new: James Ferraro "iAsia 2 Raver"

Muscle Works Inc.

Fresh off the release of Night Dolls with Hairspray, alien vessel James Ferraro is back with more transmissions from some twisted place far, far away. Labeled "iAsia 2 Raver" on his digital_skin soundcloud, the extended 30 minute piece is similar to the "Casino Neptune" style jams on the iAsia CD-R, which were described as "New sounds from 107.7 Hyppereal Radio XM Mars." The theme continues here, with shards of warped digitalism bouncing back-and-forth like cosmic pinballs, zooming in zones often only probed by molecular beings...whatever the fuck that means. Anyway, new Ferraro. Jam it. Digest it. Jam it again. Then call the Toddfather and snag Night Dolls with Hairspray.

IAsia 2 RAVER by digital_skin

new: Trail Magic "Don't Grow Up"

Yooooth
I'd always known Trail Magic as little gifts left to hikers, by other hikers, as a way of enlightening the path. Granola, pints of Whiskey, roaches, just a couple things to make somebody elses day a little better. In the city we call them ground scores, or street scores. The deluge of sounds from Trail Magic, who you may recognize from the Butter X Face Chum Onah: A Michael Jackson Tribute comp, are, ostensibly, similar. Bits of pre-recorded, digital fuck and synthetic tweak gaze surrender to a natural force, sort of like when cows can't help but lay down when a storm starts rolling in...but different. Animal Collective, in all their varied bits, are an obvious reference point, and that's not a bad thing, as Trail Magic successfully tap as many genre's as AnCo (hip hop, sample 8-bit, acoustic psych, folk, fuzz pop, etc), yet never fall into the trappings of a single sound. To be honest, I'm not too sure what to make of Yooooth as a whole, but, on the strength of the new EP and "Childhood Foreverand," I'm excited to hear what Trail Magic conjures up next.

Trail Magic- Don't Grow Up

new: Boneless

"Breathless"
A week ago I hadn't heard of Boneless. However, this morning I awoke to an email from the artist, a glowing post on Friendship Bracelet, and a mornings worth of blissed out chill-ish so warm and gooey I've forgotten all about the giant bump/gash on my forehead. An Uncontrollable Urge called it "sweet acid magic," while Ian at FB.US likened it to being lost at sea, the magical part, not the scary "hungry sharks are surrounding me" part. I'd agree with both, while also noting that "Better," my personal favorite of the Boneless cuts (so far), reminds me of the duality of getting stoned for the first time in the backyard with friends. Stuff warbles, ya can't stop coughing, tree's sway a bit differently, you wanna laugh but your also feeling really introspective, a car cruises by and it feels like fate. And then it's over, and fades, sort of like a dream that your trying to remember, but can't seem to put into words. It's in that mystique that Boneless shines, as "Better" literally just made me forget what I've been doing this morning.

Listen to it here, then use whatever you kids use these days to rip song tunes from MySpace.

new: Alex Bleeker & the Freaks "Never Goin Back"

"Never Going Back To My Old School"
Looking back on school days can be a major bummer. Steely Dan summed it up pretty nicely in "My Old School," but nonetheless, memories of collegiate days spent getting wasted and mulling over "life" makes up a large part of the end of adolescence. There is a finite line drawn in the sand, as if, once one dons the ole cap and gown, nothing, no matter how hard you try, will ever be as easy as before. It's one small step for man, and one, er, a giant leap into reality. No more meal plans, no more waking up at 2pm, no more summer vacation, winter vacation, spring break, etc. It's a bummer, yet, at the same time, a total relief, as a new world, one with infinite possibility, waits just outside the campus bubble. Alex Bleeker knows this feeling well. He's nostalgic for his collegiate days, but knows they are numbered. One can't live in the past, and as much as one would like memorialize the days of yore, its more fitting to be a bit sad about their fleeting ways. "Never Goin Back" finds Bleeker reminiscing, wandering, wondering what life has next in store. It's a logical response from a still recent graduate, one Benjamin Braddock would likely jam out too.

"Never Goin Back" is the B-side to the soon-to-be-released 7-inch on Group Tightener. Bleeker will be playing the hella good Group Tightener CMJ Showcase Wednesday night at Monster Island. Best Coast, Fluffy Lumbers, Coasting, Ducktails, HIGHLIFE. I'll be there. Stop by. Say hi.

Alex Bleeker & the Freaks- Never Goin Back

new: Still Light Lything

"Hour of the Wolf"

Its October 1st and ominous skies are already rolling in. Appropriately, so are new tracks from Still Light, a UK/US band that crafts exceedingly dreamy acoustic psych crafted for dark mornings where getting out from under the covers is the last thing one wants to think of. Blurring the line between ambient folk, celestial drone and a land where Delia Derbyshire is still recording the world, Lything, the groups latest release on Apollolaan Recordings (limited to 50!), is a wondrous departure from reality. It drifts by like clouds bound for some other town, but not without leaving an impression. Sort of like this. Recorded by Lucy Hague, Sand Snowman and Kirill Nikolai, Lything is best suited for low impact home life, which makes sense as the record was cut in "Kirill's closet/bedroom/living room in Boulder, CO, Lucy Hague's pad in Edinburgh, Scotland and Sand's home studio in London." Blanket vibes for sure. Take a look at the gorgeous hand made art here. For those of you still lamenting the lose of summer, this should help ease the pain.

Still Light- Footprints in the Garden
Still Light- A Remedy

mp3: Ganglians "The Void"

"Moon Shadow Running Through Your Head"

An eye catcher in the Woodsist store window, Ganglians self titled 12" plays like a product of its album art. Here's my fictional account of the happenings:

Recorded in the dankest, darkest outcove of a Southwestern desert abode, a secret splinter group of renegade shaman's induldge in some ayahuasca, grab a few broken instruments (remnants from former settlers, long since gone after the great cliff massacre of 2009) and take a stab at pop music. The ayahuasca rolls like a venomous twister, swaying thoughts between horrifying and magical, and generating enough electricity to bring cave-paintings to life. "The Void" is the aftermath; hazy and beat-up, introspective and drained, its psycho-active balladry encompasses a thousand trips, here and fro, and a longing for the next.

(removed)

new: Julianna Barwick Florine EP

"Cloudbank"
Brooklyn based avant-chanteuse Julianna Barwick, whose Sanguine LP and Daytrotter session are consistently on heavy rotation in my bedroom, just released a new EP available on eMusic. Entitled Florine, the 24 minute mini-album is a continuation of the breathy soundscapes and hypnotizing loops Barwick has been experimenting with for years, helping dough eyed boys and girls get lost in the ether, as if transcending space & time were an every day occurrence. Florine suggests that purgatorial visits, spirit reunions and time-traveling might actually be daily activities for Ms. Barwick, who has the uncanny ability to lull listeners into a semi-conscious daze, making one feel that even at our most hyper-aware we are still half asleep.

Purchase Florine.

Julianna Barwick- Cloudbank

new: Sparrow House

"I Will Dance In Your Embrace"
In the late 2006, Jared Van Fleet released the wondrous Falls, the first in a collection of seasonal EPs under the Sparrow House moniker. By the end of 2007, there had been no word on a follow-up, strange considering it was to be a seasonal project, with releases scheduled every few months. 2008 passed and still no word from Sparrow House. Now well into 2009, it seems that Van Fleet has emerged from hibernation and is ready to release Sparrow House back out into the wild. Sparrow House's MySpace provides more details:

"i spent 2007 traveling and falling in love. i took 2008 off.

but i'm back now, making music again and feeling good about it, and i hope that other people are feeling good too, wherever they are, and i hope some of you will enjoy my new recordings.

awhile back, i released an ep called falls. it's the first part of a four-part series i'm doing called THE TILT OF THE EARTH. the other parts are television snow, branches, and aquarium sun."

It has also come to my attention, via Twitter, that Van Fleet has officially quit his day job as a member of Voxtrot ("played my last show with voxtrot, in the same room where we had our first performances"). Fortunately, Van Fleet followed that tweet with this one, "now i really can't wait to release new music...". Sometime during his break from recording, Van Fleet recorded this remix/cover of a Sebastian Schuller song "Weeping Willow". The fleshed out arrangment, features Sidi Ali on mandolin and Benjamin Hofer Lanz on trombone. Oh, and you may remember Falls standout "When I Am Gone", which perfectly encapsulates the feeling of fleeting love better than any song in recent memory.

Sparrow House- Weeping Willow (Sebastien Schuller cover)
Sparrow House- When I Am Gone

#60.7 - Soiree a emporter - Sparrow House

new: Atlas Sound virtual 7"

"Trials and Tribulations"

It's been a while but Bradford Cox dropped another in a collection of endess virtual 7"'s on the Deerhunter/Atlas Sound/Lotus Plaza blog. "Solo or the Square" finds Bradford hitting his sweet spot, with a playful, jack-in-the-box-esque loop and stream of consciousness vocals, which, over time, mutate from a candy sweet croon to an almost dubby sort of acid flange.

The B-side, "Memorial Corridor", sounds like a 3 second guitar sample manipulated, and transmitted via CB radio to a satellite base station (ala Christmas on Mars), where it eventually morphs into the sort of jangly guitar-distorted vocal exercise we've come to know, love and expect from Mr. Cox. Just the sort of thing to keep Atlas Sound fans happy/hungry until Bradford drops Logos, or some other record, later this year.

Atlas Sound- Solo or the Square b/w Memorial Corridor (includes Lyrics)

new: Bon Iver EP

"Forever Ago"

It's been over a year since Justin Vernon self-released the phenomenal For Emma, Forever Ago and alot has changed since his first NYC appearance. A lot. First off, Bon Iver sold out two nights at the legendary Town Hall, and tickets are going for over $150 on Craigslist (!). Luckily for the Brooklyn faithful, Bon Iver added a third date at Music Hall, which sold out in 13 minutes (but we got ours). Now, our good friend and west coast correspondent Dura notifies us that JagJaguwar has a webpage for a CDEP/12"titled Blood Bank, due out 1/20/09 (aka inauguration day, aka Animal Collective release day). From JagJaguwar:

The four song Blood Bank collection continues down the path forged by 2008's critically acclaimed For Emma, Forever Ago.

While still tied to the identity of the place where it was born, Bon Iver is no longer an unplanned entity synonymous with Justin Vernon. It is an idea, a place and sentiment that has now become as international as it is timeless. From the title track's remembrance of the winter warmth we seek, to the summer love tribute of b-side gem "Babys," Bon Iver's snow-blanketed harmonies live across the seasons. Still, there is a reverence for sabbatical, solitude and the winding down of time. As much as Emma is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection is about the warmth that gets you through it. You can feel the air move. Like a fire you've been stoking for hours and finally got to sustain itself, the heat blisters your face while your back is frozen solid.

Bon Iver has grown to include more than what was available at the much-fabled Wisconsin cabin, such as piano, slide guitar, and vocoder. As Justin layers on harmonies in the meditative R&B a capella "Woods", he declares "I'm building a still to slow down the time." It is as poetic as it is necessary. Both expansive and intimate, these four songs explore the darker and lighter natures of the seasons and what they signify, and offer a dynamic glimpse into the natural energy and refined craftsmanship that characterize Justin Vernon's music.

Tracklisting:
Blood Bank
Beach Baby
Babys
Woods

You heard it here first people. Make sure you thank Dura next time your in the Haight.

new: Dirt Dress

"So Many Girls Look The Same"

I don't know much about Dirt Dress except the following: they rock. They probably know it too, as their slo-mo blend of blues and garage rock is a self-conscious reinvention of what all the psych-garage revivalists have been trying to sound like for years, except instead of getting all snide and hipster'd out, Dirt Dress just sound like a band playing shitty blues in a garage. Their singer could be the millenial love child of Eric Burden and Eddie Argos. Loose, jangly and untouched by work nor duty, Dirt Dress seems to exist solely to kick out the jams (and yes, they sort of remind me of the MC5). They aren't afraid of tackling a meandering fuzz jam ("Peter and The Wolf" clocks in at 11: 40) or talking about bleach blonde girls in cut off jeans ("Iguana"), both of which conjure visions of ramshackle teenage rock and roll, like if Buddy Holly were hanging with Lou Reed while he was waiting for his man. Highly recommend heading over to CokeMachineGlow and downloading the band's EP for FREE! Just do it.

Dirt Dress- Iguana
Dirt Dress- Peter and the Wolf

new: Dr. Dog

"I'm Never Going Back To My Old Ways Again"
We reported on the new Dr. Dog record Fate (7/22/08 via Park the Van) a little while back, but now that we've had a few proper listens we're really excited about Fate. Not only is it another solid set of the neo-nostalgic pop tunes from Philly's finest interpretors, but its a massive step forward for a band that refuses to be pigeonholed by revivalist stereotypes. Dream inducing harmonies, gorgeous hooks and all the Beatles/ Beach Boys/ Band comparisons you'd expect from Dr. Dog not only make Fate a damn good record, but cement Dr. Dog as one of the best bands going. For my money, I'm not sure there is another band that has consistently made me so happy to be alive as Dr. Dog does. Nothing pretentious, just the sort of good time pop music that goes well with laying on the floor, smoking a joint and getting lost in the music. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my most played albums of the summer (along with The Hold Steady's Stay Positive, which has already received summer classic status on my iPod). Below is one of my favorites from Fate. Peep Dr. Dog's MySpace for tour dates through November!

Dr. Dog- 100 Years