Linfinity’s moniker may sound like the result of an obsession with the zeitgeist, however the New York band has been around longer than the Knicks point guard has been popular. The group, whose debut Martian's Bloom came out in 2010, will release its second album, Lights In Cairo, later this fall. The LP, which was produced by Kevin McMahon (Real Estate, Titus Andronicus), has yet to receive an actual release date, but you can get a glimpse of the new tracks with “Miles” – a darkly invigorated rock number.
If there’s anyone who should take on the self-aggrandizing King Midas of hip-hop, it’s Oberhofer, if only so that we may hear the kid’s choir-like swoon on such choice words as “douchebags,” “assholes” and of course the modern-day Shakespearean turn of phrase, “sent this bitch a picture of my dick.” We didn’t think Kanye West’s thoughts could turn so inviting and caring, but in this chamber-pop wash of a song imploring anyone good to “Runaway,” they do, oh they do.
Fiona Apple is most certainly back, and "Every Single Night" is her first official recording since Extraordinary Machine came out seven years ago. An ornate, orchestrated, jazzy number, Apple's vocals are stronger than ever with a new gravelly depth that hints at her deep experience and veteran status. Her new full-length, The Idler Wheel, is coming June 19 on Epic.
Felix, a UK trio that trades in spare, haunting songs, has a new album, Oh Holy Molar, coming April 23 via Kranky. "Oh Thee 73" grows from a spacious fugue of snarky voice and patient, menacing guitars to an anthemic stomp with more than a few memorable one-liners ("Friday night is the worst night to be alive"). This one is perfect for fans of old Cat Power and those who value rawness and emotional honesty over gloss.
Dirty Projectors always come with such thought-out music that you know it's gonna take some time. Well, three years after their breakthrough Bitte Orca LP, Dave Longstreth's band is back with the noirish "Gun Has No Trigger." Those unique, crazy complex harmonies lead the way over a steady drum pulse and little else. For a band that usually emphasizes the over-orchestrated, space is the name of the game here – a beautiful evolution that seems perfect for the next big psychedelic western.
As the owner of London's Crosstown Rebels label and an internationally renowned DJ, Damian Lazarus is best known for what he does with records rather than for making them himself. That's about to change this summer as he drops his debut album, Smoke the Monster Out, on Get Physical Music. Those expecting the light and brisk tech-house sound Lazarus peddles through his label and plays in his DJ sets will be surprised by the sound at which he's arrived. Together with collaborators Arthur Jeffes and Swedish vocalist twins Taxi Taxi, Lazarus opts for jazzy chamber pop rather than dance music. "Dr. Whiskers Theme" sways to and fro to the tune of melancholic piano lines and pirouettes between the smokey plucked bass line, the wordless vocals of Taxi Taxi waxing and waning throughout. This is the record Crosstown Rebel fans can reach for after clubbing the night away.
Hungary is hardly the first place cool-hunters search for the latest pop act, but some are making an exception for the chamber pop trio, The Unbending Trees. Helmed by the full-throated tenor of Kristof Hajos, whose love for Jarvis Cocker is evident in his emotional phrasing, the Trees work a Keane-like configuration vocals, drums, piano and occasionally bass. The stripped back, melancholic sound of their debut, Chemically Happy (is the New Sad), has garnered support from the UK press hordes, from the Times to the Independent, as well as the BBC, who invited The Unbending Trees to perform on Radio 1. They've also been signed to Strange Feeling Records, the label of Ben Watt (of Everything But the Girl/Buzzin' Fly fame), but don't expect to hear their floor-clearing sounds in clubs anytime soon.
Sounds like: Jarvis Cocker, Leonard Cohen, Red House Painters
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