Top Tunes Thursday: Beirut — No No No

September 17, 2015

When I find a new artist (whether it be a new single, a new album, or by recommendation) if I can, I like to start at the beginning of their discography. If I’m really going to get a feel for the art being created, I think an important part of that is knowing where they started from. This holds particularly true for this week’s subject of TTT, Albuquerque bred pop outfit, Beirut. Though their name might betray their more worldly senses, there’s not much you can do to prepare yourself for the jangling gypsy chorus this is Beirut’s debut record, Gulag Orkestar. The record does enough to make you scratch your head, and becomes even more confounding when you find out it was recorded almost completely by Beirut frontman and founder, Zach Condon.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Travis $cott — Rodeo

September 10, 2015

When your first public appearance has you labeled as a protege of Kanye West, it’s safe to say you travel with heavy expectations on your shoulders. When Travi$ Scott was revealed as one of the top producer’s behind West’s blistering thrash-rap opus, Yeezus, the countdown to his solo album began. While his debut EP Owl Pharaoh failed to impress, his follow-up Days Before Rodeo did much to increase the appetites of Scott’s swelling fanbase. Now, two plus years after the source of his fame, Travi$ Scott has released his highly anticipated solo record, Rodeo. Without giving too much away, it lives up to the name.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats — Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

August 27, 2015

In the early summer of 2010, my best friend bought me tickets to see one of my favorite performers at the time, Tallest Man on Earth. In line, before the show, two men stepped out the front doors and both lit up smokes. One, short and petite, who I recognized to be Tallest Man, and the other, only slightly taller, with a bushy handlebar mustache and a round gut held in by denim, who my friend recognized as a performer who knew as Nathaniel Rateliff, the night’s opener. The show that followed that evening lived up to the praise my friend had given him. He sang in long, sad shouts. And when he did, he would kick and shake. He was a livewire jammed into the ears of his audience. While I have enjoyed his particular brand of rock-folk every year since, I have been waiting for the self titled debut from his new band for approaching five years now. Following a standing ovation on The Tonight Show and years of buzz (from people other than myself) the group has finally dropped the record, consequentially making every second of waiting worth it.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Teen Daze — Morning World

August 20, 2015

The morning can be rough for some people. Your bones are creaky, your vision foggy. You might be hungry, and you almost definitely have to pee. The whole thing just feels like a hassle. For most of my life, I was one of these people. I don’t know, maybe it comes with age or something, but now some of my earliest moments of the day end up being some of my favorite moments. The sun’s barely awake, and already, people all across the newly glowing portion of the country are getting up to start their day, just like you. That thought and a cup of coffee often gets my days started fairly well. This quiet meditation, and the feelings that surround it, are the thesis of the new Teen Daze record, Morning World. This is Teen Daze’s (who goes by the monomous “Jamison” in professional life) first full length release since 2012’s Glacier.

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Top Tunes Thursday: Quantic Presents The Western Transient — A New Constellation

August 6, 2015

This week, Will “Quantic” Holland released the debut record for a new side project. Holland is a man of many projects, including The Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro, as well as numerous one on one collaborations. His latest is called Quantic Presents The Western Transient, and the record, A New Constellation. At seconds under the 3/4 hour mark, the record delivers ten locations for his dream jazz vacation, and is recorded with artists and performers handpicked by the maestro. From balmy Caribbean, to melodic 70’s, A New Constellation is a warm and snuggly love letter to jazz and soul music, with just enough “Quantic” thrown in.

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New Music Monday: Bilal — In Another Life

July 6, 2015

With In Another Life, Bilal releases a collection of tunes ripe for the season. The record kicks off with “Sirens II,” which paints the picture of the slow and unwitting seduction of our main character. With a bossy beat, and a bass line some of you might recognize from Jay-z’s “Picasso Baby,” it’s the perfect setting for the sensual jaunt that is to come.

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New Music Monday: Thundercat — The Beyond / Where Giants Roam

June 29, 2015

This week, Thundercat has released a new “mini-album” entitled The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam. Co-produced by long time collaborator Flying Lotus, TB/WtGR clocks in at a bite sized six tracks. If you’re thinking the diminutive packaging is telling of the content, think again. In an interview with Billboard, Bruner discussed how the high volume of collaborations he’s been involved with generated a creative catalyst within him: “it was kind of like a by-product of everything that would be happening.

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New Music Monday: Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment — Surf

June 8, 2015

If you were confused this week about reports of a new Chance The Rapper album, don’t worry, you weren’t the only one. And even if you and I are the only two who were, I’ve got the facts here: while Chicago born kid dynamo Chance The Rapper does have new content out, it is not his highly anticipated follow up to Acid Rap. The new album is credited to Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment. What is The Social Experiment? Beginning as Chance’s band on his “Social Experiment” tour, the four person group (Chance The Rapper, Donnie Trumpet, Peter Cottontale, and Nate Fox) are now some sort of songwriting/production/band amalgam, and have released their new album, Surf.

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