BALAM ACAB - OH, WHY

I've heard a few songs by Balam Acab before, like 'See Birds' for example, and I like what I've heard.

Cue, then, his (yes; it's a he, just one singular he, called Alec Koone) newest song 'Oh, Why', prepped for release on his upcoming debut with Tri Angle records, 'Wander / Wonder'. Artists like this are coming up out of the woodwork and cracks in the pavement, becoming the fix we all need for our craving for new, interesting, and good music.

BALAM ACAB - Oh, Why by TriAngleRecords

Starting with an unknown female vocal sample against a gentle marriage of rainstick static and what sounds like a harp, this is a supremely chilled track. Delayed synth bass and the typical slow drums of drag kick in around halfway through, in addition to a rolling high pitch synth over the top.

The vocal sample is unassuming and throughout never overpowers the clear strength of the song, which is clearly its production and mastery. Balam Acab is a master of slow jams, slow hip-hop beats emulated with a finesse that far surpasses many typical 'crunk' beats swaggering about these days. To quote the Big Beat Manifesto (Peep Show): "Big beats are the best, get high all the time" - this song, with the intelligent drums and heavenly floating sound, encompasses both.

It's eerie, beautiful and so unobvious and modest that it demands your attention. I'm very much looking forward to the album.

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TEARIST - BREAK BONE, LIVE

This is TEARIST. Hailing from LA, they're in the same league as artists like HEALTH, Clipd Beaks, Pictureplane and Zola Jesus - some key players in the drag / noise / witch house (post-goth basically) resurgence that seems to be happening all around us; perhaps thanks to a dark and daring Lady Gaga leading the way, perhaps not.
Their dark, DIY sound throws back to early Joy Division, with William Stangeland Menchaca engineering weird and wonderful synth sounds whilst Yasmine Kittles sings fiercely half-yelling - a style utilised by Zola Jesus. You can also see from the video that her erratic, quirky nature of performing songs is reminiscent to that of Alice Glass of Crystal Castles; something that fits the sound of the music perfectly.
Their album 'Living: 2009-Present' was released mid-May this year received a mixed reception, thanks to the lo-fi quality of the recordings; the Los Angeles Times described them as "gothy electro-noise".

The video is TEARIST performing a song, 'Break Bone', live on radio (KXLU 88.9 FM Los Angeles) in July of last year.


TEARIST on Myspace
TEARIST on Bandcamp
TEARIST on Twitter

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A FUNERALS SONG

Not a funeral's song, a FUNERALS song.

FUNERALS - AITU (LQD LIVE EDIT) by FUNERALS

A great little tune. Ambient but persuasive, like something that gets you dancing before you've even realised that you're moving.

These guys are two producers, Casey Immel-Brown and Mollie Wells, a married couple from Ohio, and it must be a great marriage because there's nothing out of place here. Everything about this is well-polished, without it sounding well-polished, if you know what I mean. It sounds dirgey, whilst at the same time sounding pretty disco, dark and light, both at the same time. It's wonderful - from the high, hollow flute to the unrelenting house beat.

On a sidenote, they've also remixed some pretty good artists on their SoundCloud, including the wonderful Ritualz. God I love Ritualz.

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