Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?

Aug
23

See the photo above. HEALTH don’t need to “get color.” But both the title of the LA electro-noise cabal’s forthcoming full-length, and the decision to enlist Tobacco for remix work intimate that they want their shine blinding. Yet the frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow never bleaches eyes, instead he angles towards chromatic distortion. Other… Continue reading »

Aug
23

Sic Alps-”L Mansion”

Bleary braille eyes, acrid tobacco tongue, and an apartment a drained swamp of beer bottles–no problem–San Francisco’s Sic Alps hit harder than caffeine. Where bubble gum meets barbed wire, channeling that anorexic aperture between harsh daylight and phantom fragments of forgotten conversations. Mike Donovan sneers “she went to seek adoption, just to see wot she… Continue reading »

Jul
31

Brand New Knux: “Fuck You”

Even if you’re not a fan of the brothers Lindsey, it’s difficult not to respect them. Rather than damage inboxes with the umpteenth “freestyle” over “D.O.A..” they’ve laid low since dropping Remind Me in Three Days last year, opting to eschew the blog hustle for the tangible grind, building a fan base the old-fashioned way:… Continue reading »

Jul
30

Damn, It Feels Good to be a Gangsta

Why post the front cover when this tape is all about the tracklisting? Murs and the L.A. Leakers deserve plaudits for this essentially flawless compilation of seminal West Coast gangsta’ rap. The other Nick Carter says it best in his introduction: “when we were younger, this is what we were listening to on the West… Continue reading »

Jul
28

The Analog Tropical Pop of Memory Cassette

I’d tried to avoid the Elbo.ws elbowing over the proprietary rights to New Jersey maharajah’s of mystery, Memory Cassette, because well, sometimes it’s more fun to run the contrarian jerkstore (see Fire, Arcade). But reading their Pitchfork interview caused me to cave, specifically when head tape, Dayve Hawk declared, “the last thing I want to… Continue reading »

Jul
20

Prafit’s “New York Swing”

Fresh off three consecutive weeks in rotation on Hot 97′s Real Late with Peter Rosenberg comes Prafit’s “New York Swing, the Strong Island rapper’s latest collaboration with blog and blunt baron, Disco Vietnam. Like its antecedents, “Nice Weather” and “My Life”, “New York Swing” channels the city’s mid-90s vintage without lapsing into over-cautious rehash. The… Continue reading »

Jul
17

The Jamz and Jemz of Javelin

It’s apparently come to this. All the good band names are taken. All permutations involving Crystal, Black, and Wolves, have been exhausted. We’re down to naming ourselves after vaguely obscure Decathalon Events. It’s only a matter of time before 110 Meter Hurdle, Shot Put, and Pole Vault monopolize the Hype Machine (in fact, this may… Continue reading »

Jul
15

The Commodores-”Assembly Line”

Occasionally, you hear a song for the first time and stop whatever is you’re doing, because said song is so awesome that it demands your complete attention. I’m not sure how I lived for so long without having heard “Assembly Line,” from The Commodores debut album. Especially considering I played Little League and High School… Continue reading »

Jun
29

Joker-Live @ Sonar 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6MHGb1sgYQ If we’re really going to go with purple as the new catch-all appellation for the ultra-violet beats bouncing out of Bristol, let’s at least acknowledge the real reason why the tag emerged: these guys must be smoking so much purple haze as to make Cam’ron seem Mennonite (no Freaky Ezekiel). Should he keep up… Continue reading »

Jun
29

Spoon-”Got Nuffin”

Britt Daniel is a musical McGyver smoker. Give him a greasy guitar line, a baby grand, a snare, and a snorkel, and watch the smoke soar. The titular single from Spoon’s new EP is wrapped with a tension tight as Asclepius’ snakes. Alfred Soto described the solo at the 1:05 minute mark, as “moving like… Continue reading »