STREAM: Elephant - Skyscraper
While I'm about to go hide in the closet so snow doesn't seep through my windows, attacking my eyeballs as I sleep, this new Elephant song, "Skyscraper," is doing it for me. Hollow, haunting and twisted, the track takes familiar pop structure and the angelic vocals of Amelia Rivas into an interesting, almost-classicist direction. Hear the single, along with B-side "Spies," on Memphis Industries March 26.
VIDEO: Houses - The Beauty Surrounds
On their new single "The Beauty Surrounds" (and throughout their upcoming album A Quiet Darkness), Houses splits the difference between ambient isolation and anthemic, can't-scream-it-loud-enough love. This new video shows this split perfectly as the duo, who are indeed a couple, find each other through a desolate, dusty western landscape. It's a real heartbreaker, and there's much more coming April 16 via our big brother label Downtown Records.
VIDEO: Beach House - Forever Still
One reason I love Beach House, besides the super dreamy aesthetics and excellent songwriting, is that they refuse to play the game like other groups. Ten boring sessions for ten boring websites? Nope, Beach House make a short film like "Forever Still,' which features four heart-ripping performances at outdoor locations around El Paso and Tornillo, Texas on their own. "The film follows the passing of one night, starting at sunset and ending at dawn," the band writes along with the premiere. A lovely new conceptual path with the songs to match.
STREAM: My Bloody Valentine - She Found Now
Had to hold off until Monday morning to post this because on Saturday night it would have just been 'fspdfjksdkf,' but, YES, My Bloody Valentine is indeed back with a new album, mbv, and that is a pretty amazing thing. Check out "She Found Now" – a sultry return from the clouds with a slow churn and absolutely mindboggling guitars. I'm going to go swing around a lamp-post or something.
PLAYLIST: Maze For The Curious
Posted by rcrd lbl
Tags: best of 2012, mixes, playlists, indie rock, rb, dance, rock, reissues, dream-pop
Today's guest mix comes courtesy of friend-of-RCRD LBL Erin Kapor.
Ideal For: Dreaming, Seducing, Dancing, Talking On The Phone In Your Childhood Bedroom
Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
Donnie & Joe Emerson - Baby
DIIV - Sometime
The-Dream - Dope Bitch (feat. Pusha T)
Daphni - Yes, I know
King Tuff - Alone & Stoned
Here We Go Magic - How Do I Know
The Walkmen - Heaven
Chromatics - Lady
METZ - Headache
Kendrick Lamar - The Recipe (feat. Dr. Dre)
Jake Bugg - Two Fingers
Allah-Las - Long Journey
Tame Impala - She Just Won't Believe Me
Tim Maia - Ela Partiu
Cat Power - Manhattan
Beach House - The Hours
Trop Tard - Les Anges D'Aujourd'hui
Regal Degal - Winning + Breaking
Sam Flax - Child Of Glass
PREMIERE: Tasseomancy - Diana
From the ashes of Ghost Bees and the current backers of electro-goth queen bee Austra comes Tasseomancy. Toronto twins Sara and Romy Lightman exist on a different plane of sound, mating ethereal voices with a playground of haunting and lush melodies. It’s clear on “Diana” that the two could go sans instruments and be equally arresting, yet the slow drift from ambient croon to celestial pop and back makes for one of the richest tracks of the year thus far. Full-length Ulalume is out today on Out of This Spark.
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: RH+ - Curb
With steady pop beat and yet blissed-out atmospheric layers, this track's aural landscape blends right in with the type of Scandinavian ambient dream pop that is birthed from glacial views and barren terrain. Which all makes sense because the group RH+ hails from Santiago, Chile, which is a meandering drive away from the Southern tip of South America and hence the epic glaciers of Tierra Del Fuego, but still boasts all the trappings of a modern metropolis, with high-rises, shopping malls, succulent seafood, and indeed, a healthy dose of rock and electro-dance dens. Their album Quintana Roo is out Feb 3rd on Nacional Records.
Sounds Like: Choir of Young Believers, Air, Blue Fountain, Air France
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: The Submarines - Waiting For a War (The Morning Benders' Cover)
Here comes our second exclusive to inaugurate the upcoming The Submarines and The Morning Benders tour. Leave it to the cute hubby-wife duo, John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard, to transform The Morning Benders' infectious "Waiting For A War" into a more whimsical, daydreamy pop tune. At times, Blake Hazard even seems to channel Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick's hypnotic contralto, adding a tinge of 1960s anti-war psychedelic folk to the mix. Check out when The Submarines come to a town near you on their myspace.
Sounds Like: Beach House, Mirah And Spectratone International, Jefferson Airplane (i.e. White Rabbit)
The Submarines - Waiting for a War (The Morning Benders Cover)
Previously:
The Submarines - You, Me & The Bourgeoisie
