There Is Something In My Mind

Glasser - Apply


Apply is the standout track from Glasser's debut album, Ring, and is without a doubt one of this year's best songs. It all boils down to how the tribal drum rhythm perfectly matches Cameron Mesirow's siren-meets-jungle-queen vocals. I was hooked from the very first listen.

Picture Plane - Goth Star


I've known Pictureplane for a while, but never really listened to his music. Big mistake on my part. His music is noisy and poppy in the best possible way, so no wonder HEALTH are fans (they actually covered this song the last time they played in Copenhagen). The mashing of Fleetwood Mac's Seven Wonders with the pulsing synth and hard marching drums all combines to this beast of a song. I simply can't get enough of it.

Earl Sweatshirt - Couch (feat. Tyler, The Creator)


The beat is swag and the lyrics are crass. Definitely not for the sensitive and/or political correct, these are teenagers rapping about rape, murder, drugs and everything in between. There's a really sinister (and slightly juvenile) sense of humor and a hell of lot of creativity going on with these guys. My favorite bits are when the piano sample and distorted bass kick in (first time at 0:34), the "clitoris of Kelly Clarkson's dick"- line, and the pitched- down "stab him" at 3:04. It's so wrong that it's... well, still wrong, but also kind of funny and pretty damn great.

Keeping It Classy

I just thought I'd introduce you to the background on my desktop. Classy.

Sidebar: Gaga puts phone on head, Perry lactates... Bieber, your move.

030

Incredibly NSFW, but definitely worth it.

The Good The Bad - 030


... The song is pretty damn great too.

She Painted Pictures With The Tips Of Her Fingers

Tokyo Police Club - Bambi


The synth, with its distorted yet organic sound, is a real show stealer here. It's pure ear candy, and when combined with TPC's knack for making catchy-as-heck songs, you have a real winner. Never ones to do Sigúr Ros- style epics, they keep the song at the perfect pop song length of less than three minutes and, as the saying goes, the best things come in small packages.

Let Me Love You Down, Even If It Takes All Nite

Summer blogging hiatus / holiday ended up a bit longer than expected, but I'm back in business. To start things off here are two songs that represent everything that can be great about R'n'B. A little negative space goes a long way.

Me'Shell N'degeocello - Love You Down [via Nehru Jackets]


 
Aaliyah - We Need A Resolution (feat. Timberland)

I'm Just Having Fun With You

I have a feeling that Wavves' King of the Beach will be the soundtrack of this summer (or at least a big part of it)... Like Cool Jumper before it, new single, Post Acid, is hella good!*

Wavves - Post Acid


* Get it? Get it?

Hell Is Around The Corner

With an exam coming up friday (yikes!), my playlist of late has been dominated by music with a relaxing quality to it. Two songs in particular have been on near- constant rotation over past few days, and they are Hell Is Around The Corner and Electric Relaxation. They are the sort of songs that make you sit back, relax and, for a brief moment, forget about everything else around you. Fantastic songs with great lyrics and even better production.

Tricky - Hell Is Around The Corner




A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

With Your Voice My Belly Sunk

There is a great expressive quality to Taylor Kirk’s (Timber Timbre) voice and the way he enunciates every word carefully on Demon Host. His voice conveys a palpable sense of vulnerability with the trembles and the soft moans of oh. Throughout the song he is accompanied only by acoustic guitar and piano, which makes the song a very intimate listening experience, while also complimenting the eerie ghostly feel that permeates the song. 

"Oh reverend please, can I chew your ear? I have become what I most fear
and I know there is no such thing as ghosts, but I have seen the demon host"

Timber Timbre - Demon Host

Talking Like Jerk Except You Are An Actual Jerk

Melancholy really suits Future Islands. The weathered and characteristic vocals of Sam Herring, oft resembled to Tom Waits, adds a lot of weight to the words. He sounds like a man who has been through the rough, and therefore, the sentiment conveyed is much stronger when he sings lyrics such as the opening line "you couldn't possibly know how much you mean to me" and the repeated "I am the tin man" on the chorus.

... I am also a sucker for the sound of steel drums.

Future Islands - Tin Man


Dance Yrself Clean surely has to be one of the best album openers of the year. Slowly grinding away for the first three minutes, with no indication of living up to the word dance in the title, it suddenly kicks you in the gut with a massive synth. It is surprising in the best possible way, and serves brilliantly to emphasise the narrative of the song. Lyrically, the song seems to deal with the experience of growing older. The feeling of somehow being past your prime and the frustration that comes along with that feeling. The lyrics are ever so well written (extract below video) and really shows what great a lyricist James Murphy is - although, we already knew that with songs like All My Friends and Someone Great.

LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean


Extract from lyrics: 
(...)
Don't you want me to wake up?
Then give me just a bit of your time.
Arguments are made for make-ups,
So give it just a little more time.

We've got to bring the resources,
I'm gonna play until the time comes,
Forget your string of divorces,
Just go and throw your little hands up.

It's late, I miss the way the night comes
My friends know how to make it feel good
The basement has a cold glow,
Though better than a bunch of others…

So go and dance yourself clean,
Go and dance yourself clean, yeah,
You're blowing marxism to pieces,
Their little arguments to pieces,
(...)

I Know That You're Not Here

There's an almost Beth Gibbons-like quality to the vocals on Warpaint's Elephant. It is like a shoegaze croon, which also fits extremely well with the hypnotically spiralling guitarplay. This all blends to great effect with the hazy psychedelia of the song, which, combined with the almost frenetic drumming, gives the song a striking immediacy and sexiness.

Warpaint - Elephants