DOWNLOAD: Big Search - Middle Man
It’s always twiddling happy fun harmony time with Foreign Born, so when we heard frontdude Matt Popieluch’s longtime side project was now going to be his main gig, we figured it would be just as grinningly good. We were right!* Big Search makes rock, sunny side up. “Middle Man” is Steely Dan for the Millennials and White Iris has the release.
*Ed. Note: We’re always right. Always.
PREMIERE: Gamble House - Rising Tides + Bonny Doon
At the heart of Gamble House lies the culmination of Ben Becker’s freshman bedroom whispers, now fully realized as lush, ‘60s-inspired gems. Pretty with banjos, glockenspiel, and omnichords, these quivering tunes are a whimsical respite from, well, everything that may be keeping you down today. “Rising Tides” and “Bonny Doon” are gratis here; the rest is on the band's eponymous debut.
DOWNLOAD: Wolf People - Tiny Circle
Wolf People’s forthcoming album was recorded in a converted chicken barn on the grounds of a 17th century Welsh mansion. So, when we say the first single, “Tiny Circle” is a loon tune, you already know what we mean. Heavy, purple, flute-filled, and jammy—this track’s meant for bonfires and hotbox philosophizing. More brain burners expected when Steeple drops on Jagjaguwar this October.
Find More Free Wolf People Music Here
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Wolf People - Cotton Strands
Wolf People, the first UK rock-quartet to join Jagjaguwar, does things a little differently. First, they don't give a damn that the rest of us fell into wolf-name-mania a few years back. No, they were too busy mucking around in the woods, throwing streams of cassette tapes at the sky, and humming bluesy swan songs to notice. Calling them a psych-rock Jethro Tull is the understatement of the year. Below, "Cotton Strands," finds the band in a clearing, jamming us into classic rock oblivion. Tidings is out here digitally and on vinyl on February 23, and it is excellent.
DOWNLOAD: The Depreciation Guild - Because (Beatles Cover)
The Depreciation Guild’s oft-lauded ‘laptop shoegaze’ gets a rose-colored wash in this here Beatles cover, but hey. When a tall order like covering The Beatles springs your way, the mission is clear: screw it up as little as possible. The DG does one better—it's dreampop gold, a jangly and rightful homage. This is arguably the truest and most melodic turn in a slew of 8-Bit reinventions, which you can snap up right here.
The Depreciation Guild - Because (Beatles Cover)
The Depreciation Guild's RCRD LBL Page
VIDEO THRWBCK: Guns 'N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (1988)
If you didn't hear, this week some guy who really likes football jerseys, boot cut jeans and hair braids who used to be a badass rock singer released an album called Chinese Democracy under the name Guns 'N Roses. And, yes, it took him seventeen years. I think it's pretty safe to say that whoever is on that record (we're guessing upwards of like fifty musicians, most of them uncredited because their parts are probably like a decade old) they are still not really "Guns N' Roses" since Duff, Slash, and Izzy aren't involved. Gilby Clarke is more of a member of Guns N' Roses than these guys are. Here's the band in better times (sort of). At least it's nice to see footage of Steven Adler where he doesn't look like a shriveled gollum (we see you Dr. Drew. You do good things.) Also: the other record that came out this week from an arrogant one-man-show is way better.
DOWNLOAD: TK Webb & The Visions - Closed Caption Slang
The serpentine guitars in “Closed Caption Slang,” are just a hint of what Thomas Kelly Webb is capable of sweating out of a six-string, doing fret cartwheels around a hum-drum tempo and making it sound like the whole thing is emanating from a speaker stack high atop some Appalachian peak. Those on the East Coast will be able to catch Webb’s mind-melting (and ear-bleeding) playing when his band TK Webb & The Visions hit the road later this month with The Secret Machines. Grab the epic mountain song below and hit the jump for tour dates and a fantastically shot video for TK’s solo track “Lonely Wine."
Sounds like: The Black Angels, Dinosaur Jr., Dark Meat
Download: TK Webb & The Visions - Closed Caption Slang
TK Webb & The Visions' RCRD LBL Page
Previously:
Download: TK Webb & The Visions - Teen Is Still Shaking
DOWNLOAD: Ladyhawk - I Don't Always Know What You're Saying
Ladyhawk play mad but don't they come off so happy? I mean the music is dark. Distinctly. But, like basically everything from Vancouver, it feels so good. In case you've somehow never listened, it's like The National got their brakes cut and they go on driving anyway because they just don't give a goddamn if they end up on your lawn or in somebody's pool. And somehow that recklessness gives the band this vibe like they're your best friends from high school who you don't talk to that much anymore but you're still cool every time because who really needs all that talking anyway.
These new Ladyhawk jams, which are so right on it's kinda brutal, have sort of a goth '80s edge to them. All the chugalug and screaming choruses and flannel shirts with yellowed edges are still there, but there's also a hint of Echo And The Bunnymen. Sounds weird, I know, but listen and tell me it's not there. Anyway. Ladyhawk. Sheeyit. Their new record's called Shots and it's out March 4. Pick it up. Raise a beer.
EXCLUSIVE STREAM: Ladyhawk - S.T.H.D.
DOWNLOAD: I Don't Always Know What You're Saying
