Cate le Bon Joins Bradford Cox for Myths Series EP

I’ll admit, sometimes I’m a bit skeptical of the Mexican Summer Myths Series. They’ve brought together some brilliant artists, though I tend always adore 1/2 the union, and not the other…but not this time. This time its Cate le Bon and Bradford Cox. Really, this feels like a Cate tune with an outro from Bradford, if you’re going with the vocal performance alone. Still, don’t you want to fall in love with music? Cate’s voice has this crystalline quality, floating carefully; there’s this build in tension during the chorus that’s built around this perfect melody…particularly that woodwind instrument lurking (is it an oboe or a clarinet!?). Bradford closes it out with a nice spoken word as the song fades to black. It’s brilliant, as you can tell. Myths 004 will be out on November 1st.

Marfa Myths Announces Lineup Additions, Shares Schedule

It’s getting to be spring festival season, and with warmer temperatures and longer days on the horizon, one of the leaders of the pack in terms of quirky, yet cool lineups is none other than Marfa Myths. This year’s fest will be taking place April 25-28, and while they’ve already shared a slew of great bands well worthy of the trip out to nowhere, Texas, they’ve given you yet another list of reasons to get the heck outta town for a weekend at the end of April. In addition to giants like Deerhunter, Khruangbin, Cass McCombs, Tim Hecker, Jess Williamson(amongst many more), they’ve also added Jerry Paper, Makaya McCraven,Josey Rebelle,Jess Sah Bi and Pete One to the bill. Head over to their website to scoop your tickets, plan your schedules and start making arrangements to get out to Marfa, Texas come end of April. It’s bound to be a culturally rich and weird festival that will make you hate going to other festivals…did we mention the art exhibitions that will also be there?

 

Listen to New Deerhunter

It’s interesting listening to this new track from Deerhunter, especially if you’re aware of Bradford hanging out with Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley last year in Marfa. That’s only important if you listen to either of those artists, as it feels like their spirit has seeped into Bradford’s songwriting. Regardless, the song’s wonderful, stretching the harmonies with these grand string arrangements behind the band. The more I listen, the more I become immersed in little moments like the group vocals behind Cox during the chorus; it’s intoxicating in the best way. Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared will be available on January 18th via 4AD.

Always Down for New Deerhunter

Bradford Cox and Deerhunter are never far from my mind; I feel like Cox has crafted some of my favorite tracks over the last decade or so. Now we’ve got news of a brand new LP, one that gets production credit from Cate Le Bon; I feel like her influence can be heard almost immediately, riding through the background of the track. I love how the song swells to a bold punch around the 1 minute mark, creating this sly punch. That power gets emphatic as the song draws near a close, so it’s hard to turn a blind eye to Cox at his songwriting best. Look for Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared via 4AD this January.

Brand New Old Music from Dayflower

dayflowerOne of our favorite discoveries this year has been Dayflower, and they just sent us a note that they had unleashed a brand new song recorded a bit ago…just now seeing the light of day. This one is heavy on the samples, but the washing of guitars for texture is what grabbed me. I love the way it allows the vocals to sort of playfully move in and out of the song; it sort of reminds me of a more electronic take on what Deerhunter‘s been doing…or maybe even Radio Dept. Regardless, this project always brings us great hits, and here’s yet another one.

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Omni – Deluxe

omniRating: ★★★★½

Rock n’ roll has a tendency to get stale, and the current landscape has seemed as such, by and large, until I came into this Omni album, Deluxe. Sure, there are nods here and there, but for me, the band have managed to reimagine the world of punk (pop, proto, etc) and capture it at its fascinating best.

The one-two punch of “Afterlife” and “Wednesday Wedding” set the tone for what’s an exciting listen from start to finish. Deluxeopens with a propulsive bounce, discordant guitars ringing in your ears and changing speeds via “Afterlife.” But, in “Wednesday Wedding” the group displays what’s made them wholly fascinating; this track seemingly works against itself, with stabbing chords and bobbing bass hitting in contrast to the cooled vocal punch. If you listen to the song’s chorus and aren’t in love, even though it’s brief, you’re not doing it right.

Really though, Omni have left you with what is actually a 1-2…10 punch. There’s not a bad song here, and every listener will likely find their own favorite. I mean “Wire” has this danceable stab that separates the dreamy state of the track. “Eyes on the Floor” could easily have been penned by the band’s many Aussie label mates such as Dick Diver, filled with these great guitar lines. Lately, I’ve been gravitating towards “Jungle Jenny,” which definitely seems to wear the touches of Frankie Broyles (who was once upon a time in Deerhunter). Those are just some of the standouts and benchmarks from my voice.

But, that being said, I don’t thing anyone that looks for a reason to hate something will find that within the confines of Deluxe. It excels in creativity, but is also fortunate in that there’s some brevity to the album, so you’re not worn out by anything. Each song turns and turns, leaving you flustered, yet immersed in the art the group brings to the table. Start to finish, you’re going to need to listen to this record; you’re going to want to listen to this record…and in a world of singles, that says a whole lot more than I can.

It’s available now via Trouble in Mind Records.

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You Should Listen to Robert Sotelo Group

robertI won’t go on and on about this act, as I know little, but in my goal to find some new things that aren’t getting coverage all over the place, I came into this new single from Robert Sotelo Group. It’s a strange amalgam of all things hip and cool right now; it has a vocal delivery akin to Kurt Vile, yet the careful approach to pop craftsmanship like a Deerhunter. I will admit that it almost seems unfinished, but in that aspect, it only encourages you to go back and listen to more. Not too much more info on the group other than they hail for London…this should be the city’s next big thing.

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FFF8 In Pictures – Saturday Edition

BleachedSaturday featured legends and legendary performances, though usually not at the same time. Johnny Jewel gets best performance of the day with double duty killer jams from Chromatics and a manic dance party with Glass Candy. MIA eludes me. I just don’t get it, but okay, the kids like to here abbreviated beats up and down. Ice-T let Bushwick Bill freestyle. Deerhunter had the most epic sound check ever, reconstructing “Marquee Moon” to test the levels.

This giant photo post features Frank Smith (kinda), Ola Podrida, Bleached, The Impossibles, White Lung, Chromatics, Geographer, Glass Candy, Television, Tycho, Deerhunter, MIA, Ice-T and The Descendants. Click through…

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