by Drew Malmuth

People always say otherwise, but when you hear a fantastic, as-of-yet-unpopular song part of you wants to covet it.  Some are always going to share their hidden gems but others – the relatable, yet loathsome gollums of the fanatical music community – prefer to enjoy their unreleased re-edits in isolation.  I have to admit that only a few songs have turned me into this selfish, hermitic listener; Phoenix’s “Too Young” is the first on the list.  When it was released in 2000 I would play it only for friends that I knew were too snobbish about music to ask me who the artist was.  The sense of exclusivity around the song not only made it sound better, it made me feel cooler for listening to it.

Continue reading “Album Review & Stream: Phoenix – Bankrupt!” »

Ben Harper has selected his favorite ballads for a career-spanning retrospective titled By My Side, to be released October 16. The collection features 12 of Harper’s most unforgettable songs, including “Forever,” “Diamonds On The Inside,” and “Waiting On An Angel,” and also introduces a new ballad, “Crazy Amazing,” which is exclusive to this release. By My Side also includes a rare studio version of “Not Fire Not Ice,” previously unreleased in the U.S., which until now was available only on the international single for “Ground On Down.”

Continue reading “Ben Harper Announces Retrospective “By My Side”, Tour + Giveaway” »

Let’s start this off by saying Summer 2012 was AWESOME, from non-stop music festivals and concerts, beach time, vacation time, lots of drinking, checking out curvaceous frames in bikini’s and great food… unfortunately as of today friends, summer is gone till next year. But don’t fret your little heart and eardrums, DJ Definit is kind enough spread some love and memories with his latest musical release titled “Goodbye Summer”, a mixtape to reminisce about the good days of yester-summer.

Download: DJ Definit’s “Goodbye Summer” mixtape

Check out the track listing after the jump.

Continue reading “DJ Definit presents “Goodbye Summer”” »

Two Door Cinema Club’s sophomore release won’t be a disappointment following Tourist History. Upbeat and calculated, Beacon is a perky collection of short pop songs that explore the tension between optimism and anxiety. In a recent NME interview, frontman Alex Trimble summed the album up pretty accurately; it’s “deeper and definitely more emotional” than Tourist History, but it still maintains their debut’s positivity. Sure enough, each song cuts just a bit deeper than its Tourist History counterpart without sacrificing any of the band’s uplifting urgency. It picks up right where Tourist History left off.

deadmau5 recently overhauled his studio in his Toronto hometown and following his full-scale European tour this past spring, he locked himself in and went on a creative spree to finish “> album title goes here <”, his new album due out September 25.

Following his performance with the Foo Fighters at the Grammy Awards earlier this year showcasing his remix of the group’s “Rope,” deadmau5 continues his collaborations in the rock world by enlisting the vocal talents of Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance for his new single “Professional Griefers.” Fans first got to experience “Professional Griefers” as an unreleased instrumental track during deadmau5’s North American Meowingtons Hax tour last year, premiering the track at his critically acclaimed headlining performance at Lollapalooza.

Continue reading “deadmau5 New Album ‘> album title goes here <’ & CBC Interview” »

Well known for their lyrics and hilarious antics, Odd Future has announced a fall US tour, called Camp Flog Naw. The tour’s final show, on September 30th in Los Angeles, will feature an Odd Future carnival. Several of the collective’s upcoming projects also have release dates: Domo Genesis and The Alchemist’s collaboration No Idols will drop August 1st. MellowHype’s Numbers comes October 2nd, Tyler, the Creator’s sophomore album Wolf is due in November, and new Odd Future Records signees Trash Talk will release 119 on October 9th. Trash Talk begin a West Coast tour in Santa Barbara tonight. Below, see dates for that outing, The Internet’s August East Coast tour and OF’s fall tour, and download The Internet’s new remix of “Fitzpleasure” by Dollars to Pounds-featured Cambridge quartet, Alt-J.

Continue reading “Odd Future Announce Fall Tour, Release Dates for Domo Genesis, Trash Talk, MellowHype” »

Matt and Kim announce an October 2nd release date for their new album Lightning on FADER Label. Written and produced by Matt and Kim, Lightning was recorded by the Brooklyn duo in their Grand Street apartment and features ten outstanding tracks written in true Matt and Kim fashion.

Drawing from their powerful live shows, while still adhering to their minimal two-person studio approach, Matt and Kim set out to create their most diverse, realized, and at times raw release to date with Lightning. There’s the summertime beat of “Let’s Go,” the relentless drive of “Now,”  the dance anthem “It’s Alright,” and the more contemplative album closer “10 Dollars I Found” featuring vocals by Kim.  With Lightning now finished, the indie dance duo are currently working up an new stage show for the fall.

Mumford & Sons  have announced the details of their forthcoming second album, Babel which is expected to release on September 25th.

“We are more than excited to release Babel into the world. We had started writing new songs well before we got into the studio to record. At first, we peeled ourselves off the road quite reluctantly. We love playing live, obviously, but it had also become an important part of our creative process, we had been writing and rehearsing in soundchecks, and sort of ‘road-testing’ new songs on our very gracious audiences. But then we fell in love with recording again. The album started to come together, and with the help of Markus Dravs once more (and engineer Robin Baynton), we started to relish the challenge of making this album. As a band, we’ve never been closer or more collaborative, all working to our strengths. And so we feel that this record is a natural progression that we’re proud of, and we cannot wait to take it out on the road.” – Mumford & Sons

The band recently unveiled a video teaser to the album through Mumfordandsons.com with speculation mounting online as to the record’s title. Babel follows the 2009 release of Mumford & Sons’ debut album, Sigh No More.

According to Pusha-T, Kanye West’s compilation album for his record label G.O.O.D. Music, Cruel Summer will be released on August 7th. As of right now, Getting Out Our Dreams includes the formidable talents of Pusha, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Q-Tip, 2 Chainz, Cyhi The Prince, Teyana Taylor, Chief Keef, Mr. Hudson and, Kanye West himself. The album will reportedly also feature guests Frank Ocean and Jay Electronica. Last month, Kanye premiered a seven-screen film experience also called Cruel Summer at the storied Cannes International Film Festival, which according to West, attempted to “change entertainment experiences. Like if McQueen or Tarsem was to meet the entertainment value of Cirque du Soleil or Walt Disney.”

Few artists have the catalog to release a “Best of” comp before they even put out their debut album. Frank Ocean, the 24-year-old New Orleans-born R&B singer and member of the hip-hop group Odd Future, is one of them. In anticipation of the release of Channel Orange, his first real full-length, the fan site Frankocean.net has put together a 23-track compilation of songs Ocean leaked on his Tumblr, unofficially released tunes and four bonus live cuts of tracks that are rumored to appear on Channel Orange. Included are the touching song “White” and the sparsely, almost woozily produced “Thinking About You,” both of which he’s been playing live.

Trying to keep things straight, the site chose not to include any songs from Ocean’s mixtape debut, nostalgia, ULTRA.  Check out the “Best of” comp here. Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange will be available July 17 via Odd Future/Def Jam.

Download: The Best Of Frank Ocean Mixtape