This is fine.
Profligate is a new to me, but not some friends in the know. Josh from Missions and Nathan from Austin Town Hall sent word of this jam. Those are two heavyweights in the industry. I’m sold. This is sparse and cold, dark synth pop from space. “Hang Up” is the first single from the pre-orderable LP on Wharf Records called Too Numb to Know. I get some Xymox and Yello (not the Ferris hit) vibes, yet having bits of playfulness peaking through.
Bandcamp is again waiving their cut of proceeds to help out artists again today. Moreover, there are also a ton of special releases and deals from several labels, details here. ATH Records has a bandcamp store. I also picked up some stuff from Ghostly, Dais and Partisan. Good times. A recent ATH release to listen to below while browsing…
Post punk edition of Put You Ass In The Know:
If Interpol did a record of never heard before Joy division covers while being something completely not those two things, Ist Ist carries weight from the first note to the last. There is no let up, nor is there a single note out of place. Architect was released just a couple weeks ago and is very worthy of a front to back listen. That this track is song #6, kind of hints at how strong an LP it is.
I mean, you probably saw it on your feeds or your emails or your smoke signals, but enjoy. This band’s ability to blur punk into something unique is on display. Go get a t-shirt.
What’s a weekend? Is it Blursday yet? As we try to reopen, we must also try to be safe.
Cut Copy provides a beautiful slow jam to ease into whatever evening you think it is and remind you that “Love Is All We Share”.
“It was written a year ago about the anxieties of imagined future times, as technology becomes more all-consuming. But in light of recent events, the song took on an eerie significance. Now, with our immediate future uncertain and people the world over self-isolating, love more than ever, feels like one of the best things we can share. – Cut Copy”
Nathan sent this one over to me a few days ago as my recent listening habits have included a high proportion of darker synth stuff, even for me. Xymox, Joy Division and Lust for Youth have been on the turntable as recently as last night. I let this simmer, but had not given it an honest listen. While crushing spreadsheets yesterday, I had the headphones up a little higher than normal (HD660s on JDS Labs Atom, if anyone cares about such things and if you do, let me know and we’ll talk gear a bit) and this track popped up again with its layered percussion and synth textures that move forward methodically commanding attention. “Dissolve the Floor” landed squarely.
Houses of Heaven are Keven Tecon, Adam Beck, and Nick Ott. Surrounded by the backdrop of the bay area’s social inequities, they have put together their first LP Silent Places on Felte Records, digital now and vinyl 5/22.
It has been some time since we have heard from Andre Obin. Out of the Boston area, I’ve been a fan for some time and thankfully, he returned the back catalog to the streaming services after remastering a bit at the start of 2020. “Disconnect The Wires”, hopefully a preview of what’s to come on his work on Cleoparta Records, is a perfect slice of darkwave. The tone is set with snaps and a distorted synth bass-line that evolves with the track as it builds. Put on your best headphones and let it rip as there is a ton of space between the elements that are introduced independently in breaks until it all starts to collapse in on you with an abrupt yet graceful exit.
Urban Heat Island Effect is now just Urban Heat. Austin’s Jonathan Horstmann (BLXPLTN, V3CO) has a vocal that is goth-wave perfection while the modular synth tones from Kevin Naquin move tracks forward and the bassline from Pax holds all things down. They now have the track “That Gun In Your Hand” up on Spotify at their new band page and this performance video for the remaining quarantine days below. Check it out and let me know what you think. I dig.
Caught this in a bookface friend’s feed. Literally know nothing about the band, but liked the song with loving layers of synth and airy hazed vocal.
OK, I know some stuff. Discover Zone is JJ Wiehl. The record is due June 5th on Mansions and Millions. You can pre-order the record Remote Control here.
With all of the event cancellations, we know that the service industry and performers are being hit hard. Bandcamp is running a one day event.
To raise even more awareness around the pandemics impact on musicians everywhere, were waiving our revenue share on sales today (Friday, March 20th, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists pockets. – Ethan Diamond, Co-Founder & CEO
So, just go get records or download some high quality rips for your Zune.
