MP3: Pierced Arrows – “Paranoia”

From the ashes of Dead Moon rises Pierced Arrows. They have a new album, Descending Shadows, coming out on Vice on Feb. 2. It ain’t pretty, no. It’s gritty r’n'r based on minimal, thumping bass and drums, ragged guitars, and too-much-whiskey vocals. Listen to “Paranoia” here.

New Releases: Liars – Sisterworld (Mute, 2010)

Liars will release a new album, Sisterworld, on Mute in early 2010. Check out their cryptic new album website, full of nature scenes hinting towards something sublime. The album was recorded in LA, and the band had this to say: “We’re interested in the alternate spaces people create in order to maintain identity in a city like LA. Environments where outcasts and loners celebrate a skewered relationship to society”.

Video: Vitalic – “Poison Lips”

This is not nearly as good as anything on his last album, but there’s lots of sexy makeup smearing going on in this new Vitalic video, for a song off his new album, Flash Mob.

MP3: Xiu Xiu – “Volcana! (I Hope Your Train Crashes Remix) (The 6ths)”

Cut and paste experimentalism from Xiu Xiu for you today. This song appears on SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Remixes!, out November 20th. Listen here.

MP3: Senor Kaos – “20 Years High & Rising (Homage To De La Soul) Feat. Von Pea & Homeboy Sandman (Produced By Dave West)”

The title says it all. Senor Kaos likes to pay homage while those he’s paying homage to are still alive. Not a bad concept. Listen to it here, off his new Walk Softly & Carry A Big Brick album, which you can download here.

Review: Imaad Wasif – The Voidist

Sometime Yeah Yeah Yeahs member and solo artist Imaad Wasif’s latest, The Voidist, brings his classic rock traditionalism to the forefront. Read all about it here or below.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his indie rock pedigree, Imaad Wasif is something of a classic rock purist. From 2006-2007, he toured with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as an auxiliary guitar player, and he cut his teeth in the LA band alaska! and Palm Desert-based lowercase. The Voidist, however, his third solo album and first for Tee Pee, is everything these past and current projects aren’t.

It seems that Wasif’s heart lies in the big, traditional rock riffs and the folksy plucking of bands like Led Zeppelin and their ilk, as opposed to the dancey post-punk or lo-fi experimentation he has flirted with in other projects. An element of mysticism pervades his music, as it did on his last solo album, Strange Hexes, from the dreamy “Our Skulls” to the Olde English folksong meanderings of “Widow Wing.” These moments are nice, and showcase a confident singer/songwriter working in a medium and style that suits him well, but the traditionalism that he clings to isn’t always very exciting or inspiring. Songs like the pop-rock “Priestess,” that chug along at a brisk pace and are actually more conventional in some ways, fare better.

Over all, while one can’t argue with the conception and arrangement of Wasif’s work, there is nothing that stands out here. Perhaps that is not what he was going for. Perhaps his goal was simply to a make a no-frills rock and roll record with deft guitar playing and sweet singing that is removed from any trends or fads. In that, he has succeeded.

Review: Atlas Sound – Logos

Bradford Cox’s (Deerhunter) side project, Atlas Sound, just released a new album, Logos, on Kranky. Read my review here or below.

The subtleties between Bradford Cox’s two main musical outlets, Atlas Sound and Deerhunter, can be, well, subtle at times. In general, though, the former has been the testing ground for Cox’s experimental solo work, while the latter has consisted of his more rock-oriented (but still experimental) full band arrangements.

On the new Atlas Sound album, Logos, these lines are sometimes crossed and blurred. “Sheila,” for example, a droning but somehow poppy dirge, would feel right at home on the last Deerhunter record, as Cox intones, over and over, “We’ll die alone, together…” Over all, the new album has a more organic, cohesive, ensemble tone and construction than the previous Atlas Sound album, Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. Songs like the eight-minute long “Quick Canal,” featuring Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier on vocals, though, hearken back to that first record, as a whispering programmed drum track skips along under synthesizer waves and thumping bass. The same can be said for the ambient electronics of “Kid Klimax.”

But from the album’s acoustic/IDM opener, “The Light That Failed,” to the ‘60s pop-referencing collaboration with Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox, “Walkabout,” Logos is clearly an ambitious evolution in sound. Whether trading riffs with his fellow band members in Deerhunter or digging into the recesses of his mind with Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox continues to make fascinating and beautiful music.

MP3: New Jackson Five Songs

Can’t get enough MJ, especially now that he’s dead and gone (or so he would have you believe…)? Then check out this preview of some unreleased Jackson 5 songs, from the new album, I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters, out November 10.

The conspiracy deepens:

Video: DOOM – Unexpected Guests Preview

Honestly, it’s not that cool. But you know how you DOOM fanatics gobble this shit up…

New Releases: Tape Deck Mountain – Ghost (11/17, Lefse)

Please do yourself a favor and take a listen to Tape Deck Mountain. His new album, Ghost, due out 11/17 courtesy of Lefse Records, is a lo-fi but lush and emotional work of a talented new artist.

According to his PR, Travis Trevisan lost his job about a year ago and sat at home and made music. Sometimes, unemployment works wonders. Trevisan sings in a kind of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone monotone, but the fuzzy, dour, and always interesting musical arrangements that accompany his voice range from brief Guided By Voices and Pixies-influenced rock to more expansive excursions into post-rock soundscapes.

Tape Deck Mountain will be playing some California dates this November. Check his MySpace page for details.

MP3: Holopaw – “The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion”

Isaac Brock’s BFF band, Holopaw, will return this November with a new album, Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness, on a new label, Bakery Outlet. Listen to “The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion” here.

The band sounds like they’ve been energized and rejuvenated over the past few years, still keeping things pretty but rocking every so slightly harder. Singer John Orth’s vocals still trill about horse and nature imagery, especially when it comes to the Little Stallion character which is supposed to be the subject of much of the record.

The tracklist:

1. The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion
2. Black Lacquered Shame
3. Boys on Motorbikes
4. Cherry Glow
5. The Conductor and the Hobbyist (Avalanche)
6. The Last Transmission (Honeybee)
7. The Lazy Matador
8. Little Stallion with a Glass Jaw
9. Oh, Glory
10. P-a-l-o-m-i-n-e
11. Snow-packed Hush

Streaming: The Clientele – Bonfires on the Heath (Merge)

The Clientele’s new album, Bonfires on the Heath (due out October 6th), is streaming now on the Merge website. Listen for free? Yes, please.

And here’s an older song for you:

MP3: Real Estate – “Beach Comber”

Real Estate have a new album coming out on Woodsist this November, and you can hear a track off of the record, “Beach Comber,” here. The song is shimmery, pretty, and does not go at all with the WWII action movie, Kelly’s Heroes, that I’m watching right now.

New Releases: DOOM – Unexpected Guests (Gold Dust, 10/27)

Oh, shit, another release from DOOM? And this one (Unexpected Guests) also seems to feature previously released material? What the fuck, DOOM???? OK, fine, the press release says it’s non-album tracks specially selected by DOOM himself. Great. But I’m sure you’ve heard some of these before:

Tracklist (Final tracks and running order TBA)
1. Get ‘Er Done feat. DOOM – Jake One
2. Fly That Knot feat. DOOM – Talib Kweli
3. Sniper Elite feat. DOOM – Dilla Ghostface DOOM
4. Trap Door feat. DOOM – Jake One
5. Sorcerers feat. DOOM & Invizible Handz – John Robinson
6. Da Supafriendz – Vast Aire
7. Quite Buttery – Count Bass D feat DOOM
8. ? – DOOM featuring Kurious
9. All Outta Ale – DOOM
10. E.N.Y. House – Masta Killa
11. Bells of DOOM – DOOM
12. My Favorite Ladies – DOOM
13. Street Corners (Remix) – Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck & GZA

Still, it’s a new(ish) DOOM record, and that can’t be bad, right?

MP3: Royce Da 5′9″ – “Part of Me”

Royce Da 5′9″ releases his new album, Street Hop (One Records), on 10/20. Get an idea of what he’s up to with “Part of Me,” available for download here. Sounds kinda sensitive and introspective. Maybe DJ Premier’s executive production helped him get in touch with himself, or maybe it was that year in prison. Either way, it’s a welcome change.