A big whassup from Brazil my peoples! I’ve been traveling for a little over a month now (well, if you don’t count the year I was living in La Paz as “traveling”) and have a major itching to share some dope new music with all of you. Expect a bunch of posts coming up, which could possibly include any of the following:
The new Holy Fuck
The new Tobacco
Wu-Tang Clan vs. The Beatles (It’s good! Really!)
The new RJD2
See I always stock up on new music before a long trip, especially if I’m traveling by myself. I’m never alone if my fav artists are keeping me company (^-^)v I’m at the point now where I’ve giving this new batch of music a good listening to, and there’s one album I keep coming back to, over and over: Lazerproof. I just can’t get enough. Read the rest of this entry »
The Scissor Sisters are back, and by back I mean back from that strange diversion through vaudeville they took with their last album, Tah-Dah. Back to the glitzy, polished, retro-but-fresh synth-pop that put them on the map in 2003. It’s good to have them back. Here’s the title song from their new album Night Work plus a couple more of my current favorite tracks. And because this is technically a dance music blog, I’ll throw in a Siriusmo remix of Invisible Light, the album’s final track. If you want to hear the original version, hit up the amazon link and buy this album. It’s a return to form.
I’ve had the new album from Spanish Dance-Pop group Delorean in my iTunes library for a few months now but I never gave it a fair shake until just this morning. They have a sound that is about as out-of-time as their namesake, and all my casual skimming revealed was chintzy electric pianos and drum loops that remind me exactly why I can’t stand most dance music from the 80’s, especially the European variety. Primal Scream? Happy Mondays? Ugh. I’d rather listen to nothing than those tambourines.
And yet, when allowed to make their case, Delorean transcends their retro foundation and manages to crank out some really catchy, sunny, modern pop songs. They’d fit well in a playlist of gauzy electro groups like M83, Hot Chip, and Ulrich Schnauss.
I first became a fan of Goldfrapp when I heard their 2002 bassy and blissed-out electropop album Black Cherry. Since then they’ve released four albums, changing their style with each one, with varying degrees of success. In this year’s album, Head First, they come around to a guilty pleasure of mine: shamelessly-cheesy synth pop. If the first two tracks below don’t instantly remind you of the 80s, you’re probably too young to be reading this blog. Seriously, go do your homework. The clips below will conjure memories of Olivia Newton John and Billy Joel… I’m sure we could play a few of these tracks on a hot summer morning lounging in the Pancake Playhouse and they wouldn’t feel out of place.
And just so we don’t overload on the sweet retro stuff I’ve also included the last two samples, a taste of something more contemporary. Now, few weeks after the album has had a chance to sink in and the pop sheen has worn off a bit, they are my favorites.
Now here’s one I’ve been waiting for. After a five-year hiatus, Damon Albarn returns with Plastic Beach, the third Gorillaz outing. Albarn is now flying solo in the producer seat, without the backing of a super-star producer like Dan the Automator or Danger Mouse (producers of the first and second albums, respectively) however he is not without his usual supporting cast of musical heavyweights. This time the roster of guest artists includes Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash, Lou Reed, Mos Def, De La Soul, and Snoop Dogg, among many others.
Though not totally devoid of the quirky post-modern pop that put the virtual band on the map, Plastic Beach delves into some uncharted waters with more pensive compositions and lyrics. There’s a theme of cynical environmentalism running through the whole album that makes for distinctly heavier listening experience than previous albums. As Albarn explains, “I suppose what I’ve done with this Gorillaz record is I’ve tried to connect pop sensibility with… trying to make people understand the essential melancholy of buying a ready-made meal in loads of plastic packaging.”
It’s pretty hard to pick a single out of this one. There’s no stand-out catchy track like Feel Good, Inc or Clint Eastwood, though in my opinion the faux breakfast cereal jingle Superfast Jellyfish comes close. While I do miss the consistent fun of the past albums, this more conceptual work leaves me with the feeling that the Gorillaz project has (oh, I hate this word) matured from the cartoon pop band gimmick into a progressively more daring collaboration that pushes familiar names and sounds in new and interesting directions. I just hope it doesn’t drift too far off shore.
