DIIV - "How Long Have You Known?" Video

Top 50 Songs from 2012 So Far

01) Animal Collective - "Gotham"
02) Bear In Heaven - "Idle Heart"
03) Bear In Heaven - "The Reflection of You"
04) Bear In Heaven - "Sinful Nature"
05) Bear In Heaven - "Kiss Me Crazy"
06) Bear In Heaven - "World of Freakout"
07) Chromatics - "Into the Black"
08) Chromatics - "Kill for Love"
09) Chromatics - "Back from the Grave"
10) Chromatics - "The Page"
11) Chromatics - "Lady"
12) Chromatics - "Birds of Paradise"
13) Cloud Nothings - "Wasted Days"
14) Cloud Nothings - "Fall In"
15) Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless"
16) Grimes - "Genesis"
17) Grimes - "Oblivion"
18) Grimes - "Circumambient"
19) Grimes - "Vowels = Space and Time"
20) Grimes - "Be A Body"
21) Grimes - "Nightmusic" (feat. Majical Clouds)
22) Grimes - "Skin"
23) Jack White - "Sixteen Saltines"
24) Jack White - "Love Interruption"
25) Jack White - "Take Me With You When You Go"
26) Lotus Plaza - "Strangers"
27) Lotus Plaza - "Out of Touch"
28) Lotus Plaza - "Monoliths"
29) Lotus Plaza - "Jet Out of the Tundra"
30) Lotus Plaza - "Remember Our Days"
31) Lower Dens - "Alphabet Song" 
32) Lower Dens - "Brains"
33) Lower Dens - "Propagation" 
34) Lower Dens - "Lamb"
35) Miike Snow - "The Wave"
36) Miike Snow - "Devil's Work"
37) Miike Snow - "God Help This Divorce"
38) Miike Snow - "Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)"
39) Mike Snow - "Archipelago"
40) Miike Snow - "Paddling Out"
41) of Montreal - "We Will Commit Wolf Murder"
42) Porcelain Raft - "Drifting In and Out"
43) Porcelain Raft - "Shapeless & Gone"
44) Porcelain Raft - "Is It Too Deep for You?"
45) Porcelain Raft - "Put Me to Sleep"
46) Porcelain Raft - "Unless You Speak from Your Heart"
47) Sharon Van Etten - "Leonard"
48) The Shins - "The Rifle's Spiral"
49) The Shins - "Simple Song"
50) The Shins - "Port of Morrow"

Bear In Heaven - "Sinful Nature" (Video)

Bear In Heaven's I Love You, It's Cool is one of the best albums of the year so far, and this selection is probably the best track. A must-listen.

Top 25 Albums of 2011 - Just the List

01) Cut Copy - Zonoscope

02) Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

03) Neon Indian - Era Extraña

04) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

05) Atlas Sound - Parallax

06) M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

07) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

08) The Antlers - Burst Apart

09) Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair

10) Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light

11) TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

12) Starfucker - Reptilians

13) Mother Mother - Eureka

14) Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

15) Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

16) Destroyer - Kaputt

17) Washed Out - Within and Without

18) Active Child - You Are All I See

19) Mister Heavenly - Out of Love

20) Radiohead - The King of Limbs

21) Caveman - CoCo Beware

22) James Blake - James Blake

23) Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

24) Wild Beasts - Smother

25) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical

Porcelain Raft - "Unless You Speak from Your Heart" Video

Unless You Speak From Your Heart from Porcelain Raft on Vimeo.

Porcelain Raft - 'Strange Weekend' Album Stream

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Ffunny Ffriends" Video

Youth Lagoon - "July" Video

Youth Lagoon - July from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

Top 25 Albums of 2011

An inordinate amount of my favorite albums this year were debut releases. While that might mean 2011 was a relatively light year on fantastic albums from established acts, it's cool to have some new blood.

25)  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical 

After the disappointing 'difficult second album' Some Loud Thunder and a long hiatus, Hysterical is an enjoyable effort from a band I wasn't sure I'd ever hear from again.

24)  Wild Beasts - Smother   

"Lion's Share" is great.


23)  Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver  

I've seen this record topping a lot of lists at #1. I just don't find it as compelling or exciting to place it that highly, but there is some beautiful music here. "Holocene" is a great song.

22)  James Blake - James Blake

Although officially released in 2011, I most listened to James Blake back in December 2010. Admittedly, I have to be in the right mood for this, but it is an interesting sound. Kudos for showing me that it's possible to use auto-tune and have it not be terrible.

I don't know shit about dubstep, and I don't really plan on rectifying that anytime soon, but James Blake has established himself as an artist of interest.

21)  Caveman - CoCo Beware

"Thankful" is fantastic.

20)  Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Damn that album art is cool.

I was disappointed by The King of Limbs upon first listen, and I can't say my feelings about this record have radically changed. Previous record In Rainbows showed us that Radiohead could be post-Kid A weird and could still rock out (see "15 Step"). The King of Limbs was essentially Radiohead telling me "but we don't want to rock out".

I still hate opening track "Bloom", which remains insufferably minimal and clicky and totally non-musical.

So how is this one of my favorite records of 2011? Well it's still Radiohead. Thom Yorke's voice is still amazing. Not to turn a positive into yet another complaint, but I'd have to say Radiohead are coasting on Thom's voice with this record. You don't have a great singer on here and a number of these songs would be dismissed immediately.

Anyway, this album is saved for me by Side B, starting with 'single' "Lotus Flower" and especially the hauntingly beautiful piano-driven track "Codex", one of my favorite songs of the year.

19)  Mister Heavenly - Out of Love 

I won't really get into how Mister Heavenly are a supergroup of sorts. I was interested because of Nick Thorburn's (Unicorns / Islands) involvement, and I was not disappointed.

This group/record coined the term 'doom wop', which I guess means it has a poppy sound but with some menace underneath. Some fun and catchy songs.

18)  Active Child - You Are All I See 

Active Child employs harp and electronics in his dream pop music. "Hanging On" was a monster song for me, loved it. And "Playing House" featuring How to Dress Well is an interesting slice of alternate universe R&B music.

Ultimately I might have liked the overall direction on Active Child's EP better, but this is a solid album with a handful of great songs. I'll be excited to see what he does next.


17)  Washed Out - Within and Without

As with Active Child above, Washed Out's debut LP Within and Without is not as impressive as his EP Life of Leisure. I've heard this effort described as 'lazy', and I can't really refute that.  Still, songs "Amor Fati", "Eyes Be Closed", and "Before" are great 'chill' electronic music.

16)  Destroyer - Kaputt  

I'm a big fan of Dan Bejar, but I will admit I generally like him better when he's collaborating with A.C. Newman in The New Pornographers. Kaputt might be the best Destroyer record though.

15)  Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation


Youth Lagoon's debut record The Year of Hibernation was a surprise for me, and it took me a little while to get into it. Vocals being distorted and buried under reverb and other effects is very much in vogue nowadays, but even still, this dude from Youth Lagoon, his vocals are ultra fragile. If he's 'hibernating', his vocals are coming to the song from a distant place, from deep inside a cave somewhere.

Anyway, this makes it a bit difficult to connect with the vocals at first. But you let the songs play. A typically used song structure here is the song starts off slowly and builds, and then the undercurrent explodes. And those buried vocals nonetheless manage to effectively convey some powerful emotions. Now I'm really enjoying this.


14) Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

I was very sad to hear about Wolf Parade's 'indefinite hiatus', and while I still am, Handsome Furs, which features Dan from Wolf Parade and his wife, came along with by far their best record yet, giving me hope for a post-Wolf Parade career.

There are some interesting themes in the lyrics, about being in another land, about censorship and oppression.

"Memories of the Future", "When I Get Back", and "Repatriated" are favorite tracks of mine.

13) Mother Mother - Eureka

This Canadian band is massively underrated, at least here in the US. Some of the best alternating male/female vocals I've ever heard, wonderful pop sensibilities. Every song on here is super catchy. If you like say, The New Pornographers, absolutely check this out.


12) Starfucker - Reptilians

I wrote a lot about this record when it first came out, so I'd best simply direct you to my review.

11) TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

TV on the Radio return, and they're not producing edgy spacey music so much anymore. No, here on Nine Types of Light, they're more into balladry. Still it's damn good stuff. Easily one of the most underrated albums of the year.

10) Nerves Junior - Bright As Your Night Light

Another fantastic debut record. Thanks go to We Listen for You for making me aware of this band. They remind me of Radiohead in some ways, but maybe with a bit more swagger? There are some spacey electronics, but they are used more to add additional texture, rather than being the driving force of the songs. Just listen to this record.

09) Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair



And yet another debut. Gauntlet Hair have some of the tribal singing elements that remind me a bit of Animal Collective, but way more rockin'. Strong percussive grooves, fun and very energetic songs.

"Lights Out" especially is amazing.


08) The Antlers - Burst Apart


I completely ignored Antlers' previous record Hospice, and I still haven't quite put the time in to try and get into it, but I love this record, Burst Apart.

Emotional, tightly crafted songs.


07) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls have a more 'straightforward' rock sound than most groups I would rank as my favorites. As in, they don't do electro-pop or none of that stuff that I'm often drawn to. But Girls make well-crafted music that comes off as genuine and heartfelt, and that stands on its own.

06) M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

The criticism that applies to virtually every double album ever released also applies here - there is some filler. But M83 was going for big and epic here, and he achieves it. The level of imagination is high, and there are some gorgeous sounds.

"Midnight City" might just be the single of the year.

05) Atlas Sound - Parallax

What would a year end list be without a contribution from Bradford Cox, the insanely prolific frontman of Deerhunter who releases his solo material under the moniker Atlas Sound?

Bradford has never done such singer-songwriter material before. This doesn't have quite the same edge for me as Logos, which is likely the point - this is far and away the most accessible Atlas Sound record.

"Te Amo", "Mona Lisa", and "Angel Is Broken", among others, are beautiful.

04) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Whoa, where did this come from? Unknown Mortal Orchestra, or UMO, have a sound that feels both vintage and modern, kinda bluesy, with a really deep low end.

"Jello and Juggernauts", "Ffunny Ffriends", and "How Can U Luv Me" are all fantastic. 

03) Neon Indian - Era Extraña

With Era Extraña, Neon Indian delivered for me on the promise of Psychic Chasms, made more of a pop record, with perhaps some darker material underneath. Alan Palomo gave us more of the pure pop he was working with in VEGA, and he really hit my pleasure center with those bleeps and bloops and synths.

"Hex Girlfriend" is my favorite. "Polish Girl" is crazy catchy. "Arcade Blues" has grown on me to become another favorite.

An incredibly addictive listen overall.

02) Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

What a fucking year for Toro y Moi. 2010 saw Toro emerge as a promising new artist with his debut Causers of This. His brand of electronic-based music was grouped together along with Neon Indian, Washed Out, Small Black, and others under the 'originally a joke' term 'chillwave'.

Toro resurfaced quickly in 2011 with Underneath the Pine, switching it up and exchanging his electronic samples for more standard instrumentation, going for a more organic feel. And it fucking works. The sound is lush, really paints an atmosphere. Toro definitely proved for me he is not to be pigeonholed in any one sound, and he gave us some great songs in the process.

The funky "New Beat", "Still Sound", and especially my favorite cut "How I Know" are all great.

To say nothing of the fact that Toro y Moi followed this up with the EP Freaking Out, which is something of a mix of the styles from Causers of This and Underneath the Pine, and is also fantastic.

01) Cut Copy - Zonoscope

 

Cut Copy's Zonoscope came out early in 2011, and I can't say that it jumped to the top of my list immediately. Over the course of the year, however, my love for this band and this record grew. Ultimately, I have to say this is my most consistently enjoyable collection of songs to be released this year.

Yes, the record is somewhat front loaded, though I honestly I can't imagine being in a band and not putting my best foot forward when making a record. Also, late track "Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat" is amazing. 15-minute song "Sun God" might stretch on for too long, but is an interesting experiment, and works as a closer.

"Need You Now" and "Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution" are absolute bliss.

Finally, that album art is just the best.

Top 100 Songs of 2011

In alphabetical order by song title:

01) Cults - Abducted
02) Youth Lagoon - Afternoon
03) Girls - Alex
04) Toro y Moi - All Alone
05) MGMT - All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
06) Washed Out - Amor Fati
07) Atlas Sound - Angel Is Broken
08) Neon Indian - Arcade Blues
09) Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light
10) Mother Mother - Aspiring Fires
11) Destroyer - Bay of Pigs
12) Washed Out - Before
13) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Bicycle
14) Cut Copy - Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution
15) Mister Heavenly - Bronx Sniper
16) Wavves - Bug
17) Starfucker - Bury Us Alive
18) The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day
19) Youth Lagoon - Cannons
20) Nerves Junior - Champagne & Peaches
21) Destroyer - Chinatown
22) Radiohead - Codex
23) Starfucker - Death As A Fetish
24) The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
25) Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed
26) Neon Indian - Fallout
27) Mother Mother - Far In Time
28) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffriends
29) The Antlers - French Exit
30) Cults - Go Outside
31) The Strokes - Gratisfaction
32) Active Child - Hanging On
33) Cut Copy - Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat
34) Dom - Happy Birthday Party
35) Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
36) Neon Indian - Hex Girlfriend
37) Bon Iver - Holocene
38) Girls - Honey Bunny
39) Girls - How Can I Say I Love You
40) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - How Can U Luv Me

of Montreal - 'Paralytic Stalks' Details

I was disappointed by recent oM releases False Priest and thecontrollersphere. However, this new record is being hyped as a 'back to basics' release, and preview cut "Wintered Debts" suggests that might not be bullshit - it's quite good.

The new LP is called Paralytic Stalks, and it drops February 7.

Tracklisting:

01) Gelid Ascent
02) Spiteful Intervention
03) Dour Percentage
04) We Will Commit Wolf Murder
05) Malefic Dowery
06) Ye, Renew the Plaintiff
07) Wintered Debts
08) Exorcismic Breeding Knife
09) Authentic Pyrrhic Remission

Typical weirdo song titles. I especially like "We Will Commit Wolf Murder".

The relatively short tracklisting is also encouraging - hopefully suggesting this record is tighter and more focused.

The Shins - 'Port of Morrow' Details

The Shins are back! After frontman James Mercer's time with Danger Mouse as the group Broken Bells, The Shins are set to drop their 4th LP Port of Morrow in March.

Intrigued to hear what The Shins circa 2012 sound like - it's been a while.

Tracklisting:

01) The Rifle's Spiral
02) Simple Song
03) It's Only Life
04) No Way Down
05) September 
06) Bait and Switch
07) Fall of '82
08) For a Fool
09) 40 Mark Strasse
10) Port of Morrow 

The Walking Dead - Season 2 Trailer

The Walking Dead returns this October.  Excited.

Neon Indian - Heart: Decay (Video)

NEON INDIAN - HEART : DECAY from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo.

Neon Indian's sophomore LP Era Extraña (dropping September 13th) includes 3 tracks with a 'Heart' theme. You can preview one of these tracks, titled "Heart: Decay" in the video above.

I loved Psychic Chasms, and this is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

Atlas Sound - "Cherry Incognito"

It's been over 2 months since I've posted anything - madness! Sorry to anyone who reads this blog. Sometimes I will keep up with posting, and other times I will not.

Anyway, my favorite Bradford Cox performed a brand new Atlas Sound song at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England last weekend, and someone was gracious enough to record the performance and put it up on YouTube. 

Check out the video above. And thanks to P4K for the heads up.

TV on the Radio - "Caffeinated Consciousness" Free Download

"Caffeinated Consciousness", the 2nd song to be released from TV on the Radio's new record Nine Types of Light, is now available for free download.

Check it out here.

Nine Types of Light drops April 12.

Toro Y Moi - "Blessa" Video

This is hardly new. It's the video for the very first song off Toro Y Moi's first record, Causers of This. Meanwhile, his (awesome) sophomore record Underneath the Pine just dropped.

I'm just way into Toro Y Moi right now, and this is new to me. And it's a great video.

MGMT - Congratulations Remix EP

I've been very vocal about the fact that I absolutely love MGMT's sophomore record Congratulations from last year, and was frankly baffled by the fact that a lot of people hated it.

And so, despite the fact that I'm not too thrilled with the concept of 'remixes' in general, I'm excited to hear that MGMT are releasing an EP with 3 remixes from their latest record.

It's called Congratulations Remix EP, which is as self-explanatory as it gets. Drops March 15.

Tracklisting:

1) Congratulations (Erol Alkan Rework)
2) Siberian Breaks (Ed Banger All Stars Remix)
3) Brian Eno (Cornelius Mix)

of Montreal - thecontrollersphere

of Montreal have sneak attack released their latest work, an EP called thecontrollersphere.

Here's the official word on the EP:

"A mini-album of sorts, thecontrollersphere is a folk album only in the way of Montreal could envision a folk album.

Clocking in at 23 minutes, thecontrollersphere includes the long-awaited studio version of live favorite "Black Lion Massacre" -- a pulsing sonic freakout that is the darkest and noisiest song Barnes has ever written and serves as thecontrollersphere's mission statement."

A mini-album of sorts, eh? Well I actually love the EP as a format of music, so I'm not complaining. Sometimes you don't have a full 40 minutes to an hour to listen to a full album, and then an EP can be perfect.

You can purchase thecontrollersphere from Polyvinyl Records here.

Physical release date is April 26, but you can download the 320kbps MP3s right now. Available in black or limited edition blue vinyl.

Finally, here's the tracklisting:

1) Black Lion Massacre
2) Flunkt Sass vs the Root Plume
3) Holiday Call
4) L'age D'or
5) Slave Translator

Starfucker - "Quality Time" Video

Starfucker /// Quality Time from Liberum Pictures on Vimeo.

Thanks to Pretty Much Amazing for the heads up.