Put On Your Ear Goggles

Colin Caulfield

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:52:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last blogged. This is not because there happens to be less bands out there blog worthy, it just happen that occasionally one feels they are falling through the cracks. Fading into the background of the infamous tubes of the internet can be a little like shooting in the dark. What's the point? Fuck 'em. I am back and with me is the person that triggered this post, the talented and virtually unknown Colin Caulfield. Colin, like myself, seems to be a product of the free music generation, and indulges in creating light indie pop within in his bedroom. When you listen to his music you'll undoubtedly hear bits and pieces of Animal Collective, in their Sung Tong days, as well as some Grizzly Bear. As generic as this sounds, Colin is able to supply that extra something that could be mistaken for soul. I won't take credit for finding Colin, or even discovering him, that is absurd. Was he lost or trapped on a desert island? Who knows. All I know is that I first heard about him through The Great Red Shark. Currently, Colin is working on releasing an album and an EP.

Download:
Colin Caulfield - Do

Final Fantasy

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Owen Pallet has been recording Heartland, the follow up album to He Poos Clouds, and thanks to his touring in Europe we have been able to catch a few glimpses of the album. Here is a performance of "Lewis Takes Action" at St. Georges Hall in Bristol, England.

The album still does not yet have a release date.

Robert Stillman

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Leaving Records last month posted a beautiful composition by Robert Stillman called "On Mothering". Yes it is mother's day. The piece is a collage made from "taped-christian radio broadcasts" that he listened to while living out of a basement in Seattle.

Download it here.

Deerhunter

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Deerhunter's new EP, Rainwater Cassette Exchange, is set to be released June 8th on Kranky. Based off hearing the EP's title track, the group seems to have taken a slight step back, toward the more cluttered dreamy garage-pop of their first EP, Fluorescent Grey. Definitely looking forward to hearing what else the EP has to offer.

Download:
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange

Record Store Day

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Record Store Day is tomorrow and thankfully MBV has been kind enough to put together a list, available for download, of all the exclusive releases being given away at your local record stores. Make sure to check out which record stores near you are participating and figure out what they're doing, because some of them might have some pretty cool stuff going on to celebrate.

"Zero" Animal Collective Remix

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:16:00 +0000

The long awaited remix is now available for streaming pleasure via Discoattack.

Headless Heroes

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Headless Heroes consists of a group of artists working together to create/recreate music for music's sake. The group's lead voice is Alela Diane and the mission is to produce gloriously fresh creations of older songs that may have gotten lost in the cracks of time. The group covers a wide range, spanning over forty years, from "Daniel Johnston, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds back to Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs and The Gentle Soul." The Silence of Love, their sophomore album, will be released May 19th. You can grab the Headless Heroes' cover of Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You In The End" here, at the bottom of the page, for the easy price of an email address.

Erol Alkan

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:48:00 +0000

Erol Alkan always seems to take tracks to a new level after he's had his way with them and he certainly transforms the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' rather unspectacular single, Zero, into a dance floor phenomenon.

Download:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Erol Alkan Rework)

Dirty Projectors

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:07:00 +0000

Domino records is now offering up the great first single of the Dirty Projectors' new album, Bitte Orca, for free. "Stillness Is The Move" is available on 12" and digital with new b-sides a remix by Lucky Dragons May 5th. Download the single for free here.

Ganglians

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:31:00 +0000

This is the first that I have heard from the "codeine balladry" of Ganglians. Ganglians hail from the capitol of the sunshine state and their music reflects it; "Lost Words", with its lo-fi pop sensibility and its "oohing" and "aahing", can easily be seen as the soundtrack too a sunny drive up the coast. The song shares one-half of a split 7" with blog favorites Eat Skull, who released Sick to Death last year. For purchasing info, go here.

Download:
Ganglians - Lost Words

Fever Ray/Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:21:00 +0000

I have been slowly warming up too Fever Ray despite the cold ritualistic vibe, which I at first tagged as phony and obsolete. But despite this false start, thanks to a number of remixers, I have been able to view Karin Dreijer Andersson's haunting songs in a new light and am learning to embrace attributes of the music that were at first lost upon me. One of these valiant remixers is no other than Dan Lissvik, aka one half of Studio, who has injected "When I Grow Up" with a bit of a tropical punch and some samples of kids in the background. The remix will be released along with seven others on Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up" single, due out later this month. [via]

VoicesVoices

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:46:00 +0000

VoicesVoices' "Tape Noon" has been playing over and over in my headphones for the past week. The duo, both drummers, born out of the grimmy rock scene of The Smell have produced a hauntingly beautiful sound of progressive rhythms, echoing vocals, and layered guitar work. As warned on their myspace, "A sort of existential realization can occur when these two lovely girls envelope you in their rapturous style of melodic, and at times, rough soundscapes." They will be kicking of their west coast tour Sunday at The Smell, collaborating with local artists Voice On Tape, Halloween Swim Team, and others.

Download:
VoicesVoices - Tape Noon

Alela Diane

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Alela Diane's sophmore album, To Be Still, was released today on Rough Trade. I didn't want to miss the chance to say how beautiful an album this is; Alela's voice cuts through the air like a knife, clear and strong, with delicate arrangements providing a deceptively sturdy instrumental filigree for support. The Californian native is currently touring, bringing her rejuvenating folk to all corners of the continent with Blitzen Trapper. She'll be playing in Los Angles on March 15th at the Hotel Cafe.

Download:
Alela Diane - White As Diamonds

Weird Tapes

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:45:00 +0000

Weird Tapes posted a new remix of Lost Valentinos' "Serio" today. Two versions of the rather loopy remix are offered, the original and extended, both spacey enough for any fan.

Download:
Lost Valentinos - Serio (Weird Tapes Version)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Grizzly Bear's Edward Droste has been slowly leaking information to the populace about Grizzly Bear's highly anticipated new album through his twitter page: how the recording is going, what stages they're at, etc. Well, finally after the bewildering and rather non-helpful clue that the album begins with a "V", Ed has revealed to us that the album's official title is Veckatimest. What? According to Wikipedia, "Veckatimest Island is one of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts...and was uninhabited as of the 2000 census." Ed also recommends it as "a pretty speck of land to explore." Now we only have to wait and here the thing, which doesn't have an official release date, but is due to surface in May. I really hope the completed version does not get leaked. Here are some live recordings of a couple songs on the album.

Download:
Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader (live)
Grizzly Bear - Fine For Now (live)

Lotus Plaza

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:29:00 +0000

Lockett Pundt, multi-instrumenatlist and songwriter for Deerhunter, has his debut solo album, The Floodlight Collective, coming out in March via Kranky. The album is a beautiful collection of sonic shoe-gaze pop, in which, each track adds to the murky waters of sound by which all Deerhunter cohorts seem permeated. This album has not escaped, and will continue, to draw comparisons with Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound, despite that the two artists sound surprisingly different. Cox seems to constantly be weighed down by the plague and drudgery of the every-day world (this is not a put down, but this is my opinion), where as Pundt chooses to illustrate a brighter, more magical, aspect of the world with his floating lyrics dripping from his lips like an ether meant to illuminate the world after a lengthy rain.

Download:
Lotus Plaza - Antoine
Lotus Plaza - Whiteout

Laura Gibson

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:01:00 +0000

It's raining here in Los Angeles and even though it is a Friday night the rain has mellowed the explosive nature that one takes on at the end of the week. Laura Gibson's poppy folk single, "Spirited", from her upcoming album, Beasts of Season, is exactly what I feel like hearing as rain patters gently on my roof. It may be because she is from Oregon, that her songs fit so nicely with the rain. The album will be available February 24th on Hush Records (pre-order here).

Download:
Laura Gibson - Spirited

Gang Gang Dance/Ariel Pink/Nite Jewel

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Gang Gang Dance, Ariel Pink, and Nite Jewel will be performing at The Smell tomorrow night. One of the best line ups all year, so far. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets are only $7.

Download:
Gang Gang Dance - House Jam
Ariel Pink - Can't Hear My Eyes
Nite Jewel - What Did He Say

Dark Was The Night

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:02:00 +0000

I don't know if the all the hope in the air is bringing people together but there certainly has been a lot of collaborations popping up lately and I have to say I have just been stricken by the Dark Was The Knight charity compilation. An incredible tracklist with awesome artists collaborating on new material as well as expanding on old. The comp. comes out February 16th. Up till then a new track will be streaming everyday at their myspace. Below is my favorite track off the album so far (via widget), a reworking of an old Grizzly Bear song with Feist, alongside another equally good track put together by Dirty Projectors and David Byrne.

Download:
Dirty Projectors + David Byrne - Knotty Pine

Negative Surf

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Seeing as you might as well catch more waves in your toilet bowl than anywhere else in Southern California, it is quite fun watching Brian Wilson forced to surf by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. (via dublab)

Black Lips

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:36:00 +0000

I opened up my email this afternoon and was pleased to find Black Lips' new track, "Short Fuse", off their upcoming sophomore full length 200 Million Thousand, due out February 24th, in my inbox. As Stereogum says, it draws on “state-mates R.E.M.'s jangly salad days in the verse, with plenty of weird whooshing space sounds to keep tight to their ‘flower-punk’ self-descriptors.”

Download:
Black Lips - Short Fuse
Black Lips - Starting Over

You may like to know that Black Lips are safe but have now fled India, where they were touring. They apparently have a very "short fuse" for on-stage nudity over there. Also, the bands video contest with vimeo.com for "Starting Over" is still up and running. Submit your video by February 15th, or until the video limit hits 200 million thousand.

Mi Ami

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:58:00 +0000

Mi Ami is a tropical punk band that includes ex-members from The Black Keys, Daniel Martin-McCormick and Jacob Long. At first their sound can be off putting due to screeching lyrics and schizophrantic rhythms, but as songs progress these bracing features seem to fade into a much larger wall of sound. Mi Ami has a very keen dub aspect about them. Their first single, Echononecho, was released today as a 12" and can be purchased here on Quarterstick Records. The band will also be releasing a full length, Watersports, on Feb. 17th (purchase here).

Download:
Mi Ami - African Rhythms
Mi Ami - Clear Light

Pacifika/Quiet Village Remix

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:29:00 +0000

Quiet Village's remix of Pacifika's "Sweet" is what I've been listening to as I have been here in pleasantly chilly Los Angeles, sipping red tea. The track is soft in texture and tells of a far more tropical location.

Download:
Pacifika - Sweet (Quiet Village Remix)

Vincent Markowski

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:17:00 +0000

Vincent Markowski is the Polish alias of producer Tom Tyler. His first single, "The Madness Of Moths," was released two years ago, and since his time spent with the moths he has done much. He traveled to Russsia, where after rummaging through some old Soviet relics he was able to acquire a suitable space capsule to see him safely on his trip through the cosmos. It was there that his new single, Dirty Capsules was forged. In late August of 2008, DC Recordings picked up a transmission from "The Space-Chrysalis," and is now happy to present the single to all grounded forms of life. Get ready for "echoing pulses, bass driven melodies, snatches of incomprehensible lyrics and haunting ambient atmospheres."

Download:
Vincent Markowski - Dirty Capsules

Fever Ray//Fuck Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Put On Your Ear Goggles) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:55:00 +0000

Fever Ray (aka one half of The Knife) released her self-titled debut today. There has been much buzz circulating around the outcome of this album, yet I have to say I have not really decided whether or not I like Fever Ray. You can see where The Knife's deep pulsating rhythms wore off heavily in the album, but Karin Dreijer adds her own eerily tribal vibe...and I don't know if I'm totally buying it. While "If I had a Heart" is good, Fuck Buttons added the extra drive that I needed. The remix will be out on the 26th as a b-side on the 7".

Download:
Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart (Fuck Buttons Remix)