Hot Jam of the Day (05.27.12): Summer Camp, “Always”

Posted on May 29, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Summer Camp
“Always”
Always (Moshi Moshi)

Even though bf/gf groups were soooo 2011, this London duo is refusing to call time on their moody, John Hughes-inspired synth-pop party. After a superlative debut EP Young and a patchy-but-still-pretty-fucking-brilliant LP Welcome to Condale, Summer Camp is back to its best with this bouncy, lovelorn jam. For a change, guitarist Jeremy Warmsley takes over lead vocal duties here, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get a steady dose of Elizabeth Sankey’s signature, confident voice. They sing so well together, and when they refrain, “we’ll always be together,” you can’t help but hope they’re right. Great track for summer.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/47528678″ iframe=”true” /]

Again, just cuz, here’s Condale‘s excellent lead-off track, “Better Off Without You.”

Hot Jam of the Day (05.26.12): Antony Hegarty: “Rise”

Posted on May 27, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Antony Hegarty
“Rise”
Coral Rekindling Venus

While there aren’t a lot of certainties in this world, Antony Hegarty (frontperson of Antony and the Johnsons) making beautiful, luscious pop songs is a dead cert. Since he first warbled his way into our hearts with his self-titled debut, Antony has become one of the most enduring, distinctive, and bravest voices in independent music, and this lovely new single is yet another notch in his sequined belt. Written for a documentary on coral, it is accompanied by a visually stunning piece. Typically spellbinding.

Hot Jam of the Day (05.25.12): How To Dress Well, “Ocean Floor For Everything”

Posted on May 26, 2012 by TP1.COM in Featured, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

How To Dress Well
“Ocean Floor For Everything”
Total Loss (Acephale)

How to Dress Well — the alter ego of Chicago-based philosophy professor Tom Krell — was responsible for my favorite album of 2010: the ghostly, celestial Love Remains. Krell has one of most distinctive voices (literally and figuratively) in all of popular music, and his bizarre, singular take on R&B is equal parts hopeful and melancholic. This, the first single of his follow-up Total Loss, feels a little bit more like an idea than a whole thought, which isn’t surprising. Love Remains is one of the rare albums meant to be digested as a whole, and I can’t imagine this next one being any different. Either way, it’s a nice way for folks who haven’t heard him to get a taste of what he does.

How To Dress Well – “Ocean Floor For Everything”

And just cuz, here’s the video from Love Remains cut “Lover’s Start”….my 7th favorite song of 2010.

Hot Jam(s) of the Day (05.24.12): Ab-Soul, “ILLuminate” (f/ Kendrick Lamar) & “Terrorist Threats” (f/ Danny Brown & Jhene Aiko)

Posted on May 25, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Ab-Soul
“ILLuminate” (f/ Kendrick Lamar) & “Terrorist Threats” (f/ Danny Brown, Jhene Aiko)
Control System

Though he may be the only member of Kendrick Lamar’s hyper-buzzy Black Hippy crew without a WikiPedia page, South Central MC Ab-Soul’s druggy, claustrophobic new LP Control System should land him a page on the Free Encyclopedia pretty soon. As an MC, Soul seamlessly weaves wild conspiracy theories (the Illuminati references are rampant) with audacious boasts and reflective insights, often all in the same verse. Like the rest of the Black Hippies — Schoolboy Q & Jay Rock round out the group — he also has an impeccable ear for an emotive, atmospheric beat, which are evidenced by both of these tracks. The former pairs spacious, elegiac synths with an acoustic-sounding drum line, while the former sounds like it could be on the new SALEM album. In a genre that is occasionally short on cutting-edge new ideas, the Black Hippy crew is a huge breath of fresh air.

“ILLuminate”

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/45727419″ iframe=”true” /]

“Terrorist Threats”

Hot Jam of the Day (05.23.12): SoKo, “We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow” (Video NSFW)

Posted on May 25, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

SoKo
“We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow”
I Thought I Was An Alien (Babycat)

If there’s one thing French singer-songwriter/actress Stéphanie “SoKo” Sokolinski understands, it’s how to find the beauty in the small things in life. Her recent single, the best track from her divisive debut I Thought I Was An Alien, is definitive proof of that. Over a spare arraignment with an impossibly delicate melody, Sokolinski delivers a spellbinding vocal performance. Don’t mistake her quiet voice for meekness. It’s quite the opposite. Over the song’s brief 155-second lifespan, she drops some incredibly fucking honest, arrow-through-the-heart sentiments about trying to enjoy your life and to love freely while we are still around. Some will write this off as twee, ultra-precious emotional pandering, but those people will be wrong. This is really, really great.

Video is NSFW.

Hot Jam of the Day (05.21.12): Nico Jaar+Sasha Spielberg (Just Friends): “Avalanche”

Posted on May 23, 2012 by TP1.COM in Featured, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Nico Jaar+Sasha Spielberg (aka Just Friends)
“Avalanche”
The Prism

I probably should kind of hate Nico Jaar. I’ve never met the man, but from the outside looking in, it seems like when he’s not DJing ultra-exclusive NYC club nights, playing sold-out shows, and being 194% more handsome than me, he’s making impossibly sexy jams with young Hollywood royalty. Coming off the back of his stunning collaboration with Scout LaRue Willis (Bruce and Demi’s daughter) “With Just One Glance,” he returns with a typically airy boner jam that features the breathy, alluring vocals of Sasha Spielberg (daughter of Steven and Kate Capshaw). While the studio version is only available on the pretty-damn-awesome Prism, this radio rip is indicative of why Jaar has amassed such an impressive library of work in such a short time. He has an incredible understanding of sonic space and can tactfully frame a vocal track with the touch and maturity of a seasoned producer. Did I mention that he’s still only 22? Ok, I think I hate him again….

NicoJaar+SashaSpielberg: “Avalanche”

Just in case you missed it, here’s “Just One Glance.”

Jaar+Willis: “With Just One Glance”

Hot Jam of the Day (05.18.12): Lemonade, “Softkiss”

Posted on May 19, 2012 by TP1.COM in Featured, Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Lemonade
“Softkiss”
Diver (True Panther)

The same week we got a tasty video for the BK-via-SF 80’s-obsessed trio’s spellbinding slow jam, “Neptune,” they grace us with another slice of synth-slathered gold. Though it’s a much more upbeat affair, it is cut from the same cloth as “Neptune” (one of the best ten songs of 2012 so far). Moody, expressive, and dripping with nostalgia, “Softkiss” again sees vocalist Callan Clendenin pinning over a lost lover. In the wrong hands, a refrain like “do you still wear my coat when you get cold?” would come off incredibly trite and callow, but Clendenin’s earnest croon turns it into an affecting rhetorical question that hits close to home. I thought their self-titled debut LP was forgettable, and their follow up EP, Pure Moods, was solid but unspectacular, but based off the two tracks I’ve heard, I think Diver might turn out to be an absolute gem. Watch this space.

Lemonade: “Softkiss”

Hot Jam of the Day (05.17.12): Lil’ B, “3 Stacks”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Lil’ B
“3 Stacks”
Unreleased

I’LL NEVER LET GO BASED GOD! #TYBG

Hot Jam of the Day (05.16.12): Yeasayer, “Henrietta”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by TP1.COM in Hot Jam of the Day | Leave a comment

Yeasayer
“Henrietta”
Unnamed Upcoming LP (Secretly Canadian)

Oh Sayers of Yea, it’s so nice to have you back. Your bizzaro, vaguely-ethnic pop feels like an old sweater on our creaking bones, and it feels so long since you sprinkled your Odd Blood upon us and bludgeoned us into submission with All Hour Cymbals. Oh you benevolent Brooklynites, enchant us again with your delectable vocal harmonies and sonorous shapeshifting. My fair mates and I have spent countless hours lost in your majestic meadow of musical madness and look forward to many more moons of malarky.

Translation: I love Yeasayer. I listened the absolute shit out of their last two albums, and I am unbelievably stoked to have them back. I can’t wait for their new album. It’s late, and I need to go to bed. I’ve never read Shakespeare (in case you hadn’t noticed).

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/46512446″ iframe=”true” /]

Terius Tuesday: “Fancy”

Posted on May 16, 2012 by TP1.COM in Featured, Terius Tuesday | 2 Comments

A lot of people ask me why I love The-Dream so much. The answer is simple; Terius “The-Dream” Nash is a pop music Jedi, and I fuckin’ love pop music. Every Tuesday, Thunder Penguin will celebrate and examine one of his best songs, for no other reason than to get a little more Terius in our lives.

The-Dream
“Fancy”
Love vs Money (Radio Killa, 2009)

We begin our journey through Terius Town with his finest work: the swirling, expansive centerpiece of his near-perfect sophomore LP, Love vs Money. Though its contemplative spine makes it sonically atypical of Nash’s work, “Fancy” is the perfect introduction to Nash’s world (“trips to Monaco/designer nails from head to toe”). Beginning with a ruminative piano melody, it unfolds into a sprawling devotional to the one woman that not even Nash — the colossal cassanova — can resist, the “dream of a billion men.” In a genre known for the objectification of women, Nash prefers to deify them, a predilection nevermore apparent than on this track.

Over the next six and a half minutes, Nash’s vocals glide effortlessly over an undulating, lush arraignment that builds to an absolutely devastating climax. He’s always had a knack for a grand, unexpected finale (see: “Yamaha,” “Fuck My Brains Out”), and when he adds that pounding kickdrum, it makes for his grandest of all. Simply put, “Fancy” is a stellar introduction to Nash’s unbelievable ability as a songwriter. Easily one of the best ten songs of the decade.

The-Dream: Fancy

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