I bequeath to you the newest and the shiniest music floating around the blogosphere. Take these jams for a test drive and let the whole neighborhood feel the bass.
L.A. newcomers Local Natives grab at elements from a lot of my favorite groups - "Airplanes" exudes a yearning, orchestrated quality that recalls Arcade Fire circa debut masterpiece Funeral, while "Sun Hands" recalls recent indie hit-crafters such as Fleet Foxes, Yeasayer, and Dodos. The composition is rich and varied enough to feel derivative of none of the above, and the full album, Gorilla Manor, will get a proper release tomorrow via Frenchkiss Records. I promise a follow-up review of the full album if it lives up to the advance singles - sophisticated indie is becoming a lost art with the advent of feel-good electro-pop.
Toro y Moi hail from South Carolina and bring a remarkable level of subtlety and variation to their electro-tinged, world-juxtaposing songwriting. "Thanks Vision" literally pulses as though the radio dial were slipping in and out of place, the needle were dancing on the vinyl, or the song were inhabited and powered solely by your heartbeat. They seem discontented to simply ride out their initial groove for the full duration of any song, ensuring a varied if slightly ADD listening experience that references musical styles from across the globe. Their new album is called Causers of This and came out Febrary 2, 2010.
Swedish dream-pop vets come back for a new album riding a blissed-out vibe and sending in vocals so distant they feel like the gloomily literate musings of The Clientele's Alasdair MacLean.
The scoop on these guys is that they try really, really hard. They song-write in an all-or-nothing manner and emote all over the place, resulting in some brilliant moments on their debut EPs but coming up short on subsequent releases. "Audience" marks their return to the short form, emerging from the new Behave Yourself EP and hinting at a new level of restraint (though not as catchy as their earlier peaks).
Newly leaked track from uber-producer Diplo's group features his best buddy M.I.A. rocking the reggaeton vibe.
Tape Deck Bros' aspirations appear simple - write songs that sound like Daft Punk. They love to open with an icy British voice and then ride a funky electro-groove, dishing up raspy bass for "The Dance of the Dead" and synth pitter-patter on "Science Fiction."
The Golden Filter have been putting out singles and remixes for 18 months and have generated enough hype to secure a record deal. Expect Voluspa (release date: April 26, 2010) to serve up more of the re-hashed 80's vibe, replete with breathy vocals.
Goldfrapp finally returns, and they're clearly willing to keep on experimenting. Sort of. Lead single "Rocket" has garnered the same comparison everywhere - Van Halen during his synth phase. It's hard to tell whether it in any way surpasses or comments on the aforementioned sound, or simply borrows it out of convenience. The remix stretches it out with an echoing italodisco take, focusing on her heartbroken cry, "It's never coming back." We'll see how Goldfrapp's comeback fares soon enough.
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