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WILD NOTHING
Empty Estate

Jack Tatum‘s gleaming nocturnal synth-pop as Wild Nothing produced not only an incredible string of recordings, but also spearheaded a micro-movement of indie-level dream pop more rooted in the ’80s synth reflections of acts like Echo & the Bunnymen or Aztec Camera than the mumbly fractalized bedroom productions coming from chillwave circles.
Empty Estate, follow-up EP to the critically acclaimed Nocturne, sets itself apart by exploring different absent-minded stylistic detours on almost every track. You know, Wild Nothing has always worn his sensitive songwriter’s influences on his sleeve. That’s why Empty Estate finally seems a thoroughly pleasant but unexpected long walk on a summer evening, with Tatum stopping for a moment to say hello to all his various different inclinations for a second before moving on.

ARTIST: Wild Nothing
TITLE: Empty Estate
LABEL: Captured Tracks
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 28:47 min.
WEB: http://www.wildnothingmusic.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 5.99$

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THESE NEW PURITANS
Field of Reeds

Brand new album from These New Puritans. In a way, it was completely unexpected. Pigeonholed as promising but limited indie rock types, These New Puritans decided to break down these barriers with their second album: released back in 2010, Hidden was a torrent of ideas, a stunning mixture of free jazz and left field rock, all delivered with an orchestral sweep. Since then, the band have played some very special live shows before heading back into the studio. And now Field of Reeds is born: a new path of flared and dilated indie-rock, inspired songwriting and, of course, nothing taken for granted.

ARTIST: These New Puritans
TITLE: Field of Reeds
LABEL: Infectious
RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2013
TIME: 53:13 min.
WEB: http://www.thesenewpuritans.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. The Way I Do [03:03]
02. Fragment Two [04:35]
03. The Light in Your Name [06:05]
04. V (island song) [09:18]
05. Spiral [06:05]
06. Organ Eternal [05:03]
07. Nothing Else [07:51]
08. Dream [04:16]
09. Field of Reeds [06:27]

PREVIEW: These New Puritans – Fragment Two

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THE BLACK ANGELS
Indigo Meadow

Indigo Meadow marks The Black Angels’ 4th full-length release, following 2010′s acclaimed Phosphene Dream. Once again the Austin-based band proves themselves the undisputed avatars of contemporary psychedelic rock, simultaneously exalting the genre’s kaleidoscopic past as they thrust it further into the future. Now a four-piece ably supported behind the board by producer/mixer John Congleton (David Byrne, St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) the band have brought new focus to their wide-ranging song craft, the righteous riffs and dogmatic drones gaining increased power as they fuel a more expansive emotional terrain. A 21st century trip as transcendent as any in the canon, Indigo Meadow masterfully affirms The Black Angels full-throttle commitment to the psychedelic ethos of creativity, community and boundless experimentation.

ARTIST: The Black Angels
TITLE: Indigo Meadow
LABEL: Blue Horizon Ventures
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2013
TIME: 45:49 min.
WEB: http://theblackangels.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 8.99$

01. Indigo Meadow [02:49]
02. Evil Things [03:44]
03. Don’t Play with Guns [03:43]
04. Holland [04:02]
05. The Day [02:37]
06. Love Me Forever [03:10]
07. Always Maybe [04:08]
08. War On Holiday [02:35]
09. Broken Soldier [03:36]
10. I Hear Colors (chromaesthesia) [04:03]
11. Twisted Light [03:21]
12. You’re Mine [03:40]
13. Black Isn’t Black [04:21]

PREVIEW: The Black Angels – The Day

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DAFT PUNK
Random Access Memories

Daft Punk‘s Random Access Memories was one of the most anticipated albums of not only the year, but maybe even ever. This of course begged the question: does it live up to the hype? The best saying for this is the good old “aim low and you’ll never be disappointed,” which, albeit somewhat demotivational, does allow for a “better than expected” result. The French duo were being very ambitious by creating such a buzz, but can we expect any less from Daft Punk? Maybe not. For everywhere Random Access Memories lacks, there is an equally smooth and velvety groove to combat it. Unfortunately, this creates a very inconsistent album that has too many lull moments for it to be an overall winner in disco music history. The whole album is layered with 70′s funk, reminiscent of those fuzzy guitar solos and sweet licks we all grew up on and this makes it an extremely fun and upbeat type of record that has been filled to the brink with A-list cameos (please see Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder and so on). So, in the end, Daft Punk have delivered an exceptionally well marketed album, which unfortunately has an overall lacklustre feel. It is definitely worth a spin, but worth two spins? It’s up to you.

ARTIST: Daft Punk
TITLE: Random Access Memories
LABEL: Columbia
RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2013
TIME: 1:14:35 min.
WEB: http://www.daftpunk.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Give Life Back to Music [04:34]
02. The Game of Love [05:22]
03. Giorgio by Moroder [09:05]
04. Within [03:49]
05. Instant Crush [05:38]
06. Lose Yourself to Dance [05:54]
07. Touch [08:19]
08. Get Lucky [06:10]
09. Beyond [04:50]
10. Motherboard [05:42]
11. Fragments of Time [04:40]
12. Doin’ It Right [04:11]
13. Contact [06:21]

PREVIEW: Daft Punk (feat. Julian Casablancas) – Instant Crush

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SAVAGES
Silence Yourself

Inspiration, not innovation, is what you should look for in Savages. You should take this four-girls London-based band, with their furious, high-velocity update of Joy Division, Simple Minds, British Sea Power, The Smashing Pumpkins, Einsturzende Neubauten, Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, Suede and so on over a thousand pallid boys who’ve managed, somehow, to divine an original sound at the end of post-modernism. Why? Because Silence Yourself is the manifestation of a formidable spirit, a sense that everything they do is done with great purity of intent, and a brilliant sex, life and death album of a kind rarely seen these days.

ARTIST: Savages
TITLE: Silence Yourself
LABEL: Matador
RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2013
TIME: 38:39 min.
WEB: http://savagesband.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Shut Up [04:48]
02. I Am Here [03:20]
03. City’s Full [03:27]
04. Strife [03:57]
05. Waiting For A Sign [05:25]
06. Dead Nature [02:06]
07. She Will [03:27]
08. No Face [03:35]
09. Hit Me [01:41]
10. Husbands [02:50]
11. Marshal Dear [04:03]

PREVIEW: Savages – Husbands

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RS VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #157
REDRUM ALONE – OniricAct Part 3 (il leprotto remix)

ARTIST: Redrum Alone
TITLE: OniricAct Part 3 (il leprotto remix)
ALBUM: De Redrum Remixes
WEB: YouTube

directed by Fab Design

PORTFOLIO
We | Humans

Brand new EP from Reggio Emilia-based post-rockers Portfolio, featuring two unreleased tracks plus Beth Gibbons e Kim Novak, taken from their debut The Standing Babas, but here nicely re-worked. The first remixed by Silent Panda | Deadly Panda (a.k.a. Luca G from Julie’s Haircut), who plays guitars also on James Horses Chariot and Sion. The second one shows a wonderful different skin with less electronics and the introduction of a string quartet. An appreciated appetizer while waiting for their second full-length, sweetly enhanced by Laura Loriga‘s (Mimes of Wine, Giardini di Mirò) voice.

ARTIST: Portfolio
TITLE: We | Humans
LABEL: This Is the Land
RELEASE DATE: May 06, 2013
TIME: 24:54 min.
WEB: http://www.facebook.com/portfoliothesound
PURCHASE: special offer – NAME YOUR PRICE

01. James Horses Chariot [06:08]
02. Sion [07:17]
03. Kim Novak (with strings) [04:09]
04. Beth Gibbons (silent panda | deadly panda remix) [07:20]

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MUDHONEY
Vanishing Point

Mudhoney are still very much alive. The notion they’re not (or won’t be soon) is being bandied about by the band’s diehards who think the mere title of their new album, Vanishing Point (Mudhoney‘s 9th album, the first in five years) portends their end: no more grunge carnage and beer-guzzling hijinks? No worries about it: Mark Arm and his long-time friends’ groove-led-Stooges-acid-pop (with added screaming, of course) is still here. And it rocks hard as usual. Vanishing Point is filled once again with dread, psychoanalysis and Nuggets-on-fire riffs: the sort of uninhibited rock music that is harder and harder to locate these days.
Well, Mudhoney makes it easy.

ARTIST: Mudhoney
TITLE: Vanishing Poin
LABEL: Stickman
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2013
TIME: 34:03 min.
WEB: http://mudhoneyonline.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Slipping Away [04:45]
02. I Like It Small [03:40]
03. What to Do with the Neutral [03:29]
04. Chardronnay [01:36]
05. The Final Course [04:19]
06. In This Rubber Tomb [03:33]
07. I Don’t Remember You [02:34]
08. The Only Son of the Widow Nain [02:44]
09. Sing This Song of Joy [03:32]
10. Douchebags On Parade [04:19]

PREVIEW: Mudhoney – I Like It Small

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IRON & WINE
Ghost On Ghost

Iron & Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost On Ghost, the 5th release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam. The album was produced by his longtime associate Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Califone, Fruit Bats) and follows 2011′s Kiss Each Other Clean. Ghost On Ghost deftly integrates a broad, transparent soundstage and a Swiss watchmaker’s precision with the whispery tenderness at its center. Helping them these songs to life is a studio band composed of topflight session players including the Dylan-certified rhythm section of drummer Brian Blade and bassist Tony Garnier, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus (Calexico), a horn section of downtown New York veterans and five string virtuosos. Ghost On Ghost insinuates itself into the listener’s consciousness like a film, one that demands to be watched over and over.

ARTIST: Iron & Wine
TITLE: Ghost On Ghost
LABEL: Nonesuch
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
TIME: 44:05 min.
WEB: http://www.ironandwine.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Caught in the Briars [03:12]
02. The Desert Babbler [03:27]
03. Joy [02:31]
04. Low Light Buddy of Mine [03:30]
05. Grace for Saints and Ramblers [03:36]
06. Grass Windows [02:53]
07. Singers and the Endless Song [03:39]
08. Sundown (back in the briars) [02:18]
09. Winter Prayers [03:12]
10. New Mexico’s No Breeze [04:28]
11. Lovers’ Revolution [05:40]
12. Baby Center Stage [05:39]

PREVIEW: Iron & Wine – Joy

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JOHN GRANT
Pale Green Ghosts

After a breakthrough year following his exceptional solo debut Queen of Denmark, John Grant hasn’t rested on his laurels but created a follow-up that underlines his uncanny and charismatic talents. Recorded in Iceland and featuring Sinead O’Connor on guest vocals, this brilliant Pale Green Ghosts adds sublime notes of dark, gleaming electronica to the anticipated velveteen ballads, calling on all of Grant’s influences and tastes, presenting an artist at the peak of his powers. Exclusively for RS readers, here’s a deluxe edition featuring a bunch of stunning remixes.

ARTIST: John Grant
TITLE: Pale Green Ghosts (deluxe edition)
LABEL: Bella Union / Partisan
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 1:40:47 min.
WEB: http://johngrantmusic.com/
PURCHASE: price – 11.90$

01. Pale Green Ghosts [06:04]
02. Black Belt [04:19]
03. GMF [05:14]
04. Vietnam [05:29]
05. It Doesn’t Matter to Him [06:27]
06. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? [06:12]
07. You Don’t Have To [05:54]
08. Sensitive New Age Guy [04:42]
09. Ernest Borgnine [04:54]
10. I Hate This Town [04:04]
11. Glacier [07:38]

01. Black Belt (hercules & love affair rmx) [07:48]
02. Black Belt (gluteus maximus vocal rmx) [08:24]
03. Pale Green Ghosts (nivolt rmx) [05:21]
04. Pale Green Ghosts (no ceremony rmx) [04:48]
05. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? (nivolt rmx) [05:49]
06. Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? (bon homme rmx) [07:40]

PREVIEW: John Grant – Black Belt

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COLD WAR KIDS
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Here’s the 4th album from the Long Beach-based indie rockers Cold War Kids. Marking the band’s first new material since the release of 2011′s Mine Is Yours, the album was recorded in their California studio with producer Lars Stalfors (The Mars Volta, Matt & Kim) and it’s the first release to feature former Modest Mouse member Dann Gallucci, who replaced on guitars Jonathan Russell earlier this year. Dear Miss Lonelyhearts maybe doesn’t reach back far enough to the band’s less polished, indie blues-fueled Robbers & Cowards days, but it manages to integrate that sound with hints of the striving-for-stadiums pop-rock Mine Is Yours offered up. In the end it’s a good combination of styles both old and new with synths meeting guitars, semi-dance tracks and undeniably catchy piano-drum combinations. Dear Miss Lonelyhearts marks a more self-aware band: Cold War Kids seem to know where they’ve been and are steadily figuring out where they’re going.

ARTIST: Cold War Kids
TITLE: Dear Miss Lonelyheart
LABEL: Downtown
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2013
TIME: 36:44 min.
WEB: http://www.coldwarkids.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

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RS VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #156
THE KNIFE – A Tooth for an Eye

ARTIST: The Knife
TITLE: A Tooth for an Eye
ALBUM: Shaking the Habitual
WEB: YouTube

directed by Roxy Farhat

THE NATIONAL
Trouble Will Find Me

Trouble Will Find Me is The National‘s highly anticipated 6th album. Formed in 1999, the Ohio-raised, Brooklyn-based band consists of vocalist Matt Berninger fronting two pairs of brothers: Aaron (guitar, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), and Scott (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Trouble Will Find Me is the most self-assured collection of songs produced by The National in its 14-year career: it is a tribute to fully evolved artistic vision and (somewhat less mystically), to sleep deprivation. Trouble Will Find Me is both dark and melancholic, uplifting and quietly euphoric: another masterpiece from The National.

ARTIST: The National
TITLE: Trouble Will Find Me
LABEL: 4AD
RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2013
TIME: 55:27 min.
WEB: http://www.americanmary.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. I Should Live in Salt [04:09]
02. Demons [03:33]
03. Don’t Swallow the Cap [04:47]
04. Fireproof [03:00]
05. Sea of Love [03:43]
06. Heavenfaced [04:25]
07. This Is the Last Time [04:45]
08. Graceless [04:37]
09. Slipped [04:26]
10. I Need My Girl [04:07]
11. Humilation [05:02]
12. Pink Rabbits [04:38]
13. Hard to Find [04:15]

PREVIEW: The National – Graceless

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ADULT.
The Way Things Fall

It’s been six years since the last full-length output from Detroit’s ADULT., who took a much needed and deserved hiatus, but nevertheless the husband-and-wife electronic team have returned. Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus survived several cycles of fashion, but their love of electro and kohl-eyed techno-pop is pure, unwavering and indefatigable. The Way Things Fall is filled with spiky electroclash, sparse disco-punk torch songs, pleasant enough in their own right, even if things get better when the going gets weirder: something like like an imaginary meeting of Siouxsie Sioux and Kraftwerk, or The B52s broken down and fed to Arpanet, ora again when Nicola stands her finest, most indolent/insolent vocal performances to a tough chassis of Aux88 style electro-tech.

ARTIST: ADULT.
TITLE: The Way Things Fall
LABEL: Ghostly International
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 44:13 min.
WEB: http://www.adultperiod.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

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VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Modern Vampires of the City

Modern Vampires of the City is Vampire Weekend‘s 3rd album, and it is a bustling world of voices and visions. Here Vampire Weekend sound like a band in complete control: the performance feels precise, the production is clean, and Ezra Koenig’s phrasing is as crisp and careful as the melodies. On repeat listens Modern Vampires of the City reveals itself as an agnostic’s attempt to puzzle out meaning in a world where conventions have fallen away or lost their magic. It’s melancholy, nostalgic for the certainty of youth or, rightly or wrongly, the past. And even as the band’s sound has evolved, the music remains immaculately crafted and distinctively its own.

ARTIST: Vampire Weekend
TITLE: Modern Vampires of the City
LABEL: XL Recordings
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 43:00 min.
WEB: http://www.vampireweekend.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Obvious Bicycle [04:11]
02. Unbelievers [03:23]
03. Step [04:12]
04. Diane Young [02:40]
05. Don’t Lie [03:33]
06. Hannah Hunt [03:58]
07. Everlasting Arms [03:03]
08. Finger Back [03:26]
09. Worship You [03:21]
10. Ya Hey [05:13]
11. Hudson [04:15]
12. Young Lion [01:45]

PREVIEW: Vampire Weekend – Diane Young

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BIBIO
Silver Wilkinson

Stephen Wilkinson seems to occupy his own universe. Using his home studio, the producer is able to craft warped, woozy nuggets of electronic pop music which seem to break rules you hadn’t even considered were capable of being broken. 2011′s full length Mind Bokeh was a fantastic return, and since then Bibio has been busy performing live and playing with his near infinite supply of gadgets. Now the producer is ready to return, with new album Silver Wilkinson: filled with eastern harmonies and highlife influenced guitar lines, this is a wonderful piece of oddball sunshine pop.

ARTIST: Bibio
TITLE: Silver Wilkinson
LABEL: Warp
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013
TIME: 48:59 min.
WEB: http://warp.net/records/bibio
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. The First Daffodils [02:57]
02. Dye the Water Green [05:26]
03. Wulf [02:10]
04. Mirroring All [05:39]
05. À Tout à l’Heure [04:10]
06. Sycamore Silhouetting [03:17]
07. You [05:29]
08. Raincoat [04:09]
09. Look at Orion! [07:38]
10. Business Park [05:00]
11. You Won’t Remember… [03:04]

PREVIEW: Bibio – The First Daffodils

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