A nice little treat for my birthday perhaps?

Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga seems like an age ago, so as you would expect, I’m quite excited about the ‘Got Nuffin” EP that they’re releasing this week.

Authentically new music (the tracks from the EP were recorded after the Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga session), the EP features ‘Got Nuffin’, and two unreleased b-sides ‘Tweakers’ and ‘Stroke Their Brains’.

As yet the EP is not available on iTMS, but will no doubt be there in the next few days. In the meantime take a listen to the title track here.

Are Phoenix the real deal?

‘It’s Never Been Like That‘ kind of caught my ear during my 365 pilgrimage , but it was only a flashing interest. Now their new album ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ has dropped with two sugaring singles that are so catchy it’s riducluous.

And their French.

This live video from Jimmy Kimmel shows how they roll. Pitch perfect vocals, great playing, and a drummer that dances while he plays. (Those french!)

It’s been 8 years since Hi-Tek and Talib Kweli released Train of Thought. Hip-Hop has changed considerably since then (does anyone remember when Rawkus was releasing all the best stuff?), but Hi-Tek and Kweli still seem to be combining to make music as sweet as Friday drinks.

The new single ‘Back Again’ is from the upcoming(?) album Revolutions Per Minute; a sign that the album might not actually be too far away.

Now maybe Mos Def can clear some time in that busy schedule of his and work on that Black Star album everyone is waiting for?

When Tricky sang “Brand new, You’re Retro” I took it to mean a number things in different situations. In relation to music, it’s always important to remember that it’s all be done before. Samples, Guitars, Synths - someone, somewhere has already done it.

To me there are some bands that trip over their influences, and some that manage to still be inventive enough to seem original.

Passion Pit definitely fit into the later category. Walking a fine line between 80’s revivalists and indie-pop , their debut album pulls in a number of musical touchstones as vast as 90’s Brit-hop on ‘Little Secrets’ to indie electro faves ‘MGMT’ on ‘Folds Your Hands’ or ‘Let Your Love Grow Tall’.

At times, Manners seems like a surefire mix of pop-laced sugar that is impossible for your ears to deny, other times it comes off like a collection of singles from ‘The Biggest Album of The Year’. While that is unlikely to ever happen, the crisp mash of electronica and indie melodies seems to always have me second-guessing and suspicious. Is what I’m feeling the glow of indie-punk genius, or the silky gateway drug of a disposable pop giant in waiting? Every listen leaves me feeling different, which in itself display’s the album’s appeal - Angelakos’ falsetto (I haven’t heard a bearded man hit notes like this since ELO’s ‘Living Thing’), the oh-to-cutesy child choruses, work to both punctuate the instrumentation and cheapen it, and while ‘The Reeling’ will hook you in quicker than it takes for the video below to load, you’ll know doubt feel a certain degree of guilty pleasure as you dig it.

As of today, I declare ‘Manners’ a success; as an album it’s retro, but surprisingly refreshing, and even after 20 or so spins, it still feels new. Part of me feels that it won’t last, but I don’t want to think about that just yet - there’s enough here to keep me entertained for sometime to come.

‘Manners’ is available now through those good folks at iTunes.

Tricky’s career has never been one that has reflected his talent. Those that love his work will testify his genius, those less enlightened are likely to shun the work he’s done.

Even I’ll admit to being confused by some of his work; I found some parts of ‘Pre-Millennium Tension’ and ‘Blowback’ almost unlistenable (though it has been years (literally) since I’ve dusted those albums off for a listen), but his catalogue is littered with pieces of absolute gold.

His ability to mash a number of influences into a track that is undeniably that of his hands has always blown my mind. His production and craft to construct a track to be so emotive and engrossing is something that always shines (and even more so when I think back to those tracks I don’t like from those albums above). Tricky doesn’t write music, he creates music moods.

The chaps at Daytrotter have recently released the tracks he did as part of their SXSW coverage, which for me have served as a jolting reminder of how much I love his stuff. Check out the sessions here.

‘Knowle West Boy’ (released about this time last year), was Tricky’s 8th album, and for me signaled somewhat of a full circle. The parallels to his classic debut Maxinquaye are everywhere; from introduction of another fine ‘unknown’ voice (Alex Mills) to the use of a Portishead sample in ‘Roads’. I’m picking that there is still more to come from Tricky’s raspy throat yet, but if he was to end it all on Knowle West Boy, it would be somewhat fitting (if not horribly tragic).

If you don’t already know his work, take in a selection of his finer moments below.

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Some people can’t stand Bill Callahan’s voice. By those who focus on such things, I’ve been told it sounds flat and uninteresting. Personally, I think that argument is too narrow; his voice is unique without a doubt, but provides another colour in the pictures he paints.

I’ve been a fan ever since I was lucky to catch ‘Our Anniversary’ from 2003’s ‘Supper’. There Callahan’s voice proves the perfect foil to the droning guitar and drum accompaniment; the story plays out in front of you as clear as day, but somehow, you know the song is about more than the words that are said.

His second album under his own name sees Callahan stick to his strengths, less dark than his Smog material, yet still with the forlorn feeling that behind the beautiful songs, there lies a melancholy that he’s leaving up to us to discover.

For anyone who hasn’t caught Callahan, ‘Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle’ would be a perfect introduction, with the opener ‘Jim Cain’ setting you on your way to another one of the most pleasurable listens of the year (so far!).

Take in Jim Cain (thanks to youtube) below, of grab it via

The internet-indie-hype machine is generally alot more accurate than any paper based hype machine. The dynamic nature of the internet means that a band cannot hide it’s shittyness from the critiquing masses; if your album sucks, everyone will say so via blogs, comments and forums. It you slip enough cash to a magazine, I’m sure that you can convince them to write a favourable enough review of any band’s album.

That’s why ‘Bitte Orca’ is a great case study. Previous works by Dave Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors haven’t really been widely hyped, even if they have been critically praised . ‘Bitte Orca’ however has been proclaimed as the album to thrust them into indie stardom and when you consider the fact it was leaked on the net some months ago and people are still way excited about it, it’s hard not to get curious.

As a body of work it’s a crazy mis-mash of a thing. ‘Eclectic’ would be a flattering description, one that would imply the album has some sort of structure; it’s an album that will leave you wondering “how the hell are they going to play this live?”, but, equally, it will leave you wondering “I would sell my stuff to see them play this live”.

Winding through a range of time signatures, soundscapes and moods, ‘Bitte Orca’ is a monster with so many personalities it’s unsettling. Beautiful, quirky, surprising, spasmodic, filled with guitars, soaring vocals, stuttering grooves, confusing time signatures; it is the musical equivalent of a two year olds attention span.

Tracks like “Stillness Is The Move” - which sits like a piece of Sheena E inspired new wave punk - contrast with others like “Useful Chamber” - featuring nutball guitar breaks and a bridge that seems like it was written for another song (but, bizarrely seems to fit perfectly into this one). Elsewhere, “No Intention” swaps a sensible ‘clap your hands beat’ for a mid-song mandolin/guitar duel which again seems to be completely out of place.

I know it all sounds confusing (and, in truth, for the first few listens, you are left feeling very confused), but somehow the cut and paste feeling is superceeded by the crafted pop that results. Nowhere is this more apparent than the smile inducing “Temecula Sunrise”; stuttering beats shake the track along like a train, while guitars and shrieking choral backing vocals paint colours over the boyish vocals of Longstreth. To me, it is the indie version of “Ventura Highway”, dark, moody verses broken by a rising and anthemic chorus. Singing along is a guilty pleasure that’s impossible to deny.

Is the hype warranted? Yes. But in true indie fashion, this album is destined to be a cult hit. I’m 99% sure that you won’t be finding this album sitting in any charts (or iTunes featured lists); but in all honesty it should be. It is an amazing listen, and another stand out album to take in in 2009.

Stream ‘Bitte Orca’ now (via NPR.org)

Sonic Youth have always intrigued me. Take ‘Diamond Sea’ from 1995’s Washing Machine. For the most part (the first 5 or so minutes and the last 3 or so minutes), it is a piece of guitar beauty. The gigantic wall of noise in between is horrible. Especially live (I got to witness it as part of their performance in 1995 in Wellington…the 8 minutes of feedback nearly made me fall asleep).

‘The Eternal’ is their 16th studio album, and the follow up to 2006’s fantastic ‘Rather Ripped’.

As you would expect after completing 16 albums, there is something almost ethereal about Sonic Youth nowdays. With pretty much nothing left to prove (while they’re never going to top any pop charts, you can be guaranteed that they don’t want to), they are left to write great guitar music, release and tour when they want. The lack of any real pressure has been a hallmark of their career, and while not much has changed in that respect, their maturity has left them more measured and their music more ‘crafted’ than we have been treated to in the past.

Tracks like ‘What We Know’ and ‘Massage the History’ are standard Sonic Youth fare yet I can’t help but feel invigorated each time I listen to them. The streaming version of ‘The Eternal’ features a live performance of ‘Antenna’ (thanks to ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ - see below) and captures the band in their natural environment - indeed it would be hard to imagine them doing anything different recording in the studio - amazing to think that the bands average age is 50 something (Kim Gordon clocks in at 56 not that you’d know it from her legs), and after nearly 30 years of being active, they are still amazing.

The stream should be up until the album is released (June 9), and for those with at least a passing interest, it’s definitely worth a listen.