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 *sadly not available in the US:[

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Happy hunting..

REVIEW: Sun City Girls - Funeral Mariachi

8.25 out of 10

Find it here.

Here's another one of those great albums I missed in 2010. Had I been paying attention "Funeral Mariachi" could have easily landed in the top half of my year-end list. As for the genre, hmmm.. "Unclassifiable?" How about next time you're in a estranged-peppy mood you listen to this and tell me what you think it is? Ooh wait! I know, how about South American Campfire Psych-Folklore-Core..?(<-that's a genre now:)

We all know I'm a sucker for strange sounds evolving and mutating into one cohesive mind warp of an album. On "Funeral Mariachi" Sun City Girls perfect that concept as well as take it to a whole other level, creating what could be/is their best work yet. (Side Note: They've got A LOT of releases, you should look/listen when you get a moment.) I wish I could say I've heard all of the Sun City Girls releases, but I haven't ..yet, I'll need more shortly though. My brain needs sounds like these to survive. SCG remind me of Akron/Family mixed with the sounds of South American tribes celebrating with peyote by moon light. The general tone is "Psych-Folk" but there are also elements of Classical, Jazz, Freak Folk, Shoegaze/Early 4AD kind of vibes, and yes, a thick root in ghostly Latino sounds. The first third of the album is somewhat uppity/crazy/mind bending. The last two thirds (the parts I like a lil more) is somewhat chill and relaxing almost Jazzy, but still bizarre. Just get it and tell me what you think. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.

A fine mix between Akron/Family, Animal Collective, The Books, Dead Can Dance, Juana Molina, Pink Floyd, and a little bit of WTF. These guys have mastered a craft that is almost unmatchable. Fans of the weird & bizarre, consider "Funeral Mariachi" your chicken soup. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Standout Tracks: This Is My Name, Vine Street Piano (this shouldn't end..ever), Blue West, Holy Ground (E-N-O), Mineral Wells (nice piano piece), Funeral Mariachi (nice jazz piece)

If only I lived here..

It's been long enough.., I wonder if AC will be premiering any new music at this festival?

New/FREE Avey Tare track? ..OK!

Avey Tare - Lucky 1

The album "Down There" (which is pretty awesome as well as different than what you may expect, but still pretty f'n ingenious) comes out October 25th via Paw Tracks.

Check into Chrome Wings..

Chrome Wings - Old Money

Sounds like a "droney-damp-ambient-celestial" Animal Collective.

Avey Tare FFFIINNALLLYYY releasing a solo LP!!

Avey Tare's "Down There" comes out October 26th via Paw Tracks.

FINALLY, my favorite Animal Collective member is releasing a full length of his own!! I'm more than excited for this release, it could will be a 2010 favorite..

Here's a song he did a while back called "Crumbling Land":


Also, while we're on the subject.. Do you guys remember the release he did with Kría Brekkan? I don't know how many of you did/can, but I HIGHLY recommend reversing it (the album was released reversed -- so undo that) and listening to it.. Sooooo good!

REVIEW: Sunglasses - Sunglasses EP

6.75 out of 10
Find it here.

Sunglasses are a new group hailing from Savannah, Georgia. There are two core members in this group; 8000 Bam Bam (umm what?) and Baby Seal (ok, that makes sense?). They met while attending The Savannah School of Arts, 8BB a film maker, Baby Seal a sound designer. After collaborating on a film project the duo decided to make a full time gig out of it. The ending result being a nice (but short) Indie Electronic/Psych album that should be pleasing for fans of MGMT, Animal Collective, and other bands along "those" lines.

The first song on this self-titled EP, "Whiplash", has keyboards, slide whistles, trippy distortions & pleasing vocals, this song could easily be confused as (yet another) Animal Collective tribute track. But more than just another AC rip off band, Sunglasses are a lot "peppier", somewhat stranger (somewhat), and to me a little more "radio friendly". The rest of the album continues in the tradition of kaleidoscopic collage sounds with warm tones, carefree attitudes, and a "beach front" attitude that allows this band to live up to their name.

This is a fun little EP, maybe not mind blowing, but pretty catchy/fun. Good music for hanging outside on a nice warm day I think. "Merriweather Post Pavillion" + going to the beach = Sunglasses first EP. Perhaps their future is bright, so they gotta wear ..shades.. (yeah, lame joke)

Standout Tracks: Whiplash

Check into Glass Vaults.. GET THIS NOW.

Glass Vaults - Glass EP (yep, it's a whole EP!)

I just received this album this morning and ...oohoho oh..... my..
Hands down one one of THE BEST albums I've heard all year.
Reminiscent of M83 & Animal Collective (I know, I'm obsessed).
Please, please, PLEASE check these guys out (if you're into therapeutic music).

Good (free) music laying around the interwebs..(expanded edition)

Yuck - Automatic
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Washed Out - You And I
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Phantogram - Daytrotter Session
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Pantha Du Prince - Welt Am Draht (Animal Collective Remix)
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Ólöf Arnalds - Surrender (feat. Björk)
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Dusty Brown - Back To Back
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Dunian - Dunian
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Drivan - Kämpa
&Christopher Willits - Sun Body
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Crystal Fighters - In The Summer
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Cheese People - Cheese People
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Change Leopardon - Juchitán
&Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

~njoy.

REVIEW: Blood Blood - Autumn/Harvest

6.5 out of 10

Find it here.

As I've mentioned before in the past, being a part of the "press" has it's perks. Sometimes I receive albums from little known bands that are just coming up in the world. Trust me I'm not complaining, finding gems from unheard of projects is always a good thing. Enter Blood Blood; a new project off of the terrific I Had An Accident Records label, which is also up and coming. "Autumn/Harvest" is Damg's (Bloodx2) first release under the moniker. It is a shining example of Lo-Fi aesthetics blended with Campfire atmospheres, as well as minimal droney electronics. Using only a guitar, keyboard, and a busted microphone made in the 80's. Blood Blood delivers the kind of music that only fans of Microphones/Mt. Eerie, Animal Collective, or Our Brother The Native may come to agree with.

"Autumn/Harvest" has a very cohesive feel between all of the tracks. Low-end bass/static sounds emanate through the warmest sounding recordings, vocals barely audible add an element of charm and emotional disposition, keyboards, usually in the form of an organ-esque/"buzz" sound are sustained, a few drum machine sounds are used, and a guitar which offers both a simple melody as well as a click tempo to some of the tracks. The sounds that are offered here are indeed simple, but due to their "simple" nature, they come off as charming and somewhat elegant. Tracks like Lumb, bring to mind the early bedroom recording days of Fog, catchy/chill/melancholy. We all know Lo-Fi can be one of the harder genre's to "understand", but I think if you take a chance with the sounds on "Autumn/Harvest" you may come to appreciate the genre that much more.

This is L-O---F-I. If you're a fan of the genre, you will love this. Overall I am pleased with the experience, but like I said some may find the recordings hard to swallow at points. Still though, I am definitely interested to see where this artist takes his music in the future.

Standout Tracks: Kbye, Lumb (LOVE this track, especially when the piano comes in), Naked

Oddsac coming to DVD..!

"Oddsac" the Animal Collective "visual album" comes out June 29th!

Better "pre-order" some 'shrooms now before the dry season hits ;)

Here are a few screening dates:
03-17 Chicago IL - Music Box Theatre
03-20 Minneapolis MN - The Cedar
03-22 Los Angeles CA - ArcLight Cinerama Dome
03-25 San Francisco CA - Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
03-29 Portland OR - Cinema 21
03-30 Seattle WA - The Egyptian Theatre

Does Animal Collective ever take a break?

Animal Collective to do something artsy..? Who would've suspected?

From The Guggenheim:

For the Guggenheim's 50th Anniversary, the band Animal Collective has collaborated with artist Danny Perez on a site-specific performance piece that will transform the museum’s rotunda into a kinetic, psychedelic environment. Transverse Temporal Gyrus will feature original recorded music composed specifically for the work along with video projections, costumes, and props, rendering the band members and performers into intense, visual abstractions. During the evening, guests are invited to freely explore the space in order to fully immerse themselves in the environment created by Animal Collective and Danny Perez.

The band describes their inspiration:

One of the things that you notice almost immediately in the jungle are the birds; so many different sounds coming from so many different directions. Are they communicating to each other? What are they saying? Does each variation serve a purpose? Why are there repetitions? Is there a pattern or is that just your imagination? If you don’t know the first thing about bird songs, these questions can rack a brain for days. The jungle seems louder than most New York apartments but its symbiosis makes it subtler if not more pleasing to foreign ears. The longer you sit awake in bed listening at night, the more you hear. It brings to mind Jane Goodall hanging out with chimpanzees in Tanzania and how she noticed them reacting to distant or inaudible sounds that at first she couldn’t hear, but as her ears adapted to the environment after months she began to hear them too.

But as the environments around us change quickly, as people encroach more and more on land where only select symbioses occur, we wonder how this will change the sounds around us and how this alters the way we hear things and react to them. As New Yorkers we are all familiar with the everyday noise around us—the car alarms, the subway trains braking, the music in bars—so familiar that sometimes we drown them out. But then do we not realize how these sounds are affecting us? How they make us feel or act? With this in mind we wanted to create an environment where people could take some time to listen to other kinds of sounds and get away from those familiar sounds of the city. Keeping in mind the birds of the jungle, we’ve created an array of sounds with Animal Collective's music that is seemingly random...or is it? We invite you to come take some time out and sit with us. As time passes it is our hope that you will wonder if you are hearing songs or patterns or maybe simply hearing more. The visual work of Danny Perez has been incorporated to turn the environment of an empty museum into a more mysterious hideaway. The core elements and colors are worked into the piece in order to unite this room of sound with the inside of your brain. We hope you enjoy.

Thanks for joining us.
—Animal Collective

You can purchase tickets HERE. You can also let me know if you would like to pay for my ride out there.. I also have no problems with excepting charities ;)

Cool Video Funtime #131 - Oddsac

Woot! New Animal Collective album soooon..?!

Check it.