50% Hipster: March 2017

Sunday, March 26, 2017

New Music Friday - March 3, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Jenn Grant - Paradise

Grant is a singer-songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She's been performing since 2004 and has five previous albums to her name. Her sixth album is described, at least by her label, as her "most adventurous yet, incorporating folk, rock and R&B. The record is a result of a year of working and writing with her husband, Daniel Ladwell.

Watch: "Galaxies"
Listen: "Paradise"

Ronald Bruner, Jr. - Triumph

Ronald Bruner, Jr. is a jazz drummer who has been performing since the age of two and started his career at 15. He follows in his father's footsteps, also a drummer, who worked with artists like Diana Ross, The Temptations, and Gladys Knight. Like his father, he has worked with a wide variety of artists across various genres, even dabbling in hardcore. This is his debut album

Listen: "Sensation" (featuring Mac Miller & Danielle Withers)
Listen: "Take the Time" (featuring Thundercat)

Sondre Lerche - Pleasure

Pleasure is the eighth studio album from this Norwegian artist. The record sees him shifting away from the guitar-driven sound he's cultivated over the past fifteen years in favor of synths and drum machines. Despite the change, he still shows himself to be a masterful songwriter, it's another great album from this amazing performer!

Watch: "Soft Feelings"
Watch: "I’m Always Watching You"

Other Full-Length Releases

Aphra - Sadness Is a Gesture

Watch: "Geranimo"
Listen: "Honey"

Blanck Mass - World Eater

Watch: "Please"
Listen: "Silent Treatment"

Brutus - Burst

Watch: "All Along"

Christine Leakey - Wanderlust Wishing Well

Watch: "Twinkle"
Listen: "Walks Like an Angel" (featuring Linda Perhacs)

Grandaddy - Last Place

Watch: "Way We Won’t"
Watch: "A Lost Machine"

Lily and Horn Horse - Lily on Horn Horse

Watch: "Yorn"
Listen: "Dancing in the Tubes"

Lusine - Sensorimotor

Listen: "Just a Cloud" (featuring Vilja Larjosto)
Listen: "Slow Motion"

Noam Pikelny - Universal Favorite

Listen: "Waveland"
Listen: "Folk Bloodbath"

Sleaford Mods - English Tapas

Watch: "Moptop"
Watch: "B.H.S."

Sun Kil Moon - Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood

Listen: "I Love Portugal"
Listen: "God Bless Ohio"

Tim Kasher - No Resolution

Watch: "An Answer for Everything"
Listen: "Break Me Open"

WHY? - Moh Lhean

Watch: "This Ole King"
Watch: "Proactive Evolution"

Singles, EPs, Soundtracks, etc.

Alexis Taylor - Listen With(out) Piano

Listen: "LonelyVagabond" (Blended Mix - Rupert Clervaux)

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind

Watch: "The Divine Wind"
Listen: "Laura Lee"

Bleached - Can You Deal?

Watch: "Can You Deal?"
Listen: "Flipside"

City and Colour - "Peaceful Road"/"Rain"

Listen: "Peaceful Road"
Listen: "Rain"

Omni - "Fever Bass"/"Thesis"

Listen: "Fever Bass"
Listen: "Thesis"

Peter Bjorn & John - Breakin’ Point Deluxe Version

Watch: "Dominos"

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Upcoming Album of the Week (Ending March 25)

Passion Pit sneak-released a new album this week, Tremendous Sea of Love, made up of the #seaoflove tracks that were posted to YouTube several weeks ago. All that you need to exchange for the record is your email address in support of science. This is the tweet to reply to to get the album.

Check out a list of albums that I'm excited for over at my Upcoming Releases page!

This week, Perfume Genius announced his fourth studio album, No Shape.

pitchfork.com

Perfume Genius is Mike Hadreas, a Seattle-based performer who got his start in 2008 and released his debut album, Learning, in 2010. His music largely addresses his experiences as a gay man, becoming progressively more confident and bombastic with each record. Though all of his work is celebrated, his most recent album, Too Bright, was met, deservedly, with the greatest critical acclaim of his career.

No Shape was announced on Tuesday, along with a video for a new song, "Slip Away."

The album is set to be released on May 5.

Also announced this week:

!!! - Shake the Shudder (May 21)
Black Lips - Satan’s graffiti or God’s art? (May 5)
Charlatans - Different Days (May 26)
Chuck Berry - Chuck (June 16)
Gorillaz - Humanz (April 28)
Kevin Morby - City Music (June 16)
Nite Jewel - Real High (May 5)
Ride - Weather Diaries (June 16)
Thurston Moore - Rock ’n’ Roll Consciousness (April 28)
Todd Rundgren - White Knight (May 12)

R.I.P., Chuck Berry

On Saturday, March 18, rock 'n roll legend Chuck Berry passed away at the age of 90.

Berry got his start in music at a young age, first performing in high school. He got his more official start in 1953 when he started performing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. Upon going solo, he achieved near immediate success with a string of singles, including "Maybellene".

With his combination of country music, blues, an electric guitar, and a certain swagger, he is often credited with creating rock and roll. His style became the template for many early rock artists and he has inspired countless more over the six decades since.

He lived a long life and continued performing live well into his eighties, though it has been more then 30 years since his last studio album. A new album was announced on Berry's 90th birthday, October 18 of last year, and got a release date of June 16 after he passed. He may be gone, but he still has new music to bring us.

Goodbye, Mr. Berry!

Songs to remember him by:

"Roll Over Beethoven"
"Sweet Little Sixteen"
"Big Boys"

Sunday, March 19, 2017

New Music Friday - February 24, 2017

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors

While it's been clear that this band was primarily the brain-child of Dave Longstreth, this is the first album on which the group is just him. The most notable departure leading into this record is that of Amber Coffman, who left after a break-up with Longstreth. That break-up informs just about every track on the record. Although Dirty Projectors are down to just one member, this album is far from a solo effort. Old friends like Tyondai Braxton and Solange helped write and record, and a new friend, D∆WN features on a track.

Watch: "Cool Your Heart" (featuring D∆WN)
Watch: "Little Bubble"

Emel Mathlouthi - Ensen

Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisian performer who became known in the earlier part of this decade for protest music that came to soundtrack her country's revolution. She is influenced both by artists who inspired her desire to protest (Joan Baez), as well as those who informed her sound (Björk, Massive Attack). She released her debut album, Kelmti Horra in 2012, and continues to speak out on her sophomore record, written with the mistreated people of the world in mind.

Watch: "Ensen Dhaif"
Listen: "Lost"

Rhiannon Giddens - Freedom Highway

Giddens is a folk singer who got her start with the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She went solo in 2014 with the release of the We Rise EP. Freedom Highway is her sophomore album, which stands in contrast from her debut, 2015's Tomorrow Is My Turn. That album was primarily a covers album, this album is all original songs. Still, she is heavily informed by the past, exploring the history of folk and African-American music traditions.

Watch: "Hey Bébé"
Listen: "Freedom Highway" (featuring Bhi Bhiman)

Thundercat - Drunk

Stephen Bruner is a funk bassist who has worked with a wide array of artists, from Erykah Badu to Mac Millers. He is perhaps most recognized for his work with Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar; he won a Grammy for "These Walls" with Lamar. His third solo album features a few of those past collaborators, as well as a couple of unexpected voices; two heroes of his, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald.

Listen: "Friend Zone"
Listen: "Show You the Way" (featuring Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins)

Vagabon - Infinite Worlds

Vagabon is Laetitia Tamko, a Cameroonian who relocated to New York just in time to start high school. She is heavily influenced by American indie music, with noted similarities to Allison Crutchfield, Jay Som, and Mitski. She is a multi-threat, playing most of the instruments on this record. Her musical talents and strong songwriting have made this one of the most critically-acclaimed debuts of the past few years.

Watch: "The Embers"
Listen: "Force & Fear"

Other Full-Length Releases