The Unicorns/Islands frontman/Serial music composer Nick Thorburn is one busy guy. With that said, Nick has still found time to make new music under his Nick Diamonds alias and he’s gearing up to release a new solo album – City of Quartz. He’s teased us with a few tracks thus far and i’m hooked. The full album drops June 16 via Manque Music.
“…the cathartic peak on the back half of Youth Lagoon’s Wondrous Bughouse…” via Stereogum
♩ Youth Lagoon – Raspberry Cane [from Wonderous Bughouse]
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“Pretty and eccentric, ornate but never cluttered, Blaudzun’s songs alternately boom and swoon…” via Stephen Thompson, NPR:First Listen
♩ Blaudzun – Elephants [from Heavy Flowers]
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“In The City’ is a lush, soaring gem…a gorgeous slice of modern indie rock” via Jacob Webb, KEXP: Song of the Day
♩ Caveman – In The City [from Caveman]
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“The standout tracks are almost without exception those including Arnór Dan Arnarson’s vocals, especially in ‘Old Skin’ where they stream angelic above the instrumentation.” via Drowned In Sound
♩ Ólafur Arnalds – Old Skin [from For Now I Am Winter]
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“…’Wave Forms,’ a pretty, maximalist pop cut as bubbly as it is charmingly unsettling.” via Pretty Much Amazing
♩ Islands – Wave Forms [from Ski Mask]
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What is (31) Days of Good?
A few of my favorite new releases this week…
Blouse//Imperium
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Cloud Control//Dream Cave
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Elvis Costello and The Roots//Wise Up Ghost
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[The Roots] web//facebook//twitter//soundcloud//iTunes
Islands//Ski Mask
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London Grammar//If You Wait
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MGMT//MGMT
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The Naked and Famous//In Rolling Waves
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Said the Whale//Hawaiii
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Sebadoh//Defend Yourself
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Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin//Fly By Wire
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A few more worth a listen…
Bill Callahan//Dream River
College//Heritage
Crystal Stilts//Nature Noir
Delorean//Apar
El-P & Killer Mike//Run the Jewels
Factory Floor//Factory Floor
Mike Doughty//Circles Super Bon Bon Sleepless…
Mum//Smilewound
Potty Mouth//Hell Bent
San Fermin//San Fermin
Why?//Golden Tickets
More new music at Largehearted Boy
World didn’t end after all. Ball’s in your court Mayan calendar.
Brazilian artist Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, aka Curumin, has one of the most diverse backgrounds and unique styles in music today. Born to Spanish and Japanese parents, he grew up in São Paulo and was influence by the sounds of Jorge Ben, Tim Maia, Bebeto, Run-RMC, and the B-52’s. At only 8 years old, he formed his first rock band and he hasn’t looked back since.
♩Curumin – Selvage [from Arrocha]
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2012 was a breakout year for Electric Guest. The Los Angeles-based indie pop duo released their debut studio album Mondo (produced by Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse) and played a handful of the year’s biggest music festivals, including SXSW, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch, Montreux, Outside Lands, Splendour in the Grass, and more.
♩Electric Guest – This Head I Hold [from Mondo]
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San Francisco’s Geographer is one of my favorite new discoveries. They’ve been making music since 2008, when Michael Deni (vocals, guitars, synthesizers) moved from New Jersey, but it wasn’t until Paste premiered “Life of Crime” last December that I took notice. With a self-described sound as being “soulful music from outer space”, the trio has been hard at work the last couple of years and it’s certainly paid off.
♩Geographer – Life of Crime [from Myth]
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Islands is one of my favorite bands of the last ten years. The band’s latest album, A Sleep & a Forgetting, was released early in 2012 and inspired by the end of frontman Nicholas Thorburn’s marriage. “This album is far more personal than any I’ve made before,” Thorburn explains. “I left New York after the end of a relationship and came to Los Angeles. There was a piano where I was staying and that’s where I wrote these songs. This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming. I started writing it on Valentine’s Day and it’s coming out on Valentine’s Day.” (via ANTI-)
♩Islands – In A Dream It Seemed Real [from A Sleep & a Forgetting]
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“The string pop music that Los Angeles-based Princeton has conjured up is reminiscent of Ra Ra Riot, but whereas the latter band has a frantic sense of urgency, the members of Princeton are content with laid-back tunes that mesh with the Southern California lifestyle. One full length and a handful of EPs later, Princeton is back with their second LP Remembrance of Things to Come that showcases the weaving of East Coast prep school pop and sunny California road trip jams.” (via Paste)
♩Princeton – Remembrance of Things to Come [from Remembrance of Things to Come]
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Atlas Genius perform “Islands” (The xx) acoustically at Crown City Studios. Through the Glass EP available now. Full-length debut out in Winter 2013.