Violens - Violent Sensation Descends

This band isn't getting the attention they deserve. Their bombastic debut album, Amoral, sounds like 80's pop-rock on acid, and occasionally it's almost Smiths-like. With all the musical morphing, it's a lot to take in, but their bold synth-acoustic sound is hard to overlook.  More than a month after its released, though, we haven't heard much from Violens aside from this video of "Violent Sensation Descends", a song they've been playing for over two years now! It's only the tip of this underrated iceberg of sound that's just about ready to explode. They're on tour now, check them out.

mp3: Violens - Violent Sensation Descends

Some more free music from Amoral...

mp3: Violens - Acid Reign

Nosaj Thing - Fog (Jamie xx Remix)

Nosaj Thing's haunting debut LP, Drift, was one the most unique electronic albums of 2009. Its sound unmistakable, and after more than a year of non-stop touring and an upcoming remix album, Nosaj is definitely getting a lot of love. Jamie, that guy going crazy with the push-button beats in The xx, totally disintegrates what is already an awesome track into this trippy, ghostly remix.

mp3: Nosaj Thing - Fog (Jamie xx Remix)

Crystal Castles - Not In Love [Feat. Robert Smith]

What may seem like two worlds apart in time and sound merge like star-crossed lovers on this rework of "Not In Love". The song remains mostly in Crystal Castles' original twinkly, crunchy dance form, but Smith's contrasting natural voice and added colossal distortion in the chorus really make for an out-of-this-world listening experience.

mp3: Crystal Castles - Not In Love [Feat. Robert Smith]

Local Natives - Who Knows Who Cares

Good times

Waskerley Way - Holly

Newcomer Waskerley Way has been keeping busy lately with a collection of songs based on cats (no jk) and his latest EP, Holly. The title song and opener kicks off a chilly autumn gale. Wispy flutes soar above fuzzing leaves and what kinda sounds like a descending oud scale. Whatever it may be, one thing's for sure: it's shaping up to be a bitter fall. Holly EP, or the individual tracks, can be downloaded for free here.

mp3: Waskerley Way - Holly

Girls - Heartbreaker

Time to open a new box of tissues and bring back those bittersweet high school memories cuz Girls are back with the soft, swaying breeze of "Heartbreaker", a teenage heart-tickler that's just what you'd expect from a band that can't let go. Their next release, Broken Dreams Club EP, comes out this November, just over a year after their massively popular self-titled debut album. Get the mp3 at the price of an e-mail below.

Sufjan Stevens - I Want To Be Well

Five years after the grandness of his last full-length, Illinois, Sufjan Stevens has finally come back with The Age Of Adz. It certainly doesn't feel like a follow-up, though, neither musically nor thematically. Rather, Sufjan has returned to his original glitch-ridden electronic sound and basked it in orchestration. Although the textures have become more artificial, the message is all the more human. Saturated with nerve wrecking stress, The Age Of Adz is an all-out cry of deprivation of the essential. "I Want To Be Well" is almost self explanatory, considering Sufjan is actually seriously ill, but it's as harsh as they come; a no-sympathy emotional and physical breakdown. 

Hear the rest of the album here.

TV Girl - If You Want It

The laws that determine the earth's position relative to the sun discriminatingly allow summer to still be alive and well for some, and they had to rub it in our scarfed faces. The latest surge of post-summer chillwave tracks packs a few laid-back tracks from TV Girl. Sample-happy drama scene "If You Want It" takes 60's pop with 90's hip-hop beats and breaks it down with timid trumpets. It's honest, kinda smart, and quite funny.

mp3: TV Girl - If You Want It

Some more light-hearted drama...

mp3: TV Girl - It's Not Something

Shimmering Stars - I'm Gonna Try

"Walking down the street and I wanna kill everyone I see"... right off the bat, with no explanation, an unwelcoming fit of emo; though it doesn't take long until an epiphany of self-awareness kicks in. Suddenly, ungratefulness and childish pessimism make way for an overwhelming realization that everything needs to change. Yes, he knows what he's gotta do, he knows how he's gonna do it, he knows he can do it... Buuuuuuut he won't. Yes, this is about trying, just not quite hard enough.

mp3: Shimmering Stars - I'm Gonna Try

Here's another recent cut...

mp3: Shimmering Stars - East Van Girls

Gruff Rhys - Shark Ridden Waters

 

A sunny day on a crowded beach, Gruff Rhys explores attraction and the wandering mind. "Shark Ridden Waters" surfs on hypnotizing harmonies and a sneaky beat. It treads the dangerous line between reality and imagination, much like the ghostly presence of the Cyrkle sample. A kind of denial and obsession, it's the Bermuda Triangle of thought. Day dreamers be warned.

Download the track for your e-mail below. 

Update: Here's the video...