The xx are currently touring europe and dropping off new songs left and right, but they’ve just a bomb on YouTube denizens everywhere; the band played five new songs at their latest show. The recording quality for these new live songs––unofficially dubbed as “Closer,” “Devotion” (previously referred to as “As I Am”), “Leave,” “Strangers,” and “Friction”––also happen to be the best out of all of their new live material (but keep in mind that they still are amateur live recordings). Watch out for already-stuck-in-our-heads slow scorcher “Devotion” and the gorgeous, sprawling “Strangers.”

The xx – “Closer” (1/5)

#via

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Let’s compare Unpatterns to a conversation over dinner. You’re sitting across from James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco—who are hosting—there’s a plate of food in front of you, probably a drink, and the conversation wheels between everyone. At times, the discussion itself dominates your attention, overwhelming whatever sensory imput the food and drink is offering. At this point in listening to the album, the rhythms loosen your neck and heads bobs up and down.�

Continue reading: Review: Simian Mobile Disco – Unpatterns

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Rest in peace, brother.

Also, #fuckcancer.

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Cincinnati’s favorite soul-influenced alt-rock band Afghan Whigs just reunited, and now they’re sharing their first recorded music in five years. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first – it’s not original material. That’s the only bad news, though: the band’s cover of classic soul diva Marie “Queenie” Lyons’ “See and Don’t See” is absolutely excellent. Frontman Greg Dulli’s voice and tender acoustic guitar are truly, hauntingly devastating as he reckons his way around Lyons’ existential lyrics: “If I ever face reality, that’ll be the end of me.” The band kick off a reunion tour with an appearance on Jimmy Fallon May 22 – stay tuned to see if they release any new music.

Continue reading: New Afghan Whigs: “See and Don’t See” MP3

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The xx are taking the opportunity on tour to try out some new material from their upcoming album. Last week the band performed two new songs in London. At another show at the Battersea Arts Centre they played another new song, something the internet is calling “As I Am.” It’s minimal and languid, not at all rushed, but focused, which is to say, it sounds like a really good xx song. The video available for this performance is the best and most complete we’ve heard so far (the frame is pretty dark). Check it out below:

Continue reading: New The xx: “As I Am” (Live)

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You can say a lot of things about Big K.R.I.T., but you can’t deny that he’s as prolific as he is shrewd: dropping mixtapes left and right, smartly building buzz in advance of his Def Jam debut – the man knows what he’s doing, and it helps that his songs are good (and numerous) enough to build hype on their own terms.

Continue reading: New Big K.R.I.T: “Yeah Dats Me”

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Brooklyn trio Lemonade won us over with the delirious experimental R&B of lead Diver single “Neptune,” so we’re psyched that their next offering from the record, “Softkiss,” keeps in that vein.

Continue reading: New Lemonade: “Softkiss” MP3

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You don’t have to be a die-hard, vinyl-hunting music fan to know that b-sides and non-album tracks can sometimes be better than (and are usually at least as good as) the material that winds up on records. Case in point: Perfume Genius is sharing a track called “Rusty Chains,” which you probably already know about if you bought his tender 2012 record Put Your Back N 2 It on iTunes, where it was included as a bonus track. For those of us who didn’t, though, check out Mike Hadreas’s typically gorgeous and heart-rendering ode to someone who’s lost a lover.

Continue reading: New Perfume Genius: “Rusty Chains” MP3

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Tonight was SNL’s 37th season finale (as well as Kristen Wiig’s last episode) and it was hosted by none other than legendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. The flashy rock star doubled down on music guest duties as well, inviting some of his famous friends: Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, Jeff Beck and The Strokes’ Nikolai Fraiture.

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Stop whatever you’re doing and listen Nicolas Jaar’s remarkable two-hour long Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1.

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This week on Tracking––a weekly series in which we discuss our favorite songs of the year (you can check out the official list as the year progresses)––you can listen to additions from Yeasayer, TEAM SPIRIT, The Walkmen, Kirin J Callinan, Icona Pop and Azealia Banks.

Continue reading: Tracking 2012′s Best Songs #11

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We took a couple weeks off our Tracking schedule to work on our list of the best songs of 2012′s winter. What we’ve got here is over three hours of excellent music––it’s hard to believe these 50 tracks were all released in the first quarter of the year. (Don’t forget to check out our Spring Music Preview to see what albums we’re anticipating over the next few months.) After you go through the mp3s and streams on our list, you’ll find a giveaway for a gorgeous pair of Bowers & Wilkins P5 Headphones.

Continue reading: Best Songs of 2012: Winter

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Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange aka Lightspeed Champion) offers this damn near breathtaking rendition of Florence + The Machine‘s Ceremonials highlight “Never Let Me Go”. The track isn’t your typical remix and it would be a disservice to you and the song to approach it as one; this is a duet, and one of the strongest ones we’ve heard this year. Hynes completely reimagines the gut-wrenching emotionality of “Never Let Me Go” as a classic Prince-indebted slow burner, complete with wailing, oh-so-emotive Purple Rain guitars at the end. Needless to say, we’re huge fans. Listen below:

Continue reading: Amazing: Florence + The Machine & Dev Hynes – “Never Let Me Go”

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Hip hop’s most consistent and prolific figures, Curren$y has hit up the eccentric and increasingly ubiquitous 2 Chainz for “Capitol,” the latest track to emerge from $y’s upcoming LP and bearer of the best album title of 2012, The Stoned Immaculate. With it’s fluttering flute-led beat and meandering bassline, “Capitol” is the kind of classy joint Curren$y has made a career out of dominating, and he does not disappoint. And neither does 2 Chainz, who is at his most reserved here. He’s been hopping on tracks with just about everyone these days (there’s that one with Kanye, one with Nicki, another with Drake, oh and even one with Kreayshawn), but this collaboration is his most seamless. The Stoned Immaculate is out June 5th; listen to “Capitol” below:

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On Tuesday night, Beach House played a 90 minute, 17-song set at New York’s famed Bowery Ballroom in honor of the release of their new album, Bloom. That place has a capacity of around 500, so we’ve got some good news for the rest of Beach House’s huge fanbase: an amateur recording of the full concert has been uploaded to YouTube!

Continue reading: Watch: Full Beach House NYC Concert

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They’re back! The Cee-Lo and the reunited Goodie Mob offer up “Is That You God?” for the soundtrack to the upcoming film The Obama Effect, which opens July 13th. It’s an inspirational gospel-type of track, you know, something that would totally be fit to score a scene in a movie about Barack Obama’s historic 2008 election.

Continue reading: New Goodie Mob: “Is That You God?”

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On May 22nd, underground hip hop veteran El-P will release his highly anticipated return Cure For Cancer. We’ve heard a few cuts from the album, the best being the dizzying first single “The Full Retard.” El-P is bringing out Cure For Cancer just weeks after Killer Mikes’ career-defining R.A.P. Music (which he executive produced). In short, Jaime Meline is having the best month of his career and perhaps the best year also.

You can stream the entire album before its release on the next page (the RollingStone player unfortunately forces the autoplay feature). Listen to “The Full Retard” below, if you’re on the run.

Continue reading: Album Stream: El-P – Cure For Cancer

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The Big Pink have released a remix EP for free, including cuts from araabMUZIK, Danny Brown, King Krule and others. Download below:

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Seattle’s Sasquatch! Music Festival is going down on Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-28) this year, like every year. It’s sort of like Coachella, only with less celebrity sightings and almost no old bands reuniting, but when you get down to it, Sasquatch! delivers. Just check out this year’s boldface acts: Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, The Shins, Feist, among others. In our experience, it’s very easy to get around the venue and this year’s schedule conflicts seem minimal, so it might be a good time to start getting excited. We’ve put together this hour long Spotify mix to preview the festivities next week:

Continue reading: Festival Preview: Sasquatch! 2012

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Per a resolution written by State Senator Daniel Squadron, the New York state senate paused deliberations to mourn and honor the late Adam Yauch, best known as MCA of The Beastie Boys for his ineffable contributions to New York culture. Who says politicians are heartless? Read the resolution below:

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You’ve read our review of Valtari, right? You’re eagerly anticipating the stream of Valtari at 7PM your local time, right? Here’s an added bonus: Valtari’s (typically) gorgeous opening track “Ég Anda” (translation: “I Breathe”), which was premiered by BBC Radio 1.

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Tags: Sigur Ros

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