Artists that can dig deep and pull sounds straight from their soul are too few and far between. On the heels of his feature with Wretch 32 on the hit “Don’t Go”, Josh Kumra continues forward with the excellent ‘”Call Off The Search”. Powerful, honest, and tuneful in all the right ways, “COTS” is a can’t miss type track. Preview the track and get familiar with Josh Kumra below.
Josh Kumra – Call Off The SearchJosh Kumra 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.8
b3sci and Liam Gallgher, #1 and #2 Birdy fans. Our girl’s pensive cover of The Naked and the Famous tune is really really good. Spin it below.
Birdy – Young Blood (The Naked and the Famous)Birdy (Facebook) (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
“All We Do Is Count” is new from NYC rock and roll band Grassfight. The track goes lo-fi well enough but mantains enough of a tune (both vocally and instrumentally) to keep you interested long after you’re first like “WOW, I really do love this low-fi shit.” Don’t sleep, “AWDIC” is one of the best rock tracks we’ve heard in a minute. Spin it after the jump below and check out the band’s “Icon” EP on Soundcloud.
Grassfight – All We Do Is CountGrassfight 
(Facebook) (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
We’ve had the new Sharon Van Etten on serious blast here at b3sci HQ the last couple weeks. One of our favorite of the new Sharon Van E tracks is “Serpents”. It’s is such a great record. It’s one of those really perfect moments when the tune, the arrangements, the voice, the content, the artist, it all just comes together. Listen.
Sharon Van Etten – SerpentsSharon Van Etten (Official) (Myspace)
Rating 8.8
Shout out to The Bay but we’re about to do it for LA. Nipsey, YG & Snoop team up on this West Coast remix of the T-Minus produced tune from Take Care. Outta space jam.
Drake – The Motto (Remix) (Feat. Nipsey Hussle, YG & Snoop Dogg)Rating 8.3
New DFA signee James Curd recently teamed up with Devin Byrnes for “Let’s Burn It All” off Aeroplane’s new In Flight Entertainment mixtape. Check out the preview below.
But wait there’s more… for those of you in Los Angeles, James is rolling through town to perform Wednesday night (11/23) with support from BONES, Bixel Boys and Junkyard as part of At Central S.A.P.C. Presents. Drop us a line HERE to be entered to win a pair of tickets for the set (raffled day of performance). Get additional show details at Central S.A.P.C.
James Curd feat. Devin Byrnes – Let’s Burn It AllJames Curd 
(Facebook)
Rating 8
UPDATE: Contest now closed.
So we’ve got some exciting news for all of you Zeros in the house! The Smashing Pumpkins are reissuing remastered versions of their iconic Gish and Siamese Dream albums stateside November 29th and internationally on December 5th. The albums are being remastered for the first time from the original master tapes and will be available in CD, Deluxe CD/DVD, Vinyl LP and digital formats. Both albums feature bonus content and special features that were hand-curated from the band’s archives by founding member Billy Corgan.
In his interview for the reissue’s new liner notes, Corgan reflects on why these albums were hard-won triumphs for the band and discusses the origins of the songs, “we start the album (Siamese Dream) out with ‘Cherub Rock’ which is basically my big F.U. to the indie world. If you read the lyrics, that was basically me railing against the hipper than thou New York indie mentality.”
We’ve spent a minute or two both in Chicago and in the 90s, and no doubt Siamese Dream is one of our all time favorite records. And in interest of spreading that love, we are giving away a limited edition CD boxset of Siamese Dream and extremely limited lithograph print (pictured above) that contains side by side artwork of both Gish and Siamese Dream!
Interested? B3SCI has you covered! Just give us a shout and we’ll enter you win our drawing! Simple. UPDATE: Contest now closed.
Siamese Dream Boxset Includes:
– Original Album Remastered With Reimagined Cover Art
– 17 Previously Unreleased or Alternative Versions of Siamese Dream Era Songs
– Previously Unreleased, Full Length DVD From The Metro 1993
– 13 Postcards Featuring Original Album Collages
– 24 Page Booklet Featuring Complete Lyrics, Unpublished Personal Photos, Liner Notes by David Wild, and Track-by-Track Annotations by Billy Corgan
EMI’s global catalog reissue campaign will last through 2013 and will also include all the band’s albums and B-sides from 1991-2000, with other release dates to be announced. The Smashing Pumpkins will release Oceania, “an album within an album,” as part of their in-progress 44-song work Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. Featuring 13 new songs, expect Oceania in early 2012.
The Smashing Pumpkins – DisarmThe Smashing Pumpkins(Official)(Facebook)(Twitter)(iTunes)(YouTube)
Contributed by Trevor Meyer
English punk rockers, Male Bonding, are a recent trio hailing from London. If you’re on the fence, or a die hard punk rocker, MB certainly brings the heat, but their melodies and guitar hooks are infectious as well. I know that I am defenseless to the allure of melodic garage punk and these guys do it tremendously. Their debut album Nothing Hurts is excellent. “Seems to Notice” is my favorite track, but the album is loaded with catchy and blasting tunes throughout. Their second album, Endless Now came out earlier this year and trust me, if you haven’t already, this one you need to pick up.
Male Bonding- Seems to NoticeMale Bonding
(Sub Pop)
Rating 8.47
Portuguese collective Orehla Negra put down this stunning flip of Betty LaVette’s 1973 tune “Your Turn to Cry”. Listen.
Orelhla Negra – M.I.R.I.A.M.Orelha Negra 
(Facebook) (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
The brand new “Home Again” is yet another example of what UK singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka does so well. It’s just his soul, a guitar, and some minimal instrumentation all tuned into that special MK frequency. Get (re)familiar below.
Michael Kiwanuka (Facebook) (Official)
Rating 8.2
“Anyway”, new from Cee-Lo, will be a bonus track on the upcoming re-release of his b3sci Top 10 album of 2010 The Lady Killer. Give the nicely-tipped Rivers Cuomo co-penned tune a spin.
Cee-Lo Green – AnywayCee-Lo Green: (Official) (Myspace) (Facebook)
Rating: 8.3
Many are eager to know if Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will fly too high on his forthcoming US solo debut LP. Here’s our track by track on an album we’ve been waiting to hear for a loooonnng time:
Everybody’s on the Run. We prefer the bootleg soundcheck. That said, Noel’s treatment for the track is nothing short of an epic testament to the tune. Instrumentally the song explores some of Noel’s most lush arrangements to date, and it’s just one example on High Flying Birds that illustrates his affinity to a more broad pallet of music and instrumentation.
Dream On. A Gallagher LP standard strut worthy must. Classic brit pop nod to a T, add a fashioned touch. If you like any gems from post-Be Here Now Oasis then you’ll likely enjoy what’s to come. I think of it like the way I perceive some of the Early Wings stuff – of course not because of The Beatles cliches but because it’s a great tune that represents everything Oasis was and still can/could’ve been.
If I Had A Gun. One of Noel Gallagher’s best songs to date. Like what I wanted “Little By Little” to be, an anthem of the most genuine type. It’s been a while since Noel has hit that anthemic single pocket. “If I Had A Gun” seems to pour our out of Noel Gallagher. Like he never doubted a note of it.The Death of You and Me. Waiting until midnight PST for this track debut on Noel’s website the world got their first glimpse at the High Flying Birds concept. The video, spaghetti western-inflected, portrayed Noel Gallagher’s whimsical and more classically cinematic musical interests. Burt Bacharach, Sgt. Peppers, Going Nowhere… A refrain for the books. Class act.
I Wanna Live In A Dream (In My Record Machine). Another from the Noelchives. I laughed when I saw it was on the LP and definitely don’t blame Liam Gallagher for calling bullshit. “I Wanna Live In A Dream” could be on any Oasis album. A song no doubt plotted for years to be played on a single world tour and then likely never again. Still it’s a good track that really brings out the classic rock influence in Noel Gallagher. Bonus points for the “Stop the Clocks” coda.
AKA What A Life. Noel Gallagher dreams in a style of almost trance-like percussion. #Tailgunner. But seriously a stunning and simple tune by a seasoned writer when broken down.
Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks. Ladies and gentlemen may we introduce to you Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds? A fantastic vocal from Noel; dynamic, warm, dialed-in. “On and on we go” is the sort of refrain we could of only hoped to hear on this album. The cadences are irresistible.
AKA Broken Arrow Think about an AC version of “D’Yer Wanna Be Space Man” played in a minor key. Like what Paul Weller would sound like if he covered that tune today. “Broken Arrow” embodies the songwriter that flows through Noel Gallagher’s veins in tow with vibrant production that truly paints a picture. It’s no doubt radio friendly for today’s aging formatted audiences.
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach. Thank you for writing this song Noel Gallagher. Another sneering highlight from the NG that brought us pissed off songs like “Headshrinker”, “I Can See A Liar”, “Force of Nature”. Ironically, either Noel’s mocking little brother Liam at times or it’s just creepy to hear how much the the two can sound like family. Whatever the case, we know you’re in your 40s Noel but never mind the bollocks.
Stop The Clocks. Waves crashing (hmm) lead us into this albums epic closer. And in particular, Liam we feel you on this one. “Stop The Clocks”, written not long after September 11 finally gets it’s record debut. The verdict, another flag waver destined for Noel’s arsenal of writing trophies. At moments I hear how Noel found it outside of the Oasis box, but “Clocks” embodies the qualities that make all Oasis album closers great. It’s like a track that re-assures you have just experienced an album. But does it feel like High Flying Birds?
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be released Tuesday November 8, 2011. Be sure to check it out along with some of the great b-sides we’ve heard so far from Noel’s new project. #AMORPHOUSANDROGENOUS2012
Stream the entire album at Rolling Stone.
Noel Gallagher (Official) (Purchase Album)
Rating 8.7
