The hottest music from Chicago & beyond

Month: November 2014

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 11-25-14

We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Andy Stott, Beyonce, Bjork, Eminem, The New Basement Tapes, REM, Snowday, Soundgarden and The Velvet Underground. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Bernaccia, Chance the Rapper & The Social Experiment, King Tuff, Valise, Warning Light and YOU. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Bent Denim (covering Angel Olsen), Lip Talk, Little Boots, Outasight, Wedding Dress (covering Wild Beasts) and Young Ejecta.

Apes & Seb Wildblood – Brooklyn

Bernaccia – Darkness Walks

Chance the Rapper & The Social Experiment – No Better Blues

Hidden in the Spring – Salt and the Spring

King Tuff – Danger in the Dark

The Legendary House Cats – This Time

Natalie McCool – Wind Blows Harder (THUMPERS Rework)

Toshes – Other People

Valise – Don’t Forget Me

Warning Light – Phono Stations

White Royal – Be Terrestrial (Bewilderbeast Deconstruction)

YOU – 100 Lanterns

Pick Your Poison: Monday 11-24-14

It’s the start of a holiday week here at Faronheit, as Thanksgiving looms dead ahead. I’m excited about it, and if you’re in the US (or elsewhere I suppose) I hope that you are too. Unfortunately things are very busy for me at the moment and I don’t have time for a proper intro to this edition of Pick Your Poison. The good news is that I’ve started work on the annual Listmas posts, which will officially begin on December 8th. In the meantime, please enjoy the songs below. There’s some quality tracks in this set from The Bulletproof Bomb, Concord America, Felix Champion, Luka and Ruane Maurice. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Hannah Diamond, Little Boots, Ricardo Donoso, Soda Fabric, Tink and Will Butler.

Anna Lunoe & wordlife – Midnight

The Blancos – Lemon Garden

The Bulletproof Bomb – Five Green Bottles

Cats of Transnistria – Good Night

C Duncan – For

Concord America – Put Your Money Down

Felix Champion – Snow Graves

Fins A Luminous – Hail Faces

Luka – LOSS (ft. Bad America)

Roxy Roca – Without You

Ruane Maurice – Stripped

Vök – Tension (Nuages Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 11-20-14

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Stream two new Beyonce songs, “7/11” and “Ring Off”

Watch Jeff Tweedy, Win Butler, Emmylou Harris and many others perform The Band’s “The Weight” at a Mavis Staples tribute concert

Music Video: Iceage – Against the Moon

RIP Motown singer Jimmy Ruffin

Music Video: Run the Jewels – Blockbuster Night Part 1

Bono was in a nasty cycling accident. Here are details on his injuries

Music Video: She & Him – Stay Awhile

YouTube Audio Stream: Charli XCX – Gold Coins

Music Video: Viet Cong – Continental Shelf

Music Video: Belle & Sebastian – The Party Line

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss songs from Chromatics, Le Rug, Night Panther, NOME and Snowday. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from A-Symmetry, Celine Neon, Gobby, The Neighbourhood, Savage Sister and Telekinesis, among others.

Chromatics – White Light

Le Rug – Dipshit

Le Twan – Babooshka (ft. Vyuga)

Luke De-Sciscio – Patterns of Revolution (Demo)

The Mascot Theory – My Eyes See

Monster Rally & Jay Stone – Recollection

Night Panther – Desire

NÖME – Eagle

Say Say – Like An Animal

Slow Dancing Society – Stone

Snowday – Walk Along These Rocks With Me

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 11-19-14

Earlier this evening I had a unique concert experience that I wanted to share with you for just a quick minute. While this website is largely devoted to a lot of the best that new music has to offer, it’s extremely important to fully understand that such things wouldn’t even exist without everything that’s come before. Pay attention to and respect the old so you can best interpret and enjoy the new. For example, The Beatles have and will continue to influence bands for the foreseeable future. I never turn down the chance to listen to something widely regarded as classic, because it presents an opportunity to learn and even in some respects continue to discover new music no matter how old it might actually be. Which brings me to Mavis Staples. As a lifelong Chicagoan who loves and is passionate about music, you can’t reasonably ignore Staples and the Staples Singers, who helped popularize gospel, soul and R&B music in the 50s, 60s and beyond. They broke and bent most labels applied to them, and though the family band is no more, Mavis soldiers on and even experienced a bit of a career revival these last few years with a couple of albums produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Tweedy was just one of the 20 or so special guests from the world of music who all showed up at the Auditorium Theatre earlier tonight for a big 75th birthday celebration for Mavis. The roster was one superstar after another, from the past up until present day. For every Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville and Bonnie Raitt there was a Glen Hansard, Grace Potter or Win Butler & Regine Chassagne from Arcade Fire. While things certainly skewed towards the older crowd, and there weren’t a whole lot of people under 40 who attended (besides myself of course), the night was filled with great moments worthy of noting. While many of the guests such as Emmylou Harris, Gregg Allman and Michael McDonald sang or performed classic Staples songs, some artists chose to play some traditionals or cover others who cite Staples and The Staples Singers as influences. Widespread Panic covered the Stephen Stills classic “For What It’s Worth,” which got the crowd excited and up on their feet. Patty Griffin, Ryan Bingham, Grace Potter and Emmylou Harris collaborated on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” that was positively transcendent. And Win and Regine from Arcade Fire brought the funk by performing the Talking Heads cut “Slippery People” with Staples herself, and it was a song that David Byrne actually wrote with the Staples Singers in mind. For the encore, all of the guests came out together and did a rousing version of The Band’s “The Weight,” which the Staples Singers actually performed in the concert film The Last Waltz. Was it wonderful? You bet it was. I’m not a fan of all the artists and friends of Mavis who came out and played, but at the very least I walked away with a greater respect for some of them. It was all in service to one woman and her amazing catalog, which is just a really nice thing to do. There will be a DVD coming out at some point in the next year or two with the full concert on it, and I encourage you to keep an eye out for it, as it’s just the sort of thing that will increase your musical education. Also helpful is today’s Pick Your Poison, which features some good downloads from The Black Ryder, Colleen Green, Party of One and Royale, among others. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Alasdair Roberts, American Wrestlers, Cheatahs, Disclosure, Flying Lotus, A Place to Bury Strangers and Wu-Tang Clan.

ARMANI – $laves

Arthur Caves – Asylum

The Black Ryder – Santaria

Colleen Green – Pay Attention

Colostrum – Heart of Gold

Long Faces – Leave It There

The Maytags – Anthem

Party of One – Watch While the Heads Roll

Royale – Close to the Vest

Timbah – Return of the Samurai

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 11-18-14

We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Ariel Pink, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, Drive-By Truckers, Fugazi, Manchester Orchestra, Mr. Oizo, R.F.C., Robert Wyatt, TV On the Radio and Wilco. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Anabot, Chromatics, Contra, Kitty, Nite Fields and Pale. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Last Lizard, Marissa Nadler (covering Elliott Smith), Mourn, Noveller, Perfume Genius, Sleigh Bells (ft. Tink) and A Sunny Day in Glasgow.

Anabot – Come Home With Me

Ayler Young – Caught Up

Chromatics – Shadow (8 Track Version)
Chromatics – Red Car

Contra – 1992

Fickle Friends – For You (Ghost Beach Remix)

Gene Clark – I Saw A Dream Come True

Hanni El Khatib ft. GZA – Moonlight (Remix)

Kitty – Second Life

Lorde – Yellow Flicker Beat (Antennae Rework)

Nite Fields – You I Never Knew

Pale – Silence

Sporting Life – Tsunami

Pick Your Poison: Monday 11-17-14

The success of a band like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. bewilders me a little bit, but it’s probably not for the reason you might think. Don’t get me wrong, they’re deserving of the fan base they have, I’m more wondering how the do got to where they’re at with what I’ve perceived to be a lack of support from the general music world. I haven’t seen [some but not] a lot of articles about the band, heard them on the radio, nor have I read a lot of extremely positive reviews of their albums (though pretty much every one sort of leans that way). They’re signed to Warner Bros. Records, which is a major label and I suppose that has something to do with it, yet once again I can’t recall seeing a big promotional push for the band at any point in time. So how have they reached the point where they’re headlining a show at a mid-sized Chicago venue like Metro this Friday, and not for the first time either, when many factors seem to indicate they should be somewhere a little bit smaller? My theory is that they’re a self-made band. That they’ve achieved this level of success on their own terms and through a solid, passionate fan base that continues to grow despite any perceptions that support may be lacking. More accurately, they’re a really fun band who makes really fun records and puts on really fun live shows. You know how sometimes you’ll show up at a venue early and catch an opening act you’ve never heard before only to be completely blown away by them? Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are that kind of band, only of course they’re not opening for anyone anymore. They’ve had some key opening slots and festival gigs, and built an audience through sheer word of mouth. Those are the best sorts of bands in my opinion, because they’ve worked exceptionally hard and gone through that endless cycle of recording and touring and recording and touring and it’s finally paid off. They’re currently on their final tour in support of their 2013 record The Speed of Things, and as soon as that wraps up, they’ll be back in the studio to finish their third album. Like I said, they don’t stop. In order to prep everyone for the fall season and possibly give some hints about their forthcoming album, the band released a new single “James Dean” last month. While it is noticeably calmer and more majestic than their previous single “Run,” it’s still done in their signature blend of synth pop and guitar rock that tugs on both your ears and your heart. I’m sure it’ll also make for a solid live show staple, as if you didn’t know already, they put on one hell of a performance. So if you’re in Chicago and can make it out to Metro this Friday night, the 18+ show starts at 9PM. Tickets are $16 in advance and can be purchased here. It should be a great way to spice up your Friday after what’s been an exceptionally chilly week! Now then, let’s get to this Monday edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some great tracks in this set from Awwz, City of Glas, The Delay in the Universal Loop, Jungle Doctors and The March Divide. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from A$AP Ferg, Jonny Telafone, Kero Kero Bonito, Los Campesinos!, Mamiffer, New Navy and Young Rapids.

Aaron Mark Brown – You Let the World Grow Cold

Awwz – Gals

City of Glass – Geographers

[crack] – Dread U

Dara Sisterhen – Sets Me Free

The Delay in the Universal Loop – Your World Breathes Into Me

Eboi ft. Little Jinder – As I’m Falling

Geoff Ong – September

Jungle Doctors – Can You See It

The March Divide – Given Out

Monogem – Simple Things (Miguel cover)

Slow Magic – Waited 4 U (ODESZA Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 11-13-14

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

YouTube Audio Stream: Screaming Females – Ripe

Music Video: Clark – Winter Linn

Watch the trailer for Song One, which includes new music from Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice

Music Video: David Bowie – Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)

Watch Zola Jesus perform “Go (Blank Sea)” live at Webster Hall in New York

Music Video: Azealia Banks – Chasing Time

YouTube is launching a paid subscription music streaming service

Music Video: Deerhoof – Exit Only

Watch Future Islands’ guest appearance on “Comedy Bang! Bang!”

Watch an actual meteor fly past while Modest Mouse performs “Dark Center of the Universe”

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss songs from Anwar Sadat, The Bandicoots, Bruiser Queen, Grand Vapids, Phantoms and Swanky Tiger. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Ex-Cult, George Maple, The Prettiots, TALA, Until the Ribbon Breaks (ft. Run the Jewels), Wonderful Humans (covering…Taylor Swift?!) and Years & Years.

Anwar Sadat – Rotted Out

ASTR – Blue Hawaii (Brenmar Remix)

The Bandicoots – Just After Dark

Brian Lopez – Be My Baby (The Ronettes cover)

Bruiser Queen – On the Radio

Grand Vapids – Tuned

Induce x Dilla – Cookies

I, Us, & We – Sunday

The Mighty Stef – Stella

Phantoms – Broken Halo (ft. Nicholas Braun)

Swanky Tiger – Half Light

VÉRITÉ – Weekend (Penguin Prison Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 11-12-14

The mid-week edition of Pick Your Poison is a pretty solid one. You’re not going to want to miss downloads from Bay Uno, Corsica Arts Club, Matthew Squires & The Learning Disorders, Red Traces and Siskiyou. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from A$AP Ferg, Azealia Banks, Gang of Four (ft. Alison Mosshart), In Tall Buildings, Into It. Over It. and Ty Segall Band, among others.

Avid Dancer – All the Other Girls

Bay Uno – River

Corsica Arts Club – Untamed

C. Scott and the Beltones – Janey Baby

Lilly Wolf – Burn With You (Justified Noise Remix)

Matthew Squires & The Learning Disorders – Echo

Night Drive – Young Rivals (Off Da Clock Remix)

Red Traces – Phantom

ScotDrakula – Stupid Everything

Siskiyou – Deserter

Sluggers – Horizon

Stoop Kids – 17:35

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 11-11-14

We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: 2:54, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Antony and the Johnsons, Big K.R.I.T., cult of Youth, Damien Rice, Dirty Beaches, Dream Police, Foo Fighters, Hookworms, Marianne Faithfull, Moonlight Towers, The New Basement Tapes, Parkay Quarts, Pink Floyd and Royksopp. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Chromatics, Her Habits, Mont Oliver, Red Red Meat, Rome Fortune and YACHT. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Butch Walker, Charlie Belle, Christopher Owens, The Do, New Hands, School ’94 and Tourist.

Chromatics – Blue Moon
Chromatics – I Can’t Keep Running

Ephemerals – You Made Us Change (AOTOA Remix)

Fuck Art, Let’s Dance! – Juvenile Ghost

The Garden – This Could Build Us A Home

Her Habits – Slip Away

Mont Oliver – White Sheets

Onah Crane – Lonely

Red Red Meat – Tin Hands & Lazy Motors

Rome Fortune – Pure

Sugar Candy Mountain – Soak Up the City

Surfalot – My My Oh My

YACHT – Terminal Beach

Pick Your Poison: Monday 11-10-14

There’s some great tracks to start off the week in this edition of Pick Your Poison. Don’t miss cuts from Arc Rev One, Domo Genesis, Repeater, Snoh and (Z). In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from The Amazing, Big Ups, Keep Shelly in Athens, Monogold, Sick Rhodes and Vision Fortune, among others.

Arc Rev One – Orbit of the Event

Brenmar – We Rollin (ft. Lil Uzi Vert & Rome Fortune)

Domo Genesis – The Most Subtle Flex Ever

Keith Dope ft. JoeyG. – Zooted (R&B Remix)

Kid Scissor – The Ones That Don’t Care

London Grammar – Hey Now (Chillion Remix)

Max and the Electric – City Lover

Rahim Quazi – The Things We Do

Repeater – Captive

SEX BBQ – Powerlines Pt. 1

Snoh – Bad Things (Remix ft. Killer Mike)

Yaarrohs – Amber

(Z) – Hypersensitive

Pick Your Poison: Thursday 11-6-14

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

After two years of delays, Azealia Banks’ debut album is out now. Stream it on Spotify. [Buy it on iTunes]

Music Video: Hundred Waters – Out Alee

Listen to The Velvet Underground perform “I’m Waiting for the Man” live in San Francisco in 1969

YouTube Audio Stream: First Aid Kit – Walk Unafraid (R.E.M. cover)

Watch FKA twigs’ stunning performance of “Two Weeks” on Fallon

Music Video: Lorde – Yellow Flicker Beat

YouTube Audio Stream: Smashing Pumpkins – One and All

Music Video: Jose Gonzalez – Every Age

YouTube Audio Stream: CHVRCHES – Dead Air

Music Video: Owen Pallett – In Conflict

Once you’re done with that set of distractions, let me offer up another set via some song downloads and streams. Don’t miss songs from Captain Planet, Horsefight, Paperhaus, Semicircle and Springh. Ricky Eat Acid’s remix of that Yumi Zouma track is not to be missed either. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream cuts from Beacon, Cursive, The Dodos, Father John Misty, Hayley Coupon, Terrible Truths and more.

Adventure Club – Gold (Moyo Remix)

Bossy Love – Sweat It Out

Captain Planet – Cicada

Celebrine & Alien Delon – Cellar Door

Dan Bodan – Soft As Rain (MCFERRDOG Remix)

Horsefight – Derren Brown

Kastle & Amtrac – Hyperspace

Paperhaus – Untitled

P3CULIAR – Little Revolutions (ft. The Analog Times)

Semicircle – Mechanism of Erasure

Springh – My Head in Clouds

Yumi Zouma – Alena (Ricky Eat Acid Remix)

Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 11-5-14

My feelings toward Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala are somewhat mixed. On the one hand, they were essential members of At the Drive-In, who crafted some great records but tragically broke up right as they hit their peak with Relationship of Command back in 2000. In the 14 years since the split, those two continued to work together thanks to the formation of The Mars Volta, a band that came out of the gate running with the brilliant De-Loused in the Comatorium back in 2003. I actually consider that last ATDI record and that first Mars Volta record to both be essential pieces of music during my formative years, and continue to regard them with the utmost respect and love. Unfortunately things went a little downhill from there. The Mars Volta went further and further down the prog-rock rabbit hole, and while about half of their six studio albums were worthwhile, none quite retained the magic of their earliest days. There were flashes of brilliance, but you could say it was frustratingly inconsistent. Following the hiatus and subsequent break up of The Mars Volta in 2012, Rodriguez-Lopez moved back to El Paso and formed a new band called Bosnian Rainbows with some old friends, including Teri Gender-Bender from Le Butcherettes. They recorded and released a self-titled album last summer to solid and largely positive acclaim. But Omar and Cedric couldn’t stay away from each other for very long, which is why this past spring they announced the formation of Antemasque, a brand new band with some old familiar faces. In addition to Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala, Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch and Omar’s brother Manfred round out the quartet. As with the first Mars Volta record as well, Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) played bass on Antemasque’s self-titled debut album, which will be out on Tuesday. Of course you can stream the whole thing right now thanks to Noisey. Having listened to it all the way through a couple of times already, I can tell you that it’s certainly different than just about everything else they’ve done to date. Gone are the lengthy prog-rock and psychedelic experiments of The Mars Volta. And while the short, chorus-heavy songs that Antemasque are throwing out here have much more in common with At the Drive-In, the approach isn’t nearly the same both sonically and lyrically. Most notably, Cedric is no longer using $10 vocabulary words in abstract ways to get his point across. This is a very direct and to-the-point project. I’m not as impressed with it as I have been with the previous work that these two have done together, but have a strange feeling this record is going to grow on me over time. I hope you’ll at least give it a chance and see if it’s for you. Perhaps it will inspire you to check out the band’s live show, which is sure to be dynamic and interesting, particularly as Bixler-Zavala can’t seem to sit still on stage no matter what band he’s performing with. Antemasque will be coming to Chicago next Sunday, November 16th for a show at Metro with Le Butcherettes, and that’s something I strongly recommend you check out. At the very least you need to witness Le Butcherettes live, because they’ve totally blown me away every single time I’ve seen them. So come on out to the show. It’s 18+, starts at 8pm and tickets are $21. Should be a fun, if not highly interesting show. Now let me get to this mid-week edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some quality tracks in this set from Chromatics, IYES, J Tropic, Paperwhite and Sunbears!. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from American Wolf, Jessica Pratt, Lemuria, Little Boots, Tei Shi, Whirr and more.

2:54 – Blindfold (Ossie Remix)

Chromatics – At Your Door (8 Track Version)

Glass Gang – Open

IYES – Til Infinity

John Moose – Flower

J Tropic – Solid Gold

Jupe Jupe – Pieces of You (Head Like A Kite Remix)

Le Rug – Dudley

Osca – Blood (ft. The Night VI)

Paperwhite – Magic

StarBenders – Alter Boy

Sunbears! – He’s A Lie! He’s Not Real!

Pick Your Poison: Tuesday 11-4-14

We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Ani DiFranco, Arca, Baauer, Bob Dylan, Calvin Harris, Dean Blunt, Deerhoof, Deptford Goth, Gold Lake, Gruff Rhys, Inspiral Carpets, Korallreven, Les Sins, Neil Young, Ryan Hemsworth, Springtime Carnivore, Trophy Eyes and We are the Willows. If you’re so inspired please pick some of these records up via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Arum Rae (covering The Head & The Heart), Ballerino, Bonsai, Gramatik and Korean Drama. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream new songs from Cloakroom, The Coathangers (covering Gun Club), Empathy Test, Natalie Prass, Tenterhook, Young Ejecta and more.

Arum Rae – Cruel (The Head & The Heart cover)

Ballerino – My Neck is Too Long

Bay Umo – River

Black Whales – Tiny Prisms

Bonsai – I Like You Man

Dan London – Bob Fosse Dreams of Napoleon in Leather

Ezra x Dunlop – Not Enough ft. Tyson

Gramatik – Torture (ft. Eric Krasno)

Korean Drama – Nothing But A Bird (Flutter)

Memoryy – Eternal Sunshine (Grand Atrium Remix)

OOFJ – Snakehips Night Version

Too Many T’s – Running Wild (Featurecast Drum and Bass Remix)

TOTEM – Countdown

Pick Your Poison: Monday 11-3-14

It’s been a minute since I’ve given a full update on the Class of 2014 project, and I’m sure a lot has happened since the last time. Exactly what qualifies as a lot? Well let me attempt to break most, if not all of it down, and then you be the judge. Let’s start with FKA twigs, because she’s had a lot going for her in the last couple of months. Outside of her personal life where she’s dating Robert Pattinson (which has resulted in some controversy), she’s put out two videos recently. The first is called “#throughglass,” and it’s a 2 minute concept film shot entirely using Google Glass. twigs directed it herself, and it’s soundtracked by some remixed versions of her songs. Beyond that, she’s also put out a video for an actual single, the appropriately titled “Video Girl.” The plot to that one essentially involves dancing on top of a prisoner about to get a lethal injection, so that’s fun. Thirdly, I do want to mention that FKA twigs will also be performing on The Tonight Show on Tuesday. It’ll be her US television debut, so don’t miss it! Next up is GEMS. There hasn’t been a whole lot of news from their camp recently, though they continue to tour relentlessly and are likely recording their debut full length whenever they’re not on the road. Technically speaking they’re still supporting the Medusa EP, which came out almost a year ago. In conjunction with that, the band did release a brand new video for the song “Sinking Stone,” so check that out. Over in Saint Pepsi’s camp, controversy! Well, in the sense where I guess he’s finally received some sort of cease and desist order from the brand that bears half of his name, meaning he might have to change to something else very soon. Details have been very vague on this, really just amounting to a Twitter name change and some associated tweets suggesting that he may no longer be allowed to keep the Saint Pepsi name. But on the plus side, he’s signed to Carpark Records, released a great single “Fiona Coyne” with the b-side “Fall Harder,” with a new full length to come in 2015. He’s also been working on some new singles, one of which is a collaboration with Maxo called “Celebrate Me” that has some association with Sour Patch Kids. He’ll also be releasing two new songs as part of Polyvinyl Records’ 4-track singles series, where they send an artist a 4-track cassette recorder and ask them to put two new songs to tape. No word yet on what those new songs will be, but if you want to subscribe and get a fresh 7″ record in your mailbox once a month for a full year, go here to learn more. As far as Royal Blood goes, since my last update they’ve released their debut album, played at Lollapalooza and a bunch of other festivals, and have basically become pretty popular with the alternative rock sector. They’ll be returning to Chicago at the start of December to play a special holiday show at House of Blues with Rise Against that’s already sold out. At the start of last month, they released a video for their song “Ten Tonne Skeleton,” so check that out if you’re at all interested. They also played their single “Figure It Out” on Late Night with Seth Meyers a couple of weeks back, so that’s cool too. What else can I tell you about? Banks released her debut album Goddess since my last update. It is delightful and you should pick up a copy if you haven’t already. A lot of people have started to catch on to her in the last couple of months, and her sold out show at Metro in Chicago had some of the loudest and most obsessive fans I’ve encountered in awhile. But as far as the breakout star of 2014 goes, Sam Smith is quickly gaining accolades and earning respect from fellow musicians, fans and celebrities alike. To put his meteoric rise to fame in perspective, in one year he’s gone from playing 300 capacity venues to 7,000 capacity venues. Not only that, but he’s headlining the annual holiday shows for some big Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio stations, which I guess says a lot too. If you ask me he’s become the male version of Adele, so that’s understandably great. There’s other stuff going on with the remaining Class of 2014 artists, but honestly this has gotten so long I don’t want to keep going. So I’ll share more in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, please enjoy this week starting edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some great tracks in this set from Cariad Harmon, Dave McPherson, Glyphs, Life Leone and My Pleasure. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from The 1975, Communions, Elephant Micah, SQURL, TALA and others.

Cariad Harmon – Every Time

Dave McPherson – Memories Become Enemies

Faux Effet – Gedn

Figgy – You Were Mine (Daniel. T. Remix)

George Ezra – Budapest (Creange Remix)

Glyphs – Out to Sea

Kentish Fire – In Our Band

Larry g(EE) – Take You Home Tonight

Life Leone – I Can’t Say No

Lutonomy – Neon Lightswitch

Mattson 2 – Dif Juz

My Pleasure – Living With You

Una Lux – Black Carbon

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