new brendan benson

Brendan Benson

In between recording and touring with the Raconteurs and helping out the Stooges on their not-so-great new LP, Detroit's Brendan Benson found the time to record (and leak) a few new, unfinished demos. These may or may not end up on his upcoming full-length, which hopefully will see release sometime this year. Benson's 2002 LP Lapalco remains one of our favorite power-pop records of the last few years, so we're anxious to see what he ends up doing with these promising demos. Thanks to So Much Silence for pointing us in the direction of these rough cuts:

mp3:
Brendan Benson Feel Like Taking You Home
Brendan Benson Poised and Ready

Listen to a few more demos at Brendan Benson's myspace, or possibly here. And because we love this song, here's some classic Lapalco-era Benson:

can't you feel the knife

Edward Droste of Grizzly Bear wins the award for best blogger who also happens to be in an amazing band. Head over to Ed's blog for a video of his dog listening to the Arcade Fire, a great mp3 from a new UK band called Magic Arm, and this video of some 12-year-old kids from Atlanta covering "Knife":

hella international

Thanks to Stones Throw for posting this J Dilla track from the Hella International 3 12-inch Box Set, sold exclusively at the Stones Throw Hella International Party in Miami at the 2007 Winter Music Conference:

mp3:
J Dilla The $ (Madlib remix)

Marissa Nadler covers Xiu Xiu

Slowgoing around blog-land today, but the ever-prolific (and generous) Marissa Nadler posted this Xiu Xiu cover this afternoon on her myspace page. Taken from the upcoming Xiu Xiu Remixed & Covered album, which also features Devendra Banhart, Sunset Rubdown, and more:

mp3:
Marissa Nadler Clowne Towne (Xiu Xiu cover)

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elsewhere:



The great Spine Magazine is hosting the lost M.I.A. track from the import version of Timbaland's new LP:

mp3:
Timbaland + M.I.A. Come Around (via Spine Magazine)

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Finally, as we hinted at about a month ago, St. Vincent has officially signed with Beggars Banquet, and will release her amazing debut LP, Marry Me, in July.

dirty south dance

One of our biggest scores at SXSW was copping A-Trak's first "real" mixtape, Dirty South Dance, a collection of "18 tracks and 50+ minutes of Southern rap laid carefully over electro and dance joints," released on Fool's Gold Records (founded by Nick Catchdubs and A-Trak). Our friend the Analog Giant called it "a damn classic," and the more we listen, we tend to agree.

Featuring remixes of tracks from the Clipse, M.I.A., Timberlake, Rick Ross (including an incredible blend of "Hustlin'" and Simian Mobile Disco's "Hustler"), and more, Dirty South Dance is definitely the party record of the year thus far. Here's a snippet from one of our favorite parts of the mix:

mp3:
A-Trak Feeling for the Pack

Purchase Dirty South Dance at Turntable Lab for only 10 bucks, and while you're over there, pick up the t-shirt and the limited-edition signed print.

new believers

Have any of you guys heard this new Elk City record? Our initial reaction was "Hey, this sort of has a '60s girl-group-meets-the-Pixies feel," which in fact sounds much better on record than on paper. Turns out the Village Voice thinks that frontwoman Renee LoBue sounds "like a female Bowie engaged in a three-way with Hope Sandoval and Patti Smith," which may or may not be more accurate than our thing. Either way, "Los Cruzados" is irresistible:

mp3:
Elk City Los Cruzados
Elk City Cherries in the Snow

Elk City's New Believers comes out April 17 on Friendly Fire.

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also:

We stopped by the Vice Records blog for the first time in a while, and we noticed that they'd posted two tracks from the upcoming Chromeo record in the last couple of months. Where the hell have we been? Anyway, I saw an interview with the Chromeo dudes in which they described the new album as "Hall and Oates-y," so you can count us in (ironically speaking, of course):

Chromeo Tenderoni
Chromeo Fancy Footwork

beach house 'n' guns 'n' bombs

Beach House's self-titled debut LP was released on extremely limited vinyl (500 copies) on Heart Break Beat records on March 20, and thanks to this Pitchfork news item, it's already sold-out. We highly recommend trying to find one (maybe here or at your local record store), as I'm sure the vinyl format only enhances the warmth of one of our favorite releases of '06, and the slightly different artwork sure is pretty.

mp3:
Beach House Master of None

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elsewhere:

L.A. readers are going to want to hit up this party on Friday night, at the brand new Guatelinda on Hollywood Blvd. Only $5 at the door:



Here's a dope little mixtape by Guns 'N' Bombs, featuring themselves, MSTRKRFT, the Teenagers, Boys Noize, and more:

mp3:
Guns 'N' Bombs Mixtape #2 (31 mb)

View the full track list after the jump...


datA - aerius light
does it offend you, yeah? - we are rockstars
guns'n'bombs - crossover appeal
mstrkrft - street justice (mstrkrft 07 remix) [EXXXCLUSIVE]
felix cartal - moss vs tree
boys noize - feel good (tv = off) (shinichi osawa edit)
yelle - short dick cuiz (tepr remix)
christopher + raphael just - disco 128
surkin feat. vyle - toxicoman
the futureheads - worry about it later (al dare half done refix)
the teenagers - homecoming (guns'n'bombs 1996 xtc remix)

the taste in my mouth

Thanks to Asthmatic Kitty for hooking us up with this exclusive mp3 from Shapes and Sizes' upcoming LP, Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner. This song is in stark contrast to "Alone/Alive," the album opener that was posted by Fluxblog/Pitchfork last week, wherein Caila Thompson-Hannant's powerful and unique vocals were described as "assertive," "authoritative," and even "bouncy." But on "The Taste in My Mouth," we find her vulnerable and confused, as the song commences under false pretenses, easing itself into as somewhat disjointed banjo-inflected dirge, before swelling into a vast, surreal multi-part orchestral folk exploration. Thompson-Hannant's voice writhes and quivers amid the epic-yet-restrained arrangements, which showcase S&S' considerable growth and provide a welcome contrast when listened to in the context of the album:

mp3:
Shapes and Sizes The Taste in My Mouth

Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner will be released on Asthmatic Kitty on May 22. Here's one more song from the record:

mp3: Shapes and Sizes Alone/Alive

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elsewhere:


Bill Baird + Jared Van Fleet (photo by Garrison)

{{{{Sunset}}}}) (aka Bill Baird) rolled through Dallas last weekend, and the man brought along a veritable Traveling Wilburys-style Austin all-star team, consisting of Jared Van Fleet (Voxtrot, Sparrow House), Nathan Stein (Tacks, the Early Tapes), Mark David Ashworth, David Longoria (The Black), and a five-man guitar orchestra. In what I would call the best performance I've seen from Bill, fool's eccentric compositions assumed the sonic warmth of '60s AM radio, a sound that recalled the calmer side of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass crossed with the lilting country shuffles of Beck's Sea Change.

mp3:
{{{{Sunset}}}} It's Already Here

click the read more link to view a couple more photos from the evening...



Bill and his guitar army (photo by Garrison)


Bill (photo by Garrison)

i told her give it up. she said she ain't a quitter.

spec boogie

So we were at a dance-party at SXSW, and the DJ (think it was A-Trak) was going over fairly well until he played "Young Folks," at which point the crowd proceeded to lose their shit and sing along at the top of their collective lungs. The DJ's response? "Fucking hipsters." On a semi-related note, we found this little gem over at the Fader blog: Spec Boogie drops his introspective and lovelorn verse(s) over Peter Bjorn and John's "Amsterdam," thereby rendering this remix approximately 100x better than the original, and making us fast fans of the Brooklyn MC:

mp3:
Peter Bjorn and John + Spec Boogie Amsterdam (loosie remix)

don't make me get old school

This brand new, unfortunately-titled Dizzee Rascal track comes courtesy of Diplo's Mad Decent blog, and it has us floored just a little bit. I mean, we already loved Dizzee, but he ups the ante on this one, dropping his unmistakable flow over a familiar and completely insane break:

mp3:
Dizzee Rascal Pussyhole

The new Dizzee Rascal LP, Maths and English, comes out June 5.

cool kids

The Cool Kids

The Cool Kids are Chuck and Mikey from Chicago, Illinois. According to their myspace page, Chuck and Mikey are "out to bring a feeling back" and to "make it cool to be a fan again." Oh, and also "to make Dope shit." We wholeheartedly support all of these endeavors. "Mikey Rocks" sounds like a late '80s EPMD joint produced by a low-budget version of the Neptunes, so we'd say they're off to a good start.

mp3:
The Cool Kids Mikey Rocks

The Cool Kids have an EP coming out soon on Fool's Gold Records, home of A-Trak and Kid Sister.

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elsewhere:

After wowing pretty much everyone that was lucky enough to see her play at SXSW, Dallas' St. Vincent will release her outstanding debut LP, Marry Me, in May on a yet-to-be-announced label. Asthmatic Kitty (not her label) has posted the first review of the record in their sidebar, and it basically echoes our sentiments exactly. Reviewer Adam Gnade calls Marry Me, "11 tracks of this beautiful, playful, smart, intense jazz-folk-pop-classical hybrid thing. It's American music in the finest sense..." That's about the most accurate summation of St. Vincent's sound that we've ever heard. Read the rest of the review here, and proceed to get excited about the record...it's something special.

cheer me up thank you

Australia's Sally Seltmann, aka New Buffalo, has a new album called Somewhere, Anywhere. The record, which features guest spots by members of the Avalanches and Architecture in Helsinki, was released yesterday in Australia, but I have no idea when/if it will be released elsewhere. We were big fans of her 2005 release on Arts & Crafts, so hopefully this one will find a home there as well. Here's the video for the first single, "Cheer Me Up Thank You," directed by Architecture in Helsinki's Isobel Knowles:



Music For Robots has the mp3 and a nice little writeup about the song.

jana hunter: there's no home

Jana Hunter

Partially written on her sailboat tour with Peter and the Wolf, Jana Hunter's beautiful and soulful new record There's No Home will be released on Devendra Banhart's Gnomonsong label on April 10. This is one of our most highly-anticipated albums of 2007, and this song fully validates our excitement. One of the poppiest numbers she's has ever written, "Babies" features an infectious rolling bassline and showcases Jana's talent on her first instrument, the violin, which she's played since she was 9 years old. The highlight, however, is Ms. Hunter's uniquely androgynous and haunting vocal turn:

mp3:
Jana Hunter Babies

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related:



Jana Hunter is also in a band called Jracula, and according to her bio on the Gnomonsong website, they've completed a record that will be released soon. Here's what we said about this song back in August:

This song is sort of disjointed and droning (dirge-like, even), but it's intensely melodic at the same time, with its catchiness only revealing itself after a few listens. The creepy synth line sounds like it was lifted from an old horror flick, and Jana's haunting vocals are as sinister-sounding and mesmerizing as ever...I don't know what you'd call it, but Jracula is wading in some unclassifiable territory with this one.

mp3:
Jracula Carpopolis

see a penny, pick it up

YACHT (better known as Jona from the Blow) is set to release his awesomely titled LP, I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real, on Marriage Records. This first song, with its bassline lifted directly from the Knight Rider theme song, is the absolute jam. If you liked the Blow's Paper Televison (and who didn't?), I'm pretty sure you'll love this too:

mp3:
YACHT See a Penny, Pick it Up

I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real comes out May 8. The cd release party will take place on an actual yacht.

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bonus:

YACHT also has a remix album coming out soon on States Rights Records, entitled Our Friends in Hell. Here are a couple tracks from that release:

Architecture in Helsinki Do the Whirlwind (YACHT remix)
Mirah Make it Hot (Over Remix)

The Polyphonic Spree at Hot Freaks

Many thanks go to Stereogum for shooting and uploading this video of the Polyphonic Spree's performance of "Hanging Around the Day" at Hot Freaks at SXSW. The band's new material sounded great, and their life-affirming afternoon set was the highlight of SXSW for me and many others:



The Fragile Army will be out in June on TVT Records. Listen to part of new song "Running Away" at the band's website.

sunset and friends

poster by David.

Please join us Saturday evening at the Cavern for an intimate show with Sound Team's Bill Baird, aka {{{{sunset}}}}, and friends. He'll be joined by assorted members of his esteemed crew from Austin, including (but not limited to): the Black, Mark David Ashworth, Tenlons Fort, and more. We've talked about Bill, the Black, and Mark David before, but this Tenlons Fort song is exceptionally pretty and sad; I think you guys'll really like it. Here are a few mp3s, all of the "highly recommended" variety:

mp3s:
{{{{Sunset}}}} Already Here
Tenlons Fort Ghost on a Hill
Mark David Ashworth Eggs

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elsewhere:


The Pipettes at Beauty Bar (photo by Lorne Thomson)

Our boy over at Lullabyes captured some incredible recordings at SXSW this year. First up: the Rosebuds at Hot Freaks, Bonde Do Role, and the Pipettes at Beauty Bar. Here's a sample:

mp3:
The Pipettes Pull Shapes (live at SXSW)

We know for a fact that Lullabyes has a bunch more where these came from, so keep checking back.

The National: "Fake Empire"

Here's the album opener from many people's most-anticipated record of 2007, The National's Boxer. First impressions? We love it.

mp3:
The National Fake Empire

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bonus:

Here's an exclusive teaser video for "Slow Show," track six from Boxer:



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elsewhere:

This article (and its comments) over at the Austinist, regarding all of the parties that were suspiciously shut down at this year's SXSW festival, is a must read. Turns out it probably didn't matter how thorough the IHEARTCOMIX people were, that party was going to be shut down either way. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come at future unofficial SXSW events.

breaker

Richard Swift

One artist I missed at SXSW that everyone has been raving about was Richard Swift. This great little Prince cover will be featured as the B-side on the upcoming Kisses for the Misses seven-inch, due out May 22.

Richard Swift Paisley Park (Prince cover)

Here's the video for the A-side, "Kisses for the Misses":



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elsewhere:

Our boy Andy tipped us off to this fine event taking place in Point Arena, an idyllic beach town north of San Francisco City. Vetiver's one of our favorite bands that we've never had the chance to see live, so we'd obviously jump at the opportunity to make this one if we lived out there:



mp3:
Vetiver Farther On

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Finally, one album that was released this week that we've neglected to mention is Low's Drums and Guns. We haven't spent much time with the full record yet, but it's worth purchasing on vinyl just for the gorgeous photos of, uh, drums and guns that accompany the liner notes. We also have a sneaking suspicion that the record's going to be a grower, based mostly on the fact that we've been obsessed with this song lately:

mp3:
Low Breaker

Stereogum posted the "Breaker" video here.

let it percolate

One of the most pleasant surprises at this year's SXSW fest was the fun we had watching and attempting to dance to Kid Sister's set at the NASA party. The girl has charisma to burn, and the fact that she's totally adorable doesn't hurt either. Some fun facts: the Chicago MC graces the cover of the latest issue of URB Magazine, and her DJ is J2K of Flosstradamus, who also happens to be her brother. Here's a new-ish Flosstradamus re-work of Kid Sister's "Damn Girl":

mp3:
Kid Sister Girlie Rock (via our friends from Missing Toof)

Listen to more at Kid Sister's myspace, and check her out at Coachella if you get the chance

you've got disaster on your mind

An unfortunate side effect of blogging is that it has totally changed the way I listen to new music for the worst, and when coupled with my terrible ADD, I often have trouble making it past the first track of new releases. If I don't hear something that grabs me immediately, it's on to the next one, which I will readily admit is fairly pathetic. But luckily for me, the Besnard Lakes' "Disaster" is an essentially perfect album opener, recalling the majestic beauty of Brian Wilson's better compositions, only with more psychedelic flourishes. "Disaster" gives way to the just-as-amazing and epic "For Agent 13," the song that rendered me entirely enthralled by this band. In fact, the first four tracks from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse are nearly perfect, and as a result, it's gradually turned into one of our favorite releases of the year.

mp3: The Besnard Lakes Disaster

We can't recommend enough that you purchase The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse here, preferably in archaic and totally rad vinyl format, for only $11.

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elsewhere:

It's been a while since we talked about sports around here, but we thought this was pretty funny. O.J. Mayo, widely considered to be the best high school hoops prospect in the nation, ended his high school career last weekend with this gem. In the waning seconds of the state championship game, Mayo tosses the ball off the backboard, dunks, then hurls the ball about 100 rows deep. He immediately gets a technical foul and is thrown out of the game, which elicits high fives from his teammates, and a hug from his coach. Classy. All set to the moving sounds of Explosions In The Sky:



That nonsense would have prompted a swift and literal ass-kicking from our high school coach. Oh by the way, the kid had a triple-double and his team won the state championship, despite his antics. He'll fit right in when he gets to the NBA.

Explosions In The Sky Welcome, Ghosts mp3

we gathered in spring

Eric and Tim of Midlake stopped by AOL's the Interface recently for a quick interview, and more importantly, a rare acoustic performance. Here's the stripped-down acoustic version of one of our favorite songs from The Trials of Van Occupanther that the band played for the podcast:

mp3:
Midlake We Gathered in Spring (live on the Interface)

Download the full podcast over at the Interface.

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elsewhere:

We wanted to give a huge thanks to G4's Attack of the Show for this really nice GvsB mention that aired last week. We actually watch Attack of the Show regularly (not just because Olivia is hot...we gotta stay up on Wii news) so it was an extremely cool surprise to hear the blog mentioned.

KEXP at SXSW

Ghostland Observatory on KEXP at SXSW (photo credit)

One of the highlights of last week's SXSW festival was meeting the great people from Seattle's KEXP, who had an extremely busy week to say the least. They spent most of their time holed up at the ACL Studios recording and broadcasting some truly amazing performances, including one from Austin's own Ghostland Observatory. Here's one track that the band recorded:

mp3:
Ghostland Observatory Sad Sad City (live on KEXP at SXSW)

Fujiya & Miyagi stopped by the studio too, and we have to insist you grab their whole set, because we can't stop listening to it. Here's a quick taste:

mp3:
Fujiya & Miyagi Ankle Injuries (live on KEXP at SXSW)

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Nice work all around, KEXP. Head over to the KEXP Blog, where they've made all of the archived KEXP/SXSW sessions available for download. Great news for us, since we ended up missing a lot of these bands last week. We highly recommend spending some time over there downloading sets from the Stooges, Beirut, Okkervil River, and so much more. Between these sets and the insane number of sessions that Daytrotter ended up recording at Big Orange, you should have plenty of SXSW-related listening to tide you over until next year.

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elsewhere:

Check out the main page of the New York Times website for a short documentary entitled "Hardest Working Band at SXSW." The video details the Black Lips' experience during the fest, and includes footage shot at our Hot Freaks party.

The Black Lips Not a Problem mp3

coolness is having courage to do what's right

Just a reminder that our album of the year thus far, Panda Bear's Person Pitch, comes out today on Paw Tracks. The record got a nice little mention in Sunday's New York Times, as well as an extremely positive 4-bunny review from those arbiters of legit independent culture and the arts over at Playboy Magazine (written by none other than Pitchfork's Marc Hogan). Any guesses on the Pitchfork score? I'm assuming it'll be up tomorrow morning...I'm going to go with 9.1.

Panda Bear Comfy in Nautica mp3

Menomena + Tree Wave: Live in Dallas

Thanks to everyone who came out to last night's sold-out Menomena/Tree Wave show in Dallas. The Cavern was actually over double its capacity for most of the evening...I'm so proud of you Dallas. (All photos by David)


Tree Wave's Paul Slocum rocks the Atari

Tree Wave's Paul Slocum put on one of the most innovative, visually interesting sets I've ever seen. Using old-school videogame gear to generate hypnotic images that are perfectly synched with gorgeous waves of electronic pop music, Tree Wave had the crowd transfixed for their full 30 minute set. We told some young kid that he was using an Atari 2600, and the kid had no idea what we were talking about.

Tree Wave May Banners mp3


Menomena

I assumed Portland's Menomena would be exhausted after playing numerous SXSW shows and sitting in ridiculous traffic on the way from Austin to Dallas, but about 2 minutes into set-opener "The Pelican," it became apparent that this was not the case. The entire set was loud and intense, culminating in an overpoweringly beautiful version of "Evil Bee." Seeing the band live twice in two days completely reinforced our belief that Friend and Foe is one of the best records of the year, and that Danny Seim is one of the best drummers we've ever seen.

Menomena E is Stable mp3

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Click read more link to view more photos from last night...


TREE WAVE:





MENOMENA:

SXSW 2007: Recap

Despite being extremely busy and slightly stressed out for a good part of the week, this was by far the most enjoyable SXSW we've ever experienced. Being tied to our own parties all day had its rewards, and while I'm sure I missed a ton of great bands, I was able to meet and hang out with some of the coolest people ever and witness some of the best performances I've ever seen. Here are the highlights of one of the most exhausting and fulfilling weeks we've had in a long time, in no particular order:


White Denim

White Denim at Hot Freaks
I think I speak for everyone that was packed into the Mohawk's tiny inside room when I say that this performance was nothing short of mind-blowing. The band was impossibly tight and loose at the same time, and the energy in the tight space was pretty incredible. Everyone in the room had a huge smile on their face the entire time, and I heard about 20 post-set "Who the fuck were those guys?" comments.


Tim (and Julie) of the Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree at Hot Freaks
By the time the Polyphonic Spree took the stage for their headlining slot at Hot Freaks, Club Deville was filled to capacity and there was a line down the block. The anticipation was pretty intense, and the Spree didn't disappoint. It's no secret that I love these guys, and the band's chill-inducing new material reminds me of the first time I saw Tripping Daisy, which means everything (to me, anyway). Oh, and drummer Brian Teasley is officially insane. (read Pitchfork's review of the show)


Spank Rock + Marina of Bonde Do Role

Spank Rock/Bonde Do Role at NASA
My only complaint (which was shared with 100% of attendees, as well as the artists) is that these sets were far too short. But the performances were electric, and we didn't stop dancing the entire time.


Kelly + Ivan of the Rosebuds