Recommended
ARTIST FEATURE: ten
Ten (or ten or TEN, depending on your attraction/aversion to capital letters) are, in their own terms an “experimental/ambient band from Leeds and London England which is led by musician Dominic Deane”. What they also happen to be, are creators of overwhelmingly beautiful music. Their third EP, East of the Elm, self released on the 9th of April is a triumph of quiet power, of expertly judged instrumentation, a well of unspoken but consistently understood emotion. It is a superb EP, cinematic and yet insular and always brutally engaging, you could do a great deal worse than falling in love with it.
Not only that, but they’ve got two other openly wonderful EP’s (the earlier clue of this EP being their third) practically begging for your ears loving and undivided attention. You can stream East of the Elm below, or purchase it here alongside their other releases.
Alec
VIDEO: Xiu Xiu – Honeysuckle
Jamie Stewart fucking loves pop music. In between clattering abstraction, desperate cries and regular strokes of outright genius, he’s wont to throw in more than his fair share of dissonant pop MEGACHOONS. One such example appeared on the groups great 2012 LP “Always” under the name Honeysuckle, offering one of the groups finer moments of youcouldplaythistoafriendandtheymightnhateit-manship. Even more than that, it’s got itself a video all of its own, helpfully eliminating the need to construct those pesky image associations yourself. You’re welcome.
YOUTUBE COMMENT OF THE DAY: “Damn, XiuXiu is still around? It’s good to see he’s still at it even if he is a bit of a wanker” - sophinana
Alec
VIDEO: Sébastien Tellier – Cochon Ville (NSFW)
The many-worlds theory (created by Hugh Everett III, father of Eels genius Mark Everett) states that every possible outcome from every possible event takes place simultaneously, creating new universes in which those possible outcomes came true. It follows then, that in some parallel universe, Sébastien Tellier is not a cool man. He lives above a chip shop, alternating his time between upkeep of his extensive bus ticket collection and working up the courage to look people in the eyes when he speaks to them. Cheerfully,that is not the universe we live in, ol’ Tellier is, as always, the coolest fucker to ever grace the face of the planet. This is a man who survived the Eurovision Song Contest in style and then didn’t even blink an eye when Joaquin Phoenix went around being him for a couple of years. Expecting anything but the height of wonderful from him is time spent poorly, as is proven by Cochon Ville, the first cut from his 5th studio album My God is Blue. It’s a delirious slice of Parisian space-funk, with a hilariously brilliant video involving extensive nudity, Klu Klux Klan members and roller blades. It’s rather NSFW, I might add, so, you know, be careful or something.
Alec
VIDEO: Perfume Genius – “Dark Parts”
QUESTION OF THE DAY: If I keep telling you to listen to Perfume Genius’ sophomore long player “Put Your Back N 2 It”, will you eventually relent and take a listen?
ANSWER OF THE DAY: No, probably not. But keep going, your tears of frustration fuel me.
Sigh.
Alec
SEE: Conor Oberst’s reunited Desaparecidos play new song
Don’t lie, you were worried back there. I was too, after last years final and wildly disappointing Bright Eyes LP The People’s Key, your boy and mine, Conor Oberst, could well have dropped off the face of the planet. He didn’t though, because he, like many, obeys the laws of physics perhaps a little too closely. Still, few saw this coming, as Conor has returned to his deeply underrated post-hardcore outlet Desaparecidos and at their first gig since a charity affair in 2010, performed an entirely new song entitled ‘Left is Right‘. Now, consider this a warning: what you can see and hear in the video below appears to have been shot via a contraption built from disappointment and wet cardboard, so it’s not the best quality you’ll ever encounter, but it’s something more than nothing. So in between squinting, straining and complaining you can hear the muffled, yet properly exciting thrash-about below. Try to control yourself.
Alec
FREE STUFF: Kool A.D. – 51 Mixtape
Kool A.D. is one half of Das Racist, though which half is an argument best had between philosophers or people who believe their entire being can be summarized with a lactose based metaphor. 2012 has been kind to him so far, what with his mostly excellent THE PALM WINE DRINKARD (caps lock because that’s how he tagged it, the bastard) mixtape dropping way back in January (download) and now this, the 22 track 51 mixtape. It’s a typically stylistic scatter shot, so if you like your flow lazy and your pop culture references constant, prepare for a bloody good time with 51.
It’s free over here via Мишка.
WARNING: As predicted, Kool A.D will never top FUN.
Alec
