Australia’s The Honey Pies are about to release their new album Carpe Carp. “Girl” is a song from that record, and it’s not one to sleep on. It’s a big poppy tune with not the slightest bit of bashfulness to be found.
It’s understandable if you start questioning the current season. This sounds like summer glory to my ears.
November was a good month. The weather was surprisingly nice, and the new tunes sounded as fresh as I could have hoped. Lots of good new talent emerged this month, and I’m proud to share it with you.
Check out the gorgeous album art via our very own Camilo Bejarano, who is officially the first new member of We All Want Someone. You could say he’s earned it.
Stream each song below, and then download the entire mix as a ZIP file after the jump. A little thanksgiving desert for you.
If you head over to The Black Keyswebsite you can hear three new songs from El Camino, along with “Lonely Boy” & “Run Right Back”, which we have already heard. All you need to do is share some info, and the songs are streaming just for you. El Camino drops December 6 on Nonesuch Records. I’ve heard the album a few times, and let’s just say you’re going to want to save it a spot on your ear end lists.
The AlunaGeorge rework of Wolf Gang‘s ‘Back To Back’ has created an R&B saturated glitch-pop melancholic masterpiece about a not so storybook tale of love. The raw words and power of lead singer Max’s voice still convey the bittersweet yearning of the dark love story, but they are now tightly wrapped in a glitch sound that is infused with AlunaGeorge‘s trademark sensuality and soul. You can download the track for yourself at Wolf Gang‘s SoundCloud here.
So incredibly creepy, yet it’s so adorable and endearing I cannot stop smiling as I watch it (about 5 times now). The Erratic Man is quirky, fun and the perfect amount of strange. The Erratic Man describes his music as “old school soul, folk, weird electronica, casio keyboards and pop music”, I would add to it, but there isn’t much more to say. I want more from The Erratic Man, much much more. (though maybe less taxidermy)
Rhode Island girl Cyra Morgan has been making music for as long as she can remember, and appears to have a knack for getting the mood of a song just right. New track ‘Waiting’ is a perfect example. Inspired by her yoga instructor talking about belief in a higher prescience, Morgan has created a track of incredible depth, featuring her gentle vocals. Keep a look-out for Cyra Morgan, with this much talent she’s got the potential to be huge.
French dance-punk act Justice have just announced that they’ve added even more tour dates to their list. The tour will see the duo travel to Australia, Japan and Sweden, as well as a number of US cities, to promote their latest release, the critically-acclaimed ‘Audio, Video, Disco’. Don’t miss out on your chance to see Justice – full tour dates below
12/31 – Adelaide, Australia @ Summadayze 01/01 – Sydney, Australia @ Field Day 01/02 – Gold Coast, Australia @ Field Day 01/03 – Perth, Australia @ Summadayze 01/06 – Melbourne, Australia @ Festival Hall 01/10 – Osaka, Japan @ Hatch 01/11 – Tokyo, Japan @ Zepp 01/12 – Tokyo, Japan @ Zepp 01/27 – Clermont, France @ La Cooperative De Mai 01/28 – Toulouse, France @ Le Bikini 01/31 – Lille, France @ Aeronef 02/01 – Nantes, France @ Stereolux 02/02 – Caen, France @ Le Cargo 02/04 – Paris, France @ Olympia 02/09 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy 02/10 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy 02/11 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 02/12 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy 02/13 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 02/22 – Berlin, Germany @ ColumbiaHalle 02/24 – Munich, Germany @ Kesselhaus 02/25 – Zurich, Switzerland @ DigitalMaag 02/27 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg @ Rockhal 02/28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 03/01 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Falkoner 03/02 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Annexet 03/03 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Tradgarden 03/05 – Brussels, Belgium @ AB 03/16-17 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 03/19 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues 03/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory 03/21 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 03/22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle 04/17 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater 04/19 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pool, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas 04/24 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 04/25 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre 04/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Forum 06/22-24 – Scheeßel & Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany @ Hurricane & Southside Festivals 06/28 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
Last week, The Saturdays released their third studio album: On Your Radar.
I’m still not sure if I’ll ever get around to writing a complete album review as I did for their super solid sophomore attempt Wordshaker (which I maintain is still VERY GOOD), but I can say that On Your Radar is just as excellent. Actually, it’s probably their best yet, especially considering the inclusion of “Notorious” (amazing) and “All Fired Up” (their best ever?), as well as some of the new uptempo cuts like “Get Ready Get Set” (LOVE!), “Faster” (kind of love!) and “For Myself.” (LOVE!)
But of all the new jams, there’s just one song that I’ve fallen for by far: “White Lies.”
From a producer’s standpoint, it’s hardly surprising: The track was crafted by two hugely talented Swede-pop geniuses: Carl Falk (of Nicole Scherzinger‘s “Don’t Hold Your Breath, Darren Hayes‘ “Black Out The Sun” and “Bloodstained Heart” and most importantly, Lindsay Lohan‘s “Disconnected”) and Rami Yacoub, responsible for basically all of …Baby One More Time and Oops!…I Did It Again. I mean…need I say more?
“White Lies” is absolutely brilliant–a surging, scorching pop number full of blazing four-to-the-floor synths, Nintendo-like 8-bit bleeps and blips and a soaring, guilt-ridden belter of a chorus: “Oooh, it’s time to talk about truth now/It’s time I/It’s that time that you know what you’re getting into now/These white lies, these white lies!” (Not to mention it’s MAJOR series of lyrics in general.) It’s explosive. It’s defining. It’s EVERYTHING.
As far as making a more stellar splash on the charts (which The Sats have long struggled to do), this track’s got enough of a potent power-pop mmph to really make a statement.
But after the lukewarm reception to the equally lukewarm “My Heart Takes Over” (dropping from #15 to #28 after just two weeks), an astonishingly dismal debut at #23 on the UK Albums Chart with On Your Radar, and murky waters regarding Una‘s pregnancy and Frankie‘s mystery illness (which has resulted in a weird “part-time commitment“), it’s not clear exactly where The Sats are headed after this. Well, besides on tour.
For now, let’s simply appreciate this complete and utter slice of pop perfection.
On Your Radar was released on November 21. (iTunes UK)
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Lupe Fiasco‘s LASERS ended up being somewhat of a commercial triumph (with sales close to half a million) and produced some career highlights in thought-provoking lyrical heavyweights like “Words I Never Said” and “Black America” (not to mention the mindless appeal of summer jam “Out of My Head”), but damn if we’re not happy we’ve finally moved past the album’s promotional cycle and all of its drama; from the record label’s behind-the-scenes antics keeping it on the shelf and the fans attention-grabbing petitioning for its release, to Lupe’s slamming (and eventual come around to mildly appreciating) the album in the press, to all the middling critical reviews that met the full-length upon it’s arrival, the whole era was just an exhausting ordeal to witness.
So with its positioning as a brand new start post-Lasers, the release of Lupe’s new mixtape Friend of The People: I Fight Evil, despite not being a complete return to the soulful hip hop sound of his earlier days, is a welcome one, the set exploring what happens when a lack of label interference allows him the room to be as clever, creative and unfiltered as he wants.
For “Double Burger with Cheese” that means biting a hefty chunk of Justice’s “Ohio” to back what’s essentially a threading of several plots and scenes from his favorite childhood films. It doesn’t quite reach the same degree of next-level songwriting genius as something like The Cool‘s “Gotta Eat” (and trying to decipher the connection between what he’s rapping about and the Justice “hook” will only hurt your brain), but once you figure out what Fiasco is doing here, and how it sparks one’s own fondness for the more memorable moments and characters of 80′s/ 90′s black cinema classics like Colors, Boyz N The Hood, Juice and Menace II Society (the latter of which the track owes its name), it’s difficult to come away from “Cheese” not only semi-impressed but itching to look up the flicks in NetFlix to peep Ice Cube’s turn as “Doughboy” and Wesley Snipes transformation into “Nino Brown” all over again.
For fans itching for more of Fiasco’s masterful fusion of social commentary depth and witty lyrical wizardry though, it’s the Fall Out Boy-esque titled “WWJD He’d Prolly LOL Like WTF!!!” that lands as a must-hear.
Based around the synthy arena-rock stomp of yet another Audio, Video, Disco Justice track (this time, “On’n'On”), “WWJD” hones in on the wonky ways of American consumerism, targeting corporate giants and the public’s zombie-like obsession over their every new product.
“Imagine a world where everything starts with an ‘i’/ But it still ends with a die/ Probably got an app for that you could try/ Brother iClouds, right into the great wi-fi,” he raps after pondering over his need for a diaper the next time he stands in a lengthy line for the latest hot Apple gadget; later, he dubs the offerings of Nike “Beaverton hearts with Chinese parts/ Built by the poor and designed by the smart” and offers a bit of business advice for Mickey D’s (“I think they should expand into health care/ And then you’ll have all ends covered/ Even make caskets, have it all umbrella’d”), all of which is enough to give anyone who has ever flipped out over the newest i-whatever and Air Jordan arrival a tinge of buyer’s remorse.
This should probably just be a Quickie but how could I honestly fit a double-album review into 140 characters!?
Ok, we all love the crap out of “Midnight City” and many of it’s remixes but what about the rest of the double album of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming? Songs like “Wait” and “OK Pal” have floated about the blogosphere a bit but nothing has come even close to following up the lead single (not easy to be fair) so I was unsure what to expect when diving into this two-tiered cake of indulgence. Having never gotten into Saturdays = Youth (snooze…) I was obviously impressed by “Midnight City” and then intrigued by Anthony Gonzalez’s statement of this album being more grand epic. But I obviously couldn’t expect a whole double album of “midnight City” level epic-ness, could I? Obviously not.
But that’s OK. While I will never endorse a double album in this day and age of music overload I have had no problems listening to all 22 songs in a row. Many tracks are loose and unstructured which helps them pass by as perfect background music. A handful of ambient jams punctuated by bigger tracks like “OK Pal” and it’s big cheesy 80s amazingness. I also strongly recommend “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” as the best featuring vocals from a 4 year old hallucinogenic frog enthusiast girl. Awesome. If I owned Hurry Up, Were Dreaming in a physical form where its two parts were separate physical object I can’t say that I would always take the effort to put disc 2 in as it loses a lot of steam and the only standout is “OK Pal.” However, as the 2LP plays right through in my iTunes, I just carry on with whatever and let the music wash right over me.
Star Slinger has been a busy man since buttering us up with the beautiful “Mornin” back in March. His recent track “Dumbin” for Green Label Sound is a funky affair with vocals by Reggie B that is slowly growing on me. More traditional Star Slinger fare is the instrumental jam “Moet & Reese” which slips on itself as it lurches and grooves, lulling me into a zoned out headspace full of swirling chocolate treats.
Star Slinger has of course been hard at work on his other forte – remixes – recently whipping up this spaced out rework of Drake’s Take Care opener. Musc for the comedown.
Yesterday I shared the video for Bon Iver’s “Hinnom, TX”. Now that the deluxe edition of Bon Iver is released, Bon Iver has made all of the videos from the album available to watch on their youtube page.
Get started with the always fantastic “Holocene”, posted below. The beautiful footage is example of what each video has to offer.
Thursday night KickKickSnare will be teaming up with the fun-loving music fiends from All Things Go to film their first installment of New Noise at Gibson Guitar’s DC Showroom. KKS fans you are in for one hell of a treat, the two acts for the premiere New Noise are Savoir Adore and KKS favorite St. Lucia. New Noise aims to create a intimate showcase for musicians and fans a like, in an iconic music space here in DC. ATG has asked KickKickSnare to be there to film the whole thing for you. Together with All Things Go we hope to share incredible new music, stunning intimate performances and the whole experiences with fans no matter where you are.
Savoir Adore is something completely unique in the world of pop and in the musical hotbed of Brooklyn. They craft their own take on lush and lavish synth pop, that is full of addictive soaring melodies and beats unable to be ignored. They happily sit balanced between indie influences and unstoppable dance beats. Take a listen to their latest single ‘Dreamer’ to get a taste of what is in store for Thursday night.
Savoir Adore: ‘Dreamer’ [DOWNLOAD]
KickKickSnare favorite St. Lucia has consistently created pop that beautifully warm and a wall of infectious and percussive atmospherics that envelopes you and takes over complete control. The latest from the South African native, a now Brooklyn resident, continues with precisionally crafted sounds and melodies ’We Got It Wrong’ below.
St. Lucia: ‘We Got It Wrong’ [DOWNLOAD]
If you are in DC Thursday night and are in need of some incredible music and a few drinks from the open bar supplied by Tito’s Vodka and Flying Dog Ale make sure to get your tickets for the event here. It really is a small and intimate venue, so tickets and space will go fast! The night starts at 7pm and everything is wrapped up at a work friendly time of 10pm
The Pierces are the sister duo, of Allison and Catherine Pierce, who were reared in Alabama on a steady diet of Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel. Though if you judge them on ‘Kissing You Goodbye’ you would be quick to add The Mamas & The Poppas to that list, as this track has the same floating harmonies and folksy, lo-fi feel of the group’s iconic ‘California Dreaming’. The Pierces have been crafting music together for over a decade now, first starting out in Nashville they have found success after much hard work this year in the U.K. ‘Kissing You Goodbye’ is a great bit of bittersweet, moody, guitar filled folk-pop. And who am I trying to fool, their male co-star ain’t so shabby to stare at for a few minutes or so either.
It would be a good story if my “come to” music were a light bulb in my head or a whispering divine wind. But my story is like any other…at least at first. My grandfather played music at family gatherings and I sat with my face six inches from the mandolin. I played recital after recital, with my father dutifully in attendance and cheering me on. I collected cassette tapes from daily trips to Sam Goody as if they were the candy other children fed on so heavily. But then I grew up…and hit 12.
In that seminal pre-teen year, two things happened: I got my first, game-changing Casio keyboard, and I heard “Groove is in the Heart,” from Deee-lite’s World Clique album. I could have been like any other kid, palling around on my new keys till something else caught my eye, but instead, Deee-Lite’s album ensured that my little keyboard changed everything. I picked apart every key choice and tonal change. I learned that slide whistles can accompany body rolls and vocal snippets are instruments in their own right. Music became more than just a casual hit on the charts; it grew to encompass an essential part of my DNA. And at the heart of it all for me was Deee-Lite and the rest of the dance and electronic field.
In the 20 years since, that field has continued to grow and change the face of music. Dance and electronic artists set the world on fire with their global vocabulary focused on movement and sound rather than language. They became the first to maximize the nature of the digital world, including different engineering techniques. And they pushed the conception of what it means to be “mainstream,” bringing meat dresses and Swedish pop to everyone between Nevada and North Carolina. Dance and electronic music and artists have exploded because, in these innovative engagements, they have not just been a part of the conversation, they have led it.
And this year, as GRAMMY’s first official electronic and dance blogger, I am proud to participate in that conversation at a time when the field is strong and vibrant. It has the most diverse and successful composition: from Lady Gaga to La Roux, Daft Punk to Donna Summer, Madonna to Cher–men and women are vying to produce music that moves the hips and challenges the mind. This year, they have done just that. And while no one at the Recording Academy is dropping any hints about what might be in store for this year’s awards, I can tell you the white-knuckled experience will begin on November 30 when we all hear the nominees together. I hope you’ll be online to share in that experience and talk about it together and in the months that follow. I know I will, proud and privileged to be the official GRAMMY dance and electronic music blogger. Stay tuned.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Daley, the 23 year-old Mancunian (translation for those outside the U.K., he hails from Manchester), first captured my attention when Gorillaz selected him to be the voice of their incredible track ‘Doncamatic’. Daley has a distinctive voice that can bounce from lofty falsetto to hefty tenor with ease, this is not an easy to come by skill and sets him apart from nearly all other R&B singers out there. With his signature chunky frames, and flaming red coiffe Daley stands out visually as much as he does vocally. More incredible than his voice and style is that he is offering his debut EP, Those Who Wait, for free download over at his site . Daley is definitely someone to keep a very close ear on.
Holy Ghost! rolled into DC with a troop of musicians ready to kick start the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and they definitely started the weekend off with one big bang! I have been to more shows than one should admit to at 9:30 Club, and, aside from Yelle, I cannot think of an act who had the crowd worked up into such a high energy, disco-dancey, fervor as Holy Ghost! Though, the really unexpected treat was the two opening acts, they, along with DJ Eli Escobar, were the perfect primer to get everyone into the mood to dance and just have a fun night. I will be very honest here everyone, I had never heard of Midnight Magic and Jessica 6 had yet to do anything to win me over, but by the time Holy Ghost! took the changed that had all changed!
The instant Midnight Magic appeared on stage I was surprised to see three, yes three, brass musicians on stage, two trumpets and a trombone. At this point the crowd was still a bit sparse, and easing into their night of music, this all changed when leader singer Tiffany Roth took the stage. She was captivating and energetic with a voice and personality that filled the entire club. By their first song I was transported from 9:30 Club to a New Orleans blues house to be seduced by blaring horns, funky guitars, and a curvy vivacious red-headed siren. (Those who know me, know all too well my weakness for those of the ginger persuasion.) Midnight Magic was the spark that ignited the crowd for the night.
If Midnight Magic was the spark, Jessica 6‘s Nomi was the stick of dynamite in stilettos that sent the crowd is a raging fire ball of energy. Nomi is completely captivating and undeniably sexy. Slick synths combined with funky guitar and Nomi’s alluring sex appeal instantly changed my entire view of Jessica 6, I am now whole-heartedly a big fan.
There was no better way to start off my long holiday weekend, than with the party Holy Ghost! brought to 9:30 Club.
LA quartet Saint Motel just put out their first vinyl release ‘At Least I Have Nothing,’ and boy, these guys have anthemic indie-pop nailed. A taut guitar intro followed by infectious lyrics sets ‘At Least I Have Nothing’ up just perfectly, and the rest of the song definitely doesn’t disappoint. Let the glorious indie sound of Saint Motel keep summer alive in your ears this winter.
This was going to be a Thanksgiving post but due to the massive amount of work to put this list together, things got delayed a bit. Here at the music ninja we don’t just post about the awesome songs we come across every day, we are also here to make your job as music listeners a little easier.
We have compiled some of our favorite songs we blogged (and didn’t blog) over the last couple of weeks. Yes you heard it right, we are only going a few weeks back! Almost all these songs are completely fresh of the oven. This is not saying a couple from the beginning of the year didn’t slip through but we hope this makes it easier for you to find what you like. This is DEFINITELY NOT a “Best of” list but more like a fun and concise collection of songs following the great genres we blog every day.
Please share this post with everyone you know!
We are confident that a great gift you can give your music loving friends is a link to this page
INDIE/FOLK/HIP/HOP/ELECTRONICA
Some of our favorite indie tracks we have posted in the last couple of weeks. Download zip bellow.
This was all the other amazing tracks that did not fit the other categories, nevertheless they are all a must have for some funky melodic ass shaking readers out there.
Up-and-coming US pop artist Jhameel has been wowing the blogosphere with his five-part ‘WAVES’ series. Every week, he drops a new track from the series, for free. Title track ‘Waves’ is a downbeat pop anthem, which showcases Jhameel’s incredible vocal and lyrical skills. ‘Waves’ is a must-hear, and will leave you wanting more from this incredible singer. Catch Jhameel’s next release on November 29.
Butch Clancy, the proucer responsible for the amazing remix of Band Of Horses – “The Funeral”, is at it again with the light vocals of American singer/songwriter Amy Kuney. A dynamic roller coaster filled with aggressive dubstep breaks and subtle releases and teasing basslines that will leave you wondering what the fuck just happened?
Back again with another remix is PatrickReza. This time the young California producer has laid his signature style all over this Adele track. His electric and gritty sounding synths compliment Adele’s soulful voice, which results in a well composed remix of an already stellar track.
If you like this remix, make sure to check out his others. PatrickReza is dropping tracks every couple of weeks, and they’re usually free.
![20111130 001547 [Folk] Cyra Morgan Waiting](http://www.themusicninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111130-001547.jpg "[Folk] Cyra Morgan Waiting")
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