STAR SLINGER - TAKE THIS UP

Star Slinger has released another hot beat called 'Take This Up', a disjointed bevvy of little highly strung beats in a vein similar to his first digital-only LP Volume 1, except with a more mainstream dance feel than Volume 1's quasi-spaced out charms. Download it free below.

(I say 'another'. They don't come nearly often enough!)

LUCY ROSE - LIKE I USED TO [ALBUM STREAM]

Potentially a review to come. Out tomorrow on Columbia Records. Lucy is playing in-stores in London this week before embarking on a UK tour.

ALUNAGEORGE - YOUR DRUMS, YOUR LOVE

Now, amazingly Madlib’s Freddie Gibbs’ n Co’s ‘Shame’ has stayed with me throughout this time of hiatus. I have only just recently uploaded it to my mp3 player and it has unleashed a whole new wave on endless playing. I don’t know what it is about that song, but play count may well be in the 300-400 now. It STILL never gets old.

Anyway, yes – in addition to Disclosure, I should have mentioned a band that are still really dear to my heart, if, in part, due to their obscurity and wackiness, but also incredibleness and impossible to define sense of effortless pop: that is Philco Fiction. I will not be around when they play Rough Trade East for the release (FINALLY FINALLY) of Take It Personal, which came out last month, but seriously go and see this band. The guys have been knocking around town since last year with this album (got meself two signed LPs innit, see below J) and they just seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Some press has been floating about, if you check the Google.

ELSEWHERE, the fun shall continue with this song: ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ by AlunaGeorge. Now I thought about posting when this duo hit with their debut You Know You Like It EP on TriAngle records (formerly How to Dress Well, Clams Casino, Holy Other- go check it out), but just didn’t quite feel that the sterile pop polish worked for me so thought against it (such are the exceptional perfectionist tendencies we (read: I) have on this blog). But anyway – firstly, the artwork for that EP was the nads. See here. IMHO, anything that simple and breathy somehow, irrationally, but very rationally, signals something worth paying attention to. And secondly, and more importantly, ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ is simply a massive step forward. I have already heard this being played on the radio and was pleased to see that an act so clearly suited to the mainstream crossover of dance, R&B and pop that is so popular right now and finally making strides.

Here is the video. AlunaGeorge are an amalgamation of their two names George Reid and Aluna Francis by the way, just to clear that up. Touring the UK in November.  

I AM BACK!

Thank you loyal readers for keeping this blog on the air. You have been reading and I have been a bad, bad blogger.

There has been SO much great new music out there. I won’t even BEGIN to tell you how the new XX album amazed me, or how Wild Nothing are currently infusing 80s urban wilderness into my discontented lungs. But my, the indie sun has shone mightily on all things in the alternative blogosphere. I would like to point out a particular success since this blog has been away – the band/London duo called Disclosure, who this blog featured way back in June 2011 (Oh yes, waaay back people. You heard it here first aite?) Well they have skkkyrocketed of late, out of oblivion and in to mass homes, on to radio and towards an excellent set that recently completed an Bestival, loosely coinciding with the release/leaking on ‘Latch’, which can be found here. There will be more to come. I just can’t figure out what to write about next. Hmmm….