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LADYHAWKE
Anxiety

One of the brightest stars to light up the pop firmament this millennium is back. Thanks to her brilliant self-titled 2008 debut, Ladyhawke (a.k.a. Pip Brown), shot to stardom around the world. Her follow-up will surely even exceed those achievements, and establish the wildly talented young tunesmith as one of her generation’s most beloved pop heroines. Eighteen months in the making, Anxiety carries ten instant classics, each brimming over with irresistable hooks, fresh beats and ear-grabbing synth sounds.

ARTIST: Ladyhawke
TITLE: Anxiety
LABEL: Island
RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2012
TIME: 36:10 min.
WEB: http://www.ladyhawkemusic.com/

01. Girl Like Me [02:56]
02. Sunday Drive [04:05]
03. Black, White & Blue [03:55]
04. Vaccine [03:34]
05. Blue Eyes [03:17]
06. Vanity [03:01]
07. The Quick & the Dead [03:49]
08. Anxiety [03:24]
09. Cellophane [04:15]
10. Gone Gone Gone [03:54]

Ladyhawke – Black, White & Blue (treasure fingers remix)

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TANLINES
Mixed Emotions

Mixed Emotions is the debut album from Brooklyn’s Tanlines, the duo of Eric Emm (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Jesse Cohen (drums, keyboards, bass). Initially a production project, Tanlines have evolved through two acclaimed EPs into a deeply personal, electronic pop group. The album was recorded in a series of locations after the band were evicted from their own studio, which in turn pushed Emm to focus on his lyrics and songwriting: in the process, he discovered a beautiful baritone vocal style. The lyrics poured out of him, and their maturity and honesty form the core of this release.

ARTIST: Tanlines
TITLE: Mixed Emotions
LABEL: True Panther Sounds
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2012
TIME: 39:26 min.
WEB: http://tanlinesinternet.com/

01. Brothers [04:13]
02. All of Me [03:55]
03. Green Grass [03:28]
04. Abby [03:36]
05. Yes Way [03:08]
06. Not the Same [04:34]
07. Lost Somewhere [03:32]
08. Real Life [04:44]
09. Rain Delay [03:36]
10. Cactus [03:40]
11. Nonesuch [03:31]

Tanlines – Brothers

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CHROMATICS
Kill For Love

The new Chromatics album, Kill for Love, was just released on iTunes: surprisingly they were not able to find a label. Now, two months later, everything goes in its right place, and Kill For Love sees the light physically thanks to Italians Do It Better. This is the first album since 2007′s Night Drive from this dark-dance-pop aesthetes and it’s filled with mystery, intrigue and several interesting twists and turns.

ARTIST: Chromatics
TITLE: Kill for Love
LABEL: Italians Do It Better
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2012
TIME: 1:32:04 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/chromatics

01. Into the Black [05:23]
02. Kill for Love [03:58]
03. Back from the Grave [03:43]
04. The Page [03:36]
05. Lady [05:08]
06. These Streets Will Never Look the Same [08:37]
07. Broken Mirrors [07:04]
08. Candy [02:30]
09. The Eleventh Hour [03:28]
10. Running From the Sun [07:07]
11. Dust to Dust [02:41]
12. Birds of Paradise [04:26]
13. A Matter of Time [05:06]
14. At Your Door [03:53]
15. There’s A Light Out On the Horizon [04:44]
16. The River [06:09]
17. No Escape [14:01]

Chromatics – Back from the Grave

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LOLA KITE
I Start to Believe You

In less than twelve months, the 2nd album I Start to Believe You by the Amsterdam-based Lola Kite is already a fact. Unlike the debut album, Lights, especially where the atmosphere is cheerful and spirited, the twelve songs on I Start to Believe You become more melancholiser and reveal their new dreamy nature. With the advent of Jacco Gardner, the trio composed by Keez Groenteman, Jasper Verhulst and Bram Vervaet, evolved into a quartet. Gardner is also responsible for the production of the record that this time was held in their own hands, but this extra addition is primarily intended for the live shows even more dynamic and energized than before.

ARTIST: Lola Kite
TITLE: I Start to Believe You
LABEL: Excelsior
RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2012
TIME: 38:05 min.
WEB: http://lolakite.com/

01. Love and the Weather [00:50]
02. Energy Could Be Our Closest Friend [03:17]
03. Someone OK [03:38]
04. The Fair [03:07]
05. Don’t Block Our Sun [04:14]
06. Boss [04:24]
07. Road to Nowhere [04:05]
08. Island Smyland [01:43]
09. A Higher Key [05:13]
10. Daisy Acquarius [00:51]
11. Tokyo Love [03:42]
12. W’ter [03:09]

Lola Kite – Boss

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MI AMI
Decade

Daniel Martin-McCormick may be thinking that 2012 is the year he breaks through. It’s taken him a decade to get here, from the scruffy post-punk of Black Eyes, a dancier advance on that template with Mi Ami, plus his various solo projects (Sex Worker, Ital). On Decade he returns to work with Damon Palermo, who helped him to tether his dual careers, trying to draw an easy line between them, especially when the expansive deep house influence at the heart of Decade kicks in. That why Decade manages to be both lean and meticulous without homing in on a clear point of convergence, feeling very much like a vision still undergoing a slo-mo blur into focus.

ARTIST: Mi Ami
TITLE: Decade
LABEL: Silk
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2012
TIME: 37:04 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/youngmagicsounds

01. Horns [08:31]
02. Time of Love [11:14]
03. Free of Life [10:31]
04. Bells [06:50]

Mi Ami – Time of Love

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #100
as seen on radioSpin

ARTIST: Justice
TITLE: Audio, Video, Disco
ALBUM: Audio, Video, Disco
WEB: YouTube

directed by SO ME

FIORIOUS
Fiorious

Fiorious is a Bronx-born Italian-American Ivy-League grad who quit his dayjob as a pop music journalist and returned to the motherland to make his own music, embracing his Euro roots without sacrificing his New York City soul. The fruits of his wanderlust? A throbbing, hard-smacking orgy of electropop, disco-funk, and indie-dance. Fiorious is his self-titled debut.

ARTIST: Fiorious
TITLE: Fiorious
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2012
TIME: 33:44 min.
WEB: http://www.fiorious.com/

01. Elevator [04:45]
02. So Pretty [04:35]
03. I’m in Love with a German Film Star [03:51]
04. If You Wanna Dance (don’t leave your room) [04:26]
05. Man Alive [03:45]
06. New York City Girl [04:00]
07. 7 Steps [04:01]
08. Sun-Kissed Afternoon [04:21]

Fiorious – Elevator

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THIEVES LIKE US
Bleed Bleed Bleed

Bleed Bleed Bleed is the 4th record by Thieves Like Us and first with Captured Tracks. Recorded safe inside their homes in Berlin and Paris, the ten songs here are an admission of fears and doubt while entering a new chapter. While continuing Theives’ tradition of quality pop songs, the addition of female vocalist Martine Duverglas add a new dimension to the group. But, have no fear: you can still dance to this one.

ARTIST: Thieves Like Us
TITLE: Bleed Bleed Bleed
LABEL: Capturd Tracks
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2012
TIME: 38:23 min.
WEB: http://www.thieves-like-us.com/

01. Bleed Bleed Bleed [04:46]
02. Stay Blue [04:42]
03. Still Life [03:17]
04. Fatima [03:18]
05. The Killing Revolution [04:16]
06. Bleed Bleed Bleed II [03:53]
07. Maria Marie [03:23]
08. Memory Song [03:34]
09. Your Love Runs Still [03:21]
10. Worthy to Me [03:53]

Thieves Like Us – Maria Marie

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METRONOMY
The English Riviera (unreleased remixes)

The title of the new Metronomy album is pretty self-explanatory: The English Riviera (unreleased remixes) is a collection of unreleased remixes from their album The English Riviera, and in normal circumstances, that would be the end of this review. But it’s not. On the surface, this might sound like easy listening electronic pop, but these guys are good at what they do, and with the assistance of remixers like New Villager, Benoit & Sergio, Wax Cotton, and Ewan Pearson, you get to hear The English Riviera album in an all new fauna. If anything, these remixes might help to bring new life to the original album, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

ARTIST: Metronomy
TITLE: The English Riviera (unreleased remixes)
LABEL: Because
RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2012
TIME: 66:51 min.
WEB: http://www.metronomy.co.uk/

01. Corinne (benoit & sergio remix) [04:14]
02. Everything Goes My Way (ewan pearson dub) [07:16]
03. The Look (two inch punch’s shook shook refix) [03:46]
04. Loving Arm (soul clap’s shake a leg mix) [05:26]
05. Corinne (night angles remix) [04:56]
06. The Bay (clock opera remix) [06:07]
07. The Look (camo & krooked remix) [05:18]
08. She Wants (c-berg remix) [04:14]
09. Corinne (leodoris remix) [05:53]
10. Everything Goes My Way (jesse rose & duke dumont re-dub) [05:11]
11. Some Written (new villager remix) [03:10]
12. Corinne (mario basanov remix) [05:44]
13. The Bay (wax cotton remix) [07:12]

Metronomy – The Look (camo & krooked remix)

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BATTLES
Dross Glop

Before you question the relevance of this news post by assuming that a glaring error has been made in regards to a certain album name, Dross Glop is a project consisting of various artists from a multitude of musical backgrounds remixing material from Battles‘ latest LP, Gloss Drop. Designed as a series of 12″ singles, it has since been revealed that the project will in fact culminate with a full CD release of the mixes. So here we are.

ARTIST: Battles
TITLE: Dross Glop
LABEL: Warp
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2012
TIME: 69:48 min.
WEB: http://bttls.com/

01. Wall Street (guy boratto remix) [07:03]
02. Sweetie & Shag (the field remix) [08:53]
03. Futura (the alchemist remix) [03:47]
04. White Electric (shabazz places remix) [07:04]
05. Africastle (Code9 remix) [07:04]
06. Inchworm (silent servant remix) [06:07]
07. Toddler (kangding ray remix) [05:30]
08. Dominican Fade (qluster remix) [03:43]
09. Ice Cream (brian de graw / gang gang dance remix) [04:06]
10. Rolls Bayce (hudson mohawke remix) [04:19]
11. My Machines (patrick mahoney remix) [09:12]
12. Sundome (yakatama eye remix) [05:43]

Battles – Africastle (kode9 remix)

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BVDUB
The First Day

BVdub is one of the most prolific artist of the new ambient-experimental music scene. The way Brock Van Wey’s music forces one to drift into the longest forgotten memories gives a new life to all the instances that never seemed to matter, to all the people whose faces have been buried under hundreds of others and it is becoming almost second to none. It is a skill that he has been honing, perfecting and doing so at an astounding rate with each release showing a tangible improvement than the one preceding it. The First Day is a new beginning, it’s a new day rising, a welcome twist towards the more optimistic. It maintains all the elements of his previous works, such as the latest Resistance is Beautiful, the dense reverbed soundscapes, the minimal techno inspired beats, the beautiful embedded melodies, they’re all there but have taken a new direction: every single track has that ability and every spin of this album reveals a new facet of beauty that leaves one in awe, no small feat by any measure.

ARTIST: BVdub
TITLE: The First Day
LABEL: Home Normal
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2012
TIME: 79:01 min.
WEB: http://bvdub.org/

01. Never in the Prison of Their Stars [20:29]
02. The First Day [27:31]
03. While They Dreamed We Were There [20:38]
04. My Skies Cry Your Name [10:24]

BVdub – My Skies Cry Your Name

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THE MAGNETIC FIELDS
Love at the Bottom of the Sea

The Magnetic Fields return to the signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds they established in the 90s with Merge releases such as The Charm of the Highway Strip and Get Lost. Stephin Merritt has come back to synths with a fresh approach. The songs none over three minutes long were recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York with Merritt’s usual cast of collaborators: Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, Shirley Simms, Johny Blood and Daniel Handler.

ARTIST: The Magnetic Fields
TITLE: Love at the Bottom of the Sea
LABEL: Merge
RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2012
TIME: 34:22 min.
WEB: http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/

01. Your Girlfriend’s Face [02:21]
02. Andrew in Drag [02:12]
03. God Wants Us to Wait [02:06]
04. Born For Love [02:39]
05. I’d Go Anywhere with Hugh [02:08]
06. Infatuation (with your gyration) [02:13]
07. The Only Boy in Town [02:35]
08. The Machine in Your Hand [02:24]
09. Goin’ Back to the Country [02:01]
10. I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies [02:17]
11. The Horrible Party [02:07]
12. My Husband’s Pied-à-Terre [02:05]
13. I Don’t Like Your Tone [02:08]
14. Quick! [02:28]
15. All She Cares About Is Mariachi [02:38]

The Magnetic Fields – Andrew in Drag

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WHOMADEWHO
Brighter

A disco-infused alt-pop album. Doesn’t sound like something which really fits in with the current zeitgeist. Somehow though, WhoMadeWho, the Danish three piece with a religious European following, have made an album which not only sounds pretty fresh, more interesting than a blasé first listen might suggest, but also is actually just pretty enjoyable: combining the schizophrenic sides of the band with a hint of experimentation and a growling crescendo of synths and harmonies, Brighter is essentially a good dance pop album. Heaven forbid.

ARTIST: WhoMadeWho
TITLE: Brighter
LABEL: Kompakt
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 50:50 min.
WEB: http://www.whomadewho.dk/

01. Inside World [03:37]
02. Running Man [05:20]
03. Greyhound [03:56]
04. The Sun [04:17]
05. Fireman [03:58]
06. The Divorce [04:25]
07. Never Had the Time [04:42]
08. Head On My Pillow [04:53]
09. Skinny Dipping [05:29]
10. The End [04:01]
11. Below the Cherry Moon [06:12]

WhoMadeWho – Inside World (digitalism remix)

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #97
as seen on radioSpin

ARTIST: Planet Funk
TITLE: These Boots Are Made For Walking
ALBUM: La Kriptonite nella Borsa O.S.T.
WEB: YouTube

directed by Ivan Cotroneo

DEADLY BLVD.
Giallo

After dedicating themselves to various projects of musical creations (Edelveiss, Bartholin), Martin Ferguson and Bernard Lafontaine decided to pursue a more personal project, named Deadly BLVD.. Enthusiastic musicians, free of any defined artistic trajectory, they provide sounds that are derived from rock music, pop, electronic, and in background sounds of world rhythms and musical imagery influenced by movies and cartoons. The project was constructed in a shared spirit around the use of contrasts, both in terms of form, the arrangements, the stylistic references, and even the “mood”: all these factors led to the creation of different atmospheres imbued with cinematic imagery, on which were applied texts both confused and confusing. Their debut EP Giallo features additional vocals by Emilie Jolie and Frédéric Lapointe on drums/percussions, and it holds great promise for the future.

ARTIST: Deadly BLVD.
TITLE: Giallo
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2011
TIME: 23:34 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/deadlyblvd

01. Giallo [04:25]
02. Deadly BLVD [03:19]
03. From Above [05:37]
04. 2000 Cowboys Ripoff [04:42]
05. This Knife [05:31]

Deadly BLVD. – Giallo

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