Flume ft. Panda Bear - "One Step Closer"

 

Australian producer Flume has released a new record called Things Don't Always Go The Way You Plan, a collection of unreleased songs recorded during 2012-2021. The most recently recorded track is "One Step Closer," a meditative, piano-led track featuring the melancholy vocals of Panda Bear from Animal Collective.

George Fitzgerald ft. Panda Bear - "Passed Tense"

From his excellent new album Stellar Drifting, George Fitzgerald teams up with Animal Collective's Panda Bear on the swooning "Passed Tense" which pairs lush synths with Panda Bear's hypnotic vocals. 

Jam of the Day: Teebs ft. Panda Bear - "Studie"

Whimsical and dreamy track from producer Teebs featuring a charming vocal turn from Animal Collective's Panda Bear.

Jam of the Day: Panda Bear - "playing the long game"

Animal Collective member, aka Noah Lennox, working with producer Rusty Santos releases this new single under his Panda Bear moniker. It's a bass-heavy track, punctuated with washes of synthesizers and Lennox's muti-tracked voice.

Videos of the Week

First week of the new year, let's see what videos are starting the year off right:



Buzzed about video from Sia featuring Shia LaBeouf and “Chandelier” star Maddie Ziegler in an interpretative cage dance off. It's definitely a video that will get people talking.



George Clanton, a.k.a. Mirror Kisses, takes random clips from the 1995 Angelina Jolie movie Hackers and puts in animations and video of himself throughout. The song itself seems to fit right in with the visuals.



Fun performance clip from Brooklyn band LVL UP.



If you are looking for a video with a drug-dealing ape, go no further than this collaboration between AlunaGeorge and DJ Snake.



Amazing clip of Wild Beasts performing their song "Wanderlust" on a 7,800 pipe organ.



Gorgeous animated clip from Panda Bear.

Album Review: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Daft Punk
Random Access Memories
Rating: Meh

To me, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are essentially brilliant marketers who always seem to find the right amount of mystery, hype, and musical wherewithal to keep them in the public's eye while really not having any sort of prolific output. Granted, I will say their first two albums, Homework and Discovery, are both killer dance albums; however, since then, they have pretty much coasted on their laurels and have only released the dismal Human After All and the ho-hum soundtrack for Tron: Legacy. As fitting their marketing acumen, the lead up to the release of Random Access Memories has been suitably brilliant. Releasing short commercial teasers on SNL, promo spots at Coachella, and slyly letting "leaked" versions of first single "Get Lucky" find the light of day, there was already a built up frenzy of excitement for the new record. The biggest question was what would the album sound like. Homem-Christo and Bangalter indicated in interviews that the album was a return to a more album-oriented recording process, eschewing laptops and digital production for more traditional instrumentation and analog recording procedures.

The album definitely comes across as a reaction to the explosion of EDM across the globe and, perhaps, this "step back" was a calculated effort on the duo's behalf not to be lost in the vast sea of artists out of there. With that said, they truly could not have come up with a more jarring tonal shift on this record. Random Access Memories is short the traditional Daft Punk bangers that we are accustomed to, and heavy on 70s prog-rock, yacht rock, and disco explorations. So, in this EDM crazy market at the moment, Daft Punk has staked their own territory so to speak, if not exactly groundbreaking, it at least sounds unlike most dance records you will hear this year. And you are not likely to find a more gorgeously recorded and produced album. The warmth and sonic details here are quite impressive. The album feels full bodied and enveloping, as if you can live within its grooves.

The problem with the record, though, is that regardless of whether the record sounds great or not, if the songs aren't there to back the sound up, there certainly is no point to taking all that extra care. On first few listens, Random Access Memories felt like a major dud to me, full of very trite and tired 70s genre exercises that could basically have been done by any other act with little to minimal effort. For one, you really have to divorce yourself from the fact that this is not the Daft Punk of old. You are not going to get any four to the floor bangers heavy on samples. Instead, you are getting an "organic" Daft Punk record that basically is more designed for background lounge music than filling up huge, cavernous dance clubs. Multiple listens, while still not really giving me any wow factor, did however draw me into the warmth of the record, and for that, I will applaud them for spending what is obviously a lot of time and putting a lot of love into making the record sound wonderful. But throughout my listens, I am always kept at arms length somehow, despite the fact that there are some decent tracks on this record. When Daft Punk stops trying to make grandiose statements and just makes a good track, my interest is piqued. First single "Get Lucky," while initially sort of a non-event for me, is definitely the earworm of the record; Nile Rodgers' inviting guitar washes and the elegant disco cool of the track are hard to defend against.



And most of the major collaborations on the record actually were some of my favorites. "Instant Crush" with vocals from Julian Casablancas is surprisingly tender, and Casablanca's delivers one of his most human sounding vocals, ironic considering they are heavily vocodered.



Animal Collective's Panda Bear fits almost too comfortably within the confines of the mid-tempo electro number "Doin' It Right," his warm chants creating a nice contrast to the treated vocals.



Final track "Contact" with house producer DJ Falcon is by far the most Daft Punkian of tracks on the record, and sadly, it ends the record with you wanting a little more of that sound.



Other tracks that work well are the quietly gorgeous instrumental "Motherboard"



and the "Something About Us" referencing ballad "The Game of Love," which finds Daft Punk milking their vocodor sadness once again.



The rest of the record is wildly uneven, however, with the band failing to add much spin on already played out takes on disco and prog-rock. "Give Life Back To Music" starts the album with warmed over, disco-lite grooves and very little in the way of surprise. "Giorgio by Moroder," is a well-intentioned tribute to the disco pioneer, however, it just never comes across as anything by Daft Punk aping Moroder. "Lose Yourself To Dance," the other collaboration with Pharrell Williams, lacks the spark and life of "Get Lucky" and gets mired in lame handclaps and generic Nile Rodgers' guitar lines. And we don't need to go into much detail on the disastrous "Touch" which almost stopped the record dead in its tracks with 8+ minutes of prog-rock noodling, vampy piano rolls, and a WTF? vocal performance from Paul Williams which makes the track feel like it stepped out of an episode of The Muppet Show circa 1978.

The uneven feel of Random Access Memories detracts from it being anything other than a low-key, just ok album from the duo. I will say the record gradually gets better over the long haul, and it definitely helps to listen to the tracks as intended, as a full length album meant to be heard in sequence. I only wish there were more highs on the record, and the highs that are here, though few and far between, lacked any immediate punch that the duo have given their singles in the past. When it gets down to brass tax, Random Access Memories is a better idea than a fully realized collection of songs. It's the songs that matter, and unfortunately, Daft Punk seem to have lost that for the moment.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Album Review - Lotus Plaza: Spooky Action At A Distance

Lotus Plaza
Spooky Action At A Distance
Rating: Grrrr

Lockett Pundt, the shy, unassuming guitarist for Atlanta based Deerhunter, is usually in the background on stage with frontman Bradford Cox hogging most of the spotlight, content to focus on his vast collection of effects pedals. Since their album Microcastle, Pundt has been stepping out from the shadows more and more. His track "Agoraphobia" was the highlight for me from that record, and "Desire Lines" from the follow up Halcyon Digest was another standout track. As with any band, the battles as to the direction the sound will take are likely hard won, and it is appealing for members to want to create their own music separate from their own band. Indeed, Bradford Cox likes to indulge his more experimental/ambient side with his Atlas Sound project, and Pundt himself already has one album under his belt for his Lotus Plaza side project. The Floodlight Collective traded in amorphous, liquidy textures and hazy guitars that recalled the solo projects of Animal Collective members, like Avey Tare and Panda Bear, which made it an interesting but not very distinctive album. In the three years since that release, it is apparent from the first run through of Pundt's second Lotus Plaza album Spooky Action At A Distance, that his confidence in his sound and direction has bloomed and multiplied. Gone are the free form sonic explorations, replaced by a forceful and directed purpose. The tracks here are built on solid rhythmic foundations and loops borrowing from Krautrock's motorik tenacity, layered over with sparkling guitar lines and shoegaze textures which are always changing and mutating across the album, making it a trance like experience without any comedown.

"Jet Out Of The Tundra" is a perfect example, the drum beat never varying, and yet the guitars, a muted chug at first, are supplemented with a jangly shimmer and what sounds like a ukulele or banjo, then punctuated by stark piano chords and droning waves of treated guitars.



"Strangers" is perhaps the track that most shows Pundt's influence in Deerhunter, the chiming layers of guitars holding perfect sway over the militaristic drum patterns. The track is so perfectly rendered it sounds like an 80s college rock classic.



"Dusty Rhodes" slowly edges away from glitchy beats and shambling pace into a purposeful pop track, carefully crafted with clear, ringing guitars and insistent beat, before dropping out with a fragile acoustic breakdown.



Final track "Black Buzz" showcases Pundt's softer, acoustic side, focusing on a drowsy melody and Pundt's jagged croon, ending with lush, spacey keyboard washes.



Spooky Action At A Distance is not all mild-mannered and staid, "White Galactic One" shreds and mangles guitar chords over a chugging beat.



"Out of Touch" borrows from late era Jesus and Mary Chain, with feedback touched guitars buoyed by a 60s backbeat.



The focus of the album, however, is all about well constructed indie rock pop songs. "Monoliths" finds Pundt putting his voice out front and center of a tight swirl of guitars,



while "Eveningness" and "Remember Our Days" channel shimmering guitar rock and motorik art pop respectively.



Spooky Action At A Distance reveals that Pundt is starting to find his own voice and confidence in his songwriting. Instead of making a more insular album like The Floodlight Collective Pundt has put his voice out in front, no longer content to hide behind effects pedals, and has come up with one of the best albums of the year.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Videos of the Week

Friday! Well, I wish it were my Friday, but I have to work all weekend. I haz a sad. Oh well, beats not having a job. Here are the videos of the week that made me squeeee!



One of my favorite songs from last year gets the video treatment. It is a very literal version of the song, and quite disturbing. I am not sure how I feel about how a beautiful song is matched with a gory video. It is definitely eye catching, and certainly NSFW.



Gorgeous, surreal black and white video from Memory Tapes for his single "Yes I Know." I am so looking forward to his new album.

Monster by Kanye West from FRANKUPDATES on Vimeo.

The finished and uncut version of Kanye West's "Monster." Pretty disturbing, but a great track off his last album.



Video made up of footage from a Panda Bear show and some street scenes.



Bat For Lashes performing a gorgeous cover of Radiohead's "All I Need."



Kick ass dubstep track from Flux Pavillion and Doctor P.

Ford & Lopatin "World of Regret" from Thunder Horse Video on Vimeo.

Cool, computer animated video for Ford & Lopatin's electro-synth confection.



Interesting, Godard-referencing video from The Grates.

Non-Sequiturs

I am finally settled in at our house in Indio, California, mere miles away from the polo fields that host the Coachella Music Festival. Can't wait to hit the grounds and have some fun. Set times came out and unfortunately, as always, there are lots of conflicts. But, part of that make it fun, figuring out who you should focus your attention on.

First Klaxons drop out of Coachella (they were my only must kill to see band) and now word is that Suede's bassist is having visa issues and won't make it, but that they intend to play without him. Not sure how the hell that is going to work. Definitely makes me give long thought to whether I want to see them. If there is a conflict, I will likely skip them.

New crush on The Amazing Race, Justin Kanew. So cute and nerdy.

My favorite LOLcats from the past couple of weeks.

It's very strange how the mind works; locked in some dark room is some memory just waiting for a key to open the door to let it out. I had two distinct memories come out of nowhere today. The first was triggered by smelling the new carpet and paint from the office renovation; it brought me back immediately to when we moved into my family's house on Marsh Drive in Savannah. The second was triggered by a blast of cold air that has been on full in the kitchen area all day. It reminded me so much of my Communications Law class at UGA, and how we used to freeze in the classroom each Spring day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Head

"Leave it 'til the guilt consumes
Fucking in the nearest room
All our friends were unaware
Most had just passed out downstairs.

To think I'd hoped you'd be okay,
Now I can't think of what to say,
Maybe I misunderstood,
But I can't believe you're feeling good, from

Post break-up sex
that helps you forget your ex,
What did you expect from post break up sex?"

The Vaccines
"Post-Breakup Sex"

"I know the stars will align
if not tonight then some other time
sleeping off the shade in the back of a car
I tried to get away but the car wouldn't start

I may never get it right
my chemicals, they balance in some other light
I never thought that we wouldn't rule the world
I always think we will
I keep my teeth clenched still"

Cold Cave
"Confetti"

"Take my life
What's my life like?
What's my work like?
How do I pass time?

Open my eyes so I might see mine
So I'll be with mine
No matter what it takes
Take my life so high
Keep my life light"

Panda Bear
"Tomboy"

"Despite of all our conflict
I still sit and adore you
A tragedy for the ages
Now at least I can say this

Even though our love has died,
You're still mine
You're still mine
Even though our love has died,
You're still mine
You're still mine"

Craft Spells
"For The Ages"

Appealing Things

Ginger bears
Vacation
Having awesome neighbors take care of my cat while I am gone
Street Halo 12"
Simply Saline spray

Annoying Things

Barely getting Kurt's Coachella ticket before leaving for Indio
Waiting for the set times
Set time conflicts
Getting a horrible cold/allergy attack two days before leaving on vacation
Forecast of 98 degrees each day of the festival

Panda Bear: "Surfer's Hymn"

Here is the latest Panda Bear pre-LP singles' release. Called "Surfer's Hymn," it is an odd little song, full of sunny instrumentation, and liquidy vocals, but for some reason, for me, never really adds up to much. The album Tomboy comes out on April 11. I actually prefer the remix of the song from Actress, which can be found here.

Of all the tracks he has released prior to the album, this song is my favorite so far:

Panda Bear - Slow Motion by ListenBeforeYouBuy

Destroyer: Kaputt

Destroyer
Kaputt
Rating: Meh

One of the more interesting things about music to me, is how endlessly subjective it all is. One artist may be a treasure to some, and then a big pile of trash for the other. It is almost impossible to quantify or even explain why some music is more appealing to one's ears than another. My only objective explanation is that "I just know I like it." Which is why sometimes I am just befuddled when a majority of critics fawn over an album or artist that I just can't get behind. In recent years, I have shaken my head over Panda Bear's Person Pitch, Fleet Foxes' Fleet Foxes, or any album from The New Pornographers. Their music just doesn't speak to me in any meaningful way. Now, we turn to the latest object of critic's affections, Destroyer's Kaputt. My first warning should have been that Destroyer's main man, Daniel Bejar, is a member of New Pornographers, which I have never been able to like. However, based on the drooling, glowing reviews of the album, I knew I had to at least give it a chance.

Kaputt has an interesting theory behind it; it pulls from a period of music (late 70s and early 80s lite rock) that is generally looked at now with disdain. Drawing from a Steely Dan, overproduced and slick, production aesthetic, with stops along the way to Ambrosia, Pablo Cruise, Toto, and even Avalon era Roxy Music, Kaputt is buffed and shined within an inch of its life. Lite disco beats, lightly flanged guitars, crisp synthesizers, and an ever present bank of syrupy saxophones and horns, blankets these 9 tracks with a chilly, antiseptic air. There just doesn't seem to be much emotion for me to hang my hat on, to pull me into the music. Much has been written about Bejar's witty lyrics, but I found them to be borderline insipid. He has none of the charm, or world-weary insouciance of a Jarvis Cocker, Brett Anderson, or Bryan Ferry, which would have gone a long way in making a more definitive statement.

Initially, I was really looking forward to this album based on the first single and title track "Kaputt."



It is the one track on the album that meets up to the hype of the record; where the lux sheen of the production, matched with an atypically muted vocal turn from Bejar, strikes a perfect balance. Where the album falters is its almost endless monotone layering. Too many of the tracks drift off into the ether, leaving no impression whatsoever. Not until the final track, the epic 11 minute "Bay Of Pigs (Detail)" does any real variation occur, and is a striking jewel. If Bejar had added more variety like this within the album, it would have created a more distinctive record.



The remainder of the album, aside from these tracks, and perhaps one more song, are just syrupy messes, full of banal melodies and production tricks, and Bejar's irritatingly fey warble. Lead track "Chinatown" is probably the worst offender; sounding like a horrific mashup of Air Supply and Kenny G.



Or "Savage Night At The Opera," which glides endlessly on a soft rock bed of cooing synths, fretless bass, tinny drum machines, and Bejar's silly attempts to sound like a bored, coked out Lothario. It all goes completely off the rails with a completely unnecessary guitar solo.



When Bejar actually comes out from behind all the high-tech production sheen and puts some emotion into a song, the results can be dazzling. I was initially intrigued by the ambient intro to "Suicide Demo for Kara Walker," which feels like a fevered dream; of course, Bejar chooses to ruin the mood with a flute motif straight out of some Zamfir mixtape.



Instead of taking this approach and adding some depth or texture to the tracks would have gone a long way, at least with me, in breaking up a very one note sounding album. Kaputt is like a lemon pie made up solely of meringue; lovely and soft, but insubstantial and unsatisfying as a main course. I know I will be pilloried for being seemingly the only person in the world who is not loving and fawning over this album, but I have to stand by my gut instinct. I will have to file this album alongside the Panda Bears and Fleet Foxes; records that are beloved by others, but just leave me with a big "huh" look on my face.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Videos of the Week

Once again we reach the hallowed halls of Friday. Here is a roundup of the latest videos that are the greatest thing since sliced bread:



I about peed in my pants when I was looking at the Coachella 2011 lineup and saw that Suede is playing. Only thing is, I have no idea if Bernard Butler is in the lineup or not. Oh well, regardless, it will be a fun, glammy, sleazy show. Here is one of their classic singles.



Coachella 2011's lineup is a bit weird for me. There are not many headliners I want to see, but there are many smaller acts I am really interested in. As a guilty pleasure, I would love to see the Chinese band New Pants. They look gloriously silly.



Mogwai's brilliant new album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, has almost too many good singles on it. "Rano Pano" is one of the best, and here is the odd video that accompanies it.


ATIBA EVANS Panasonic GH2 Skate from skatefairy on Vimeo.

New single from the upcoming album from Panda Bear.



Awesome cover of the Willow Smith track.



From jj's mixtape Kills, a really great song with an excellent use of "Still D.R.E," as a sample.