Slow Magic

What better way is there to follow the face melting goodness of Wand than the dreamy electro-beats from Slow Magic?

There is not much out there about Slow Magic. What I can tell you is this masked man’s music is some super chilled-out, head-bobbing, beat-driven, seat-dance inducing electronica. Check out “Girls” below for a taste. Slow Magic’s sophomore release (and first with Downtown Records) How To Run Away, is available now through his Bandcamp page.

Slow Magic – Girls from How To Run Away (2014)

Tyburn Saints

The newest release from New York’s Tyburn Saints, With The Night In Our Eyes, is a solid six songs of dark, haunting, post-rock meets electro-pop music that oozes the 1980’s. Check out the dark yet shimmery “A Way With Her” below. It’s my favorite track from the album. With The Night In Our Eyes is available to purchase from Tyburn Saints’ Bandcamp page. Enjoy.

Tyburn Saints – A Way With Her from With The Night In Our Eyes (2014)

Identical Homes

I love this time of year. My kids are out of school, starting tomorrow. We’ve been enjoying our son’s baseball games, chilling out on the porch until dark, a little yard work and some serious (not really that serious) street carving sessions on our skateboards lately. The soundtrack to these recent good times has been the electro-pop beats of Identical Homes’ new LP, A. Hydrophelia.

Identical Homes is the new-ish project of ex Rum Diary member, Daniel McKenzie. He crafts a catchy, chilled-out, yet warm brand of electro-pop that is sure to cause involuntary head bobbing. Check out “Formula” (below) from the B-side, it’s one of my favorite tracks from the album.  A. Hydrophelia is out now and is available to buy/stream, digitally, from Identical Homes’ Bandcamp page. It’s also available on a really cool looking 12″ picture disc LP through the same Bandcamp page. This is a great summer time album, that belongs in your collection.

Thanks to Daniel for sending this my way through the inbox, along with a picture of his cat, Barracuda, and generously sending me one of the sweet picture discs.

Identical Homes – Formula from A. Hydrophelia (2014)

Yalls

Berkeley-based musician Dan Casey’s (a.k.a. Yalls) debut album, United, is a 44 minute escape from reality, filled with groove-holmes beats and synths straight from outer space. The warbly synths of “Warlords” (below) is just what I’m talking about – combined with a chilled-out beat and hushed vocals, it’s one of my favorite tracks from the LP.

United comes out May 6 on Gold Robot. Do not miss out on this release.

Yalls – Warlords from United (2014)

Lightning Dust

Lightning Dust is the side project of Black Mountains’ Amber Webber and Josh Wells. They released their third LP Fantasy last year with Jagjaguwar.

Their synth-pop sound is quite the departure from the heavier music of Black Mountain. Opening track “Diamond” (below) utilizes a driving beat, heavy-synth bass lines and Webbers’ incredible vocals over the top of super catchy electronic beeps and bops.

Lightning Dust – Diamond from Fantasy (2013)

Lightning Dust

Jagjaguwar

Roman Ruins

I am super late to the Roman Ruins party, and even later sharing the album on 3hive. Better late than never, right?

Roman Ruins is the solo project of Oakland-based Graham Hill. Hill began crafting these songs while on tour with Beach House as their drummer.  His debut LP, Homebuilding, came out in 2012 on Gold Robot Records. On a side note his first 7-inch, Releasing Me/Your House, was Gold Robot’s first ever release.

Check out the fantastic, slow building “Mighty Love” (below). It’s chilled-out, electro-pop goodness has more layers than my mom’s seven layer dip. You will go back for more.

Roman Ruins – Mighty Love from Homebuilding (2012)

Also for your listening pleasure

Gold Robot

Roman Ruins Bandcamp

November Mixtape

Here are 15 tracks that are sure to meet your fancy. Featuring hits from Monster Rally, The Chemical Brothers, Black Lips, The Hold Steady, Pixies, La Luz, Bill Callahan, First Base, The Limiñanas, The Velvet Underground, Epicycle, Troubadour Dali, The Undertones and Elvis Perkins In Dearland. Enjoy.

November ’13 from simco1974 on 8tracks Radio.

TV Girl

I’ve been a huge fan of San Diego’s TV Girl ever since I stumbled upon their self-titled EP on their Bandcamp page back in 2010. Their blend of electo-indie-tropical-surf-lo-fi pop music is very addictive, like eating potato chips, you can’t just listen to one song.

They are realeasing their new EP Lonely Women today. It’s so damn good. It’s been on repeat almost non-stop since they sent it to me. You can sample their coolness below on “She Smokes In Bed”. The driving beat of this song is sure to get your head bobbing up and down. You can buy the new EP digitally or on cassette at their Bandcamp page, I suggest that you do, it may become your favorite release of the summer. Enjoy!

TV Girl – She Smokes In Bed from Lonely Women EP (2013)

Gliss

You won’t find much about Gliss on their site, their label’s or their publicist’s. Their official channels prefer to keep an enigmatic air about the band offering not much more than “Gliss is a Danish/American three-piece.” Notice the distinct lack of a genre, which I don’t fault them or any band for not offering up a genre. It’s not band’s job to pigeonhole themselves. That’s the uninteresting but necessary job of critics, bloggers, and radio programmers to help a lazy public digest music without actually listening to it. Readers of this blog listen to the music first, genres and categories be damned, right? Can I get an amen! Thank you.

I still have to do my job, so here goes. Gliss is, simply put, a pop band. And all I mean by pop in this case is that they keep their vocals up high and clear in the mix. Musically, it’s a different story. If you dig back into their discography you can hear anything from punchy garage tracks, sounding a lot like Japan’s glam rock phase, to Autolux’s laconic, brooding work to The Jesus and Mary Chain’s wall-of-guitars. Judging from these tracks off their forthcoming album Langsom Dans, Gliss seems to have shed the heavier guitar work and replaced it with softer beats and a rich array of electronics and echoing voices. I appreciate bands willing to test new waters, to push themselves and their sounds beyond their origins. It keeps an air of discovery about them for the band itself and for jaded music geeks.

Gliss – Hunting
Gliss – Blur

gliss.tv
modernoutsider.com

Isaac Delusion

Ever so quietly, this Paris trio is beginning to bubble up into the consciousness of American music hounds. But I doubt the noise they’re making will stay quiet long. In a word, Isaac Delusion is delicious. The band conjures a lovely warmth with their gentle rhythms and bright string work. Their synths mimic birdsongs and evoke sunrise on a summer’s day, an image I imagined even before I saw the video which features a bit of playful surfing and young boys breakdancing on the beach. The breathy vocals recall those of Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals and add a certain sultriness to the mix. The EP hits North America around the end of the month via a label yet to be named.

Isaac Delusion – Early Morning [MP3]

Cracki Records