Bobby Womack’s album to be released on June 12

On June 12 Bobby Womack will be releasing his first album since 1994. It will be called The Bravest Man in the Universe, and it will feature twelve tracks, including one with Lana Del Ray. The album will be produced by Damon Albarn and released via XL Recordings. Womack recently was in the news because he has been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Beach House to release new LP in May

On the 15th of May the band Beach House will release its new album. It will be called Bloom, and it will be released via Sub Pop. On the 21st of April the band, in honour of Record Store Day, will also release a limited 7”. The A-Side is a cut from the album called ‘Lazuli’. Another song that will feature on the album is called ‘Other People’.

Weekly Froth #32 (With Runaway, Marcos Cabral, The Magician, and more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Sweet & Sour’ by Marcos Cabral (Jeremy Glenn remix)

Marcos Cabral is one half of Runaway, and if you know the track ‘Brooklyn Club Jam’, you kind of know what you’re getting at the start of this. It’s a really deep, bit of a tribal beat. Something that, when at a club, just guides you on how to dance. I guess it is one of those beats you would, literally, feel. And then those vocals at 1:30, my goodness, LOVE them. Big love for them. And in the mean time that deep, tribal beat keeps playing. Though the title of this track might sound like something you order at a restaurant (seriously, not sure what they were thinking), this is better served in a club playing at a time when you want people to get sweaty and you want them to get it on. I’m not familiar with the original, so not sure which part Jeremy Glenn is responsible for (are it his vocals? I remember a track of his that, in terms of voice, is similar, though the track itself was a different genre completely), but this is a remix that I, for one, wouldn’t be afraid to play in a club. I love tracks in which a nice, good beat is combined with strong, emotional vocals (see Storm Queen for more of that).

(To listen to this track and to listen to and read write-ups on 5 others, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Flutes’ by Hot Chip

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Flutes’ by Hot Chip

(To listen to this track and to read what our contributors had to say about it, click here)

Bleed Bleed Bleed by Thieves Like Us - Album Review

That first song and title track, no wonder it gets a reprise a bit later on, it just perfectly embodies the aesthetic that is so characteristic of Bleed Bleed Bleed. It’s got this lazy beat, this kind of melancholic and detached feel, but it still manages to pack enough emotional punch so that it does not become a clinical exercise of some sorts. Thieves Like Us embedded this atmosphere into the whole of the album, making it a cohesive whole that you can easily put on for its entire length without craving for “the more poppy singles” or whatever one’s fancy is. It’s an entity, and even though I reckon not everyone likes these kinds of midnight city albums, if you like that aesthetic, you’re in for a treat with this one.

(To read the whole review, click here)

Weekly Froth #31 (With Joakim, Junior Boys, Jacques Renault, and more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Labyrinth’ by Joakim (Junior Boys remix)

I loved loved loved the Joakim album last year (and definitely check out the prolonged mix of this track on the same EP), and I enjoyed Junior Boys when I saw them live a great deal. So how does that mix? I love the soft sensibility at the start, those lovely, angelic vocals that are crying out I need you, I want you. That is so good, it’s amazing. And Junior Boys milk it for all its worth, and rightly so. When the first more electronic sounds come in they don’t contrast it too much. Instead they make the transition slow and nice so that after two minutes when it gets dancey with the new beat coming in, it still feels right and in tune with the aesthetic of the rest of the song. It’s a lovely mix of the slightly detached electro of Joakim and the softness and emotion of Junior Boys. Those things combined really make for an outstanding remix.

(To listen to this track and to read write-ups on and listen to five others, click here)

05 Days Off Festival: Escort + WhoMadeWho (Live Report)

The energy bar, instead of slowly being drained of colour, fills up throughout the Wednesday night at the 05 Days Off Festival. It started out completely empty, but finally managed to end in the green. Sometimes music feeds energy, though your Sims might beg to differ. 05 Days Off is a dance festival spread over a number of days (without checking my facts – I know, I’m awful, please read on – my guess would be five of them), and the Wednesday is the first day on the list. I’m not sure how they generally fill up Wednesdays, but apparently this year they thought, “lets just invite the biggest band around” (Escort, which is about 12 musicians worth of people this tour) “…and then we’re halfway there.” They didn’t make it a complete disco and house night though, putting WhoMadeWho on as the band headlining the smaller upstairs room.

(To read the whole live report, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Please Forgive my Heart’ by Bobby Womack

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Please Forgive my Heart’ by Bobby Womack

(If you want to listen to this track or read what our contributors thought of it, click here)

Weekly Froth #30 (With Pional, Mario Basanov, Rolla Scape, and more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Golden Mind’ by Debukas (Pional remix)

Pional has been doing some good things (yes he has, you know he has), and this is his take on a Debukas song, who has recentely released an EP called Pleasure Patterns. It certainly creates an atmosphere for itself in those first 1 1/2 minutes, that’s really good. Takes its time and just creates its own world to escape in and where it itself can make its own rules. It’s quite hypnotic in a way, eyes closed and follow the beat a bit. It kind of reminds me of The Field, though not quite as “looping” and perhaps a tad more atmospheric. Its got the same kind of repetition going on though, with dashes of escapism thrown in there. If it is able to grab you, you’re in for quite a delight.

(To listen to this track and to read write-ups and listen to five others, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Candy’ by Chromatics

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Candy’ by Chromatics

(To listen to this track and to see what our contributors thought of it, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Hey Shooter’ by Rocket Juice and the Moon ft. Erykah Badu

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Hey Shooter’ by Rocket Juice and the Moon (ft. Erykah Badu)

(To listen to this track and see what our contributors had to say, click here)

New Hot Chip coming up

Hot Chip is readying their new album. It will be called In Our Heads and will be released via Domino. It will see daylight on the 11th of June of this year (obviously) and the album will contain eleven tracks, including ones titled Now There’s Nothing, Let Me Be Him, and Look at Where We Are.

Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and Serengeti are releasing an EP as s / s / s. It will be released on the Anticon label and will be titled Beak & Claw. The EP will contain four tracks, and next to the main artists already mentioned it also features contributions by Shara Worden and Doseone. The songs are called ‘Museum Day’, ‘Beyond Any Doubt’, ‘If This is Real’, and ‘Octomom’.

The Weekly Froth #29 (The Aikiu, Thieves Like Us, Moullinex, and more)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the Week: ‘Pieces of Gold’ by The Aikiu

Hey, where has this been the last couple of years? I feel like I’ve been missing stuff like this. Starts out nicely with the drums, bit up-tempo, and then those happy, light synth sounds come in. And then, on top of that, those very theatrical vocals which I just completely love. The drums keep this one going on forward and forward, the synth and the orchestrated music give the song its atmosphere, and the vocals really put a face on it, give it its character. In essence, it just is a lovely pop song. Very orchestrated sound, easy on the ear, and pretty catchy as well. Those drums coming in again at around 2:30, I mean, I see that at a sunny festival getting people really into it and putting their hands up and dancing. I’m impressed with the whole package to be honest, and the whole EP is streaming on SoundCloud, so check that out eh?

(To listen to this track and listen to and read write-ups about 5 others, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Montauk’ by Rufus Wainwright

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Montauk’ by Rufus Wainwright

(To listen to this track and to see what our contributors had to say about it, click here)

Now Playing... ‘Beauty Towne’ by Xiu Xiu

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Beauty Towne’ by Xiu Xiu

(If you want to listen to this track and read what our contributors thought of it, click here)