With the impression that this was at last a quieter week for new albums, we begin our look at the music that’s made an impact over the last seven days with the Spanish band Los Punsetes – part of the new indie scene from Madrid. Their simply titled “LP2” is about to hit the Iberian shops, anticipated by this as comic as graphic video for the first single “Tus Amigos (Your Friends)”.
More European music, the Danish orchestral-pop collective Efterklang is streaming “Music Chairs” -their third studio album and first for 4AD- in Myspace. Vinnie Reilly’s Durutti Column return with a tribute to the late factory records’ honcho Tony Wilson in “A Paean To Wilson” that’s earning rave reviews, hailed as the Column’s best work in many years; and Field Music finally unveiled their awaited double album “Measure”.
In the US, Kentucky musicians Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore have made a benefit album packed with gorgeous acoustic melodies, “Dear Companion”, aiming at drawing attention to the problem of mountaintop removal coal mining in central Appalachia. Meanwhile, Xiu Xiu returns with is chamber pop drenched in drama and emotional overload with “Dear God, I Hate Myself”, and highly regarded garage revivalists The Strange Boys got their second album ready .
In the songs department, Johnny Cash‘s record label unveiled the title track and first taster for the sixth volume of American Recordings. Rick Rubin may have found enough material as to put together a new album in the series, but overally it doesn’t look like a match for the former volumes, which meant a second coming for the late legend.
Other highlights of the week were the return of cyber-soul singer Janelle Monae next to Outkast’s Big Boi in “Tightrope”; Robyn teaming up with Diplo and getting soaked in Caribbean dancehall with “No hassle”; and Diplo again launching a new Major Lazer EP with the standout track “Sound Of Siren” featuring M.I.A. and Busy Signal.
Oxford combo Stornoway -highly tipped for glory in the British isles this year- offered a new slice of their pleasant folk-pop called “I Saw You Blink”. Our favourite American lo-fi purveyors, Woods, released a new single “I was gone” while revealing another track, “I’m Not Gone”, through the blogosphere. Energetic guitar fuzz duo Japandroids announced a series of five 7”, beginning with their new track “Art Czars” and the James Mercer-Danger Mouse collaboration Broken Bells, kept on rationing the content of their imminent album, and unleash the second taster “Vaporize”.
But the surprise of the week, though, was new Warp signee Gonja Sufi, who unveiled several tracks of his debut “A sufi and a killer” to huge acclaim. Everyone from Pitchfork to Thom Yorke is currently digging his music. In the player below, you can listen to the a few songs, including “Ancestors” produced by Flying Lotus and “KowboyzandIndians” which samples “Bella Kali” an obscure gem from Spanish Achilifunk duo from the 70’s Las Grecas.
Among the videos of the week Matthew Cooper’s ambient project Eluvium with this strangely compelling moving shot of tall buildings; Erykah Badu kept her media frenzy for her second instalment of Nu Amerykah with a new kaleidoscopic video featuring Lil Wayne as shown in her website and the British eccentric Female collective Gaggle was introduced to the world with their drinking anthem “I Hear Flies”
Barbadian superstar Rihanna demonstrated that imitation is the best form of flattery by copying M.I.A.’s saturated visual style in her new video “Rude Boy”. The similarity is so obvious that Diplo himself has made a mash-up between the song and M.I.A.’s ”Boyz”. Long time no see Brit urban star Ms. Dynamite returns as feature vocalist in DJ Zinc’s club stormer “Wale Out”; Brit newcomers Gentle Friendly and and experimental Dj Jonah Reindhart also provided some visual excitement during the past seven days.