It's been a minute since we've heard from the gentlemen of Chicago's Fort Frances but the wait was worth it. "The Lowlands" is a lovely, acoustic, down-tempo number featuing sparse instrumentation that leaves a nice focus on the lyricism and vocal perfomance. The rootsy sound fits the band well and David McMillin's voice is gentle enough to convey the downtrodden country emotion.
Be sure to check out Fort Frances' Facebook page for more information on the lads.
Warning: Listening should occur on good headphones.
This is pretty different fare than you'll normally find on our humble little blog, and I am generally a non-believer in most of the output from the electronic music world. That being said I can't stop listening to Nicolas Jaar. I hesitate to even call his work "electronic" as it combines found sound and organic noises as well as bloops and blips. It comes across with a feeling akin to The Books.
I want to live inside the space in "Don't Break My Love". It's the absolute opposite of current electronic trends (read: brostep) in it's beauty, sparseness, and reliance on subtely and open space to breathe emotion and nuance. The song crackles and pops at a painfully slow speed in the beginning to the point of checking to even make sure the song is playing. As the sounds gradually unfurl themselves a melody and rhythym are established and the groggy bass brings you in. The hook doesn't even drop for a good five minutes.
You can download both tunes by clicked the downward arrow in the player. After hearing this track I immediately devoured Jaar's brilliant release from earlier this year Space Is Only Noise. I recommend you do the same.
XV – Blame Yourself (Ft. GLC, Emilio Rojas, and Casy Veggies)
This one dropped a couple weeks back, but I'm finally finding a couple minutes to post it. Did you guys realize I'mintoXV? Wasn't sure if that was clear. "Blame Yourself" is short on the XV and heavy on the guests, but the old school, bassy beat is sick and more than carries the lack of Vizzy. Obligatory XV post ending: CAN'T WAIT FOR THE ALBUM WHEN IT DROPS SOMEDAY!
If you're a Beirut and Zach Condon junkie like we happen to be you'll be thrilled by the news that as of today Beirut's new album The Rip Tide is available digitally. I'm currently 1:05 into song two and I'm swooning like a high school girl who just talked to the cute quarterback. There's something deeply touching about Beirut's Eastern European jams and I can only imagine this album goes up from here. Download it. TWD guarantee.
The long-rumoured collaboration between Ghostface Killah and MF Doom has finally produced an actual song. Yes, you heard that right – the two finally created music together and allowed people to listen to it. Oddly, the remix of the track from Madvillainz came out last week before the original track.
Doom's production here is raw and gritty. It's like chewing on sand. Both rappers are on their game and their drastically different vocal tones and styles end up meshing well. Hopefully this leads to an album from two of my favorite rappers. Add in some Madlib production and my head might explode.
Our friends in the great band Beat Radio are putting together a compilation of some songs they've released via website and blog over the past couple years. Teenage Anthems is available on limited edition, handmade CD or as a digital download. If the title track "Teenage Anthem For The Drunken Boat" doesn't get you to shell out for the whole album, I think we're going to have to break up. It's not me, it's you.
One of the most promising hip hop acts emerging today, Gorilla Warfare Tactics, just released their first song since they dropped their Premier EP back in February. That EP has become one of my most listened to albums this year, so I've been waiting anxiously to see what the boys would do next.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: piano-led hip hop tracks get me everytime. Add in live (at least live sounding) drums and you've got the recipe for a Kyle guarantee. "RewindRhyme" is as solid, catchy, and rooted in nostalgia as we've come to expect from the young trio. GWT continue to carve out a unique, soulful sound in the oversaturated world of backpack blog rap. I wouldn't be surprised if these guys become a household name after releasing a proper album.
Peter Wolf Crier are releasing their new album Garden of Arms September 6th and have a released the first single in anticipation. This is good news indeed. I still spin their debut album regularly and they are a current favorite band of mine.
"Right Away" sees Peter Wolf Crier going in a bit of a different direction. The track is less rooted in the folk and Americana of Inter-Be and features increased production techniques, vocal alterations, and a seriously kick ass percussion section. If the whole album is this full of feeling and detail, I'll be a happy boy. Also, catch them live in support of their new album.
A couple tracks dropped last week that I've been really digging on. The J. Cole track is the first official single from his upcoming album. He's one consistent MC and I always seem to like his bouncy tracks best. There's also Kanye and Paula Abdul samples in there somewhere.
Big Sean's track with Lupe is the best I've heard from him so far. A lot of his other tracks have sounded too radio-friendly, but the beat for "Don't Wait For Me" does the jubilant Kanye sound well, and throwing a Lupe verse on a track always helps.
It's been a minute since we featured some new music from our boy