I am in love with this new Beach House track ‘Myth’, which is the first single from their 4th and upcoming album entitled ‘Bloom’ .
Alongside Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Victoria Legrand is possibly one of my biggest girl crushes at the moment. I consider her as one of the great female voices, a hybrid between Cat Power, Marianne Faithfull and Nico. if you haven’t had the chance to see Beach House live yet, I greatly recommend it : her charisma is breathtaking and her voice so sublime that it is near indescribable.
After the success and critical acclaim of their previous album ‘ Teen Dream‘ ( which was definitely in my top 5 albums of 2010 ), I am sure that Brooklyn-based duo Legrand and Alex Scally are aware that this album is much anticipated by fans such as myself.
Legrand describes the record as being about “death, loss of innocence…as we’ve got older and evolved, it’s normal that there would be darker themes. But there’s lightness. It’s not all dark.”
Indeed, ‘Myth‘ is definitely a continuation of ‘Teen Dream‘ with an added darker twist. Whereas ‘Zebra‘, ‘Norway‘ or ‘Walk in the park‘ were particularly eery ( and embodied perfectly their dream-pop musical philosophy), ”Myth‘ has a much deeper, mature dimension to it.
The rumoured release date for ‘Bloom‘ is May 15 on Sub Pop, and just to warn you…Scally stated that this record will be their “own ‘Pet Sounds‘ or ‘Disintegration‘, not in sound, but as something which feels like a definitive statement.”
Presenting LuxembourgianVictor Ferreira aka Sun Glitters‘ first EP ‘ High‘. A crossover between the sounds of James Blake, Gold Panda and Holy Other, it features remixes by MMOTHS, Jewelers and Sumsun and is released via new art label music/is/for/losers.
The EP consists of 4 tracks ‘ High‘ , ‘It Takes Me‘, ‘They Don’t Want To Let You Know‘ and finally an outstanding and daring remix of ‘It Takes Me‘ by Jack Colleran aka MMOTHS.
I particularly enjoy how Ferreira manages to perfectly blend intense yet blissful beats with delicate, eerie sounds.
His pitch shifted and ghostly vocals, dubbed out melodies will be absolutely necessary in summertime. His EP cover is definitely representative of the music: it’s all about letting the sunshine in.
Douglas McGillivray, a.k.a ANOTHER has just released his first LP and my little finger tells me that this little beauty should not go unnoticed. As a matter of fact I think it’s probably the freshest, most genuine music I have heard in a long time.
‘Since June‘ offers a lovely mix of synths, electronic beats and acoustic guitar, with a delicate voice thats blends in perfectly. He describes his music as ‘ Intimate Ocean Pop‘, and I think that suits it perfectly. In my mind his music is very similar to that of Phoenix, and I definitely wish him the same success as the parisian band.
You can tell that this was not produced by some big label and the sounds do tend to be a bit rough at some moments , but for someone who recorded everything in his bedroom, I have to say the results are superb.
This record is quite eclectic, and stretches from electronic vibes on ‘ Same To You‘ and ‘Night‘ to dancy/surfy/pop ballads on ‘Night‘ or ‘Maika‘ , and finally to calmer songs that embody the message of hope and positivity that he is trying to convey through his music.
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
2: Kanye West & Jay Z – Watch The Throne
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
3: Atlas Sound – Parallax
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
4. Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts
For those who don’t know Thurston Moore he’s the genius behind Sonic Youth. With his solo work he offers something very different from the raw material that characterizes his band. This album is very personal, folky and acoustic, oh and it’s produced by none other than Beck. Perfect on a rainy autumn day.
5. John Maus – We Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
John Maus sometimes sounds so stereotypical that we might wonder if his music is just a big joke ! Everything is exaggerated and weird, from the way he inserts strange sounds when you least expect it, or his obvious nonstop mimicking of Ian Curtis. It’s a lot to handle, but somehow it works perfectly.
6. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
7. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
8. Nicolas Jaar – Space is Only Noise
Jaar is only 21, but he already released one of the most acclaimed and talked about album of the year. I think that says it all.
9. The Kills – Blood Pressures
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
10. Metronomy – The English Riviera
Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here
A double album in this day and age is perhaps a tad over ambitious but if anyone could have pulled it off it had to be monsieur Anthony Gonzalez of M83 fame.
For his sixth album outing Gonzalez succeeding in making an album that would satisfy his loyal internet following as well as imprinting itself on the minds of causal listener. The result is a flurry of vaguely related genres delivered with majestic quality.
Our boy Thom said that “the sound of M83 can both rush me back to my eighties upbringing whilst harmoniously keeping my spirits high for the whole of the music industry. ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming‘ was as epic as the title suggests. ‘Midnight City‘ was my favorite single of the year“.
Olivia then concluded sweetly saying she “could go on and on about this album but I’ll make it short : it simply is my favourite for this year and probably one of the most breathtaking album I have ever listened to. Anthony Gonzalez at his best!’
With “Swag” seemingly chosen as the buzz word for 2011 it was appropriate that Jay-Z and KanyeWest‘s long rumored collaboration had tons of it. . Having set the bar very high with last year’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘ it seems anything Kanye touches turns to gold and Jay-Z also has the midas touch again reminding us how much better than everyone else he is. ‘Watch The Throne‘ gives the rap megastars an opportunity to make as many outlandish and likely true boasts as they possible can over a tight production.
Cougar scribe Olivia said: “Take Jay Z and Kanye West, you expect something epic, huge and over the top ( just like the massive promotion around the album ), a mix of Kanye‘s creativity and Jay‘s flow , so something perfect basically. Indeed it is a great album. Considering the amount of talent in this twosome have that’s not too surprising“.
Metronomy‘s 3rd release seems distant from the discopop the band first made their name for. Frontman Joseph Mount re-imagines his home town of Totnes in Devon as a sun kissed and hip destination where people come to relax and forget about their troubles.
It may be slightly removed from the truth, global warming permitting, but this thematic idea acts as the pillar upon which the band build their pop gems.
Cougar writer Olivia said of ‘The English Riviera‘ that “Metronomy‘s style keeps on changing or rather ‘evolving’ as band members come and go, so sometimes it’s quite difficult to follow. ‘The English Riviera‘ sounds nothing like their previous albums, but rather resembles something Hot Chip or Phoenix would cook up.
The music encompasses both dance and indie music building on a basic beat and catchy vocals. It’s a simple formula but it definitely works“.
considering Jamie Hince‘s extended stint in the tabloid papers and Alison Mosshart‘s largely enjoyable The Dead Weather project The Kills may have been forgiven for losing focus once it came down to the business of recording music again. Instead with the release of ‘Blood Pressures‘ the duo returned with a bag full of attitude and some of their sharpest tracks to date.
Our girl Olivia added them to her Top 10 describing them as “One of the hottest, most sexual rock duo at the moment, the mix of Mosshart‘s moan and charisma and Hinge‘s guitar riffs still works wonders. This album actually sounds quite like 2008′s ‘Midnight Boom‘.
Perhaps it’s not their best work to date but remains quite the empowering album, with great tracks such as ‘Satellite‘, ‘Future Starts Slow‘ and ‘DNA‘ demonstrate particular flair“.
Nicole further discussed that “it should come as no surprise that a band named The Kills gravitates towards dark, gritty sounds on their latest album, ‘Blood Pressures‘.
I can picture the title displayed in classic horror movie-style font. It seems a perfect combination of words for the duo, and certainly confirms their fascination with macabre subject matter.
Mosshart goes goth with lyrics like, “Baby says if ever you see skin/as pale or eyes as deep and as black as mine/ I’ll know you’re lying”, and it’s never been hotter. Meanwhile, Hince lays down such cool guitar riffs that you’ll feel like you’re part of The Brat Pack (see tracks “BabySays” and “You Don’t Own The Road”).
I’ll also divulge that I found my musical soul mate on this album – “D.N.A” is one of the catchiest and most rhythmic songs I’ve heard all year. It had me at “hello” (i.e. when I saw them perform it at Emo’s during SXSW ‘11)“.
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