Oh, yes, indeed. Hot on the cinematic heels of "Devil's Work," the first preview cut for Miike Snow's upcoming LP, we get another taste with the Lykke Li-featuring "Black Tin Box." This one has an alien atmosphere from the get-go with intergalactic theremin synths, subtle strings and a steady crescendo that builds into a drum-heavy, orchestral fanfare. Very immense; not surprised. Hear more on Happy To You, which is coming March 27 on Downtown/Universal Republic.
LISTEN: Miike Snow - Black Tin Box (feat. Lykke Li)
Hyper-melodic, orchestral, innovative, experimental, indie and emotional, Andrew Bird is all those things to different people, and he's back with a new record, Break It Yourself, set for March 6 on Mom + Pop. "Eyeoneye" is more than enough to whet your proverbial whistle (gross sentence, I know). With its sharp turns and pointed scoring, this one could have gone in a different, more difficult direction, but Bird puts songcraft first to create a pop number filled with fluid beauty. It feels, like, alive.
Read more…
Mike Patton has been in his share of important bands – Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas – but he's often more interesting when left to his own devices. The artist’s latest solo effort, Music From The Film And Inspired By The Book The Solitude of Prime Numbers, which will be out this week via Ipecac Recordings, is a bizarre cinematic soundscape conceptualized from a 2008 novel by Paolo Giordano. “Twin Primes,” the record’s opening track, sounds like the soundtrack to an epic Tim Burton film – its orchestral haunting paired with creepy la-la-las. A Faith No More redux this is not.
Double bass, free jazz and emotive singing rarely add up to beautiful pop music, but that's what makes Brooklyn artist Nat Baldwin a special one. The Dirty Projectors member has performed solo since 2003, and each new document shows an immense growth and maturity that's rare outside of the most serious of musicians. Sure to yield comparisons to Antony Hegarty and iconic New York experimentalist Arthur Russell, Baldwin knows the path from sparse sonics to lush, polyrhythmic theatrics is just a short crescendo away. Baldwin's new album, People Changes, was released on May 24 via Western Vinyl.
.jpg)
A few years ago, the sad, strange grace of UNKLE's "Heaven" famously found its perfect visual twin in Spike Jonze's exploding skate park. Recorded alongside The Heritage Orchestra at London's Union Chapel in 2008, this live version of the track retains all its slow-motion fire and elegance. The pair will hook up with the Heritage Orchestra again at Bexhill's De La Warr Pavilion on July 10th–this, surely, is all the persuasion you need to attend.
UNKLE - Heaven (Live Orchestral Version)
Find More Free UNKLE Music Here
The RCRD Of The Day On MySpace Music
(Photo: Andre Gabb)
Along with a slick pair of videos, our favorite Finnish-French-girl-boy duo The Dø, (rhymes with "glow"), has unleashed a bonus track exclusively for RCRD LBL's listening pleasure. This version of "On My Shoulders" bridges the gap between pure orchestral pop and plaintive, heart-plucking melody. Like most foreign acts, their sincerity and general ebullience leaves us feeling like obsolete American squares. Unlike most, they don't feel condescending in the least. They're just inviting us in, and we're happy to oblige. Their latest, A Mouthful, is due April 6 on Six Degrees Records.
The Dø - On My Shoulders
Find More Free The Dø Music Here
Usually when you meet people at parties and they tell you they "only really listen to old music" it's kind of a conversation-killer. That's because "old music" usually means Jimi Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin, or The 'Stones or whatever, and lord knows it's hard to find new ways to talk about the music those men made. But you sense it'd be different with Jonathan Jeremiah - listening to this Quiet Village remix of his "Happiness", lapped at by tides and bursting with elegantly swollen strings, I feel like I could maybe talk all night about "old music"; about Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Otis Redding. Graceful man music, not just rock'n'roll sounds for sexually buzzed-up boys. This song's as smooth as air and as great as those it loves. Maybe I should start going to better parties.
Sounds Like: Scott Walker, Martin Denny, Nick Drake
Jonathan Jeremiah - Happiness (Quiet Village Remix)
Previously:
Jonathan Jeremiah - See
Jonathan Jeremiah's RCRD LBL Page
(Photo: Gina Zacharias)
Our Broken Garden was born when a group of people, most importantly angelically voiced Anna Brønsted, found themselves in a small farmers house in the stark Danish countryside. The beginnings of When Your Blackening Shows were born there and in the sprawling, delicate night-sky compositions you can feel the cool air, the rough wood floors and the grass crunching beneath your feet. Listening to Our Broken Garden is a journey, today's track "Watermark" weighs in at just over six minutes, but if you're willing to come along, the destination is well worth the wait.
Sounds like: Chan Marshall leading the most serene moments of Radiohead.
.jpg)
.jpg)
