Explosions in the Sky + Three Trapped Tigers

So new tracks from both of the above bands. Both Explosions in the Sky and Three Trapped Tigers have got albums coming out soon and both are giving away a free download of a new track off their albums.

Three Trapped Tigers are famous for their intrumental post-rock freakouts that go by extremely distinctive names. Their most notable tracks being 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7,8,9,10,11,12 and 13. Those are off their EPs called EP 1, EP 2 and EP3. So with a new album coming out I was hoping to see how long the number-theme would keep going. Would they start doing a "¡Forward, Russia!" and call tracks something like fifteen pt. II? Would the album be called LP 1?

No.

The album's called Route One or Die and it's out in May.
The First single's called Cramm and you can download it here:
http://threetrappedtigers.heroku.com/

Cramm by Three Trapped Tigers

I can't think of any way to bridge these two bands together other than that I love 'em both. That should suffice.

Explosions in the Sky have been quiet for a good few years now, but they're announcing their return with their 5th album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. Highlights are sure to be the pop-up buildings made from the album sleeves and well, um, this: It's the new song Trembling Hands and it's ace! Get it here:
http://www.explosionsinthesky.com/

Trembling Hands by Explosions in the Sky

Foxes in Fiction + Top 5 Fictional Foxes

I wrote about Foxes in Fiction last year, but because I've been listening to his new(ish) EP Alberto I thought I'd welcome him back to the blog and also make a list of other brilliant fictional foxes.

Here we go, I know its a bit early in the year for top-whatever lists. So either I'm 3 months too late or I should have saved my top-5 celebrity foxes list until the end of the year.

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (released a top movie and made, at least, me laugh. Top fox.)

2. Tails (been a bit quiet on the rolling and spinning front recently. All his recent adventures have flown under the radar on account of them being a bit shit. Still the best flying fox around though.)

3. Robin Hood (going through some torrential times recently. Went from this jovial rascal to this, whatever you want to call, this.

4. Vulpix (aww, isn't it cute? If you're the type of person to call manga drawings of an animal that "has a flame inside its body that never goes out" cute, then Vulpix is probably your ideal pet. Keep good care of it though and watch out, because when it evolves it'll turn into a fire-shooting stuck up bitch. Bit like all kids then.)

5. Basil Brush (it's got to be hard spending your entire life with someone's hand up your arse, but Basil does it brilliantly. Congrats Bas.)

a big shout out goes to the fox from Farthing Wood, but seeing as his name's just plainly Fox he's hardly glamorous enough to make the cut. Work on your self-marketing Fox and you might be in with a shout next year.




So on to Foxes in Fiction then eh?

You can grab the Alberto EP and a load of other free downloads from his blog and there's no doubt whether you should. I for one think OCAD Flu's breath-boxing alone is worth the downloading time.






Alberto's a really relaxed listen. It won't raise your pulse to heart attack levels, which is sometimes a real plus side to music. It won't (kind of depends on your listening preferences really) obliterate your eardrums, but what it will do is just leave you calm and smiling. Like it should do.

Blacksmif

It's a bit odd how some people can go unsigned in a time where it seems any old bastards with a synth/sampler are getting signed to record labels left, right and centre.

London producer Blacksmif or Yemi Olagbaiye amazes me in that he's still unsigned, because the beats he creates are absolutely brilliant. There are obvious Flying Lotus comparisons to be made here with his kind of jazz-step, but then again there is a enormous lack of these kind of quality tunes in my little life so some more are definitely not going to hurt.

Listen to ...And The Sun Rose and its intense but laid-back sample-working (Andreya Triana). Oh yes!



Listen to more tracks:
http://soundcloud.com/blacksmif/
http://blacksmif.bandcamp.com/

I'm off to get myself a synth AND a sampler now. Laterz

Wild Beasts

So hey whoah. Wild Beasts have announced their timely return with their 3rd album Smother set for release in May.

Albatross was the first song off the album, played on Radio 1 recently and it's more good old friendly Wild Beasts. I've got a great story about queing up for hours and then not getting in to see Wild Beasts last year.

Anyway, that was it, the story.

Wild Beasts - Albatross

Psychologist - Comes in Waves

I just heard this song today and all I can say is "Wow!"

Nobody seems to know anything about who's behind the name Psychologist, and all you get on the website is, well, not a lot. But let the first song off the Waves of Ok EP Comes in Waves quite literally stun you for its 5-and-a-half minutes duration and then leave you that way for, I don't know, easily maybe another 5-and-a-half-minutes. That's what this song is: Stunning. Songwriting at it's most beautiful, moving, haunting.

Comes In Waves from psychologist on Vimeo.

Waves of Ok is out on Moshi Moshi/Not Even Records on the 28th of May.

Atlantic At Pacific + New Four Tet

Sometimes you feel like you've come to the end of a once fruitful relationship. One that used to flourish due to everything being new fandangled and just plain sexy. You start looking at different things for excitement, but all of a sudden your slowly diminishing partner takes you out to the big belgian chocolate shop of love, and buys you a huge, fuck-off box of Guylians.

You know, Metaphorically speaking.



Atlantic At Pacific did this to me for chillwave. Me and chillwave have come a long way, you know. Well probably just as long a way as you have with it anyway. But it's kind of reaching the point where I don't want to hear laid-back beats and synths anymore. Tiresome and faux-summery is what they are. Something I can't deal with in -20°C.

What I want is glockenspiels damn it!

And glockenspiel I have. Courtesy of Atlantic At Pacific aka. Austin Wood and his track My Fault off of his new free EP Seasons.

My fault by Atlantic At Pacific

There's a lot of familiar elements to his tunes, but they're all put together to make one fine 11 minutes worth of music.

http://atlanticatpacific.bandcamp.com/

OOH! Other news.

Four Tet uploaded his new track to soundcloud. It's called pinnacles and it's mighty groovy. Half of a split vinyl, with the other half occupied by Daphni's (Daniel Snaith from Caribou) Ye Ye.
These will probably run out quite quickly (if Four Tet & Burial's collab is anything to go by) so keep your eyes and purses open.

Pinnacles by Four Tet

Daphni - Ye Ye by Caribouband