HAL

A couple weeks back I watched the documentary, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him) (if you have Netflix, you can still watch it on Instant Queue), subsequently downloaded some of his albums and have been addicted ever since. Even though I’m still familiarizing myself with Nilsson’s discography, it’s easy to see how influential his music is on contemporary pop music and HAL is a prime example. The Irish band released their self-titled debut album in 2005 on Rough Trade Records to much acclaim and now after an extended hiatus are releasing their follow-up, The Time, The Hour.

The first single for the album is an ultra-catchy ditty by the name of “Be With You” which showcases the band’s crisp, bouncy West Coast-inspired pop drenched in multi-part harmonies and infectious sunshine-pop instrumentation. The track bursts with exuberance from it’s soaring chorus to the boisterous guitar solo at the song’s end. “Down in the Valley” takes those giddy harmonies even further arriving at a flamboyant, glam-like sound that’s closer to Queen then the Beach Boys, backed by a jaunty bass line and brisk drumming. You can download “Down in the Valley” and stream both tracks below. Visit the band’s website for more info on their new album.

MP3 HAL – Down in the Valley

Be With You by HALmusic

Down In The Valley by HALmusic

Video: Is Tropical – The Greeks (dir. Megaforce)

French directing collective Megaforce have some of the straight-up coolest visual style out of any music video directors working today. I was introduced to them by their fantastic Metronomy video which featured sing-a-long bouncing balls going rogue (if that doesn’t make sense, just watch the video and you’ll see what I mean). I was also wowed by their Kid Cudi video and last year’s highly metaphoric clip for Tame Impala.

Megaforce has taken it to another level with this new music video for London dance rock band Is Tropical, which mixes animation and live footage to incredible effect. The visuals blow me away. The video shows kids in an epic pretend war (although I’m not sure kids would fantasize about meth labs) and the graphic cartoon explosions / blood fill in for their imagination which makes for some extremely awesome sequences. Also, love the cool guys don’t look at explosions reference. Watch above, download below.

MP3 Is Tropical – The Greeks

“The Greeks” is available on Is Tropical’s debut album, Native, out this summer.

Cover: Painted Palms – I Will Truck (Dirty Projectors)

Every since I heard of San Francisco’s Painted Palms a few months back, I’ve been itching for them to release some new material. Their Canopy EP (out 6/27) continues to get tons of spins for me and with their recent signing to Secretly Canadian they will hopefully get around to releasing a full-length by the year’s end. To hold us off temporarily though, the band released a cover of Dirty Projectors “I Will Truck”, which premiered on I Guess I’m Floating (the very blog which introduced me to Painted Palms).

The original song is a freakishly eccentric cacophony of glitchy noises and weird harmonies, which is unsurprising since this is Dirty Projector’s were talking about, while Painted Palms cover gives the track a tropical, west coast-pop makeover making the song much more listenable while still maintaining some of that inherent weirdness that gives the song it’s character. Here’s the cover and the original.

MP3 Painted Palms – I Will Truck
MP3 Dirty Projectors – I Will Truck

If you’re interested in some of Painted Palms own songs, this exhilarating track is a great starting point:

MP3 Painted Palms – All of Us

MP3: Moonface – Fast Peter

Spencer Krug really is the man of a thousand names. Whether it’s Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, Fifths of Seven or most recently, Moonface, the ingenious Canadian singer/songwriter/keyboardist has undertaken a multitude of guises to release his music throughout the years. Not only is he one of the most prolific artists of our generation, but he’s also one of the most talented. He rarely releases anything short of spectacular and “Fast Peter” is no exception.

The sprawling, eight-minute track opens with an instrumental passage filled with dizzying organ arpeggios and addicting electronic loops. Once Spencer Krug’s voice comes in you’re already more then hooked. The track shows that Krug’s distinct, intense vocals and his vivid storytelling abilities are still in top form. Midway through, the frantic loops fade out and a sea of lush, expansive organs fill the sonic landscape making for a euphoric, otherworldy ending passage that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I know at times I’ve teetered on the edge of Krug fanboy-ism but as long as he continues to release music that blows my mind in new and interesting ways, my borderline-obsession with all things Krug will not falter.

MP3 Moonface – Fast Peter

The brilliantly-named Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped will be out 8/2 on Jagjaguwar.

From the Chaff – yourfeetstoobig, Raleigh, Lullatone

From the Chaff (in reference to this idiom) is a semi-regular series where we post things that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Whether it’s singles, EPs or just MP3s that we like, it’s a place for us to collect the things we’ve heard lately but haven’t had a chance to write about yet.

MP3 yourfeetstoobig – Pintail

I have a huge soft spot for the kind of cinematic, synthesizer-pop that yourfeetstoobig is peddling. It may be that I’m nostalgic for those late nights watching 80s action movies when I was a kid, but I’m powerless against this stuff. “Pintail” is a prime example of yftb’s style, coming off like some lost Big Trouble in Little China B-side. If you’re like me, you will probably want to get the rest of the EP, which just so happens to be available for free on Bandcamp.

MP3 Raleigh – Balloon Boy

Raleigh trade in a brand of sprightly pop music that suits the changing seasons well, but the band forgoes a more traditional setup and instead opts for a guitar/drums/cello trio. The resulting combination colors their music with an unexpected character and gives the songs added spirit where they may otherwise fade away. Clea Anaïs’ whimsical voice plays especially well off of the instruments and Brock Geiger’s acts as a counterpoint, grounding the song before it can float away.

MP3 Lullatone – Walking on the Sidewalk

Lullatone say that they want their music to be a new kind of elevator music, “one that makes you want to snap and clap, and talk to the stranger next to you.” Listening to “Walking on the Sidewalk”, it’s safe to say they pretty much nailed it. It brings to mind my favorite video game; I can easily see wandering around town, chatting with the locals, putting down a few spiteful crows, all while Lullatone provide the soundtrack. You can name your own price for the band’s album over here.

Welcome to "Towns and Cities Mix", Population 16.

I tend to gravitate towards artists that sing about geography, whether it’s Sufjan Stevens with his states project, The Mountain Goats with their various geographic odes, or The Rural Alberta Advantage’s dedication to their Hometowns. This week Bon Iver released the first track, “Calgary” to his excellent new album Bon Iver, Bon Iver, which triggered a subsequent leak a couple hours later. Largely due to his relentless touring schedule, Justin Vernon was inspired by places and all but three tracks on the album are named after a city or state. Moreso, it’s a beautiful collection of music, and thus, it inspired me to make this mix of some of my favorite tracks named after cities and towns of the world. Let me know your favorite songs about towns and cities in the comments!

MP3 Bon Iver – Calgary
MP3 The Mountain Goats – Tallahassee
MP3 Ryan Adams – New York, New York
MP3 Manchester Orchestra – Pensacola
MP3 They Might Be Giants – Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
MP3 Friendly Fires – Paris
MP3 Sufjan Stevens – Romulus
MP3 Arrah and the Ferns – Tokyo, Tokyo
MP3 The Decemberists – Los Angeles, I’m Yours
MP3 Phoenix – Rome
MP3 Iron & Wine – Sodom, South Georgia
MP3 Tapes n’ Tapes – Omaha
MP3 Bruce Springsteen – Atlantic City
MP3 Tennis – Baltimore
MP3 The Rural Alberta Advantage – Frank AB
MP3 Wilco – Via Chicago

Young Galaxy – Shapeshifting

Upon completion of their third album, Young Galaxy took the next logical step: The band sent the songs 3,500 miles away to be finished by a notoriously secretive producer. Young Galaxy waited for nine months while Dan Lissvik reshaped their songs and breathed chilly new life into them. The result is Shapeshifting, a lavish record with the capacity to lull you into a narcotic haze.

Song titles like “The Angels Are Surely Weeping” and “Blown Minded” give a clue as to what Shapeshifting holds. It’s a dreamy, hypnotic album packed with psychedelic imagery and subdued grooves that seem innocuous but prove to have staying power over repeat listens. In fact, Shapeshifting is an album that actually takes some time to fully absorb; it’s easy to let the thing fly by without a thought at first, but songs like “For Dear Life” and “B.S.E.” reward immersion.

Then again, it’s easy to get swept away by some of the immediate gems Shapeshifting has to offer. “We Have Everything” is a balearic blast of energy with its hands to the sun. The chorus doesn’t appear until over halfway through, but once it does there is no choice but surrender. On the other hand, “Peripheral Visionaries” is a laid-back mutant strain of disco. The song is a slow simmer of harmonies until everything falls away, leaving the band chanting towards the sky while the song builds back up to a subtle, but magnificent, climax.

It’s unclear how much Lissvik embellished these songs, which says a lot for his skill as a producer. Rather than leave his fingerprints all over the album he stays out of the way, adding adornment as needed. Young Galaxy took a huge risk with this unconventional production method, but it paid off in a huge way and the result is collaboration at its finest. It’s uncertain what Shapeshifting would be without everyone involved, but together they have created one of the most enjoyable albums of the year.

Young Galaxy – We Have Everything
Young Galaxy – Peripheral Visionaries

Video: To Kill A King – Fictional State

This last week has been unbelievably busy for me (starting a new job + being in a wedding) so I’m sorry if it’s been a bit slow around here lately. In the midst of all that though, I did have the fortune of stumbling upon this excellent song / video for UK folk band To Kill A King. The band is part of an ever-thriving British folk scene with artists including Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Slow Club, and Mumford + Sons (whose Ben Lovett co-founded the Communion record label of which To Kill A King are signed). The music video for the track, directed by John King, is a wonderfully executed piece of storytelling with an imaginative cinematography and a stirring climax that works brilliantly with the song’s sweeping crescendo. This is definitely an artist I’ll be keeping my eye on. Watch the video above and stream the gorgeous track below.

To Kill A King – “Fictional State” by To Kill A King

Burst Apart

While the The Antlers previous album, the catharsis-driven Hospice, centers around a gripping narrative of a relationship between a hospice worker and patient on the brink of death, their follow-up album, the newly released Burst Apart focuses on the balance between love, hate, and loneliness in a far less direct manner. However despite its broader lens, Burst Apart still maintains the sentimentality of Hospice that turned so many listeners into ardent fans.

The opening track, “I Don’t Want Love” immediately indicated to me that this would be another album filled with poignant and emotion-driven lyrics, beginning with the lines “You wanna climb up the stairs/ I wanna push you back down.” Throughout the album frontman Peter Silberman constantly switches between exuding feelings of resilience and fragility, as his brilliant falsetto sends the listener into an alternate universe of reflection. Silberman’s solitary dreamlike cooing heard on a number of tracks on the album is shown in full force in “No Windows,” casting a soft shadow over the song, capturing the true tender essence of the album.

In addition to Silberman’s gorgeous vocals, sprinkled throughout the Burst Apart are delicately placed horns, brought to prominence in “Rolled Together” and “Tiptoe,” as well as distinct electronic textures, most noticeable in the ambient “French Exit.” The metaphor-driven closing track, “Putting the Dog to Sleep” thematically channels Hospice as Silberman asks his lover to “Prove to me/I’m not gonna die alone…While my trust in you/Is a dog with a broken leg.”

Burst Apart is by no means a half-hearted attempt at recreating the melancholy of Hospice, as it is carefully crafted to perfection with its fine mastery of somber lyrics juxtaposed with ethereal guitar swoops and mist-covered drum loops, thus indicating the Brooklyn trio’s tremendous growth both instrumentally and psychologically.

MP3 The Antlers – I Don’t Want Love
MP3 The Antlers – Putting The Dog To Sleep

MP3: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Ffunny Frends

The Pygmalion Festival initial line-up was released a couple weeks back and like always, it’s very good. The fest has a great track record of getting bands to play right before they burst out on the indie scene (Cults last year, Yeasayer in 2007) and Unknown Mortal Orchestra looks like it may be that band this year. The Portland psych-pop band has gotten blog love from I Guess I’m Floating, Stereogum and The Catbirdseat, are signed to the increasingly in vogue Fat Possum records, and their new track “Ffunny Friends” was just playlisted by Pitchfork last week. With just a quick listen, it’s easy to see why the track has gotten so much praise so quickly. The track’s striking lo-fi guitar sound, hypnotic drumming and an arresting double-tracked vocal melody makes it stand out in the sea of buzzed-about tracks. Download it below and listen to more at Fat Possum.

MP3 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Ffunny Frends