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The Black Heart Rebellion – Har Nevo

Try out this new, sophomore full-length from experimental rock act Black Heart Rebellion. It’s got an interesting blend of sounds that I think will appeal to a lot of different music fans.

This collection of tracks not only have the quaint, atmospheric qualities of dream pop and folk, but there’s a clear appreciation for heavy and epic sounds as well. There’s no doubt that members of the Black Heart Rebellion dig on metal and post-rock, but it’s how they bring all these things together that makes this album so interesting. Enjoy!

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Stream This Grupo Los Yoyi LP

A vintage piece of Afro-Cuban funk and jazz resurfaces thanks to the efforts of Black Pearl Records and their recent reissue. Stream the album in its entirety above, and dig on the grooves, atmospheric production, and somewhat zany background vocals and synths. Enjoy!

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Holly Herndon- “Movement”

Though Holly Herndon’s debut LP doesn’t have much in terms of consistency or length, this sonic experimentalist puts together some extremely interesting soundscapes, techno oddities, and vocal manipulations.

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Jens Lekman- I Know What Love Isn’t

On his third full-length album, Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman returns with a more simplistic approach, toning down the extremely colorful instrumentation that coated his last LP. Thankfully, the man’s charm and wit is all this album needs to stay afloat.

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Animal Collective- Centipede Hz

With Centipede Hz, experimental music outfit Animal Collective is following its poppiest album, 2009′s Merriweather Post Pavilion, with one of its most hectic.

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Lyrics:
Animal Collective – Amanita Lyrics
Animal Collective – Applesauce Lyrics
Animal Collective – Father Time Lyrics
Animal Collective – Mercury Man Lyrics
Animal Collective – Monkey Riches Lyrics
Animal Collective – Moonjock Lyrics
Animal Collective – New Town Burnout Lyrics
Animal Collective – Pulleys Lyrics
Animal Collective – Rosie Oh Lyrics
Animal Collective – Today’s Supernatural Lyrics
Animal Collective – Wide Eyed Lyrics

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Stream Jens Lekman’s I Know What Love Isn’t

Stream: Jens Lekman- I Know What Love Isn’t

On September 3, Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman will be releasing his third LP, titled I Know What Love Isn’t, via Secretly Canadian. The folks over at The Quietus have made it available to stream now; just follow the link above to give it a listen.

It’s been about five years since Jens won the hearts of many independent music fans with his last album, Night Falls Over Kortedala. His sweet, engaging lyricism, captivating melodies, and disarming voice made him a personality with whom it was difficult not to fall in love, especially when coupled with the warm and welcoming aesthetic of his precisely chosen instrumentation. Fortunately, I Know What Love Isn’t exhibits Jens retaining such qualities and the charm they lent him, though also exploring his songwriting enough to save it from feeling like an unneeded regurgitation of ideas previously established in his discography. Aspiring indie pop artists, take note: this is how you make a record that is infectious on the surface and bears emotional depth at its core.

/via/

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My Vinyl Collection: Part 1

This is the first of what will be an ongoing series of 10-minute videos talking about every record in my vinyl collection. Of course, this kind of thing isn’t going to be of interest to everyone, but those who have been asking me to do something like this have been very passionate about it. Obviously, this excursion is one of an alphabetical nature, and future videos will continue through my collection as such. I should be hitting up my 7″s and singles when I finish the 12″s.

These are the artists whose records I talk a bit about in this video:
Africa Hitech
Andrew Jackson Jihad
Animal Collective
An Albatross
Fiona Apple
Battles
The Beach Boys
Beach House
The Beastie Boys
The Beatles

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Baroness- Yellow & Green

Baroness lightens their sound a bit, but still comes through with an ambitious double album with Yellow & Green. Keep it epic!

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Metric- Synthetica

Album after album, Ontario band Metric hones an incredibly polished approach to rock music.

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Apollo Brown & O.C.- Trophies

Detroit producer Apollo Brown and veteran New York MC O.C. have teamed up for a new collaborative album titled Trophies. The pair included this statement on the Bandcamp page for the album:

Today’s society is fascinated with “Trophies.” Not just a shiny cup or figurine atop a wooden platform, but the superficial earnings as a result of one’s recognition. Prestigious awards, fancy cars, nice jewelry, and beautiful women, are all coveted “Trophies” of the present day. They seem to be the preferred end result of our hard work. Everyone NEEDS to be recognized for whatever their achievement may be, in order to feel that he/she made a mark in this world. And in order for our recognition to be proper, we NEED an award, or a material object to help reassure us that we did something. But why?

This theme is reflected by a series of socially conscious verses spat by O.C., which work nicely with solid production from Apollo Brown. The producer offers a take on the classic “boom-bap” sound that reminds me why the sound got popular in the first place. His range of samples make for beats that vary from the soulful “The Pursuit” and “Anotha One” to the sinister “Disclaimer” and “People’s Champ.”

Above, stream the album in full via the Mello Music Group Bandcamp.