BEAST : BEAST (2008)

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genre: hip-hop/trip-hop, electronic

at some point, i downloaded the song "devil" by beasts and then proceeded to never actually listen to it. today it came up on my shuffle and i was floored. i immediately looked up the rest of the album and was similarly impressed. combining elements of dark cabaret, trip-hop, and funk, Beast melds both the electronic and the acoustic to create a unique musical experience that is equal parts Grace Jones and Anticon darling, topping the entire affair with alluring French-Canadian accents.

CLOUD NOTHINGS : TURNING ON (2010)

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genre: lo-fi, noise pop

Don't be fooled by the minimalist album art, there is a lot of mysterious hot fuzz going on in this album. I could (and have) listen(ed) to Hey Cool Kid all the livelong day. What are the lyrics??? What are they SAY-ing?? No one knows! But it sounds super rad, so who really cares anyway.

RAINDEER : EP (2010)

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genre: lo-fi, prog-pop, post-chill

I have to admit I was unsure about these guys pending my first listen. The playfully misspelled name, the bedroom-recording vibe, the boy/girl duo tag... it seemed a little much. Fortunately, I got over myself and gave it a chance, and it's really grown on me. They're quirky, they're a tiny bit sugary, they're like/loveable. I dig after all.

PET MILK : DEMO (2010)

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genre: noise-pop, shoegaze

Pet Milk features members of a few beloved Philly acts, namely Pink Coffins, Brown Recluse, and Paint it Black. Beyond the fantastically hazy first track (my personal favorite), the rest of the demo puts me strongly in mind of the early K records lineup. This is the first decent demo I've heard in a minute.

SPARKLEHORSE TRIBUTE ALBUM

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omigawd omigawd

high five france, you have made an awesome cover album.

in fact, this may be the first and/or only time i've ever liked a cover album.

shame on me for not getting this to you sooner.

track listing:

sunshine by band of ghost //
heart of darkness by recorded home //
weird sisters by david fakenahm //
piano fire by mechanism for people //
sick of goodbyes by laudanum //
sea of teeth by centenaire //
dog door by tycho brahé & polder //
eye pennies by jullian angel //
hammering the cramps by sunday sunday //
more yellow birds by tis// sea of teeth by pumuckl//
gold day by b r oad way //
it's a wonderfull life by hopen // all night home by pokett //
almost lost my mind by montgomery //
king of nails by cyrod //
saturday by angil //
someday i will treat you good by we only said //
homecoming queen by fi_cel (featuring elfya) //
artwork by sebba//

FIDEL CATASTROPHE : AND THE BLEAK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH (2010)

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genre: experimental, pop, hip-hop

Fidel Catastrophe is headed by the Original bassist of the Pomegranates (they're on their 3rd bassist right now), who is clearly a force to be reckoned with. They've been giving away songs on Band Camp, a website for unsigned bands I'm growing more and more enamored of, though I'm surprised that anticon didn't swipe these guys first. They put me in mind of a poppy, concise version of Thee More Shallows combined with a less nasally and less rap-prone Yoni Wolf.

They also only have 3 songs available for download right now, and I've had them on repeat all day. I'm in band-love, guys. Deep, deep band-love. As far as I can tell, they're pressing vinyl right now, so there aren't any tracks on what.cd or waffles.fm. I want an album! The suspense is killing me!

FELIX AND VOLCANO! : GROW RICH EP (2010)

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genre: shimmy&shake

...i mean just look at that album art. you're already falling in love.

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edit: fixed the link