Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters and some other band no one cares about) plus Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal) plus John Paul Jones (a band you may have heard of... Led Zeppelin) equals
Fricking sweet. I was worried, initially, that it would be a bit too QOTSA, since Homme was taking the roll of lead vocals (I really wanted it to be like Swan Lake or even New Pornos, where they trade off lead vocals) but after hearing this, I am very, very much looking forward to Nov 17.
When the fine folks at Said The Whale pointed me in the direction of the new remix for their song Gentlemen, I was intrigued. The remix/mashup features some Lovely Allen from Holy Fuck, a bit of Time To Pretend from MGMT, a touch of of Baba O'Reilly from The Who, and extra vocals from Shad.
You wouldn't think an assortment of songs/artists like this would mix well together, but the songs blend damn near perfectly, with each individual song complimenting the next. It would have been awesome if this were a secret/hidden/bonus track on the new album, Island Disappear, but I'm glad they are getting it out there regardless.
Hey look! It's another instalment of my song(s) of the weekmonth "whenever I feel like it" segment! Here are a few songs; ones that are new, newish, or new-to-me for your listening pleasure. I'll also try to include at least some diversity in the selected songs.
All of these albums I have on my "to be reviewed" pile, but they are all on the bottom, and the pile is growing quite sizable... (so expect a deluge of album reviews in the next week or so...) and I wanted to share these songs with you now!
There is no way you can not fall in love with this song. It starts out well enough, sweet and playful, but by the time the song kicks into gear and especially when the gang chorus comes in, that's it. It's over. It's just so full of joy and energy. It also helps that the album was recorded live off the floor, so you can just picture all these people, folks from bands like Hey Ocean, The Zolas, Dan Mangan, Shane Nelkin and even R3 DJ Lana Gay, crowded in the room having a blast. I also love the wordplay, in the lyric booklet at least. Those two lines (you'll know which two I mean upon hearing the song) are not quite what they seem to be.
Another charming song, I Can Be A Frog is another one that is hard to hate. Its cute, simplistic structure is endearing and features Karen O (of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs) providing "animal sounds" -- as listed in the lyrics book -- on the track. Without those, it wouldn't be half as great as it is. It is a song that few other bands would be able to pull off, and if it were any longer, I could see it losing its charm, but The Flaming Lips, being as awesome as they are, pull it off beautifully. It also has a pretty fun video.
I finally got around to listening to the We Are The City album, In A Quiet World. I liked it, but it wasn't until the second half of the album that I was really hooked, and this was, without a doubt, the standout track upon first listen. It starts off calm and emotional, and then just launches to an epic climax and a magnificent finale. They're pretty much the only band in the Peak Performance Project that I would be okay with winning over my pick, Bend Sinister.
Hey look! It's another instalment of my song(s) of the weekmonth "whenever I feel like it" segment! Here are a few songs; ones that are new, newish, or new-to-me for your listening pleasure. I'll also try to include at least some diversity in the selected songs.
Today there is a bit of a theme, with guest artists on songs in genres you would perhaps not expect them to be in.
Metric's Emily Haines and The Dears' Murray Lightburn join forces with k-os for this track. It is not a surprising collaboration, considering all have worked, in some capacity, with Broken Social Scene, have toured together and are buddies. All three of their voices mix amazingly well together, and the song itself is pretty damn good. It is off k-os' new album YES! and is quite possibly one of my favourite tracks of the year. Maybe only just a little because it features two of my favourite musicians, and now makes me really want a collaboration between Haines & Lightburn together. Download Uptown GirL by k-os artists website where you may listen to more and exchange monies for music
This Nova Scotian collaboration features rapper Classified with quintessential maritime musician, Joel Plaskett. Both artists have been around for over a dozen years and albums and are both pretty influential in their respective genres and scenes. It's a pairing that may sound like it wouldn't work, given their respective sounds, but it comes together excellently, and even features some of Plaskett's playfulness. It is off of Classified's thirteenth album, Self Explanatory. Download One Track Mind by Classified
I was going to write a review today, but had bloggers block... so hopefully tomorrow. In the meantime, allow me to share a video! Immaculate Machine has always had some nifty videos, but the latest one for Only Love You For Your Car takes the proverbial (nonfictional) cake. Bask in the awesomeness:
What's that? You want some more streaming goodness? Well, okay! The new album from Two Hours Traffic, entitled Territory, is due out Sept 8, but if you can't wait that long, the band has put every track streaming on their website!
Territory is the follow up to the polaris prize nominated Little Jabs and is produced by the same person, who you may have heard of... Joel Plaskett!
I have yet to listen for myself... still debating on just waiting for the physical release, or breaking down and listening now, but if the first single is any indication, it's going to be a hell of an album.
Hey look! It's another instalment of my song(s) of the weekmonth "whenever I feel like it" segment! Here are a few songs; ones that are new, newish, or new-to-me for your listening pleasure. I'll also try to include at least some diversity in the selected songs.
It's only been two years since the self titled debut from Young Galaxy, but for some reason it feels like much longer. It also feels like the band dropped of the face of the earth. Well, they've finally released the info for the album, Invisible Republic, due out on the 25th of August. It starts as a pretty standard YG track with spacey riffs, twitchy synth and haunting vocals, but then the last minute or so just goes nuts and is completely infectious. This song along launches the album to near the top of my most anticipated for the rest of the year. Download Long Live The Fallen World by Young Galaxy artists website where you may listen to more and exchange monies for music
Flemish Eye sums it up much better than I can: A warped and mutated blend of the futuristic and the organic, Snow Blindness is Crystal Antzis the debut album from Black Mold – the electronic alter-ego of songwriter Chad VanGaalen. The more I listen to this, the more it makes sense. VanGaalen has always had hints of electronica to his albums, and now he gets to let loose with his homemade instruments and show even more of his brilliance. It's hard to call it experimental,since you get the sense that he knows exactly what he's doing. Download Tetra Pack Heads by Black Mold artists website where you may listen to more and exchange monies for music
