Since the undeniable wonder of the album First Love, Emmy the Great has been touring like a superwoman, planning a tour of Asia and preparing for Glastonbury, but she’s still squeezed in time to record a new EP. ‘Edward’ will be released in July on limited 12″ vinyl and MP3, and after that will be included in all new issues of First Love.
Album: Wave Machines – Wave If You’re Really There
It seems that whenever the economy takes a bad turn electro-pop comes creeping back out of the woodwork. Wave Machines’ debut album ‘Wave If You’re Really There’ is one of many recession-electro releases that we’re to be subjected to this year. Its not all bad news though, this release might just have enough great dance tracks to stand out from the crowd.
Album: Tom Brosseau – Posthumous Success
Posthumous Success is Tom Brosseau’s eighth album in four years and I have not been able to get it out of my head. A prolific songwriter and performer, as well as a writer of stories and other musings on his blog (tombrosseau.com/blog), the North Dakotan clearly has a lot to say, but his music is remarkably uncluttered and beautiful.
Album: Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors
Caught in the middle of great expectations, Dirty Projectors’ new album could have fallen into the overly neurotic avant-garde and polyrhythmic experimentation patterns. It could definitely have happened, considering the Yale intellectual and artsy character of frontman David Longstreth, prone to fidgety, discordant, shrieking echoes and glitchy tunes. Yet, with Bitte Orca, he has managed to make his music approachable but still challenging, violent but still harmonious, tribal but still classical in layers.
Single: Cass McCombs – Dreams Come True
Near Legendary indie folk troubadour Cass McCombs delivers another catchy, yet still somehow morbid slice of storytelling with the first single off his fourth album, Catacombs. As the song starts, McCombs voice alone is breathtakingly raw and powerful, sounding particularly dark in contrast to the upbeat music it’s laid over.
Album: Thieves Like Us – Play Music
There’s a moment that most of us would have to confess to living at least one point in our lives, when it becomes startlingly apparent that you have pushed the boat out too far with the ‘state-altering’ substances. It’s that incredibly uncomfortable moment where you start to feel disconnected from the world going on around you. You feel as though you have been submerged underwater and all sound has become slightly muffled and distant. The night suddenly feels wrong and all the people around you enjoying themselves are monsters. The worst thing is that you know there is no way out, no quick fix answer to bring yourself back from the brink.