new bloc party:
the new bloc party single, mercury, takes the band in the direction of flux, one step further from their silent alarm roots and one step further to electro sound of the moment. choppy vocals? check. synth and beat before guitars? check. horns a la foals/radiohead? check. none of this is a bad thing though. did i love silent alarm's jangly guitar as much as the next guy? well of course i did. but the deep synth line which carries the song is spot on, the almost tribal rhythm that picks up is a welcome shift, okereke's vocals sound as good as ever (and even hit their lovely high end around the three minute mark), and im left feeling that the song is a progression that sounds great and isnt worn uncomfortably.
bloc party: mercury
sa's blk jks:
now im sure ive made it clear in an earlier post that im a fan of the four guys that make hard-to-classify music under the name blk jks. hailing from johannesburg, featured in the same africa issue of the fader mag as the much-loved esau mwamwaya, and having recently issued forth a new ep-the mystery ep-available at a handful of independent records stores worldwide and for download on the itunes music store, blk jks are on the rock end of the new african sound vanguard. radioclit and esau are working out the more electro end, with radioclit incorporating african rhythms into all sorts of bangers. vampire weekend of course is very vocal about their afrobeat love. so it is of course inevitable that some truly trailblazing rock should come out of the north-meets-south jumble of modern south africa. mzabalazo (resistance), featured here, is one of the toyi toyi songs, militant protest chants which were used in the struggle against apartheid. for a more intelligent take on this style of song, read this. to hear what the hell im talking about, work your rightclick-saveas magic below or watch the blk jks perform it at harriet's alter ego at the end of their american stint a few months ago. in my opinion this song really finds its voice in the live video below, but of course ill take what i can get in mp3 format. hear the noise factor which takes every blk jks song to the brink of anarchy, but dont think for one hot second that they dont have full control of every sonic particle. keep them in your sights, and check them out on myspace.
blk jks: mzabalazo
diplo make you shake you shit:
i dont know a whole helluva lot about this track. snagged from along the waterfall, and mentioned (rather confusingly to me anyway) by wuzz magazine, this is four minutes of blazing african/electro glory by the genre hopper who brought baile funk to the north. buy this wonky shit here and please dont forget to thank me later.
diplo: fuji ouija
the ultimate battle (computer vs. banjo):
computer vs. banjo is two dudes, and this track seems to be pretty much what you might expect from two dudes operating under such a moniker, although there is a bit of an exotic vibe to it. is it really just a banjo, because at times it sounds a helluva lot more like a sitar or something along those lines. hypnotic is a word that comes easily to mind when working to describe the sound. its what the 19th century wild west couldve been with lots of hash and a computer? fun stuff.
computer vs. banjo: give up on ghosts
little boots covering hot chip (youtube rip):
the video went up last week, under the banner of 'i want this but all ive got is youtube'. now i have, sort of. thanks to sucka pants, it is now a fully portable version, ripped straight from the youtube video. in other words, poor quality, keeps her intro oopsies, but damn it still a cute take on the original. check her and hot chip on myspace.
little boots: ready for the floor (hot chip cover)
metronomy's upcoming nights out leaked:
the new metronomy album is due out 8 september, but has apparently leaked--read ohh! crapp's outrage, or read mfm's album commentary. ill say that i only have a couple tracks from nights out which havent seen proper single releases, not the full fledged album. and ill not post those tracks which havent seen official release yet. but ill share heartbreaker because it is the slickest shit ever, and needs to be heard in all its slinky glory by every man woman and child. i dont really need to hype up metronomy, mostly because i seem to do it all the time, so ill just let this gem toot its own horn, so to speak. and pine away til nights out drops.
metronomy: heartbreaker
thats it for today, sorry its been a few days since last post, and as always, if its your music i posted and you want it off, or its your photography i jacked and you want it off, let me know and ill be happy to oblige.
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