.

Watch: "Last Lion of Albion"
Watch: "Curse of the I-5 Corridor" (featuring Mark Lanegan)

The Saxophones - Songs of The Saxophones

The Saxophones are the husband-wife duo of Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdice. They've released a series of short EPs together over the past couple of year, this is their first studio album.

Watch: "Mysteries Revealed"
Listen: "Picture"

Other Full-Length Releases

Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge - The Midnight Hour

Listen: "Black Beacon"
Listen: "Better Endeavor"

Juliana Daugherty - Light

Listen: "Light"
Listen: "Sweetheart"

Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of

Watch: "Black Snow"
Watch: "The Station"

Phil Cook - PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG

Watch: "Miles Away" (featuring Amelia Meath)
Listen: "Steampowered Blues"

Richard Edwards - Verdugo

Watch: "Minefield"
Listen: "Beekeeper"

Roger Daltrey - As Long As I Have You

Watch: "As Long As I Have You"
Listen: "I’ve Got Your Love"

Sam Evian - You, Forever

Watch: "IDGAF"
Watch: "You, Forever"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Cold Cave - You & Me & Infinity EP

Watch: "You & Me & Infinity"
Listen: "My Heart Is Immortal"

The Flaming Lips - Greatest Hits Vol. 1

Watch: "The Captain"
Watch: "Do You Realize??"

Mazzy Star - Still

Watch: "Quiet, the Winter Harbor"
Listen: "Still"

Paul Simon - Graceland - The Remixes

Listen: "Graceland" (MK & KC Lights Remix)
Listen: "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" (Thievery Corporation Remix)

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

New Music Friday - March 31, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Aimee Mann - Mental Illness

Mental Illness is the ninth album from Aimee Mann and the first since her 2014 collaboration with Ted Leo as The Both. The album features vocal contributions from Leo, as well as a few unexpected influences. One track is influenced by a meeting Mann had with actor Andrew Garfield (she recently spoke of the experience on Song Exploder). Another track came about from a photo of a friend's cat. Both tracks are below!

Watch: "Goose Snow Cone"
Watch: "Patient Zero"

Bob Dylan - Triplicate

In his old age, Dylan is finding his second wind. He's released an album for each of the past three years. It's become fairly stereotypical for aging rock stars to record standards albums and Dylan has been no different. His output has been better than most, though. So many other artists have transformed his music, it's interesting to hear him transform this music...and he's proven that his singing voice isn't nearly that bad.

Watch: "I Could Have Told You"
Listen: "My One and Only Love"

Freddie Gibbs - You Only Live 2wice

This album represents a bit of a resurrection for Gibbs. There is, of course, the obvious imagery of the resurrection of Jesus on the cover, but the album also follows a difficult year for the rapper. He was arrested in France last year for rape and eventually charged with sexual assault. The charges were later dropped. He processes the experience alone. A rarity in hip hop, there are no features on the album.

Watch: "Crushed Glass"
Listen: "Alexys"

Goldfrapp - Silver Eye

Silver Eye is the seventh album from Goldfrapp and one that stands in contrast to their 2013 record, Tales of Us. That record, with its more folk-focused sound, was also more somber than much of their work. They enlist producers Leo Abrahams, John Congleton, and The Haxan Cloak to help execute on the return to a more dancefloor ready sound.

Watch: "Anymore"
Watch: "Systemagic"

Tei Shi - Crawl Space

Crawl Space is the debut album from this Argentinean singer. It follows a pair of well-received EPs, Saudade and Verde, released in 2013 and 2015 respectively. She combines elements of art-pop, R&B, and electronica for something she has, jokingly, called "mermaid music".

Watch: "Keep Running"
Watch: "How Far"

Other Full-Length Releases