premiere: stream Boyhood’s “slimy and sad” new record Bad Mantras
on blast
2018.5: our favorite albums + songs of the year so far
We're not quite halfway through 2018, but here's our annual recap of the albums + songs of the first half of the year anyway. I’ve excluded any records that we’ve released on our new label Luminelle Recordings; otherwise, the stellar new ones from Helena Deland, Anemone, and Hana Vu would have all figured prominently into both of these lists. Also, I guess a few of these aren’t officially out yet. Sorry!
premiere: Primo – Mirage
We're psyched to debut this buzzing new track from Melbourne, Australia trio Primo, taken from the group's addictive debut album Amici, coming soon via Upset The Rhythm. The label says that Primo's deceptively minimal, alternately lilting/ripping post-punk jams sound like "the places you go when you’re working hard nine-to-five and can’t go anywhere," and the fleeting "Mirage" is a blistering intro to the group's detached urgency and infectious, almost gleeful cynicism, always sweetened just a bit by those disarming three-part harmonies...
stream PYNKIE’s debut LP neoteny
With her lovely new record neoteny, New Jersey singer/songwriter/RN Lindsey Rae Radice aka PYNKIE just dropped one of the coolest, most infectiously charming debut LPs of 2018. I've had the first two tracks that PYNKIE shared from the record on repeat for a few months now, and now you can stream the whole thing in all its glory below...
Hana Vu – Shallow
LA's Hana Vu unveils the third stellar track from her forthcoming official debut EP How Many Times Have You Driven By, dropping in just about one month on our label Luminelle Recordings. This one already got some love today from the Fader and Pitchfork, with the former claiming that ripping new jam "Shallow" "proves the seventeen-year-old is cooler than you and me," and the latter calling Hana "one frightfully wise teenager...
Bella Boo – Fire Fire
This one was a vinyl-only track until today, but Sweden's Bella Boo just upped the dreamy highlight/opener from her magical new Fire 12" EP on her soundcloud. Listen to the hazy, chilled-out groove of "Fire Fire", our favorite track from our favorite house 12" of the year so far, out now on Studio Barnhus:
U.S. Girls collaborator Tony Price shares the hypnotic first single from his new solo record Celica Absolu
Shout out to Meg Remy of U.S. Girls for introducing us to the diverse musical stylings of Tony Price when she took over the blog for a day a few months back. In addition to contributing production to In a Poem Unlimited and co-producing Ice Cream's sick new jams and Aurora Shields' dazzling debut single, Price is set to release his immersive and highly cinematic new solo LP Celica Absolu on June 15th on his own label Maximum Exposure...
premiere: Cam Maclean – Wait for Love
We are documented lovers of the smooth, tender soft rock vibes that have been emanating out of Montreal the past few years, so it probably goes without saying that we've been waiting for this one for a while now, and we're psyched to say it's finally on the horizon just in time for summer...
video premiere: Jake Schrock announces debut album for HOLODECK, check the lead single “Cosmic Ocean”
From the hazy outer edges of the S U R V I V E / Stranger Things / Holodeck universe (Dallas) comes the majestic, immersive analog synth wizardry of North Texas' own Jake Schrock. Jake's impressive debut LP Tropical Depression is out July 27th on Holodeck, and it's a lush vintage synth odyssey with a timeless, transportive cinematic vibe, as vibrant and ominous at once as his hometown's retro-futuristic skyline...
premiere: Jenn Champion announces new album Single Rider, listen to lead single “Time to Regulate”
Seattle's Jenn Champion follows up her awesome and highly gif-able new video with the official lead single from her stellar new album Single Rider, coming this summer on Hardly Art. Jenn says in a press release that the new record was inspired by the eminently relatable feeling that, "sometimes you are sad and you just want to dance about it"; that sentiment is conveyed beautifully on the glossy, defiant late-night dancefloor anthem "Time to Regulate"...