The Tape

When I saw The Morning Benders play almost all new songs when opening up for Girls back in December, I knew they were on to something. When I heard that Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear would be taking the boys from Berkeley under his wing to help produce the record, I knew that they were really onto something. This “something” I speak of just happens to be Big Echo, the band’s Rough Trade debut. The record isn’t long or dense, it’s simply ten beautifully constructed pop songs.

The record starts off with “Excuses”, a track we got an early preview to when a video that featured Christopher Owens and John Vanderslice was released. “Excuses” opens with loud drums, and energetic guitar playing. Strings float along the track, as Christopher Chu’s voice leads everything along with his delicate and sincere voice. The sweetness of his voice distracts the listener from the song and its lyrics, which are pretty graphic. Lines like “When you tried to taste me, and I taped my tongue to the southern tip of your body” start off the song, which keep in mind, is the first introduction to the band for many listeners. The verse swings back and forth, serving as a filler of sorts for the wonderful chorus that’s about to emerge. The chorus fades into a breakdown, where most instruments are stripped and reset, waiting to enter once again. Voices and voices slowly emerge, accompanying Chu’s, before instruments come back in for another verse and chorus. The next track, “Promises” has a bit more edge to it, proudly showing off the Chris Taylor stamp. This song is everything Grizzly Bear is renowned for, except they’re not quite as good at it. Delicate vocals accompanied by a crunchy, full guitar line, as well as a creative and minimal drum part. The chorus is catchy, and the bass line is what makes this song go. The bass line doesn’t really stand out, but it does a fantastic job accompanying. Skip a track and we arrive at “Cold War (Nice Clean Fight)”, which is one of my favorites. It’s under two minutes, and may be the rawest track of the bunch - although it may be the catchiest as well. Chu’s voice isn’t nearly as delicate on this track, it really has an edge to it, which makes the chorus so wonderful. “All Day Daylight” is another upbeat beauty, that is really meant for summer. Chu’s voice is accompanied by some electronic handclaps, and a sparse guitar line. The chorus on this track is another favorite of mine, with the band showing a more aggressive side to them. The lyrics yearn for summer, as do the instruments. The instrumental part of this track is great as well, with some tom tom’s accompanying a finger picked guitar part. The record ends with “Sleeping In”, a real downer of a track. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it, but when the rest of the record is at such a high, and is so much fun, it’s a bit depressing when the last track is so somber. Sure, the guitars and drums pick up with about a minute left, but it’s easy to tell that the entire band is depressed that the record is over.

Big Echo is a fantastic record, and I truly believe that it’s the start of something tremendous for these guys. I highly recommend you buy yourself a copy, which you can do here (LP or CD).

The Morning Benders- Excuses

The Morning Benders- Promises

On a day in which we received new music from Neon Indian and Woods, we also got a new Here We Go Magic track and news of a new album, possibly the greatest news of all. Pigeons will be coming our way June 8th (same day as Suckers), with the release being the band’s first album with Secretly Canadian. Pigeons is a departure from Luke Temple’s solo work, with all five band members contributing to the new record. The result is a much more full sound, already evident with the first single “Collector.” The track features a much cleaner sound both from Temple’s voice and from the instruments being played. Harmonizing vocals play an integral role in this track, something I can’t wait to hear more of on the track. You can download “Collectors” either below or here at the Secretly Canadian site.

Pigeons
1. Hibernation
2. Collector
3. Casual
4. Surprise
5. Bottom Feeder
6. Moon
7. Old World United
8. F.F.A.P.
9. Land of Feeling
10. Vegetable or Native
11. Herbie I Love You, Now I Know

Here We Go Magic- Collector

Quinn Walker and friends have some exciting news. The band will be releasing their debut record, Wild Smile June 8th, on Frenchkiss Records. To accompany the news, the Brooklyn dudes are giving away a cover of the Raveonettes’ “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed).” I’ve never heard the Raveonettes version, but I’m really digging the version Suckers is doing. The record was recorded, produced and mixed in NYC by Chris Zane who does work with the Walkmen. The only track not produced by him is EP standout “It Gets Your Body Movin’”, which was produced by Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder. It seems like the band got together everybody who’s cool in Brooklyn to help them record the LP. If it sounds anything like their tremendous debut EP, I should have no problems. In some more exciting news, Suckers will be joining Local Natives on tour, who they’re now label mates with.

Here’s what one of the members of Suckers had to say about the Raveonettes cover: “The original version is super fuzzy, so our first instinct was NO FUZZ. We wanted to keep the poppy aspects of the original, but make as much of our own as we could… after messing around with it for a while, it turned into this weird 50’s kinda dark Doo-Wop thing that reminds me of Twin Peaks for some reason (which actually ended up working well with the subject matter on a completely different level).” Download the cover below, and check out the tracklist for Wild Smile as well.

Wild Smile
01 Save Your Love For Me
02 Black Sheep
03 Before Your Birthday Ends
04 You Can Keep Me Runnin’ Around
05 A Mind I Knew
06 Roman Candles
07 It Get Your Body Movin’
08 Martha
09 King of Snakes
10 2 Eyes 2 C
11 Loose Change

Suckers- Boys Who Rape (Raveonettes Cover)

Tomorrow, Acute Records will be releasing a compilation of sorts, composed of various tracks from the great Athens, Georgia band Method Actors. The record, entitled This Is Still It does a great job of summing up the duo’s all too short career. The band was one of the first early Athens bands to emerge on the scene, a group that included B-52s, R.E.M., Pylon and many others. This Is Still It is 19 tracks of sheer energy, with the band’s “let’s see how much we can do with only two dudes” style on display. With Vic Varney on guitar and vocals, and David Gamble on drums and vocals, their approach can be likened to a 1980s Japandroids. Download a couple of tracks below, and make sure to buy the record when it hits stores tomorrow.

This Is Still It
1. Do The Method
2. Can’t Act
3. Distortion
4. Privilege
5. Dancing Underneath
6. No Condition
7. She
8. You
9. E-Y-E
10. My Time
11. Rang-A-Tang
12. Bleeding
13. Notice
14. Ask Dana
15. 20×1
16. Commotion
17. Pigeons
18. Halloween
19. Hi-Hi-Whoopee

Method Actors- Do The Method

The Method Actors- Bleeding

We just got sent some more jams from our super homie Zeke Wattles, aka Brotherhood Crusade. If you missed him the first time around, make sure to check him out here. Zeke’s sound has really grown and developed since the last time we posted about him, with more aspects of hip-hop/idm making their way into his music. Tracks like “Saltwater” and “les 404 coups” are a couple of real laid back, interesting jams. For “Saltwater”, Zeke took Beach House’s “Saltwater” (off of their debut record), “played it backwards, took another sample from it and played it backwards at twice the speed of the first one, and threw on a fuckload of delay, reverb, compression, phasers, and other shit, like I did with all of these tracks for that kinda dazed dreamy feel.”“les coups 404″ sounds like a fantastic ode to Dilla, with some really cool tempo changes and pitch shifts. The track moves along enough to keep me on my toes, but it’s not so shifty as to complicate the overall tone of the record. “Pacific 404″ may be my favorite of the bunch, with what sounds to be (but I’m probably wrong) a horn sample, backed by some fat drums and noises made by the mouth.

Download all three of these tracks below, and watch out for this dude in the near future because he’s making some really cool shit.

Brotherhood Crusade- Saltwater

Brotherhood Crusade- Les 404 Coups

Brotherhood Crusade- Pacific 404

Secret Cities are a group from Fargo, North Dakota, who have just signed with the wonderful Western Vinyl. The trio is releasing “Pink Graffiti Part 1″ in conjunction with “Bright Teeth”, labeling it a double a-side single of sorts. “Pink Graffiti Part 1″ blends aspects of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, along with hints of jungle/psychedelia. I also hear hints of West African guitar playing, but I’m also a bit crazy. The track is really great, sending positive vibes all over. The track builds upon itself, adding more and more layers while staying condensed and tightly packed at its core. The track never really leaves the realms that it established from the beginning, but it’s not such a big deal when the established realms are fantastic sounding. The group doesn’t have any further releases planned, but I’ll make sure to keep you updated because I’m quite eager to hear some more from these boys. Download “Pink Graffiti Part 1″ below, and look out for “Bright Teeth” somewhere on the internet.

Secret Cities- Pink Graffiti Part 1

Hey y’all. This will seem a little uncharacteristic in comparison to our recent postings, but I thought it was time to show some much deserved love to some friends/friends of friends/acquaintances out there busting some dope dance music. Since the now dated Ed Banger craze, electro/dance as a whole has been degraded, generalized, and pigeonholed. Yet, contrary to popular opinion, there are still DJs out there making dance music for music’s sake and not to satiate some commercialized social fad. Here’s a quasi-showcase of two up and coming talents, different in their styles, but alike in their defiance of mainstream dance stereotypes and in the integrity of their music…

Clockwork…

Based in LA/Boston, Clockwork’s remix of That Tree (CuDi and Snoop Collab) is set to blow up huge. Currently holding down the #2 spot on Hypen’s popular list, the track is in contention to steal the coveted #1 spot SO HEART THAT SHIT!! and while your doing so, get down to this sick cut…

Find out more about Clockwork HERE!

For inquiries and info, contact Mixed Management

Clockwork-That Tree

Secondly we have Hi-Tag…

Drew Target has made a name for himself as the quiessential Syracuse party DJ, and for good reason. His mash-ups attempt to transcend the unoriginal “this song/now that song” progression associated with the genre, using his samples to support the rythmic feel of the complete piece rather than to elicit some sequencial and repetitive crowd response. Apparently, he doesn’t share his mixes all to often, but we’ve mangaged to snag a few. Enjoy…

Hi-Tag- Moar Ghosts Of Fire

Hi-Tag-The Reward Is More Money To Blow

Hi-Tag-Raven Tequila

Titus Andronicus have made “A More Perfect Union”, the raging first track from The Monitor, available for free download. With vocals vaguely resembling Craig Finn, this 7 minute track is fun, loud, and raucous. An old speech starts the track off, with the last words saying “We will live forever, or die by suicide.” This quote sort of sums up the balls to the wall energy the band produces on the new record. It doesn’t do the best job being a “Civil War” record, but when the music is this much fun, it really doesn’t matter. The bros are about to embark on a huge North American tour, so make sure to check ‘em out when they come to your city. Also make sure to buy The Monitor when it hits stores next week, and download a couple of tracks below.

Titus Andronicus- A More Perfect Union

The irony within the title of this record is quite tangible even after one listen. There is nothing hidden about These New Puritans, or this record. Everything is out in the open; it’s loud, epic, and really fucking good. Hidden is an evolution on a larger scale. Beat Pyramid was good, but this record is so much more. After the unnecessary “Time Xone” fades in and out, the aptly titled “We Want War” strongly enters. The track sounds as if it’s marching into battle, with the tribal drums accompanying a lurking synth and pitched down vocals. As the track progresses, the drums get more intense, and the vocals become more clear. This song’s intensity seems like an insane marker to base an entire record on, but These New Puritans somehow manage to maintain this level throughout the record. “We Want War” gracefully weaves in and out of its different sections, ebbing and flowing at just the right times. The next track, “Three - Thousand” starts off with a hip-hop sounding beat and a sampled knife noise. A piano enters the track, playing a creepy line that sounds like it was recorded on one of those tiny pianos. The vocals on this track are almost rapped, giving the song a really interesting feel.

The album progresses with “Hologram”, opening with an almost jazzy piano line. The track seems ridiculously out of place, but it’s such a nice track it really isn’t an important issue. “Hologram” never quite reaches the level of “We Want War”, but it flirts with us quite a few times. The restraint is an important part of this track because it really sets up the next one, “Attack Music.” “Attack Music” starts with some gun shot-esque sounding bass drum hits, before it gets into a bit of a dance-y feel accented by a bassoon or an oboe. Skip a track and we arrive at “Orion”, the record’s first single. The track seems to drag along, before the choir section hits and the drums start serving as an accent. “Orion” has a few too many parts for its own good, taking away from the track’s core idea, until the choir re-emerges. The choir parts are so well placed and accented with such perfect instruments, it’s hard to complain about the rest of the track. The album’s final track “5″, features some more wind instruments, with some percussive bells thrown in there for good measure. “5″ serves as the perfect closing track, cleaning up the ruckus created by the previous 10 tracks, while still keeping the listener engaged.

Hidden is the obvious next step for These New Puritans, because I don’t know if I would have been able to handle another Beat Pyramid. Hidden is loud at all the right times, but more importantly, it knows when to not be. A very good piece of work, These New Puritans have something to be very proud of with Hidden.

These New Puritans- Orion

In anticipation for his new record, Josiah Wolf is giving us another track from Jet Lag. “Master Cleanse (California)” is the second track on the record, following the already available “The Trailer And The Truck.” Master Cleanse floats along with hand claps, acoustic guitar, and sparse percussion, making room for Josiah’s delicate voice. The chorus features a couple of voices, singing what seems to be his reasoning for leaving California. The entire record comes out this Tuesday, courtesy of Anticon. The album is a wonderfully pleasant surprise, emerging as a beautiful collection of creative psych-folk tunes. Pre-order the record right here (LP or CD), and make sure to download the two tracks below.

Jet Lag
1. The Trailer And The Truck
2. Master Cleanse (California)
3. The Opposite Of Breathing
4. The New Car
5. Skull In The Ice
6. The Apart Meant
7. That Kind Of Man
8. Ohioho
9. Is The Body Hung
10. In The Seam
11. Gravity Defied
12. The One Sign

Josiah Wolf- The Trailer and the Truck

Josiah Wolf- Master Cleanse (California)