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Track Reviews

Rave’s Fave: Alt-J – Warm Foothills

altj

Most successful bands endure a long haul before they gain recognition, but Alt-J’s career shot up like a comet upon the release of their debut album. The band’s success culminated in their winning the coveted 2012 Mercury Prize in the UK. Enter their new album This Is All Yours. It’s really laid-back, even more so than the first record. Besides the three songs heard prior to release which are all highlights, make sure you hear “Warm Foothills”. Its choral beauty is stunning. Joe Newman’s vocals are enhanced with spliced words contributed by Connor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, Sivu, and Marika Hackman. Contributed by Bruce Rave.

* Links and playlists from Bruce Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

Alt-J (Official)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
09-29-14

James Vincent McMorrow – You Know

mcmorrow

World conqueror James Vincent McMorrow is releasing a deluxe version of his acclaimed Post-Tropical LP on November 10th. One extra from the re-release package, which also includes two other new tracks and remixes from The 1975, Atu, and DPAT, is the unreleased rhythm-driven folk gem “You Know”. You can stream “You Know” before and do look out for JVM touring Europe and America this fall (we’ve included those dates below).

Oct 05 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London, United Kingdom
Oct 07 – Kampnagel – Hamburg, Germany
Oct 08 – Vega Musikkens Hus – Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 09 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany
Oct 11 – Gloria – Cologne, Germany
Oct 12 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium
Oct 13 – La Cigale – Paris, France
Oct 14 – Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal – Utrecht, Netherlands
Oct 16 – Theaterfabrik – Munich, Germany
Oct 17 – Biko – Milano, Italy
Oct 19 – Mascotte – Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 20 – FRI-SON – Fribourg, Switzerland
Oct 22 – Sala Apolo – Barcelona, Spain
Oct 24 – Joy Eslava – Madrid, Spain
Nov 01 – The Kessler – Dallas, TX
Nov 02 – The Belmont – Austin, TX
Nov 04 – The Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
Nov 05 – The Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Nov 06 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Nov 08 – The Lincoln – Washington, DC
Nov 10 – Town Hall – New York, NY
Nov 12 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Nov 13 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Nov 16 – The Neptune – Seattle, WA
Nov 17 – The Aladdin – Portland, OR
Nov 19 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Nov 20 – Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA

James Vincent McMorrow ireland (Official) (Facebook) (iTunes)

Rating 9.0

brown93

reviewed by
09-26-14

Young & Sick – Breathe (Télépopmusik)

telepopmusikbreathe

Young & Sick are back today with a simple and inventive cover of a classic track, “Breathe” by Télépopmusik. A long time favorite song of the artist, Young and Sick had this to say about “Breathe”, “Breathe was my ignore-the-rain anthem and perfect hangover cure for the years I spent in North London. It feels like a timeless song. Angela McClusky’s smokey voice always stole my heart.” We couldn’t agree much more as “Breathe” is really one of those perfect timeless pop songs. Listen below.

Young & Sick newyork (Tumblr)

Rating 8.0

brown8

reviewed by
09-26-14

Work Drugs – Temporary Life Lines

workdrugs

“Temporary Life Lines” is the new single from Work Drugs upcoming Runaways LP. The track is framed by melodic piano chords and a vaguely disco-y guitar that do well to boost up and complement the song’s infectious set of vocal lines. Runaways is out October 7th on Bobby Cahn Records.

Work Drugs (Facebook)
Rating 8.3796

brown8

reviewed by
09-25-14

Cassiano – Ondo (Poolside & Fatnotronic Edit)

cassiano

Another day, another fantastic Poolside remix. Poolside’s (joined by Fatnotronic) target this time is a 1977 track (which we had not heard before today) from Brazilian soul/MPB artist Cassiano, which according to Poolside is a set favorite of Balearic scene DJs.

Poolside california (Facebook)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
09-25-14

Gorgeous Bully – 925

gorgeousbully

Manchester UK’s Gorgeous Bully make their B3 debut with the neatly reverb-y jangle jam “925”. The track is a component part of 80N7 , a new Cassette Day special compilation featuring unreleased songs from some of Rough Trade NYC’s favorite DIY bands.

Gorgeous Bully (Facebook)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
09-25-14

ZHU – Gun. (CHVRCHES Cover)

ZHU - Gun. (CHVRCHES Cover)

Still a mystery to the masses, ZHU puts together an impressive cover of the blog fave CHVRCHES’ “Gun”. ZHU’s twist on “Gun” is a unique and pleasant one; giving the track a proper dance floor treatment. By Brian Litwin

ZHU (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
09-25-14

Cherry Glazerr – Had Ten Dollaz

cherryglazerr

L.A. band Cherry Glazerr have a new seven inch in the works for Suicide Squeeze Records. The visceral and reverb-rinsed “Had Ten Dollaz” manages its potent-ness and powerful quality without sounding hackneyed or formulaic (here’s the part where the guitars turn up). We love it.

Cherry Glazerr california (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
09-24-14

Rockie Fresh – Hesitate

rockiefresh2

Rick Ross bro, we need that Rockie Fresh LP, ok? The MMG-signed Rockie Fresh’s debut album still languishes on without a release date. Today, the Chicago emcee took the interwebs to debut a contemplative new track “Hesitate” which also features a soulful ace instrumental from fellow 312’ers Peezy and Cam. Enjoy “Hestitate” below while we get Ross on the phone about that LP release.

Rockie Fresh (Official)

Rating 8.1

reviewed by
09-24-14

Alina Baraz & Galimatias – Fantasy

Baraz

The combination of Alina Baraz’s breathy float-on-top-the-mix vocal and producer Galimatias’ vibed-down exotic-y beats has produced some of B3’s favorite tracks of 2013 and 2014 including the very accurately titled “Pretty Thoughts”. “Fantasy” is another strong exercise in the Baraz/Galimatias formula and deserves your attention below. “Fantasy” is excerpted from the upcoming “Urban Flora” EP.

Alina Baraz & Galimatias ohio (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
09-24-14

Black Honey – The Taste (demo)

blackhoneythetaste

Duly Noted Records’ Black Honey debuts today another very strong track. “The Taste” is HUGE. Buoyed by a chorus of the biggest, most potent composition, “The Taste” finds Black Honey stretching their sound and accessibility to potential Radio 1 level heights. Wow.

Black Honey (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.8

brown8

reviewed by
09-24-14

Rochelle Jordan – Lowkey (Feat. JMSN)

rochellejordan

Mega-talent Rochelle Jordan is joined by the equally great JMSN for a new remix to “Lowkey”. We touched yesterday on Kiesza’s excellent R&B turn how it felt in quality and construction like (in the context of the seemingly everywhere right now “alt-R&B) believable R&B, Jordan’s starry-eyed “Lowkey” remix is composed of similar credible DNA. A++

Rochelle Jordancanada: (Facebook)

Rating: 8.7

brown8

reviewed by
09-24-14