New Music Daily
Introducing: Wolf Colony
Dumb luck occasionally makes me feel like the best blogger ever. It’s funny because I don’t know how I discovered Wolf Colony. I just got lost in a tangent on the Internet. I swear so much of my time is spent clicking link after link just caking onto a vast layer in my brain of temporarily absorbed, unimportant information… until this happens. It is an inexplicable, overwhelming feeling, hitting play on a song and instantly knowing it could be one of the best of the year. The song I’m talking about is “Beauty,” but even “Calling” is impossibly good. I don’t have much information on Wolf Colony, the person (or duo?), but I know for a fact that Wolf Colony, the artist, has a gift and potentially a huge career ahead of him.
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Petite Noir – Noirse [Music Video]
Lyrics in music are generally used to convey a feeling. Some artists like to complicate things and talk through metaphors. Others like Petite Noir on “Noirse” cut straight to the good stuff with simple yet powerful words. This is one of those rare songs that cannot quite be categorized in current genre structures (he calls it ‘noirwave’), but whatever it is I feel ten times cooler listening to it. Support good music, and purchase Yannick Ilunga’s (freakin’ cool name) remix EP here.
Show me your secrets, why you so pretty, girl,
Show me your beauty, let’s take it easy, girl,
Show me a good time, you’re always on my mind, girl,
Let’s have a party, just you and me, girl
[via P&P]
Bonus! Stream my other favorite Petite Noir track.
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Premiere: Cam Meekins – High (ft. Skizzy Mars)
I had a preconceived notion of Cam Meekins‘s music. Just yesterday I probably thought the same things you are thinking right now, and at first listen I thought this song did not really change my opinion of him. It sounds too clean, too good, too poppy, etc. Ugh. I could feel myself making lame excuses not to like this track. Cam Meekins is my age. He’s rapping about things that I go through. It sounds good because, not only has he improved as a rapper–especially in delivery–since I last listened to him (admittedly not since he first started), he has also made huge improvements as a producer. He says in the song that he’s living what he’s rapping. How can anyone hate on that? He’s telling his story, and it’s feel good music.
Look for his debut album Lamp City on May 21st. Pre-order it here.
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The Weeknd – Kiss Land [Stream]
So after releasing the weirdest sophomore-album title way back when, The Weeknd lets us hear the title track to his upcoming album Kiss Land. And it’s… weird. As expected. The near 8-minute track switches up in the middle, as most do nowadays, and might could possibly include a shot at Drake near the end? I don’t know, I just finished my finals and my brain is fried. But if you’re a fan of Abel’s previous work, you definitely won’t be disappointed with this one.
Noname Gypsy – Paradise (ft. Queen SheCago) [Music Video]
We introduced you to Noname Gypsy‘s solo music after Chance The Rapper introduced her to the world on his incredible Acid Rap mixtape. “Paradise” is one of the songs we featured (she has since removed it from SoundCloud, but it can still be found on her FB page) and is really a perfect introduction to the Chi-Town poet. The song touches on No Name’s childhood, and the delivery is candid and occasionally playful à la young Chancellor. Without gushing too much, this song/video is further proof that this rapper is the real deal. Look for her Telefone tape to drop later this summer.
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Smallpools – Dreaming
One of the many great things about summer is the bands that come out of the woodwork and blow you away with amazing debut singles. There’s currently a wide open competition for summer jam, and “Dreaming” might just be a frontrunner. Combining Passion Pit‘s synth-heavy enthusiasm with Keane‘s vocals, Smallpools is clearly their own entity and possibly a force to be reckoned with in the mainstream market. I mean, damn I could see this playing at the very end of a season finale of a hit TV show and then skyrocketing on iTunes charts. Shouts to Captain Cuts with the spunky production.
Really not sure we’ve heard a bigger debut radio single than this @smallpools track all year, big ups @captaincuts on the production too
— Neon Gold Records (@neongoldrecords) May 16, 2013
[via Neon Gold]
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The Dodos – Confidence
I get mass emails from PR people now. That is just something that comes with the territory. Usually they get your email after noticing you posted about another artist on their roster or that you like music similar to their artists or because they are desperate or you willingly sign up to their email list or you email them about something completely different and they just add you to their list (because why not?). Occasionally, they send over gems like this one from the San Francisco-based band The Dodos. “Confidence” from the duo’s upcoming album Carrier is a slow-building, riot-inducing JAM, and gosh darn it, it almost makes up for all of those mass emails.
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Hoodie Allen – Make It Home (ft. Kina Grannis)
A couple of years ago this collaboration would be way out of the ball park for Hoodie Allen, but after solid songwriting turns on his All American EP and more recently on his Crew Cuts mixtape, it comes as no surprise. Fuse TV actually brought these two together, resulting in a pretty dynamic track. Wow, sorry that was such a normal post. I usually get weird on Hoodie Allen write-ups. Maybe we are both maturing at our craft. Okay, that got a little weird.
Support good music and buy the song on iTunes here. Also, shout out to McKayla Maroney.
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Crystal Fighters – LA Calling
Crystal Fighters are one of those bands that I can depend on to put out funky music that will likely get me going on a slow day. They proved me right with the release of another single, “LA Calling,” from their album Cave Rave, in stores on 5/27. It’s one of those upbeat songs that glorifies California in the same vein that Best Coast does in several of their songs, most notably “The Only Place.” I have yet to see Crystal Fighters live, but I imagine the performance that comes with this drum and melody-heavy single has to be incredibly energetic. I’m envisioning standing drum sessions by more than one band members, collaborations on a single microphone, and frolicking band members on the stage. I’ll probably be practicing that at home tonight.
Daft Punk – Doin’ It Right ft. Panda Bear
The Daft Punk album leaked the other day, and as Arjun said, the camp “opted to begin relief efforts with a full album stream on iTunes a few days before the album’s release.” Good move on their part, I’d say. Anyway, I’ve been listening to the album and was a bit taken aback by what I heard versus what I expected, but there were several songs that blew me away. One of those songs was “Doin’ It Right,” featuring Panda Bear. The #SunsetFam has more to say about this in an upcoming post, but I’m rejoicing over hearing some electronic music that I actually feel like I can fall in love with. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to say that, and it feels incredibly refreshing. Beyond that, the theme of dancing without the mandatory scraping and scratching that we tend to hear today is what really got me going about this album. I’m a fan. Sure, there are some shortcomings in the album altogether, but I couldn’t find any in this song with Panda Bear. Absolute gem.
Everybody will be dancing and be feeling it right
Everybody will be dancing and be doing it right
Everybody will be dancing and be feeling it right
Everybody will be dancing tonight..
Janine and the Mixtape – Hold Me
It has almost been a year since we last heard from Janine Foster. The New Zealand-born songstress has been hard at work since her last single “Bullets” and is now set to release her Dark Mind EP. “Hold Me” is a somber song with gritty percussion and smooth vocals. It is amazing that the artist who initially blew us away with her powerful vocals has now done the same with a more subdued musical approach. Expect only gems on her EP due out later this summer.
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Mikky Ekko – Disappear (Demo)
Mikky Ekko can talk about love. I don’t know why or how, but that is his gift. He can candidly discuss the most complex human condition in simple, relatable musical terms. “Disappear,” a demo from his debut album, is no different. When he croons, “I hope you want to disappear, too,” it feels as if the words melt the world and mold it into something completely new. Yeah, that’s love.
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