Macktronic: November 2006

MUSIC: Bloc Party (Album Pre-Order News)

Earlier this month a preliminary version of Bloc Party's new album titled A Weekend In The City leaked to the internet. Overall, the buzz wasn't that loud and many were left wondering if the new album could hold a candle to Silent Alarm. I'll give them the benefit of doubt, seeing as it's still early and the tracks will probably receive lots more attention in the studio. Listen to the new track "The Prayer" over on Bloc Party's myspace page.

In related news, Insound has a pretty good pre-order deal going on for the new album. The first 1000 people to pre-order the album will receive a 7-inch single for "I Still Remember" with an unreleased b-side of "We Were Lovers!". (We love 45's here at macktronic). As an added bonus, you can get 10% off the pre-order price by entering the code "pushingfall06" at checkout.
Pre-order the new Bloc Party album here.

I also came across this fantastic remix over at Gang of Neon. I like the description they give: "Its simple and straight to the point the only thing that makes me shy from playing this is its super long and dramatic breakdown, which in LA (The city of short attention spans) wouldn’t fly over too good."

::: Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass (Blackstrobe Remix)

[Bloc Party on myspace.]
[Official Bloc Party website.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to Shane Bee.]

MUSIC: The Blow

I absolutely missed the boat on The Blow. It's quite embarassing, actually, that it took so long to come upon this Portland duo (see indieblogheaven, fabulis t, slutty fringe). Interesting beats and a captivating set of lungs on the lead singer, Khaela. Here's a track off their recently released full-length called Paper Television. It's awesome.

::: The Blow - True Affection (from Paper Television)
::: The Blow - Parentheses (from Paper Television)

Here's a bonus track off of the bonus disc included in Yeti Magazine's issue #4. The disc has loads of awesome unreleased tracks (which i posted on here).

::: The Blow - Get Around (from Yeti #4)

You can buy Yeti Issue #4 here or The Blow's Paper Television for 10% off by entering the code "pushingfallo6" at checkout. Great magazine, fantastic bonus disc included.

[All of The Blow's albums are for sale.]
[The Blow on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to Jason Nocito from a Fader shoot according to The Blow's myspace page.]

REVISIT: Matt & Kim (s/t full-length)

Ever since I got my hands on the Matt & Kim EP (blogged about here and here) I've been a fan of this Brooklyn duo. Go ahead and check out videos of their performances over at YouTub e for an example of their live work as well, since it's so good. Their debut full-length just came out recently and one of their tracks ended up getting a good nod over at p-fork. Anyhow, I was more than excited to finally sit down and give the album some proper attention over the weekend. The songs which were carried over from the EP were slightly remastered, but no big changes were made (which is a good thing) (but my favorite song, "Silver Tiles", is noticeably absent for one reason or another). It's a great album, easy to listen through from beginning to end, and there's not any "misses" which I love about it. It'll be interesting to see what kind of staying power it has, so get back to me on that in a year or so. Here's some tracks off the album which I'm sure you'll like immensely.

::: Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah
::: Matt & Kim - No More Long Years
::: Matt & Kim - Someday
::: Matt & Kim - Silver Tiles (from EP, not s/t full length)

Buy Matt & Kim's debut self-titled release over at Insound where you can get 10% off by entering the code "pushingfall06" at checkout.

[Official Matt & Kim website.]
[Matt & Kim on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo actually from matt & kim's flickr page; any band that has their own flickr page is a band i like.]

2nd CHANCE: Pharrell track Feat. Jay Z

Although Pharrell's first solo album (called In My Mind) was generally dogged, there are still some gems to be found. I for one, am a pretty big fan of Pharrell's ability to self-promote and think outside the box. He can go from pop (Britney) to rap (Slim Thug's album is pretty damn good), always tweaking his styles and approaches along the way. In the ultracompetitive world of producing, he's managed to hang around. Plus he comes off as really funny in interviews. My favorite track of In My Mind actually has two songs in it; the first, titled "Young Girl" features Jay Z, recalls the former collaboration of Frontin' while the second song "I Really Like You" shows his affinity for Michael Jackson. Take a listen, and buy the album.

::: Pharrell - Young Girl / I Really Like You (Feat. Jay Z) [ezArchive]
::: Pharrell - Young Girl / I Really Like You (Feat. Jay Z) [Box.net]

Buy Pharrell's new LP called In My Mind in either cd or lp format here.

[Pharrell Williams official website.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[This photo comes from the flickr page of LilMami, but I don't know if she took it.]

MUSIC: Young Love

I posted a Young Love song a while back on one of my f*ck it, it's friday lazy posts and a number of people emailed me about it. Here's another song off the upcoming album. His tour with Lady Sov stops by the Bay Area on Tuesday night at The Mezzanine. I'll see you there.

::: Young Love - Discotech
::: Young Love - Find A New Way

There's also a remix of discotech available from his myspace page.

[Offical Young Love website.
[Young Love on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

MUSIC: Volunteer Pioneer

For fans of the Byrnes-ian revival in vocal styles, let me introduce you to Bay Area band Volunteer Pioneer. The popularity of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Wolf Parade / Sunset Rubdown has introduced a whole new crop of rock fans to a unique sound. What sets Volunteer Pioneer apart is that this three-piece outfit employs a harp and still manages to capture a nice urgency. So it's a pretty urgency.

::: Volunteer Pioneer - Fear of Cholera [highly rec'd]
::: Volunteer Pioneer - Separate Planes
::: Volunteer Pioneer - Adventure Capital
::: Volunteer Pioneer - Tiny Violent Town

I know for a fact that their full-length debut is coming out sometime soon, so keep an eye on this brilliant new band.

[Volunteer Pioneer on myspace.]
[Free concert tickets to be had on the current macktronic contest.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to synchronizeswimmers.]

CONTEST: Free Beach House / The Parish Tickets!

So we've got a guest list spot (with +1) for the November 14 show at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco for the Beach House / The Parish / Over The Atlantic. If you're interested in the tickets email macktronic (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line as "beach/parish/atlantic tickets" and your name/address. Here's some music samples:

::: Beach House - Tokyo Witch
see the beach house post here
see the parish post here

This is going to be a fantastic show, I suggest you go if you're in the Bay Area.

[The Parish on myspace.]
[Beach House on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

MUSIC: The Parish

A couple months back I posted a track by Oakland's The Parish. Well, a couple big things are on the horizon for this band. First, their debut full-length release titled The Way We Bend should be ready by mid-November. Secondly, they're opening for Beach House (see post here) on November 14th at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco.

I like this, coming off their myspace page: "This record puts sound in a place that is not quite romantic, not quite nervous." It's kind of hard to put a finger on a particular genre, as there are certainly elements to many spread throughout. It's equally hard to line up the influences. Both these characteristics are good ones though, as they somehow are able to play genres against each other. Here's a couple tracks off the new album, the rest should be an absolute treat.

::: The Parish - Land of Wires (highly rec'd)
::: The Parish - Crow Head, Eagle Wing
::: The Parish - The Misses

[The Parish on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

MUSIC: Ladybird

My random myspace find of the last month or so is Ladybird, out of Germany. Certainly along the lines of The Teenagers (see post here), this young electro-thrash pours her youth all across these tracks. Surprisingly interesting lyrics and an unstructured approach to building a song give us another reason to like the future of music (decentralized, global, and random). Not the same kind of thing as Lady Sovereign or Lily Allen, but you'll see some similarities.

::: Ladybird - Transmitive Carriers (highly rec'd)
::: Ladybird - Cold Switch
::: Ladybird - C Unseen Sea
::: Ladybird - The Mention of Anal

[Ladybird on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

MUSIC: Beach House

There's a tone (autumn) and a color (orange) to the music of Beach House inside of my head; whereas this summer consisted of Brightblack Morning Light, a more yellow hue. These two oft-compared bands certainly share many similarities, but while Brightblack's songs tend to be more of a sonic experiment (where will it end up?) , Beach House takes care to craft exquisite tracks that progress in a less skewed manner. Take a listen.

::: Beach House - Apple Orchard
::: Beach House - Master of None
::: Beach House - Auburn and Ivory

Beach House is playing in San Francisco on November 14 at The Hemlock Tavern along with The Parish (Oakland) and Over The Atlantic (New Zealand). It's a Bay Area must-see, my friends.

By ordering through Insound, you can buy Beach House's self-titled release for 10% off by entering the code "pushingfall06" at checkout. Free shipping on orders over $30 as well.

[Beach House on myspace.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to Redskynight.]

MUSIC: The Teenagers

Don't really remember the first time I heard some tracks by The Teenagers, but they certainly haven't lost any luster since that time. A fairly frenetic collection of DIY dance/electro rock drenched in good old fashioned hormones. I certainly give it two thumbs up, but I'm interested to see how well the raw energy translates in a more professional studio setting. Their myspace page gives a link to SLUM records, but I couldn't round up any release information. Definitely something to keep an eye on while enjoying these tracks which are making their way around the internet.

::: The Teenagers - Homecoming
::: The Teenagers - We Are The Teenagers
::: The Teenagers - Fuck Nicole (SLUTT Ketateen Remix)

They've got a pretty extensive myspace page, complete with an awesome background collage thing going on.

[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to miss johanna.]

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

MUSIC: Bloc Party (Album Pre-Order News)

Monday, November 20, 2006

MUSIC: The Blow

REVISIT: Matt & Kim (s/t full-length)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

2nd CHANCE: Pharrell track Feat. Jay Z

Monday, November 13, 2006