Tag: streams of the week

1. “One Way Trigger” by The Strokes

Famous for their lead singer Julian Casablancas’ eccentric style, cryptic lyrics and their signature “futuristic” yet catchy rock/electronic sounds, The Strokes are back with a kickin’ single that has fans hyperventilating in anticipation for the band’s upcoming fifth album. Since the release of their fourth studio album Angles in 2011, The Strokes have been teasing fans with the possibility of new material being available in the coming year. Although rumors were flying regarding the new album, the band only started recording it in April 2012. On Jan. 25, fans got a taste of what they should be expecting with the new album when the band posted “One Way Trigger” onto their website. The new evocative single features Casablancas with newfound falsetto pipes and solidifies the band’s steady digression from the older and grungier New York-based sound that brought them to fame with “Is This It?” and “Room on Fire.” You can listen to “One Way Trigger” and download it for free on the band’s website, www.thestrokes.com.

2. Everybody On My Dick Like They Supposed To Be by Paul Banks

Paul Banks, the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Interpol, has recently released a hip hop mixtape. The mixtape, which has apparently been in the works for the past nine months, was originally intended to be a promotional tactic for the release of his first solo studio album Banks, released last October. Although Banks received great reviews and media support, Everybody On My Dick Like They Supposed To Be may not. For now, though, it is too soon to speculate what critics might have to say. Banks’ new form of musical expression may be a sign of reinvention or, most probably, boredom. Interpol’s eponymous fourth album released in 2010 saw them on tour with U2 but, since 2011, the band has been on hiatus. Although Banks’ mixtape offers something new and unexpected from such an important indie-rock artist, fans will most likely not forget their longing for the Interpol of yore.

3. “Full of Fire” by The Knife

Swedish musicians Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, also known as the electronic duo The Knife, have released a 10-minute-long theatrical music video for their latest song “Full of Fire.” Directed by feminist porn creator Marit Osterberg (a paradox if there ever was one), the provocative video stars brother and sister Karin and Olof in what Pitchfork Media describes as “a short film, with an ominous Euro aesthetic and a plot filled with gender-bending, bondage, a demonic house-cleaning session, motorcycle rides, um, a woman pissing in the street, and a lot more.” Although the video has been temporarily taken down due to copyright issues, it is sure to resurface long before The Knife’s newest studio album, Shaking The Habitual, will be released this year.

Foxygen – “San Francisco” – We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

Just one spin of “San Francisco” and you’re hooked. Where has Foxygen been for the past 50 years? This sound is steeped so deeply in ‘60s brit pop psychedelia, you’d swear it was a blast from the past. In age, Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Sam France haven’t reached the quarter century mark. The slow, hypnotic call-and-return of “I left my love in San Francisco/That’s ok, I was born in L.A.” will hover in your mind for days. Rado and France have been making musical love together since 2005, as self-described “high school kids obsessed with the Brian Jonestown Massacre.” Now signed to Jagjaguwar, the same label responsible for Bon Iver and Sharon Van Etten, Foxygen may be the ‘it’ band of 2013. Their second album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, is out January 22.

Mozart’s Sister – “Mozart’s Sister” – Hello EP 

She’s baaaaaack. Yes, in all her curve-hugging, hip-thrusting ‘90s diva-tastic charm, Mozart’s Sister’s Caila Thompson-Hannant is back. But she wasn’t gone for long. After charming Austin at last year’s South by Southwest, releasing her debut EP (2011’s Dear Fear) and multiple appearances at POP Montreal, Mozart’s Sister stepped into the studio to hash out her next ‘pièce de résistance.’ Montreal’s resident electro-soul singer announced the Feb. 26 release of the Hello EP this week by unveiling the self-titled “Mozart’s Sister”. The one-woman band felt it was time to debut a theme song. Belting, “I’ll never be more than number two/But at least two’s better than three,” the infectious pop ballad, somehow, is a self-deprecating pep talk.

Blue Hawaii – “Try to Be” – Untogether

Blue Hawaii features a gutsy soprano that Montreal’s most naive Mile End hipster will recognize. In “Try to Be”, the modest Braids’ frontwoman, Raphaelle Standell-Preston, pits her soothing vocals and acoustic guitar loop against Alexander Cowan’s ambient, building production. Cowan, brother to the head of Montreal’s Arbutus Records, has long been a part of the city’s DIY underground electronic scene—which is now, on a national scale, associated with the success of Grimes’ Claire Boucher. Blue Hawaii’s first album, 2010’s Blooming Summer, was a poppy, tropical and dance-inducing debut. But the record unfortunately laid in the shadows of Braids’ 2011 Polaris Prize nominated Native Speaker. The pair previewed a two part single, “In Two I” & “II”, last October—but their full length sophomore effort is due March 2013.

1. The Slakadeliqs – “Defective” music video

The Slakadeliqs is the creative offspring of Toronto-based musician Slakah the Beatchild. Grab a dose of this R&B-slash-alternative crossover and it will leave you smiling in no time. Defective, their latest music video off The Other Side of Tomorrow, is narrated in a visually pleasing anime-esque sketch animation that complements The Slakadeliqs’ cozy ambience and acoustic beat. The story is about a boy who finds himself trapped in a mysterious world of doodles until he gets sucked into a black hole. The animation was created by a Russian animator, Qwaqa.

The artists’ home page describes The Other Side of Tomorrow as a blend of live instruments, acoustic guitars, flutes, bells, hand drums and flugelhorns. In an interview with Exclaim! in January, he cites the Zombies, Neil Young, the B-52’s, the Beatles and Lenny Kravitz as the influences for this album. He adds he didn’t wanted to “pigeonhole” himself into just one kind of sound and simply wanted to make music that anyone can relate to.

Listening to each intricately-woven fusion in each song is satisfying to the ear, The Slakadeliqs will give you a musical feast so hard to resist, you will crave more. Whatever song you choose, this album is definitely an audio treat that shouldn’t be missed.

2. Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas – “Ula Ula”

Love the sound of funk? Adore the riffs of ‘70s rock? How about a dash of Latin to try out? Give Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas’ Ula Ula a shot. Ula Ula’s groove will make your body move, jump and wiggle. The mood is really party-esque, but classy. The chorus is so catchy, you might find yourself caught off-guard muttering the lyrics unconsciously. The trumpets complement the bass riffs alongside the rapping. Add a layer of a nostalgic visual montage a la Charlie’s Angels, and the music video will feel like a nod to ‘60s cinematography. Fondly known as IKV by fans, the namesake is a portmanteau two known icons – Illya Kuryaki from the ‘60s spy comedy television show called The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Colombian soccer superstar Carlo Valderrama. IKV are Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur. Dante is the son of Argentine rock star Luis Alberto Spinetta, properly placing IKV of Argentine music royalty. However NPR’s Jasmine Garsd says that they have a strange status in Latin Alternative Rock, explaining that despite even having worked with U.S. funk music legend Bootsy Collins and being loved in the underground music scene, she thinks that they’re not getting the props they are due.

3. Parakeet – “Shonen Hearts” music video

Parakeet is a quirky name for a band, especially one that hails from one of the many holy lands of rock—London. But don’t let the name fool you. A quick spin of their latest clip, Shonen Hearts, and it could take you to headphone nirvana. Directed by UK-based animator Maria Cecilia, the music video illustrates the carefree nature of their music style, shot in old-school 480p. It’s alternative in tone but listening to it is like candy for your ears. The riffs will get your head bobbing, the drums will make you start tapping your feet. Bring out the lovely and hypnotic voice in the background and prepare to get lost in a trance.

Having been touring around the London and beyond, music news site DIY UK talks about the potential of this band as it talks about Parakeet’s individual music backgrounds, “…with experience breeds originality, a sense of what works and what should be avoided. Parakeet’s output to date is 100% pure gold … astounding in the sense that it’s difficult to envisage them being topped by anyone else in the distant future.” Probably one of the most mysterious and fascinating bands to have hit the music UK scene, Parakeet one band to watch in the coming months.

 Marqaux Loper

Contributor

“Counting” – Autre Ne Veut – Anxiety 

Brooklyn electro artist Arthur Ashin, a.k.a. Autre Ne Veut, announced the 2013 release of his next album, Anxiety, with the YouTube debut of its first single. In “Counting,” the 30-year-old Hampshire College grad explores R&B, pop and soul-melodic grooves about death, anxiety and heartbreak. In a recent interview with Pitchfork magazine, Ashin struggled to define his sound’s genre.

“People who’ve heard the album say, ‘This is so R&B’, but people who actually listen to R&B are not going to feel like this is a real R&B record,” said Ashin. “I like the idea of being able to fuck with expectations […] I’m not afraid to sing about sex, but it’s more about the anxieties and frustrations of trying to relate to other people in this world.”

“Play The Drums For Me” – Nicolas Jaar 

One of house music’s most hyped current artists, Nicolas Jaar, released his latest track on Nov. 14. The 21-year-old Chilean-American producer who started making electronic music in 2004 attends Brown University and studies comparative literature. At the age of 17, he made his debut on Wolf + Lamb records and he now has his own label, The Clown & Sunset imprint.

In “Play The Drums For Me,” his use of a steady ethereal beat with a sampled reading of a 13th century Sufi mystic prayer creates a lofty and deep house atmosphere. It is full of anti-religious speech, so Jaar is definitely trying to provoke. This metaphysical track definitely falls in line with his previous work.

“Edie’s Dream” – SUUNS – Images Du Futur

SUUNS are releasing their newest album Images Du Futur, recorded during the winter and spring of 2012 right here in Montreal in March 2013 through Secretly Canadian, an independent record label based in Bloomington, Ind. The young Canadian band recorded the album during the turmoil of the student protest. On Nov. 14, the band debuted the album’s first single “Edie’s Dream” conveying a mellow indie-rock idealistic vibe.