Listen/Watch: El Guincho – “Parte Virtual” (Live at Le Poisson Rouge) [2017]

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Very Warm

I’m working on MANY recap lists for the 2010s and one of them is the incredibly daunting “Best Concerts of the 2010s”. Pretty much every single concert I’ve ever attended was during this decade, save for Barenaked Ladies in 2007, Rush in 2008 and Muse in 2009. I was on one in the late 00s I tell you what.

I don’t want to jump to conclusions or anything, but there is one concert that seems to pop back into my mind more often than any others, and that was El Guincho at Le Poisson Rouge in the summer of 2017. I wouldn’t consider myself a superfan of El Guincho’s music, but this show was just so. damn. fun. On an especially hot & muggy Friday of July, El Guincho, the project of Spanish producer Pablo Díaz-Reixa, played their first show in NYC since 2008 (which blows my mind – how can you wait that long??) and fans were clearly enthralled for them to be there. Everyone was dancing, singing along en español, and the band sounded incredible in the small club.

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Listen: Joan Shelley – “Cycle” [2019]

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Very Warm

So many album announces this week! Fav folk singer-songwriter Joan Shelley has a new album coming 8/30 via No Quarter. I already posted about initial single “Coming Down For You”, but this new song “Cycle” just destroys me. The spare arrangements with slight strokes of guitar, voice and strings coloring the canvas tenderly. Her last self-titled album is a very important record for my partner and I, and this new one is shaping up to be up there as well. Can’t wait for her to hear it.

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Listen: Molly Sarlé – “Suddenly” [2019]

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Very Warm

We recently got another empowering cut off the upcoming Molly Sarlé album, Karaoke Angel, coming 9/20 via Partisan. The whole record was produced by Sam Evian, whose 2016 album Premium will always shine in the hall of fame of Recommended Albums here. You might recognize Sarlé from her work in Mountain Man, but get to know her solo stuff! “Human” is one of my favorite songs of the year and makes me feel special in a universe of nothing.

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Listen: Vivian Girls – “Sick” [2019]

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Very Warm

Yup, Vivian Girls are back. They hold a special place in my heart since they were at their height back in 2009/2010, which is around the time I started getting really into music and listening to all the buzzy indie rock bands of that moment. I’ve enjoyed their separate projects in the time between albums like The Babies and La Sera, so having this new song be really good seems like a no-brainer. These folks have retained their ability to make short, catchy, simple songs through the break, so I’m happy about that.

Vivian Girls’ new album Memory is out Sept. 20, 2019 via Polyvinyl. Pre-order HERE.

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Listen: BIG | BRAVE – “Muted Shifting of Space” [2019]

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Very Warm

Shout out to my buddy in Colorado for turning me onto BIG | BRAVE, who for the longest I was confusing with Brave Bird, an emo band from Michigan. BIG | BRAVE are a badass Montreal post/doom metal trio who recently released a new album, A Gaze Among Them, on Southern Lord Records. They’ve been at it for most of the 10s, and coming from the storied tradition of Montreal post rock, it’s no surprise this record is so expertly made with its controlled dynamics, epic climaxes, and its control of the space & slowness between notes.

The opener “Muted Shifting of Space” starts off good enough, with slow, punishing guitar and percussion, along with the dire vocals of Robin Wattie. Then halfway through, the guitars just get nasty, overcome with fuzz and caustic distortion, creating a moment that I absolutely have to see & hear live. This nuclear meltdown halfway through the track leads to a gradual melt into spacious arrangements of guitar and drums, like the embers of a burned down building glowing in an expanse of blackness. Big thank you to my friend that sent me this tune – it’s dope and I hope you, dear reader, feel the same.

Listen/buy the rest of the record here.

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Listen/Watch: Brutus – “War” (Live at Rain City) [2019]

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Very Warm

Got turned on to Brutus early in the year from, of all things, a Stereogum comment. As a fan of most things Sargent House (Brutus’ record label), this was an easy sell for me at first glance. But damn, this song has not been able to leave my head since I first heard it back in January. The slowly building first half of the track is just so powerful, opening things up with a simple guitar line, minimal bass and lead vocalist & drummer Stefanie Mannaerts really baring her soul on her delivery. My favorite line is by far “your hate will always be my guide”.

Then the song explodes with absolute flames, with a deluge of guitar and cacophonous percussion. Then the vocals come back amongst the scorched earth instrumentals and it is just a beautiful, impactful moment. I guarantee this song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the year and beyond. The rest of their record, Nest, is great too! But this is just a meteoric highlight that needs to be heard.

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Listen: (Sandy) Alex G – “Hope” [2019]

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Very Warm

The artist formerly known as Alex G, (Sandy) Alex G, has released another new single off his upcoming LP House of Sugar (out 9/13 via Domino). The previous single, “Gretel”, is far and away one of my favorite songs of the year so far and has frequently put me into endless repeat cycles.

This new song… is just as good. I don’t want to hype things up for myself too much, but this album is shaping up to be one of G’s best, which is saying something. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to listen to “Gretel” at least four times, and then re-listen to 2017’s Rocket.

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Listen: Badge Époque Ensemble – “Milk Spilt On Eternity” [2019]

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Very Warm

If you’re like me, you love U.S. Girls. If you’re REALLY like me, you’ve seen U.S. Girls live. Meg Remy has an incredible live band backing her up, don’t you think? Have you ever wanted a studio recording of something slightly resembling U.S. Girls’ live band doing their own thing, plus a badass flautist strutting at the forefront? Well look no further than the Badge Époque Ensemble, led by none other than Slim Twig, the Canadian musical producer & creator extraordinaire, as well as being the usually bucket-hatted guitarist in the U.S. Girls band. Add five more musicians, along with a few guest performers, you’ve got the Badge Époque Ensemble, the group you need to be listening to if you wanna get into the hottest grooves of summer 2019.

I saw these guys open for USG two months ago and I’m very happy I did. I had no idea who they were, but had to get there early to get a good spot at the 150-cap room. BEE spin a laid back, yet ultra-hot groove on their self-titled album. Pulsed along by nocturnal rhodes, light-footed flute, wah-ed out guitars, hand percussion, and all sorts of, as the band puts it, “raw shit”. It’s all instrumental save for the utterly brilliant “Undressed In Solitude” featuring James Baley, my personal favorite song on the project. I didn’t want to share that song right off the bat, so it can be a kind of a surprise when you decide to check the whole record out. What I’m saying is that you should check the whole record out. Moments of pure shred, moments of cloudy uncanny valley, moments of slick psychedelia. It’s a record that I’ve let replay countless times over the past week. Walked around NYC yesterday at sunset (just as the power outage hit!) and it was just so clutch. Really hoping they have some more material planned for the future and this wasn’t a one-time deal. Even so, it’s one hell of a statement.

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Listen: Anna Meredith – “Paramour” [2019]

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Very Warm

Anna Meredith hooked me in back in 2016 with her album Varmints, a record that I really ought to revisit since it has had time to marinate in my brain. Long story short – it’s a record of some weird mutant chamber / art / synth / electro pop that evades all sorts of labels besides “definitely good”.

She’s returning with FIBS, out October 25 via Moshi Moshi. This is a lot more instrumental / aggressive than I remember the last album being, but it still has that signature anxious giddiness with excellent arrangement / orchestration I remember. Keep your eyes out on this one!

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Listen: HTRK – “You Know How To Make Me Happy” [2019]

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Very Warm

HTRK is a group I only started listening to pretty recently with their Psychic 9-5 Club record. I played the song “Love Is Distraction” on a concept radio show I was doing about someone’s brain in a breakup tailspin. The subtle, eerie synth and percussion along with the cool vocals of Jonnine Standish were perfect for channeling the feeling of numbness, paranoia and futility of situational depression.

But enough about the old, HTRK have a new record Venus In Leo coming via Ghostly on August 30. This song similarly channels the muted, greyscale feelings of longing and casts it in a special light. Subtle instrumentals with some sterile drones accompany Standish’s vocals. Like pretty much every lead-up single I post about on here, I can’t wait for the album.

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