Monday, March 11, 2013
#MusicMonday 87: Generationals, Jamaican Queens, Dawes & more
What the CL team is jamming this week; audio & video included
Posted by Leilani Polk, Deborah Ramos, Ray Roa, Shannon Kelly and Gabe Echazabal on Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 12:51 PM
Find out what the CL Music Team is jamming to rocket launch the work week. Click here to check out previous entries.
I've been jamming on several albums that dropped last Tue., March 5, and these two — both duos warping pop music into intriguing sonic stews — are the ones I've returned to the most frequently. Detroit 'trap pop' duo Jamaican Queens (Prussia former Ryan Spencer and producer Adam Pressley) take their influences from Southern hip hop, electro, dub, downbeat and alterna folk music, filter it through a Detroit lens of scuzz, and put it all together on debut full-length, Wormfood. Javelin is a NY/LA duo that's been buzzing hard and Hi Beams is their sophomore full-length. Unlike their previous recordings, which were cobbled together at home and via laptop, Hi Beams was mixed using "proper microphones, a vintage mixing desk, an array of amplifiers, real plate reverb - in the traditional sense a 'studio album.'" It's odd pop/electro music with whirring synths, fuzzy guitars, some vocoder-fied vocals, beat-driven production, and plenty of sample and sound blips. Right now, I'm particularly addicted to Javelin's "Friending" and "Water" by Jamaican Queens; listen to the latter after the jump along with the rest of this week's MM entries. Reviews of both albums forthcoming.
Just picked this one up over the weekend (how did I miss its initial release?) and have been grooving to the sludgy blues rhythms that Mr. Jack White pumps out in one of his many side bands. Co-lead vocalist Alison Mosshart (from The Kills) takes the mic on most of the cuts in the band's sophomore LP, and fills each of her performances with her warbly, seductive croon every chance she gets. Heavy on the Zeppelin-like chunky blues riffs, Sea of Cowards provides the perfect jolt of adrenaline that Monday morning calls for.
Shannon - The Hood Internet
Similar to Girl Talk, The Hood Internet — Chicago production duo Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell — mash up hip-hop and indie rock, like The Beastie Boys vs. Matt and Kim or Lil Wayne vs. Queens of the Stone Age. Unlike other artists of the genre, The Hood Internet limits most of their remixes to two songs. So, it's not like a soundtrack to an overwhelming cheerleading competition. I needed to wake up and get motivated, and these funky tunes do the trick. All of their music can be found on soundcloud.com. Future & T.I. vs. Clicks & Whistles below:
Deborah - Dawes, "Little Bit of Everything"
Of all the beautiful moments at Gasparilla Music Fest, hearing this song for the first time stands out. Perhaps it was the boys in front of me singing along at full volume, or maybe it was the simple honesty of Taylor Goldstein's vocals and lyrics. All I know is, this is a song that's simultaneously sad and hopeful about life and its different phases and flow; a feeling I can certainly identify with. So often, there's no magical insight, no simple easy solution that can help you figure out why things in your life are the way they are. Sometimes it really just is a little bit of everything. Check out a live performance of the track below.
Ray - Generationals, Heza (Out April 2, 2013)
This Nola-based duo's new LP is set for release via Polyvinyl Records on April 2, but a listen back to a pair or albums (2009’s Con-Law and 2011’s Actor-Caster) is like pressing play and being taken back to a time when the only thing that mattered was the pure joy being blasted through the crappy headphones on your first Walkman. Generationals tunes are almost always backed by lo-fi, quirky drum programming, peppered with perfect pop song structure, and guided by catchy chords. What’s more is that the bright compositions about eternal commitment (“Yours Forever”) get juxtaposed with dark lyrics about hopeless lovers leaving each other (“Goose & Gander”) and battling through good ol’ couples quarrels (“When They Fight, They Fight”). "Put a Light On" below.
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