Childish Gambino is a bit on a roll lately. Yesterday he dropped a new track called “Unnecessary” with ScHoolboy Q, and it gave us a glimpse of a measured Gambino, one that might be outgrowing summer camp. Today, Glover blasted off on Twitter for a few dozen 140-character mindbytes on his critics, his aspirations for Childish Gambino, that much maligned reference to Trayvon Martin in “Eat Your Vegetables”, and closed with a link to a new song with a hilarious introduction (read below).

Continue reading: Childish Gambino Goes Off on Twitter, Gives Away New Song

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World renowned travelling hip hop festival Rock The Bells returns this summer with a particularly badass lineup. This year’s tentpole headliners (or “very special guests”) are, amazingly, Missy Elliott and Timbaland.

Continue reading: Rock The Bells 2012: Lineup, Dates and Ticket Information

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It seems that Yeasayer are now really to follow-up 2010′s excellent Odd Blood album. Out of nowhere, Yeasayer began sending out CD’s to fans on their mailing list with a song called “Henrietta” on them. Naturally, the song has been ripped and uploaded to Soundcloud.

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As you may know, The xx have been working on a new album for a few months now. Back in December the trio sent out this lovely demo called “Open Eyes”, and just a few days ago they announced some European tour dates. Last night, in one of those show in London, the band played a new song. At first it sounds like one of the xx’s more sparse tracks (something along the lines of a Romy Madley Croft-fronted “Fantasy”), but then out of nowhere come some explosive “Be My Baby” drums –– and we love anytime that happens. Unfortunately the video is cut shortly after, but you know what we always say: a minute of new xx music is better than no new xx music.

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T.I.’s singles are customarily pretty accessible to the point of being kind of harmless – see his first Trouble Man single “Love This Life,” as well as the still-banging, similarly titled “Live Your Life” – but we’ve always been bigger fans of his relentless, rapid-fire deep cuts, like new leak “Like That.”

Continue reading: New: T.I. – “Like That”

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As you already know, the morning benders have traded in their name for POP ETC, and a long with it their soaring, beach-front vibe for this slight, rather straightforward approach to indie pop. (Not to mention the kinda condescending insinuation, per the image above, that they are now the melting pot of just about every major genre out there.) New track “Keep It For You Own” introduces some new elements into the mix––sweeping keys, a rather sly bassline––though unfortunately it seems they’ve only shared half of the song. We’ll be able to hear the full song on June 12th when POP ETC is released.

Continue reading: New POP ETC: “Keep It For Your Own”

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On July 10 Dirty Projectors will follow up Bitte Orca, one of 2009′s best albums, with Swing Lo Magellan. The band had previously shared the album’s wonderfully off-kilter first single “Gun Has No Trigger,” and now they’ve shared the album’s mundane, Instagrammy cover art (above), as well as the tracklist (below).

Continue reading: New Dirty Projectors: ‘Swing Lo Magellan’ Album

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One of our most anticipated releases of 2012 is The Tallest Man On Earth’s There’s No Leaving Now – we’ve played out Swedish folk-rock maestro Kristian Matsson’s The Wild Hunt, and we’re always yearning for more of his undeniably singular voice and songwriting. Luckily he just dropped single number one, “1904,” and it’s a fantastic, full-sounding song, with hypnotic layers of pretty, bright guitar winding like ivy around Matsson’s abstract lyrics and spine-tingling vocals. At times it can sound like a lost Neutral Milk Hotel b-side; at times like classic Americana. In short – we’re loving it. There’s No Leaving Now drops June 12.

Continue reading: MP3: The Tallest Man On Earth – “1904″

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If we love two things, they’re probably Mr Little Jeans’ “Runaway” and the world-beat jam band Fool’s Gold, so obviously we can’t stop listening to the latter’s remix of the former. Monica Birkenes’ voice is probably the greatest thing ever; that is, if Fool’s Gold’s simultaneously worldly and otherworldly beat isn’t––clattering percussion, sweeping phasers, and hypnotic atmospherics serve to amp up the track’s danceability without detracting from Birkenes’ power. We particularly dig how Fool’s Gold chops up Birkenes’ voice toward the end before the whole thing devolves into bongo jamming. Check it out.

Continue reading: MP3: Mr Little Jeans – “Runaway” (Fool’s Gold remix)

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Brooklyn’s Friends are gearing up for an excellently titled debut record called Manifest!, and in doing so they’re branching out a little from the songwriting we know and love. Not only is new single “Mind Control” not about friend crushes or polyamorous relationships, it also eschews the ‘80s-nostalgic, woozy pop of their earlier releases. It’s not a bad thing – “Mind Control” is fantastically catchy and utterly irresistible in a glossy, chilly Euro-pop way, Samantha Urbani might serve up her best vocal performance yet, and don’t worry, the band’s fantastic basslines haven’t gone anywhere. We’re also loving the brilliant, futuristic video. Check it out.

Continue reading: Video: Friends – “Mind Control”

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Australia’s Kirin J Callinan is the fantastic Terrible Records’ newest signee, and he’s celebrating with the creepiest and maybe also the best video we’ve seen this year, for his fantastically weird and also insanely good “Way to War.” Callinan’s beat-based music sometimes feels like an even more esoteric Black Dice or White Rainbow, until everything starts to come together into admittedly strange but ultimately exhilarating thing that resembles pop in a kind of Frankenstein way (the best way?). The track itself is creepy on its own – Callinan’s low whisper plus echoing drones and staggering beats makes “Way to War” sound like something you might hear through a fissure in the ground – so it perfectly fits its Kris Moyes-directed video, which is a series of stuttering, bizarre .gifs. The single drops digitally June 19^th and physically on July 31, and stay tuned for a full record from Kirin this fall.

Kirin J Callinan: “WIIW (Way To War)”

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Read our review of Sigur Ros’ first album in nearly four years, Valtari. Enter to win our give away of Valtari on CD and Vinyl at the end of the review.

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Impressionist soundscapes. Ambient climaxes. Splendor in all of its ebbs and flows. That’s been the image Iceland post-rock spectres Sigur Ros (named after leader Jonsi’s newborn sister) have carefully cultivated over the past 15 years. You can’t help but picture wide sweeping landscapes when you close your eyes and let those elegiac chords suspend your subconscious. Hence why its music, since 1999’s ironically titled Agaetis byrjun (“an all right start”), has been licensed to virtually every and anything ranging from the more poignant scenes of Vanilla Sky, BBC’s Planet Earth and yes even an episode of CSI:Miami (at least it wasn’t NCIS:Anchorage). Point being: Hollywood’s music supervisors need not look that far across the pond to plug in some ready made tears. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Heima, a 2007 documentary of their emotional homecoming, knows they oppose any form of corporate greed — especially Alcoa’s bauxite activities. So why is their music proliferated on such a wide scale? Obviously, with physical sales waning, bills have to be paid. But more importantly, it nourishes the natural wonder we all desire to tap back into — standing and listening in awe of our ephemeral existence.

Once the group announced in January 2010 that they had scrapped a year’s worth of recording sessions, things began to look a bit dire. Jonsi pressed a well-received solo album, Go, and once again contributed his musical vision to Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo. Seemingly out of nowhere enigmatic bassist Georg Holm announced in late March that Valtari would literally “steamroll” onto deluxe pre-order. Critical aspirations should be expected when he also said, “now I can honestly say that it’s the only Sigur Ros record I have listened to for pleasure in my own house after we’ve finished it.” Johnny Depp categorically states that he has never seen any film he’s acted in — mainly because he’s always ahead of the curve, plotting his next fantastic mutation. I think you know where I’m going with this.

No doubt that every song on Valtari is beautiful, lush and understated at the most startling moments. We expect that. The whole idea of keeping a progressive act together is to maintain a certain aesthetic while simultaneously adopting a whole new persona. Maintaining continuity while deconstructing your “sound.” At least that’s what the legends say. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (translation: “With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly”) is certainly in my top ten albums of the last decade. Every song encapsulates and expounds upon a piano motive or string arrangement which truly obscures reality for the better. A model worth emulating, just not too closely.

The opening organ interlude for lead single “Ekki múkk” sounds like a slightly muckier version of deep track “Straumnes” off their aforementioned album. It’s not just the tone itself that feels eerily similar. The Hopelandic gibberish that trickles in right after adopts a nearly identical pattern to the high octave falsetto at the coda of “Ara Batur.” They decided to leave out the epic brass crescendo to make this version feel more insular and open-ended. Hard to say if that was the right choice. It’s almost as if they are consciously remixing one of their more “commercial” songs for a new tempered audience. Scare away the posers and play to the rest. Many have attempted it before but to little avail.

“Varúð” gently nudges us toward aquatic bliss. Jonsi still can hold a high note longer than a castrati. His trademark bowed electric guitar caterwauls through dissonance like a sharpened butter knife. “ Rembihnútur” would have felt right at home on 2002’s () and still holds its own here via faded loops that gradually burnish away their fuzz to form a sonorous nursery rhyme with booming drums launching it on the way out.

The last half of the album languishes in choral limbo. This unavoidable cooldown could have derailed previous efforts, but they always found a way to soar above it all. Just listen to “All Alright” and “ Varðeldur” and tell me with a straight face that they aren’t approaching carbon copy. “Valtari” and “Fjögur píanó” conclude the ceremony with an elongated whimper instead of distinctive solace. It’s sadly underwhelming.

I love Sigur Ros. Even if they haven’t challenged themselves. Maybe with Jonsi doing his own thing for a few years in between there wasn’t enough time to push it as far as they could. I hate to apply a Lebron analogy to any situation. He’s the MVP. They’re arguably the most prolific post-rock group of our generation. Sometimes both have trouble stepping outside their comfort zones.

Sigur Ros Valtari Giveaway

We’re giving away a copy of Valtari on CD and Vinyl. To enter leave a comment below with the name of your favorite Sigur Ros song. Make sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

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Nicolas Jaar fucked with year-end lists everywhere when he and his guitarist Dave Harrington dropped an EP as DARKSIDE one late November morning. The first track “A1″ has always been our favorite from the EP and now Pomp&Clout have released a music film for it. Watch:

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The new video from Death Grips literally redefines money laundering. “Hustle Bones” is from Album of the Year contender The Money Store; out now.

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Bonnaroo, quite possibly America’s best music festival, is going down June 7-10 in Manchester, TN this year. We’ve already seen the Radiohead-, Red Hot Chili Peppers-, Phish-, BEACH BOYS-fronted lineup, and now the ever-important, occasionally-heartbreaking schedule has been announced.

Continue reading: Bonnaroo 2012: Festival Schedule Announced

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On July 24th, Passion Pit finally return with new album, Gossamer. We’ve already heard recession-era first single “Talk A Walk”, and now we’ve got the album’s tracklist to share.

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Childish Gambino’s occasionally inelegant, maximalist approach to hip hop doesn’t always earn him the respect as an MC he’d like, and even though plans for a follow-up to Camp hasn’t officially been announced, we can already hear Donald Glover throwing in some finesse into his delivery. Prime example is new cut “Unnecessary” with fellow rising star ScHoolboy Q.

Continue reading: New Childish Gambino: “Unnecessary” f/ ScHoolboy Q

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Read our review of Beach House’s gorgeous new album Bloom here. Enter our contest to win a copy of Bloom on CD and Vinyl here.

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Last Friday, Azealia Banks released mega jam “JUMANJI” for free but the good news doesn’t end there…

Continue reading: Azealia Banks’ 1991 EP Gets Release Date

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Rick Ross’ upcoming album, God Forgives, I Don’t is out July 31 and he’s promoting it with two r&b jams; the first is the album’s proper first single “Touch ‘N You,” featuring the unstoppable Usher. An in an example of genius viral marketing, Ricky Rozay jumps on Rihanna’s curiously short “Birthday Cake” for a minute of brag rapping, following by a minute of Maybach Music Group product pushing.

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Los Angelino noise rockers HEALTH have contributed a hell of a song to Rockstar Games’ newest title Max Payne 3 (which we hear is great). As great as HEALTH albums are, we think they’re even better when they do one-off shots like these (and “USA Boys”, for example). “Tears” screeches and pulses in all the right ways; it pulls inspiration from New York hip hop as much as it does James Cameron’s outer space mine shafts. Listen below:

Continue reading: New HEALTH: “Tears” (from Max Payne 3)

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“The House You Made” is The Walkmen’s b-side to their very excellent new single “Heaven.” As we’re sure you know, “Heaven” is the title track to the band’s forthcoming seventh studio album, out May 29th. “The House You Made” is another soaring ballad with a slow and steady build up from The Walkmen – something we suspect will happen a lot on Heaven. Listen below:

#s/o

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Ah, the musician’s paradox: If you don’t change, fans call you stagnant. If you change too much, they stop listening all together. The bigger the band, the bigger the dilemma. Do you continue making music that sounds like the stuff that won your followers or do you try to innovate and risk alienating your fans? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Color Beach House damned. The dream pop duo has recorded an album that is spotless from start to finish, an unquestionably beautiful collection of songs. But man, does it sound familiar.

Continue reading: Review: Beach House – Bloom

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Hey, we’ve got just what you’ve been looking for all your life: Tiësto’s seven minute über-thumping, synth-sandstorm of a remix for Kanye West’s Bon Iver-sampling “Lost In The World.” Apparently this remix has been sitting on Tiësto’s hard drive for over a year, and has only now been cleared to be played on the DJ’s popular podcast. Put your headphones on:

Continue reading: New Kanye West: “Lost In The World” f/ Bon Iver (Tiësto Remix)

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