We haven’t done this feature in a while. I was trying to write an individual post for each of the tracks I’d previously planned to throw into this column. But instead of getting five posts for the price of one, we were getting zero, because I never found time to do the individual posts. My bad! Anyway, here are five tracks that showed up in our email boxes over the past month or so that we liked a lot and wanted to share with you:
We haven’t done this feature in a while. I was trying to write an individual post for each of the tracks I’d previously planned to throw into this column. But instead of getting five posts for the price of one, we were getting zero, because I never found time to do the individual posts. My bad! Anyway, here are five tracks that showed up in our email boxes over the past month or so that we liked a lot and wanted to share with you:
Sunny & Gabe feat. Mike G – Forget Love
Sunny & Gabe are a duo from the VA Beach area who combine sun-drenched psychedelic soul and hip hop grooves with the sort of lush atmosphere pioneered by Portishead–though these two seem to spend a lot more time at the beach than Beth Gibbons and Geof Barrow ever did. Thus, “Forget Love,” a song with somewhat downbeat lyrics, still sounds a lot brighter and more upbeat than your typical Portishead jam. Plus, it’s got a guest verse from Odd Future’s Mike G, who you might remember from his excellent verse on Odd Future’s 2012 posse cut, “Oldie.” Mike tones his style down here to fit with the vibe on “Forget Love,” but the skills are still obvious. Sunny & Gabe’s debut EP, Free Candy, is available as a free download from their website, sunnygabe.com. As far as we can tell, the whole thing is this good, so go grab it.
Yuck – Middle Sea
Yuck got pegged as shoegaze revivalists at one point, and while I’m always a little leery of any band that gets compared to an earlier movement of bands that I loved in my youth, they won me over with their debut album back in 2011. Sometime before they started recording for their second record, though, their original singer quit the band, and the guitarist, Max Bloom, started singing full time. Usually this would be a worrisome development. In this case, though, I think Yuck is actually a better band with Max on vocals. It’s true that new single “Middle Sea” is reviving the sound of early 90s greats like Dinosaur Jr, Swervedriver, and Ride, but they’ve got some great riffs and melodies, and the song is a lot of fun, so who can really complain? Plus they’ve integrated a horn section (and not just on this song either–it’s on quite a bit of the album), which is a curveball that seems like it shouldn’t work at all and yet totally does. Overall, I dig it, and I’m pretty into the whole LP, to tell the truth (which came out on September 30–score a copy from iTunes here). I also enjoy this video, in which an angry old man battles Yuck’s drummer in the most intense tennis match ever played before an empty stadium.
Girl Talk & Freeway – Tolerated
Freeway was always my favorite of the non-Jay Z Roc-A-Fella crew (Beanie Sigel was pretty great too), and I’ve been keeping up with him even in recent years as he’s bounced around between different labels and producers. The Stimulus Package collab he did with Jake One on Rhymesayers in 2010 was excellent, and I even liked the Freedom Of Speech mixtape I downloaded off Datpiff last year. Apparently Girl Talk hasn’t forgotten him either–the notorious mash-up DJ is planning to release his first record in three years as a collaboration with Freeway entitled Broken Ankles. All we’ve got from the EP so far is the above live version of “Tolerated,” filmed last week at a Brooklyn Bowl show, but it sounds good enough to give a good idea of what Girl Talk and Freeway have in store for us on Broken Ankles. Freeway continues to be in fine form, and the production from Girl Talk is more conventional hip hop than you might have expected–no mashups here. That seems like good news–getting too gimmicky or bringing in mashups would probably just ruin the whole thing. We’re not sure when Broken Ankles will come out, but word has it Datpiff is releasing it, so keep an eye out next time you’re checking for new Lil B mixtapes.
Yamantaka//Sonic Titan – One
Here’s one for the psychedelic heads among you. Yamantaka//Sonic Titan are a Canadian band who integrate influences from Asian theatre and music (the band’s founding members are of Asian descent), including kabuki and noh, as well as prog-rock, no wave, and drone music, which all comes together on this video for “One,” the opening track from their second album, UZU. The way the song switches throughout from ambient, droning passages to straight-ahead one-chord rock n’ roll jams builds tension and makes the whole thing seem quite intense–an intensity that is only increased by the chanting, ritualistic vocals. The video is full of people in facepaint and elaborate costumes dancing ecstatically, sometimes around a bonfire, and it all feels very appropriate. This band would be great at a bonfire party, for sure. UZU comes out at the end of the month from Paper Bag/Suicide Squeeze records; you can pre-order the vinyl right here. We recommend that you do so.
Parquet Courts – You Got Me Wonderin’ Now
Parquet Courts burst onto the scene last year with their excellent debut LP, Light Up Gold, which recalled the early 80s postpunk era in the best possible way. They mixed influences from Wire, REM, The Modern Lovers, and the Meat Puppets together into a sound all their own, which seemed to be both jangly rock n’ roll and snotty hardcore at the same time. They’re still doing that exact thing on the first single from their new EP, Tally All The Things That You Broke–“You Got Me Wonderin’ Now”‘s sawing single-chord guitar line sounds like something Eddy Current Suppression Ring would beat you over the head with, while that weird penny-whistle melody and the occasional bursts of harsh feedback seem designed to disrupt the listener’s enjoyment of the catchy, well-sung vocal line. This is a pop song for people who fall asleep whenever they get too comfortable–don’t worry, Parquet Courts will make sure you stay awake and pay attention. Tally All The Things That You Broke was released on Tuesday, and you can grab a vinyl copy for yourself by clicking here.
—-
Email me your songs, and I’ll write about them! andrew@rvamag.com Have a great weekend, everyone!
