New track from Sydney, Australia “avant-party” trio Holy Balm, taken from their forthcoming LP It’s You, which has found an ideal home here in the States in L.A. weirdo emporium Not Not Fun. “Take It” finds the ESG-influenced crew exploring a dystopic, danceable world inhabited by vintage drum machines and wobbly synthesizers, as Emma Ramsay’s elegantly wasted vocals lull us into a tranced-out daze:
mp3:
Holy Balm :: Take It
Here’s another smooth R&B track from Montreal composer/singer d’Eon’s forthcoming LP, out next week on Hippos in Tanks. The frustrated lover’s plea “Transparency Pt. II” is a soulful, evolved sequel of sorts to last year’s “Transparency,” which appeared on his side of the Darkbloom split LP with Grimes. I believe the Peter Gabriel comparison has been made more than once, and it certainly applies here, but since this is d’Eon, we also get an extended section that sounds like a CD stuck on fast forward. The CFCF-mixed LP is out June 5 (digital) / July 10 (physical). Pre-order on limited 2xLP 180 gram vinyl here.
[directed by Samuel Rogers]
New cosmic psych-house club jam from Portland’s Honey Owens + her group the Miracles Club. Taken from Ecstasy’s first blog/label compilation, which can be had right here.
“…in the late 80s electronic beats and synths were eagerly embraced by the film industry of South India along with kung fu fights, aerobics, sunglasses and jogging outfits.”
Currently vibing to some dope ’80s Tamil film music from South Indian composer Ilaiyaraaja’s new compilation Fire Star: Synth-Pop and Electro-Funk from Tamil Films 1985-1989, out now on Bombay Connection. Check a cool album sampler below, as well as the video for standout track “Pattu Enge” from 1987 film Poovizhi Vaasalile, which incidentally sounds vaguely like the steez Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland were going for on “untitled 5″ from this year’s Black is Beautiful (also below):
Listen to Liars‘ new LP XIXIW — out June 5 on Mute — in its entirety below. NPR calls it “the best Radiohead album since Kid A,” and while we’re not sure how accurate that is, it’s sounding pretty great so far. Highlights upon first listen include “Who Is the Hunter,” “Annual Moon Words,” the title track, and of course, brilliant lead single “No. 1 Against the Rush“:
New video for Kill For Love highlight “These Streets Will Never Look the Same” (the sixth single from the album), directed by Alberto Rossini. Shot in Vegas / Mexico City / Montreal. CHROMATICS embark today on their first European tour in two years. Check those dates here, and catch them back in the States this summer at GvsB II on July 28 at the Granada Theater.
It’s been two years since we last heard from Fight Bite, the beautifully gauzy dream-pop project of Neon Indian’s Leanne Macomber. Leany just sent over the group’s new full-length, though, and the collection of dark, hauntingly seductive torch songs was well worth the wait. Soaring lead single “Charlotte Iris” (along with its danceable, album-closing counterpart “Charlotte Pluie“) is one of the loveliest, most dramatic things the group has ever done, and we suspect it will revive all of those breathless Cocteau Twins/Julee Cruise/Beach House comparisons from a few years back. Listen to that one + a couple other highlights from the record — heartbreaking album opener “Catiline” and the eerie, moving “Nancy” — below, and we also recommend picking up the whole thing over at Fight Bite’s Bandcamp (you can also listen to the album in its entirety on Spotify).
