Introducing: Sleigh Bells, Warpaint, Freelance Whales, Joker and MORE

So there has been a lot of exciting new music coming out recently across a huge spectrum of genres. I have been slacking a bit recently and haven't had the chance to bring as much of it to your attention as I would like - SO this is my grand attempt to rectify that. Here are the new bands (and one a little less new band with new stuff, but no less noteworthy).

Sleigh Bells is a duo consisting of beat master and songwriter Derek Miller and his muse Alexis Krauss on vocals. "Crown on the Ground" LINK has been spinning on repeat all week for me. This song is not for weak - it is an all out banger. If Jack White and Timbaland produced a club anthem for M.I.A to sing this would be it. What starts as a somewhat jarring guitar riff, opens up completely with bass pumping well into the red. Krauss sweetens up the song just enough with her M.I.A meets Annie delivery to make the song a perfect party anthem. Love, love this track. And the rest of their output so far is just as strong. "Beach Girls" LINK continues with the M.I.A. lite (but not too lite) vibe and on "Ring Ring" LINK they change it up completely with Krauss singing an awesome new melody over the already fantastic Funkadelic track "Can You Get to That"(listen to the classic original on my LALA playlist in the upper right corner) - she completely makes it her own. These guys are about to blow up.


The only similarity that Warpaint shares with Sleigh Bells is female vocalists. But Warpaint has 3 and their harmonies and haunting, minimalist instrumentation is what draws me in here. On "Billie Holiday" LINK over a simple plucked acoustic guitar, the three beautifully harmonize simply spelling out the title (character's) name over and over - the result is mesmerizing. "Stars" which has an awesomely dark, dreamy and creepy video (below) is similarly using their combined voices to drive haunting melodies. "Elephant" LINK picks up the beat a bit with electric guitar and percussions, but as always the voices are the highlight. If that weren't enough to get you excited, John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers mixed their EP, Exquisite Corpse, out now.




Freelance Whales seems to take inspiration from everywhere - the vocals sound like Ben Gibbard meets Sufjan Stevens, the lyrics definitely influenced by Death Cab as well and some Arcade Fire, the instrumentation all of the above and even some Passion Pit-esque electronics. Their debut album, Weathervanes, feels more of the middle of this decade - more of a heart-on-your-sleeve record with just brilliant, classically influenced musical compositions. These guys have a lot of talent and have put out one hell of a debut. Check out "Generator^First Floor" LINK (their "Rebellion (Lies)") and "Starring" LINK (Passion Pit similarities here) and really the whole album. Great stuff.


Joker is 20 year old dubstep producer out of Bristol, England. I like dubstep, but LOVE it's influence when infused with other genres. Joker takes Simian Mobile Disco track "Cruel Intentions" LINK featuring vocalist Beth Ditto and drops in some awesome breakbeats turning this into a perfect dance floor track. One of my favorite songs of the moment. You can check out his "Rising" profile on P4K HERE for more info on his original stuff which is pretty damn good too.

Finally, check out this new Yeasayer tune, "Ambling Alp", the first single off their second album, Odd Blood, coming out February 19th. You can download it for free on their site HERE. They have such a great sound. Like MGMT but more adventerous - love these guys and loving this tune. Check it out. And if you are unfamiliar with Yeasayer check out "2080" and "Sunrise" in my LALA playlist in the upper right corner.


Lots of new tunes to carry you through the weekend. Hope you enjoy and let me know in the comments what you are digging.

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Washed Out

(Ernest Greene, the man behind Washed Out)

Washed Out is a one man show out of Columbia, South Carolina playing glitchy, loopy electro pop (does it seem like I like that kind of music??) along the lines of Air France, Panda Bear, et al. For me he sounds like the missing link between Panda Bear and M83's Saturdays = Youth. The 80s is an obvious influence, but the music has a timeless quality to it - it is celestrial, breazy and incredibly versatile. I feel like I can listen to this on the beach, a long drive with the top down or getting ready to hit up the town. This versatility comes from Greene's playing with tempo and expectations - all the tracks seem to have push and pull between a dance track and an ambient one and almost all seem to end abruptly leaving you wanting more. "Feel It All Around" LINK is a perfect example of this. "New Theory" sounds like a MGMT track if they downshifted one gear. Washed Out just released their first EP Life of Leisure today and it is available for $3.99 HERE. I have already spun it through a few times - this is going to be on repeat for a while.

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: The Big Pink

(Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze of The Big Pink)

The Big Pink are about to blow up. With only a handful of singles released, including the excellent "Dominos" off their upcoming release, A Brief History of Love to be released September 15th, these two London boys have already lined up a slew of European festival dates including huge festivals like Glastonbury and Leading and worked with legendary producer, Alan Moulder (of My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins) on the brilliant, "Velvet". Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze have created a sound that they believe "marries an anthemic pop sensibility with fiery digital experimentalism" and I tend to agree. These guys grew up on Oasis, Blur and some Stone Roses and married it with an electronic wall of sound. Milo also runs and owns the UK indie label, Merok Records that has put out some of the best indie music in the last few years from new wave ravers the Klaxons to the exciting young electronic act Crystal Castles to one of my favorite new indie rock bands, Titus Andronicus (which may require their own post on last year's brilliant and epic, The Airing of Grievances) Could these guys be more destined for greatness??

The single, "Dominos", bleeds with the confidence of Oasis and the influence is obvious, but the result is uniquely their own. This is anthemic song if I have ever heard one - a single guy's anthem at its core, but one that I think can be appreciated by all. I have been blasting this one with the windows down non-stop. Check it out on the band's website (free download): http://musicfromthebigpink.com/

"Velvet" is more complicated with lush electronic sounds creating a intricate wall of sound behind the (this time) more vulnerable sounding lead singer, Furze. The album is called A Brief History of Love and this song delves much deeper into the complex emotion of love - this is The Big Pink showing some of their lyrical promise. The end is just perfect - pulling back the music to just minimal procussions around the 3:10 mark revisting the opening lyrics then driving with its Bloody Valentine heavily distorted guitars towards a epic climax. Check out the original: LINK and the Gang Gang Dance (an excellent band that will continue to make appearances on this blog) remix that allows the lyrics to stand on their own until it ultimately explodes into GGD's brilliant weirdness at the 3:00 mark and never looks back: LINK

Also, check out The Big Pink's myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink) and the pictures that consist of their About The Big Pink section as you scroll down on the right. Some beautiful images and insight into the bands inspiration. Here's one photo to leave you with:

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart & Girls

Introducing is new section that really speaks for itself - introducing new artists. These are artists with at most one full-length LP that NEED to be listened to. Typically, as is the case here, they will also be playing an awesome small LA or NYC venue (In this case, both The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Girls will be playing the Echo in Echo Park on THIS Monday, July 20th and there are will be tickets sold at the door for $14 Info here: LINK)


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart released their self-titled debut LP earlier this year to rave reviews and for good reason. As their name suggests this is unabashed pop music about love and loss, but their encyclopedic music knowledge and use of influences ranging from showgazers, Jesus & Mary Chain to dreamy dancy guitar pop of early Smiths gels to create one of the most enjoyable start to finish listens of the year. It came out in February but this is summer top-down driving music at its best. Check out "Everything With You" and "Come Saturday" free on their website: http://www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com/music/

More tour news including an October 3rd show at Webster Hall in NYC here: LINK

Girls is opening up for TPOBPAH and play acoustic guitar driven beach rock with a lead singer with both the voice and (so far) some of the wit of Elvis Costello. This San Francisco based group will release their full length debut, Album, September 22nd. Good thing their songs are more original than their band or album names. Check out "Hellhole Ratrace" (now that's getting more original) one of the song's of 2008 that will be included on the LP release: LINK

Enjoy,
MD