lou barlow- goodnight unknown

Haven't had much time to peek in here as of late, never mind find new music and chill, what with trying to get my little music project off the ground(writing lyrics is proving to be a bit tougher than I expected, so everything's instrumental until I write something that's less skeptical), playing borderlands with my awesome brother and reading 12 chairs(Ilf/Petrov) and watching it's equally hilarious movie adaptation, and finishing up with my university applications. So I figure that I'm going to increase the frequency of my posts, since I'm not going to be posting much between April-June.



Arguably one of the fore-runners of the indie genre, we really know what to expect from Lou Barlow. More of the same lo-fi sound with dangling guitar tones yet also accentuated with subtle changes like a swirl effect in the title track. As usual, awesome song-writing and awesome lyrics. Perfect for both lo-fi newbie's and bonafide long-time fans.
here

Young Vaughn - The New School Cool

Having complained umpteen times about the predominance of hip-hop/rap on the Dubai airwaves, I had never realized their absence from the local scene up until a year or 2 ago. Diligent Thought first opened my eyes to the Dubai hip-hop scene and I was quite impressed, to say the least. The amount of talent in their music seemed to be on an international and professional level and I had never expected that from artists in Dubai. Some time later, I continue to be (pleasantly) surprised. Here's a fellow by the name of Young Vaughn, an extremely talented and eclectic individual with incredible ideas and musical influences, all of which is evident in his music. With a style that reminded me of Lupe Fiasco's at first, it becomes increasingly obvious as the record progresses that YV has an remarkably individual and unique style. The lyrics seem to flow seamlessly and the beats are borderline surreal sometimes ("Sunset", off the top of my head). Here's The New School Cool (the first YV project I've listened to so it seems only right I start y'all off with it as well).

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julie doiron-i can wonder what you did with your day

Found this on some blog some time ago, and to be honest, this is one album I am glad that I found.

So this Julie Doiron is some Canadian singer-songwriter that used to play bass in Eric's Trip, and is now pursuing a more-or-less successful solo career. After going through this album a few times, it looks like this experience has done Julie nothing apart from a world of good. Acoustic guitar laden over raw, over-driven electric guitar, or is it the other round? Either way, putthat damn Sufjan Stevens record down and give this a listen.

shiiiiiitttttt

Psychostasia - Adramelech

So I was craving some old-school death metal that focused more on creating fantastic riffage than shit-hot production and I came across Adramelech. I hadn't listened to these guys in a while and after listening to Psychostasia again I can't for the life of me figure out why. Psychostasia was released in 1996 and is fucking METAL. It doesn't get better than that. Oh and the riffs are bloody fantastic.

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Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde - Alcest

Shoegaze and black metal would usually be considered to be on completely different pages but not so for Neige of Alcest. Neige (of Peste Noire and Amesoeurs fame) formed Alcest back in 1999 but originally as a solo project. When fellow Peste Noire member Hegnor and Arguth joined him, the band released a more or less straightforward black metal demo entitled Tristesse Hivernale which was very different from what followed. In 2007, Alcest released the beautiful Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde, an album that's simply ethereal. Fusing black metal riffs (albeit a few) with dreamy shoegaze melodies and acoustic guitars all topped off with an even dreamier voice, Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde is definitely an unforgettable album. The lyrics are a bonus if you're fluent in French.

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Beautiful Minds - Killah Priest & Chief Kamachi

Lyrical heavyweights Killah Priest, a longtime Wu-Tang affiliate, and Chief Kamachi of Army Of The Pharaohs collaborate on Beautiful Minds, a record which demonstrates a remarkable synergy between the two all the while exhibiting their individual lyrical and poetic prowess. Having copped this album back in 2008, I still find the time to listen to this every time I'm in the mood for no-nonsense rap and it's never boring. If you're a fan of lyricism coupled with strong production and beats, then this one is definitely for you.

Rapidshare (yes, yes...I know. Mediafire isn't working for me at the moment and I could only find a rapidshit link)

The Limits of Control

Jim Jarmusch has a new film, "The Limits of Control", which features an incredible soundtrack which consists of the likes of Boris, Sunn O))), Earth and LCD Soundsystem. Now if you're one of those people who love that sweet confluence of music and film then you'll love this. I haven't found a download of the OST yet but once I do, I will post it here. Watch this space.

Tracklisting:

Boris - "Feedbacker I & IV" (from Feedbacker, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -"Fuzzy Reactor" (from Rainbow, on Disk Union Records)
Schubert - "Adagio - String Quintent In C D.956"
Boris - " " aka Smile (from the Japanese version of Smile, on Disk Union Records)
sunn 0)))/Boris - "N.L.T." (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Bill Doggett - "Moon Dust"
LCD Soundsystem - "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House"
Boris -"Farewell" (From Pink, on Southern Lord)
Manuel El Sevillan0 - "Por Compasión: Malagueñas" (a traditional Flamenco)
Black Angels - "You On The Run"
La Macarena - "Saeta" (an Alan Lomax recording)
sunn 0)))/Boris - "Blood Swamp" (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Talegon De Cordoba, La Truco and Jorge Rodriguez Padilla - "El Que Tenga Por Grande" (traditional)
Earth - Omens and Portents 1: The Driver (from The Bees Made Honey In The Lions' Skull, on Southern Lord)
Carmen Linares - "El Que Tenga Por Grande" (traditional)


Edit: Download

Roseland NYC Live - Portishead

The concept of a live album is a risky one as it is usually a hit or miss and unless it is released with bonus DVD footage that happens to be remarkable, the album itself will be a forgotten release as is evident when considering the plethora of live albums released by countless bands.

The only two bands whose truly fantastic live albums/shows I would have sold my soul to have witnessed are Neurosis and Pink Floyd who also happen to be 2 of my favourite bands of all time so it came as quite a surprise when I found myself yearning to be in the audience of a live NYC performance of Portishead's, a band I started properly listening to less than a year ago. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Portishead have created the perfect live dynamic for their music which, dark and ominous as it is, gives one a feeling of true elation (quite surprisingly).

This record features fantastic and definitive versions of songs (such as "Sour Times") and it would be criminal of you to miss it.

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sage francis- human the death dance

Oh man, I've been on a hip-hop kick these past two weeks. Loads of new artists discovered, lots of new music to appreciate. One of which, incidentally, is Sage Francis' "Human The Death Dance".

"Noted for his intense flow and sharp wit, Francis has won acclaim both as a freestyle battler and as an unapologetically intellectual lyricist. Francis uses a broad emotional palette to address a wide range of personal, cultural, and political issues."

Something different for the seasoned hip-hop elitist and something interesting for the casual listener with a fresh perspective.

here

And so,

don't you find that this blog is getting a little boring? All albums, no reviews, no tiny, useless tidbits of information, no insight to whatever subject, just records. Really boring. I find that music bloggers tend to range from those that write immense reviews(which IMO, make the process of finding new music via such blogs less tedious), like huevos or cephalochromoscope, to the ones that just post music for the sake of spreading music. Obviously, I prefer the former over the latter. So I'm going to make an effort to write longer reviews, post the odd video here and there, and make this blog less dull.

Deerhunter

I only just got around to checking this band out and only, in all honesty, because they share their moniker with one of my favourite films of all time. Deerhunter are an ambient/experimental/shoegaze/indie act from Atlanta and they are good. Microcastles features some really beautiful songs and you'll be glad you checked these guys out. Have fun.

Mediafire

neurosis-the word as law

No introduction needed. This record is from waaaay back when Neurosis was but a bunch of kids playing hardcore. So radically different to the rest of their material, yet still so awesome.

here

electric horsemen- ep

Just a quick post before I go finish up studying for my particle physics exam.

Some excellent sludge here, constant circulation on my ipod.
Vocals vary from being very Baroness-like to straight-up growls. Very, very nice and again, very much worth your time.




here

gogol bordello

Last.fm:
"Combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brechtian cabaret, Gogol Bordello tells the story of New York’s immigrant diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes."

Gypsy punk, eh?

damd-burning cold

Damad (1992-2001) is a southern down-tuned crust-metal crossover band from the USA (Savannah, Georgia). Headed by female vocalist Victoria Scalisi, this outfit was easily one of the most talented and listenable underground punk/metal bands of the late 90s and early century. In 2001 ex-members of Damad formed Kylesa & Karst







get it here

maserati-passages

Greetings once again, ladies and lads, I present to you a very recent discovery of mine, the music of maserati. Post-rock with a dash of psych-rock and math-rock and prog.
.......

mogwai-young team

call it what you want. call it music for hipster-fags, call it frilly, flowery post-rock(i've actually heard that term being used before), but i like it and this is my blog soooooooo suck it

Darklands

I can't for the life of me figure out why I haven't made a post concerning The Jesus And Mary Chain till now. Probably one of my favourite bands in the whole indie/alternative/post-punk scene (which isn't really saying much considering I know like...5), TJMAC are not often heard of when one mentions bands of that specific time period by other than real indie music fans. The album we have here is Darklands which is a great album yet never achieved the status or praise that is usually accorded to Psychocandy. That's enough introduction from me at this point so here's the link. Enjoy.

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nujabes-metaphorical music

Okay, I'll be completely frank with you, this is the reason why I listen to music.Some japanese dude mixing up beats accompanied by jazz-fusion/indie/shoegaze sections. This is so worth your time.



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Genghis Tron

Another post from me because I'm in the mood. I was going through my collection today and re-discovered this little band that I had started listening to around 3 years ago when they were playing in school-yards and what not. They totally blew my mind back then and they are still going strong even today, amongst hordes of imitations. Here is their discography as well as a little gem called "Cape of Hate" which consists of remixes of the tracks on the "Cloak of Love EP". Enjoy.

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Infester

Infester are a death/black metal band from Seattle who formed in '92 and got around to releasing a demo and one full-length in '94 before never being heard from again. They have managed to create a truly sadistic and horrifying sound on their album, incorporating elements from death metal, black metal, grindcore and even doom. The aspect of their music that is most likely to catch your attention is definitely the vocals which sound completely guttural and tortured most of the time. Century Media still carries this release so be sure to get it.

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I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One

Now, I'm quite aware that I might be entering hipster territory with this here post but I just couldn't help myself. Yo La Tengo are a talented bunch from Hoboken, NJ who make music that truly gives me a fuzzy feeling. I've listened to this album countless times and it has had something special in store for me every single time. Check them out if you're a fan of Pavement and/or Sonic Youth.

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hangman's chair-(a lament for...the addicts)

Stumbled upon this on my ipod today, coming back from school. Fantastic french stoner rock, but not strictly stoner rock. More like downtuned, overdriven and finally sludgey, for lack of a better word, stoner rock. dl

Animals As Leaders

Here's a gem. Featuring the guitar virtuosity of a fellow by the name of Tobin Abasi (from Born Of Osiris), this is one of the most original albums that I have listened to this year, if not in the past couple of years. It's difficult to classify the music but I would definitely call it progressive, as well as "djent" (the style first popularized by Meshuggah, now by Bulb/Periphery). Do check this out.

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captain cleanoff-symphonies of slackness

properly made australian grindcore with a dash of humor

Henry's Dress

Noise/indie from San Francisco. Alternating male/female vocals and very lo-fi.

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Chapter Ahead Being Fake

This is a Boris/Torche split. As soon as I heard of this, I HAD to have it. The funny thing about the split is that Boris and Torche seem to have swapped their roles musically. To elucidate, Boris play a more "accessible" form of their music (even moreso than Heavy Rocks or Pink) and Torche play some of the heaviest sludge stuff I have ever heard from them. All in all, it's a pretty decent split so check it out. The physical copy is some kind of collector's item so you can imagine how difficult it will be to obtain. With that said, if anyone reading has it, CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY!

Tracklist:

1- Luna (Boris)

2-King Beef (Torche)

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ceremony-still nothing moves you

Furious hardcore with loads of fast catchy parts and breakdowns. A+
link

Cocteau Twins

Dream-pop/shoegaze from Scotland.

Last.fm
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Fistula

Someone pass the bowl.
http://www.mediafire.com/?l23monjymzz

Beirut

Pretty famous (albeit not as famous as some of us would like) one-man indie/folk project. One of my favourite artists of all time.

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Buck 65-Secret House Against The World

Hmm. Canadian hip-hop with country, blues and indie overtones. This has been on my hdd for quite along time now and I never really got around to listening to it properly, until a few weeks ago, and to be completely honest, I really, really like this particular genre-mix. Very much worth any music fan's time...

Egg Hunt

Punk/post-punk from 2 former members of Minor Threat. 1986.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nzzzmnzyjki

piglet

Math rock, but not overly complicated math rock. digging it right now

Sons Of Otis- Templeball

Fuzz-drenched stoner rock. Band to do bong rips to. Blaze it up

Countdown To Ecstasy

Just for the sake of making a Steely Dan post. This shit is divine

hardcore double post

A little something for all of you since I'm running late for school.
When Forever Comes Crashing Down- Converge
End Of Irony- Palatka

scholastic deth-killed by school

Straight-edge thrashcore/powerviolence/whatever you want to call it from the San Fransisco bay area. They had a sound which differed from many of their peers, which seemed to take a lot of qualities from old-school hardcore, creating fast, fun and positive music with a message. This message dealt with everything from skateboarding, the love of coffee and life as a nerd, to the lack of substance and political awareness in hardcore today.

link

M83-Saturdays=Youth

This album has been in my library for at least a year so I'm pretty surprised at myself for not putting this up earlier. Albeit little more "pop"-ish than M83's previous records, this still has copious amounts of dreamy shoegaze influences to sleep to or listen to on a flight.

OB4CL2-Raekwon

Raekwon is definitely one of my favourite Wu members and this album is testament to that. With killer rhymes over killer beats with even more killer guest appearances (RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killa, Inspectah Deck, Jadakiss and more), this album guarantees more than 2 listens if you're a hardcore rap fan like myself.

Astra-The Weirding

you probably already have this but here

Slam galore

This band is nothing new but hella fun to listen to, if you're into slam/brutal death metal. Czech it.



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DMST

Do Make Say Think. According to last.fm, this band got its name from the posters on the walls of some classroom, their first rehearsal room. To be completely honest with you, I've never listened to any post-rock quite as, erm, refreshing as this. Very interesting melodies on this here album, mainly due to the extensive use of jazzy drums, synthesizers and, very subtley, wind-instruments.

here

Burmese

Crazy, heavy, experimental, incendiary, high-speed, low-end noisegrindsludgedoom from San Francisco.

Dying Fetus

Where have I been, you might ask. I'm going to ignore that.

Here is Dying Fetus's latest album, Descend into Depravity. I think it's much better than War of Attrition, simply put. There's still a lot of that fantastic FETUS groove though. Enjoi.



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shai hulud-misanthropy pure

Having "discovered" this band(and indeed hardcore in general), I don't have that much to contribute to any complaints that kvlt hardcore fans might have pertaining to this band. So, without any further ado, link

Kick ass artwork

I've been waiting for this record ever since the slight let-down epitomised by Red Album surfaced. Still listening, will review later on. Now, git yerself some proggy sludge

ici

The Low End Theory?

Yup, classic hip-hop record from 90's rappers A Tribe Called Quest. At the time of their inception, ATCQ were considered unique within the hip-hop community, mainly for avoiding the gangsta rap popularized by fellow rappers. The lyrics often revolved around abstract yet transparent concepts such as consumerism. Also helped pioneer the jazz-rap movement.


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I come bearing apologies....

...yes, I know, we've been inactive for quite some time, so I've decided to make up by introducing a new series of posts which will probably drag on for only a few days (due to my anal hair-ripping experience with the math-rock week). So, you know all those essential records that you know of but haven't really listened to? Well, that's all I'm going to be posting for the next few days. Starting off is the legendary Neil Young's Harvest. Classic? yes indeedy

harvest

Hidey-ho!

Yes yes, I am aware that this blog hasn't been updated in a long time. All I can say is that I was in New York and obviously having the time of my life. To make up for things, here's some extra sweet news. Aussie crazies PORTAL are dropping a new album (entitled "Swarth") in October. Here are the links:

http://www.profoundlorerecords.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=709&Itemid=2

Edit: New song and it's fucking insane. http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/mp3/portal_larvae.mp3

The Hidden Hand...

Scott “Wino” Weinrich was faced with a hard choice in the Spring of 2002 after the untimely demise of Spirit Caravan after five years of hard work: go ahead and hang up his guns, or yet again find new blood and continue. Wino picked up the phone, and in the same breath told engineer Bruce Falkinburg about the end of Spirit Caravan and asked him if he would like to get together and jam a bit.

Bruce was stunned when he heard the message: it is not every day someone like Wino calls to see if you want to “jam.” Wino had seen Bruce play a bit while getting tones for earlier recordings, and the two had many conversations during long nights in the studio about Mesoamerican mythology, ancient tube amplifiers, and contemporary politics.

Copied from last.fm, just because I'm a lazy bastard.
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Crust essential

So, absolutely essential split from two legendary hardcore punk/crust bands. No library is complete without this one split. What's that? You say you've heard this brand of crust more often than balls smacking against your ass? I just provide the links, so bear with me.

side disclose

side totalitar

EDIT: Might be vice versa, now that I think of it.