Australian psychedelic indie rockers Tame Impala are the talk of the town (or rather, the ‘blogosphere’) and with good reason. The Perth natives bring to the table a refreshing sound that hearkens back to a generation in which tunes were most inspired and driven by the latest magic mushrooms or LSD an artist had consumed. Retro guitar effects and distortion? Check. Crazy tempo/time changes sure to blow the mind of the young stoner listening intently? Check. It would seem that the band went about their songwriting for their hit self-titled EP bearing these thoughts in mind as the end result was a groovy retro work capable of transporting listeners to other aurally-induced realms that would otherwise necessitate a whole lot of acid. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a friend had me listen to their record and told me that these lanky Aussie hipsters wrote it in the 60’s.
Already hitting number one on the Australian Independent Record Labels chart as well as huge supporting slots with the likes of heavy hitters such like Yeasayer, The Black Keys, and MGMT and with the release of their debut full-length under their collective belt, it’s safe to say these newcomers are set to take over. Thanks to Annie Nguyen for reminding me about their album.
Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam a.k.a. M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy. Much of the eccentric U.K.-based recording artist’s works have incorporated very strong socio-political messages accompanied perfectly by uniquely dance-able, highly infectious tunes. More recently, outside of the musical aspect of her illustrious career, Arulpragasam has made broad statements regarding pop musician Lady Gaga in an interview with British publication, NME, touting her as a ‘mimic’ and going on to allege: “People say we’re similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently,” she said, “but she spits it out exactly the same. None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is.” (NME Interview).
Now, following an airborne advertising campaign in promotion of the June 29th U.S. release of her upcoming third full-length album (in the form of a blimp during rapper Jay-Z’s set at the recent 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival), M.I.A. has released a controversial new music video for a recently distributed track entitled “Born Free”. The video, which was directed by French director Romain Gavras (whose portfolio includes Justice’s “Stress” and Simian Mobile Disco’s “I Believe”), is one chock-full of violence, nudity, and lots of explosions and gore. The song is pretty dope, too.
Check out the NSFW music video for “Born Free” here:
What do you think of the new music video and song? We’d love to hear your opinion in our comments section below.
It can be said, without a shred of doubt, that Godspeed You! Black Emperor was one of the most influential instrumental rock bands. To this day, the Canadian post-rock pioneers (active during 1994-2003), are widely regarded as a seminal symbol of the genre and tremors of their style and innovation are felt to this day.
Shockingly, the band has abruptly announced an end to their almost decade-long hiatus and will be getting a running start with a headlining/curating slot on the Nightmare Before Christmas event presented by All Tomorrow’s Parties in Minehead, England on December 3-5. The lineup also includes: Bardo Pond, The Ex, Deerhoof, Tim Hecker, Mike Watt and Scout Niblett. According to the band’s announcement, a slew of European/U.K. dates and a small 9-date trek through America are also on the horizon.
Quite honestly, I haven’t heard a song by this band that I haven’t liked. These British math/indie rockers have meticulously crafted their songwriting into an artform in and of itself; it’s hard not to find yourself in awe of how they come up with some of their time signatures and riffs/beats. Following the success of their debut record, Antidotes, many speculated for the band to fall into the sophomore slump, almost rightfully so as the album was near flawless.
Foals, however, seems to refuse to fall into such a hole. The song is a great single and broad statement by the band that they refuse to be pigeonholed into whatever semblance of a genre fans and critics may have thought they fit in. The video itself is an amazing progression as well and a haunting accompaniment to the 6 minute + song, beautifully shot in Inverness. I hope the rest of the record is as good as this song, knowing their talent, I’m sure it will not disappoint.
The new record Total Life Forever is set for release on May 10.
Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s new collaboration (an album to be released in January entitled, IRM) on the horizon, a music video for the single, “Heaven Can Wait” has been released.
Now despite the fact that I haven’t watched very many music videos in the past year (aside from glances at some shitty Lady GaGa ones that some friends have played in my presence), I’m of the opinion that this has definitely gotta be one of the best of the year.
Heavy rock kings Coalesce and everyone’s favorite space-rock Boston-ites Cave In are playing a FREE show sponsored by none other than Scion at the Knitting Factory this Thursday. This is an amazing line-up and one for rock fans not to miss.
Here’s the new title-track/single off of Minus The Bear’s new album Into the Mirror. A really dope combination of synth, electronic programming and straight up rock goodness. Enjoy!
Danish pop-rock/indie innovators Mew are set to release their new full-length CD, No More Stories Are Told Today I’m Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I’m Tired Let’s Wash Away (perhaps the longest album title in awhile, right?) on August 25.
The first single from the album, “Introducing Palace Players” exhibits the band in a new and improved form. Extracting their pop sensibilities from the now classic record, Frengers, and utilizing their aptitude for incorporating tinges of shoegaze into their works, the new CD demonstrates a mature sound that is not likely to disappoint new and old listeners alike. On a personal note, I really can’t get over how well the band hybridizes seemingly prog-rock time changes and mathiness with an extremely accessible pop outer.
Here’s the official music video for “Introducing Palace Players”:
Some dates on the band’s upcoming tour in support of the new record, including dates with NINE INCH NAILS on their farewell tour:
Also included in this post is another snippet from the new record, “Beach”. The song is a strong contrast to the single, and like the title emanates, it’s definitely one to relax/cruise to.
Los Angeles-based disc jockey extraordinaire, Troublemaker, has recently posted a remix of the single “Nothing to Worry About” from everybody’s favorite Swedish indie darlings, Peter Bjorn & John. In light of giving the already dope song a little twist, the remix features Adam Tensta, UNI & The 87 STICK UP KIDS. Definitely worth a look.
"Nothing to Worry About" (Troublemaker Remix) - Peter Bjorn & John ft. Adam Tensta, UNI, 87 Stick Up Kids: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Nine Inch Nails is currently on a large-scale tour which has recently brought them to Perth, Australia where they performed at the massive Soundwave Festival. For this special performance of “Wish”, they brought out the incredibly dope mathcore band, The Dillinger Escape Plan. Here’s HD footage of their sick performance:
Indie Spotlight - Tame Impala (Music Video + Mp3)
