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 rhythms, strained vocals, angst-filled lyrics and an abundance of memorable song hooks."
Another great release is the sophomore full-length from Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Mac DeMarco, "his finest effort yet of psych-tinged slacker-pop with a hazy, off-kilter sound featuring gently chiming guitars, loping rhythms, casual, cigarette-stained crooning, dreamy melodies and reflective lyrics of youthful indulgence."
The latest from DC duo Thievery Corporation "finds them switching things up by using a more live, acoustic-oriented sound and focusing squarely on smooth bossa nova with warm guest vocals and wistful melodies." Jason Narducy, bassist for Superchunk and Bob Mould's band, steps to the center with his new project Split Single, also featuring Britt Daniel of Spoon and drummer extraordinaire Jon Wurster. The third album from Massachusetts artist White Hinterland (aka Casey Dienel) "injects some prominent R&B influences into her dramatic art-pop." Remixer RAC comes out with a debut album featuring collaborations with Tegan & Sara, Tokyo Police Club, YACHT, and Penguin Prison.
And no, it's not an April Fool's joke: there really is a new album out from the band Fartbarf.
Architecture in Helsinki - "I Might Survive" from NOW + 4EVA on Casual Workout
Ausmuteants - "Tinnitus" from Ausmuteants on Aarght / Goner Records
The Bamboos - "Avenger" from Fever in the Road on Nettwerk
Band of Skulls - "Asleep at the Wheel" from Himalayan on Shangri-La Music
Boozoo Bajou - "Der Kran" from 4 on Apollo
S. Carey - "Crown the Pines" from Range of Light on Jagjaguwar
Cloud Nothings - "I'm Not Part of Me" from Here and Nowhere Else on Carpark / Mom + Pop
Coves - "Beatings" from Soft Friday on Nettwerk
Mac DeMarco - "Passing Out Pieces" from Salad Days on Captured Tracks
Mike Dillon - "All Walks Of Life" from Band of Outsiders on Royal Potato Family Records
Fartbarf - "Panopticon" from Dirty Power on Space Jumbles Music
HTRK - "Blue Sunshine" from Psychic 9-5 Club on Ghostly International
Inventions - "Entity" from Inventions on Temporary Residence
Jamaica - "Hello Again" from Ventura on Relativity
Kaiser Chiefs - "Coming Home" from Education, Education, Education & War on ATO
Jon Langford & Skull Orchard - "Mars" from Here Be Monsters on In De Goot Recordings / Relativity
Malachai - "I Deserve To No" from Beyond Ugly on Domino / Double Six
Manchester Orchestra - "Cope" from Cope on Loma Vista / Republic
Mica Levi - "Creation" from Under the Skin [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] on Milan Records
Mobb Deep - "Say Something" from The Infamous Mobb Deep on Infamous Records
Pattern Is Movement - "River" from Pattern Is Movement on Hometapes
Pilgrim - "Void Worship" from II: Void Worship on Metal Blade
Pure X - "Starlight" from Angel on Fat Possum
RAC - "Hard To Hold" (feat. Tegan and Sara) from Strangers on Interscope
Saintseneca - "Dark Arc" from Dark Arc on Anti
Small Black - "Lines of Latitude" (ft. Frankie Rose) from Real People on Jagjaguwar
Split Single - "Waiting For The Sun" from Fragmented World on Outside Records
Thievery Corporation - "Claridad" (feat. Natalia Clavier) from Saudade on Eighteenth Street / ESL Music
Timber Timbre - "Hot Dreams" from Hot Dreams on Arts & Crafts
White Hinterland - "Ring The Bell" from Baby on Dead Oceans Records
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…
A documentary about beloved singer/songwriter Elliott Smith is scheduled to make its world premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 5th. Director Nickolas Rossi describes the film as "an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith." Titled Heaven A…
KEXP faves First Aid Kit have announced the follow-up to their beloved release, 2012's The Lion's Roar. The Swedish folk sisters will release the full-length Stay Gold on June 10th via Columbia Records, produced by Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis. Sample the single "My Silver Lining" below. The gi…
At this pace, 2014 is well on its way to outdoing 2013 in new releases. The streak continues this week, topped by a terrific new album by Future Islands, which our Music Director, Don Yates, calls "a masterful set of impassioned, ‘80s-steeped electro-pop with glittering synths, streamlined guitars …
