Rokia Traoré Speaks to NPR Weekend Edition, Releases “Né So” Video
The beginning of a recent NPR Weekend Edition feature on Rokia Traoré begins with sounds from Mali’s civil war, an ongoing terror that has had a significant impact on the Malian singer’s new album Né So. In the engaging audio feature, recorded at the BBC‘s studio in Berlin, veteran reporter Linda Wertheimer asks Traoré not only […]
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Zaac Pick – Constellations (Small Space Music) The Donkeys – Midnight Palms (Easy Sound Recording Company) The Cave Singers – Banshee (self-released) The Pines – Above the Prairie (Red House Records)
The Donkeys Release Clean Version of Midnight Palms – Digital Servicing Only
With Midnight Palms, The Donkeys present a fine, half-sized document of their singular sound. At once accessible, adventurous, nostalgic, and progressive, the five-song mini-album oozes with the sticky, syrupy energy of a band fresh off the road and in rare form. Tracked largely live-in-the-studio with veteran producer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Fruit Bats, Devendra Banhart), Midnight Palms […]
Star Wars Headspace feat. New Music from Flying Lotus, Shlohmo, Röyksopp, Rick Rubin, Kaskade and more – Digital Servicing Only
Star Wars Headspace is a new Rick Rubin-helmed compilation that isn’t merely a tribute to the seven-volume space epic. The collection is composed from the essence of Star Wars, as each of its producers were given free reign to re-appropriate the sound effects and dialogue of the canonical film franchise. In addition to Rubin, who contributes a […]
The Pines Perform on The Current, Reach New CMJ Peak
The Pines performed at KCMP The Current yesterday, bringing their lush and haunting songs to the studios of the Minnesotan institution that has been an instrumental supporter of the band. “After a decade of making music together,” writes Current host Andrea Swensson, “the Pines have mastered the art of ambiance and atmosphere; [new LP] Above the Prairie […]
The Cave Singers Are Reviewed by AllMusic and Interviewed by the San Diego Reader
Calling it “a smart and impressive piece of work that speaks to the mind and the soul with similar clarity,” AllMusic Guide has given The Cave Singers‘ new Banshee album a four-out-of-five star review that praises the group for “stretching their boundaries on all sides, adding a greater electric force to the performances while deepening […]
Also At Radio
Rokia Traoré – Né So (Nonesuch) The Donkeys – Midnight Palms (Easy Sound Recording Company) Zaac Pick – Constellations (Small Space Music) Naked Giants – ”Easy Eating” [digital single] (self-released)
The Cave Singers Go For Adds with Banshee
The Cave Singers present a vibrant and earthy sound that, according to Pitchfork, adds “a welcome dark side” to the folky scene in their hometown of Seattle. After years playing together not only in this band but in punkier projects including Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves, members Peter Quirk, Derek Fudesco, and […]
Rokia Traoré Goes for Adds with Né So
Rokia Traoré has explored a breadth of directions over a career that began in 1997 and has earned her praise for uniquely blending Mali’s diverse musical styles with those of the rest of the world. She has recorded with the Kronos Quartet and Damon Albarn; collaborated on a theater piece called Desdemona with Toni Morrison and Peter […]
The Donkeys Are Reviewed by AllMusic, Release “Hurt Somebody” Video Via Paste, Seek New CMJ Peak
The Donkeys‘ new release, Midnight Palms, is relatively short. Yet, according to the AllMusic Guide, “this brief outing adds another five sun-soaked charmers to their growing canon of laid-back, slightly fuzzy West Coast rock.” AMG gave the mini-LP four out of five stars in its recent review, which breaks the album’s five tracks down and […]
Relix Premieres Marco With Love’s “Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll”
Marco With Love is a band deeply steeped in the rock ‘n’ roll traditions of their musical forebears, with a raunchy sound that channels the gritty bar bands of the 60s and 70s and pays homage to the classics. So it makes perfect sense that, alongside blazing originals like “Big Black Dog” and “Promised Land […]
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The Pines – Above the Prairie (Red House Records) Zaac Pick – Constellations (Small Shape Music) Fruit Bats – “From A Soon-to-Be Ghost Town” [digital single] (Easy Sound Recording Company) Naked Giants – ”Easy Eating” [digital single] (self-released) Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express – Junun (Nonesuch)
New music from The Cave Singers
The Cave Singers present a vibrant and earthy sound that, according to Pitchfork, adds “a welcome dark side” to the folky scene in their hometown of Seattle. After years playing together not only in this band but in punkier projects including Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves, members Peter Quirk, Derek Fudesco, and […]
The Pines, Rising at CMJ, Get Strong Reviews from PopMatters and Folk Alley, Hits New CMJ Peak
The four-year wait between The Pines‘ 2012 album Dark So Gold and this year’s Above the Prairie was “more than worth it,” writes PopMatters, because the new LP is both enjoyable to casual listeners and rewarding for those who choose to go deeper into its mediative sonic world. According to the site, the album is […]
Zaac Pick, Beloved by Confront Magazine, Shares Studio Footage and Looks for CMJ Debut
Confront Magazine has a lot of love for Zaac Pick‘s debut LP Constellations, saying, “From start to finish, you can literally feel the emotional pull of the lyrics and the intensity of not one but all of his tracks. Each song is gracefully put together including all elements of traditional folk music with a few […]
Also at Radio
The Donkeys – Midnight Palms (Easy Sound Recording Company) Naked Giants – ”Easy Eating” [digital single] (self-released) Fruit Bats – “From A Soon-to-Be Ghost Town” [digital single] (Easy Sound Recording Company) Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express – Junun (Nonesuch) St. Germain – St. Germain (Nonesuch)
New Music from Rokia Traoré
Rokia Traoré has explored a breadth of directions over a career that began in 1997 and has earned her praise for uniquely blending Mali’s diverse musical styles with those of the rest of the world. She’s recorded with the Kronos Quartet and Damon Albarn; collaborated on a theater piece called Desdemona with Toni Morrison and Peter Sellers; won […]
Fruit Bats Go For Adds
Eric D. Johnson is Fruit Bats. And Fruit Bats is back. Five years after 2011’s Tripper became its second LP in a row to reach #1 on the CMJ Radio 200, comes their new album Absolute Loser due this April. This long break was the result of a personal tragedy after Johnson’s wife suffered a miscarriage that led […]
Naked Giants Go For Adds
Naked Giants, a three-piece garage rock wildebeest from Seattle, combine bluesy guitar solos, pounding backbeats, and thick basslines to form a psychedelic whirlwind of fuzz. The band has taken Seattle by storm, playing to rowdy crowds at college house parties and all-ages venues on their way to finding airplay at KEXP and winning second place in […]
The Pines Premiere “Time Dreams” on Democracy Now, Receive Great No Depression Review, Seeking New CMJ Peak
The Pines write music inspired by their surroundings, specifically those of the Midwest region of the United States they call home. Their album art for their new album, Above the Prairie, aptly depicts the colors of their sound: Earthy, down-home Americana with broad strokes of twinkling atmospherics and dark sweeping hues. On “Time Dreams,” the final track on […]
