Hot Jam of the Day (03.19.12): Sean Blackthorn, “The Spirits”

Posted on March 20, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Featured | 3 Comments

Sean Blackthorn
“The Spirits”
Unreleased

While nobody’s going to confuse it with Motown, there’s something special going on in Toronto. We all know about Drizzy, the Weeknd (and all his cronies), and Melanie Fiona, but not many have been talking about Sean Blackthorn — partially because there isn’t a hell of a lot of info about him kicking around online. One thing’s for sure though, his lead single is a beautiful, arresting bedroom R&B ballad that shows off Blackthorn’s haunting, emotive tenor. Stunning.

<a href="http://seanblackthorn.bandcamp.com/track/the-spirits">The Spirits by Sean Blackthorn</a>

One for the weekend: Jubilants, “Spain”

Posted on March 18, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns | Leave a comment

A little something Balearic to brighten up your St. Patty’s Day weekend. I promise it’s not the Dropkick Murphys.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/39483474″ iframe=”true” /]

The Best Tracks of 2011 (10-1)

Posted on March 16, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Featured | 1 Comment

10. WU LYF
“Dirt”
Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (LYF)
The weight of expectation can be difficult to bear, especially for a bunch of kids in their early twenties. After a couple majestic 2010 singles (“Heavy Pop” and “Spitting It Concrete like the Golden Sun God”) and a few equally frenetic small shows, many (myself included) listed the shadowy Mancunian collective’s debut as one of the most highly anticipated of the year. Though, admittedly, I was ready to be let down, the quartet shattered my expectations by both sticking to their sonic guns and building on their burgeoning, expansive sound.

Through ten cathartic, relentlessly earnest tracks, the group unleashes the true scope of their sonic palette: two parts art-rock, one-part hardcore, a few pinches of psychedelia, and that fucking organ. The group’s sense of dynamics is their biggest strength. The celestial, reverb drenched guitar and organ lines beautifully frame vocalist Ellery Roberts’ feral howls, simultaneously abrasive and melodic (a good microcausim for the groups incredibly unique sound). Sometimes a band can be crushed by the weight of expectation. Other times, expectation is just a goddamn great way to get the word out about a special group. Lucky for us, it’s the latter in this case.

New Video Alert: Danny Brown, “Radio Song”

Posted on March 13, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Only in Danny Brown’s world does the line, “bitches wanna scoop us, their pussy’s like lupus,” qualify as a boast. Of all the rising Detroit MC’s many talents, his ability to make having sex sound like a legitimately disgusting proposition is truly unparalleled. If this video proves anything, it’s that there’s only one Danny, even when there’s a bunch of them.

Hot Jam of the Day (03.06.12) Rustie (f/ Nightwave): “SURPH”

Posted on March 7, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Rustie (f/ Nightwave)
“SURPH”
Unreleased

Fresh off his fantastic breakthrough LP, Glass Swords (Warp), Scottish beatsmith Russell Whyte returns with a reworked version of one of the disc’s most fascinating tracks. Featuring a hyped up vocal from UK Katy B wannabe, Nightwave, “SURPH” is the kind of swirling, frenetic, synthy stew that we’ve come to expect from the prolific young producer. Rustie’s everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach is most effective when balanced by a vocal line, and hopefully this is a sign of things to come .

HJ of the Day (2.27.12): memoryhouse, “Little Expressionless Animals”

Posted on February 28, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

memoryhouse
“Little Expressionless Animals”
The Slideshow Effect (SubPop, 2012)

Our first Hot Jam of the Day comes from one of my favorite new bands of the last 18 months. This, the leadoff track from the Canadian-duo’s debut long player (due out tomorrow), finds the group at their subtly stunning best with vocalist Denise Nouvon’s gentle coo gliding over an ethereal soundscape from partner in crime Evan Abeele. The group has a rare knack of building to quietly devastating climaxes (see: “Lately” and “Bonfire“), and this is no different. Before I heard the record, I had a hunch that it was going to land near the top of my 2012 year-end list, and after hearing the The Slideshow Effect all the way through, that hunch hasn’t been anything but strengthened.

The Best Tracks of 2011 (20-11)

Posted on February 26, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns, Featured | Leave a comment

20. Holy Other
“With U”
With U (Tri Angle)
In lieu of waxing lyrical about the ghostly, undulating debut from this masked Mancunian, I’ll let my buddy AJ — a man who doesn’t give a shit about music — explain it. In response to a Facebook status update of mine that claimed With U was my favorite EP of the year, Apple Jack posted simply and succinctly “Yeah, maybe of [sic] you want to meditate.” Replace “meditate” with “fuck,” and I think AJ’s in business. The sexiest indie record since The XX’s debut.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/15628329″ iframe=”true” /]

The Best Tracks of 2011 (30-21)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns | Leave a comment

30. Girls
“Honey Bunny”
Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
It was another incredible year for San Francisco’s best band. The group followed up their excellent debut, Album, with a solid EP and the critically acclaimed Father, Son, Holy Ghost. “Honey Bunny,” showcases exactly what makes the group so special. Vocalist/songwriter Chris Owens’ deftly combines his disarming sense of humor (“They don’t like my boney body/They don’t like my dirty hair”), unfiltered honesty, and an incredible ear for melody into a fitting opener to one of the best albums of 2011.

The Best Tracks of 2011 (40-31)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns | Leave a comment

40. Nico Jaar
“Darkside”
Darkside (Clown & Sunset)
Nico Jaar had the license put his fuckin’ feet up over his Christmas break. You think your year was mega busy because you got promoted to project manager? Please. Dude dropped one critically acclaimed LP and two fantastic EPs, all while attending an Ivy League school and running his own label. The three tracks on Darkside are basically just one long track broken into three parks and show a different side of the masterful, meticulous post-dubstep alchemist.

Album Stream: Link

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/31060423″ iframe=”true” /]

The Best Tracks of 2011 (51-40)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by TP1.COM in Columns | Leave a comment

So here it goes. A little more than a month late, these are my favorite 51 songs of 2011. If you’ve read my previous work, you’ll know how this works. It’s basically a countdown from 51 to 1. I’ll be releasing ten songs per day over the next week. Also, at the end of the week, I’ll be linking to a Spotify playlist that will allow you to get all of the songs in one place. As always, I am incredibly grateful for anybody who reads my tiny corner of the interwebz, and hopefully there will be something new and interesting for everybody.

And without further ado…

51. Drake
“Look What You’ve Done”
Take Care (Young Money)
It feels fitting to start this list off with a track from the biggest commercial album of the year. I went back and forth a lot about what track to choose, but I settled on this one because it highlights Young Angel’s underrated storytelling and the disc’s dreamy, sublime production mostly courtesy of Noah “40” Shebib (the real star of Take Care), though this isn’t one of his tracks. Drake is at his best over these type of airy beats, as he has the rare ability to be easy to relate to, even though he lives a life we could never imagine. Remember, this is a dude who made having sex “four times this week” into a point of vulnerability, even though many of his listeners haven’t had sex four times in the past four years.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/29801200″ iframe=”true” /]

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