Oh, Why

Balam Acab's new album is highly anticipated and he just let loose a 320 sample salvo that whets the whistle like none other

Blackbird Blackbird - Halo LP

This dude is relatively prolific and pretty damn reliable, I actually like this one more than I did the last LP...I prefer when he's not singing on the tracks, cuz then it's kinda like second-rate PandaBear but the girls on this are good, and the beats seem to be a little dancier good ish all-around.

BLACKBIRD BANDCAMP

Cold Cave-The Great Pan Is Dead

Pan is Dead, Long Live Pan

Cold Cave

Keep Shelly In Athens

Man I am terrible at keeping this truthfully up-to-date as far as music goes and all that shit. but anyways Keep Shelly In Athens...I am pretty sure they are from Greece and I heard some of their singles a coupla months ago and have been waiting for more, here it is HooRah. OhhhYeaaaah it sounds like the Sonic The Hedgehog bonus levels, but in slow-mo . . .ive been having a real hankering for some Ketamine lately....

Singles of Note

Weed Hounds-Skating Away From The Cops 7"

Hell yeah two-songs that are super-potent, couldn't get enough of this band, the demo is great too but I really like the way they produced these tracks not too hot not too cold if you know what I mean. The songs are great, would you run away if I told you they reminded me of "Isn't Anything" MBV? You can call me lazy, but don't discount the band. They are set to drop a full-length in the next coupla months and I can't wait.



The Pains Of Being Pure of Heart-Say No To Love 7"

Even though I've slowly been coming to the conclusion it ain't healthy to listen to all this spoon-my-heart-out/fatalist/uber-romance shit all the time I still have to give it up to these doods, it's just too pretty too well crafted. The secret hater in me can't wait till this band screws up so I can just hate on em but it's probably not gonna happen cuz they have a pretty damn consistent track-record of purrrfection. On a related note: When is Mac gonna come out with filters for your eyes, fuck rose-colored glasses, I want super 8 lenses.Say No To Love



Veronica Falls-Beachy Head 7"

Well I am getting a little miffed(that's british right?) that there hasn't been a full-length yet, or a deluge of singles....just a slow slow trickle it's all gold though I guess that's the trade-off. I heard somewhere this song is about a famous place to kill yourself, now that's goth and they didn't even need to bury it under a mile of white-noise. But on another note, has there ever been one sunny day in all of England's existence? Catch the Wave



Wild Nothing-Evertide Ep

Welp no surprise here I been jocking this band too damned hard lately. I don't even have words for this one too good too good. jock on



Balam Acab-See Birds

I think you could call Balam Acab rookie of the year, he came out of nowhere and pretty much won the hearts of all, he pulls more emotion out of machines than most can out a slew live instruments, and they are covered in gorgeous texture. Unlike witch house which he might be unfairly asscociated with he doesn't leave you feeling desperate or scared, mostly fulfilled and renewed and shit positive like that. See Birds



Ikonika-DCKHDBTCH

A lot of times I am really disappointed by dubstep, but really it's just that it's gotten so big now that it has gone in a million different directions. And unfortunately the directions leading to the general mindless herds are the ones most popular. Thankfully guys like Joker, Hudson Mohawke, and Nosaj Thing are still pushing boundaries and right up there with them is Ikonika. Her drums are pretty simple kinda cheap sounding, but she throws the most bonkers ass melodies over it, after a minute they just start to work on you, then her super woozy basslines start to take effect, it's real cool. This isn't the best introduction to her music but it is definitely solid.



Zomby-One Foot Ahead of The Other

Zomby definitely fits into the above-mentioned category of people not being content with the definition of dubstep the mindless are trying to impose on the rest of us. I don't know much about electronics or sequencers so I can't really say what he's doing, it sounds analog and complex to me. Actually I think this ep has more in common with Wendy Carlos than Bassnectar. It surely satisfies my brain in ways simillar to Switched On Bach.



White Ring/oOoOO-Emotion 7"

This whole genre is inevitably gonna get a whole bunch of flack but good music remains good music and this seven inch is good music. You shouldn't have to apologize for like DJ's Paul and Screw as well Portishead and Burzum it's fucking 2010 ya heard? Let em do their thang thang. And besides the clever genre tag isn't it really just cold wave or goth or whatever? I think sometimes people lose perspective and can't appreciate something cool when it's crawling like Ju-On across the floor.EmOtiONaL



oOoOO-EP

Yeah other than Salem I think these guys have got the most bankable catalog at the moment, NoSmmr4U is a certified banger.Did I mention the Pokerface Remix?

GLK

Gas Lamp Killer has an extreme knack for crafting perfect mixes. I myself enjoy it faaar more when he is throwing Turkish psychedelia in the blender with Nirvana and UGK....but in the last couple of years it seems he has shifted his energies towards wobblier endeavors. That being said, it's still waaay more left-field and curve-ballish than most dj's. It's going to be a great day when he sits down and does a proper major release, but until then there are many mixes and ep's floating about that will give you a proper look-see at what he's got going on
Gas Lamp Killin' It

Dance till ya can't Dance till ya can't Dance no more

It seems every coupla months I will find out about some new crazy-ass region specific dance that is just coming out and every time I get my head blown off. You can tell waaay more about a group of people by what they create rather than what a Rand McNally picture atlas could tell you. The newest dance music craze sweeping the internet is from South Africa, it sounds like the soundtrack to the cheaper N64 games like Bust-A-Move or Diddy Kong racing....but sped up to impossible speeds with super mechanical yet polyrythmic drums and a notable lack of low-end. But the way these girls are dancing to it is what gets me, crazy crazy hypnotic....there is no reason to try and describe just let it explain itself. All-in-all it reminds me of something you'd see on Sesame Street or Gullah Gullah Island, it's a feel good vibe and a reminder that Americans are way to stiff and neurotic to have a pure good time compared to some others in the world.

If you don't have any patience for the music the dancing starts a minute in....

Shangaan Electro from outsidemusic on Vimeo.

This video is admittedly pretty ridiculous, I don't know Im a weird dude those vocals do it for me though

SHANGAAN ELECTRO 6 from outsidemusic on Vimeo.

This last song I actually kind of dig, but you might want to take that with a grain of salt because I've been lately feeling like C+C Music Factory is one of the best bands of the 90's, and I always have room in my heart for a saccharine sweet ode to love.

Nwa Gezani My Love / SHANGAAN ELECTRO from outsidemusic on Vimeo.

If you're interest is in any way piqued

Daze 2 Cum

According to Wikipedia Bonobos are the only non-human animals to; have sex face-to-face, have sex for pleasure, and perform oral sex. This means that Bonobos are by far the most sexual animals on the planet. It makes since that Bonobo the musician would make equally sexual music. Steamy down-tempo Trip-hop colored with the sounds of the jungle and sultry wood winds, and eastern stringed instruments. This is the album you want to have on when you bring a lady over to your brand new apartment and you wanna show her how sophisticated and on-point you are. At least, that's what I'm gonna do if I ever get on-point. This shit begs for you to burn incense with a name like Love Opium, or Sweaty Lotus or something else equally seductive. But for the majority of us who can't partake in tantric sex next to their fireplace with a Bose soundsystem in the back, this shit'll do just fine for walking around town too high to die.

chump on chimp

Dejenga Elo AKA Barefoot Shrubs

Dejenga Elo/Barefoot Shrubs

My homebro Cory Alan Fry repping Orange County California is one of the more righteous dudes I've met. He is in TableFuit/Bobby Nobbit, some straight loc's affiliated with richbitch records. Met these dudes last summer during Outsleazed,and we hit it off like crazy, kindred spirits type of thing. Maybe it's because they were on a crazy Boom Binge, and I am pretty fluent in "Far-out-aneese". Anyways my dude makes music on his own as well. If you are familliar with all the nuttiness LA has been churning out as far as Left-field Hip-Hop goes then you should know what to expect. On a real
Lucky Dragons vibe, but it's not throw-away. Anywho, these are some demo tracks that he sent me, and Ive been sitting on for a good month, but here you go! Enjoy! If you ever get the chance to see Table Fruit(which might not be possible anymore...not sure) I'd do it because they're sick as hell. And if you ever meet Cory break him off a piece of whatever your chewin on.

Headspace

Jaga Jazzist/One-Amed Bandit

Hurrah! The first album of the year that I'm absolutely PUMPED on! It's been five whole years since What We Must, so they had soooo much to live up to. First time I heard it, I was like, "meh". But it's definitely grown on me over the last couple of days. Waaay more usage of conventional instrumentation, but in the best way possible. Sometimes it sounds like Peaches En Regalia style Frank Zappa....a lot more groove in the rhythm section(sounds like they are taking a page out of the Omar Rodriguez handbook). But I gotta say that this album gets me fucking pumped. Perfect cold weather music. Also guaranteed to turn your car into a spaceship.

Banditry

40 seconds in this song kicks into the baddest ass fucking groove I've heard in a minute, and then when the horns come over....sheesh. THAT'S what it's all about right thurr.

Yes, We Must

These are demos and outtakes from Jaga Jazzist's neo-classic What We Must. These Norse dudes play jazz-fusion. In the vein of The Weather Report or even Mahavishnu Orchestra, except they add a 21st-century electronic twist. Mixing drum programming and live horns. It's fucking brilliant. Then, on What We Must they flipped the script and used a live drummer. Almost sounding like Explosions In The Sky while always maintaining this insane jazz cool. Especially in winter I find myself listening to this band a lot. It can turn the frozen decay of downtown Reno, into some magical wonderland. With northern lights, and the Coca-Cola polar bears and the kind of snow that ain't cold.

The best part about this band is you can literally pick up any release and start from there. Yet, they don't all sound the same, it's crazy. Even though these are just a few demos from their last record, I think it serves as good an introduction as any of their other releases. But if you like this I suggest getting What We Must, and then A Living Room Hush, and you'd pretty much be set.

For All You Happy People+

For Punks!

Not all too familiar with Atari Teenage Riot. But this is a side-project of sorts. I picked it up when I worked at Recycled Records, mainly cuz it was on Grand Royal and I was feeling adventurous. The cover too, that shit's pretty tight. Technically this is drum-n-bass. Too me it just sounds like if some eastern European speed-freak tried to make punk with electronics. Just an odd pick up, if I knew what it was I probably wouldn't have grabbed it, but it's an interesting listen at least.

Hammertime

Might as well just throw this one out here. Before Cold Cave, this is the other electronic band from Wes Eisold. The big burly guy from Hatebreed is along for the ride, the new Cage record reminded me a lot of this stuff, which makes since cuz he shows up on this one. And the guy from Hatebreed is now playing with Cage. Small world. This one gets the Nitrous stamp of approval as well.

Hugz and Kissez

Caught In A Cave

Wes Eisold's "no-wave" project. This is the first recording, and has a harder edge that I feel has been lacking from all of the releases Cold Cave has been putting out lately. If you had only listened to Give Up The Ghost, I would say to start out here as far as Cold Cave goes, because it just gets more Euro from here. I don't know if Wes is a fan of Nitrous Oxide, but I will say that whippets and this demo go together like nuts and fudge.

Im So Icey

Curiouser & Curiouser

Hands down one of my favorite albums of all time. Vaguely dark, synthy pop bands with female vocals are kind of dime-a-dozen. But don't let the genre's clutter turn you off. Broadcast are serious heavyweights and I think this is their best record by a long shot. I don't think this band gets enough credit, and this album especially. To me this album is an EVENT. A high water-mark for the decade and the style of music they play. I just read that the lead singer says this album is about "letting go". No wonder I dig it so much, for the last two or so years this album has been a pillar of reason in my life.

Broadcast-Tender Buttons(2005)
1.)I Found The F
2.)Black Cat
3.)Tender Buttons
4.)America's Boy
5.)Tears In The Typing Pool
6.)Corporeal
7.)Bit 35
8.)Arc Of A Journey
9.)Michael A Grammar
10.)Subject To The Ladder
11.)Evil Is Coming
12.)Goodbye Girls
13.)You And Me In Time
14.)I Found The End

Tender Buttons

Purchase