The sun is finally out in Seattle, and so are lots of great new albums for your springtime soundtrack. Avey Tare of Animal Collective has teamed up with former Dirty Projectors bassist Angel Deradoorian and former Ponytail drummer Jeremy Hyman for the project, Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes their debut as "an adventurous album of off-kilter, shape-shifting psych-pop with a murky, densely produced sound featuring buzzing guitars, funhouse keyboards, busy drums, strained, manipulated vocals and half-buried pop hooks."
Another debut out this week comes from London-born, Vienna-based producer/vocalist Sohn (a.k.a. Toph Taylor), whose new album, Tremors, is "an impressive set of brooding post-dubstep soul reminiscent at times of James Blake and Rhye, featuring a dark, atmospheric sound combining intricate electronic rhythms and analog synths with his soulful falsetto and lovelorn lyrics." And keep an eye out for the debut from Cincinnati trio Tweens, described as "a rip-roaring set of punkish, hook-filled garage-pop incorporating elements of ‘60s girl-group pop, surf and other styles with a scuzzy, lo-fi sound featuring fuzzy guitars, frenetic rhythms and Bridget Battle’s brash vocals and assertive lyrics."
Punk rock veterans OFF! are back on with their first new album in years. California producer Teebs (aka Mtendere Mandowa) is back with "a bewitching blend of hip hop and experimental electronic grooves with a warm, lush sound featuring gauzy textures, hypnotic rhythms and wistful melodies." Nashville band Denney & The Jets share a "fun set of rootsy, Stones-influenced rock with stinging guitars and steamy organ fleshing out Denny’s decadent songs of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll." And there's so much more for you to check out below:
Black Label Society - "My Dying Time" from Catacombs of the Black Vatican on eOne
Carlene Carter - "Little Black Train" from Carter Girl on Rounder Records
Chuck Inglish - "Legs" (feat. Chromeo) from Convertibles on Federal Prism / Sounds Like Fun
De Lux - "Make Space" from Voyage on Innovative Leisure
Denney and the Jets - "Mama's Got The Blues" (ft. Seth Murray of Natural Child) from Mexican Coke on Burger Records
Doug Gillard - "Ready For Death" from Parade On on Nine Mile Records
EMA - "Satellites" from The Future's Void on Matador Records
The Faint - "Help In the Head" from Doom Abuse on SQE
Ghetto Ghouls - "Peepshow" from Ghetto Ghouls on Monofonus Press
The Greyhounds - "What's On Your Mind" from Accumulator on Ardent Music
Highasakite - "Iran" from Silent Treatment on Inkind/Propeller
Holy Mountain - "LV-42666" from Ancient Astronauts on Chemikal Underground
Incan Abraham - "Concorde" from Tolerance on White Iris Records
King Dude - "Fear Is All You Know" from Fear on Not Just Religious Music
King of Prussia - "Actuary" from Zonian Girls… And the Echoes That Surround Us All on Minty Fresh
Liam Finn - "Snug As Fuck" from The Nihilist on Yep Roc / Universal Music
The Mary Onettes - "Silence Is A Gun" from Portico on Labrador Records
The Mighty Lemon Drops - "My Biggest Thrill (July 86)" from Uptight: The Early Recordings 1985-1986 on Cherry Red
OFF! - "Hypnotized" from Wasted Years on Vice Records
Patton Oswalt - "Adorable Racism" from Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time [CD/DVD] on Comedy Central Records
Paul Thomas Saunders - "Kawai Celeste" from Beautiful Desolation on Atlantic
Protomartyr - "Scum, Rise!" from Under Color of Official Right on Hardly Art
Ratking - "So Sick Stories" (feat. King Krule) from So It Goes on Hot Charity / HXC / XL
School of Language - "Dress Up" from Old Fears on Memphis Industries
Screaming Females - "Lights Out" from Live at the Hideout on Don Giovanni
SOHN - "Lessons" from Tremors on 4AD Records
Sweet Apple - "Wish You Could Stay (A Little Longer)" (feat. Mark Lanegan) from The Golden Age of Glitter on Teepee Records
SZA - "Childs Play" (feat. Chance The Rapper) from Z on Top Dawg Entertainment
Teebs - "Holiday" (feat. Jonti) from Estara on Brainfeeder
Thus Owls - "As Long As We Try A Little" from Turning Rocks on Secret City
Todd Terje - "Delorean Dynamite" from It's Album Time on Olsen Records
Young Boy - "Secret Place" from Other Summers on Saint Marie Records
Young & Sick - "Glass" from Young & Sick on Harvest
Your Friend - "Tame One" from Jekyll/Hyde EP on Domino
Highlights this week include the first new album in 16 years from veteran rockers, The Afghan Whigs. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes their latest, titled Do To the Best, as "a strong return-to-form of brooding, soul-inflected rock with atmospheric guitars and keyboards and occasional string…
Former Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band frontman Benjamin Verdoes came out to the KEXP studio to perform some of the new songs off his latest, 11-track solo project, The Evil Eye. From the unhinged, experimental undertones of Where The Messengers Meet to the structured melancholy of his new-found colla…
The legacy of Kurt Cobain was clearly on a lot of people's minds this weekend on the 20th anniversary of his death. At Saturday night's show at The Riviera in Chicago, St. Vincent paid her own tribute with a cover of Nirvana's "Lithium" -- watch below. [Stereogum]
2014 kicks off April with another great batch of new releases, including the fourth album from Cleveland trio, Cloud Nothings. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes the release as "a ferocious, consistently engaging set of anthemic punk-pop with raw, distorted guitars, relentless driving rhythm…
