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STREAM: Daughn Gibson - Tiffany Lou
I won't even pretend to be unbiased on this one. The first time I heard Daughn Gibson's "Tiffany Lou," I was so transfixed that I listened to it about 30 times in a row. It's a haunting mixture of sparse electronics and country yearning that my head says shouldn't work but it comes across as an amazing world unto itself. His debut LP, All Hell, just might be my favorite debut album of the year so far.
DOWNLOAD: John Maus - Mental Breakdown
Weirdo atmospheric pop master John Maus is following-up last year's most-excellent We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves with a rarities collection set for July 17 on Ribbon Music. The tracks span from 1999-2010, but they've all been remastered and remixed. Here's a little sample with "Mental Breakdown." The 2004 cut is rough and lo-fi but maintains the jarring vocals, bleeding synths and (most importantly) ear-warming melodic sense of his best work.
DOWNLOAD: Cities Aviv - Normal Immortal
Noise rap! Gotta love it when you don't know you need something and then an artist like Cities Aviv just goes on and does it and it's awesome. "Normal Immortal" has some rhymes, but the highlight is the distorted mess of a beat that sounds like the Mortal Kombat theme song getting punched in the gut by subterranean knob-twirlers.
STREAM: Tim Hecker - Suffocation Raga For John Cale
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(Photo: Sarah Resnick)
Come April 21, Record Store Day will provide so many one-off treats that you'll practically be forced to venture outside and visit your favorite indie retailer. One of the most intriguing is a remix EP for iconic songwriter/producer/Velvet Undergrounder John Cale that takes his Extra Playful EP in a bunch of new directions. Here's a preview cut from master-of-ambience Tim Hecker. It takes elements of a raga and stretches them to triumphant infinity. Check for more from Double Six.
DOWNLOAD: Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, The Congos - Happy Song
The RVNG FRKWYS series puts out some of the most engaging experimental music and one-off collaborations around. This one is something else altogether, though. Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras brought their ultra-vibes down to St. Catherine, Jamaica to record with dub icons The Congos. A full album, ICON GIVE THANK, came out of the sessions, and here's a taste both spacey and earth with the far-out "Happy Song." Hear more April 10.
STREAM: Heavy Blanket - Dr. Marten’s Blues
(Photo: Timothy Herzog)
Heavy Blanket is an instrumental rock outfit from Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis, who originally formed the group with musicians Johnny Pancake and Pete Cougar back in 1984. The six tracks that appear on the group’s new, self-titled effort, out May 8 via Outer Battery Records, were penned back then but recorded only recently. “Dr. Marten’s Blues” is the first track off the album – a guitar-driven psych-rock number that basically just features noodling, shedding guitars for four-plus minutes. It's awesome.
ALBUM STREAM: Demdike Stare - Elemental
Spooky, dark and, yes, post-industrial, Demdike Stare can scare the hell out of you better than any duo around. Miles Whittaker and Sean Candy make progress in little bits – a single here, a 12-inch there – and they tend to add up to anthologies that are immersive and unique. Check out their new 2CD album Elemental – their boldest statement yet and a giant leap forward.
STREAM: Howse - VBS
With the Tri Angle Records stamp of approval, you know a song's gonna be a little spooky, but "VBS" by Howse, while scary, is more sexual than anything. A beat bubbles under an avalanche of moans and odd textures. Real talk: It's actually so sexualized yet weird that if you actually tried to listen to it in bed with someone, you'd likely have a panic attack.
