SBTRKT ft. Leilah - "No Intention"

London producer SBTRKT released his first album in seven years today called The Rat Race. "No Intention" is a collaboration with London singer Leilah who lends her heartfelt vocals to the track which features crisp drum programming and downtempo synths.

Jam of the Day: Roses Gabor - "Turkish Delight"

From her debut record Fantasy & Facts, UK singer Roses Gabor, best known for her work with Gorillaz and SBTRKT, throws down this infectious house track.

New: SBTRKT ft. Raury - "Higher"

New track from SBTRKT's upcoming second record Wonder Where We Land featuring rap-vocals from upcoming Atlanta artist Raury.

Jam of the Day: SBTRKT ft. Warpaint - "War Drums"

Intriguing collaboration between SBTRKT and Warpaint.

New: SBTRKT ft. Ezra Koenig - "New Dorp, New York"

First listen from SBTRKT's upcoming second record Wonder Where We Land, a very off-kilter, clanging number featuring vocals from Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig.

Non-Sequiturs

Sweet Baby Jebus.

Nice view.

Beefy bear.

Lovely fur.

Yummy.

Grrrr.

Woof.

Love the gray chest fur.

Bear belly.

Damn handsome.

Ditto.

Ditto ditto.  And drool.

I'd watch sports just for him.

Leather daddy.

Damn.

Sexy eyes.

I'd jump on that.

Sexy.

UNF.

Seriously hot daddy.

Amazing.

What is the point of traveling thousands of mile to another city and/or country, only to talk to the same ten people you always see and talk to?

We are in the midst of looking for properties to rent for Bear Week in Provincetown next year. It amazes me how some of these people nickel and dime you to death and, in some cases, perform outright highway robbery. One place required a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $1,500, plus an additional $500 cleaning fee. Bitch, please.

Oddest tattoo I have seen in awhile, a man with "Pellegrino" tattooed across the top of his back.

Just stop trying so hard.

Beautiful.

I don't particularly care for people who make blanket comments/judgments about the entire gay population of a city.

I find it funny when people don't see Andrew and I together somewhere and get all concerned. We don't have to be attached at the hip everywhere we go.

I receive a lot of emails with new music, and though it is difficult to listen to everything, I do try because there are so many things that I might not ever find out about unless I hit that play button.

Working with native documents without the benefit of a discovery platform is truly taxing.

I came in like a wrecking ball.

I saw Jessie Ware at The Loft here in Atlanta this week. She is so cute and charming, and her voice was flawless. The Loft, however, needs to smack down their audio guys. Her vocals were too low in the mix for most of the show. Thankfully she can project, but sometimes her voice was completely overwhelmed by the music. It doesn't help that The Loft has shitty acoustics.

Speaking of concerts, it still amazes me how many people talk throughout an entire show. I can understand chit chatting occasionally, and even during song breaks, but the entire show? Go to a damn bar or restaurant and talk and don't annoy people who paid good money to see an artist.

Although it has been years since I have had one, I love me a maple frosted donut from Dunkin Donuts.

Does anyone truly use LinkedIn?

Hee hee.

Wednesday was a very New Order Substance kind of day. I love the very short synth outro on "Everything's Gone Green." And I always think of the scene in Pretty In Pink when Andie is making her prom dress when "Thieves Like Us" comes on.  "Perfect Kiss" is perhaps the perfect New Order song. As far as compilations go, this one is pretty much perfect. Not a bad track on it.

I get really tired of being the one making all the effort.

I am fairly indifferent to Halloween.

Is every pop/country/R&B star contractually obligated to put out a Christmas album every year?

In the US, portion sizes of food are astronomically large at most restaurants. And people wonder why they can't lose weight. Most of the time it has nothing to do with what you are eating, but how much of it you are eating.

At my current firm we have multiple offices around the country and I have rarely even worked with anyone in my own office. Now I have a project with an associate who is two doors down from me, and it is an odd feeling actually having someone I am working for that close.

Amazing how reciprocation works, and how many people don't understand that.

If you have some inane hatred for cats, we are not going to be good friends.

I wish people would realize that Dailycurrent, Christwire, and their ilk are satirical websites like The Onion.

There is nothing wrong about doing what you want to do/like to do, but when it gets to the point in a friendship where it always has to be your way, with no compromise, you are just being a douche.

Your cute of the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"You left my heart out
When the rest of me is down
You, you enchanted me, even when you are not around
If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down
I’m latching on they
Now I know what I have found

I feel you close enough
I wanna latch in your love
I think we’re close enough
Cuz I latch when you’re mine

Now I got you in my space
I won’t let go with you
What you shackle in my embrace
I’m latching on you

Now I got you in my space
I won’t let go with you
What you shackle in my embrace
I’m latching on you

I’m so encaptured, got wrapped up in your touch
Feel so enamored, hold me tighter then your clutch
How do you do it, you got me losing every breath
Why did you give me to make my heart bleed out my chest

I feel you close enough
I wanna latch in your love
I think we’re close enough
Could I latch in your love, baby."

Disclosure
"Latch"

"Walking alone I'm in the red lines
Trying to find, find the right time
Trying to find, find the right time

Walking alone I'm in the red lines
Trying to find, find the right time
Walking alone I'm on the wrong side
Try'na find, find the right times

Let me eat all these lies up
Let me hide, let me hide them
Let me hide, let me hide them

Walking alone with my eyes shut
On my own won't be giving up
Walking alone won't mean I'll come for you
Time runs when there's no truth
Such a hurricane, such a hurtin' pain
Trapped in my soul and I can't explain
Trapped in my soul and I can't explain

Let me eat all these lies up
Let me hide, let me hide them
Let me hide, let me hide them."

SBTRKT
"Right Thing To Do"

"I stood there beside myself
Thinking hard about the weather
Then came by a friend of mine
Suggested we go out together
Then I knew it from the start
This friend of mine would fall apart
Pretending not to see his gun
I said let's go out and have some fun

I know you know
We believe in a land of love
I know you know
We believe in a land of love

I have always thought about
Staying here and going out
Tonight I should have stayed at home
Playing with my pleasure zone
He has always been so strange
I'd often thought he was deranged
Pretending not to see his gun
I said let's go out and have some fun

I know you know
We believe in a land of love
I know you know
We believe in a land of love."

New Order
"The Perfect Kiss"

"Hide the sun
I will leave your face out of my mind
You should save your eyes
A thousand voices howling in my head

Speak in tongues
I don’t even recognize your face
Mirror on the wall
Tell me all the ways to stay away

Ey ey ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah
And stay
Away ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah

Dig a hole
Fireworks exploding in my hands
If I could paint the sky
All the stars would shine in bloody red

Stay
Ey ey ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah
And stay
Ey ey ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah

And stay (I'm hearing voices all the time up in my mind)
Away ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah (I'm hearing voices and they're hunting my mind)
And stay (I'm hearing voices all the time up in my mind)
Away ey ah
Away ey ah
Away ey ah (I'm hearing voices and they're hunting my mind)

Black out days
I don’t recognize you anymore."

Phantogram
"Black Out Days"

Appealing Things

Samuel Colt...droooool
Dairy Queen blizzards
Tacos at TAP
Tim Hecker
Orange Is The New Black
Finally getting some work

Annoying Things

Smelling bananas all day once I have thrown the skin in the trash
The weather getting immediately cold rather than a slow transition
Our silly cats that won't get along
Off the rack shirts that have two arm lengths
People who confuse love and sex

New: SBTRKT - "IMO"

New song from SBTRKT that he shared on his Twitter page. It is not expected to be on his upcoming release, but is a song he just wanted to share.

Album Review: Jessie Ware - Devotion

Jessie Ware
Devotion
Rating: Woof Daddy

Jessie Ware's back story reads like a 50's musical, backup singer plucked out of obscurity on the strength of her voice and pushed into the spotlight. What's different about Ware is how she has taken all of this in stride, seeing it all as a lark, that she is somehow playing a role, and none of this should be taken all that seriously. While her self-deprecating view of being a pop star keeps her grounded, there is nothing in her music that shows her not taking her craft seriously. Devotion is one of the best debut releases in ages, and is quite simply the best pop album of the year so far.

Ware was noticed first singing on several EDM and UK bass singles from producers SBTRKT, Sampha, and Joker, her earthy voice the calm center around all the swirling electronics. It was fear at first that her solo material would stay too close to this type of track and that her voice would be lost within too much production overload. Instead, Ware chose to work with producers Dave Okumu (of UK art-rockers The Invisible), Julio Bashmore, and Kid Harpoon (who worked with Florence and the Machine on their sophomore album Ceremonials) and has put together a collection of tracks that put all the focus on Ware's amazingly supple voice, which can veer sharply from a Sade-like coo to a full on Whitney Houston rafter raiser in a split second. Main producer Okumu's touch is felt the most on the album, providing a subtle, and minimal backing but not providing merely aural wallpaper; the music works with Ware rather than overpowering.

Leading off with the title track, "Devotion" eases into the record, Ware's voice almost a hushed whisper as atmospheric guitars and keyboards guide and push her along, providing a modern update to Sade's elegant R&B sound.



Of course, Ware is not going to be satisfied just gliding along each song. New single and album standout "Wildest Moments" perfectly encapsulates her wonderful voice in all its facets. Under booming drums and stark piano chords, Ware bites her teeth into a meaty melody, singing about a doomed relationship where "maybe in our wildest moments/we could be the worst of all":



From there, Devotion provides a diverse and varied set of tracks that run from pop ballads, R&B funk workouts, and more atmospheric pop singles. In all, Ware's voice provides the guiding force. There is not one track on here that is a throwaway or inferior to the next; it all works seamlessly together. Highlights for me are the Soul II Soul referencing "No To Love," early single "110%" which puts Ware's voice against skittering beats and UK bass backing,



and gorgeous album closer "Something Inside," where Ware's voice, hushed and lovely at the beginning, drops out just before the chorus, rising into the heavens.

There is something for just about everyone on this record, from beautiful pop tracks like "Running" which picks up the beats a little more, and lets Ware explore her wide range,



to mid-section album duo "Night Light" and "Swan Song," two mid-tempo numbers that again showcase Ware's elastic voice,



to sweet pop numbers like the jazzy "Sweet Talk," finding Ware in a kittenish mood.



Devotion is a brilliant debut that really gives a true sense of who Ware is as an artist. She doesn't take herself seriously, but she takes her music very seriously. She could easily have let her producers take control of her sound and direction, and also could have just released 10 electronic tracks with her vocals on them, but instead, she worked closely with her producers to come up with something that was truer to herself. Devotion is a must have record.

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.

New: SBTRKT - "Gloss"

New track from SBTRKT.

Album Review: Lorn - Ask the Dust

Lorn
Ask The Dust
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Milwaukee’s Lorn, aka Marcos Ortega, was an anomaly somewhat on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. His debut album Nothing Else really sounded nothing like the rest of the fractured, beat morphing denizens of the Fly Lo school, choosing more direct beats and a slightly more industrial/electro tone to his dense instrumentals. Switching to the more hip hop/breakbeat UK imprint Ninja Tune, Lorn's second album Ask The Dust is a set of dense electronic tracks taking inspiration from John Fante's cult novel of the same name. What that inspiration is supposed to be is a bit of a mystery; Fante's novel about a Depression-era Los Angeles love triangle that ends, rather depressingly, in despair in the middle of the desert, while Lorn's album doesn't necessarily evoke those images and incidents. There is a studied, emotional sort of claustrophobia to these tracks that perhaps provides the links, however, knowing the background to the influences is not particularly necessary to enjoying Ask The Dust. When it comes down to it, what is most important is whether the tracks are any good.

Falling somewhere in-between the ghostly ennui of Burial, the lush soundscapes of Clams Casino, and the glitchy post-dubstep of Mount Kimbie, James Blake, and SBTRKT, Ask The Dust is not an easy record to get one's bearings with at first. Initially, I was disappointed that it lacked the stylistic diversity and, well, hooks of Nothing Else. Nowhere was a track as hauntingly melancholic as "Cherry Moon" or as menacingly thumping as "Automaton?" But where Nothing Else failed for me was that sometimes too many ideas were thrown into the mix, and it came off more of a collection of various singles than a cohesive effort. Ask The Dust feels more like a collection of related tracks, blending themes, textures, and melodies throughout into a heady mix of dark, dense electronica.

Things launch to the thunderous beats of "Mercy,"



which leads into first single "Ghosst," a heavy slab of grinding basslines and droning synths.



Like "Ghosst" the best tracks on Ask The Dust are the more structured ones with a more solid melody and mood. A slow, methodical beat underscored by rumbling vocals and air raid siren synths highlights "Diamond," "Chhurch" uses stop start synths and clomping percussion while sneaking in a lonely flute synth melody, and "Weigh Me Down" highlights a jittery, nervous set of drum programming that rubs up against a paranoid, manipulated vocal. The remainder of Ask The Dust goes back and forth between atmospheric, interstitial instrumentals ("This" and "Everything Is Violence"), and more beat heavy compositions ("The Gun" and "Dead Dogs"), giving the album a nice, steady pace and flow, but which also sort of makes the album seem a little less diverse.

There are really no bad tracks here at all, but at the same token, nothing really jumps out as a "single," or that one track you have to hear over and over again. Despite its lofty ambitions, Ask The Dust ultimately is just a solid electronic record that unfortunately needs a little more oomph for it to stand out in this incredible year for electronic records.

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.

Jam of the Day: SBTRKT - "Gamalena"

New track from SBTRKT that works a more minimal, basscentric angle than his usual stuff. I kind of like that.

Video: SBTRKT - "Hold On"

SBTRKT
Get More:
SBTRKT, MTV Hive

Strange, suspenseful video for the SBTRKT song "Hold On."

SBTRKT - New Single "Surely"

New single from SBTRKT. An instrumental track that has a nice organic feel to it.

Coachella 2012 Countdown: 79 Days!: SBTRKT - "Right Thing To Do"

This was one of my top singles of last year. The bass line is perfection.

Videos of the Week

Short work week is almost over with and onward with another lovely weekend. Here are the videos this week that got me up and attem:

Hooray For Earth "Black Trees" (Feat. Zambri) Live @ RAD Studio from stereogum on Vimeo.

Live performance video of Hooray For Earth, doing the closing track from their latest album. I am thrilled to see them in Atlanta soon, opening for Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Get More: Diamond Rings, Music, More Music Videos

I love this catchy little track from Diamond Rings. And he always puts out fun videos for his singles. I can't wait to see him live tomorrow night opening for Twin Shadow.



Video from synth-poppers Miracle Fortress. Love how they shot the video to look like old home movies.

Youth Lagoon - Montana from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

Youth Lagoon, the bedroom-rock project of musician Trevor Powers, makes music that sounds far older than his 22 years. "Montana" is a epically building track that gets one of the best shot narrative videos I have seen in awhile. It fits the mood of the song so very well. I am really looking forward to his debut album.



While I think the debut album from SBTRKT has stronger parts than the whole, "Pharoahs" is a killer track, which now has a killer video.



Second video ever from Explosions From The Sky, and like the above video from Youth Lagoon, this is another sad, cathartic narrative, this one involving a furry red alien's search for acceptance.

Videos of the Week

Shitty week. Here are the videos that made it less shittastic:



I know it's heresy, but I've always preferred The Rolling Stones to The Beatles. Love this song. Slinky and funky.



Danish band When Saints Go Machine sound like the love child of Fever Ray and Antony Hegarty. Really love the new album Konkylie.



Love this minimal track from Diskjokke.



Hypnotic video for the latest single from Hercules and Love Affair.



Interesting commentary on the use of cigarettes in the media.

Teddybears (Feat. Cee Lo & The B-52s) - "Cho-Cha" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Very strange video from Teddybears.



SBTRKT brought Drake up on stage to perform "Wildfire."

Videos of the Week

Once again it is Friday, thankfully. Start to the long 4th of July weekend here in the States. Here are the videos that I was tuned into this week:



New song from Drake's upcoming album. Definitely seems like he is really adopting the sound of The Weeknd; making very minimal, ice-cold R&B.



I am not a huge fan of the SBTRKT album, but there are a couple of killer tracks on it, this being one of them.



I have very high expectations for the debut album from Alex Clare. I just wish the damn thing would come out already. Here is the latest video from him. Not my favorite song of his so far, but it is still likable enough; and of course, he is such a cute ginger bear.



Footage of Radiohead at Glastonbury performing one of my favorite songs of theirs.



New video from Magnetic Man. Although they put on one of the worst shows I saw at Coachella, I still like them.

SBTRKT: SBTRKT

SBTRKT
SBTRKT
Rating: Meh

After spending the last couple of years being the go-to person for bizarre remixes (Radiohead, Goldie, Modeselektor, and Tinie Tempah, for example), SBTRKT (a.k.a., Aaron Jerome) finally releases his debut album. Not much is known about SBTRKT since he doesn't give interviews and hides behind an African tribal mask that is featured on the album cover. All that is really known is that he is a south London DJ, who works in a variety of electronic music genres. It is clear SBTRKT wants his anonymity to put the focus on his music and less on him personally. This can work to an artist's advantage when they have the music to back it up, like Burial or WU LYF, but in this case, the music, which is impeccably produced, doesn't have enough personality to carry it. After each spin of the record, I keep asking myself the question, "Who is SBTRKT?"

The album spans several genres, mostly sticking within the confines of garage or two-step, with some forays into dubstep and electro. He also utilizes several vocalists, including London R&B singer Sampha (who sounds like a more soulful James Blake), Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon, Roses Gabor, and Jessie Ware. The vocal tracks, which are by far the more successful of the tracks, do tend to also detract from who SBTRKT is, as there is no focal point. The most difficult thing about reviewing this record is that there is nothing to really hate about this record, it is very pleasant, and it is obvious SBTRKT knows his way around the studio, but also, there is nothing standing out making you want to hear the record over and over again. Honestly, the only track that I truly love is the Jessie Ware sung track "Right Thing To Do," with her sultry, low-key vocals riding counterpoint to the slinky bass heavy two-step beat.



The female vocalists definitely make their marks on their tracks, providing enough of their own personalities to stand out from the pack. Roses Gabor adds some sass and soul to her track "Pharoahs."



And Little Dragon singer Yukimi Nagano's luscious croon whips in and out of wobbly dubstep bass on "Wildfire."



But the majority of tracks are given over to Sampha, who has a gorgeous, velvety voice which, when it works well, adds a haunting, emotional depth to the tracks. "Hold On" especially stands out, his voice in such control at the beginning, and getting more and more frantic.



On "Trials of the Past," Sampha is equally effective at providing a human heart to the cold, dubstep-like electronics.



After a couple of tracks, however, it is evident that Sampha's delivery is basically the same on each track, and they get lost in the confines of the album. "Something Goes Right" loses his vocals completely in generic garage/2 step trappings.



"Never Never" again takes what would have stood out as a stand alone track with Sampha and becomes another very similar track that is practically indistinguishable from all the others.



Even more telling about the album is that the instrumental pieces have almost no personality whatsoever. "Heatwave" is all skittering beats and lazy, wonky synths, "Ready Set Loop" takes annoying to new heights with treble heavy synths and glitchy loops, and closing track "Go Bang" takes the album out not on a bang but with a whimper.

SBTRKT is a perfectly pleasant record that is actually quite enjoyable to listen to if you are not looking for something challenging or fresh. It is like eating vanilla ice cream all the time; it is always good, but you always feel something is lacking once you are done, and you look longingly at that cone of rocky road, wanting to experience some more complex tastes.

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 releases 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 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.