Love him or hate him, you can’t deny the talent that is Kanye West. While his lyrics are sometimes suspect, the production is always on point. After non-traditional methods of marketing his latest collection of material, Yeezus, it has finally leaked in all of its glory. If the name of the album did not give it away, humble is not a word to describe the content on this one as he is doing his best to lay claim to being one of the greatest. After a couple of listens, the hype just might fall in line with the quality, although it peaks in the middle songs of the LP. Yeezus offiically comes out June 18th via Def Jam. Head over to FistintheAir.com to see if the hype was worth the wait. Please note, they are receiving massive traffic, so it does not load at first, just refresh the page.
Case Studies, a project-minded coterie conceived by Seattle’s Jesse Lortz, releases This Is Another Life, sophomore LP steeped in the style of raw, confessional songs we’ve come to expect from this alt-folk singer-songwriter. Laden with didactic, piano-based balladry in the vein of such luminaries as Leonard Cohen and Harry Nilsson, Lortz has lightened up a bit this time around, allowing a sliver of hope to shimmer through as opposed to his eminently dark 2011 LP The World Is Just A Shape To Fill The Night. Though still deeply immersed in tales of heartbreak, longing, loss and regret, This Is Another Life also allows for a wry sense of sentimentality, a playful tickling of the ivories and a tortured soul who dares to come up for a breath now and then; not so far gone as to seek a bit of comfort. This Is Another Life is both produced and engineered by Greg Ashley of Gris Gris who also pitches in on percussion, organ, vocals and guitar. Lortz is also helped out by Jon Parker, Oscar Michel, Joe Haener, Carey Lamprecht, Shawn Alplay and Marissa Nadler as a guest vocalist. The album drops June 11th on Sacred Bones. You can find a stream of it in its entirety below.
In what seems like has been forever in the making, Kentuckiana recession rockers Houndmouth will be releasing their full-length debut, From The Hills Below The City, next week via Rough Trade. We have already heard the cut “On The Road” (see video below), now listen to the album in its entirety a week in advance over at the Team Coco site. If you were in the middle on the band, the release should more than confirm they are more than worthy of all of the accolades and attention.
In support of the album, the band will be embarking on an extensive tour this summer, including dates at Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits Festivals. MOKB Presents will be bringing the band to Indianapolis in support of Dr. Dog on August 1st at the Rathskeller in Indianapolis. Full show details and ticket information can be found here.
Tour Dates:
6/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bardot [free w/ RSVP]
6/13-14 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/18 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion *
6/19 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater *
6/20 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach *
6/21 – Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
6/22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl #
6/23 – Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theater *
6/24 – New York, NY @ Hill Country Live (Private WFUV Members Concert)
6/25 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
6/26 – Burlington, VT @ Signal Kitchen
6/27 – Montreal, QB @ Divan Orange
6/28 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
6/29 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
7/05-06 – Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Music Festival
7/12 – Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
7/26-28 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
8/01 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Rathskeller &
8/2-4 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
8/11 – San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
10/4 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
* w/ Alabama Shakes and Jonny Fritz
# w/ White Denim
& w/ Dr. Dog
The Rosebuds released a free digital album featuring covers of Sade’s Love Deluxe. The release of covers coincides with the 20th anniversary of what was Sade’s fourth studio album released in 1992. From the band:
Love Deluxe, Sade’s fourth album, was released 20 years ago this week. To say this album is a constant influence to The Rosebuds and the records we’ve made over the years would be an understatement. We’ve always been fans. Ivan’s been covering Sade songs since I’ve known him–he sings them in the house, he sings them while driving, he sings them with or without a guitar in hand, he sings them when he doesn’t even realize he’s singing aloud. It’s the language he hears music in. Ivan spent some time on the North Carolina coast where he set up a small apartment–a surf camp and home studio. He’d gone to the beach to enjoy the off-season isolation, to surf, and to work on some new Rosebuds demos we have. I was delighted when he came back to Brooklyn and presented me with his own fully-tracked version of Love Deluxe. It’s only elements are the instruments Ivan drove down with, and the friends who stopped by to contribute–Rob Lackey, drums; Matt Douglas, Saxophone; Jonathan Yu, keyboards. We set about mixing it right away.
Upon first listen to Ivan’s version of Love Deluxe, I was struck by how organic it is. Where many of the electronic elements of the original had been beautiful to me, to listen to this new live-instrument sound Ivan had quick-captured is to listen directly to his evolving relationship with the music. It’s a documentation of a living connection. Please download and share this tribute recording of a record that means so much to us.
You can find the stream and download from their Bandcamp below.
Silver & Gold: Songs For Christmas, Sufjan Steven’s latest Christmas themed EP box set was released today via Asthmatic Kitty. The set is a limited edition of 2000 that includes Christmas stickers, Temporary tattoos, a paper ornament, 40-page Christmas songbook with vocal and piano reductions, a Christmas coloring book, hullucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphics designed by Stevens, and extensive liner notes. Over the last several weeks, Stevens has put out a couple of bizarre and funny videos, along with a more sentimental clip to promote the release. Today, we get the full stream of the collection from his bandcamp to put you in the holiday spirit. You can find it belew along with the visuals.
Just a reminder, MOKB presents The Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant On Ice at Deluxe at Old National Centre in Indianapolis on December 14th is sold out, just in case some of you were still planning on grabbing some tickets. So you don’t miss out on other great shows, be sure to check out the upcoming list of shows here.
HypeMachine has premiered El Perro del Mar’s new album, Pale Fire, which will remain up for the next week. The LP will be released November 13th via the Control Group. El Perro del Mar herself (Sarah Assbring) handled production duties, with additional assistance from Bobbie Bell and Rasmus Hagg. It is a strong release and might be her most accessible one to date. Stream it below.
Jonquil member Hugo Manuel’s solo project Chad Valley has a new album out next week through Cascine titled Young Hunger. The release is his debut full-length and follows up the Equatorial Ultravox EP that blew up our headphones last year. The album is an epic 80s synthpop journey of lush, sparkling tracks with vocals that bring to mind Tears for Fears. It features guest appearances by indie pop heavyweights Twin Shadow, Active Child, El Perro Del Mar, and Glasser. Hype Machine got their hands on the release a week in advance and is sharing it with the world. You can find it below.
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