Paris producer Kaptain Cadillac picks up Scrap on this mint new remix of “Look At Me”. The weekend of Apr 8-10 has met its official dance anthem. Money got legs so of course we gotta chase it.
Lil’ Scrappy – Look At Me (Kaptain Cadillac Remix)Lil’ Scrappy: (Official) (Myspace) (Twitter)
Kaptain Cadillac: (Myspace) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Rating: 8.0
Saadiq appeared on Gilles Peterson’s show this week and previewed much of the material from his upcoming Stone Rollin’ LP. Wow, just wow. We heard much of the new material played out live during SXSW but hearing the recorded versions, the album is just crazy. Stone Rollin’ will no doubt be one of the best records of the year. Mark it!
Raphael Saadiq – Good Man (Live Acoustic)Raphael Saadiq: (Official) (Myspace) (Twitter)
Rating: 9.0
PJ Harvey said that at 41, she wasn’t going to write in the same way she did years ago. In her case, I’d say time is treating her well. “The Words That Maketh Murder” is my fave song of hers to date, and what takes it over the top for me are the killer backing vocals. (Program note: My weekly Go Deep show on Moheak Radio returns Friday, April 22 after a two-week hiatus.)
PJ Harvey – The Words That Maketh MurderCatch Bruce on Moheak Radio Fridays 1-3pm PST
PJ Harvey: (Official) (Myspace)
Rating: 8.0
Hottest Record in the World on Zane Lowe today. Big tune. With the right push (which seems now to be set in motion) it could be a massive track.
Smiler – Big SpenderSmiler: (Myspace)
Rating: 8.1
Grimshaw’s been spinning the shit out of this Adam F & Herve Remix of “Get Involved”. Like Grimmy, we’re into it too. Are you? Let us know.
Missy Elliott – Get Involved (Adam F & Herve Remix)Adam F: (Myspace) (Facebook)
Herve: (Myspace) (Twitter)
Rating: 8.0
New shit from b3sci favs BretonLABS. The London production team takes tourmates’ Esben and the Witch’s track “Warpath” for a spin reworking it with some heavier beat textures and retouched synth voicings to give it that extra cool BretonLABS shine.
Esben and the Witch – Warpath (BRETON Remix) via Welikeit.indieEsben and the Witch: (Myspace) (Official) (Facebook)
Rating: 7.9
Karen Elson’s soulful “The Birds They Circle”, from last year’s solid The Ghost That Walks gets the vid treatment via her husband rock and roll’s Jack White. The feel of the clip matches up well with the song, the ominous lighting, the shadows, the stark deeply colored background, all sort of frame “The Birds They Circle’s” forboding, almost ghostly sensibilities.
Karen Elson – The Birds They CircleKaren Elson: (Official) (Myspace)
Rating: 8.0
Damn, Atlantic really fucked up with Lasers, the record is still solid, it is Lupe after all, but hearing some of these outtakes that “didn’t make the record”, Lasers could’ve been a modern classic. Way to go Atlantic.
Lupe Fiasco – Airplanes (Feat. Hayley Williams)Lupe Fiasco: (Official) (Myspace) (Twitter)
Rating: 8.2
The Raveonettes rolled into Boston’s Paradise rock club this past Thursday blowing out an approximately 70 minute set that featured heavily tunes from the band’s new Raven in the Grave LP. The Raveonettes are loud. Really loud. Maybe it was the venue, the soundman, the soundsystem, or some combination but the band came of extraordinarly loud, at times a bit to the detriment of the material. We heard guitars, we heard distortion pedals, we heard noise and feedback, but, some of the time, we couldn’t hear the voices, we couldn’t hear the songs.
Sune and Sharin were backed up this time by two side men who alternated between drums (both live and electronic) and guitars and bass. The beefed up rhythm section aided in giving the better songs a strong rhythmic punch.
What we’ve heard from Raven in the Grave we love. This slightly darker, slightly shoegazier sound from The Raves plays brilliantly on record. Recharge & Revolt, War in Heaven, Evil Seeds all draw from and synthesize on the best influences and sounds in The Raveonettes universe (MBV, Ride, etc).
Second song “Evil Seeds” was particularly jarring. The bass in the beat just rips into you. The atmospheres of guitar distortion pull at you further. That intersection of emotive interaction (to the music) and an intense physical reaction (to the actual sounds), it was really powerful.
Sharin would give wry smile to Sune or Sune would sort of shake his arms otherwise there was sort of stoicism from the band, a kind of blankness but it sort of worked. You felt pulverized in sort of systematic way, a sort of monolith of sound. It fit.
“Heart of Stone”, from 2009’s excellent In and Out of Control, was a highlight. The song bounced, jittered, and shook. Sune’s tuneful picking in lockstep to Sharin’s kinetic bass.
We love The Raveonettes. We love Raven in the Grave. The performance… conceptually, it worked. If a concert experience were solely transacted in ideas, this would have been a great show. Technically (venue acoustics, soundman, mixing, levels, etc) it left something to be desired.
The Raveonettes – Evil Seeds The Raveonettes – Heart of Stone
Listen to this track and try not to imagine it’s 1991. Your hair’s a little longer (or maybe not). The recession sucks (still does). And sandwiched between “Souvlaki Space Station” and “Only Shallow” on your latest mixtape is “Leave” by San Francisco band Whirl.
Whirl – Leave via SKOAWhirl: (Bandcamp)
Rating: 8.5
New DISCO Texas signee Zimmer just dropped this new FREE track entitled “Cruisin'”. Vibes up, G’s down for the Parisian producer on “Cruisin'” as cool synth atmospheres float over a pulsing backbeat; that and the best use of vocal chants on a track yet heard in 2011! haha.
Zimmer – Cruisin’Zimmer: (Facebook) (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.0
Anytime Sade drops new music it’s cause to get psyched. “Still in Love With You” is excerpted from Ms. Adu’s upcoming greatest hits package The Ultimate Collection, due May 3. “Still in Love With You” keeps with the smooth organic sounds of last year’s excellent Soldier of Love LP. Killer track, check it below.
Sade – Still In Love With YouSade: (Official) (Myspace) (Facebook)
Rating: 8.4
