Saturday, November 24, 2012

@PumpUpThaVolume: Episode034 - Secret Days

Episode034 - Secret Days
"♫Makin' a soundtrack for another planet to hear♫" on @PumpUpThaVolume! Episode034 - Secret Days was recorded at the home studios of MediaMonarchy.com and features brand new #SongOfTheDay sounds from School Of Seven Bells, Azari and III, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Domenico, Chad Valley w/ Twin Shadow, Dana Falconberry, Fink, Black Marble, Peach Kings, Clinic and Gibraltar... because it can't be news and politics all the time!

Episode034: MP3/Feed\Archive

Previous: Episode033 - Heavenly Days
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♬Liner Notes♬: Now that the holiday season is in full swing, this is when I really hate being away from family and friends on the east coast... But I did spend Thanksgiving with the author of the Neil Young biography 'Shakey'! And now we've got 12 tracks of the latest song of the day sounds from School of Seven Bells, Clinic, Chad Valley and more on Episode034 of @PumpUpThaVolume!

School Of Seven Bells
"Secret Days"
'Put Your Sad Down' EP
Vagrant, 2012
Note: Last heard way back on Episode012 with a track off their third full-length 'Ghostory', the New York duo is already back with a new EP called 'Put Your Sad Down'. Pitchfork says "The most recognizable elements of a School of Seven Bells song are present in "Secret Days," the first single from their new EP... But unlike the airtight and aerodynamic Ghostory, "Secret Days" sounds loose and playful, riding a throwback drum pattern that swings like Soul II Soul".
(More Info)

Azari and III
"Reckless (With Your Love)"
'Azari and III'
Loose Lips, 2011
Note: Song source KCRW says "Breakout Toronto house collective Azari & III hopes to invade the states with their self-titled debut album." Meanwhile, NME says this song "has already become a world-bestriding dancefloor staple, apes not only the diva-led house of the late ’80s and early ’90s but also its coded warnings about AIDS, wrapped inside a pop metaphor for heartbreak."
(More Info)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich
"Atlas Hands"
'Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm'
Vagrant, 2011
Note: The Guardian says "the album's double-tracked vocals recall the wispy romanticism of Elliott Smith. Leftwich is not yet as candid or creative as these peers in his approach to the big universals of God, love and deception. But his debut album sets out in their direction..." The UK singer-songwriter's album came out last year and is now gaining steam in the states.
(More Info)

Domenico
"Pinguinhos"
'Cine Privě'
Plug Research, 2012
Note: Song source KCRW says that "Brazilian artist Domenico builds intriguing rhythms around his delicate melodies and thinks of his songs as vehicles for visual exploration."
(More Info)

Chad Valley
"I Owe You This" w/ Twin Shadow
'Young Hunger'
Cascine, 2012
Note: Song source KEXP says "Hearkening back to a time when a young Paul Oakenfold was first beginning to conquer Ibiza and Peter Hook was still in New Order, Chad Valley unabashedly recalls the sunshine sonics and balearic beats of the late ’80s. The solo project of Jonquil’s Hugo Martin, Chad Valley’s retro-sounding production is tempered by his modern bedroom musician instincts, resulting in an album that embraces the 1980s’ musical touchstones..."
(More Info)

Dana Falconberry
"Crooked River"
'Leelanau'
Antenna Farm, 2012
Note: NPR says "Falconberry's songs on Leelanau are like magical but strange little fairy tales. They shimmer and creep. Listening to them is like the musical equivalent of bounding through a poppy field, with fluttering little butterflies dancing in the air. But Falconberry isn't overly precious. There's mystery lurking in the shadows. For "Crooked River," Falconberry says she was inspired by a sewer-creek in the back of an apartment building where she once lived."
(More Info)

Fink
"Blueberry Pancakes" (Live)
'Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet'
Ninja Tune, 2012
Note: Direct Current says this UK singer-songwriter/DJ's "New live album Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet features thirteen concert performances with the guitar-brandishing Fink leading his acoustic "power trio"...through extended and remarkably compelling versions of some of his best-known songs."
(More Info)

Black Marble
"Limitations"
'A Different Arrangement'
Hardly Art, 2012
Note: Mother Jones does record reviews? They say "The first time you hear Black Marble's debut album...it sounds both instantly familiar and not quite like anything else you're listening to. The Brooklyn darkwave duo...have earned frequent comparisons to the paradigmatic post-punk band Joy Division due to the ever-present synths, dark basslines, and general moodiness."
(More Info)

Peach Kings
"Fisherman"
'Handsome Moves' EP
self-released, 2012
Note: In Your Speakers says "On their latest EP, Handsome Moves, The Peach Kings oscillate between languid, crawling ballads sounding like 1950s doo-whop standards and swinging blues rock cracks showing clear influence from The Black Keys."
(More Info)

Clinic
"Misty"
'Free Reign'
Domino, 2012
Note: AllMusic says "The album opener "Misty" spans darkly shimmering keyboards, a surfy guitar line, and a passage that suggests what Echo & the Bunnymen might have sounded like had they preferred organ to guitars, all without sounding forced or jumbled."
(More Info)

Gibraltar
"Death Rays"
'Storms' EP
self-released, 2012
Note: Song source KEXP says "Although true, Gibraltar’s brief-but-effective mission statement (“taking quiet/loud and making it quieter and louder. and then, doing it again”) doesn’t do the Seattle band justice, because the Gibraltar’s sense of dynamics and tension need to be heard to be understood."
(More Info)

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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
Two Worlds Colliding: On the 15th anniversary of his death, INXS's Michael Hutchence biopic is underway
Michael Hutchence today I remember your life, music & unique style, not your death #INXS
So yeah, PSY's "Gangnam Style" is now the most viewed video on YouTube surpassing Justin Bieber's "Baby"
THE EVENS' third album 'The Odds' might be the first Ian MacKaye-related release that'll make you stop missing Fugazi.
Watch The Rolling Stones’ incredible, apocalyptic video for “Doom and Gloom”
Download a remastered recording of Joy Division’s 1980 University of London gig
@AndrewWK is the United States' new Cultural Ambassador to the Middle East! No, really!

(Thanks again to @KEXP, @KCRW, @TheCurrent and you!)

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