Reign of Terror is Sleigh Bells’ sophomore album, and from what I’ve heard so far, is a little more mellow than their first. Some people may like that, while others (ahem) are a little bummed that they toned it down. Regardless, I’m sure it will be great. This song gives off the same kind of vibe that their old album did: loud.
UK duo Death in Vegas is one of those bands that you know will create an exponentially different sound with every new album. Dare I say Trans-Love Energies (2011) is the best they’ve produced to date. Ladies and gents, let your ears feast upon this minimalist techno delight. (Before you make any snap decisions, be sure to listen the whole song through.)
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Check out “Today’s Paper” and “Man on the Stairs” to get a quick sense of what The Classical is all about. Then listen to/download the album in its entirety. You won’t regret it.
The video was directed by Hiro Murai and Strange Mercy was released on 4AD. If you like this, be sure to check out St Vincent’s eerie video for the song Cruel, the standout track on the album.
Sol just released a new album that debuted really well, called Yours Truly. This song is off the Dear Friends, Vol. 3 EP, which you can get for free here: http://solsays.com/ along with his other EPs.
Everything Tim Hecker touches turns to ambient gold. This piece in particular comes from his album Dropped Pianos— appropriately named after he “dropped” the piano in favor of the organ for the making of his most recent album Ravedeath, 1972 (kranky 2011). Go ahead and prepare yourself for bliss.
Here is a clip from Mélies’ Le Voyage dans la lune, restored in color, set to a soundtack of Air. Mélies’ films were also featured in the recent Scorsese film Hugo.
School of Seven Bells consists of Benjamin Curtis and Alejandra Deheza. You can download “Lafaye” for free on iTunes or stream their most recently released album, Disconnect from Desire on their website. Ghostory, their newest album, will be released Feb. 28 on Vagrant Records/Ghostly International.
Before I ever knew of his music, someone showed me a picture of Danny Brown. The only word that came to mind when I saw it was “goon.” Danny Brown is a straight up goon. His hair looks like something a hipster night club threw up and straightened, his clothing is often too tight and colorful, and he kind of sounds like B.o.b. if he came from an insane asylum. But the awesome thing is this totally works for Danny Brown. Mr. Brown has embraced his over sexualized characteristics and created a persona that is truly unique.
Danny Browns 2011 debut album is entitled XXX and much like the title would imply, it’s almost all about sex, drugs and everything else X-rated. The songs range from to-be-expected Brown sex loving classics like “I Will” to more playful songs like “Radio Song” where Brown calls out the shallowness of popular music. If you don’t have this album already, buy it. If you do, find that special someone and listen to it together doing what Danny Brown loves best… 
This song is off Kisses’ 2010 album Heart of the Nightlife, released on This Is Music.
