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Free Download of "Moth's Wings," from Passion Pit's new album Manners, out on May 19th. What started out as the one-man bedroom project of Michael Angelakos -- who recorded the Chunk of Change EP as a Valentine's Day gift to his girlfriend and subsequently set the blogs a-buzzing -- has evolved into a full band and a record deal with French Kiss. Working with producer Chris Zane (Les Savy Fav, Walkmen), Passion Pit's infectious, synth-heavy indie pop practically soars on their debut full-length, Angelakos' anthemic falsetto leading the charge. This Week's Featured Downloads
EXCLUSIVE ADVANCE DOWNLOAD. This talented musician has served time in the Greenhornes and the Soledad Brothers, two underrated garage rock bands from Cincinnati, Ohio. Brian Olive's self-titled solo album is a pretty impressive self-produced affair that takes the trashy, rollicking, Brit invasion revivalist sound of his former groups and then injects a healthy dose of bluesy soul backbeats and N'awlins horns to the mix. There's also a nice haze of gentle acid-washed psychedelia to his production that reminds me of some fellow '60s revivalists across the pond, the (Band of) Bees. Tracks like "Echoing Light," "See Me Mariona" and "There Is Love" are great stoner, psych-pop nuggets while "Calling All Around" and "Ida Red" are letter perfect Beggars Banquet-styled blues rock, reminiscent of Olive's former bands. But it's songs like "Stealin" and "Jubilee Line" that seal the deal, impressive rollicking jaunts that benefit from his impressive horn arrangements and a propulsive foot stomping backbeat. A great, solid listen from start to finish, if you've been diggin' on the sounds of King Khan, Brian Jonestown Massacre or the aforementioned Bees, you'll definitely want to spend some time with this record. Tip!! -Duane Harriott
Here's a great and long overdue look at one of the finest rock n roll bands Germany ever spawned. Compiling tracks from their LPs and singles, Zoned showcases a group, in reverse chronology from 1987 to 1981, that's obviously obsessed with the monotonous chug of the Velvet Underground (and you'd swear that John Cale is singing, with a German accent, on some of the tracks), and uses nervous energy as an instrument, as invented by Suicide. It's clear 39 Clocks -- Christian Henjes, Jurgen Gleue, and the drum machine -- came from an arty/dadaist/situationist background, as the band's live shows were often sloppy, chaotic spectacles, but in their recorded incarnation, they were a ridiculously cool, effortlessly rockin' (wouldn't be surprised if Henjes and Gleue had a few Nuggets comps laying around as well) duo. Sure, the sound is f**ked with at times, using effects and spoken word poetry, but it thankfully never sounds like art for arts sake here. The most immediate precursor to Spacemen 3? Perhaps. Either way, this is five-star rock n roll. -Andreas Knutsen
D. Charles Speer is the alias of Dave Shuford, one of the eight founding members of sixteen-year-old experimental improv outfit No-Neck Blues Band. Appropriately, his second release as D. Charles Speer finds a home on NNCK's private record label Sound@One, which boasts over a hundred NNCK-related releases and side projects, including Shuford's spaced out-psychedelic project Egypt is the Magic #. However, the avant-garde associations end there and After Hours delivers just what its cover suggests -- the feeling of wandering into the back of a dive bar in the rural South and finding D. Charles Speer and his sweat-soaked back-up band still rocking well into their third hour. Despite laying down roots in Harlem, the countrified rock sound of "Dave" Charles Speer refreshingly channels the straightforward simple-man vibe of The Band, the unpretentious hooks of reverent sing-a-longs by Wooden Wand, and even the heavy-hearted confessions of Bob Seger. After Hours is noticeably overshadowed by a dark cloud of loss; accordingly, its most disarming strength is the knowing way in which here-to-fore unsung vocalist D. Shuford wrings heartbreak out of his half-spoken, lackadaisical baritone, at times indistinguishable from the Silver Jews' David Berman ("Guns in the Hills") or Smog's Bill Callahan. It feels natural to salute this record, with its veteran songwriting, as a new classic; After Hours is not only a solidly executed take on the timeless Southern rock sound, it is a heartfelt labor of love recorded over four years that acts as a panacea for almost a decade of soul-less boy-man hipster folk that bafflingly still clogs the Brooklyn club circuit. D. Charles Speer represents the under-represented mature and broken-in dimension of bluesy rock, warbling about the good Lord, being a family man, his bygone wanderings down the open road, and straight-up aging. After Hours naturally has a few psychedelic moments ("Sit Right There"), but the 12 songs overwhelmingly have a darkhorse, twangy rock 'n' roll attitude. Great spring album for a'wanderin' around. -Karen Soskin
Sure to join the ranks of Putting the Morr Back into Morrissey and the Blue Skied an' Clear Slowdive tribute, Morr Music's latest themed comp, however, isn't dedicated to one particular artist, but rather classic New Zealand indie pop as a whole. The B. Fleischmann curated two-disc set finds the Morr roster reworking songs by groups like the Chills, Tall Dwarves, Chris Knox and the Clean. A perfect gift for the friend who thinks Flight of the Conchords is where it all began in NZ.
Soylent Green is Roman Flugel, who is also Acid Jesus, Eight Miles High, Tracks on Delivery, Sensorama and Alter Ego. Flugel is kinda like the Reinhard Voigt of Playhouse, a producer who excels at everything from acid techno, minimal house and club rockers to the most pin-point, micro, experimental techno and/or ambient. He's notorious and well respected by his peers and fans alike for his pristine, influential and varied production. It's hard to believe that one man is able to make tracks that can gently lull you to sleep (Sensorama) or drill into your brain with laser-precision (Tracks on Delivery, Eight Miles High), and then turn around and pummel you to death (later Alter Ego) -- all with one or three swift changes of a project moniker. The Soylent Green stuff is mainly minimal house tracks, but even under one name Flugel manages to throw all kinds of welcome variety into the mix. Cuts like "Jet Set," "La Forza Del Destino" and "On the Balcony" have all the deep minimal house swing you would expect from early-Playhouse 12" releases. My all-time favorite, the evil, deep dub track "Low Pt.1," is included in this compilation. I'm almost bummed on that one since I've always considered it one of my "secret weapons"...oh well, c'est la vie! What I always expect from a Soylent Green record is some sick, dark minimal house that ALWAYS has a solid, subtle surprise/curveball in it. Whether it's ultra-deep, throbbin', chunky or rockin', it's par for the course to expect Soylent Green tracks to be weird AND solid. Essential German minimal house -- could've been a double CD! -Scott Mou
This is a killer digital-only compilation of ultra-rare Afro-funk curated by Phillip Lehman. Lehman used to run the esteemed funk labels, Desco and Soul Fire, with Truth & Soul founder Jeff Silverman, so you should expect nothing but gems on here. Most of these tunes reflect a heavy JB's, Kool & the Gang and Fela Kuti influence throughout, which is never a bad thing. The jams range from the break-heavy, Afro-jazz-funk of the two selections from Zafari, to killer kalimba-laden tribal grooves from Friends of the Family. There's also some great Afro-rock stylings represented by the three tracks from the mysterious Bama & the Family. Truthfully though, all of it's mysterious to me as there's no real indication on whether these songs are old or recent; but who cares? This is an excellent compilation that I'd highly recommend to any fan of the funk. -Duane Harriott
Full steam ahead. Tribesman Assault opens with "High Times," a unique cut for its heavy funk drum breaks (not something normally associated with roots music from this time period) while still being dubwise. The slow, heavy, hallow rhythms test how much love you can expect from your bass bins while accents of intricately woven guitar flourishes push ahead or trail behind a beat, reminding me of Ernest Ranglin's work. And of course, there are plenty of freaky effects and vacuums of sound that we have come of expect from a Wackies production. The final track is the only vocal cut featuring the Love Joys and KC White with a cover of "Open the Gates." Another exceptional slice of trippy dub music. -Geoff Albores
Another chapter in England's seemingly forgotten cultural past, Ivor the Engine and Pogles Wood were two children's series that ran for a spell in the 1960s (Pogles) and in the mid-1970s (Ivor). A dedicated fan of rescuing long-lost gems like these from the fringes of society's memory, erstwhile Brit preservationist Jonny Trunk thus presents a welcome collection of music from both series, featuring the singular composition talents of a man named Vernon Elliott. Spotlighting both themes from each show alongside a handful of special sound effects, each track on this collection is a study in low-key whimsy, combining galloping piano lines with Elliott's chubby bassoon to effect delightful little romps like Ivor's "Elephant Waltz" and the galloping "Cruising Theme." A bit less spare in accompaniment, the music from Pogles Wood is no less joyful, with Elliott's ensemble playing through a series of spry melodies that effortlessly conjure a child-like sense of wonder and amazement, easily creating images of the bizarre woodland creatures that populated the show. Make no mistake: Ivor the Engine & Pogles Wood are not just soundtracks for the children's television enthusiast. Rather, they're sure to appeal to anyone interested strange library music or the curious intersections of the musical avant-garde and mainstream popular culture. -Michael Crumsho
Now here's a record for all you Andy Votel wannabes out there. Fuzzy-Felt Folk is a collection of twee-folk oddities off obscure children's records from the '60s and '70s. Whether this stuff is intentionally as trippy and psyched-out as it is, I don't know; however, I'll be damned if there aren't a half-dozen vocal snippets here that Edan could flip for his next album. Fuzzy-Felt Folk is a relative holy-grail for the "Puff the Magic Dragon" set, and there's even some "naive experimental psychedelia" and "soundtrack demos" for you novelty fiends out there. If anything, this comp proves conclusively that progress is indeed a myth, and that sh*t was, indeed, way cooler like three decades ago. Raffi, eat your heart out. -Hartley Goldstein
For over three decades, the late Mike Sammes was a rather talented and prolific vocal arranger for hire in the UK. Over the years his un-credited vocal arrangements have graced Burt Bacharach, George Martin and Ray Charles records, as well as Krzysztof Komeda soundtracks. Music for Biscuits is a compilation of unreleased vocal soundtracks of jingles he penned, plus a lovely soundtrack that Jonny Trunk actually salvaged from a rubbish bin. Lots of intricate vocal harmonies abound on the advert soundbites, but the tracks assembled from the OST of an unknown film titled Youth are most definitely the highlights. Any fan of the Free Design, Beach Boy a cappellas, and the like should check this out. -Duane Harriott |
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