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Two free downloads courtesy of Merge Records. First up is the 7-inch version of "What Did You Expect?" -- a bonus track taken from the label's nicely expanded reissue of Archers of Loaf's 1993 debut full-length, Icky Mettle (out Tuesday, August 2). Originally released on The Results After the Loafs Revenge single issued by Merge back in '94, "What Did You Expect?" has always been a fan favorite. Reunited, the band's been hitting the stage again and sound as powerful and raucous as ever, so don't miss one of indie rock's greatest of all time.
This free download of "Traitor" is off Richard Buckner's forthcoming album, Our Blood, which is being released by Merge this Tuesday, August 2. Five years seems to be a long wait between albums from this great, enigmatic singer-songwriter, but safe to say these weren't the best of times for Buckner. Following 2006's Meadow, he scored a film which never came to light, was briefly eyed as a suspect in a murder case, and then fell victim to a burglary in which his laptop containing several of the album's mixes was stolen. Needless to say, Our Blood was not an easy record to make; you can indeed detect an extra heaviness to these songs, which are as world-weary as they are gorgeous, and also among Buckner's best.
This week we're also offering a free download of "GMYL" from Stuart Bogie's (Antibalas, Sway Machinery) Superhuman Happiness. The sweetly beguiling synth- and horn-fueled pop of "GMYL" is just one of the many highlights off of Electric Cowbell's 101 Things to Do in Bongolia compilation, which collects all of the A-sides from the varied Brooklyn-based label's 7" releases from last year, along with some great remixes to boot. This Week's Featured Downloads Electric Cowbell has a simple enough A&R philosophy: if we like your music, we'll put out a 45. Now as open-ended as their policy may seem, the sounds aren't as disparate as you would think; you can always expect a high-level of musicianship from the bands, and almost all of their releases have an experimental, cosmopolitan edge to them. In addition to the aforementioned Superhuman Happiness above, highlights include: the nu-skool barrio salsa of Richmond, VA's Bio Ritmo, which boasts former members of hardcore, reggae and hip-hop acts; the Brooklyn-based CSC Funk Band who combine West African rhythms, psych-soul and dub together to great effect; and, of course, NYC's fantastic Debo Band, a progressive group who craft Ethiopian-styled R&B. Needless to say, there's a bit of something here for any and every open-minded fan of rhythm, and 101 Things to Do in Bongolia is a great primer for this excellent label, not to mention for folks looking to fill in some of the gaps of the 7"s they might have missed. Recommended! -Duane Harriott
We first featured this album last month in our regular mail order Update and subsequently the CDs sold out. While we working on bringing the discs back, it won't be for at least another few weeks, but thankfully, we now are offering this delicious slice of contemporary French pop on Other Music Digital, so you don't have to wait. Mehdi Zannad is best known to indie-pop fans from the two excellent albums he recorded as Fugu in the early 2000s, along with a batch of singles made in collaboration with the likes of Stereolab and Saint Etienne. Those albums remain some of my favorite pop music of recent memory, ably blending the sunny '70s singer-songwriter vibes of classic Emitt Rhodes or early solo McCartney with string and horn arrangements sounding like a baroque Brian Wilson. Those records were written and sung in English, yet with Fugue, his debut release under his own name, Zannad delivers ten songs in his native French, co-written with filmmaker Serge Bozon (responsible for the excellent Mods and also La France, whose soundtrack included vintage 1960s tunes from John Pantry as well as new tracks written by Zannad and Bozon). This album continues the Rhodesian power pop of the Fugu records, but adds a touch of Todd Rundgren and Big Star influence to the mix, not to mention a bit of the lean French-rock efficiency of Marie & Les Garáons or Michel Polnareff, and more of that baroque light-psychedelia; overflowing with instantly hummable melodies and luscious vocal harmonies floating atop concise, catchy arrangements, this is sunshine pop of the highest caliber. This is one of the best, most beautiful records I've heard all year, and much like Arnaud Fleurent-Didier's La Reproduction from 2010, is one of the finest examples of modern French pop out there today. If you enjoyed that record, you'll find much to love here; it's one of those albums that grabs the attention of anyone within earshot when I play it in the shop, and for my money, it's one of the best releases of 2011. Don't sleep if this sounds like your thing; let the sunshine in! -Mikey IQ Jones
This obscure little collection by Factory Records group Swamp Children often stays in constant rotation during sticky, humid summer months, and with the recent heatwave here in NYC, this little number has seldom left the stereo. Swamp Children were a Manchester band with ties to A Certain Ratio (even sharing a few members at certain points) and were one of the first groups of many to emerge from the post-punk era (Weekend, Antena, Carmel, and Sade among them) who incorporated more slinky jazz, Brazilian, and soul influences as opposed to the heavier, more confrontational funk and dub bombast of their peers in ACR, Pop Group, etc. They also featured women as lead vocalists, and SC's Ann Quigley falls somewhere between the girl-next-door quietude of Weekend's Alison Statton and Sade Adu's sultry, lounge-diva sylings. The band often incorporated heavy samba and bossa nova influences into their songs, with strong but light, rhythmic pulses anchoring the group's breezy sway. This collection compiles Swamp Children's only full-length, So Hot, along with the six excellent songs that made up their two previous 12" EPs. The album is excellent but for me it's the 12" tracks that most effectively capture the beauty and romance of their magic; they ably balance a raw, rhythmic bounce and propulsion with a bit of the post-punk scruff of their Manchester peers, which was more smoothed-down by the time of the record. So Hot has plenty of highpoints, though, with tracks like the two-part "Samba Zippy," "El Figaro," and "Tender Game" all providing that same give and take despite the slicker textures of the production. Fans of the aforementioned groups should check the soundclips and give this a shot; many of these songs are absolute faves for me of anything from when post-punk began its maturation into the "New Pop" era, and they deserve your love. As the band states in one of their best songs, "taste what's rhythm, feel the beat, let it be so sweet." It doesn't get much sweeter than this. -Mikey IQ Jones |
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