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Gritty heavy rock and roll; cymbal-shattering and southern-fried. The type that wakes you up and frisks your temporal lobes like Led Zeppelin did when you were locked in your bedroom in your teens. Such is the stuff The Parlor Mob is made of. But they don't want to be lassoed in along with other 'Led'-like associates, Mars Volta and Earl Greyhound. Instead, they insist their music was birthed unto its own, somewhere between their hometown in New Jersey and the deep South. Regardless of origins, the hard-riffs on "Hard Times" are made to accompany cop shakedowns, bar brawls, and a particularly bloody episodes of "Jackass." Parental guidance advised.
Sounds like: Led Zeppelin, Wax Fang, The Mars Volta, Earl Greyhound
The Parlor Mob - Hard Times
The Parlor Mob's RCRD LBL Page
You know when Beck went through that funked-out post-hip hop jazz phase around the time of Odelay- even recruiting jazz guitarist Charlie Haden to record with him? The Meanest Man Contest remix of this electronic track by Cars and Trains track sounds similarly inspired - like an almost rusted, backyard jazz party that you have to keep lo-fi so the neighbors won't yell at you. The beat has got a delayed Afrika Bambaataa groove while various guitars, whistles, chimes, and guitar cymbals ebb and flow like they're 10-leagues-under-the-sea.
Sounds Like: Beck, Cars and Trains, DJ Shadow, Bookashade
Exclusive New Download: Cars and Trains - Sometimes Falter, Sometimes Sway (Meanest Man Contest Remix)
Download: Meanest Man Contest - We Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way (Débruit remix)
Download: Meanest Man Contest - Partially Smart
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On days when life is getting you down, we've found two quick solutions. One is this 24-hour live stream of nuzzling, cuddly puppies. All it takes is watching 5 minutes of these little fur balls breathe, lick, and tumble in their playpen and you're suddenly regress to a rare state of absolute zen. The second quick fix is Ed Banger's Mickey Moonlight remix. The track starts out ambient and mystical like Sigur Ros, with shimmery, ethereal wind-chimes. Slowly and dreamily, it builds up layers of whimsical steel drums, atmospheric synths, slide guitar sweeps, and sweet vocal harmonies until you are transported into full, zoned out daydream mode. Simple sonic bliss. Thank you Mickey. Thank you Apollo Sunshine.
Sounds like: Sigur Ros, Beach House, The Islands, Brian Wilson
Download: Apollo Sunshine - Singing to the Earth (Mickey Moonlight Remix)
Download: Apollo Sunshine - 666: The Coming Of The New World Government
Apollo Sunshine @ Myspace
Apollo Sunshine @ RCRD LBL
We've had our eyes on these Wesleyan grads for a while but this time they bring us a poppier, hook-heavy track, "Locked Out." Who knew being getting fucked up and locked out of your casa could be so inspiring. But evidently it can be, with Red Wire Black Wire spit out cutting lyrics, heavy drums and breezy shoe-gaze guitar in the background. Meanwhile, we've had their decidedly darker "Compass" on repeat these days - it's fuzzed-out bass and twirling synths draw us in while references to "kill the old and pervert the youth" ensures the band never needs to worry about being classified as young and cute.
PS: They are hosting an 'erotic' record release party this Thursday @ NY's Lit Lounge, with bands Armchair and Deleted Scenes.
Sounds Like: The Bravery, Hot Chip, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks
Exclusive New Download: Red Wire Black Wire - Locked Out
Download: Red Wire Black Wire - Compass
Download: Red Wire Black Wire - Bloodline
Red Wire Black Wire @ Myspace
Red Wire Black Wire @ RCRD LBL
With the pink slips falling from the sky like confetti, the only thing really left to do is rock ourselves silly like Grace Jones sandwiching Prince in the corner of Studio 54. Well, luck for us, Boy Crisis' newest output is the Viagra of electro-pop, swirling together shimmery Italo disco, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'-esque synths, and LCD Soundsystem's electro bass & drum machine into solid dance-party gold. Imagine Chromeo high on opiates in Paris making frisky with disco-obsessed James Murphy. Oh and that chick whispering orgasmic, sweet Franglaise nothings on the track? That's Caroline Polachek from Chairlift......................Ba oui, c'est dope!
WORD: For you kids in the UK, Boy Crisis are releasing of the limited-edition "L'Homme" 7-inch under Chess Club Records so head to Rough Trade and bust out those fancy pocketbooks.
SOUNDS LIKE: Chromeo, Prince, LCD Soundsystem
Exclusive New Download: Boy Crisis - L'homme
Boy Crisis @ Myspace
Boy Crisis on RCRD LBL
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Cazals is a gritty garage band that plays scuzzy guitars with cigarette packs rolled up their sleeves. But leave it to beat scientists The Crookers to deconstruct the rock track "Life Is Boring," with colossal house beats and deafening drum/bass. This remix will pound you out of bed and tease you all day, bass thumping at your conscience.
We caught the Cazals with NY-based Fires of Rome at Hiro Ballroom for The Hours showcase two weeks ago. When Cazal's singer Phil came onstage jet-lagged and greasy, with a too-skinny 'stache and a white t-shirt reading "The Impossible Dream," we were dubious. But then he hammered us with a rugged voice and this weird jumping-slide dance technique, as rapid-fire drums and bass ripped up in the back, and we felt kids in a grimy basement again. Catch 'em live if you can.
Sounds Like: The Rakes, The Strokes, The Paddingtons
Exclusive Download: Cazals - Life Is Boring (Crookers Zuppa del Cazal Mix)
Cazals @ Myspace
Cazals @ RCRD LBL
The Hours Music Label
Most times, when shit hits the fan, you duck, hide, cuss and/or feel sorry for yourself. Other times, the shit hits the fan and makes the prettiest patterns in the most unsuspecting places. When Butch Walker's house burned down in the LA fires last year, he and his family survived but lost everything. There were two options: crawl away and sulk or turn the burn into song. He chose B and the output is on his newly released, impassioned record, Sycamore Meadows. The piano-based ode "Ships In A Bottle" is about walking away from the ashes and the introspection after the apocalyptic burn.
Psst if you're lucky, you bought tickets ahead of time for his current sold-out tour with fellow music maverick Jesse Malin. After all, his live show is worth more than most material things..........
Sounds Like: Allman Brothers, Blitzentrapper, Conor Oberst, Jack's Mannequin
Exclusive New Download: Butch Walker - Ships In A Bottle
Butch Walker @ Myspace
Butch Walker @ RCRD LBL
So recently, most tributes to animals has us thinking of that SNL clip of 'Mark Walberg' talking to a donkey. But while this song by the LA-based psychedelic folk rock group Gangi is dedicated to animals, it's probably more in the 'I saw a three-headed caterpillar while tripping in the woods' sort of sense. We are just guessing because the whole album "A" has an isolated, airy vibe (after all it was recorded in Matt Gangi's Brooklyn apartment), while tribalistic drumming and shimmery electronic experimentations provide a psychedelic trippy feel. Speaking of trippy, you've got to appreciate the band's visual sensibilities as well, with a collage of color on the CD case and a habit of performing next to bright colored mobile sculptural installations.
SOUNDS LIKE: The Ruby Suns, The Octopus Project
DOWNLOAD: Gangi - Animals
Gangi @ RCRD LBL
In a continuation on our series English-Folk-Who-Make-Better-Americana-Than-Americans, (we featured Pete Greenwood last), we present the English lad Jay Jay Pisolet. Though he's got a name more appropriate for a rapper or sharpshooter, Jay Jay blesses us with blistered, alt-country acoustic ballads about love from the time when women named Caroline (or Jane or Maude or Fanny) danced over wind-swept plains and 'lay' daintily with their men; when songs were strung together with a beat-up guitar and rusty harmonica. We bid you to play this tune whether watching the leaves fall, driving over a bridge to nowhere, or drinking whiskey from the flask mid lunch-break.
Sounds Like: Pete Greenwood, Deer Tick, Cotton Jones,
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Jay Jay Pistolet - Oh Caroline
Jay Jay Pistolet @ Myspace
Jay Jay Pistolet @ RCRD LBL
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