SLOW LOVE | Small Black

CHILL: Small Black’s “Photojournalist” is the first teaser from their upcoming album, “New Chain” set to be released through Jagjaguwar Records. It’s purposefully hazy, muddied and sweetly spacey. The soung begins with dreamy synth and sounds like drops of water in a pond set to digital electronica. Their intimate and moody lyrics, “set to rise up again like a ghost”, are stretched across a slow sexy groove, not unlike the xx. The band have been touring with a Their Bated Breath favorite, Washed Out.  – David D. Robbins Jr.

Small Black “Photojournalist”

VIDEO BELOW: Small Black “Bad Lover” (Self-titled EP)

THROUGH THE HAZE | GAYNGS

CREME OF THE CROP: Producer Ryan Olson set out to make an album with Solid Gold members Adam Hurlburt and Zack Coulter, but after a move from his Minneapolis bedroom to a Wisconsin studio, the project turned into a supergroup called GAYNGS. The studio collective features over 20 musicians, including Bon Iver, Lookbook, Dessa, Megafaun, Rhymesayers and Leisure Birds. Olson said the new album, “Relayted”, scheduled for a May 11th release through Jagjaguwar records, is inspired by the 10CC’s 1974 classic, “I’m Not in Love”. It’s easy to shrug one’s shoulders when you hear about good musicians piling together to form one band. The results can be a bit like compiling an all-star futbol team, where all the parts worked well separately, but not as fluidly as a new unit. We’ve heard The Traveling Wilburys, Bad Lieutenant, Audioslave, Velvet Revolver and Zwan with mixed success. GAYNGS released two teaser tracks, “Faded High” and “The Gaudy Side of Town”, the latter a sexed up R&B-influenced, lounge number reminiscent of  the best music of George Michael, Air’s “Moon Safari”, or the Mozez-led tracks on Zero 7′s “Simple Things”. The beatbox intro is slick invention. The vocals are echoed, layered and pretty, backed with lonely sax, speaker-fuzz, flamenco-styled guitar and tranqued-out keyboards. But GAYNGS isn’t content to start off with a slow jog, they’re in full-sprint mode before the release of their new 11-song album. The band produced a video for a cover version of Godley & Creme’s 1985 hit, “Cry”. (See right, in Their Bated Breath’s vodpod video collection.) The video mimics the original. – Words by David D. Robbins Jr. (Photo manipulated from Graham Tolbert/UK Guardian)

GAYNGS “The Gaudy Side of Town”

THE REMIXES | Montauk

GOING ON A HOLIDAY: The Swedish duo of Johan Cederberg and Victor Holmberg, aka Montauk, put out a release of remixes of a new single called “Holiday”. Four bands/musicians have remixed the track this first time around (Justin Faust, Visitor, Jeremy Olander and Letting Up Despite Great Faults). But it doesn’t stop there. Montauk will officially release an additional batch of remixes by a few friends (Tronik Youth, Suck Shaft, John’s Candy What Kind Of Breeze Do You Blow? and Sweet Track) on April 26th, via the Brilliantine label. Check out the two track below, one the original song by Montauk and the remix by Letting Up Despite Great Faults. The original is a chill electronic dance mix, with a running synth/piano, altered-voice loop, and hand-claps. The Letting Up Despite Great Faults remix gives it a sexier vibe. You can pre-order the remix album at Brilliantine. – Words by David D. Robbins Jr.

Montauk “Holiday” (Original)

Holiday (Letting Up Despite Great Faults Remix)

BEDROOM BEATSMITH | Baths

RADIATING HIS ESSENCE: Just when you thought you’d wear out your Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Letting Up Despite Great Faults and Gaslamp Killer discs — just across the horizon comes Baths, aka Chatsworth, California’s Will Wiesenfeld. Baths is working on an upcoming album, “Cerulean”, at one of the best record labels, Anticon. (The musical home of Odd Nosdam, Thee More Shallows, WHY? and Sole.) Bath officially leaked a single, “Maximalist”, last week — but has had a video of himself playing the track live in his bedroom (see below) on YouTube since December of last year. His newest leak, “Hall” (via the Forkcast), shows just how comfortable Wiesenfeld is with layering hazy synth-jams over fuzzy loops and high falsetto. He coos over the top of a reverse back track and clanking noises while altering his vocal pitch to get different ranges and effects, sometimes sounding like tribal chants. It’s a gorgeously warm piece of music, with transitions all falling just right. Listen to some of Baths’ other tracks at his MySpace page. – Words by David D. Robbins Jr.

Baths “Hall” (MP3)

VIDEO BELOW: Baths “Maximalist” (Live in his bedroom)

SIREN’S SONG | Adam and Alma

THE SWAY OF THE SEA: Adam & Alma’s new EP “Back to the Sea” begins like a siren’s song, beckoning with two-part acapella harmony and these lyrics: “Take my hand / It’s just thinking of you / Take my heart / It feels for you.” The languid opening transitions into a dark and sexy piece of electronica that really takes off with intermittent percussion and sythn. This young duo from Stockholm, Sweden, consists of Ellen Arkbro and Johan Graden. The second track, “Smile For Me, Sun” (below) is a sensual, chill dance track that seduces with pretty lyrics and phrasing: “I take off my clothes, / Letting you touch me … / I can trust again / Trying to forget that I … / I’ve shown you my skin.” The five tracks on this record have a lot of range. The Bjork-like number “Naked”, combines experimental sounds, distorted vocals and Swedish electro with an ominous Massive Attack-styled bass. The final track, “Bon”, uses some jazz and classical influence — with cello and what sounds like a toy piano. Really a pretty album. You can download it for free from 23 Seconds Netlabel site.

Adam & Alma “Smile For Me, Sun” (MP3)

SUNNY DAYS | Delorean

SCINTILLATING SUBIZA: Delorean, the Spanish four piece electro-pop band, will release its first full-length album “Subiza” digitally on April 20, 2010, physically on June 8, 2010. The album is a sunny mix of dance and Balearic house music you could imagine hearing at Ibiza, with rays reflecting off tanned bodies and the Mediterranean scene aglow with the warmth of youthful possibility and exuberance. The album is named after the Basque town where it was recorded, located just south of Pamplona. “Subiza” follows on the successful heels of “Ayrton Senna” — an album named after the famed Brazilian Formula One race car driver who died while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Delorean is a band of tragic passions, writing songs that seem destined to be played as life-soundtracks for real-life star-crossed lovers. Delorean’ are on True Panther records, which publishes the works of Girls, Lemonade and Morning Benders. Delorean have offered the opening track, with accompanying video, called “Stay Close” as a teaser. The song is an addictive dance number with synth-organ, hand claps, drum machine, looped chorus and vocals soft with the lure of romance. -- Art and words by David D. Robbins Jr.

Delorean “Stay Close” (MP3)

GROOVE SPECIALIST | Bonobo

HEAD-BOBBING WITH BONOBO: Bonobo is the stage name of musician and DJ Simon Green, who will be releasing his fourth studio album, “Black Sands”, on March 29th, 2010 through Ninja Tune. Green’s new record likely will have BBC Radio One DJ Gilles Peterson drooling all over his vinyl. Bonobo blends ambient house and chill with an acid-jazz tradition. Tracks like “El Toro” are spirited with strings, heavy African percussion, horns, and maracas like some long-lost Brand New Heavies unearthing — or rebirth of the Solsonics for the club set. “We Could Forever” skips and bops with electronic dance beats, cut-up samples, bird whistles and flute used as slickly as Dr. Dre did on The Chronic’s “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”. Like a number of dance-hybrid creators — including Erlend Oye, Zero 7 and Thievery Corporation — Bonobo makes stellar use of female vocals. “Black Sands” features the sexy, soulful, and simmering R&B vocal stylings of UK songstress Andreya Triana on three tracks, “Eyesdown”, “The Keeper” — and the smoothest song on the album, “Stay the Same”. The track opens with a light acoustic guitar, a hard beat and these pretty, chill lyrics:

“A night train. / Midnight. / Bags gathered ’round my feet. / Possession. / Some lesson, to carry with me. / Heavy. / Soothing. / Like a gentle symphony. / I rest my head right back upon my seat. / It’s hot and cold though — the best thing for me. / This train is, moving. / But my heart is stationary.”
– Words and art by David D. Robbins Jr.
(Illustration makes use of press photos off Bonobo MySpace page)

SONG BELOW: Bonobo “Stay the Same”

UNDERWATER LOVE | Coyote Clean Up

LIQUID LUST: “Double Trouble Do Do Bubble” is a groove-saturated, electronica and R&B-influenced spell of fuzzed-out aquatic love. Coyote Clean Up released its massive 23-song gem online for free. This album is for lovers of chill house-styled trip-outs, with echoed vocals that make you want to get stomach-to-stomach on the dance floor. We’re not talking mindless techno thumping, but smooth and soothing tempos with just enough bass to get everybody thinking about who they’re going home with at closing time. “Double Trouble” overflows with lusty liquid grooves that light up the libido. The song names are an odd mishmash of humor and straight up nonsense like, “toes 2 the nose”, “howevertrasssh”, “dxxth dxb”, “somucheyeseyeseyes” or that track featured below, “lackadaisical luv xxx f-u”. The music incorporates drum loops, guitar, heavy synths, arcade sounds, white noise, and even muffled effects — like Bjork did in “There’s More to Life Than This” on the album “Debut”. The most impressive thing about “Double Trouble” is this Motor City band seems to be able to enchant in 23 very different, sophisticated, but lo-fi ways. It’s all about the angles. Sometimes they come at you like Cornelius. Other times it feels like a beat you could easily freestyle over. But then tracks like “pushing marshmallow PM” or “hammering time” get into that sexy Esthero “Superheroes” mode. Or a song like “dumber by the day” turns out a groove more akin to the wicked feel of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. That track is hot as hell, building on the repeated phrase, “Everyone is going insane”. This band is, well, trip-xxx nsty dope — if you know what I mean. Get the full album right here. – Words by David D. Robbins Jr.

Coyote Clean Up “lackadaisical luv xxx f-u”