Q Magazine put out their Top 50 albums of 2012 list, choosing to do so in no particular order this year, making it more a pile than a list. Check out Q's picks in alphabetical order below.

Continue reading "Q Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2012"

The Fly is the "UK's most popular new music magazine," but if you haven't heard of it, its because it's a free monthly that doesn't really get international distribution. You can however read it online. The mag just released it's year-end issue and topping their Best Albums of 2012 is Sharon Van Etten's Tramp (which was just released in a Deluxe edition, a fine Xmas gift don't you know). Sharon narrowly beat out Grimes, whose Visions came in at #2. The whole list, in ascending order, is below and you can read what The Fly said about each album here.

By the way you can still get tickets for the December 15 show at Cameo that Sharon curated with She Keeps Bees and Speck Mountain and "Special Guest."

A list of the Fly's Top 50 Albums of 2012 is below.

Continue reading "'The Fly' magazine's Top 50 LPs of 2012 (Sharon Van Etten #1)"

It's that time of year already I guess. NME quizzed a whole bunch of artists about their favorite album of the year. Bat For Lashes chose Alt-J who recently won the Mercury Prize and who chose Polica as their favorite. That and more, if you can understand what they're saying, in the video, below....

Continue reading "WATCH: Artists tell their favorite 2012 albums (Bat for Lashes pick Alt-J who pick Polica, etc)"

Bon Iver at Bonnaroo 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Bon Iver recorded an iTunes session at East West studios which is available exclusively from iTunes starting today. It includes six tracks off 2011's great Bon Iver, Bon Iver and a cover of Bjork's "Who Is It?," which the band has played live many times. You can stream the session's opening track, "Beth/Rest" below.

As mentioned, Bon Iver is touring internationally throughout the summer and fall and will come to NYC on September 19 and 20 at Radio City Music Hall. Both of those shows are now sold out. All Bon Iver dates, including a recently announced European leg, are listed below.

Speaking of Bjork, she's teaming up with the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Children's Museum of Manhattan to create interactive educational programs for middle school-aged students based on her Biophilia app. Speaking about the program, Bjork said:

"It's not a bookish thing. You cannot learn to make music from a book." "I love books; they're like the best ever," she added. "There are things you can only learn from books, but it's also important to introduce the physical aspects. So for me, it was very important to make, somehow, music education that was physical." (via NY Daily News)

Way Out West (Aug 9-11) in Gothenberg, Sweden features many of the same bands as Oya like Bon Iver, Refused, Afghan Whigs, St. Vincent, Purity Ring, John Maus, and Bob Mould in addition to Blur, Wilco, I Break Horses, Hot Chip, The War On Drugs, Mark Lanegan Band, Adolescents, Swans, and more. Check out the spotify playlist. The full lineup is listed below.

As mentioned, the reunited Mazzy Star is set to play both of those European festivals. Full lineups and the Bon Iver dates and song, below...

Continue reading "Bon Iver's new iTunes session, Bjork's new program at the NYPL & the full Oya & Way Out West festival lineups"

DOWNLOAD: Lindstrom - "De Javu" (MP3)

Simian Mobile Disco at PS1 in 2011 (more by Erez Avissar)

Simian Mobile Disco released their new LP, Unpatterns, this week via Wichita Recordings. It's a bit of a return to form to their dancefloor-ready debut, Attack, Decay, Sustain Release, rather than the in your face electropop of 2009's Temporary Pleasure. Not as many guest vocalists on the new album, and when they do appear on Unpatterns, they're backgrounded and sparse, like Jamie Lidell's contribution to "Put Your Hands Together." Check out a stream of the entire album below.

Simian Mobile Disco are continuing to tour in support of the album, and will come to NYC this month to DJ Webster Hall on May 25 with DJ sets by Michael Mayer, Lindstrom, FIXED DJs JDH & Dave P< and Alex English & Rekles. Tickets for this show are on sale now. The flier for this show is below.

Simian Mobile Disco will return to NY for Camp Bisco which goes down in Mariaville, NY from July 12-14. Other artists playing include Amon Tobin, Big Boi, Tycho, Thundercat, Shigeto, Daedelus, Skrillex, Star Slinger, Crystal Castles, and more. Tickets for the fest are on sale.

Speaking of Lindstrom, his most recent album, Six Cups of Rebel was released earlier this year. You can stream that entire album below and download the track, "De Javu," at the top of this post.

And speaking of FIXED, their Kindness-headlined show at Le Poisson Rouge is TONIGHT (5/17). It's the NYC live debut for Kindness, whose solid debut LP, Word, You Need a Change of Mind, was released this year. Tickets for tonight's show are still available.

Album streams, show flier and a list of all dates are below.

Continue reading "Simian Mobile Disco released 'Unpatterns,' touring, playing Webster Hall (dates, stream)"

by Andrew Sacher

Kindness - 'World, You Need a Change of Mind'

UK artist Kindness (aka Adam Bainbridge) released his first full length, World, You Need a Change of Mind, earlier this year via Female Energy/Polydor and made some live appearances at SXSW. He's now set to make his NYC live debut at a FIXED show at Le Poisson Rouge on May 17 with Tezeo and FIXED DJs JDH & Dave P. Tickets are on sale now.

Kindness pulls from US disco and synth-funk and its long-standing relationship with rock, dating back to bands like Talking Heads and ESG, and on World, You Need a Change of Mind, he ends up somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. The album reaches its biggest disco-pop moment on "That's Alright," while still paying tribute to indie rock with a synthed up cover of The Replacements' "Swingin Party." That cover was initially released as a single a few years ago with the b-side, "Gee Up," which also appears on the record. It also includes Kindness's second single, "Cyan," which was issued in the US on Chris Taylor's Terrible Records. Check out some streams from the album below.

Continue reading "Kindness schedules debut NYC show; listen to some songs"

Blood Orange @ Converse FADER Fort SXSW 2012 (photo by thereal_lc_)

Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes), who was just in Austin for SXSW (picture above, video below), is back home in NYC and will play a local show at Justice's favorite club Lit Lounge TONIGHT (3/21) with Rewards and Shuga. Tonight's show is one of a few one-offs for Blood Orange before he heads out on tour with Florence & the Machine. That tour hits NYC on May 8 at Radio City (sold out).

Rewards, who open tonight's show, were also added as an opener to Tanlines' upcoming Bowery Ballroom show (4/12). Tickets for that show are still available. Tanlines were also just at SXSW for a limited amount of shows and released their album, Mixed Emotions, yesterday. Alon with that came a new video for song "All of Me", directed by Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh. Watch below.

Shuga, who are also on tonight's bill and were also at SXSW, are on Luv Luv Luv Records, who are presenting tonight's Lit Lounge show and who also manage Blood Orange and Florence, who as mentioned, are touring together. Shuga has another upcoming NYC show at Tammany Hall on Monday (3/26).

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Kindness at SXSW 2012 (via)

In related news, Kindness (aka Adam Bainbridge), who, like Blood Orange, records for Chris Taylor's (of Grizzly Bear/CANT) Terrible Records, was also just in Austin for SXSW where he shared a bill with Blood Orange at a Windish party. Kindess also played a Gorilla vs Bear/Yours Truly party and the NME showcase, among others. Dummy Mag wrote about the GvsB/YT show:

Kindess slinked on stage like the consummate crooner: smooth, self-assured and safe in the knowledge his charm would woo the crowd. He was right, too. I was a little too tired to surrender to it entirely but there's no doubting the calibre of Kindess. Top of the pops.

Speaking of Gorilla vs Bear and Florence & the Machine, GvsB just premiered a Clams Casino remix of Florence's "Never Let Me Go." Stream that below.

All dates, videos and streams below...

Continue reading "Kindness played SXSW w/ Blood Orange who plays Lit tonight w/ Shuga & Rewards (who are opening for Tanlines)"