MADNESS!
A recurring series of audio WTFs and head-twitching, spine-tingling experimental fun (k)icks.
Giant Claw
Giant Claw’s limited edition 12″ will soon be released through Wool Recordings! For your easy listening enjoyment are four songs from release, now available digitally. More of their albums, complete with marvelous album cover artwork, are available on their Bandcamp.
For a four-dimensional experiment in listening amusement, take such amusingly-named tracks as “Hobo-Cop” and “Spirit Heal Me” and custom-tailor them to a narrative of your own choosing, as devised in your mind’s eye! The results are guaranteed to be cinematic in the most bizarre of ’80s-sci-fi-meets-stoner-late-night-TV ways.
The nine-person Brooklyn disco band Midnight Magic have released a suite of materials in the past week, in celebration of their new EP, What The Eyes Can’t See, out today on Midnight Sun Sound! Included in this post are their new video for “Drop Me A Line,” a Holy Ghost! remix of the same track, and a catchy B-side single called “Psycho For Your Love.” RAWR.
What The Eyes Can’t See EP Tracklist
1. What The Eyes Can’t See
2. Heat
3. Julio
4. Calling Out
5. Psycho For Your Love (Bonus)
6. Magic Midnight (Bonus)
Listen to Holy Ghost!’s remix for Midnight Magic’s “Drop Me A Line” – DOWNLOAD MP3
Listen to Midnight Magic’s “Psycho For Your Love” – DOWNLOAD MP3
Huh? The album art for British singer-songwriter J. Spaceman’s newest album Sweet Heart Sweet Light dons a white background, the outline of a stop sign, and the phrase “Huh?” It’s an interesting icon, especially for a man who has made his life’s work dodging media and disrupting critics, all the while releasing some of the most cherished music of the past few decades. Is it meant to confuse listeners? Should it signify a new direction for the band? More likely, it’s Spaceman’s subtle shrug of indifference to every listener.
But sadly, the album’s cover is the most interesting word or phrase used throughout the entirety of Sweet Heart Sweet Light. Lyrically, the album is a huge step back for J. Spaceman, otherwise known as Jason Pierce. Spiritualized’s lyrics have always been immediate at best, but there was a more heartfelt nature about them on past records. When Pierce sings, “I used up all my affection,” and “I lost all of my direction,” on “Get What You Deserve,” the execution is far from effective, and the character in the song is Pierce personified. Maybe you’re piqued by sentiments like “Love lights the flames when there’s hearts it can burn,” but on most of Sweet Heart Sweet Light, the messages are trite and over-simplified. And maybe taking lyrics out of context to make Pierce sound like a lazy songwriter is over-simplifying the issue, but one spin through the record, and it becomes blatantly obvious that brains behind Spiritualized was grasping at straws for subject matter.
Multicultural Sounds travels the world for contemporary reinventions of cultural staples.
Earlier this week, Portland-based electronic musician Jeffrey Jerusalem has put together a 60-minute mix of global dance sounds. 13 Months Of Sunshine: New Rhythms From Africa And Around The World comes just in time for the beginning of spring, sunshine, and the outdoors. Full tracklisting below, along with another extraordinary weird mix from two months ago (no tracklisting). Plenty more mixed are available on Jeffrey Jerusalem’s SoundCloud. There are some gems there, for sure.
Abayudaya – Psalm 136
Tinariwen – Tenere Taqqim Tossam (Four Tet Remix)
Cos Ber Zam – Ne Noya (Daphni mix)
Harmonious Thelonious – Mokambo
Aero Manyelo – Just In Time
Jusa Dementor – African Air Horn Dance
Oni Ayhun – Meets Shangaan Electro
Daphni – No Boundaries
MMM – Meets Tshetsha Boys
Africa Hi-Tech – Spirit
Ramadanman – Revenue (Untold Remix)
Debruit – NigeriaWhat?
Boogalo – Xibaba
Bokatola system and Evala Litongo – Lingala
Black Motion Featuring Jah Rich Banane Mavoko (Jose Marquez Remix)
Cesaria Evora – Angola (Carl Craig Remix)
Wally Badarou – One Day Won’t Give It Away
Abayudaya – We Are Happy
Oakland’s bringers of psych-jazz-drone are back! Freshly disconnected with the mostly obsolete Lovepump United, Clipd Beaks have just self-released WAKE, a six-track sampling of long-forgotten works they’ve recently dusted off for your listening pleasure. Album single, “All The Way Evil,” which you can download above, recalls both a nighttime drive through winding dark canyons and an intense oceanic quest filled with sea monsters. Sound appealing? Get into the zone and stream the entire album below!
Liars’ new record, WIXIW, wil be released on Mute on June 5th, 2012! Nobody knows how to pronounce it (!), but Liars do know how to embed the unpronounceable word (?) into all sorts of places and mediums, like street artists on crack. 2012 tour dates for WIXIW at the bottom of this post.
The video for “No. 1 Against The Rush,” directed by Todd Cole, is a dark and funky momma. And Angus Andrew is really tall.
As for the new single, “No. 1 Against The Rush” which comes out May 29th… uhhhhhhhhh. “Wow” might be the operative word. You can stream it for yourself now, on their Facebook page, to determine if that is a fitting description.
Lucky residents of New York and Los Angeles can see the band live shortly after the album release. That’ll probably still be good, right?
Wed 6/20 – Webster Hall – New York City
Fri 6/22 – The Music Box – Los Angeles
Earlier this week, Portland-based electronic musician 
As for the new single, “No. 1 Against The Rush” which comes out May 29th… uhhhhhhhhh. “Wow” might be the operative word. You can 
