If you’ve been living under the proverbial rock this past week, you might have missed the return of several big names: Best Coast, Japandroids, and Sigur Rós. All solid offerings that should keep you satiated until next week. Enjoy.
A-Trak feat. Juicy J and Danny Brown – “Piss Test”
It seems like it’s impossible to go a week without a Danny Brown spot coming in on our Top Ten MP3s list. This time he pops up on A-Trak’s cut from the upcoming Fool’s Gold Records compilation, Loosies. “Blunt and a blunt and a motherfuckin’ blunt,” Brown drops in his yowl, the A-Trak production wobbling on drug-addled electronics and a smacking beat. Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J throws in a verse too, and the whole thing sounds like a totally reasonable complaint against drug testing.
Best Coast – The Only Place
It’s really starting to look like Bethany Cosentino is going to have another summer on lockdown after dominating 2010 with Crazy For You. Best Coast’s Jon Brion produced sophomore effort The Only Place (due May 15, via the appropriate Mexican Summer label), and the title track/lead single is our first taste of what was promised to be a more mature, bigger sounding disc. While the lyrics on this track are same old Cosentino (“We have fun, we have fun/We have fun when we please” rhymed with talk about staring at trees), the guitars aren’t as fuzzy and everything sounds a lot more present. This kind of warm jubilance should prove just as successful as the last album.
The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver – “Ashes in the Air”
Never the ones to shy away from releasing something totally bonkers, Wayne Coyne and his pals in The Flaming Lips have decided that some copies of their upcoming Record Store Day effort, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, will include their collaborators’ blood pressed into the vinyl. While those Fwends include a random assortment ranging from Biz Markie to Lightning Bolt, the pairing of the Lips with Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) on “Ashes in the Air” just sounds right. The Lips’ ultimately spacey psychedelia (washes of phaser synths and talk of “robot dogs”) mixes with Vernon’s heavily effected falsetto for a six minute-long drift in a weird sea.
Ghost Beach – “Faded”
Josh Ocean and Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn (former members of TV/TV) have only been working together under the name Ghost Beach for a short while, but their busy, rich take on electro-pop is garnering some serious attention. New track “Faded” features some sugary pop vocals and a wall of sound that’ll keep you wrapped into the New Yorkers sliced and chopped electroworld. Fans of psych-friendly electro acts like Passion Pit should find something to look forward to here.
Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”
Vancouver noise-rock duo Japandroids returned home to record their forthcoming sophomore LP, Celebration Rock (due in June via Polyvinyl Record Co.). David Prowse’s shattering drumming and Brian King’s aching arena guitar riffs are the main attraction, but the rampant, raging shouting vocals are a blast. In an interview with Pitchfork, King explained the vocal choice, saying that they “were in the studio just screaming out as if we were in the audience at our own show.” That live energy is undeniable, and the song rages on like a giant fist pump.
The Men – “A Minor”
Brooklyn rockers The Men are steadily rising among the ranks of the indie world. After a spot in our Cosigns bash down at SXSW and an upcoming spot in the Pitchfork Music Festival, it seems like an eight minute long epic rocker would seem to be in order. And here it is, “A Minor”, a rambling jam that switches from psychedelic groove to galloping rampager, complete with scorching guitar solo and a heartily smacked cow bell. The track will be featured on Sacred Bones’ Todo Muere Volume 2 compilation for record day, but this one is too good to wait around for.
Moonface – “Headed For the Door”
Spencer Krug always has a lot on his plate, and the newest side dish added to the mix is his new album under the Moonface moniker. Working with Finnish rockers Sinaii, the disc is appropriately titled With Sinaii:Heartbreaking Bravery (due April 17th via Jagjaguwar), and the newest cut is the smoldering, ashen “Headed for the Door”. Epic, distorted toms and blurry synths linger for almost eight minutes, the storm cloud shadowing Krug’s almost stream of consciousness spoken word rambling about “a black crow or a vampire bat.” The whole thing is an ominous mass, a lowslung weariness driven out on pounding rhythm.
Regina Spektor – “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)”
Indie darling Regina Spektor is back after a four year absence with What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, her sixth LP due out on May 29th from Sire/ Warner Bros. Records. The second preview of the disc, “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)” is an adorable blend of French and English, island-y plinks, rich horns, and a swanky rhythm. “If you are a deity of any sort, then please don’t go,” Spektor coos, the track looking closely at the uncertainties of modern life in the busy city, trying to latch onto something important.
Screaming Females – “Expire”
New Brunswick, New Jersey indie punk trio and CoSigns standout Screaming Females are set to make some waves with their upcoming LP, the Steve Albini-produced Ugly. As an early listen, the slinky guitar and snappy rhythm of “Expire” are a snarling treat. “I want you to tell me to expire,” guitarist/vocalist Marissa Paternoster caterwauls, a sneer seemingly plastered on her face, the melody daring you to not dance along.
Fans of Sigur Rós have been waiting for a new record with baited breath. While Jonsi’s solo material was certainly a crowd-pleaser, there’s really nothing quite like the real thing. Four years past their last full-length, everyone’s favorite Icelandic post-rockers are back, with Valtari due in the UK on May 28th. The vinyl crackle that opens early taste “Ekki Mukk” warm things up like a hug from an old friend, enrapturing piano and birdcall-like vocal effects moving along underneath Jónsi’s floating, sparkling voice. This is Sigur Rós back at their epic, emotive best, a star-gazing work of shivering beauty.
