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by Bill Pearis

Prog/psych/folk quartet Syd Arthur hail from Canterbury, England and released their debut album, On and On, last year, which got four stars in Mojo. While the album has its share of time signature left turns and trippy elements, pop songs are at its core -- with some nice jazzy moments too. One of the band's distinct sonic elements is violinist Raven Bush, whose aunt is Kate Bush. Paul Weller is also a fan. Maybe you saw them at this year's SXSW? You you can can stream a few tracks below and the whole record's up on Spotify.

As mentioned, Syd Arthur will be coming to the U.S. next month for a show at Mercury Lounge on June 18 with Celestial Shore. Tickets for that show are still available. It's their only North American show, but all upcoming dates (mostly in the UK) are listed below.

Continue reading "UK quartet Syd Arthur playing NYC in June (dates, streams)" at brooklynvegan

Apologies for those who already know, but before “Crazy” and “Fuck You” and The Voice, Cee-Lo was one fourth of the ridiculously great Atlanta rap group Goodie Mob, whose first two albums are indisputable essential classics and whose third album is kind of sneaky-great. Last year, the group reunited on (of course) The Voice and released a somewhat perplexing new song called “Is That You God.” They’ve now announced plans for a full-on reunion album with the kinda-hilarious title Age Against The Machine, and its new single is a pretty great piece of stomping circus-funk called “Special Education.” Janelle Monáe shows up to supply a showily art-rocking hook. Listen to it below.

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It’s only been three years since electro-sulk masterminds Mount Kimbie graced us with their debut album Crooks And Lovers. But much has changed for Kai Campos and Dominic Maker since 2010. They’ve played countless live shows and toured the world, and using those experiences they’ve crafted a new record, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, to sound just as good in your headphones as it does live.

Where the first album was delicate and sparse, this new collection of tracks is eclectic and expressive. Each song has its own distinct sound but somehow they all fit together perfectly. “They are kind of like different islands or different chapter headings,” explains Dominic when I speak to him at the Warp offices in Manhattan.

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth will be out on May 28 through Warp, and I was able to sit down with Dominic and Kai to pick their brains about how much has really changed in three years.

It seems like you guys have become more comfortable with vocals on this album. Why is that?
Kai: The types of songs we wanted to write were a bit different this time. After we finished the first album we both felt like we had taken that sound as far as we wanted to really. Other people were doing it as well—felt like it was time to move on really. Just like a natural thing that happened.

You’ve never had a rapper go over your stuff. So...

Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories hits stores today, and while the cat’s been out of the bag for a whole week now, there’s one more surprise to enjoy: a Japanese bonus track. Titled “Horizon”, the light meditative stroll is without a doubt the most tranquil piece of music they’ve composed to date, and comes sprinkled with Eno synths, Michel Rubini guitar work, and Tangerine Dream moods. If you daydream too far, you might find end up here. Take a listen at NO BPM.

Random Access Memories is out now via Columbia. In related news, we recently bundled all of Daft Punk’s past collaborators into an easy-to-read feature — check that out here. And if you’re already tired of RAM, then perhaps you’ll enjoy its alternate version.

Chief Keef shares his thoughts on everyone’s favourite pasta.

He was only released from Dekalb County Jail this morning after being arrested for disorderly conduct and marijuana possession, but already Keith Cozart is back in the driver’s seat leaking this brand new cut. It’s business as usual for the polarizing rapper, and finds him awkwardly slurring over a decidedly synth-heavy backdrop.

‘Macaroni Time’ isn’t breaking any new ground for the Chicago drill superstar but this is Chief Keef we’re talking about, and from the sounds of things he’s been pretty busy recently. [via Complex]

You never, as a music dork, stop learning this lesson, but the truth behind it stands: It’s always, always a bad idea to dismiss an artist based on a terrible name. That rule is right up there with “horrendous rappers get better all the time, so stop believing it can’t happen,” and we break the rule just as often as that one. Case in point: Majical Cloudz. And, I mean, holy gods what an awful name. It’s name that conjures Trapper Keeper designs and rap-metal fake-toughness (that Z!) at the same damn time, and it makes the group seem, immediately, like a halfassed joke, like the sort of band whose music videos consist entirely of floating psychedelic CGI landscapes. And it didn’t help that, up until now, the only things that most of us knew about them were that they were from Montreal and that they were friends with Grimes; Grimes is turning into a pure force of cultural badassery, but she can still align herself with some wack shit. At SXSW, I didn’t just skip multiple chances to see Majical Cloudz live; I actually made the “pssh” noise out loud when presented with the opportunity. This was stupid. This was a mistake on par with high-school me hating on Daft Punk because they had “punk” in their name but weren’t actually punk. As their new album Impersonator makes crystal-clear; Majical Cloudz don’t just make good music; they make the sort of good music that creeps its way into ...

'Anna Nicole' kicks off BAM's 2013 Next Wave Fest...

BAM has announced the 2013 Next Wave Festival which runs from September 17 - December 22. The line-up features a diverse range of programming including opera, theater, music and dance. This year's fest kicks off with the US premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera Anna Nicole which has performances at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House from September 17 - 28:

The 2013 Next Wave Festival launches with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and New York City Opera co-production of Anna Nicole, an opera by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas based on the flamboyant life and tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith.

DIY auteur and consummate independent filmmaker Jem Cohen (Museum Hours, Instrument, Benjamin Smoke) collaborates with a supergroup of acclaimed musicians-- Guy Picciotto (Fugazi), Jim White (Dirty Three), T. Griffin (The Quavers), Efrim Manuel Menuck and Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion), and Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion), plus guest vocalist Mira Billotte (White Magic)--in this cinematic lov...

Austra at Music Hall of Williamsburg in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Austra are releasing their sophomore album, Olympia, on June 18 via Domino/Paper Bag, and will be touring in support of it over the next few months. That tour hits NYC for a show on June 20 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Mozart's Sister (sold out) and a BrooklynVegan-presented show on September 22 at Webster Hall (tickets).

The Webster Hall show and many of their other August/September shows are with fellow Canadians DIANA, who just signed to Jagjaguwar in the US and Paper Bag in Canada. Their debut LP, Perpetual Surrender will come out on August 20 and you can watch the video for its single, "Born Again," below.

Regarding Austra's upcoming album, in a recent interview with Stereogum, singer Katie Stelmanis talked about the differences recording this one with her band, as opposed to entirely solo like Austra's debut:

Yeah, it's something that I was kind of craving. I feel like when you hear a solo record from someone you can kind of always tell that it's a solo record. Like, if literally one person did everything on the record it's like you're following their train of thought. Everything is predictable and fits into this certain box. It's one person's idea, and I was very aware of that, and I wanted to create something that's a little more dynamic. And so doing that I wanted to bring...

Montreal’s Jacques Greene continues to reconcile house and R&B on his latest release.

After teasing it yesterday, LuckyMe has detailed the forthcoming release from Jacques Green, the On Your Side EP. From the sound of it, the EP heavily features Greene’s trademark R&B-meets-house sound, most recently heard on his collaboration with Tinashe.

The title track, which premiered today on Zane Lowe’s BBC 1 show, features How To Dress Well’s Tom Krell on vocals. Rounding out the release are the previously-premiered

Deafheaven’s George Clarke and Kerry McCoy enjoy bodysurfing of the different sort. Rather than risk the sharks and shell shards (say that three times faster), the Bay Area duo let themselves go in the raw orchestral distortion — and for 10 whole minutes. It’s the stuff meant to shake and shatter arenas everywhere. Good god. Stream below.

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Sunbather is out June 11th via Deathwish Inc.

Sunbather Tracklist:
01. Dream House
02. Irresistible
03. Sunbather
04. Please Remember
05. Vertigo
06. Windows
07. The Pecan Tree

Deafheaven 2013 Tour Dates:
05/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
05/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex *
05/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex *
06/19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Taproom
06/21 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
06/22 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
06/23 – Houston, TX @ Mangos
06/25 – Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
06/26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
06/27 – Birmingham, AL @ The Forge
06/28 – Charlotte, NC @ Milestone
06/29 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s Barcade
06/30 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
07/01 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
07/02 – Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus
...