November 12 2009
Don't let the solemn, sorry-for-itself black n' white photo fool you - Fionn Regan is perhaps the chirpiest man alive, "Protection Racket" skipping from one narrative tangent to the next in a bluster of giddy folk and laddish bonhomie. Find it on Fionn's forthcoming new album, the less lonely follow-up to 2007's Mercury-nominated The End Of History.
Sounds Like: Eugene McGuinness, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams
Fionn Regan - Protection Racket
Fionn Regan's RCRD LBL Page
I know what you're thinking. Why is Geoff Rowley screaming at the hairy man? Well that's UK drum & bass producer Baron, and he's spent the last four years helping Rowley put together a soundtrack for his new skate film, Extremely Sorry. Along the way Baron's collaborated with the likes of Lemmy, Slayer's Dave Lombardo, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and, here, Black Mountain to tailor tracks to swing with each skater's own brand of swagger. With that in mind, we're surer than ever that the louche, vaguely obnoxious "The End Of The Beginning" is Rowley's. Still not sure why he's screaming though, tbh.
Sounds Like: Pendulum, Wires On Fire, That U2 song from Batman
Baron - The End Of The Beginning (feat. Black Mountain)
Baron's RCRD LBL Page
Acid Washed play the anonymity card the right way, putting the names of their collaborators up front (Gavin Russom, Xaver Naudascher, Black Strobe, Turzi) and leaving out the whole "Ooooohhh, who could it be?" thing. So, we're left to assume it's just two random French dudes hanging out in the studio, drinking lots of wine and trying to find the fifth dimension inside an analog synth, and we like that. If you're not also somewhere between galaxies after Black Strobe's version of their first single "General Motors, Detroit, America" (out soon on Record Makers), then your ears are probably broken.
Acid Washed - General Motors, Detroit, America (Black Strobe Remix)
Acid Washed's RCRD LBL Page
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(Photo: Loren Wohl)
Last Tuesday we watched Wolfmother raise the goblet of rock and toast to a sold out crowd at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. I endured some casual moshers to bring you these snaps, taking a couple elbows to the head for the cause. We suggest you nab a copy of Cosmic Egg, Wolfmother's latest LP out on Modular, and peep their MySpace for upcoming dates with AC/DC.
Gallery: Wolfmother @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (11/09/09)
Wolfmother - New Moon Rising (YACHT Remix)
Wolfmother - New Moon Rising (Fontän Version)
Wolfmother's RCRD LBL Page
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WHY?’s original “One Rose” is a quiet, well-crafted, singer-songwriter-type of tune. Just like Yoni Wolf said—it’s not hip-hop, you guys. But those missing the beat of yore get a break as hip-hop producer Alias (Aesop Rock, Sage Francis) matches Wolf’s folksy bleating to Casio beeps in this swimmy little rework. It claps, it crests, it sways. And then, the Autotune kicks in! Eskimo Snow is out on Anticon now.
WHY? - One Rose (Alias Remix)
Previously:
WHY? - The Hollows
WHY? - These Few Presidents
WHY? - The Vowels, Pt. 2 (Amplive Remix)
WHY? - This Blackest Purse
Themselves & WHY? - Canada
Radioclit are spending most of their time summoning golden rays of sunshine as the instrumental core of The Very Best, but before they met Esau Mwamwaya in his second-hand furniture store down the street from their studio, the pair were DJs and producers with a night of Afro-focused dance music called Secousse at London's Notting Hill Arts Club. Their tune of the same name has been around almost just as long, but Mental Groove is giving it a re-release as a posse cut featuring Afrikan Boy, BLK JKS, Esau and a bunch of other rad singers we've never heard of before (buy the fur-sleeved 12-inch here). We're not mad 'cause A) that sounds amazing and B) we can now give away this more synth-endowed rinse from Etan aka Shuttle aka Nate from Passion Pit.
Radioclit - Secousse (Etan Remix)
Radioclit's RCRD LBL Page
November 11 2009
A lot of people, mostly New Yorkers, sighed when local indie rock heroes the Harlem Shakes announced their split a few months ago. Of course, dudes aren't totally gone. There's ARMS, the solo vehicle for Shakes guitarist Todd Goldstein that we first featured in early '08, when his dog-eared debut LP, Kids Aflame, was only available in the UK. It finally got a deserved North American release last month through Gigantic, and to celebrate there's a release party tomorrow night at Piano's in New York, where Goldstein will play with a full band. If you can't make that or just need a tune to memorize beforehand, "Construction" is here for you.
ARMS - Construction
Previously:
ARMS - Kids Aflame
ARMS' RCRD LBL Page
Holy Hail's debut LP, Independent Pleasure Club, was a really solid record of many conjoining genres and accordingly we rode pretty hard for it. So, when the band asked us if we wanted to give away their new EP, The Dying Party, we were like, "Um, YEA DUDES." So here it is in its entirety, from the foggy clubsphere of "What's It Like To Go Away" through till the elegiac party's-over closer "Carry On." The band have been working closely with Education Through Music on the release, an organization that initiates music education programs in New York City and California. And since they're being pretty benevolent with this whole free record thing, maybe y'all could head over to the ETM website to donate some much needed and sure to be well-used clams? Everyone deserves the greatness of band class, you know?
Holy Hail - The Dying Party (Full Album Download)
Previously:
Holy Hail - Samo Son (Ghost Note Ltd. Remix)
Holy Hail - Minute Man
Holy Hail's RCRD LBL Page
Wetdog ain't gonna win any awards for cleanliness. "Tidy Up Your Bedroom" is as sloppy and bedraggled a jam as the nomenclature here would suggest, all hungover guitars like pin-pain-in-the-brain and vocals casually asking, "Is this pop enough, darling?" somewhere in the background. It's a dirty, dirty mess. Aren't all your favourite bands that way, though?
Sounds Like: The Raincoats, The Sticks, (earlier) Abe Vigoda
Wetdog - Tidy Up Your Bedroom
Previously:
Wetdog - 8 Days
Wetdog's RCRD LBL Page
The story goes that Loverman were en route to their first show on Halloween night last year, when their van crashed, was written off and they mutated somehow into the ten-legged, b*st*rd-rock battering ram that they are today. The veracity of that statement is irrelevant - Loverman are a rock band, and as such are allowed to make up any old shit they like as long as it seems like it could be true when you listen to their music. And "Shoot The Pig" is very much the sound of a band that have written off vans and have subsequently been turned into werewolves - brave that live, as Young & Lost Club hosts this week's 'Free Fridays' at Cargo in London.
Sounds Like: Nick Cave, Melvins, Flipper
Loverman - Shoot The Pig
Loverman's RCRD LBL Page
