The Men - Open Your Heart
Starting this week, and replacing our weekly singles round-up, every week, two times a week, our contributors will voice their opinion on a song. It’s a simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.
Track: ‘Open Your Heart’ by The Men … Continue Reading
Saint Etienne
It’s been seven years since their last album, and Saint Etienne have announced their return – the band have made a new single, ‘Tonight’, available to download. You can stream the song below.
The new album is as yet untitled, but the single definitely sounds promising – built on a bed of strings and electronica with an, as usual, irresistible pop hook, it sounds like the melancholic/euphoric pop we’re currently missing from the likes of Robyn and Girls Aloud (it’s produced by Xenomania’s Tim Powell and mixed by Richard X). Welcome back Saint Etienne. … Continue Reading
Nicolas Jaar
Nicolas Jaar‘s debut LP Space Is Only Noise was one of 2011′s most loved albums – it made our own top 10 of the year – and the new material that has been slowly emerging since that album’s release (nearly a year ago now) suggests there’s much more to look forward to. At the tail end of last year we got the quietly impressive ‘Don’t Break My Love’/'Why Didn’t You Save Me’ single and recently another new track – the jazz inflected minimalism of ‘With Just One Glance’ – has made its way onto the blogs. Mildly interesting fact to mull over while you listen to it below: the singer is the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. … Continue Reading
Amateur Best - Be Happy
A couple of years ago now, Joe Flory was gaining a fair amount of attention as Primary 1 – there was a bit of buzz, a rather good single with Nina Persson of The Cardigans called ‘The Blues’ and rumblings of an album, until… well, not very much. Flory did put out an LP as Primary 1 last year, but it was a digital-only release that seemed more like a desk-clearing exercise rather than a definitive artistic statement.
Flory has now re-emerged as Amateur Best, and it’s already looking like being an altogether more focused affair – his Amatuer Best guise is going to tell the story of James Best, a “sometime London DJ, latent alcoholic and lifelong amateur” through songs and also a comic book, which will accompany the Amateur Best releases. The first single is ‘Be Happy’, due out on 7″ on Double Denim Records on February 13. You can hear it below. … Continue Reading
Xiu Xiu - Always
Xiu Xiu have been making music that manages to be earnest, melodic, poppy, strange and harrowing at once (often all in the space of one song) for ten years now. Ten years! Today, the band announced the next album (their eighth in all) will be called Always – it will commemorate the relationship between the band and their intensely devoted fanbase, intended to encapsulate “the mutual camaraderie with and deep dedication to each person who has internalized Xiu Xiu’s work, tattooed its name on their skin or soul, and throughout the past 10 years made the band a part of their lives”.
In the meantime, the band have made the album’s first single ‘Hi’ available to stream – have a listen below. Longtime fans hoping that Always will find Xiu Xiu tackling their usual subject matter will be pleased to hear that the tracklist includes songs such as ‘Chimney’s Afire (Mickensian Suicide)’ and ‘I Luv Abortion’. … Continue Reading
Dot Rotten
Dot Rotten found himself on the BBC Sound Of 2012 the other week – while he didn’t make the top 5, it was still a fairly big achievement for a grime MC, even in a post-Dizzee and Wiley world. In interviews, he seems refreshingly unconcerned with what his underground peers are going to make of his move overground – and the sheer number of mixtapes he released between 2008 and last year is testament to the work he’s been putting in. He’s just released the video for new single ‘Are You Not Entertained’ and its neither a retreat to his roots nor a Tinie Tempah style crossover – plenty of grime MCs have got lost in the space between the underground and the mainstream, and it’ll be interesting to hear where Dot Rotten’s album lands between those two worlds. … Continue Reading
Scissor Sisters
There had been rumours that New York band Scissor Sisters had sorted out a collaboration with Azealia Banks for their new, as yet untitled fourth album, and this morning Annie Mac debuted the track on her show on Radio 1. It’s called ‘Shady Love’, it features Jake Shears rapping, and a radio rip has been doing the rounds on Twitter. You can hear it below. … Continue Reading
Azari & III
Canadian house-revival four-piece Azari & III released on of our favourite albums this year outside of the UK – their self-titled debut has only been available over here on import or limited edition vinyl since earlier this year. The group are lining up a full release on Island Records on February 19, and a ‘Reckless With Your Love’ single will precede the album a week earlier.
‘Reckless With Your Love’ is one of the standouts from the album and now has a suitably camp/odd new video, which you can watch below. … Continue Reading
Friends
Brooklyn quintet Friends are looking to build on all the support they’ve been getting over the last few months and have announced a new single – ‘Friend Crush’ will be released on February 6 2012. You can listen to the track ahead of its release below – it’s the follow up to their inescapable, breakthrough single ‘I’m His Girl’. To coincide with the single’s release, there’ll play a trio of dates in the UK – the middle date at London’s The Lexington has already sold out, but there’s still tickets for XOYO in London or Manchester’s Deaf Institute available. Dates and song below. … Continue Reading
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
At a time of year when there are always a gaggle of new bands and artists lining up to have a go at making 2012 their own, Lana Del Rey remains the most talked-about (in certain circles) act around. The Is She Real? debate has been thundering on for a while now – focusing on her biography and lips at different points though, tellingly, rarely her music – and we’re all a little closer to hearing a big chunk of new music from her. Del Rey will release her debut album, Born To Die, on January 30th 2012 through Polydor and she’ll release the title track as a single the week before, on Sunday 23rd. In the meantime, you can stream the single, and watch her hug some bloke in front of the American flag, below. … Continue Reading
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