[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (2-29-2012)

Leap Day Editition

Happy Leap Day! What better way to intercalate the year than to enjoy a bissextile-themed Hump Day Power Play. On this 29th of February where our corrective measure puts us nearly back on track with the Gregorian calendar, take solace in the fact that we'll also have a Leap Second added on June 30...

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (2-29-2012) ::
01 :: "Quantum Leap" - John Maus
02 :: "Another Day" - Air
03 :: "One More Time" - French Kicks
04 :: "Twenty Nine" - Christmas Island
05 :: "An Extra Day" - Mr Brown
06 :: "Leap Year" - Port O'Brien
07 :: "One Extra Day" - Sleazy Mcqueen
08 :: "Leap" - The Cave Singers
09 :: "Catch Up" - Chikinki
10 :: "Leap Year" - Maria Taylor
11 :: "One More" - Mutemath
12 :: "Leap Your Bar" - John Frusciante
13 :: "Twentynine" - Monzano


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[video] The Shins - "Simple Song"

Awesome video, awesome song

The Shins just released the music video for "Simple Song", their first single from the upcoming Port Morrow. The new LP drops on March 20, and based off this song and "September", I'm very excited about this release. Hear that one below:

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (2-22-2012)

Indie Diva Editition

I was going back through the archive of previous Hump Day Power Plays, and I realized that there's only one female vocalist showcased thus far. To make up for lost time, I've compiled a playlist entirely of indie music's most powerful women. Hope you dig it.

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (2-22-2012) ::
01 :: "Help I'm Alive (Spotify Acoustic Session)" - Metric
02 :: "Walking With A Ghost" - Tegan and Sara
03 :: "My Moon My Man" - Feist
04 :: "Nude As The News" - Cat Power
05 :: "Islands" - The xx
06 :: "Day By Day" - Taken By Trees
07 :: "Blue Jeans" - Lana Del Rey
08 :: "I Follow Rivers" - Lykke Li
09 :: "Seven" - Fever Ray
10 :: "Maps" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
11 :: "Gigantic" - Pixies
12 :: "Let England Shake" - PJ Harvey
13 :: "Heaven Can Wait" - Charlotte Gainsbourg
14 :: "Dance With Me" - Nouvelle Vague
15 :: "Sprawl II" - Arcade Fire

Get Spotify (if you don't already have it).

[video] Leeni covers Lana Del Rey's "Video Games"

Game Boy-version

It only seems fitting that the first chiptune cover of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" comes to us from Leeni, a musician who used a Gameboy to write her debut album, 8-Bit Heart. What makes this literal cover even more enjoyable is the music video that accompanies it (see above). Conjuring nostalgia with a montage of old school classics like Rad Racer, California Games, and Zelda (to name a few), the entire experience is very nice.

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (2-15-2012)

Wild Cloud Nothings Editition

This week's Hump Day Power Play started around two songs: Cloud Nothings' "No Future/No Past" and Wild Nothing's "Chinatown". From there, it only made sense to through in the likes of Yuck, Black Lips, and Beach Fossils. The result was a smooth mix of shoegaze and noise pop/garage, which is quite good, in my opinion... but you don't have to take my word for it!

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (2-15-2012) ::
01 :: "No Future/No Past" - Cloud Nothings
02 :: "Get Away" - Yuck
03 :: "Mr. Driver" - Black Lips
04 :: "What a Pleasure" - Beach Fossils
05 :: "Innovator" - Plains
06 :: "Chinatown" - Wild Nothing
07 :: "Baby's Arms" - Kurt Vile
08 :: "Yellow Wings" - Keepaway
09 :: "Elephants" - Warpaint
10 :: "Me and You" - The Strange Boys
11 :: "Daydream" - Beach Fossils
12 :: "Modern Art" - Black Lips

Get Spotify (if you don't already have it).

[new music] Patrick Watson - Adventures In Your Own Backyard

Patrick Watson's 3rd LP!

Patrick Watson has just announced the April 17 release date for the band's highly anticipated third LP, entitled Adventures In Your Own Backyard. Following up 2009's critically acclaimed Wooden Arms, the new record was described by Watson as an effort to "make the kind of music we would want to listen to at home" (hence the name). According to Secret City Records, the album was almost entirely recorded in Watson's apartment in Montreal.

So what then can we expect from Adventures? Take one listen to the first single "Into Giants" (listen below) and you'll hear a stripped-down arrangement with less orchestration than its predecessors. From the press release, the LP is "still ripe with the touchstones one has come to expect from Patrick Watson and his collaborators, but permeated with a greater sense of patience, and confidence. Adventures in Your Own Backyard is an attempt by Watson and the band to simplify their sights - to make music a bit more close to home, in every sense of the phrase." Sounds good to me! Tour dates posted below.

Tracklisting:
01 :: Lighthouse
02 :: Blackwind
03 :: Step Out For A While
04 :: The Quiet Crowd
05 :: Into Giants
06 :: Morning Sheets
07 :: Words In The Fire
08 :: The Things You Do
09 :: Strange Crooked Road
10 :: Noisy Sunday
11 :: Adventures In Your Own Backyard
12 :: Swimming Pools

Patrick Watson Tour Dates:
03/14-17 :: Austin, TX @ SXSW
05/03 :: Philadelphia PA @ Union Transfer*
05/04 :: New York NY @ Beacon Theatre*
05/06 :: Boston MA @ House of Blues*
05/08 :: Washington DC @ The 930 Club*
05/09 :: Baltimore MD @ RamsHead Live*

*w/ Andrew Bird

[new music] Moonface - Heartbreaking Bravery

New jams from Krug & Co.

And just when I was greedily wishing there was more Wolf Parade-related music to hear, the WP fansite posted info on a new Moonface LP. As mentioned before, the Spencer Krug-driven musical project was to eventually incorporate the collaborative works from other bands. Well, that time is apparently here, and the third Moonface LP, entitled Heartbreaking Bravery, is set to feature the musical accompaniment of Siinai. The album drops April 17, 2012, and according to their press release: 

Siinai is the Finnish band Krug worked with on this album. Krug met Siinai when their former band, Joensu 1685, toured with Wolf Parade throughout Europe in 2009. Over the following year, friendships were born, Joensu 1685 broke up, Siinai was formed and Krug unexpectedly received a copy of their first album, Olympic Games. Siinai could safely be described as progressive kraut rock. Their songs are long and heavy, often gorgeous, repetitive, with slow subtle hypnotic changes that bring to mind a single cell splitting into two. Also of key interest to Krug at the time: they had no vocalist.

Krug asked if they wanted to make an album together, a collaboration wherein Siinai would perform the meat of the music, and Moonface would take care of the vocals (and ultimately a few licks on the keyboard). Upon agreement from Siinai, Krug arrived in Finland in August of 2011 to begin restructuring demos and write a few tunes from scratch. Big beats boomed. [Three] Colours burst. Krug’s addiction to melody and pop music met Siinai’s love for simplicity and their rare patience for music that slowly evolves, and something somewhere in the middle was created. It was a compromise that everyone enjoyed making. Heartbreaking Bravery:

Can't wait to hear the entire album! Check out the first single, "Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips", here:



Moonface
With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery
Out 04/17/12
01 :: Heartbreaking Bravery
02 :: Yesterday’s Fire
03 :: Shitty City
04 :: Quickfire, I Tried
05 :: I’m Not The Phoenix Yet
06 :: 10,000 Scorpions
07 :: Faraway Lightning
08 :: Headed For The Door
09 :: Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips
10 :: Lay Your Cheek On Down

Check out Krug with Siinai.... such a strange photo!