As you pore over the litany of year-end lists that will no doubt dominate the blogosphere this week ( including ours ), it’s easy to forget that new music continues to trickle in, even as the year rapidly draws to a close. Case in point: Alan Wilkis. Alan Wilkis is a man on the move. He’s got two solo releases under his belt (2008’s Babies Dream Big and 2009’s excellent Pink and Purple). He’s also been hard at work with a bevvy of remixes […]
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bLISTerd Presents: Gonzo’s Top 11 Albums of 2011
I’m not going to get too detailed in my blurbs here. Partially due to time, and partially because I hope to make more in depth annotations for my annual mix on my own dormant blog later this week. But here are 11 artists/albums/tracks that I very much think are worth checking out from this year: 11. M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming I was nervous about M83 doing a double album – it seemed excessive. And it is excessive. None of the […]
Spin Cycle: David Lynch’s “Crazy Clown Time”
Back in August, we shared the news that Director / Auteur David Lynch was giving film a rest for a moment to release his recording debut, Crazy Clown Time. Three months have passed, and Crazy Clown Time is now – the album hit shelves on November 8. Lynch is best known for his film work, which is consistently moody, dark and disturbing. It should be of no surprise that when Lynch moves into the medium of recorded music, the result […]
Spin Cycle: M83’s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”
I first encountered M83 via their previous effort, 2009’s Saturdays=Youth. That album’s lush, dreamy soundscapes drenched in echoes of the 1980s was a sublime masterpiece, and one of my top picks for 2009. I was thus understandably excited when the band announced the follow up, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. However, I admit that when the band announced that it would be a double album, I grew skeptical. It’s not that double albums are inherently bad, but they are inherently ambitious. […]
Spin Cycle: Mayer Hawthorne’s “How Do You Do?”
It’s a very tricky thing when an acclaimed artist makes the jump from an indie label to a major. Will they retain that spark that drew you in to begin with? Will they be forced to make stylistic compromises to appease the suits and mass audiences? Will they end up as the soundtrack to commercials for Target and get in house play at your local Starbucks? Without delving into a diatribe about the corporate music industry, I’ll simply say that […]
Spin Cycle: Twin Sister’s “In Heaven”
Long Island’s Twin Sister is one of those bands that without the Internet, I may not have stumbled across. I believe it was a post over at Gorilla vs. Bear that originally introduced me to music from the band’s then-forthcoming EP, Color Your Life. I was immediately hooked by their ethereal, dreamlike pop, and happily rushed to purchase the EP (even though it had been available for free on bandcamp.com ). Color Your Life quickly became one of my top picks for 2010, in […]
Spin Cycle: Neon Indian’s “Era Extrana”
Hailing from the Denton, Texas, Neon Indian is the brainchild of Alan Palomo. Sometimes labeled as “chillwave” (whatever the hell that means), Neon Indian is an interesting brand of electronic music – perhaps too poppy for the avant-gardists, perhaps too abstract for the mainstream. I happen to find it a perfect marriage. Neon Indian debuted in 2009 with their full-length Psychic Chasms. That album’s low-fi electronic grooves garnered the band a good amount of buzz on the blog/college radio circuit, […]
The Viewfinder: Lords of Acid – “Little Mighty Rabbit”
I admit that I was surprised to see this one come down the pike. Lords of Acid hail from Belgium, and have been making industrial techno music laced with not-so-subtle sexual lyrics since 1988. My primary knowledge of the band stems from their 1997 album Our Little Secret, which featured the entendre-laden “Pussy” and the even more transparent “Spank My Booty.” I really haven’t given much thought to Lords of Acid in the intervening decade, but it turns out that […]
Spin Cycle: “Newermind”
Nirvana’s breakthrough album turns 20 this year (we can’t believe it either). Although the official commemoration won’t occur until the anticipated reissues this fall , culturally we’re already reflecting on the album’s music and impact. Much like it’s celebration of Prince’s Purple Rain two years ago, Spin magazine’s latest edition has a feature on Nevermind that includes stories behind the album and reflections from a veritable who’s who of rock on what Nevermind means to them. Also included is a free download of Newermind, […]
It’s Crazy Clown Time!: David Lynch Gets Set To Release Album
Through the years, David Lynch has worked in a variety of media – photography, sculpture, web series, furniture and his own line of coffee (no joke). But it’s Lynch’s film and television work for which he is best known, comprising a dossier of art house cult classics including Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and the Twin Peaks series (which at times, I still can’t believe aired on prime time network television). Music has always been central to Lynch’s film […]
Spin Cycle: Hercules & Love Affair’s “Blue Songs”
In 2008, a like-minded friend hipped me to the self-titled debut from Hercules and Love Affair. That album’s electropop sensibilities, along with vocal contributions from Antony Hegarty made clear that this was a group to keep an eye (or ear) on. Since that debut disc, they’ve been busy remixing for other artists, including Chromeo, Poly Styrene, Cut Copy and Goldfrapp among others.Finally, Hercules and Love Affair took some time to focus on their own work, and the result is Blue […]