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Oddisee- “Paralyzed”

I first caught D.C. rapper-producer Oddisee when Mello Music Group sent me his mostly instrumental album Rock Creek Park. While I thought the textures and samples in his instrumentals were pretty, it was a bit in-one-ear-and-out-the-other for me, sadly.

However, the four tracks on this new Odd Renditions EP are really grabbing my attention. Not only does this guy showcase a driven personality and an impressive flow, but the sample material is pretty interesting as well: Marvin Gaye, Bon Iver, Metronomy, and K-Os.

Nice instrumentals and rhymes. Plus, it’s free. Can’t go wrong. Grab the EP here.

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Azealia Banks- “Jumanji”

Though the excitement over tracks like “212″ and “L8R,” I’ve remained pretty luke warm on rap senstation Azealia Banks. But the closer we come to the release of her new 1991 EP, the more I realize she’s got a great ear for beats. Early, early this year, she was doing her thing over a new Machinedrum track, and now she’s tearing it up over a bright and kooky instrumental conjured by Hudson Mohawke and Nick Hook with “Jumanji.”

And she’s definitely laying a tough attitude on with this one. Her flow on this track is pretty far removed from the light, comedic, and girly vocal delivery she displayed on early tracks like “212.” Progression? Dynamics? Variety? Well, we’ll see once 1991 is dropped. Word around town is Azealia Banks has a new mixtape on the way this summer as well, and, of course, her full-length debut album will be getting a release in the fall.

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Saint Vitus- Lillie: F-65

It’s hard to imagine the American doom metal landscape without Saint Vitus.  The band released their self-titled debut album way back in 1978 and went on to release a series of consistently great releases up until their eventual breakup in 1996.  Now, fifteen years after the release of their last album, Die Healing, the band has reunited with most of its “classic” members and a new album entitled Lillie: F-65.  If the title is any indicator (Scott “Wino” Weinrich has explained the title refers to depressants) fans can expect the band to deliver that classic, downtrodden doom metal sound.

You can stream the album in full on the YouTube video above, and make sure to pick up the record on May 22 on Season of Mist.
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Kevin Hufnagel- Polar Night

Since the release of his 2011 album Transparencies, guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Vaura, Byla) seems to be putting more momentum behind his solo, ambient efforts.

Polar Night is his latest collection of guitar-conjured drones and soundscapes, and you can stream it all you want via the widget above. The release contains three tracks, or phases: Two 8-minute pieces, and a 25-minute monster. Enjoy!

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Uther Moads- “Battenburg Variation”

“Battenburg Variation” is an ambient electronic track by UK act Uther Moads. This is a tough track to nail down genre-wise. It’s ambient in nature, but certainly uses some clear rhythms and a set tempo to keep the song moving. This is a relaxing track, up until the end, where Uther Moads succeeds in building up a tense ending to the song. It’s an interesting listen, and sounds very modern.

The track comes off a new collection of nautically-themed songs gathered by The Association for Depth Sound Recordings. Stream it on Bandcamp here.

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Darryl Reeves- “Everytime I See You”

Is jazz becoming relevant again? It seems like a bit of a chicken/egg situation right now, but in my life since my friends got into the excellent BBNG2, modern jazz has been sneaking into my listening. “Everytime I See You” is one of these tracks. It’s a great romp through a pretty varied set of instruments. Keyboard, vocals and drums all get there chance to shine on this track. If this is something you’ve been enjoying recently (or forever) I don’t feel like you’ll want to pass up this track.

The song comes from Reeves’ latest album, Mercury, which is a self-released album of both covers and originals. Grab it here, and check out the cover art below:

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Gold Panda- “Mountain” / “Financial District”

Beatmusic producer Gold Panda has digitally released a brand new single fro Ghostly International, which will be available physically on July 11th. The dude’s 2010 album Lucky Shiner wasn’t one of my favorites of that year, but there’s still a lotta production chops there I can’t deny–especially in the case of these two new tracks.

The track “Mountain” feels like a short visit to some far-off Tibetan monastery, housing some of the most at-peace-with-the-world monks known to man. “Financial District” seems to fit its title as well, feeling much more robotic, calculated, and regimented. The woozy synths hanging in the background are a nice touch as well!

Enjoyyyyyy!

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Baroness- “Take My Bones Away”

A lot like the band Torche with its latest album, Harmonicraft, sludgesters Baroness seem to be moving their heavy rock sound into more accessible territory. “Take My Bones Away” is the first track to drop from the band’s forthcoming Yellow & Green album, which will be out on Relapse in July, and the track has a strong alternative rock vibe to it. It’s actually something I could see Foo Fighters fans getting down with, but that’s not a bad thing by any means, because Baroness manages to maintain a lot of its personality in the process of this change.

The guitars are still sludgy, there are plenty of harmonic guitar solos, the song itself still showcases Baroness’ knack for building songs up to epic climaxes. All in all, a nice teaser toward a potentially great album.

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Fergus & Geronimo- “The Weird One Speaks” / “Roman Tick”

Texas garage rock eccentrics Fergus & Geronimo have a new track out, and it doesn’t disappoint. Not at all. Nope.

Well, maybe it’s a bit short, but the duo makes up for it with an extremely catchy hook and personality. The track opens up with a miss “Heather Strange” making some kind of audio personal ad. And, really, she’s looking for a man whose cerebral capabilities haven’t been fried by LCD screens yet. Could that be you?

Maybe the man sung about in the song following Heather’s personal is her perfect match. He doesn’t wanna take her to the movies or the mall. Hell, he doesn’t even want to buy her flowers or take her call. Of course, it’s all before he’s a romantic, or, uh, a “Roman Tick.” Yes, being a blood sucking parasite from Roman times would keep one from doing all those things specified in the lyrics from happening.

From what I understand, the track comes from Fergus & Geronimo’s forthcoming LP on Hardly Art, FWTSOA. Look for it on August 7th.

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Cerce- Tour Sampler CD-R

This is the first time I’m hearing Boston’s Cerce, and it’s an almost abusive experience. The band’s heavy, fist-clenching riffs are thick, distorted, and mix-punching. The drums are fast and relentless. They break into the occasional blast beat as well, making this a great listen for powerviolence junkies out there, too.

However, the most standout part of this band’s music is frontwoman, who has an ultra-feminine shriek that is a breath of fresh air when it comes to this style of music. The lyrics round all sorts of socio-political and feminist bases, making these tracks sound extremely urgent. It’s passion! Fire! Drive! Point A, point B. Fist to face. Done.

The tracks on this sampler run pretty short. Of course, songs this aggressive would need to be packaged into thirty-second bites, and that’s fine with me.

These tracks are available for download on the band’s Bandcamp via donation. 99 cents seems to be the minimum, but it’s more than worth it.