Watch: ANR - "Dead Gulf"

If all nature documentaries were this awesome, I'd be a much more informed person. Not that this is really informing me a whole lot, but...whatever. Shown here is a sped-up video of a sea polyp called Corynactis viridis, which can be found in many of Western Europe's coastlines. It's accompanied by an angelic piece by ANR, who sound nothing like this in any of their other songs, which fall some under the category of electronic dance music. A little change in direction never hurt anyone, so here's hoping it's a sign of things to come. The song can be bought on itunes, along with the band's latest album, "Stay Kids."

David Thomas Broughton - "Perfect Louse"

David Thomas Broughton 'Perfect Louse' by Generator

David Thomas Broughton has been around for a while now, but he deserves some love on this side of the pond (the American side). He has a new album called Outbreeding out on May 23rd. "Perfect Louse" isn't the best song on the album, but it serves as a good introduction to his experimental folk. His voice is pretty divisive - like a British Devendra Banhart or Antony. But if you dig it, you'll dig the album when it drops.

Railcars - "Saints are Waiting"

Railcars - Saints Are Waiting

Saints are Waiting is basically two songs in one. The first is a rough around the edges, noisey song sang with cold melodies. Halfway through the computer scanner beats temper off, and your left with an expanded piano and simple drum beats, making the rest of the song much more sweet. The song comes from Railcars' new 7", Said Sister, which you can get on Gold Robot.

Trance Farmers - "Betty Bop"

Trance Farmers - "Betty Bop"

When you first hear this song, you might wonder if it's even meant to be a real song. And that's about when the energies of the song sweep you up in an ecstatic, lo-fi ride that sees hints of Elvis Presley, and Ariel Pink, all smothered in madman crazy jello. It's from their album SCOOBIE DOOBIE and it's probably the most accessible thing on there. That being said, there's a lot of really interesting stuff going on in the album. "Muck" is of the synthed up, dark psychedelia type, and "Surfer Swami" sounds like a bunch of melancholy electronic frogs. You can grab the full album at their bandcamp.

COLOSSAL BRAID PT. 1

Cowboys in the Void- Quilt

Glow Worm- Diva

Aniborne- Echo Tongues

This Heart We Glow- Gkfoes Vjgoaf

Tenements- Gross Ghost

Constantly Collapsing Paradise- Zonotope(tm)

Run Peacock Run- Apache Dropout

When You Look- Motorbikes

Bright Bliss- Many Mansions

Black Country- Tonstartssbandht

Sun Videos- Monster Rally

N33D- Liquid Skulls

We the People- The Woozies

Do You Have a Mustache?- High Wolf

DOWNLOAD

The Woozies- The Cassette Tape

Big ups to my pal Jimmy Spice of LIQUID SKULLS for tipping me off to this lil' gem. Earthy psych-pop perfection. Using a modern twist on something classic, The Woozies nail that early Mamas and the Papa's feel, with boy-girl duo chants, and shining guitars, all feral and shit. You can pay what you want for it on bandcamp. I paid 5 bucks. Or, you can hurry and order a copy as a limited handmade cassette.

The Antlers - "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out"

The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out

The Antlers' new album Bursting Apart has been streaming over at NPR's music blog recently, and it is excellent. Hospice was one of my favorite records of 2009, but I couldn't get through it without danger of some sort of self-harm. This record has the same sort of scope without being a concept album, and with much less in the way of terminal illness and existential dread. "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out" is the lead off single, and it's startling in the same way Radiohead's "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" was - it seems to be about partying, but surely these guys don't party, right?

Review: Julian Lynch - Terra

Julian Lynch - "Canopy"

Delivered just a year after his breakout second LP, Terra returns to the sounds that made Mare such an enriching affair, while subtly manipulating the sound with a range of new instruments and energies. While these new techniques do help a little to differentiate this record, the feeling is still one of comfortable familiarity and quiet self-discovery.

GKFOES VJGOAF-

Magic Senses (Breathe The Breath)- Gkfoes Vjgoaf
What to say about Gkfoes Vjgoaf? Most people's first reaction is "WTF are those words?". Who cares. Gkfoes Vjgoaf is making the most spiritually accessible music to date. With multiple albums all exploring different psychedelic territory, from acoustic meditations, to lo-fi psych-pop gems, to blistering mystic improv, one is never left feeling empty-headed (or always left feeling empty-headed, depending on how one listens). In his own description, these albums represent "forest longing". You can download all of his albums from his bandcamp for a mere 5 dollars each. I did. It's worth the money for this sort of collection.

QUILT- Cowboys in the Void/Penobska Oakwalk (Single)

Absolutely cannot stop spacing out to the "Cowboys in the Void/Penobska Oakwalk" single QUILT released back in March. A-Side "Cowboys in the Void" channels something new in terms of vintage dream-pop, while B-Side "Penboska Oakwalk" is straight hippy-dippy, 60's commune perfection. Take your shirt off and drift. It's 2 bucks, but hell, its the cheapest audible pet alligator i've found. Download their other short-player/slow-burner "Agents of Play" on a name-your-own-price basis. of course, its all on bandcamp.

Now Streaming: Julian Lynch - Terra

Leaving you with this one to mull over for the weekend. It's the new album, Terra by Julian Lynch. This album follows just a year after his last, Mare, and continues much of the sonic woodwork that his debut created, while also developing the sound and pushing it forward, as any follow-up should. Regardless of whether it's better or worse than Mare, it's a very nice sounding album, as one would expect from Lynch. The whole thing is streaming over at Altered Zones. Expect a written review of it here late Sunday/early Monday.

Julian Lynch - Terra

Kid Koala, Dan The Automator, Damon Albarn - Untitled

Sometimes it's good to get the band back together. In this case, that means the Deltron 3030 and original Gorillaz crew. For a little backstory, hit the source link at the bottom of the post. This means more to me a Damon Albarn fan than a Dan the Automator or Kid Koala one, mainly because it's Albarn's vocals that show up, but Dan and Kid Koala really polish the piece up with a serene, hip-hop-lite melody. Albarn's voice and the catchy, nod-your-head melody shine at the forefront, while subtle beats, record scratches, and MLK Jr speeches decorate the background. It's a really touching song, and it's sure to be on repeat for me for some time. As much as I enjoyed Plastic Beach, it really does make me miss that original Gorillaz sound that spoke to me so well as a young lad. Here's hoping this isn't just a one-off. With Albarn finally laying rest to the Plastic Beach era of Gorillaz, and with no concrete plans on a new Blur album/tour, this would be a wonderful next step for the whole lot of them. Follow the link below to hear the tune.

Kid Koala, Dan The Automator, Damon Albarn - Untitled

viasmoa

Nick Nicely - "Wrottersley Road"

Nick Nicely - "Wrottersley Road"

Here's some nice work from Nick Nicely, titled "Wrottersley Road." Lots of cool moments in this. Through the whole song, Nicely's rather enchanting vocal arrangements twirl endlessly into guitar feedback, but every now and then the song becomes just a little more clear, for just a little bit of time. It's a nice touch to a song that might otherwise suffer from too much meandering.

viaaz

The Flaming Lips - "Drug Chart"

Apparently Wayne Coyne has been hand-delivering gummy skulls with a vagina on them inside which vagina there is a usb drive with four new Flaming Lips songs on it. Yesterday (at 4:20 p.m.) he took some to Guestroom Records in Oklahoma City. If you don't live in Oklahoma City, or you don't have $150 bucks to blow on four songs, or you're just kind of weirded out by cranial genitalia, then thank God for YouTube. The first song, "Drug Chart," is above. It is dark and minimal and sounds exactly like what they should be doing after Embryonic.

New Beastie Boys video is the SHIT

This is possibly the greatest thing that could ever be released on 4/20. The Beastie Boys are releasing a short film tonight on multiple music television stations entitled "Fight for your Right Revisited", and here is 5 minutes of it, accompanying new single "Make Some Noise". The video is full of tons of cameos. If someone has made a joke on television, they're probably in here. Who knows what the full short will be like. I'm expecting more songs from their new album to be debuted, hopefully all still pumping classic Beastie Boys sounds like Make Some Noise does.

p4k

Domo Genesis - "Cashmere"

Domo Genesis - "Cashmere"

I really haven't been swept up in the OFWGKTA wave of hype for now. Maybe I am just not into it, or more likely, I just haven't tried to get into it, because this new track from Domo Genesis, member of Odd Future, is totally hitting me. The sullen, down-tempo beat helps simplify the song as Domo Genesis raps about being broke and smoking tons of pot. Compelling stuff here, guys.

p4k

Watch: Purity Ring – "Lofticries"

I'll admit, I really just like this song because the video is sweet. 70's badass was the best badass. Some girl assumably loses an eye, tons of people get shot, and a guy loses his drink in the worst of ways. All set to an electric dream-pop song by Purity Ring that totally succeeds in bringing on home the awesomeness of what I am seeing.

gvb

Hear a minute of new Neon Indian

Even though I think a lot of us have chilled on the chillwave thing (lol pun), I feel that Neon Indian has a good deal of potential, maybe the most out of the rest, although we'll see what what Washed Out can deliver in a few months. Neon Indian has an LP coming soon as well, and today they put out a short sample of their song "Heart: Attack" which Gorilla Vs. Bear says is "the first of a 'three-part instrumental movement' that appears on the new record." The song is much more slowed down compared to other Neon Indian songs. It plays up the vintage, boards of canada sounds, and lessens the danceyness to a degree. It sounds like some good territory to exploit. New album is apparently due out this fall.

gvb

Echo Tongues

Swampy pop nuggets from Seattle. "Aniborne" sounds as if The Zombies' "Time of the Season" got suffocated in saran wrap and found itself in the afterlife reborn as a fleece blanket. Get it? its free on their bandcamp. (You should also buy their 7" "Lost Found b/w French Phrase for Purpose).

Oregon Bike Trails - High School Lover

Oregon Bike Trails is the project of Zach Yudin, who is actually from Santa Monica, CA. "High School Lover" is a brilliant little gem that is addicting in an almost distressing way. Try to listen to it less than like 17 times in a row. Because I have, and it is very very difficult. Elements of Beck, with a vocal affect of ultra-hip boredom a la Courtney Taylor. Check it out over at his Bandcamp.

Watch: Porcelain Raft – Images from the Lighthouse

I have no idea what is going on in this video. To my eye, it looks like popcorn popping on a stereo. It's doubtful that it is that, but regardless, it's some nice imagery to go alone with the queer, dreamy atmosphere the song puts one in. A touch of chillwave, a touch of weird, and it works. Check out their band camp for even more songs in the same vein.

Cults - Abducted

Cults make catchy as shit songs like last year's Go Outside. Cults was recently just signed to Columbia and is about to put out their debut LP. Cults is about to become this summer's big thing. A few days ago they put out this song, Abducted, for Record Store Day. Well this blog didn't exist a few days ago, so I figured I'd cover it. It's the first track to their self-titled debut, and it's a damn good start. After a hushed few seconds, the two-piece band breaks into a bright, and surprisingly filled out tune. It's a bit brief, especially the 4 second guitar solo that sounds as if it could come out of a Sergio Leone movie. However, it's a good way to start an album. Here's hoping they can sustain the kicks for an LP's worth. Cults comes out June 7th, via Columbia.

Brian Eno - Glitch

Brian Eno - glitch (taken from Drums Between The Bells) by Warp Records

As the title may suggest, this song is a schizophrenic, glitched out electronic piece. And it's damn good. Rick Holland's lyrics sound like they're fed through a depressed computer, but it actually ends up not resembling Fitter Happier in the slightest. At certain points the song explodes in a mind melting climax of more--you got it, glitches. It almost sounds like you could dance to it. Almost. This comes from a new collection of songs by Eno, entitled Drum Between The Bells, out on July 5th, via Warp.

Diva is the project of Los Angeles based/former Pocahaunted front-woman Diva Dompe. This cassette ("The Glitter End") was released a while back on a "pay what you want" basis. Bright and blissed out loops do all the work for you, while smooth ass R&B vocals push back the fuzzed out guitars. Stand out track "Glow Worm" reminds me of that time TLC got caught smoking PCP in the bathroom and Left-Eye punched her physics teacher in the stomach. Psychedelic, melodic, and most of all, pop songs. grab it on her bandcamp digitally, or on glitter vinyl from altvinyl.com.

Missouri b/w Arkansas native Sharp Woolston (Robot Women/No-Hawks) is pumping out some stellar lo-fi garage anthems under the Prahnas moniker, all free, all the time. "All My Friends Are Better Looking Than Me" pretty much says it all. Prahnas are the prettiest ugly things i know. download and get lazy with it on bandcamp.

getting stoked on these lo-fi acoustic psych-rockers from queens. you can pick up their newest album, "SOUNDS FROM THE BIG ROOM" for only 1 dollar on their bandcamp here. hitch a ride on this dusty motorcycle and cruise through your own internal desert highway.

Listen: Deerhunter - Nosebleed

It really wouldn't be a normal week without something from Bradford Cox. This one comes from the new Memory Boy single, available now. It's your standard Deerhunter song, in that it's reliably fucking good. Jumpy and raucous, it's everything to be loved about Deerhunter. But really, doesn't Bradford Cox have any other hobbies? The dude probably writes songs at the dinner table. Which actually, sounds pretty cool. Give this one a listen.

Trailer for Lars von Trier's Melancholia

So every now and then, we here at Colossal may post film things. From important news tidbits, to kickass trailers, and hopefully in the future, consistent film reviews. Our focus is on music, but film is an important part of the cultural experience, so it can not be completely ignored. To start things off, and give you an idea of what kinds of films to expect, here is a trailer for the new movie, Melancholia, by Lars von Trier, who made such previous films as Antichrist and Dogville. Have to say, I'm absolutely in love with this trend of drama pieces mixing just a twinge of sci-fi in to the mix, such as The Tree of Life. This will be one to keep an eye on.

Review: tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l

tUnE-yArDs - My Country

For some music fans, the first half of 2011 has been a disappointing one, with few brights spots to cheer up an otherwise off year. The good news is that this trend has hit a brick wall, head on, with the release of tUnE-yArDs' second album, w h o k i l l. Songwriter Merrill Garbus creates an immediately satisfying record, filled to the brim with swirling layered vocals, skillful ukuleles, and a newly added saxophone section, all charged with Garbus' irresistible energy.

Bathetic Records dishes out a major collection of today’s standout drone/psychedelic/ambient tongue twisters (High Wolf, Pink Priest, Cloudland Canyon, Wet Hair, Rene Hell, etc. etc.). One release fortunately stumbled upon is one from their back catalog titled Fashion Defense/Human Hair by the aptly penned Dead Drums. The album is introduced through the opening track “Baabbby”, an a’capella drone cruiser. This sound is what encapsulates most of the tape, with bright moments of groove and stability (namely the surprise and functionality of track two “Carousin’ USA”). Interspersed with moments of submerged melodies and stuttering guitars (the standout 50’s blur of “Narcoleptic Shock”) Fashion Defense/Human Hair never stretches too far to create its’ narrative. A work of patience, focus, and ethereal awareness, this slow-trotter should ease you into that haunted hot spring quite nicely.

Watch!: Mazes - Most Days

If Parappa the Rapper and his friends were to suddenly drop out of martial arts schools and take up rowdy, shit-kicking skateboard hijinks, this would be the result. Maze' joyful garage rock sound charges ahead, heaps on the careless youth, and never lets go. Love abounds for this one. I mean you see a blue guy pee on a hobo. C'mon people.