ALBUMS OF 2011 #45 - #41

#45 Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion - Shake The Shackles (MP3)

Brooklyn garage rock at its finest; ‘In Love With Oblivion’ comprises of crisp and courageous, and occasionally gallant post-punk from apparent veterans of the scene Crystal Stilts. The 2011 Slumberland release is afflicted with the dark and incommutable vocals, strange key changes and strikingly full melody. An instant classic of the era it evokes, summed up thematically in the black and white colouration of above album cover.

#44 Grimes / D’eon - Darkbloom Split 12” - Vanessa (MP3)

Grimes is Claire Boucher, a solo electronic artist known for her retro 80s sound, and less so, for her discography of donation only releases via Arbutus Records. This latest EP ‘Darkbloom’, a collaborative split LP with D’eon and his idiosyncratic skittering fusion of percussion and RnB tinged arrangements, is available, albeit digitally, for just £3.95 via Boomkat.

#43 DUDES - Narcissists Anonymous - TURF TALK (SWAG EDIT) (MP3)

Lo-fi recorded and funk-induced (in the sleazy Ariel Pink sense of the word) dance music with muffled vocals and scratchy vocal samples shifting in and out of focus. This is a limited edition cassette tape riddled with cheesy melodies and discordant electronica. DUDES hail from San Diego, and have their tape available on the GrizzlyRecords band camp page over here. The digital release is free.

#42 Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams - Coming Down (MP3)

Dum Dum Girls’ Only In Dreams is a far cry from their first effort, originally a parallel to the media crazes centring upon Vivian Girls and Best Coast in 2009. Two years on and with an album and EP under their belt, Dum Dum Girls present an incredibly well produced and matured effort of powerful girl group pop, a personal highlight of mine being the thunderous atrophy of six minute song ‘Coming Down’ - the others being a little more punchy in comparison. Buy here from Sub Pop.

#41 Young Prisms - Friends For Now - Breathless (MP3)

Young Prisms - overwhelming and pungent surf noise with a sunken, almost inaudible vocal buried deep in the mix; the results are expressionless and emotionless songs with a kind of instant appeal which is interesting in and of itself but bereft of any elements which command repeat listening. Noise and punk as an art form which I vividly remember catching at Digital Brighton alongside No Joy and Kanine label-mates Surfer Blood. Available to buy here. 

read the full list / read #40 - #36

[Resonance FM #25] Baklu, Gelatin Kids, Grimes, Elvis Depressedly, Lonesome Ghost, Evenings, Crystal Stilts

This week’s This Music Wins on Resonance FM goes out at 6.30pm (GMT), and features, amongst a sprinkling of top new songs from around the world, the demise of Coma Cinema’s Elvis Depressedly moniker, an increasing trend headed by Rawkblog, We Listen For You and now Turntable Kitchen of creating a monthly vinyl club, and lastly some excellent electronica from Baklu, Gelatin Kids and Grimes. Also the new song from Crystal Stilts’ forthcoming EP Radiant Door.

Listen to Resonance FM

DOWNLOAD: This Music Wins #25 (MP3)

1. Baklu - Dobre Myśli (MP3)
2. Gelatin Kids - #1 Downer Girl (MP3)
3. Grimes - Oblivion (MP3)
4. Elvis Depressedly - Crazier With You (MP3)
5. Lonesome Ghost - Seashell (Link)
6. Evenings - Babe (MP3)
7. Crystal Stilts - Dark Eyes (MP3)

Preview: Field Day, Victoria Park, London, 6th August 2011. (Tickets - Nearly SOLD OUT)

Download the This Music Wins Field Day Mix

Enthused so predictably by the childish wave of excitement which unfailingly accompanies the purchase of music festival tickets, I thought that time, now, the best time for me to vent my strong sense of anticipation for Field Day 2011 in to some sort of light contemplative prose. The form of this preview, therefore, is that of me attempting to provide some sort of useful insight into acts well-known and painfully misunderstood, in the hope that a music fan of some form might discover something new from my ten ‘picks’.

1. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Can’t Hear My Eyes (MP3)

Ariel Pink and his freakish live show is not the kind of thing you get to see every day - having been the first non-Animal Collective member to sign to their Paw Tracks label, the 33 year old has been recording lo-fi since his youth, spanning across an unknown number of home recorded albums. His most recent LP ‘Before Today’, featured Pitchfork Media’s ‘Song Of 2010’, the grimy-street funk of 70s style ‘Round And Round’, which along with the attached ‘Can’t Hear My Eyes’ might go some way to indicating what you can expect from Saturday’s Field Day set; or perhaps not.

2. Ducktails - Killin’ The Vibe (ft. Panda Bear) (MP3)

Ducktails is the solo project of Matthew Mondanile, guitarist of successful surf band Real Estate, who in a similarly prolific fashion to Ariel Pink, has been putting out a series of albums since 2008, tending towards the more relaxed and breezy side of lo-fi pop. Mondanile plays off the home-recording style with a clear pop sensibility and aptitude for authenticity in his sound. The song above featuring Panda Bear is a great start.

3. Echo Lake - Young Silence (MP3)

London’s Echo Lake have an EP on No Pain In Pop under their belts already, and have been championed in their circles since their emergence earlier this year for their trashy shoegaze and discordant, metallic sound. Their music is loud to the point of ambience, retaining the kind of relaxing states evoked by Slowdive in the 90s, but through a formula of instrumentation and tone which lies in total opposition. Feels strange to write it - but Echo Lake are an ambient shoegaze band by means of avant-garde lo-fi punk, if that’s not a contradiction.

4. SBTRKT - Pharoahs (MP3)

In somewhat of an emerging scene which is gathering increasing momentum with the likes of the UK’s Jamie Woon, Jamie XX and now SBTRKT (pronounced Subtract), 2011 saw the latter première their album via the Hype Machine and gather huge blog attention for song ‘Wildfire’. ‘Future Garage’ and ‘post-dubstep’ are also brands being tossed around, and there’s certainly some truth in such tagging. Expect Sampha to join on vocals and keys in the live show on Saturday.

5. Visions Of Trees - Sometimes It Kills (MP3)

Electronica act experimenting with gothic and dub stylings, following in the footsteps of Fever Ray, Zola Jesus and Grimes with their eery sample splices and vicarious sonic projections. Occasionally human sounds break through the mist into something vaguely audible as language, otherwise the tired and trance-like feminine slithers conceal themselves behind the murk of wistful synths. They succeed in so far as they purvey gothic electronica swept through psychedelia tinged and immersive trip-hop.

6. Anika - Officer Officer (MP3)

Awkward and melodically elusive singer-songwriter taken under the wing of and brought to prominence by Portishead’s most active member Geoff Barrow. His influence certainly shines through, though Anika herself and Beth Gibbons couldn’t be more contrasting - the delicate quivers of emotion which the latter portrays are quickly out-mystified by this youthful kraut-rock influenced performer, her erratic and oddly-resting lexis and lyricism providing a vacant mechanical mannerism both distinctive as it is intriguing. Lots of post-punk, kraut-rock and 80s dub influence.

7. Zola Jesus - Night (MP3)

Classically trained Russian/American singer Nika Roza Danilova forms Zola Jesus, an expansive gothic influenced noise act which reconciles its industrial fringes with its synth-pop core to create an album riddled with outspoken desperation, shuffling electronic percussion and haunting orchestration. Stridulum is a debut album grandiose and life-affirming through its brooding Eastern overtones and tectonic rhythm-shifts.

8. Darkstar - Gold (MP3)

Innovative label Hyperdub released electronic three-piece Darkstar’s debut album, ‘North’ nearing the end of 2010. Classically tied down to the ‘dubstep’ scene by their timely choice of 2-step beats and upbeat tempo, the once-duo have taken on a new member, presumably acquired as a furtherance of their love for garage, guitars and hip-hop beats. The absorbing of these elements, along with that resonant and heavily distorted tugging-at-the-heartstrings vocal shading, in to their music is something which has catalysed a precarious entry to Hyperdub’s fast-developing and innovative following. Moving in to 2011, Darkstar are fronting a movement which is increasingly becoming a key part of London’s electronic music culture.

9. Veronica Falls - Come On Over (MP3)

Veronica Falls rode in on the back of their sometimes fluttering, occasionally sinister guitar anthems in early 2010, and since then have put out a series of singles including the galloping ‘Beachy Head’, and the steady 60s pop inspired ‘Found Love In A Graveyard’. 2011 has seen them book a full European tour and release newest song ‘Come On Over’ from their upcoming debut album, due October 13th.

10. Wild Beasts - Albatross (MP3)

Possibly amongst the most established acts listed here, Wild Beasts have just released their third studio album ‘Smother’ and stunned, as ever, in their headline set at Glastonbury’s Park Stage last month. I’m as stunned as the rest of us as to why the Barclaycard Mercury Prize failed to short-list them for the 2011 prize - it will remain a mystery. Simply unmissable for any one in attendance at Field Day 2011.

The stage times for Field Day 2011 remain unannounced - will update as soon as these are in. Keep checking back or follow me on twitter to keep up to date. 

UPDATE: CLICK FOR FIELD DAY 2011 STAGE TIMES

Soulful ambient pop act Grimes will release her latest work this April 19th via Hippos In Tanks/Arbutus Records. She’s contributing five songs to the Dark Bloom EP, which will take split 12” (digital/vinyl) format, the four track B-side having been written and recorded by fellow Montreal inhabitant and similarly innovative electronic musician D’Eon. Both are rising stars in the Canadian electronic music scene, and both released full length LPs during 2010; Grimes releasing Geidi Primes for free via Arbutus in the early months of 2010, D’Eon dropping Palinopsia to an equally warm reception. The upcoming release, Dark Bloom, was conceptualised together, and recorded separately, with only Grimes’ track ‘Vanessa’ available thus far as free download.

Blending the delicate and guarded vocals of pre-Youth Novels Lykke Li with the emotive and haunting reverberant washes of the post-chill-wave dub movement, Grimes’ track Vanessa starts out with some slow paced piano-jabs and scattered percussion, layered delay and searing backing vocals, haunting like Germany’s How To Dress Well but underpinned by a driving beat, thumping dance bass and eclectic set of rhythmic Burial-esque soundscapes. According to her bio, the new release supposedly combines “the dark energy of her sophomore album, Halfaxa, with the shimmering dream pop of Geidi Primes.”

She’s already impressed at SXSW Festival 2011, and will be hitting up the Stag And Dagger Festival in London for hopefully similar results moving in to Summer time. In May she’s touring the UK, including dates at The Lexington with The Soft Moon, a headline slot at The Old Blue Last, and a support slot with Toro Y Moi at XOYO. The new split 12” with D’Eon drops April 19th, pre-order your record from Hippos In Tanks/Arbutus Records now. Scroll down below the video for a free MP3 of ‘Vanessa’, and don’t forget to like, tweet or share the song while your down there.

Grimes - Vanessa (MP3)