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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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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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FANFARLO
Rooms Filled with Light

Can we call this a comeback album? Fanfarlo’s debut Reservoir dropped in 2009 and slowly gathered a head of steam that saw it pop up in many an end of year round up, but these days it seems that if you don’t churn out an album every 12 months then you’re dead or consigned to the wilderness. Whichever wilderness Fanfarlo have been hanging out in, Rooms Filled with Light is one of those rare discs (recorded by Ben H. Allen during a six week session at Bryn Derwen, a studio located in a remote former slate quarry in Wales) that pulls off just the right degree of sophomore progression and invention without utterly turning its back on its well-loved predecessor.

ARTIST: Fanfarlo
TITLE: Rooms Filled with Light
LABEL: Atlantic
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 44:13 min.
WEB: http://www.fanfarlo.com/

01. Replicate [03:15]
02. Deconstruction [04:53]
03. Lens Life [03:39]
04. Shiny Things [04:33]
05. Tanguska [04:33]
06. Everything Turns [02:05]
07. Tightrope [04:14]
08. Feathers [03:51]
09. Bones [04:48]
10. Dig [03:10]
11. A Flood [04:36]
12. Everything Resolves [00:36]

Fanfarlo – Bones

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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

AA.VV.
Please, Please, Please (a tribute to The Smiths)

Please, Please, Please is not the nth collection to glorify The Smiths. 20 covers and not a dud in the bunch: that’s a rare thing, especially with a tribute compilation. If you’re a Smiths fan, this is a great way to keep the music alive. If you are not a Smiths fan, well, you’re still in time to change your mind.

ARTIST: AA.VV.
TITLE: Please, Please, Please (a tribute to The Smiths)
LABEL: American Laundromat
RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011
TIME: 80:14 min.
WEB: http://www.alr-music.com/

01. KITTEN – Panic [04:03]
02. THE REST – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before [04:07]
03. JOY ZIPPER – What Difference Does It Make? [04:40]
04. TANYA DONELLY & DYLAN IN THE MOVIES – Shoplifters of the World Unite [03:42]
05. WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS – Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want [01:53]
06. SIX PENCE NONE THE RICHER – I Won’t Share You [03:29]
07. SARA LOV – Well I Wonder [03:49]
08. GREG LASWELL – Half A Person [03:48]
09. DALA – Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [03:09]
10. CHIKITA VIOLENTA – Som Girls Are Bigger Than Others [04:46]

01. TELEKINESIS – Sheila Take A Bow [02:23]
02. SOLVENTS – Is It Really So Strange? [03:35]
03. THE WEDDING PRESENT – Hand in Glove [03:05]
04. MIKE VIOLA & THE SECTION QUARTET – How Soon Is Now? [05:44]
05. TRESPASSERS WILLIAM – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out [05:51]
06. GIRL IN A COMA – Rubber Ring [04:47]
07. ELK CITY – I Know It’s Over [06:00]
08. KATY GOODMAN – What She Said [03:25]
09. CINERAMA – London [03:59]
10. DOUGH MARTSCH – Reel Around the Fountain [04:02]

Greg Laswell – Half A Person
Dough Martsch – Reel Around the Fountain

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ISLANDS
A Sleep & A Forgetting

It’s said that Phil Collins would never have left Genesis and ventured out on his own if his relationship with his first wife hadn’t crumbled. If Adele’s boyfriend hadn’t smashed her heart, her hit 21 may have never have made its way to the top of the charts. And Beck’s tear-jerking and game-changing Sea Change was recorded after he split with his girlfriend of nine years. For Islands frontman Nick Thorburn, the band’s latest album, A Sleep & A Forgetting, is about more than a breakup: it’s about completely losing a way of life and having to start all over again. He started writing it on Valentine’s Day last year after breaking up with his longtime partner, leaving his New York home and moving to Los Angeles: he started messing around and writing songs on a piano he found in his new abode, and a year later came Islands’ fourth record. But though the subject of A Sleep & A Forgetting is one of the most common human experiences, the album is not a generic tribute to a breakup: it’s an inspired look at the grieving human heart. And one of the best Islands records so far, to boot.

ARTIST: Islands
TITLE: A Sleep & A Forgetting
LABEL: ANTI / Epitaph
RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2012
TIME: 37:43 min.
WEB: http://islandsareforever.com/

01. In a Dream It Seemed Real [03:21]
02. This Is Not a Song [03:56]
03. Never Go Solo [04:45]
04. No Crying [03:05]
05. Hallways [02:54]
06. Can’t Feel My Face [02:46]
07. Lonely Love [03:40]
08. Oh Maria [04:08]
09. Cold Again [03:19]
10. Don’t Love You [03:20]
11. Same Thing [02:32]

Islands – Hallways

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SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
Ghostory

Recorded in-between tours, Ghostory exemplifies a fervent progression of School of Seven Bells‘s growth as artists, preserving the common themes found on their last two releases but exposing them in different fashions: the familiar ethereal and enigmatic tones are omnipresent, surrounded by layers of influences from `80s pop, shoegaze and ambient electronic sounds. However, Ghostory comes with a story in mind: the tale of a young girl named Lafaye and the ghosts that surround her life. This album is truly School of Seven Bells‘ defining work, beautifully crafted and haunting, with the story of Lafaye permeating the psyche long after the music stops.

ARTIST: School of Seven Bells
TITLE: Ghostory
LABEL: Vagrant / Ghostly International
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 45:13 min.
WEB: http://sviib.com/

01. The Night [03:47]
02. Love Play [04:11]
03. Lafaye [04:14]
04. Low Times [06:32]
05. Reappear [04:10]
06. Show Me Love [04:44]
07. Scavenger [04:26]
08. White Wind [04:42]
09. When You Sing [08:34]

School of Seven Bells – Lafaye

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SLEIGH BELLS
Reign of Terror

Brand new release from the Brooklyn duo consisting of Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocals). Sleigh Bells‘ unique sound is likely the result of Miller and Krauss’s contrasting musical backgrounds: Miller was formerly the guitarist for the post-hardcore band Poison The Well and Krauss was a member of the teen pop group RubyBlue as a teenager. Guess what it could come out, then listen to Reign of Terror.

ARTIST: Sleigh Bells
TITLE: Reign of Terror
LABEL: Mom & Pop
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2012
TIME: 36:30 min.
WEB: http://reignofterror.tv/

01. True Shred Guitar [02:20]
02. Born to Lose [03:53]
03. Crush [03:20]
04. End of the Line [03:38]
05. Leader of the Pack [02:43]
06. Comeback Kid [03:01]
07. Demons [03:04]
08. Road to Hell [03:22]
09. You Lost Me [04:31]
10. Never Say Die [03:40]
11. D.O.A. [02:58]

Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid

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THE CRANBERRIES
Roses

The Cranberries are back, with their first studio album in over ten years! The original Irish four-piece fronted by Dolores O’Riordan, who lit up the charts for over a decade with classics such as Linger, Dreams and Zombie is now releasing Roses: eleven brand new songs, produced by the band’s old friend and collaborator Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur and more recently Kaiser Chiefs).

ARTIST: The Cranberries
TITLE: Roses
LABEL: Downtown
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 44:24 min.
WEB: http://www.cranberries.com/

01. Conduct [05:10]
02. Tomorrow [03:55]
03. Fire & Soul [04:32]
04. Raining in My Heart [03:27]
05. Losing My Mind [03:39]
06. Schizophrenic Playboy [03:39]
07. Waiting in Walthamstow [04:18]
08. Show Me [03:26]
09. Astral Projections [04:44]
10. So Good [03:53]
11. Roses [03:41]

The Cranberries – Tomorrow

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WE HAVE BAND
Ternion

If prizes could be awarded for sheer variety of sonic scope, We Have Band would nab every one going. For the dynamic two lads ‘n’ a lass trio, their sophomore effort Ternion plays out as a mish-mash of clever indie ingenuity, electronica and synth-pop. But even that doesn’t do them justice, because, frankly speaking, just so much is going on in every track: like a zoo of assorted instruments let loose, Ternion’s disparate elements are free to play to their own devices.

ARTIST: We Have Band
TITLE: Ternion
LABEL: Naïve
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012
TIME: 84:35 min.
WEB: http://www.wehaveband.com/

01. Shift [04:38]
02. After All [04:13]
03. Where Are You People? [03:50]
04. Visionary [04:59]
05. What’s Mine, What’s Yours [04:11]
06. Steel in the Groove [05:00]
07. Tired of Running [04:38]
08. Watertight [04:00]
09. Rivers of Blood [03:12]
10. Pressure On [04:57]
11. Ternion Aside [26:57]

12. Shift (acoustic) [03:56]
13. After All (acoustic) [03:19]
14. What’s Mine, What’s Yours (acoustic) [03:35]
15. Watertight (acoustic) [03:10]

We Have Band – Where Are You People? (walls remix)

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VAGUE-À-BONDE
Involution / Evolution

Involution/Evolution is the debut album of Vague-à-Bonde (a.k.a. Nicole Alicia Brenny, former member of Waxx Maxx). Involution/Evolution was written and produced by Nicole herself entirely in her own bedroom, but that doesn’t mean any lo-fi attitude. The album is beyond doubt a professional product: by the end, what we hear here is an intelligent and brilliant songwriter that showcases her range of talents in 8 tracks that fall somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and K-Pop, the ethereal and the corporal. And, considering she is an independent artist self-releasing her first full-length, it is quiet a feat.

ARTIST: Vague-à-Bonde
TITLE: Involution/Evolution
LABEL: self-released
RELEASE DATE: February 22, 2012
TIME: 32:04 min.
WEB: http://vagueabonde.tumblr.com/

01. Voices [03:09]
02. Best Nights [04:23]
03. Ghosts [03:06]
04. MV [03:57]
05. Pop [04:23]
06. 1221 [03:53]
07. Something [03:58]
08. Sky [05:15]

Vague-à-Bonde – MV

removed by request

TENNIS
Young & Old

Brand new release from the Denver-based indie-pop band Tennis, made up of husband-and-wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. For this album, guitarist Riley, vocalist Moore and drummer James Barone headed to Nashville to work with The Black Keys‘ Patrick Carney.

ARTIST: Tennis
TITLE: Young & Old
LABEL: Fat Possum
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2012
TIME: 33:05 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/tennisinc

01. It All Feels the Same [03:23]
02. Origins [03:28]
03. My Better Self [03:45]
04. Traveling [03:02]
05. Petition [03:12]
06. Robin [03:05]
07. High Road [03:03]
08. Dreaming [03:15]
09. Take Me to Heaven [03:25]
10. Never to Part [03:27]

Tennis – My Better Self

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AIR
Le Voyage Dans la Lune

Revered Parisian electronic duo Air (Nicolas Godin and JB Dunckel) were asked to compose an original score for the restored version of the classic 1902 silent film Le Voyage Dans La Lune (“A Trip to the Moon”) by Georges Méliès. This new album is the fully realized outcome of that collaboration. Georges Méliès is one of the central characters in Martin Scorsese‘s new blockbuster hit Hugo and his life and work (including the iconic “A Trip to the Moon”) is attracting a whole new wave of interest as a result. Features vocals and lyrics by Victoria Legrand of Beach House on Seven Stars and Au Revoir Simone on Who Am I Now?.

ARTIST: Air
TITLE: Le Voyage Dans la Lune
LABEL: Astralwerks
RELEASE DATE: February 7, 2012
TIME: 31:21 min.
WEB: http://en.aircheology.com/

01. Astronomic Club [03:13]
02. Seven Stars [04:23]
03. Ratour Sur Terre [00:33]
04. Parade [02:33]
05. Moon Fever [03:34]
06. Sonic Armada [05:05]
07. Who Am I Now [03:01]
08. Décollage [01:38]
09. Cosmic Trip [04:10]
10. Homme Lune [00:18]
11. Lava [02:53]

Air (feat. victoria legrand) – Seven Stars

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LANA DEL REY
Born to Die

Sometimes stars emerge. Sometimes stars are thrust upon us. And sometimes stars simply slip into the atmosphere as if propelled by something otherworldly. It is into this last category that the astonishing presence, voice, look and feel of Lana Del Rey (born Lizzy Grant) falls. Musical stardom is not an option with Ms. Del Rey: it is her vocation. She calls herself the “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” and defines her genre as “Hollywood pop/sadcore”, a dramatic new loop for pop music. Lana Del Rey‘s direct influences were visual as well as musical: David Lynch, soundtracks for ’50s black and white movies, the whirring sound of the Ferris at Coney Island, fame itself. She lived in a New Jersey trailer park and decked her homestead in flags, streamers and seasonally inappropriate Christmas lights: this was Lana’s world now and it needed to sparkle. Whether or not it will work? That much we don’t know, but Born to Die says it seems likely that it will.

ARTIST: Lana del Rey
TITLE: Born to Die
LABEL: Interscope
RELEASE DATE: January 31, 2012
TIME: 41:27 min.
WEB: http://www.lanadelrey.com/

01. Born to Die [04:45]
02. Off the Races [05:01]
03. Blue Jeans [03:30]
04. Video Games [04:42]
05. Diet Mtn Dew [03:43]
06. National Anthem [03:51]
07. Dark Paradise [04:03]
08. Radio [03:35]
09. Carmen [04:09]
10. Million Dollar Man [03:50]
11. Summertime Sadness [04:25]
12. This Is What Makes Us Girls [03:58]
13. Without You [03:49]
14. Lolita [03:39]
15. Lucky Ones [03:47]

Lana del Rey – Born to Die (gemini remix)

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