Album News: Radical Face

Radical Face is Ben Cooper, 24-year old Florida-native whose first album release was Ghost (March 2007 on Morr Music) followed by a six track EP Touch The Sky (November 2010).

The next release will be Roots, which will debut on October 4th.  According to Under The Radar, “over the next year, Radical Face plans to release three LPs.  The first of this Family Tree trilogy is titled Roots, followed by Branches, and then, Relatives.”

To give you a taste of what’s to come, here’s the track “Welcome Home” from the 2007 album Ghost.

Radical Face – Welcome Home

New Artist: Masquer

Teaser…

Masquer is new Swedish synth-pop duo Kicki Halmos & Pelle Lundqvist, and I fell hard when I heard their new single release Happiness for the first time.  Bruises hard.  Think dark mystic guitars + that feeling you got in 2001 when you were still wearing boot cut jeans but heard The Knife for the first time + sultry beats that make you want to dance.  Or become a goth.  Or both.

In further description, I could also throw in there that front chick Kicki has publicly stated that she thinks children are creepy, but for today we’ll nevermind that.

The duo is planning a major tour with the release of their debut album in September, though they’ve guised that dates & locations are top secret.  So until September, we’ll just have to wait.  In the meantime you can cyber stalk them in all their cyber forms and find a free download of their new single here.

Cannot wait to hear this album in its entirety.

Masquer – Happiness

Happiness from Masquer on Vimeo.

Chrome Sparks – My <3

My <3 is the new 7-track debut EP from Chrome Sparks, aka 20-year-old Jeremy Malvin from Ann Arbor, MI.  Says Force Field PR – the new material “features shimmering 808 beats and super clean electronic textures.”  Here’s the second track “All There Is” featuring vocals by Steph Thompson (Steffaloo).

Chrome Sparks – All There Is (feat. Steffaloo)

This is awesome…

For the 10^th Anniversary of the debut album from The Strokes, Stereogum put together STROKED: A Tribute To Is This It, a free tribute album comprised of Stereogum’s favorite indie bands covering the album in its entirety.  And it’s awesome.  Check out the whole thing here, and some of our favorite tracks below.

Real Estate – Barely Leagal

Wise Blood – Someday

Owen Pallett – Hard To Explain

New Track – Long Walks On the Beach

DC based Fritz Kramer is Long Walks On The Beach (best known for tracks including Metaphysical; I Didn’t Want To Make Out). Fritz creates musical marvels from his bedroom and has released a new pop single called “Literally Crazy For You.”

This track will be part of an upcoming EP in August titled SINGLES…so watch out…

Long Walks On The Beach – Literally Crazy For You

New Artist: Otherness

New Artist from California (another great Banter Media pick) called Otherness, just released a new track below. The band’s named after the idiosyncratic Cocteau Twins remix EP. Beautiful. Delicate. Electronic Pop.

“… a live performance unlike any other.  Almost exclusively improvisational, the pair create an impossible-sounding wall of Monome-manipulated vocals, warped into shuddering bass and icy re-pitched harmony.” – Banter Media

Enjoy:

Otherness – Crystalline

Beirut: New Album The Rip Tide

One of my favorite all time artists is Beirut. I won’t do him justice by describing his sound or what it means to me but briefly, he is an enormously talented multi- instrumental beautiful wonder. I saw him two years ago at Treasure Island Music festival and still remember it as one of the best live concerts I’ve seen.

The Rip Tide is the new album. Preceding this release, the most recent work from Zach Condon was the double album in 2009, March of the Zapotec and Realpeople: Holland. You can pre-order The Rip Tide here.

It pains me to include a free link to one of his new songs – so I won’t. Purchase the whole album. I’ll just post some of my old favorites.

New favorites from The Rip Tide include: “Goshen” and “Port of Call,” and the whole album, so go purchase it immediately…

Full tour dates here: includes Terminal 5, NYC,  Sept 20 + 21 (which go on sale tomorrow!)

(Off of Realpeople: Holland) Beirut – The Concubine

Elephant Gun

Listen to and buy all past albums and some unreleased tracks as well.

New Artist: Benjamin Francis Leftwich

I’ve been meaning to post this UK artist for awhile. I think I have  written 2 or 3 drafts in the past but never finished them – crazy! BlahblahblahScience, an awesome blog you should listen to every day if you don’t already, premiered the new single last night from BFL’s upcoming album, out this weekend, called “1904.”

His music is just beautiful. It makes me want to have a nap in a field somewhere where the breeze is perfect temperature and there are no bugs just grass.

His new album is out July 4th. You can pre-order on itunes now. It’s called “Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm”

You can also win Benjamin to come play at your house- only if you are in the UK but maybe he will pick you if you’re in the U.S. and just come on over for the party: enter!

Older track “Atlas Hands” below and play the video for the new track “1904,” performed live.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Atlas Hands

New Album: Apparat

The note on the SoundCloud page for this track says, “Taken from the forthcoming album The Devil’s Walk” — I cannot wait to hear this album.

Apparat is Berlin-based artist Sascha Ring, who is also part of the electronic group Moderat.  The Devil’s Walk will be his fourth album for Apparat, out September 27th on Mute.  As an electronic artist who has said that he is “more interested in designing sounds than beats,” Ring carefully crafts sounds that translate from the intimacy of the studio to the crowds around a stage.  This particular track is sensory and hopeful.

Apparat – Black Water

New Music – Total Babes

I f-ing love this band name.  And I f-ing love this album cover art.

Total Babes, a side project for some members of Cloud Nothings and a main gig for others, is Chris Brown, Gary Spolarich and Cloud Nothings’ members Jayson Gerycz and Joe Boyer.  The Ohio-based band, part of the Adventure Management music collective, is releasing their debut album Swimming Through Sunlight on August 30, 2011 on Old Flame Records and Continental Mind.  Like what you hear?  Check out their lo-fi sounds (if you like Cloud Nothings, you’ll like this upbeat, jangling, bop to the music sound) when they come to New York on the following dates:

6/19 @ Pianos
6/20 @ Death By Audio
6/23 @ Public Assembly

Total Babes – Like They Always Do