Dive- Sometime

From the guitarist of Beach Fossils.

Tanlines - Brothers

Catchy-catchy stuff.

All you do is click on that there link and it starts playing for your ears. Magic.

Link, Magic, Ears

Glass Candy - Warm in the Winter

Italians Do It Better bring us more Glass Candy and hopefully the attention paid to the 'Drive' soundtrack will lend this great label even further momentum. As for 'Warm In the Winter', it's an unapologetic slice of dance floor fun. Besides, who doesn't like when a band tells you they love you over and over again in song?

GLASS CANDY / WARM IN THE WINTER 12" SINGLE by ITALIANS DO IT BETTER

Blood Diamonds - Grins

And from Grouper, we move to another one of my favourite 7s of the year. Now, Transparent recs/blog are usually on point with their releases but occasionally they release something so good you know they've tapped an artist with serious talent. Such was the case with Purity Ring's 'Ungirthed' earlier this year and now Blood Diamonds brings us 'Grins'. When I first heard this Blood Diamonds 7 it absolutely did not work for me. In fact, I turned it off half way through the first track. It sounded like one too many layers to my ears. A month later I gave it another shot and it all clicked. This big-orchestral-melodramatic-pop-by-way-of-stuttering-electronic-beats sound that is Blood Diamonds finally made sense to me. And dammit, it works well. Give this one a minute. Absolutely lovely stuff.
Blood Diamonds - Grins by TransparentRecs
Blood Diamonds - Move The Stars by TransparentRecs

Grouper - Water People

Grouper released a new 7" called Water People. As per usual with Grouper releases, it sold out in pre-orders. I, however, (for a change) managed to pre-order one and I can't wait to hear this vinyl. As with all of Liz's work this is just pure enchanting beauty sent from another planet. Get lost in this.
Grouper - Water People by pmwtumblr

Sleep Over - Forever

Sleep Over have a new album due Sept 27 on Hippos in Tanks. HIT recently made Billboard's list of the 50 best indie labels and while the quantity count isn't that high, the quality control from the label has been a feat. Which brings us back to Sleep Over, whose Outer Limits release on another great label, Forest Family, was one of the best 7"s of 2010.

As for Forever, every new preview suggest greatness. This one is on my most anticipated for 2011 list. Hit up "Romantic streams" below to get another taste.



And for those of you needing even more, well, get on it and check the previews via amazon.

Sleep Over - Forever

Little Loud x Waylayers 'Hear No lies' (full)

Waylayers are making their way in the world. Having Little Loud give one of their songs the midas touch sure doesn't hurt either. Happy Friday!
waylayers - hear no lies (little loud mix) by little loud

Memoryhouse- Modern, Normal

Free download peoples. Memoryhouse is just bringing the ethereal beauty as always.

The Naked and Famous - Young Blood

Oh, how this song sticks in my head. It's makin' waves here in Ottawa too, even on hit radio stations. Listen, but most importantly, don't deny it.
The Naked and Famous - Young Blood

Little Loud x Waylayers

A teaser of a new Little Loud remix! Can't say enough good things about this guy's work. You should hit up his soundcloud page after hearing this to see how consistent he really is.
waylayers - hear no lies (little loud remix) clip by little loud


And here is the original:

Bon Iver - Calgary

New Bon Iver album drops June 21. This first taste is pretty different from "For Emma..." but also seems quite natural. After all it isn't the instruments you use, it's how you use the instruments...

Clams Casino Mixtape

Best three albums of 2011 thus far: Tokyo Bloodworm - Palestine, Peaking Lights - 936 and this: the Clams Casino Mixtape. And this one is FREE below. CC does beats for Lil B and Soulja Boy among others. But this is beyond hip hop, this has more in common with Warp Records stuff or TV on the Radio's shoegaze-y components. Hell, even that cover looks like it belongs on a Grouper record. It's amazing how these songs work as hip hop tracks but completely work as borderline-ambient electronic instrumental pieces as well. Seriously, even if you don't like instrumental music this may change your mind. Deeply moving and utterly captivating with killer beats to boot. That's all I have.


One of the best of 2011 thus far. Get it for FREE here courtesy of the artist himself.

Boy Friend - Lovedropper

This song has been crawling its way toward my 'best of 2011 thus far' list. The love keeps growing. Boy Friend is made up of the ex Sleep Over gals. Sleep Over's "Outer Limits" single on Forest Family records was one of the best things I heard in 2010. This song is actually on par with that release, which is an amazing feat. Boy Friend previously released a digital four song EP via their bandcamp page. Lovedropper shows enormous growth already. Hit play a few more times.

Tyson - Out of My Mind

Tyson..I'd forgot about Tyson. Then this comes along...Dynamite stuff.
Tyson - Out Of My Mind by PurplePR

John Talabot (feat Glasser) - Families

I mainly know this guy via his Delorean remixes. Th good nes is this totally lives up that standard. nice and sunny, You deserve this for a Friday.
JOHN TALABOT / Families (Ft Glasser) by Young Turks

Purity Ring - Lofticires

I have to say I'm loving this sound.

Lofticries by PURITY RING

Friends - Friend Crush

Can't get enough of this one right now. Friends are from New York and... the rest is in the music.

Holy Other - Touch

Those cruel folks at Tri Angle have decided to share this 3 months in advance of the release date of the actual EP. Enjoy it. You have three months to.
Holy Other - "Touch" by znaki.fm

Dark Sky - Promiscuous Gyal

Remember that Nelly Furtado track? Dark Sky do it better.
Dark Sky - Promiscuous Gyal - Out Now by Dark Sky

Alice Gun - Blood and Bone

I don't normally review records on here, but Ambiguous Records sent this one over and it was just too good not to write about at length...


Alice Gun – Blood and Bone

Alice Gun is a promising newcomer to the music scene. And that’s an understatement. To make it clearer: picture it’s 1994 and you’ve just seen an ‘unknown’ named Cat Power. Or picture it’s 2000 and you’ve just seen two sisters named Tegan and Sara performing their album ‘This Business of Art’ at a small club. Or (just one more, I promise) picture it’s 2003 and you’ve just heard a girl called Feist singing with Broken Social Scene. Getting a clear picture here? That’s what being introduced to the music of Alice Gun at this point in time is like. You’re right there at the beginning of something you know is going to bloom into something big. Needless to say Alice Gun is a singer-songwriter with enormous potential.

Alice Gun’s first album ‘ Blood and Bone’ is as solid a debut as you’re going to find from a singer-songwriter in recent years. Does it have signs of being a new artists first album proper? Well, yes, but note the above-mentioned artists: they all took a minute to hit their stride and when they did there was no going back. But first and foremost we are here to focus on the positives, and this album oozes positives. If I had to give a few reference points I would say think of a female Tom Waits meets Cat Power. In fact, Alice has a little bit of Kate Bush heiress quality to her too. Note: I said a bit; Kate’s a hard act to follow.

As for ‘Blood and Bone’, it opens with “Horrible Soul” and instantly we get a sense of the dramatic almost theatrical approach to songwriting. The lyrics introduce us to Alice’s self-deprecating side, a recurring theme within her songs, and also have a highly personalized quality that borders on confrontational; think Perfume Genius, Bright Eyes, Morrissey - artists that throw their observations about life in your face, horrify you, then beg you to disagree knowing full well you can’t. From there we are on to “The Swimmer” which starts with aggressive, muted strings hovering over big sounding percussion that has a nice loose quality to it. Many of the songs feature Alice’s vocals and playing right up front but the additional instrumentation is wonderful, layering the songs with as minimal additions as possible. It makes the record worth repeating to see the little nuances that each player adds to the songs. It’s as if by adding minimally it’s easier to see each instruments contribution clearly. It also for a more poetic approach to songwriting in that each player has to say a lot with as few notes as possible. Whether this approach was incidental or by design, it serves the record very well.

“Not Made for this world” serves as particular standout, as does “Metal Spider” and Alice has done well to highlight these tracks as they seem to be the early sneak peeks at the album. They both have the feeling of being singles but also do well to represent her overall style.

If “Not Made for this World” is Alice at her most vulnerable//insecure then "What Can I get Me” is Alice at her most abrasive, and she wears it just as well.



Title track “Blood and Bone” is fittingly the albums grandest statement with its big strings and percussive swells. Again, there’s a little bit of Kate Bush dramatics to the piece.

Album closers “Minty Fresh” and “ Bad Maths” are both well-constructed songs with strong lyrics but play as little bit more staid than the rest of the songs. And this brings me to my one complaint: I like Alice’s quirky side, thus I don’t want to hear her play it safe. All of the artists I mentioned in the first paragraph have thrived on their somewhat oddball personas. From another artist these two tracks would play as fine, but for an album this bold to suddenly get reserved in terms of its musical ambitions feels like a bit of a lateral move into the wrong field. Sure it proves that Alice can play it safe and ‘gets’ the genres she plays with, but it’s not at all necessary. And just to be clear: I am only speaking about two songs out of twelve, so as the only complaints to be made, they are fairly small in contrast to the enormous potential on display here.

Alice Gun’s debut is a strong one and something tells me as the year progresses we are going to be hearing more and more about her, and deservedly so. I hope this one finds its audience because I think what Alice is able to do is rare: she has the ability of writing songs that are highly personalized yet can reach a broader audience without signs of compromise. You have to know yourself AND know your audience to achieve that symbiosis. Personally, I can’t wait for Alice’s second album. A weird thing to say when this record has yet to be released, I know; but ‘Blood and Bone’ is a record that makes clear Alice Gun is just getting started and has barely scratched the surface. Something tells me the deeper we go with Alice’s material the harder she is going to be to ignore. ‘Blood and Bone’ is an important first step and, as an album, one not to be missed for 2011.

previously
Alice Gun - Not Made For This World (Single Edit) by ambiguousrecords