New album from Sigur Rós, free preview available now

Sigur Rós has a new release ready for the world and you can now stream their entire new album entitled, Kveikur, before the official release date on June 18, 2013.  If like me, you found the last record lovely but lacking in energy, I think you will like the balance they achieve on this one.  Kveikur is heavier on percussion, more varied in sonic production and yet still incorporates many familiar elements of their music -- the mysterious Icelandic lyrics, Jonsi's layered vocal parts, soaring and uplifting melodies.  I'm looking forward to having Kveikur as the soundtrack to this summer.

Watch the title track video:

Screamadelica turns 20

Screamadelica has been recognized as a classic album from the 90's, but often overlooked is the role of DJ/producer, Andrew Weatherall.  Weatherall took a British indie band, mixed in samples, brought in gospel singers, and gave them a new sound that had elements of house, dub, and psychedelic rock.  


To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of the album, Primal Scream will perform the entire album live at The Olympia in West London on November 27 and 28, 2010. The performance is to include a full gospel choir for "Movin' on Up" and "Come Together" as well as a complete horn section.

A number of samples were used in the production of the album:

• On the UK version of the album, "Come Together" opens with part of a speech given by Jesse Jackson at the Wattstax concert held in Los Angeles in 1972.
• "Loaded" features lines spoken by Peter Fonda's character in the 1966 movie The Wild Angels, as well as a drum loop from an Italian bootleg mix of Edie Brickell's "What I Am".
• "Slip Inside This House" features Sly Stone's laugh from the end of the song "Sex Machine" (from the 1969 album Stand!) and the Amen break.
• "Inner Flight" samples the closing sound on Brian Eno's "The Great Pretender" from the album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).
• "Higher Than the Sun" uses a sample from "Wah Wah Man" by the Young-Holt Unlimited Trio.
• "Movin' on Up" does not sample but borrows from the lyrics to Can's "Yoo Doo Right".

also see: Screamadelica Commemorated on a postage stamp

Revisiting My Way by Akufen

Going through my dance records recently I came across a vinyl copy of Akufen's full-length from 2002 entitled My Way. I remember how much I loved listening to it when it came out, but since then I haven't given it much of a listen. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it has held up:



"Microsampling – Every morning when I wake up, it's become customary for me to surf the airwaves on both my tuners and shortwave receivers. (...) All that we hear on the air is dead within a few seconds. (...) I attempt to give new life to dead airwaves on the very moment of their short existence. (...) Every form of music has a right to exist – and be microsampled. I try to give a new life to sound and gift it with immortality" - Marc Leclair

New Iron and Wine Rarities Comp Announced

Usually, the collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks, and demos by an artist would be for fans only. In the case of Iron and Wine, you might well call this a proper album - these songs not only stand on their own, but as you listen over the span of the double-disc/triple-LP set, there is a cohesion of style (spare, acoustic) and substance that had also helped to define the earlier Iron and Wine catalog.

Below is the press release from Sub Pop:

IRON AND WINE - AROUND THE WELL
DOUBLE CD/TRIPLE LP (SP 808)
RELEASE DATE: MAY 19, 2009

Collecting songs ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released, Around the Well spans Iron and Wine’s earliest sessions which yielded the band’s debut (2002’s The Creek Drank the Cradle) through material recorded for 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog. The double-disc Around the Well collection is broken up into two sections. The first half is an assortment of hushed home recordings, unedited and raw, and the second highlights moments captured in the confines of proper studios with the help of other musicians, friends and engineers.

The album’s title comes from a line in the song “The Trapeze Swinger,” a fan favorite which was written for and included in the 2004 movie In Good Company. Three more songs written and recorded for the film finally make their appearance here as well: “Belated Promise Ring,” “God Made the Automobile” and “Homeward, These Shoes.” Around the Well also brings together hard-to-find covers such as The Flaming Lips’ “Waitin’ for a Superman” and New Order’s “Love Vigilantes,” along with one of Iron and Wine’s earliest originals, “Sacred Vision.” In support of Around the Well, this May Iron and Wine will perform ten intimate shows in five cities. In addition, Iron and Wine have begun work on the follow-up to The Shepherd’s Dog and plan to release a new album in spring, 2010.

NEW ARRIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Fall brings great new releases, and this year is no exception. Here are some of the highlights on sale now:

Hatchback : Colors of the Sun (Lo Recordings) "One half of Windsurf, the duo on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label, Samuel Milton Grawe goes solo with more great cosmic disco sounds as Hatchback. An array of vintage synthesizers, analog drum machines, and the venerable Fender Rhodes electric piano create classic sounds with a modern twist. If Dennis Wilson was still alive, he'd be making music like this."

Michna : Magic Monday (Ghostly) NYC DJ/producer, Adrian Michna, formerly of Secret Frequency Crew comes out big with his first solo album. "Apart from the tightly woven musical amalgam of hip-hop, booty and electro, it’s the detailed process that makes Michna’s debut album, Magic Monday, move. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the album is its rich element of musicality; in an era when hip-hop tracks have devolved into two-note keyboard loops, songs like “Skunk Walk” live up to their name with full-bodied funk and live horns."

Morgan Geist : Double Night Time (Environ) "Double Night Time is the new album from Morgan Geist and his first solo artist album in over a decade. Instrumentally, the orchestra Geist employs is decidedly more Yellow Magic than philharmonic: unlike his Metro Area project or the disco music he DJs all over the world, a conscious decision was made to design an album that was almost purely electronic outside of human vocals, with classic synthetic sound design and arrangements. Geist wanted Double Night Time to be the sound of one person making music in a studio, programming a private world, recapturing the lonely and romantic sentiments associated with his formative music-making experiences."

Milosh : III (Plug Research) "Milosh (Toronto, Canada) makes music for the mind, body and spirit. Introspective, intimate, sensual electro-folk steeped in perfumed melancholy and luscious romance. Combining beats, samples, guitars, strings and the most silken falsetto voice since prime-time Smokey Robinson, the third Milosh album iii takes the listener on an emotional journey through an exquisitely beautiful musical landscape. A classically trained cellist, jazz aficionado, Neil Young fan and devotee of left-field electronica, the Toronto-based Michael Milosh does not fit conventional pop categories - and nor does his music."

Vivian Girls : s/t (In the Red) "Swirling noise topped with sweetly angelic vocals is practically a can't-miss concoction. Within seconds of hearing their seductive three-part vocal harmonies lushly interwoven with chest-pounding waves of beautiful feedback, it's obvious that their songs are hard to resist, especially if you find yourself keen on the mid-'80s noise pop trifecta of The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Vaselines, and the Shop Assistants."

Cat Power Jukebox preview

Chan Marshall comes out with a second album of covers, this Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008; this one's a tribute to the great vocalists who've influenced her over the years, backed by a full band of indie all-stars. I imagine you're already a Cat Power fan, so I think you already know how great this record will be, but if you'd like to come down to etherea and have an advance listen, I got a copy to play in-store before the album officially hits the shelves.

The album comes in two versions: deluxe silver-foil gatefold cover (LP and CD) with bonus disc of extra tracks and regular jewelcase version (CD only).


Jukebox tracklist:

01 Theme From 'New York, New York' (Kander/Ebb; popularized by Frank Sinatra/Liza Minnelli)
02 Metal Heart (Cat Power)
03 Ramblin' (Wo)man (Hank Williams)
04 Song To Bobby (Cat Power-- new song)
05 Aretha, Sing One For Me (J Harris/Eugene William; originally sung by George Jackson)
06 Lost Someone (James Brown)
07 I Believe In You (Bob Dylan)
08 Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
09 Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton)
10 Dark End of the Street (Chips Moman/Dan Penn; originally sung by James Carr)
11 Don't Explain (Billie Holiday)
12 Woman Left Lonely (Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn, popularized by Janis Joplin)

Backed by Dirty Delta Blues (Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Jim White, Erik Papparazzi). Guest appearances: Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan), Larry McDonald (Toots & The Maytals, Taj Mahal), Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Memphis Rhythm Band), and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Will Oldham).

Radiohead - In Rainbows

After the fairly scattershot approach of "Hail To The Thief" and extreme introspection of Yorke's solo "Eraser", it's pretty awe-inspiring to hear the group in expansive mode again, creating an album that keeps their emotional core inact while pushing the boundaries of their sound outward.

The initial impression given by the album (and one that stays after listening repeatedly) is a band at the peak of their powers. From the moment the first song starts, it's clear that there's nothing tentative going on here. We're up to full speed within seconds, kids cheer, the beats hit you square in the gut, Thom Yorke begins to jabber in his inimitable fashion, and it's recognizably paranoid skittish Radiohead, but looser and fiercer and funkier all at once.

There's all the expected pretty Radiohead moments but not neccesarily in the places you expect. There's weird percussive things. And big guitar roars and little piano noises and slightly computerized jittery things that melt into a soaring melody so seamlessly that you never really stop to think about the transition.

In short, In Rainbows manages to showcase all of Radiohead's strengths and use them as a foundation for something fresh and new. Once again.

Radiohead-In Rainbows website

-PAR