REVIEW: ZAMMUTO - ZAMMUTO

Article for L.A. Music Blog

How is it possible to make experimental music look so easy? Well, maybe not easy, but sound collage act The Books‘ four studio recordings feature this atmospheric and strangely arousing style, utilizing loops and samples to the point of actually having emotionally-charged dexterity. It is music whether or not you think otherwise, and it has resulted in some of the most impressive and immersive “music” this reviewer has heard in my years listening to countless artists try and try again. While I may not get over the fact that the decade-old duo is no longer, I can find solace in knowing that one-half of The Books — handyman Nick Zammuto — has taken the necessary steps to form a new band and move on into deeper, even stranger directions...

Read more:
http://lamusicblog.com/2012/04/review/album-review-zammuto-zammuto-2/

REVIEW: DANIEL ROSSEN - SILENT HOUR / GOLDEN MILE EP

Article from LA Music Blog

We haven’t heard from Grizzly Bear since 2009′s Veckatimest, one of this reviewer’s top releases of that year and the album that pretty much catapulted the band into popularity thanks to some excellent singles and strong songwriting. The band has announced a new album for release later this year, but most assuredly, vocalist Daniel Rossen has felt the need to fill the three-year gap with some solo work...

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http://bit.ly/Hldr3I

REVIEW: SLEIGH BELLS - REIGN OF TERROR

Article from LA Music Blog

Upon listening to the first track off Reign of Terror, “True Shred Guitar,” you hear the sounds of a live crowd in anticipation of seeing Sleigh Bells come on stage (which they do) and begin to do what they’re always good at: being loud. Loud and cantankerous. Loud and cantankerous in the way you might expect from bands like AC/DC, and it’s these bands that “True Shred Guitar” and most of Reign of Terror take their heavy metal distortion cues from. Considering its swift lyrical progression and repetition, “True Shred Guitar” hardly sounds long enough to really be deemed a track, but it sets the atmosphere for the rest of the album...

Read more:
http://lamusicblog.com/2012/02/review/album-review-sleigh-bells-reign-of-terror/

REVIEW: CLOUD NOTHINGS - ATTACK ON MEMORY

There’s been a lot of ’90s revisiting lately, mostly because it’s been 20-some years since Nirvana’s Nevermind exploded onto the scene. But simply reminiscing while playing these “old” records isn’t enough for some artists, particularly those whose bands’ shelf lives rely on these influences to bring out their sounds. Take Cloud Nothings and their latest LP, Attack On Memory, for example. The title itself can allude to the band’s ability to bring out these almost eerie, ghost-like memories of sounds from bands that struck the early-to-mid-90s alternative era with fervent aggression.

REVIEW: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS 30TH ANNIVERSARY @ ROYCE HALL

Here is my review of the awesomeness that They Might Be Giants pulled off at UCLA's Royce Hall on Jan. 28th. Photos are by me as well.

Read more:
http://lamusicblog.com/2012/01/review/they-might-be-giants-30th-anniversary-royce-hall/

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS 30TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW PREVIEW!

Here's a short preview of the 30th anniversary show that I will also be reviewing at UCLA's Royce Hall this Saturday, January 28th. For those of you not in on They Might Be Giants (when you've obviously had thirty years to do so), then this article will give you some insight.

Read more: http://lamusicblog.com/2012/01/news/they-might-be-giants-30th-anniversary-show-preview/

MYFM PRESENTS FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS @ THE ROXY

Los Angeles-based neo-soul group just kicked off 2012 in the best way possible by playing at The Roxy here on Sunset Blvd. last week. You can check out my concert review for LA Music Blog by clicking the link below. Photos by Melissa Karlin, unless otherwise noted.

Read here: http://lamusicblog.com/2012/01/review/private-show-for-fitz-and-the-tantrums-the-roxy/

LISTEN TO ZAMMUTO'S LATEST EP RIGHT NOW

Nick Zammuto of sound collage band The Books is prepping for his full-length LP later this year by releasing a three-track EP. Are you ready for some kind of awesome?

Read more:
http://lamusicblog.com/2012/01/news/listen-to-nick-zammutos-latest-ep-right-now/

PREVIEW: The first 2 hours of The Flaming Lips 6-hour song

So The Flaming Lips have been very active lately with collaborations with artists Neon Indian and Lightning Bolt, as well as delivering these songs in ways that are rather unorthodox (a USB drive contained in a gummy skull?). Their latest endeavor has been to create a six-hour song titled "I Found a Star On The Ground" featuring John Lennon and, for a price, you could have paid to have your name mentioned somewhere in those six hours. Today, we now have a two hour preview of the song via SoundCloud for our entertainment. See how long you can last!

The Flaming Lips - Found a Star on the Ground [Part One of Three]

REVIEW: Passed Up - 5 EP

Genre: Hip Hop
Origin: Las Vegas, Nevada

You almost have to take today's generation of hip hop with a grain of salt. Don't get me wrong, it's usually still good to listen to, but it's such an infiltrated and widespread genre at this point that it's pretty difficult to find outstanding artists that break from the mold. What's the mold, exactly? Well, the idea of hip hop now being as popular as it is, popularity seems to be the name of the game. As long as it follows successful formulas and not really adding anything else to the table, then you've got yourself a hip hop record. Again, it's successful because it features the stylings of a potentially great tune, but sometimes the void isn't really filled.

For instance, upon listening to "New Shh" on Passed Up's debut EP, I am instantly reminded of "Wait (The Whisper Song)" from The Ying Yang Twins. Not the most original hip hop song in the world, but perhaps it's within the title's telling statement "New Shh" as another way to tell you what's in, or perhaps it's reason to believe a new hip-hop duo is trying to one-up their superiors with an additional outtake that doesn't have its own voice. Though "New Shh" talks about something drastically cleaner and ups the vocals a few decibels from whispers (which I suppose doesn't "say" much), the overall construction - from the smooth tempo featuring a thumping house beat, high hat and vocal content - is eerily similar. As the kick off track to a debut EP, this can either raise eyebrows or shake heads. You decide.

But one might reconsider the Vegas natives' objectives in order to see through to their production. The Ying Yang Twins had a dancey tune that was immensely popular and grew into a radio hit, and that feeling of riding the popularity train is found throughout the duo's 5 EP. It doesn't necessarily have the slickness of a highly popular single, but just the way songs are formulated like "3 Minutes," "I Heart Nerds" and "Watch Me (Ima Do It)" give you a sense of urgency, as if these are NOW hits, where you should listen to them NOW because they are a sign of the NOW times. These songs are perfectly capable of attracting listeners into a club playing Top 40 where as long as you can dance to it it's acceptable, but for it to stand on its own through earbud headphones can be somewhat difficult.

To call them derivative would be taking it a little too far, but their showing of 5 does walk a fine line. Passed Up look to give you candy that tastes good but won't won't fulfill you, and if you're more interested in being at the party than being the one hosting it, then they have seven tracks that are dancey and catchy for the time being. Time being, mind you. The duo is probably capable of making music that can last beyond our years, but what's in is in, and they know it.

Passed Up - "New Shh"


Passed Up - "Catch Me In The Rain"


Passed Up's 5 EP is available on CD Baby, Amazon, and iTunes through the JaHMa record label.

REVIEW: Turn Off Your Television - Turn Off Your Television

Genre: Indie Rock/Pop/Folk
Origin: Malmö, Sweden

Turn Off Your Television is a Swedish band that becomes the distraction rather than the medium referenced in their name. Instead of allowing music to become the victim of "background" or resulting in someone responding with "I'd listen to it but not actively listen to it," this band demands your attention by bringing you out of the visual realm and into the auditorial world, solely because visuals are a distraction. While you can agree or disagree with this interpretation, it seems to me that few bands would go so far philosophically to bring attention to their craft that Turn Off Your Television becomes vibrantly fresh upon each listen. The only thing I would be distracted by is the music they play, and I'm pretty sure that's the point.

Am I distracted enough by their debut self-titled album? Each track certainly makes a good case for it, with relaxing guitar melodies, gentle vocals and solid song construction. It doesn't particularly have me wooing for its lack of deep lyricism or straight-to-the-heart emotional delivery, but its that kind of "at ease" sound that doesn't look to overpower you. Singer/guitarist Jon Rinneby offers a Sparklehorse-like vocal style that, just based on that description, gives you the idea that the album decidedly slows down the tempos so you can take in every lingering strum and pick. Basically, it doesn't aim to change or break ground, but you'll be more than welcome to obtain the sounds it produces.

It does take its gentle time to properly evoke Rinneby's vocal style and give us a dynamic sampling of said genres. "I Just Cleaned The Floor," "Never Rustling Symphony" and "Southern Lights of Home" play like rock records that go for harmonious pleasure the way artists Gus Black or Grandaddy do, while managing to showcase their instrumental talents. That idea doesn't change too much throughout the rest of the album, maintaining this linearity that listeners will undoubtedly appreciate, even if its a bit of the same, but maybe that's part of the distraction the band wants us to diverge into.

For its solid 42-minute runtime, Turn Off Your Television is pretty harmless rock/pop/folk, to say the least. The sweet melodies do the job of setting us up for the sounds once put forth by such similar outfits like Band of Horses or the aforementioned Grandaddy, but where those bands effortlessly construct anthems that the independent scene could more or less embrace for their raw power, Turn Off Your Television makes a less defining case. It soars to heights that are only as high as it wishes to maintain, but never peaking higher than that. The result can come off as tame fare that could have gone the extra distance to be different and doesn't, but it still maintains a linear sound that comes as being appreciative.

Turn Off Your Television - "I Just Cleaned The Floor"


Turn Off Your Television - "Never Rustling Symphony"


Turn Off Your Television is available digitally through the band's Bandcamp Website, Amazon and iTunes.

REVIEW: Fereshta - Global Citizen

Genre: Rock
Origin: Afghanistan; Los Angeles, CA

It's not very often that you hear about an artist whose roots spawn to war-torn Afghanistan. While Fereshta has been in the U.S. for quite some time now, there appears to be a sense of longing for the nation on Global Citizen, perhaps to go back to those roots and make sense of what it's like there versus here. This isn't reason to provide comparison or contradiction, but rather to bring a sense of unity to the table, that maybe she wishes to see through everyone and everything that we are all the same on the inside. Such is the case in her lyrics on this album - in the works for the last three years - which proves that she has the emotional drive to determine to herself that she must find meaning amidst the current chaos. Admirable, but does it help bring her out into the musical realm?

Fact of the matter is, her lyrics are pretty serious. I understand that she wants to be the "Global Citizen" and represent the people as a unity than a separate entity, but at times the message comes off as more politically charged than emotionally realized. I'm not suggesting that artists can't or shouldn't use such messages to drive their lyrics, but as suggestively straight-forward as they are found here, the creative or more natural expressive elements about them sort of take a sidestep in favor of telling you exactly how it is.

And while her lyrics provide underlying serious undertones, everything else about Global Citizen is rather generic. She makes continued references to the "Motherland" and the oppression of people on tracks such as "Untie My Hands" and "Human Frailty," but given that her vocals are subdued in the style of PJ Harvey or Heather Nova, the themes come off as more laid back and less empowering, as if to assume she has something to say about it, but not necessarily do something about it. Not to say that her performance flatlines, but there come points where her emotion comes misconstrued. The ultimate goal of her lyrics are now more restricted to a style that doesn't deem them the opportunity to shine.

Her supporting musicians, too, offer a range of rock that's all over the board without feeling different, sounding something similar to nightly performances at the House of Blues. These sounds are fine if the mood is appropriate, but they don't support Fereshta's lyrical position. She prides on "peace and love," but the title track or "Wonderlust" are these rockabilly numbers that only offer to provide reason to give Fereshta a proper single, as if the rest of the album was deemed too serious in tone. They give you the feeling that the heart was in the right place, but not nearly enough of it was there to sweep you away with it. The aforementioned track "Untie My Hands" is more of an exception to this case, which at least provides a better blend of different instruments and balanced levels of instrumental use.

The musical elements are on par at best, but Global Citizen is clearly marked by her lyrics. As mentioned above, they provide listeners with a sense of the singer's emotional toll based on rediscovering her roots, and at times they can deliver. Using her influenced delivery, however, she somewhat turns it into more of a laid back political message than a wholly creative and expressive experience, which I can imagine might keep some listeners held back looking for more good ole-fashioned rock. Considering her vocal style matched with her supporting musicians' consistent if predictable rock sensibility, her writing feels a little mismatched, but as a debut artist looking to find a voice of her own, I believe she has and will have the ability to pull it off in time.

Fereshta - "Motherland"


Fereshta - "Untie My Hands"


You can find the rest of Fereshta's Global Citizen through Amazon or iTunes.

REVIEW: The Weeknd - Thursday

Genre: R&B/Experimental
Origin: Toronto, Ontario

Earlier this year, Toronto-based Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, gave us a surprising Spring mixtape called House of Balloons - released digitally for free - that provided some heavy R&B with slick production and some pretty undeniable beats. With said elements and a hint of mystery surrounding the release, it may have possibly been some of the best indie R&B of the last year, resulting in word-of-mouth and underground success partially in thanks to the great endorsement from recording artist Drake. Now that we are more than half-way through the year and deep into Summer, The Weeknd has released his latest mixtape called Thursday (without question, released on Thursday, Aug. 18th). Does this new mixtape match the surprise that was House of Balloons?

Let's first take both mixtapes at face value. As stated in my review of House of Balloons, its album cover is decidedly black-and-white, almost as if to lyrically be so explicit that the beats became a hard-putting behemoth of sinful bliss. Thursday is quite the opposite, featuring some kind of color spectrum and three pictures with Polaroid-like quality, and like its brother before it, elements heard on Thursday are further reflected in this imagery. Jumping right into business with "Lonely Star," the beat and key is much brighter than anything found on House of Balloons, as if maybe The Weeknd were going to approach a newer, different direction. "Life of the Party," too, feels like it might be taking what The Weeknd had to offer up before and bring it into more color and light.

Admirable, of course, but as lighter as they are, the more we see the weight of this thing. Once you reach the epic 8-minute "Gone," you might realize something feels less urgent, less applicable, and less special.

It's just as arousing as its predecessor, but it's also less immediate. It still provides the same sleek production quality and Abel taking center stage with similar lyrical themes like overpowering sex and fighting his demons, which is fine, but the idea that this particular sound is more inviting and more accessible doesn't entirely match up. This isn't really a bad thing considering there are (very) good beats found on this thing, but given what Abel has to say and what is now musically in store, I'm more appreciative towards House of Balloons being unwelcoming and a harsher affair, where his marriage of hard-hitting lyrical content and darker beats felt not only appropriate but deeply complex.

Maybe I'm comparing them too much. Maybe there are those of you who have just found Thursday and want to stick solely to this mixtape for review. Well, quite frankly, the true merits of Thursday as its own record remains to be seen on a majority of the tracks. While the beats are good as I previously stated, they often meander into slow tunes that don't really go anywhere, to the point where they may present themselves to be great for having sex to but not for everyday hearing when you're MOST LIKELY going to be listening to it. Tracks like the aforementioned "Gone" and "Thursday" just seem directionless given the stellar quality of the production, and they're just a lot more grounded on slower energy than you'd find on its predecessor. There I go again with the comparison, but can't you tell which one you might want to listen to first?

I digress. The tracks here are still better than a majority of songs being played in today's community, especially two of them. The tracks "The Zone" featuring Drake offers a nice break from The Weeknd's vocal highs and "The Birds" (Parts 1&2) is rather reminiscent of something found on House of Balloons with it's darker aplomb, which gives the listener a better sensibility about where The Weeknd might be going. It's not that the other seven tracks found on here are any less that nature, because these two mixtapes really have been somewhat of an experiment that I'm more than willing to go along with, but at least these couple of tracks offer greater qualities that will make me want to come back to them more often than not.

So the mystery and surprise has somewhat faded now that The Weeknd are making a name for themselves, and that might've helped make House of Balloons a greater affair in comparison, but that hasn't stopped Abel from continuing his line of work. Even if Thursday ends up being more of the same in more ways than one, it just means we have more of The Weeknd to go around, and that isn't a bad thing whatsoever. The excellent couple of tracks and stream-lined flow are enough to warrant a download and, while I might come off as disliking the mixtape overall, it's still better than a great percentage of music floating around these days. After all, it may just be the next addition to Abel's experiment that we hope gives R&B a run for its money on the third mixtape (reportedly out this fall), and we'll be here to listen.

The Weeknd - "The Zone" feat. Drake


The Weeknd - "The Birds Part 2"


Thursday is self-released and is available for free over at their official website.

REVIEW: Viv and the Revival - And Then The World EP

Genre: Pop/Rock
Origin: Philadelphia, PA

Pop music artists are like landscape artists: the land is practically provided for them, but there are those that want to change things up by touching it with their unique sensibilities and then there are those that want to continue its current trend and keep things safe and quanit. Whether they feel they need to stand out from the crowd or become a different but identifiable entity of the genre, the artists that strive for the former don't have to provide such a temporal atmosphere where they rise and fall based on what is happening temporarily, as is the case for artists in the latter case. It's thankful to say that artists with those better pop sensibilities do exist, and fears can be put to rest by listening to this handful of potential from up-and-comers Viv and the Revival.

Yeah, the name "Revival" should already be your first clue. It's not so much a clever play-on-words with band leader Viv Peyrat, but it's also the intentional effort of the band to bring pop a much needed sense of lasting flavor. If the band's name wasn't just as obvious of its intention, Viv sings "I want to live forever...I'm just afraid to be forgotten," on the opener aptly titled, "Forever." But this shouldn't come off as anything to scour or scold. In fact, I would think credit is due to artists that don't beat around the bushes and rather provide a direct attack to their goal. It might be stereotypical that pop music uses such a method, but it's a trick that catches on rather quickly and works effectively, and Viv does a stand-up job. There's no denying that he has a sense of direction, too.

This six-track EP features really well-kept production values, as any considering and serious pop music should. It's not what you might call "squeaky-clean" as the band allows some rough corners with distorted guitars and tight instrumental interplay. Songs "Shook Up" and "Wonderful" provide such a gesture, with some good hooks and cranks that take Viv's vocals from standard fare to an energetic stage-like presence. Perhaps the best mixture of balance lies on "Tonight We Live As Kings," with a composition and arrangement that sidesteps away from convention and lets Viv really handle the perspective the band is thriving for. Sure, each of these songs can be considered radio-friendly, but this drives into interesting territory.

The EP does justice to the pop music genre by being the same and not being the same. It follows the landscaped formula that pop music lies on, but it does so in a way that sets Viv into a greater sense of where he wants to take it, instead of letting it take him. It's admirable, to say the least, to see artists go for the attack and be straight-forward in their direction and execution, which results in well-produced and finely knit tracks. Viv and the Revival have a solid EP on their hands with potential to hit the stride that I know they want to achieve, and it's hard to stop their force when they have the tenacity to keep on going.

Viv and the Revival - "Tonight We Live As Kings"


Viv and the Revival - "Wonderful"


You can check out Viv and the Revival and the And Then The World EP over at their official website, available via Red Goat Music.

REVIEW: Dale Turner - Mannerisms Magnified

Genre: Alternative/Multi-Instrumentalist
Origin: Los Angeles, CA

Here's an album that was released last year, yet I received it this year and it feels completely fresh. Not that music has drastically changed in a year's time, but it's hard to find artists like Dale Turner these days. Amidst the infiltration of overly layered beats and innocuous teen idol drudgery blocking true musicality comes the talented singer-songwriter Turner, a multi-instrumentalist in the vein of Jon Brion who seems to find the perfect marriage of musical arrangement and composition, creating this kind of leveled harmony that your ear drums gladly give you thanks. He's clearly got a good ear for what needs to be said and performed to achieve said marriage, and his true "solo" album, Mannerisms Magnified, showcases his talent and penmanship for creating alternative music.

In reading his biography, this album took four years to produce. That's got to be a lingering amount of time to get an album out for a debuting artist, but the results are very fine tuned. This is all done by Turner himself, which is mightily impressive when you hear every stem as if it were performed in-house by performing musicians. But nope, this is Turner's field, even going as far as to engineer the album to provide exactly what he wants. If that's not talent, then I don't know what is.

And the music itself? It begins with "Brian On The Brain," which appears as an homage to Brian Wilson-esque vocal harmonies, and then it rushes fully into "Bad Seed." We're at track two and I feel as if I've started listening to the late Jeff Buckley's Grace. It's not so much the way Turner softly but effectively vocalizes, but even the intricate, mellow guitar work that so hauntingly marked "Grace" and "Last Goodbye" are apparent here. This isn't a case of an artist simply imitating Buckley, but rather showcasing his passion for such an influence. Mind you, again, this was created stem by stem, all by Turner.

Things spread out across Mannerisms Magnified to the point where - even though you may think you know where it's going - you can't easily predict its direction. To put it simply, this really is just a great set of songs over 42 minutes. Turner provides a little of everything here like slower melodies "Hiding Place" and "Five Things" and upbeat tunes such as "Morality Rule" and "Exit Wound", but he still retains an alternative sensibility throughout, always leaving behind a trail of great 90's influences like Elliott Smith and early Radiohead. It's hard to find fault here, as hearing each track is like listening to an artist so hard at work, and the work so eloquently paying off.

Mannerisms Magnified may be the perfect title to such a record that's ambitious and yet feels so close to home - yet another feat from Mr. Turner's creative abilities. It's a surprising breath of fresh air that really brings a new voice forward through the heavily impacted world of music, and for good reason. This is a calm and collected batch of alternative music that doesn't really require much other than to admire and behold, and I believe Turner is going to head into new territories once this gets the exposure it deserves.

Dale Turner - "Bad Seed"


Dale Turner - "Morality Rule"


Mannerisms Magnified is now available through CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon via Intimate Audio.

PREMIERE: "Otis" feat. Otis Redding by Jay-Z & Kanye West

Today's rap icons are encapsulated in two individuals: Jay-Z and Kanye West. There's no doubt about it. I mean, really, have you heard The Black Album or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? With every new release of theirs, we're always prepared for something hard-hitting, controversial, down-right gritty, and/or grandiose. It was a only a matter of time before the two would figure some way to collaborate on a project.

Hence, Jay-Z and Kanye West are now appropriately known as The Throne, and their debut release is called Watch The Throne, dropping August 8th. As a way to promote the album, they've released the single "Otis" featuring a sample of Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness," and it's pretty impressive. It's good hearing their voices on the same record, especially if you've got the two rappers playing around in what comes off as a duel, each one given a verse here and there, and Otis Redding to boot. It's more in the style of something reminiscent to Kanye's The College Dropout, so if you're into that record (you know, "Old" Kanye), then you'll probably enjoy this.

We can only speculate how great Watch The Throne will be for about another week, but listen to "Otis" below and get your fill in the meantime. If you're liking it as much as we are, pre-order the album on iTunes here.

Otis feat. Otis Redding by watchthethrone

REVIEW: George Ellias - Self-Titled EP

Genre: Folk/Acoustic
Origin: Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles doesn't have too many folk acts coming around these days, but L.A. native George Ellias appears to want to be the exception. Why, you ask? It's hard to say. Folk can be troubled waters to tread since the wealth of that genre has always relied on underground sensibilities, retained to giving the average listener a second thought. It's not entirely something attainable in a city like Los Angeles where rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers and Silversun Pickups have a huge following.

But to George Ellias, folk is here to stay. It's understandable, too, that this notion Ellias charges at us with is very much the vision of an artist well-deep into his influences. That isn't to say he's purely imitating, but rather he is providing the music we once loved, a kind of nostalgia that seems to be recurring throughout current popular music such as 70's soul punchers Fitz and the Tantrums (an L.A. act, no less). Perhaps that is key to the possible success of his niche and, of course, timing. Timing is everything.

We get his first foray into the music world with his self-titled EP, which does a pretty good job of giving us a glimpse into certain possibilities of ol' folk. Reinvigorating the days of Bob Dylan with spot-on lyrical playfulness and guitar-picking intricacy, he's able to withstand that sound without being generic. Lyrically, he benefits from relying on messages that spark the same kind of interests of Dylan's followers and possibly even today's listeners. The song "Ghost Town" insinuates the lost lifestyles of old, which is perhaps a summation of what folk is all about in the first place. Kudos to that.

The rest of the EP steers its course in a similar vein, even if they play off as more of a showcase than a concept. We get the somber "A Farewell Song" and we get a lively "Stand Ashore," and we get these tracks as merely accepting Ellias' talents. If that is the thread that defines the EP, it can appear somewhat flat, but this reviewer is willing to find that his pros outweigh this small issue.

The EP mostly stays in tune for its seven tracks (six if you don't include the outtake of "Wonder Babe"), varying in terms of "quality." Songs like "Stand Ashore" and "Take My Advice" have a more "produced" approach, while songs like "Wonder Babe" and "A Farewell Song" are of lower fidelity. Either way, the use of reverb gives each song a very live, acoustic feel, and his track placement is finely interweaved as to not make the overall sound become counterbalanced.

Ellias gives a fine number of songs to link us to fonder days. As this is only his first EP, one can only imagine what his full-length will consist of, but this EP provides us with enough optimism. Each song brings us closer to classic folk, and whether or not that is Ellias' prerogative, he's managed to make us feel good about it.

Check out two tracks from the EP, and if you like what you hear, make sure to visit Amazon, iTunes, or George Ellias' Bandcamp webpage.





George Ellias' EP is available now from End & Co. Records.

VIDEO: Bjork - "Crystalline"

Bjork is known for her wild excess, but it's good to see her back with "Crystalline" from her new album Biophilia. The album is creating some kind of media-frenzy, as in it's appearing in other digital forms like an iPad application. As for the song? "Crystalline" is exciting and very - how should I say - now, and it's hard to deny how optimistic we are for when the album drops pretty much everywhere on September 26th.

We can also be thankful that she has once again collaborated with genius filmmaker Michel Gondry (The White Stripes' "Fell In Love With A Girl", Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) for the music video. He always seems to understand the visual style of her music down pat, and "Crystalline" is no different, featuring otherworldly themes using varying types of animation and in-camera effects.

Make sure to check out the video below and let us know what you think of it (cause we think it's pretty badass). Also check out Bjork's updated website for some HTML 5 fun.

PREMIERE: Radiohead's new 12'' remixes

Happy July everyone! On this start of the month, alternative masterminds Radiohead have streamed remixes of the two tracks "Little By Little" and "Lotus Flower" from their 2011 effort, The King of Limbs. The remixes feature Canadian recording artists Caribou and Jacques Greene, respectively. The two tracks are just the start of a series of intended 12'' releases of remixes from the album, available on the Ticker Tape record label. This particular release won't be made available until Monday, July 4th (or Tuesday, July 5th in the U.S. and Canada), but you can hear both tracks now thanks to Dead Air Space. Listen to them down below and tell us what you think!

NEWS: Arcade Fire's "Scenes From The Suburbs" is now available!

Arcade Fire is an indie band no more. The band broke the mold when last year's The Suburbs won the well-deserved Grammy for Album of the Year. With their newfound success, Merge Records is intending on rereleasing a one-year anniversary deluxe edition of The Suburbs on August 2nd with two additional tracks (one featuring David Byrne), an 80-page booklet and the Spike Jonze-directed short film, "Scenes From The Suburbs," inspired by the album.

For those of you like me who either loved the album and/or already own it, you must be pretty psyched, but you'd have to be a pretty major fan to dish out again for practically the same disc. The two tracks will most likely be available for download, and thankfully, MUBI.com has made the 28-minute "Scenes From The Suburbs" available to stream online. If you enjoy Spike Jonze and his off-beat cinematic style mesh together with the music and themes of The Suburbs, then you're in for a treat. Check out the Spike-Jonze directed music video of the song "The Suburbs" below, taken from the film, and the actual film here.