Unemployment is down. The weather is up. It's a new month, and maybe this is the one where all your dreams come true. While you wait, though, some new music is always a good strategy to keep it moving. Check out our weekend playlist with cuts from Wild Nothing, Scuba, Active Child and much more. We'll see you next week with plenty of treats, including the next installment of our new series On The RCRD featuring the one and only Panda Bear. Peace out!
From where I sit, ain’t nothing “Washed Up” about The Glass, but then again, I’m in no position to comment on the nebulous formula in which bands use to name their songs. I am in a position to comment on how good the aforementioned songs sound, and judging by these twin dips, I decree them rad. Jetlag (starring Andy Rourke of The Smiths) takes us the disco-y, ‘90s Manchester rock route with some choice Pulp Fiction samples, while Black Russian does what they do best: rump-shaking dank funk with new wave-inspired synths and chopped vocals.
Everyone better leave Lana Del Rey alone or I'll get real mad and tear up the place. And by 'place', I of course mean 'the Internet', which is in thrall to LDR again today after this ridiculously stunning performance on Letterman last night. This Guxxi Vump remix of "Born To Die" finds its drama in different places, reining in Lana's vocal refrain and then unleashing it in rapid-fire button-punch-combos that'll leave you staggering all over the club without the aid of overpriced intoxicants this evening.
Bahamas is the musical moniker for Afie Jurvanen, former guitarist/pianist for Feist. Jurvanen’s sophomore solo effort, Barchords, will be out February 7 via Brushfire Records – a follow-up to his debut Pink Strat (obviously he’s into guitar-themed album titles). “Be My Witness” is an intimate, thoughtful number from the new effort, capturing a hushed live sound. There’s a bluesy twang in the plucked guitar notes, which ultimately gives you the sense you’ve discovered Jurvanen playing in some Southern bar.
This one is way too weird and awesome not to post. Lindstrøm, a remix master in a sea of amateurs, had a novel idea for a new spin on his track "Quiet Place To Live." The concept? It's called Todd Rundgren. Yes, the progressive classic rocker goes all-in on the track to produce a wigged-out, glittery dancefloor monster that breezes by with a woozy high.
A bit of beautiful stutter on this fine day by the golden-piped Active Child on “Johnny Belinda,” yet another hymn of awe-inspiring bliss-pop from the choirboy formally known as Pat Grossi. It’s yearning, boyish, and now, markedly dancier by the intrusion of remixers/tropical psych rockers White Arrows. This track projects a future strain of R&B so good, we’re looking forward to our next heartbreak. Until then, we’ll moon over Active Child’s You Are All I See, and reminisce.
Shearwater has jumped ship! OK, more accurately, Jonathan Meiburg's project is now on Sub Pop and releasing a new album, Animal Joy, on February 14. "You As You Were" opens with a droning, repetitive piano figure that slowly chisels away at your icy heart. Emotive vocals arrive before the song explodes into polyrhythms backed by a warm fanfare. There's something about the overall attitude here that is unflinchingly direct yet also seems arena-ready.
The Two, a French duo formed by painter Ara Starck and magician David Jarre, craft intimate, crooning songs – the sort that make you want to move to Paris and fall in love. “I Wanna Be With You Again” is actually the first number the pair ever wrote together, even though they joined forces to make music several years ago. The track, which appears on the band’s self-titled debut, released earlier this week, is quiet and introverted – the marriage of the duo’s vocals offering a brushing glimpse inside a broken heart.
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