In the morning Brûlé (as in crème) will be off again—he’ll check in someplace else similarly well-lit—but for the moment, he is focused as can be on the topic at hand: old media. He loves it. Can’t get enough. “I don’t want to sound like a Luddite about it,” he says, “but …” But Brûlé sort of is. Not a Luddite, exactly, but a hard-core devotee of old-fashioned media: of magazines that are printed on paper, of news programs that dedicate hours to single topics, and of well-modulated, unhysterical coverage of things other than, as he puts it, missing white women. As the media conglomerates of the world attempt to figure out their plans for the future, Brûlé is hatching a tiny and very specific media empire from a lovely part of Central London called Marylebone.
- Planet Monocle by Amy Larocca in NY Mag
Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss
Ah, Solitude is bliss. I kinda subscribe to that. And such music to listen to while you're flying solo is way awesome. Rock on, guys from Down Under.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Röyksopp - Senior Living
I think this is a very sick tune from the revered (in some quarters) Norwegian duo. Brooding and poignant, listen to that wicked bassline take control.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man
Nice and folksy, with good ol' midwestern charm to boot. The banjo is a wonderful little instrument.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Efterklang - Modern Drift
A dose of piano-backed rock is always a good listen, especially one that feels tentative, like they're on a cusp of something bigger, but still not sure of themselves. Grand orchestration is more than welcome too. Call me old but it's a personal favourite of mine.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Ra Ra Riot - Boy
Hot off his Discovery release last year, Wes Miles is back with Boy from "The Orchard with Ra Ra Riot. Definitely a riotous number. Like I mentioned above, I always like strings or chamber instruments in my music. It brings a different sort of layering to the music. Refreshing.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Freelance Whales - Generator ^ Second Floor
Saccharine pop number.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Joanna Newsom - '81
Keep a lookout for this awesome singer, she's coming down to Singapore too, for the Mosaic Music Festival. Elegant song where Newsom easily soars to the higher ends of her vocal range. This song however, presents a peculiarity with regard to the lyrics. While on the surface, it seems to tread a little on hallowed ground, I still don't really understand it.
[myspace] [last.fm]
Deerhunter - Helicopter
This song is just fantastic. Bradford Cox says that he's a fan of the transgressive author Dennis Cooper, whose account of the shocking death of a teenage gay prostitute in Russia inspired Helicopter. The lyrics are meaningful once you know the context, and coupled with shimmery synths and fuzzy ambience, this is a stunner.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Twin Sister - All Around and Away We Go (mp3)
Super trippy and super 80s, All Around and Away We Go presents a dreamy world of neverending rainbows, nice puffy clouds and beautiful rays of light that warmly caress the fields and everything else. Andrea Estella's charming and sometimes purposely muffled vocals are superb.
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
Blackbird Blackbird - Happy High
Oh how literal the song title is. A euphoric journey that knows no bounds. But my only grouse, it's a tad too short!
[official] [myspace] [last.fm]
