Led Er Est - Turritopsis Blues | Video Feature

Led Er Est are back bringing with them a bit of icy detachment for this unusually warm spring. The group have announced a new full-length titled The Diver & releasing a limited single which is the soundtrack to the video above. I'm not sure much has necessarily changed since their last outing in 2009 but it's possible they gave the rest of the world time to catch up a little.

"Turritopsis Blues" is a largely instrumental affair which is full to the brim with mystery & occult vibes. At times feeling like the theme song to some long lost sci-fi classic. The accompanying video by House Plants brings an equally surreal & unusually cinematic vision to the plate. It is partly a contemplative look in urban life as it is death. The main protagonists working through partly choreographed movements that manipulate time and physics in their occult like symbology. All the while shot in clear stark takes the weave in & out of each other dancing to the music.

With their lead track "Kaiyo Maru" from The Diver Led Er Est are back where they left off on the previous LP Dust On Common (released on Wierd records). They're not leading us in a new direction here but they have refined it. They have their figure on the pulse though & did with this type of thing before a lot of other seemed to have jumped on board.

Led Er Est's Turritopsis Blues is available now on a fancy single sided 12" w/ silkscreened b-sde on Monofonus Press & their full-length will be available via Sacred Bones this May 8th.

Hiro Kone - Fever | Video Feature

What can I say, Hiro Kone mixes a lot of classic elements from kosmiche to bedroom synth wanderings as elegantly as just about anyone around. Combine this with some other worldly & striking visual accompaniment (created by Anna Gustav) and you have the harmonious pairing that haev resulted in this video for "Fever" by Hiro Kone featured on a 12" released with Perfect Wave Magazine #002.  
Actually I suppose accompaniment isn't the right word for what Gustav has created. Rather the pairing of the two work towards propelling each other in new directions. Just as I am settling down with the instrumental groove that has been set in place enters some detached vocals who let the synths express the meaning of what Nicki Mao (aka Hiro Kone) is saying.  An icy cool that will help this increasingly hot spring.
Hiro Kone's track "Fever is available now on Perfect Wave #002.

Fingered Media - Videos for Blues Control & Psychic Ills | Video Feature

Fingered Media, Harrison Owen, has been creating some exciting & tripped out videos in conjunction with artists across a variety of mediums for quite a bit now. Releasing the results via youtube & vimeo streams to his own dvd-zine. Owen recently let loose a new trio of videos for Blues Control + Laraaji & Psychic Ills respectively that seem to represent a new stripped back method that verges on tripped out minimalist introspection.

"City of Love" by Blues Control & Laraaji, a highlight on their recent collaborative album, essentially covers the entire gamut of the current state of contemporary underground (dare I say alternative / experimental) music in about 9 minutes. And very well at that. That may be an exaggeration but many of the hallmarks are here pulsing kraut beats, overtones droning, & surreal sense of underwater acoustics bending & blurring every which way in accordance with the water. Owen's Warholian tribute to Philadelphia (or at least I'm assuming) is a fantastic reference to what the trio have created musically in that their improvised & organically formed compositions are matched by the slowly evolving pace of emptiness full of movement found in the footage.

The second video for Blues Control & Laraaji & their track "Awakening Day" appears to center around more obvious themes of mankind's relationship with nature & organic processes disassembled through creation. Images of trees recently cut down or ones left hacked from their base & left to rot. It's an interesting counter point to how I perceive this collaboration & artistic process of improvisation leading the way to unplanned sonic landscapes. Perhaps the title leads the way on this one providing a not too cool day to wake to.

Blues Control & Laraaji's released their collaborative album back in November but it's good to get a visual accompaniment for some of the grooves these 3 create. The album has been released as part of label/promotional team RVNG's Freakways series which have thus far featured younger musicians & groups teaming up with their forefathers for remix 12" singles or direct collaboration, such as this.

"I'll Follow You Through The Floor", Psychic Ills burnt-out jam from their most recent album Hazed Dream , is perhaps the most cinematic of this batch of videos. The track title again pretty much epitomizes what is to follow sonically & visually in Owens hands. Taking cues from classic American road trip films & the US's West's association with lawlessness & open terrain. Yet it also conjures up the theme of personal introspection present in all three of these videos. Developed visual concepts that do not rely on narrative forms or immediately eye catching & exotic elements. Rather we are given the familiar, the natural, the seemingly mundane allowed to breath free of their normal restrictions & given a rebirth partly in thanks to their new soundtracks partly on their simple yet thoughtful pace & framing.

Blues Control & Laraaji's Freakways album is available now via RVNG INTL, while Psychic Ills Hazed Dream is available via Sacred Bones. Check out more by video artist Harrison Owen at Fingered Media.

Chrome Wings - Coast To Coast | Video Feature

Chrome Wings are back contributing 1/2 of a new split cassette on Deep Tapes. I have to say I've been digging what these have been up to more & more with each release. The pair offer up a haze of wonky electronic soundscapes mixed with the tight & rhythmic flare "Coast to Coast" probably epitomizes some of their best moments in a condensed package.

The tune really just floats by with some melodic synth lines that really hit the spot. I don't think this is miles away from what I've heard from a good bunch of folks from the North West US & beyond recently but has a more refined take that sets these guys apart from the pack. I think that the melodic aspects up front & present here is what does it. I mean Chrome Wings get out there sometimes but always bring it back into some warped yet structured instrumental which providing a counter point to the more exploratory sections. Maybe it is to satisfy some sort of pop urge, maybe it just feels right.

The Chrome Wings / Ladyshapes Split Tape is available now via Deep Tapes.

Ben Vida - "Zizzlers" | Video

Ben Vida (Town & Country, Bird Show) is back with his latest solo album titled Esstends-Esstends-Esstends. The full-length sees Vida present a heady mix compositions for "Computer Controlled Modular Synthesizer and Digital Signal Processing" something that hints towards the forward thinking electronics he employs in tracks such as "Zizzlers" and "Qweek Plus Enner (outro too)." As the press release will tell us the compositions on the album are an attempt to "escape the stereo image" for an expanded auditory listening space.

"Zizzlers", & it's accompanying video A fantastic collaborative spree has emerged between Ben Vida & Hisham Bharoocha that this video seems to only highlight. Collaboratively the whole is a strangely moving testament, contemplative in a way more generally acknowledged in the gallery arts world. Something which makes perfect sense as both contributors seems to bee spending increasing amounts of time in such environments. In the previous year alone Vida was recipient of various prestigious awards & opportunities inside & outside of the fine arts world including Composer in Residency at Diapason Space, NYC and at EMS Studios, Stockholm and was awarded a Swedish Arts Committee Travel Grant, ISSUE Project Room Emerging Artists Commission and Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona "Composing with Process" Exclusive Works Commission.
Ben Vida's Esstends-Esstends-Esstends is available on LP via Pan.

Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann - Vanity Fair | Video

On their brand new LP Vanity Fair Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann step beyond any specific notions of genre. Well perhaps their working genre is labeled as experimental or avant garde but in the end aren't those labels meant to be completely genre free & ambiguous in it's final outcome, & often times in it's process of creation & display. However you would like to look at it the pair forge ahead leaving a new path of sonic terrain in their wake.

Perhaps it is the wild & uninhibited ideals of the "West" that leads to the unique visual & sonic voice the duo have. Similarly minded cult figures such as Smegma come to mind, yet Sullivan & McCann seem to be pretty much void of the absurd & comedic aesthetic that collective tend to display. Maybe I'm wrong & it has nothing to do with coastal relationships, maybe one of these dudes is from Maine or Mississippi. Regardless these guys are on to something here since they have been able to get me to video visually made up of two near static images and thoroughly enjoy myself.

Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann's Vanity Fair is available now via McCann's Recital imprint.

Royal Baths- "Faster, Harder" | VIDEO

Royal Baths are Brooklyn via San Francisco retro rockers, mining their sound from a mix of early seventies blues-rock and present day garage tunes, who've just had a new album released by Kanine. It's called Better Luck Next Life, and it rips. Focusing on the dingier, dirtier side of the group's boozy rock sound, the video for first single “Faster, Harder” acts as a grainy, 16mm come on from singer Jeremy Cox. “I love my damaged girl, we share a wicked world,” Cox croons of he and his lover, whose “shared perversions” are seen throughout the six-minute clip. Get yo' hands dirty folks.

Better Luck Next Life is out now via Kanine Records. You can catch the Baths live at 107 Suffolk St. in Manhattan on February 26th.

FATHER JOHN MISTY - "HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY SINGS" | VIDEO

Josh Tillman, the recently departed drummer from folk-pop heroes Fleet Foxes, is Father John Misty. Having had somewhat of an epiphany regarding himself and his music, Tillman up and left his longtime home of Seattle, WA for the greener, sunnier pastures of Los Angeles. In his own words: “...In a critical, singular, mind-altering moment of clarity [I] became aware of this giant, blatantly fraudulent contradiction between my internal narrative, my conversational voice, my sense of humor – and singing about my pain like a fucking decrepit wizard.”

The result of this radical self-acceptance is Fear Fun, a rollicking, psychedelic hayride of a record coming out May 1st via Sub Pop. Above is the beautifully shot video for the album's 1st single "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings," a highly enjoyable barn-burning rock dirge, starring Parks and Recreation it-girl Aubrey Plaza. Also, you can check out the candy colored cover art below. Get Psyched, kids.

Dylan Ettinger - Wintermute

Dylan Ettinger's "Wintermute" & it's accompanying video shoot for the moon with it's hybrid of cold-wave meets contemporary underground pop. Taking in some concrete compositional forms that bring Ettinger out of the instrumental synth haze he's been living in for the past couple years.
The sharp mix of synths, programmed drums, topped with some blurry & gloomy vocals fit in perfectly with the current strain of synth worshipers out there. Yet unlike some other more space-minded compatriots Ettinger doesn't shy away from places the vocals firmly in the front row. What's more is that "Wintermute" offers a seriousness lacking in the at times comical to-cool-for-school mentality that many of his Not Not Fun label mates seem to shoot for. Now if someone can tell me what the masked topless girl in the corner of this video symbolizing we'll be getting somewhere.
Dylan Ettinger's Lifetime of Romance will be available next month via Not Not Fun.

High Places - The Pull

High Places have certainly come a long way since they first made their way into general music consciousness back in 2007. The duo of Rob Barber & Mary Pearson in recent years have shed some of the murk & tightened up their compositional structures allowing their creations to take on new highs of pop prowess. What's more is that along with these sonic innovations have also come a newfound sense of confidence most readily heard in Pearson vocals, which now take center stage to help propel the bits of electronics percussion & shimmer further into the limelight.
"The Pull", taken from Original Colors, demonstrates the group's new streamlined electronic aesthetic. The video matches the electro clarity the majority of the track with some pristine shots of the band & organic matter. The video tackles chiaroscuro uses of light & dark as the screen cloaked in a pitch black with glimpses of light into the world the duo inhabit.
High Places Original Colors is available now via Thrill Jockey.

Hospitality - Hospitality | ALBUM REVIEW

Brooklyn based trio Hospitality certainly don't appear to be trying very hard. From the obtuse band name to the seemingly obligatory faded photograph which graces the cover of their self titled debut, the band seem on the surface to be purveyors of bland, middle of the road indie rock; that is, until you listen to their record.

Opener “Eighth Avenue” romps along like any good indie-pop song, breathy female vocals included, until the knotty chord changes and tense melody of the chorus come along to let you know this won't be your average ride on the merry-go-round. Instead, the group leads us through 10 songs of pure pop innovation; from the sparkling twee of “Betty Wang” to the woozy wash of “Sleepover,” the album varies just enough to avoid stagnation, yet never too far as to alienate the listener. Hospitality is a band which operates like the best of chefs; taking simple, unassuming ingredients and transforming them into something beautiful through sheer knowledge of the craft. Take lead single “Friends of Friends” for instance. Where a lesser group may have let the simple structure and infectious vocal melody carry the tune throughout, Hospitality fill in all the right gaps to make the track a true earworm. A horn flourish here, a slight jerk in rhythm there, and what could have been a very tepid tune is suddenly a song which you find yourself humming at random intervals throughout the day.

Hospitality - Friends of Friends from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Aside from the band's gleefully off-kilter version of pop, the lyricism of frontwoman Amber Papini is what makes Hospitality such a rewarding listen. Being a twenty-something starving artist in New York myself, Papini's trials and tribulations concerning being just that can alternately make one smile and cringe. Riffing on topics varying from young, maudlin guys who aren't very good in bed (“Eighth Avenue”) to not caring how far uptown a friend lives (“Betty Wang”) Papini has managed to romanticize the lives of young New Yorkers, yet still sneak in a jab or two. “So you found the lock/but not the key that college brings/and all the trouble of a BA in English Literature/instead of law, or something more practical,” Papini croons on the incisively titled “Liberal Arts,” a song which stings with upper middle class regret. Plus, post-collegiate blues never sounded more tuneful.

Hospitality is a record which took three-plus years to complete, and it shows. It sounds as if every element was labored over again and again, usually an indication of so-so songs to begin with, but not the case here. Here, each detail seems perfectly in place, almost as if it were one of those “magic eye” posters; it may not seem like much at first, but look closer. Ah, now you see?

Hospitality is available now through Merge Records. Above is the funny/rad video for "Friends of Friends."

Street Gnar - "East Quiver" video

I'm digging this music by Street Gnar, a nice blend of a half-baked Kraut-rock groove & classic psychedelia. Case Mahan (aka Street Gnar) has been releasing stuff on great labels like Night People & Eggy Records for a little bit now but I'm only getting my first taste with "East Quiver."

Using some familiar tools (samples, guitars, drums) to create some heady daydream music. The video itself seemingly captures this spaced quality by using sped up footage taken from moving subways trains, bikes, skateboards, swings and other such events which allow for such shifted perspectives of time. At only two and a half minutes the song too seems to defy time, making me wish it was twice as long.

Street Gnar's Poking The World With A Stick is available now via Night People & for free on his bandcamp.

Black Dice - "Pigs" video & announce new album Mr. Impossible

It's always good news in these parts when Black Dice announce a new album and and even better day when they also release a new video for one of their tunes. "Pigs", taken from their upcoming LP Mr. Impossible, follows a similar sonic terrain that the trio have been developing for the last couple of years; a onslaught of electro-noise with a penchant for the dance floor, or in lieu of reaching those heights the DIY punk space near you.

The accompanying video made by the group brings their sonic pranks to life. A collage of swirling neon fruit & whacked out dangly eyed freaks groove along through out. Those who have caught some of Black Dice's other video output for bands like !!!, Wooden Shjips, or even the group's involvement with Animal Collective for the Creator's Project will surely be aware of the particular aesthetic approach taken by the visual/musical group.

All in all this makes today pretty great.

Black Dice's Mr. Impossible will be available April 10th in an edition of 350 hand numbered and silkscreened LP's via Ribbon Music.

Indian Jewelry - "See Forever" video

Indian Jewelry have been at it for a couple years now. Always treading the waters between noise, psychedelic rock, & electronics while never settling down into any of those genre's predefined niches. "See Forever" and its accompanying video, taken from the group's newest release Sufi Headbangers, is a daunting almost claustrophobic track that if anything continues the band's trajectory over time.

The video wrapped in a dark, occult-leaning mystique, combines a continuous rapid succession of images & (presumably) live footage of the band in a manner that may not be best viewed by the faint of heart or those prone to seizures. Those who

Sufi Headbangers is available via Indian Jewelry's own Girlgang Records & Tapes.

Ensemble Economique - "Everything I Have, I Give To You" video

ENSEMBLE ECONOMIQUE - Everything I Have, I Give To You from kohnkepik

Ensemble Economique is the alias of busy North California stalwart Brian Pyle, who some may know as a member of recently mentioned Starving Weirdos. As Ensemble Economique he has been quite busy the past year or two in particular with releases on label's Not Not Fun and Amish to name a few. The sound of Pyle's solo compositions follows a similar trajection to his main project and others coming out of the north-west underground, such as Pete Swanson's recent solo work.

In "Everything I Have, I Give To You" and the accompanying artist made video the sound and vision of Ensemble Economique is laid bare; haunting rhythmic loops, hovering atmospheric synths, and a vintage horror film aesthetics are combined to great affect. The video is created by way of borrowed footage from Nicolas Roeg's 1973 film , making a rather perfect fit for the vibe present in the music itself.

Ensemble Economique's newest album Crossing The Path, By Torchlight is available now from Dekorder.

Starving Weirdos - "In Our Way" video & Land Lines album

Amish records has announced the release of the next Starving Weirdos album titled Land Lines. The album sees the long running north west experimental group make some of their first forays into a more structured songwriting process. This is explained by Amish as a result of the album being a couple years in the making, though recordings were first initiated around September 2010. They go as far as to incorporate some haunting vocals as demonstrated in the lead album track "In Our Way."

The band created video for "In Our Way" takes on a quasi-religious status as a result of the slowed down some synced dance moves taken from what appears to be footage of contemporary african dance moves. Something that when combined with Starving Weirdos own almost horror film score leaves a creepy yet intriguing lasting impression on the viewer.

Starving Weirdos' Land Lines is available January 24th via Amish Records

Chelsea Wolfe - "Sunstorm" video

If I may forego all the usual trappings seemingly embedded into conversations pertaining to Chelsea Wolfe... At least that the sentence I anticipated starting with and then I realized I couldn't. Wolfe's persona is built upon combined elements of the gothic, greek, and occult imagery and vibe. I want to liken it to Nico once she got over being a pop star and became addicted to heroin. That is a totally update to date version who to my knowledge is NOT a drug addict which is generally great news.

The song "Sunstorm" maintains stark elegance, which is perfectly matched in this Sean Stout directed the video. Even some of the song's most far reaching moments, such some questionable lyric choices & dance moves, come off as forgettable & endearing. It's that much more then that the "Sunstorm" & Wolfe are able to withstand under such intense emotional, while still retaining a catchy enjoyable song. Despair has rarely sounded so good.

U.S. Girls - "Island Song" video & new Label

U.S. Girls has been coming out of the underground, or tape murk if you will, with a more streamlined approach to her song craft. The Island Song & it's compellingly beautiful video shot & directed by Megan Remy herself give a pretty indication of her departure. She is keeping the tape hiss to a bare minimum allowing the arrangement to naturally unfold being propelled by some almost new wave synth textures.

To go with the updated attitude and eyes for production detail Remy has released a new LP on Kraak and launched her own label Calico Corp. For the label's first offerings they have provided a single for "The Island Song", which is taken from the full-length LP U.S. Girls on Kraak, & another 7" for Slim Twig. All three releases are available now.

Jovontaes - Falcon

So I thought this post was going to be a way late, but as fate has had it Jovontaes saw their debut LP Things Are Different Here released yesterday. If the video for lead track "Falcon" (above) offers anything it's a nice glimpse into these dudes sun soaked world of the super laid back atmospheres and equally chilled jams. The press release and video (the dudes are pretty much cruising around town the whole time) make use of the group's skateboard culture ties and for good reason. I'm pretty sure this track would fit on (that is if it hasn't been already) any skate video. Mix together a propulsive kraut groove, a nicely rolled smoke, & some skate rats and you have Jovontaes. Try it it's pretty much as fun as it sounds.

Things Are Different Here was released yesterday via new(ish) Woodsist subsidiary Hello Sunshine.

Wooden Shjips "Lazy Bones" video

On a general level Wooden Shjips rock. Period. Their take on a well trodden brand of blues-inflected psych-rock retains the hallmarks of luminaries such as Spacemen 3 and more generally Nuggets-era garage rock. The band's newest album West continues on this path, though with some added fidelity and sheen, partially due to the involvement of former spaceman Sonic Boom.

The video for album cut "Lazy Bones" Wooden Shjips have turned to Black Dice whose distinct visual aesthetic is practically dripping out of the screen. The collaboration at first glance seems strange at best but when examining the recent trajectory of BD (and the solo work of Eric Copeland) it may not be all that surprising. After all Copeland's latest single "Whorehouse Blues" makes explicit reference to some of the blues & boogie tinged work Shjips are known for. So enjoy the video while you're mind's eye begins to take out it's dancing shoes & begins to melt.

West is out now and available from Thrill Jockey records.