Baths – Disorderly

Will Weisenfield (AKA Baths) has managed to recapture some of the bright, wistful sounds that had captivated music lovers from his 2010 album Cerulean.  The radiating electronic beats in the track Disorderly immediately envelopes the listener into a realm of careless tranquility, a breath of fresh air after the melancholic Obsidian.  Weisenfield’s vocals are the same modest falsetto that has been featured before on his other tracks, and you know what?  They totally work.  If the track was left simply as an instrumental, it could easily have served as a relaxing soundtrack to your evening daydreams.  Yet with the complementation of the vocals, the song becomes slightly more apprehensive and anxious.  The mixture of these emotive forces make Disorderly the interesting Baths single we have all been waiting for.  This track was made available through the Los Angeles label Friends of Friends most recent compilation, titled What’s Good Los Angeles?  You can download the entire compilation (featuring Jerome LOL and Hodgy Beats) for free on October 4^th and stream the single Disorderly below.

-Denali

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks

 

Since their 2009 breakout release Meriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective has served as a gateway group to usher casual music listeners into the realm of experimental psychedelic music.  In response to their mainstream success, AC released 2012’s Centipede Hz, which delved straight back into their deeply experimental roots, distressing many of their newfound fans with its inaccessibility.  The digestible melodies and glossy synths of “Meriweather” were replaced by the cacophonous abrasion that one would typically find in their earlier albums.

    Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks serves as a kind of consolation prize for the confused fans lost in AC’s rekindled love affair with deep psychedelia.  Made up of AC founding member Avey Tare, former Dirty Projector Angel Deradoorian, and ex-Ponytail drummer Jeremy Hyman, the group manages to maintain the “poppiness” of Meriweather Post Pavillion while keeping to the experimental tendencies of Avey Tare.  As the name suggests, “Slasher Flicks” draws from the tongue-in-cheek eccentricity of classic cult horror films, harnessing its energy to produce a delightfully fun album.  Despite the accessibility of Enter the Slasher House, the album still has plenty of weird to go around.   Songs like Strange Colores and Little Fang feature alien-like vocal melodies accompanied by relentless synth beats which lock the listener into a hypnotic dancing abstraction.

The greatest challenge Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks faces is defining its identity outside of the context of Animal Collective.  The comparisons between the bands are unavoidable for obvious reasons, but if Enter the Slasher House were experienced without the preconception of an AC piece, it is really quite good.  “Slasher Flicks” succeeds in meeting fans’ expectations while treading some new creative ground on its own.  Enter the Slasher House is out now, stream below and enjoy!

-Denali

 

Real Estate – “Atlas”

As an active surf-rock enthusiast, I was overjoyed upon hearing of the latest release by Real Estate, titled Atlas.  Coming off of their 2011 release, Days, Real Estate has enjoyed a fair amount of critical acclaim, even being listed as the best album of that year by our staff members.  With their memorable guitar strums and gentle, carefree vocals Real Estate has earned their rightful spot in anyone’s “Summer Jamz” playlist. On Atlas however, the band shifts its mood towards something slightly gloomier.  The playful haze of Days has cleared, giving rise to a sound that is more deliberate yet introspective.  Atlas manages to accomplish the daunting task that all bands face of maintaining their collective identity while simultaneously avoiding creative stagnation.  Keep in mind, this is still the same Real Estate that had us reaching in blind nostalgia back in 2008.  Their drifting melodies have only been refined to produce their most cohesive and enjoyable album yet.  The opening track for Atlas begins with a melancholy guitar riff, eventually building into the warm beachside sounds that lay the groundwork for the entire piece.  The band has always been able to push all the buttons for making catchy tunes and feel-good vibes, and their latest album is no exception.  Stream below and enjoy.

-Denali

 

Nothing – “Guilty of Everything”

 

 

Nothing’s debut album “Guilty of Everything” envelopes the listener in a thick blanket of shoegazy alt-rock, teleporting them into an ethereal realm of artful angst and fuzzy guitar riffs.  Hidden within the thunderous wall of sound is a spring of analgesic tranquility making the album near impossible to stop listening to.  The band’s heavily distorted guitars and spectral vocals provide a rich atmosphere which gives credence to critics’ comparisons to giants like My Bloody Valentine.  “Guilty of Everything” is set to release on March 4th.  Stream below and enjoy.

-Denali

 

 

Mt. Royal – Mt. Royal EP

Mt. Royal is a relatively new group based out of Baltimore led by Celebration frontman Katrina Ford.   Much like Celebration, Mt. Royal touts swaying, soulful grooves, yet manages to find its own voice by breaking away from Celebration’s roots in psychedelia.  Their latest EP, candidly titled Mt. Royal EP saturates the listener with rich melodies and intoxicating rhythms.  Upon listening to first track on the EP, one can quickly draw parallels to heavy-hitters like Beach House or Foxygen (who I love), though Mr. Royal is still able to bring something unique to the table to avoid being redundant.  Ford’s powerful range of vocal expression coupled with the ardent instrumentation from the rest of the band makes Mt. Royal EP a fun and stimulating listen.   Give it a go on the player below.

-Denali

Dog Bite – Tranquilizers

Every January around this time I’m usually sliding into the phase where 90% of what I listen to is chillwave.  Something about the cold, grey outdoors moves me to reach out to something warm and saturated.  Dog Bite’s latest LP Tranquilizers happens to fit the niche I’m looking to fill this time of year with its misty atmosphere and transcendent vocals.  With a name like Dog Bite, I initially expected an album filled with guitar-smashing punk fury.  But I was pleasantly surprised upon hearing the laid-back, CASIO-driven sounds, displaying that their album title was well-earned.  That’s a lot of hyphens.  Dog Bite’s frontman is the former keyboardist from Washed Out, whose influence is apparent in the first minute of the opening track.  Rooted in its thick chillwave sounds is a clear affinity for 80’s new-wave music, which perfectly compliments Phil Jones’ deep, mellow vocals.  Give Tranquilizers a spin the next time you’re relaxing in your warm apartment/dorm, looking out at the frozen tranquility that encapsulates our area.

-Denali

Diane Coffee – My Friend Fish

 

Some of you may recognize Shaun Fleming as the Disney child-star who lent his voice in popular cartoons like Kim Possible.  Since his days working with Disney, Fleming has pursued a much different route of entertainment, mainly being the drummer for the indie band Foxygen.  Under the moniker “Diane Coffee”,  Fleming recently released his debut solo album titled My Friend Fish.  As expected, the album was a fantastic blend of soulful 60’s sounds, not too far off from efforts by Foxygen.  The first track on the album, “Hymn”, opens with a joyful chime on an organ, followed by building drums and guitars accompanied by a soothing choral sample to set the tone for the entire work.  If you loved Foxygen’s last release as much as I did, then I would definitely recommend checking out this album.

Blouse – Imperium

This Tuesday Blouse released their latest LP, titled Imperium.  As with any sophomore release, there is usually a degree of pressure felt by the artists to either continue with their initial musical stylings that built their fanbase, or deviate from them to create a more innovative album.  Bands that have attempted the latter have been met with varying rates of success (see MGMT’s Congratulations or Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible).  With Blouse’s self-titled debut being one of my favorite albums of 2011, I was hoping for another synthed- out, dream-pop, ’80’s throwback album.  However, after hearing the first single “No Shelter”, I was surprised to hear a more crisp, less synth driven sound.  The new album is based around “intruments that don’t plug into the wall” as band member Jacob Portrait (also bassist for Unknown Mortal Orchestra) puts it.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, despite a drastic change in style, the band still manages to produce infectious songs veiled in an air of longing and nostalgia.  When listening to Imperium I am slightly reminded of Tame Impala, though the distinction is clear.  Even though it’s not EXACTLY what I was hoping for, Imperium does not disappoint.

-Denali

Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe

 

Since coming together only two years ago, Chvrches has exploded in online popularity, rivaling some of the already well-seasoned groups in the electro-pop scene.  In September 2012 the Glasgow trio released their breakthrough single “The Mother We Share” which captivated the internet music lurker community with their punchy synth-beats and Mayberry’s crisp vocal melodies.  On September 23 Chvrches is due to release their much anticipated debut album “The Bones of What You Believe”.  Listeners should expect to hear the infectious hooks and driving samples that sold us from their various singles and Recover EP.  With as much hype that is currently surrounding this group, there is no doubt that “The Bones of What You Believe” will give them the push they need to become a household name among indie-electropop fans.  While browsing through various music blogs and cat videos last night I had stumbled upon a leak of the new album on youtube.  After giving it a brief listen (it was late) I was thoroughly satisfied with their retention of the catchy sounds that I had fell in love with last year.  The youtube video, unsurprisingly has been taken down but the leak has most likely been distributed throughout the dark alleyways that are the music downloading hosts since then.  However, I must say that if you enjoy the music that this group makes then give them your money!  They make music you like so why not reward them for it?  Alright, I’m done preaching.  In less than three weeks we will have our latest electro-pop fix from Chrvrches.  Be sure to check out their latest single if you somehow haven’t already.

-Denali