SINGLE REVIEW // The Bilinda Butchers release a new single called The Lovers' Suicide!

Are you guys excited or what? Long-time favorite The Bilinda Butchers have released a new single off their upcoming album The Lovers' Suicide! by the same name and as I've said in the past, it sports a new sound for the San-Fran duo. 

Judging from this track, The Lovers' Suicide! is looking like it's going to be a pleasant surprise. Like a normal BB track that drank too much coffee, "The Lovers' Suicide" is a fast-paced drum and synth driven marvel of what two people can create. It's a change in sound from previous releases like goodbyes and regret, love, guilt, dreams but not a complete one if we can trust what we hear in the second half of their album preview video. Take a listen below and tell me what you think. If you're new to The Bilinda Butchers check one of my favorites here called "Boyfriend".

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NEWS // Matt & Kim release the music video for It's Alright

Not sure if soft-core or music video...

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LISTEN // Enjoy this stellar new track from Temple Songs

I hope your weekend is as groovy and fun-filled as this newly released track from psychedelic rockband Temple Songs. Whatever you're doing this weekend have fun and stay safe!
Caribbean Moon by Temple Songs

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NEWS // Check out this year's Bonnaroo lineup.

I still love you Postal Service.  :)

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NEWS // Crystal Fighters release artwork for upcoming album.

Yesterday Crystal Fighters released the album cover of their upcoming album Cave Rave to their Facebook page. Cave Rave will be the Electronic/House band's third full-length and will be released this May. Listen to a preview track from Cave Rave below and get excited!

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ALBUM REVIEW // MillionYoung puts the chill back in chillwave with his new LP Variable.

There hasn't been an album where I have genuinely loved every track in a long long time. Then, MillionYoung released Variable on Tuesday and reminded me that this is still possible to do. With every play-through I find something new that I love about it.  Variable is the Florida native's second full-length album and continues to support my theory that 2013 is the year of change...at least in bands. 

Where other bands might have failed in improving their sound, MillionYoung succeeds. This new album puts the "chill" back in chillwave and all one has to do is listen to tracks like "Lovin" or "Reciprocal" to hear this. Variable isn't a drastic change from previous releases but it is a change nonetheless. Songs in here sound more "dance-able" and remind me of bands like Toro y Moi. Not that the older songs weren't, I mean you how can you not dance a little to "Cynthia" or "On-On" (the list keeps going), but these new songs ooze a certain electro-jazz feel that is new to the band. 

If you haven't bought Variable yet you get it on iTunes, Amazon, and many other places. Listen to the album below and tell me what you think! 

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NEWS // The Postal Service release new single.

A Tattered Line of String is the newest single from The Postal Service off their upcoming 10th anniversary  re-release of 2003's Give Up. Scheduled to be released this March, Give Up will include all the original songs fully remastered along with two new songs and covers by The Shins and Iron & Wine.

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EP REVIEW // Hypnagogia by LAKE R▲DIO

Caden is at it again. This last Friday the chicago based witch-house artist released a new EP which keeps up the relatively new tradition of giving releases technical names that start with H. Hypnagogia is his newest release and is a currently free (who knows for how long) 6-track EP on his Bandcamp page.

This newest release is almost an experimentation of new ideas especially with the last track, Bleeding Thumb.  It seems that a lot of artists are experimenting with different genres these days. Tegan And Sara put out an electropop album, The Bilinda Butchers will be doing the same soon (although not completely electropop), and now LAKE R▲DIO. Now, don't let that confuse you, there isn't a single electropop song in Hypnogogia if that's what you were thinking. In fact for the most part, this EP is a pretty standard LR release, so fear not old fans.

The strongest track on here has to be the heavily layered and warped track Please, but the majority of Hypnogogia is good. Along with that, other good songs are the opening track Ghost Translator, and the re-release of Community College after it's first appearance in last year's anthology, Hypoxia. Overall I would say I enjoyed listening to this EP but, there are a couple songs I could never really get into like YR LOVE, and Opal Eyes. I will admit that my dislike for YR LOVE is mostly due to my dislike of the song he's sampling in it but as for Opal Eyes, there just wasn't really anything that caught my attention. I felt the beginning dragged on for a bit too long but after that first minute and 30 seconds the song gets a lot better.

Lastly, the final track off this EP is an interesting one. Bleeding Thumb is the least electronic of all the songs and features a new sound from Caden. This song while a nice and relaxing break from the normal music released by LAKE R▲DIO feels incomplete, or if not "incomplete" then at least interrupted due to it's abrupt end at 1:41. This song could and would be a lot better with just a simple adjustment of when the song ends. All things considered Hypnogogia is yet another great release from LAKE R▲DIO. What do you think?

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NEWS // MillionYoung releases new album Variable.

Happy Tuesday readers! And man, is it a happy Tuesday or what? Not only did we just today get a new album from long-time TBAM favorite MillionYoung, but today also marks the release of Darwin Deez's new album Songs For Imaginative People! MillionYoung's newest album, Variable,  is the Florida native's second full-length album and features 10 completely new songs, two of which can be heard below. Make sure you head over to Amazon or Old Flame Records to buy this album and then check back here later for my review. 

Millionyoung - Variable by Old Flame Records

Millionyoung - Lovin by Old Flame Records

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NEWS // Strange Talk release their debut album Cast Away.

I know, I know, I along with a lot of people were upset that Tegan And Sara released an electropop album but that doesn't mean I don't like electropop. In fact, one of my favorite electropop artists, Strange Talk, has just released their debut album a couple of days ago. Cast Away is the Australian band's newest release and first full-length album. This 11 track album is currently available on iTunes and other online music retailers as-well as in stores. A full review will be coming soon but for now listen to the first two tracks off of Cast Away below. Happy Monday readers!

Cast Away by Strange Talk

Falling In Love by Strange Talk

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ALBUM REVIEW // Heartthrob by Tegan And Sara

Tegan And Sara released their newest album Heartthrob not too long ago and it has been met with split reviews. From what I've seen listeners are either in love with it or hate it, some calling it their worst release to date. I wouldn't go that far as I found a lot of songs in Heartthrob to be quite enjoyable but, in the end I would have to say that I am disappointed in the direction Tegan And Sara have gone in this newest release.

Heartthrob is the band's seventh full-length album and their most accessible at that. It is tailored for a wider audience then most of their other releases and has what some would call a "top 40" sound to it. Is this bad though? Well, it depends on your personal taste in music. If you are someone who listens to a lot of indie music because you don't like what mainstream music sounds like (for whatever reason, let's not "soap-box" here) then you might be unimpressed with this album. In the end though it's not some horrible icky "mainstream" thing. In the end it's just an indie electro-pop album which honestly, actually has some really good songs on it. Songs like "Closer", "Goodbye Goodbye", and "Drove Me Wild" are all very catchy and very entertaining songs which are definitely worth a listen. What do you do think?

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SINGLE REVIEW // Hit Me Up Again by Summer Heart

It's Friday and you're surfing the web for some good chillwave to tide you over until MillionYoung releases Variable on Tuesday. While searching you stumble across a band called Summer Heart. Cool name and nice artwork, but is the music good? This genre of music isn't for everyone and takes skill. You don't just wake up one morning and make chillwave. Well, I guess you could, but the quality of said music would be questionable.

Hit Me Up Again is the newest release from Summer Heart and features two songs, the self titled track Hit Me Up Again and one other track titled Stockholm. This is a must buy for anyone who loves or even likes chillwave. In fact, remember that friend that you wanted to show some chillwave to? Well forget showing them that old Washed Out album, this is where it's at. Both Hit Me Up Again and Stockholm deliver and are well worth their price. Stockholm, a more classic chillwave track, has to be my favorite of the two though. The beat, the lyrics, all the layering, it reminds me why I listen to electronic music. What do you think?

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NEWS // The Bilinda Butchers announce new single.

Yesterday The Bilinda Butchers (no affiliation with MBV aside from their love for them, hence the name) announced news of an upcoming single that is due to be released in early March. The dream-pop band released this two-part teaser of the upcoming single featuring new music (with almost a new sound) and clips from Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan. 

The teaser for The Lovers' Suicide! sounds great, it really does, but what's up with that first half? That doesn't sound at all like the Bilinda Butchers I fell in love with, and then fell in love with even more when goodbyes was released last fall. Is this a hint that the band is slowly changing it's sound? I mean don't get me wrong, I have faith in them. Regardless of what genre they are The Bilinda Butchers will continue to put out great, quality music but, if they did steer more towards electro-pop as this video could be suggesting, I would miss songs like Little Leaf. Luckily, the second half of this video assures me that they wont completely change.

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NEWS // Line-up for Sweetlife festival announced

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NEWS // My Bloody Valentine releases new album "m b v"

Well it's finally here and it only took a little over two decades. My Bloody Valentine released a follow up to their 1991 classic Loveless this past week called m b v and it has already broke the internet with it's epicness. Upon hearing the news that the Dublin based band would be releasing a new album, people all over scrambled to their computers in an attempt to get their hands on this long-awaited LP causing the band's new and still buggy website to crack under the pressure. For the next couple of hours eager fans waited patiently (and not-so-patiently) for the website to go back up.

Well now the website is back up and has been for a while so we can all sleep easy now that we're able to buy, listen, and fall in love with m b v, even if it is a whopping $16. If you are like the many who are unsure whether you want to shell out that much cash for a 9 track album (a price which is almost doubled if you want a vinyl!) then don't worry there are still ways of hearing the album. MBV has also uploaded the full album to Youtube so you can find it there while you wait for the price to go down.

A full review of m b v will come in the future but for now I'll say this. My Bloody Valentine and a lot of shoegaze music for that matter can be hard to listen to if you are unfamiliar with what shoegaze sounds like. It's a very dense and layered genre of music and requires multiple listens to experience completely. I for one love the genre along with it's cousin dream-pop and think that this is a great example of what shoegaze is. Just remember that if you start listening expecting to hear really up-beat and fast rock you're going to be disappointed. These songs are as obscured and dreamy as the album cover that accompanies them. 

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