“Lifeline”, the title track off Manchester UK band The Answering Machine’s sophomore LP starts well enough, heavily syncopated drums working lockstep with jagged bass stabs. The jam status takes hold @ 1:06, when the song’s most excellent chorus sequence drops, rad bits of melody, killer guitar leads, pretty hype shit.
The Answering Machine – LifelineRating: 8.2
Shad keeps bringing the heat on “Keep Shining” the latest off his excellent TSOL LP. Catch a little holy ghost.
Shad – Keep ShiningRating: 8.2
Swiss mix man Cee-Roo flips Talib & Saadiq in the mix on this excerpted track from his new “Beatz N’ Rhymes #5” Mixtape. Cee-Roo tips a nice groove on “Make Me Feel Good” twisting up Saadiq’s golden tenor to Talib’s rapid fire rhymes.
Cee-Roo – Make Me Feel Good (Feat. Raphael Saadiq & Talib Kweli)Rating: 8.0
One half of your favorite blogger’s favorite Danish R&B duo Quadron, Coco O. appears solo here on the track for “Sleep”. Coco’s got some of the best, most emotive pipes in the business; just the texture and feeling she’s able infuse into each note. Do the opposite of what the song says. Don’t sleep. Get into it!
Coco O. – SleepRating: 8.5
Fenech-Soler are coming to America! Oh yeah! At least a new four-song EP titled “Demons” is. Seriously, dudes, we need U.S. dates. As well as the title track, the “Demons” EP packs b3sci’s #7 track of 2009 “Lies”, new tune “Stone Bridge”, and this vibed out smooth rendition of “Demons”. Featuring spare electronic percussion, subtle synths, and the supremely toned Fender Rhodes, the track floats the full-length of its 3 minutes+ duration.
Removed by label request
Fenech-Soler – Demons (White Version)
Rating: 8.2
Just when you thought “You’ve Got the Love” was done, that it couldn’t possibly be remixed again…. Enter this heater by 19-yr old Leeds UK producer Jaggz. We’re into it. Jaggz flips the mix souping it up with monstrous colossal synths and pulsing floor-filling beats. p.s. Most definitely check out Jaggz’ Soundcloud, wall-to-wall bangers.
Florence & the Machine – You’ve Got the Love (Jaggz Ibiza House Bootleg)Rating: 8.1
“Reasons”, premiered here from Saint Saviour’s new Anatomy EP, is the sort of full stop, the sort of punctuation you’d place at the pauses and spaces in between full segments of life or the smallest succession of moments. The tune carried by Saint Saviour’s powerhouse vocal comes in like a rush, resolves through the most beautiful chorus melody, breathes out a final flourish in the song’s haunting uplifting close. “Reasons” feels incorporeal, like somewhere else, like time stopped, like those most temporary, most lucid moments.
Catch the former Groove Armada frontwoman on tour this month with electrorock act Hurts and at her co-headline date with another b3sci fav Clare Maguire at London’s Borderline this Friday. You most certainly won’t be disappointed.
Reasons by SaintSaviour
Saint Saviour – BirdsongSaint Saviour official website
Saint Saviour on Myspace
rating: 8.6
The Pit go in on the #1 song in America; dialing up the song’s harmony tracks, doing some killer inversions with the beats and claps, topping it all off with some most excellent countermelodies in the synth lines. Bruno Mars, Passion Pit, b3sci 2011, hands in the air.
Bruno Mars – Grenade (Passion Pit Remix)Rating: 8.6
The Fenech boys flip the script on the Jessie J ode to crotch-grabbing. The electrojam refashioned as a piano ballad. Works.
Fenech-Soler – Do It Like Dude (Jessie J Cover)Rating: 8.0
Unearthed this cool new 2Pac remix from depths of the Youtube slums. 2Pac sounds nice here over Saadiq’s shoeshine smooth vocal tones.
2Pac – Crooked Nigga Too (Raphael Saadiq Remix)Rating: 8.2
Hello Seahorse! come to us straight outta Mexico City. The trio packs such a cool interesting variety of sounds into the track for “7 Dias”. The rattle of the bass, the scratch of the synth, the flourishes of electronica-tinged counter-rhythm, and most definitely the beautiful airy floating vocals of frontwoman Denise Gutierrez.
Hello Seahorse! – 7 DiasRating: 8.2
