Friday, October 3, 2014

10 music albums you should be listening to right now


HAXEL PRINCESS - CHERRY GLAZERR
Cherry Glazerr's debut album, released via Burger Records, was love at first listen - youthful, playful, honest. This LA trio combines the best of indie rock with a pastel-hued teenage nostalgic vibe. Frontwoman Clementine Creevy, a cute blondie with a guitar and a pretty voice, introduces us to the girly yet punk groove with a garage approach, resulting into a blend of noise pop, lo-fi and West Coast at its catchiest sound. Essential tracks: Trick or Treat Dancefloor (my favourite) and Grilled Cheese (a quirky, sexy ballad about, you guessed it, grilled cheese).


2 - MAC DEMARCO
It was really hard for me to decide between this album and the refreshing Salad Days because this one is just as good... But let's talk about 2. If you're a huge fan of Tame Impala, you're gonna marvel at this album. Montreal-based Mac DeMarco injects his mellow, nostalgic, evocative melodies with charismatic irony and melancholic honesty, singing in a sleepy, dreamy voice paired with the ethereal guitar magic, resulting in the ultimate suburban Summer soundtrack. Think escape, breakup, mild psychadelia, freedom. The instrumental itself is bliss, not to mention the lyrics. Acoustic porn with a trippy tone, or vice-versa. If you still don't know who this Canadian gap-toothed daydreamer is, you're missing out. Essential tracks: Annie, Ode to Viceroy, Dreamin', Freaking Out the Neighborhood.


RESTLESS IDYLLS - TROPIC OF CANCER
Nocturnal, dark, atmospheric. A bit like a goth on mescaline. Party time on the graveyard. A vampy basement club in Berlin. Alienation. Lucid dreams. A horror film about sleepwalkers. I love Tropic of Cancer because I can always count on this signature sound reminiscent of an ethereal, underground version of a haunting Heaven. Melodic tales of despair and devotion created by Camella Lobo flow adrift in her underworld. Essential tracks: Court of Devotion definitely drowns you in its achromatic penumbra.


PSYCHO TROPICAL BERLIN - LA FEMME
And now, something made in Biarritz, France. This album is one of the coolest ever! Incredibly groovy and eclectic, it features 1960s influences with a hint of surf rock, soft electro punk, charming feminine vocals, neo-psychadelic allure, synth-and-bass pop glamour, a very kitsch rock and roll vibe, bouncy rhythms, coldwave references, fierce yé-yé fragrance, taxi backseat sex... It's like a modern take on Nouvelle Vague (the films, not the band) with an urban/exotic twist. I dig it. And so would Serge Gainsbourg. Essential tracks: Saisis La Corde, Le Blues De Françoise, Sur La Planche.


ANNABEL DREAM READER - THE WYTCHES
A visceral, maniac collection of heartbreak songs and violent riffing . Garage punk meets psychadelic rock and the comparison with Jack White is inevitable but that's okay. I've come across this British band (Brighton boys!) on Tumblr. The lyrics tell anguish stories and angsty anthems, through dramatic vocals and stormy guitars. Essential tracks: I'm addicted to Part Time Model and can't get the surf-psych magnetism of Weights and Ties out of my head.


BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE - THE BLACK RYDER
Here's an Australian duo worth listening to. Is it experimental? Is it dream pop? Is it psychadelic rock? Alternative neo-post-punk? Shoegazing, perhaps? Well, it's a little bit of everything mentioned above and that's why I like this album so much. If Mazzy Star, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Tamaryn worked together on a musical project, this album would be something inspired in such masterpiece. Stardust-voiced layers, melodic textures, veiled chords embellished by lysergic waves of sonic atmosphere, enriched by opiated themes. It sounds like love, sex and death. Aimee Nash & Scott Von Ryper, good on you! Essential tracks: Burn and Fade, The Greatest Fall, Sweet Come Down.


TOMB FOR TWO - Lebanon Hanover
Lebanon Hanover manage to deliver timeless tunes that will echoe forever. Bass porn, 1980s influenced beats, that distinctive darkwave statement sound... A melodic to die for - literally. The post-punk spirit emerges from the underground scene with a solid bass line, doom and gloom laments, synths at its finest, a deep voice that will take over the goth dancefloor... In a nutshell: A melodic elegy that strongly appeals to my emotions. Essential tracks: Gallowdance will haunt your dreams.


REIGN OF TERROR - SLEIGH BELLS
Yeah, I know that Treats was THE album but you have to agree when I claim that Reign Of Terror deserves some credit. I honestly love both but my tribute is focusing on this one. Derek Miller's electrifying rock riffs, badass lyrics, kickass attitude, loud noise, agressive yet romantic teen spirit with a broken heart - the formula hasn't changed. It's basically what happens when a cheerleader falls in love with a serial killer. You know, emotional extremes.This Brooklyn double trouble duo hasn't let me down yet. Powerfully raw. Well done! By the way, have you seen Alexis Krauss on stage? She's fucking fierce. Essential tracks: Comeback Kid, Demons and of course, Road To Hell.


DVA - EMIKA
Born in Bristol and based in Berlin, Ema Jolly aka Emika is an electronic composer and singer, sculpting and shaping dupsteb, bass, synthpop, trip-hop, techno and electronica into her own underground symphony. Bass lines and heavy synth intertwine with magnetic, hypnotic vocals, revealing a certain darkness in the lyrical content, hinting at a gloomy kind of electro that sure works wonders for me. Essential tracks: Sleep With My Enemies - loop mode on.


ADRIAN THAWS - TRICKY
I've always been into Tricky, king of trip-hop. He sticks to his comfort zone, once again, and bless him for that! I would describe his latest album as a seductive, smokey, lukewarm experience, featuring amazing collaborations and a sense of hedonism, while leaving room to different genres to take place - rap, hip-hop, dance, elements of house, you name it. Still, his signature style prevails.
Essential tracks: I suggest you listen to Keep Me In Your Shake for a sexual overture, and Nicotine Love is hands down the grooviest!

6 comments:

  1. Também ando viciada no " Psycho Tropical Berlin - La Femme" :P
    Vou explorar todas as tuas outras sugestões !

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  2. Well I already know that I <3 Mac Demarco and Sleigh Bells, so I'll have to check out your other picks as well!

    COOCOO FOR COCO

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  3. Dude, the road to Hell is smoothly paved with alla the trinketsNbaubles you could ever dream of... yet, when Satan's gotcha, that's the end and you'll wish you were dead. Puh-leeze don't make light of the Abyss o'Misery. It's everything 1000X worse than death and then summore. God bless you, lil' one.

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  4. Yay, I really needed some new music, thank you!

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  5. This is such a good post, so much music I need
    to check out. I definitely like Marc DeMarco - that song is amazing. (:

    And about your question - I really loved Manchester, Paris and Antwerp,
    such amazing cities. And yes, Paris is as charming as in the movies and even
    though it is the most touristy thing you could ever do, watching the sparkling
    Eiffel Tower at night will make you fall instantly in love with this city.

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  6. Tenho praticamente certeza que vou gostar do Marc DeMarco, mas ainda não me apeteceu ouvir ^^' Vou checkar o resto que não conheço!

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