Podcast: Colossal Radio - January 14, 2011

Colossal Radio - January 14, 2011 

Every Saturday, 2-4pm Central, I take to the airwaves on the University of Arkansas college radio to broadcast the latest and greatest indie tunes as well as classics from the past. Check out last week's show up above, and be sure to tune in today! Tracklisting after the bump

Infectious Listening: Cleaners From Venus - "A Personal Issue"

I feel like one of the unwritten rules of music blogging is to never admit that you've never heard an older, obscure band. I'm going to break this rule right now. Cleaners From Venus is apparently quite the influential homerecording outfit. Captured Tracks is reissuing their first three albums, along with some previously unheard recordings. One of those pieces, "A Personal Issue," rolls and hops along with an infectious as they come guitar riff. As the bass chugs along, frontman Martin Newell ponders about, well, personal issues. You know. GIRLS and stuff. Getting more from these guys right the fuck now. This song will be on the reissue of Blow Away Your Troubles, which comes out on Record Store Day, April 17.

Listen: Daniel Rossen - Saint Nothing

I miss Grizzly Bear. I have to say that right up front. I miss the emotional complexities of the songs, ramped up with a certain calming pseudo-psychedellic rock-out washing over everything. 

 Last year, Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor released a solo album under the name CANT. It...left much to be desired, opting for an electronic R&B vibe that just wasn't all there. It didn't fill the void. Now Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles guitarist Daniel Rossen is trying his hand at the solo artist game with a five song EP called Silent Hour/Golden Mile. The first taste we're hearing is "Saint Nothing," above, and oh man does it ever remind me what there is to love about Grizzly Bear. It's almost all here, too. The track features a sullen combo of piano and vocals, with horns being drowned in the background. It all sounds as if it might reach a classic Grizzly Bear climax, but it never quite does. Instead, it's a simply stated song, working within the confines of one man's abilities and sensibilities. I'm pretty much dying to hear the rest of this thing, which releases March 20.

MP3: Lee Ranaldo - "Off the Wall"

Lee Ranaldo - "Off the Wall"

Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat, worrying about the uncertain future of Sonic Youth, but then I find solace in the knowledge that, hey, Lee Ranaldo will always be there for me. Indeed, the vastly underappreciated Sonic Youth guitarist has a new solo album coming, Between the Times & the Tides, due out March 20. "Off the Wall" is the first track from the album that we get to hear and it stays in firm line of Ranaldo's sound, something I'm thrilled to find. It's much more minimal than Sonic Youth, but that was obviously going to be the case. He stands out now among all the old distorted riffs of the past into the forefront, pronounced and clear, and not just as that guy who also sings in Sonic Youth, but isn't Thurston Moore. 

Between the Times & the Tides out March 20 via Matador

Free Music: Miró Belle - Kiss This (Vol. 01)

This is, overall, a very nice EP-sized beat tape. The song "S-Car! Go!" is fucking awesome. Miles beyond the rest. It's getting a ton of plays right now so I can get my fill of the sweet swooning synths and infectious little robot girl. It's lighting my brain up in all the right places. The rest of the tape offers some other very eclectic beats, but at just 13 and a half minutes, it's entirely too short. Can't say it isn't good to keep me wanting more, though. Grab it at their bandcamp.

Watch: Julia Holter - "Marienbad"

Last year, Julia Holter put out an excellent, if not a tad unnoticed LP, Tragedy. Mixing ambient experimentalism with the occasional pop hook rising up through the torrential climaxes that punctuated the pacing, it was quite the stunning debut. Listen to the track below, "Goddess Eyes," for a good taste of what that sounds like.

 With that being said, I'm glad to know she's already at work on a second full-length, Ekstasis, which seems to continue pushing and expanding that sound. "Marienbad," above, is the beginning track off the new LP, starting things off with multiple staccato vocals and piano work, all rising and falling and then rising again in a climax taken right out of Tragedy. Really looking forward to this, and as good as her debut was, the meandering nature of that album means that there is still much room for improvement. Improvement that, hearing this song, Holter seems to be making. Ekstasis comes out March 8th. 

Julia Holter - "Goddess Eyes"

Listen: Shlomo - "wen uuu"

When it comes to chilled beats of the slick variety, Shlomo has proven to be quite competent in said category. Following last year's contradictory-titled LP, Bad Vibes, Shlomo plans to put out a new EP, Vacation, that continues his downtempo, electronic styles. "wen uuu" features more sampled vocal work than previous work, but it largely remains in the same area. That, for now, is a good thing. Vacation comes out February 7th via Friends of Friends.