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Previous: Episode111 - Mental Radio
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♬Liner Notes♬: Let's blow out the very merry month of May with a "Simple and Sure" episode featuring The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Liars, tUnE-yArDs, Atmosphere and so much more!
Liars
"Mess on a Mission"
'Mess'
Mute, 2014
Notes: "Since 2001, noisy dance-punk producers Liars have been cranking out odd technicalities with the intention of crafting something altogether ground-breaking... after the release of [2012's] transformative WIXIW, Liars have created their thunderously confident Mess, a testament to rejoicing in the messiness of composition and an exploration of the inevitable anxiety in our increasingly chaotic world... the aptly-titled “Mess On A Mission,” from Mess, is a bursting collection of digital soundbites that trill along a squirming baseline."
(@LiarsOfficial)
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
"Simple and Sure"
'Days Of Abandon'
Fierce Panda, 2014
Notes: "Five years is an awful long time in the world of music, as [NewYork's] The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart can ably demonstrate... long-awaited third album Days Of Abandon [symbolizes] a new found maturity among other things... Recent single 'Simple and Sure' underlines Days of Abandon's pop sensibilities, its killer hook marrying insatiably with lyrics like "I'll never find anyone as absolutely right as I found you"."
(@ThePainsOfBeing)
tUnE-yArDs
"Stop that Man" (Live on KCRW)
'Nikki Nack'
4AD, 2014
Notes: "Whimsical and imaginative artist Merrill Garbus, aka Tune-Yards, gave us insight into her work on a recent visit to Morning Becomes Eclectic and shared new songs including [this exclusive version of] "Stop that Man."" This third album from the Oakland-via-Montreal weirdo sounds like Fiery Furnaces on acid to me and this song is also the Internet's busiest music nerd's least favorite song on the album...
(@tUnEyArDs)
Misun
"Eli Eli"
'Kitsuné AMERICA 3'
Kitsuné, 2014
Notes: "Over the past decade, the French label Kitsuné has quietly flooded the market with catchy, critically-acclaimed electronic music. Acts like Hot Chip and Two Door Cinema Club sprang from the label... The label has introduced a lot of their artists through eclectic compilations, and the past few years they’ve turned their eyes on America. Kitsuné AMERICA 3, the third installment, comes out June 3... Based out of D.C., Misun (pronounced “me-sun”) proclaims their sound as “aquawave,” melding electronic elements with a fluid, rubbery dance aesthetic. The trio primarily works one song at a time, presenting each single as a distinct entity. “Eli Eli” mixes a hard-charging beat with guitars taken straight from a lost spaghetti western, all highlighting frontwoman Misun Wojcik’s smoky rasp."
(@MisunBand)
Rotary Downs
"Flowers in Bloom"
'Traces'
Rookery, 2014
Notes: "Rotary Downs is an unclassifiable New Orleans band. Therein lies its greatness, nestled right alongside its obscurity... Traces is an outstanding listen, a collection of meticulously crafted songs played to perfection by a band in complete service to the material."
(@RotaryDowns)
Lee Fields & The Expressions
"Magnolia" (JJ Cale cover)
'Emma Jean'
Truth and Soul, 2014
Notes: "It’s hard to find another active singer today that has the background Lee Fields does: a first release in 1969, records on thirteen different labels, and close to 45 years of music making, touring, and recording. And with such a seasoned past, it’s amazing that Lee Fields, the North Carolina-native, as a musician and as an artist, is now as busy and as focused as ever... Side A, hear the refreshed cover of the JJ Cale track, "Magnolia," that embodies the late, great American singer-songwriter and the Tulsa Sound he helped create." The full-length 'Emma Jean' is due next month.
(@LeeFields12)
D.D Dumbo
"Tropical Oceans"
'D.D Dumbo' EP
Blue Rider, 2013
Notes: "Although Australian Oliver Hugh Perry, who records as D.D Dumbo, has only released one five-track, self-titled EP to date, his material already shows impressive range and cohesion. After all, even when limited to the EP’s 18½ minutes, he manages to use a 12-string guitar and a variety of loop pedals to create an ambiance of dark and nuanced folk that’s enriched even further by layers of exotically mirrored melodies. And just when the listener gets comfortable in the EP’s psychedelic tribal territory, Perry throws in a sprinkling of even more genre-bending elements which might be questionable if they weren’t handled with such finesse... Of course, it’s opening track and single “Tropical Oceans” that seems to capture the essence of the D.D Dumbo sound best." And who did he just finish touring with Down Under? tUnE-yArDs!
(@DDDumbo)
Mr Little Jeans
"Good Mistake"
'Pocketknife'
Harvest, 2014
Notes: "Mr. Little Jeans is the musical alias of Norwegian dance-pop singer/songwriter Monica Birkenes. Just after finishing her first set of demos in 2009, Birkenes decided to adopt the Mr. Little Jeans moniker, which is taken from a bit role in Wes Anderson's 1998 film Rushmore. When her cover versions of well-known Beyoncé and Arcade Fire songs launched her into the public eye via YouTube and SoundCloud, Mr. Little Jeans turned to her own music, landing successful spots on popular TV shows like Gossip Girl and movies like Celeste and Jesse Forever and Iron Man 3. Drawing on a synth-based dance-pop style that recalls artists like Kylie Minogue and Lykke Li, she inked a deal with EMI's Harvest Records imprint in 2013. After relocating to Los Angeles to write and record her first album, she released the Good Mistake EP in February 2014, quickly followed by her debut LP, Pocketknife, a month later."
(@MyMrLittleJeans)
Nikki Lane
"Seein' Double"
'All or Nothin’'
New West, 2014
Notes: "Emergent outlaw Nikki Lane has been flooding the Nashville music scene with her jangly, singer-songwriter blues, garnering critical acclaim for several years now. It may seem like she just stepped in the scene and has already been featured in Rolling Stone, on Country Music Television, on Rhapsody, as well as, of course, KEXP... but she’s since released four albums in the past years, starting with the early, self-released No Room For Cowboys, Walk Of Shame, Gone, Gone, Gone, and, now, the new Dan Auerbach-produced All Or Nothin’, which should firmly mark her claim in Music City... “Seein’ Double,” a poignant track on All Or Nothin’, expresses the darker sides of romance, namely confusion, regret, and mournfulness."
(@NikkiLaneMusic)
Rodrigo Amarante
"Hourglass"
'Cavalo'
Easy Sound, 2014
Notes: "After about a decade-and-a-half playing in Brazilian outfits Los Hermanos and Orquesta Imperial, contributing to Devendra Banhart’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon and co-founding Little Joy with The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Rodrigo Amarante is releasing something all his own: Cavalo...on Easy Sound. The Rio de Janeiro native named it after his newfound alter ego of sorts... “Hourglass” is our first taste of the prolific artist’s collection, and it’s a jittery folk-pop cut centered on ponderings about time — it’s “never up nor straight/It turns around and bites its tail in the end” — that are bewildering enough to spark a panic attack, but Amarante’s languid vocals calm like sonic Xanax."
(@Amarante76)
Nathaniel Rateliff
"Nothing to Show For"
'Falling Faster Than You Can Run'
Mod y Vi, 2013
Notes: "Nathaniel Rateliff’s latest studio effort, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, has been a long time in the making. Consisting mostly of songs Rateliff penned on the road over several years, the album is never lacking on intensity—Rateliff’s forceful vocals lend a certain kind of honestly to any performance, and this set of recordings is no different. The album was...finished just before Rateliff set out on tour with Dr. Dog and The Lumineers last fall..." And there's more than a little "I Will Wait" in the Denver-based singer-songwriter's latest track...
(@NRateliff)
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80
"IMF" (Radio Edit)
'A Long Way To The Beginning'
Knitting Factory, 2014
Notes: "Here's the starting point for the story of Seun Kuti: He's the youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. He began playing with his father's band Egypt 80 at age 8 — and took it over upon his father's death just six years later... Even so, it took Seun (pronounced "shay-oon") a while to take up his father's kingly mantle as a solo artist. For one thing, Seun's brother Femi, more than two decades his elder, had already created his own career following the path that Fela blazed. But even more centrally, Seun decided to bide his time until he'd found his own artistic voice. He eventually realized that Afrobeat was both his inheritance and his platform — funneled, however, through a 21st-century prism. His third album, A Long Way to the Beginning, is a solid articulation of that vision." We heard from Seun and Co. way, way back on Episode004.
(@RealSeunKuti)
Atmosphere
"Bitter"
'Southsiders'
Rhymesayers, 2014
Notes: "Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere [released] their eighth studio album, Southsiders, on May 6th via Rhymesayers Entertainment. The follow-up to 2011′s The Family Sign spans 15 tracks, including one entitled “Kanye West”, and serves as the pair’s first new music since last July’s standalone single “Bob Seger”. As our first taste of the album, Atmosphere’s unveiled the lead single “Bitter”. After spending the last few years exploring more introspective territory, Slug’s lyricism returns to the acerbic wit of 2008′s Seven’s Travels, pointing fingers at haters and usurpers with straight-forward, no nonsense rhymes (“You’re so bitter/Cold as a river/In winter”). It’s especially effective over Ant’s production, whose oddball take on ’90s West Coast gangsta rap enhances the inherent mix of playfulness and unassuming intensity."
(@Atmosphere)
Psychic Rites
"Alone At Night"
'Psychic Rites'
TBA, 2014
Notes: "Local [Seattle] electronic trio Psychic Rites – who hail from Moscow, Idaho, and currently reside in Portland, Oregon – describe the band as “Neon Doom Disco” and that pretty much says it all. Members Mike Siemens, Dave Miller and Andy Schmidt are currently finishing their debut LP, due later this year, but one thing is for certain: You can expect them to make dark, dance music. In fact, we dare you to not dance along to “Alone at Night.” The song is both fresh and familiar, sugary synth pop with an edge, an element of twitchy, controlled noise. Romantic without being nostalgic, “Alone at Night” is moody and seductive. Before things get too sweet, it goes quirky, cloudy."
(@PsychicRites)
This week's B-sides: The Fresh & Onlys and John Fullbright
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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
Following the Apple buyout, @beatsmusic lowers its subscription fee and undercuts @Spotify in the process
Gifted multi-tasker Jack White puts down @OfficialAdele while dissing @theblackkeys
Mike Patton teases the possibility of new @FaithNoMore music on Twitter #WeWantItAll
Mike Patton actually has the biggest vocal range in popular music (cc @IpecacRec), but @axlrose doesn't mind
Belle and Sebastian (@bellesglasgow) have a whole lot of plans for 2014
Echo & the @Bunnymen return with their new album, Meteorites
Watch @Superchunk perform live on the @Primavera_Sound webcast
Punk Legends X to Play First Four Albums in Full; Set for four straight nights at the Roxy, with special guests
Unseen Andy Warhol films will be live scored by Bradford Cox, Eleanor Friedberger, Dean Wareham, and others
Robyn and Röyksopp discuss mini album, possible tour
#AlbumOfTheDay: @RobynKonichiwa and @Royksopp - 'Do It Again'
#AlbumOfTheDay: @HauntedHearts (aka @DumDumGirls & @KillCrocodiles) - 'Initiation'
#AlbumOfTheDay: Napolian (@NapolianEvans) - 'Incursio'
#AlbumOfTheDay: @TheFaint - 'Doom Abuse'
(Thanks again to our #SongOfTheDay sources at @KEXP, @KCRW, @KUTX, @TheKeyXPN and @TheCurrent. Thanks to @TwilightCircus1 for the bed music - and thank you for listening!)
