Audio Absinthe

The Heavy is a solid rock band with a funky, gritty, bluesy feel.  Their sound manages to combine vintage guitar riffs with a modern style of genre blending.  The single, “How You Like Me Now” seems like a perfect fit for any Guy Ritchie movie.  The band formed in the UK releasing their debut album, Great Vengeance and Furious Fire, in 2007.  Their sophomore release, The House That Dirt Built was released earlier this month and it’s got some very impressive tracks.  Their songs are filled with energy and emotion and some have an epic, cinematic kind of style.  Check out some of my favorites below…

MP3: The Heavy – “How You Like Me Now” (Download)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: The Heavy – “Short Change Hero” (Download)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Check out Astronote’s awesome remix of “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” from Mayer Hawthorne’s A Strange Arrangement.  Hawthorne’s vocals perfectly matched the neo-motown sound of the original beat, so I wouldn’t think a different beat would be any better.  Astronote’s remix suggests otherwise.  He nailed it with this one.

MP3: Mayer Hawthorne – “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out (Astronote – El Camino Remix)”

Jack Penate’s got a soulful, scruffy style which blends many different influences into a satisfyingly modern, indie sound.  His new album, Everything is New was released back in June and it’s got some really great tracks.  These two belong on the best of summer 2009 mix.

MP3: Jack Penate – “Tonight’s Today”
MP3: Jack Penate – “Pull My Heart Away”
Everything Is New (June 2009)

A couple of weeks ago, I saw AM at the Hotel Cafe and it was an awesome show.  His music reaches across a number of genres from psychedelic rock and folk to soul and classic rock, even jazz.  AM’s new album, Future Sons & Daughters, draws on an eclectic variety of musical influences to create a blend of 60’s rock with well arranged, folk-rock pop music.  It’s easy to hear the influence of past artists such as David Axelrod and Jorge Ben which produces a result somewhere between more modern influences such as Beck and Shawn Lee.  Some of the songs have parts that really remind me of Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra.  The wide ranging influences and the seamless blending of so many genres makes it hard to categorize as any one kind, but is entirely AM’s own, unique brand of music.  Future Sons & Daughters is something special for serious music enthusiasts and casual listeners alike.  And definitely make sure you check out the live show if you get a chance too.

MP3: AM – “Grand Opinion”
Future Sons & Daughters (August 2009)

Sample more songs from FS&D:
The Other Side
Jorge Ben
Darker Days

Vosotros is exactly what it’s motto proclaims, “Vosotros is music for you all.”  The latest project from the hyper-prolific crew is called The Years and each track sounds like it’s from a different decade while the album as a whole manages to retain a solid, unifying theme of soulful, funky jam music for everyone.  ”Let’s Stay In Love” is something like Stevie Wonder meets Al Green backed by The Roots while “Theme from Best Buds” has elements of Bob James.  ”Heartbreaker” is a great hip hop track and “When Peace & Love Come Together” sounds like something Yesterdays New Quintet would be proud of.  The album blends a wide ranging variety of genres which makes for an adventurous, highly enjoyable listen.

Listen and buy here

Mp3: The Years featuring Jesse Palter – “Lose My Number”
Mp3: The Years featuring John Robinson and Tiffany Paige – “Heartbreaker”

A little over a week ago, I heard a great, new Thom Yorke track on the radio.  The song Yorke’s version of Miracle Legion’s “All For The Best” that he recorded and contributed to the album Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy.  The album is a tribute to Mark Mulcahy who lost his wife 1 year prior to the album’s release date, September 2009.  Check out the original if you haven’t heard it.  It’s a great track and Thom Yorke did an impressively distinctive cover of it.

MP3: Thom Yorke – “All For The Best”
Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy (due September 2009)

MP3: Miracle Legion – “All For The Best”
Surprise Surprise Surprise (1987)

-

Jeremy Sole is one of my favorite DJ’s on KCRW.  He also DJs every Thursday night at Zanzibar in Santa Monica for an event called “Afro Funke” which features an ecclectic mix of music from all over the world.  When I originally checked out SoundCloud.com, I noticed Jeremy Sole had an account.  He had uploaded a remix of a Femi Kuti song and it was awesome.  Recently, he posted this awesome remix of Marvin Gaye’s “Anger.”

-

Portugal. The Man released their new album, The Satanic Satanist, on July 21st.  The blues-style indie rock sound is undeniably attractive and it isn’t just limited to 1 or 2 tracks.  The album is great all the way through.  These are some of my favorites…

MP3: Portugal. The Man – “Guns and Dogs”
MP3: Portugal. The Man – “People Say”
The Satanic Satanist (July 2009)

-

Rakim hasn’t released an album since The Master in 1999.  There was supposed to be one released in 2002 but Dr Dre, who was producing the album, and Rakim cited “creative differences” when they announced that they would not be releasing an album.  Pretty much since then, I haven’t even tried to keep up with the drama surrounding the album, I just want to hear it.  ”Holy Are You” was released on July 28th and is the first single from the upcoming album The Seventh Seal.

MP3: Rakim – “Holy Are You”
The Seventh Seal (Fall 2009?)

-

Yim Yames, better known as Jim James of My Morning Jacket, posted his tribute album to George Harrison on his website, yimyames.com.  The album will be available everywhere on August 4th.  Check it out below…

MP3: Yim Yames- “My Sweet Lord”
MP3: Yim Yames – “All Things Must Pass”
Tribute to (August 2009)

-

It’s been a couple of weeks, maybe a month, since Muse released their newest track, “United Stated of Eurasia.”  The song has been compared to Queen, as has Muse, and especially the lead singers of both bands.  Matthew Bellamy isn’t as great as Freddie Mercury, but they are from very different times so it’s hard to compare them.  But the sound and style of “United States of Eurasia” is so similar to Queen’s rock-opera anthems that it makes it hard not to compare them.  To be honest, I don’t really care.  Muse is different enough even though this song’s resemblance to Queen’s sound is unmistakable but the song is enjoyable nonetheless.  I don’t love it, but it’s good.  For me, comparisons like that will occasionally take the fun out of listening and that’s perhaps the best reason of all to try to sound more original.

MP3: “Muse – United States of Eurasia”
The Resistance (September 2009)

It took me a while but I finally got around to posting them all.  In no particular order, here are my favorites from 2009, so far…

Phoenix
MP3: “1901”
MP3: “Lisztomania”

Dan Auerbach
MP3: “When The Night Comes”

Grizzly Bear
MP3: “Two Weeks”

Wilco
MP3: “Solitaire”
MP3: “One Wing”
MP3: “I’ll Fight”

Quantic and His Combo Barbaro
Amazon: “The Dreaming Mind”

Andrew Bird
MP3: “Oh No”

Franz Ferdinand
MP3: “No You Girls”

Doves
MP3: “Jetstream”
MP3: “Kingdom of Rust”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
MP3: “Hysteric”

Black Crowes
MP3: “I Ain’t Hiding”

White Rabbits
MP3: “Percussion Gun”

K’naan
MP3: “Take A Minute”

Manchester Orchestra
MP3: “I’ve Got Friends”

Mocky
MP3: “Birds Of A Feather”

Kutiman
http://thru-you.com/

Black Moth Super Rainbow
MP3: “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise”
MP3: “Twin Of Myself”
MP3: “Fields Are Breathing”

Animal Collective
MP3: “My Girls”

Matt and Kim
MP3: “Daylight”

Silversun Pickups
MP3: “Panic Switch”

Curumin
MP3: “Compacto”
MP3: “Salto No Vacuo Con Joelhada”

Emiliani Torrini
MP3: “Me and Armini”

Zion I
MP3: “Coastin”

Junior Boys
MP3: “Parallel Lines”

General Elektriks

MP3: “You Don’t Listen”

St Vincent
MP3: “Strangers”

Coconut Records
MP3: “Any Fun”

Matisyahu
“One Day”

Method Man and Redman
MP3: “A Yo”

Tosca
MP3 Link: “Joe Si Ha”
MP3: “Fondue”

The BPA
MP3: “Toe Jam”
MP3: “He’s Frank”

Bishop Allen
MP3: “The Ancient Commonsense of Things”

—-

Newer acts:

Band of Skulls
MP3 Link: “Death By Diamonds and Pearls”
MP3: “I Know What I Am”

Empire of the Sun
MP3: “Walking On A Dream”

One eskimO
Link to listen: “Given Up”
MP3: “Givin Up (Don Diablo remix)”

Nickel Eye
MP3: “Brandy of the Damned featuring Wale (Mark Ronson remix)”
MySpace link to listen: “Bonnie and Clyde”

Mayer Hawthorne
MP3: “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”

Zee Avi
MP3: “Bitter Heart”
MP3: “The Story”

Passion Pit
MP3: “Moth’s Wings”
MP3 link: “The Reeling”
MP3: “Little Secrets”

Fight From Above
MP3: “Between The Curves”

Vosotros Presents: The Years
MP3 link: “Lose My Number”
MP3 link: “Heartbreaker”

Daniel Merriweather
MP3: “Change” featuring Wale

The Big Pink
MP3: “Velvet”

The Temper Trap
MP3: Sweet Disposition

Thenewno2
MP3 link: “Yomp”
MP3 link: “Give You Love”
MP3: “Crazy Tuesday”

Asa
MP3: “Jailer”
MP3: “Subway”

The Very Best
MP3: “Warm Heart of Africa”

St Motel
MP3: “Dear Dictator”

Danny Chaimson
MySpace link to listen: “This Is Life”

Hey Champ
MP3: “Cold Dust Girl”

Jaydiohead by Minty Fresh Productions
MP3: “Wrong Prayer”

Asher Roth feat. Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom
MP3: “Lion’s Roar” produced by Oren Yoel

—-

Mixtapes:

Wale & 9th Wonder - Back To The Feature

TiRon – Ketchup
Miguel featuring TiRon – “Go”

Band of Skulls‘ debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey ias released in April on iTunes.  My friend got me a copy last week and I now can’t stop playing the 2nd and 3rd tracks, “Death By Diamonds and Pearls” and ”I Know What I Am.”  The songs combine the qualities of the White Stripes and The Black Keys; edgy, bluesy hard rock at it’s best.  At first, I only really liked these tracks.  Now I like the whole album, a lot.  The album as a whole is original and progressive and that’s what makes Band of Skulls great.  ”Patterns,” Hollywood Bowl,” “Impossible,” and “Blood” are all great, distinctive songs.  ”Dull Gold Heart” is a great track that, like the album, took me a couple of listens to realize how much I truly enjoy it.  It’s definitely going to be considered one of the best albums of 2009.

MP3: Band Of Skulls – “I Know What I Am”
MP3 Link: Band of Skulls – “Death By Diamonds and Pearls”

-

Mocky – Saskamodie

I liked to check out the KCRW DJ picks of the month.  I usually find something I didn’t know about before like Saskamodie, the new album from Mocky released back in April.  The variety of genres and eras of music blended together on this album is seriously impressive and even more enjoyable.

MP3: Mocky – “Birds Of A Feather”

-

Nickodemus – Sun People

Nickodemus’ new album Sun People was released last month.  You can listen to the whole album for free at Nickodemus.com where I got the cool widget below.  They’re letting people embed the widget so now you can listen to the album right here.

MP3: Nickodemus – “Sun Children (Ft. The Real Live Show)”

Air – Love 2

Air’s upcoming album, Love 2 is due October 6th.  The band released the track below, “Do The Joy” via their website, Aircheology.com.  Check it out here:

MP3: Air – “Do The Joy”

There are only a handful of albums I have ever really anticipated like Quantic’s upcoming album, Tradition In Transition, due July 14th.  This album could be truly amazing.  ”The Dreaming Mind” is the song in the video teaser for the album below and it’s featured on Quantic’s myspace page as well.  It might be one of my all time favorites.  Between the string arrangements and the funky percussion, it’s a cinematic-style masterpiece that just kills me.  If I like half of the songs on the album as much as I like “The Dreaming Mind” I might find the answer to the “if you were on an island and could only have one album” question.

Bonus MP3: Quantic and His Combo Bárbaro – New Morning
Bonus MP3: Quantic and His Combo Bárbaro – Arianita

More

Everyone loves covers, remixes, and mash ups.  Here are some of my recent favorites and some I just haven’t posted until now…

• MP3: Radiohead VS Dave Brubeck – Five Step
• MP3: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody (RAC Remix)
• MP3: Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (Trentmoller Remix)
• MP3: Phoenix – 1901 (Build Remix)
• MP3: Daft Punk VS Does It Offend You, Yeah – We Are Technologic (LightsoverLA mash up)
• MP3: Major Lazer – Hold The Line (LehtMoJoe Remix)
• MP3: Slum Village – Fall In Love (Remix)
• MP3 Link: Cara Robinson – California Soul (acoustic -Marlena Shaw cover)
• MP3: Camp Lo – Coolie High (Remix) – (got this from djnodj.com, Michael Jackson sample was never cleared so it may be the first you’re hearing this)

Daniel Merriweather – Change (Gigamesh Remix)

More