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DOWNLOAD: Alex Winston - Fire Ant
(Photo: Guy Eppel)
Alex Winston is one of those rare indie gems that manages to sound demure even as she’s threatening your trifling ass or whipping power chords into your ear like leather straps. Her baby-quiver-turned-dusty-shaman command of “Fire Ant” would be menacing enough even without the western trail chorus, marching drums and backwater twinkles. And yet, she’s so gentle-seeming that you’d still let her housesit, likely coming home to find that instead of throwing a rager, she’s Feng shui’d the joint. Keep on waiting for that debut LP of hers; we hear it’s finally coming in April.
DOWNLOAD: Superhumanoids - Geri
(Photo: Garret Curtis)
Along with the announcement that LA gauze-rockers Superhumanoids are supporting Active Child and Balam Acab on tour (this is in addition to dates already booked with Cold War Kids and Class Actress), came freebie “Geri,” the first single from their upcoming LP Exhibitionists. So when we popped the track, we thought, jeez guys, take a rest with this crazy schedule. But as the calming new-wave-cum-dreampop emanated out, lush with impressively-ranged male and female duets and an alloy of live and synthesized instruments that pushes each note to chilly infinity, we flip-flopped. Superhumanoids: Tour even more, put out even more, visit even us more. As much as you possibly can.
DOWNLOAD: Lana Del Rey - Born To Die (Guxxi Vump Remix)
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.
PREMIERE: Active Child - Johnny Belinda (White Arrows Remix)
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.
PREMIERE: Yuksek - Always On The Run
(Photo: Quentin de Briey)
This Yuksek track kind of sounds like a chicer, indier play on The Monkees. And we don't just throw that kind of compliment around: “Always On The Run” has a genuine, ensemble-cast-chasing-eachother-through-the-mall feel to it. It's all in the sugary piano opener, which paves the way for a rush of prefab guitars and vocoded backup singers who jump earnestly in for the finale. The result is well-calibrated, innocent fun, and a nice platform for the French DJ and electro-pop producer, who we’ve really only known ‘til know as one of our favorite remixers. But no more! Now, he is also the dude who made The Monkees cool. More surprises on On The Edge Of Time, out February 14.
DOWNLOAD: Vacationer - Trip
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Sometimes you get so stuck in the minutiae of day-to-day life that you fantasize about leaving – maxing out those vacation days, finding a new city or just packing your bags and going anywhere other than here. That's the idea behind "Trip" – a jazzy, clipped trip-hop pop jam by Vacationer. Natural noises rip freely in the background while little swathes of vibraphone and sax pop-up in the midst of harp runs and clicky drums. Maybe this is about music, too – a trip to a future where genre matters far less than making a good song.
DOWNLOAD: Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling
Only Veronica Falls could make a “Bad Feeling” good. This beachy-keen gift comes from one of my favorite records in recent years, an equally dark and bright LP that can be played unobtrusively in the background as you write, paint, work, or like I’m doing today, mope around in a terrible mood stomping my rain boots. At least, that’s what I was doing, before the tune's gentle propulsion of energetic guitars, quick drums and chilled-out duet vocals made me cut the crap and start shaking along.
STREAM: Justice - On'n'On (Rick Rubin Remix)
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Justice in the house! Also in the house – Rick Rubin? The Def Jam co-founder and producer for acts like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and Johnny Cash has found a second life in remixing Ed Banger’s brightest stars…with sexy results. Splash into his dip of “On’n’On,” and find an R&B-beated, midtempo bump and grind. Brownie points for those who can stop gyrating to the silky vocals and ‘70s funk riffs long enough to hear a faint electrified cowbell or two. January 30 is when the single arrives digitally, along with more refits by Erol Alkan, Tiga and Video Village, and we are gonna buy it.
