"Heavenly Father"- Bon Iver

Though last year's soaring LP Repave by Volcano Choir essentially acted as a new Bon Iver effort, it's really been three years since the act Justin Vernon came to fame with has issued anything new. In the run-up to Repave's release in September, Vernon expounded on the silence surrounding Bon Iver, saying "I really have to be in a specific headspace to even begin to illuminate an idea that would create another Bon Iver record, and I'm just not there." At the time his words were effectively a death knell, terrifying fans (myself included) that a follow-up to Bon Iver Bon Iver would never come.

Today then is a cause for minor celebration amongst Bon Iver torch-carriers. As previously reported on the blog, Bon Iver is contributing a new effort to the upcoming Zach Braff film Wish I Was Here and today Line of Best Fit points out the song "Heavenly Father" has officially debuted. In terms of sound, it owes at least a bit of rent to Repave closer "Almanac" which was similarly constructed around an electronic figure. That said, the synthesizer in "Almanac" was far more confident and forward-moving than the electro manipulation we hear in "Heavenly Father". The piece hiccups and stutters in shifted pitches as Vernon's familiar ache floats atop. At times invading hi-hats tics make you think "Heavenly Father" could launch into trap territory if given enough time. But the song doesn't have that kind of certainty. Vernon's perpetually wondering if he can ever come to accept a higher power, or so it seems. "I was never sure how much of you I could let in," could be a religious skeptic's call to the Lord or an explanation offered to a former lover why things didn't work out. With "Heavenly Father" Bon Iver show why love and religion aren't the right answer for everyone, they're riddled with far too many questions that can never fully be answered.

(You can listen to "Heavenly Father" now through the All Songs Considered Media Player on NPR and look for the Wish I Was Here soundtrack to drop digitally July 15.)

What's New(s)?

 Trailer for Elliott Smith Film Heaven Adores You Released 

In the past 10 years, the phrase "gone too soon" has rarely been used as appropriately as it was for indie-folk artist Elliott Smith. Just as Smith was cresting on the wave of moodily delicate major-label releases XO and Figure 8, as well as a prominent Oscar appearance, he fell headlong into a crippling heroin addiction. That torturous bout kept him from issuing an immediate follow-up and for nearly three years he struggled to complete 6th LP From a Basement on the Hill. Eventually that struggle became far more tragic as he died from an apparent suicide on October 21, 2003.

Next Monday, the San Francisco International Film Festival is debuting Heaven Adores You, a documentary focusing on Smith's all too short life. Directed by Nickolas Rossi, the Kickstarter-backed film will be the first Smith-centered documentary to feature his music. Along with previously unheard material, Heaven Adores You will include interviews with prominent friends of Elliott Smith including Fiona Apple-producer Jon Brion and Rob Schnapf who worked on four of Smith's albums.

Below you can see the trailer for Heaven Adores You along with footage from Elliott Smith's 1998 Oscar performance of "Miss Misery".

Lil B's "Katy Perry" Gets the Singer to Ask BasedGod to Prom

 

Lil B has a long history of celebrity-minded songs, but his latest simply entitled "Katy Perry" may be his most rewarding effort. In the menacing trap cut the BasedGod demands you "call me Katy Perry" in the chorus, while taking time to build an empire in the mumbled verses. In the video description for the song, B fawningly wrote "KATY BOO I LOVE YOU!!!!!! KEEP DOING YO THANG GIRL..." which apparently caught the eye of the mega-popstar. Responding to the praise Perry tweeted out "Before I lay my jet-lagged head down to sleep let me leave u w/a lovely #rare lullaby I came across today http://bit.ly/1fOuMl3  #taskforce."

And if that kindliness weren't enough, Perry quickly asked B to "be my prom date." Taking it all in stride, the Lil B coolly replied: "i feel like its highschool again katy and i missed my prom so it wud mean alot, thank you love u have a good day - Lil B". Give him all the guff you'd like, he always manages to keep it #Based.

The-Dream deals with Racism in new track "Black"

 

While plenty of people in all corners of the media machine have had their say about bigoted L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, perhaps one of the most unlikely was R&B-artist The-Dream. Not that the singer/producer is unqualified to speak on the issue, but because his brand of feathery music has never felt particularly combative.

And by-and-large the reflective piano marcher doesn't get aggressive. Instead The-Dream croons about his ferocious pride for civil rights leaders past and present while throwing up images of: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harvey Milk, Marvin Gaye, Pussy Riot, and more in the accompanying video. ""Y'all got me feelin real black right now," he continually emphasizes in the song's chorus. More than a comment or a color, The-Dream makes it clear that black is a "feeling."

Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

"It's On Again" ft. Kendrick Lamar- Alicia Keys

If there's a key to the city for soundtrack features, go ahead and hand it to Kendrick Lamar for 2014. In the same month he laid waste to the psychedelic wonderland of Tame Impala's "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" he's returned to decimate the Pharrell produced, Alicia Keys anchored "It's On Again" with the brute force of the Rhino. While the doleful, twinkling keys demand a degree of reverence, Lamar has none to offer. He's snarling before the first note can ring out, the veins in his head bulging as he offers a song "for the warrior, for you and I." He name checks "David and Goliath" and while his runaway success puts him far closer to the Philistine at this point, his intensity befits the scrappy underdog. He's willing to run through the flames because he can see what's waiting on the side. He'll land on his dreams, no matter how much exertion or exhaustion it takes.

For her part, Alicia Keys doesn't appear to be exerting herself at all. She croons over Pharrell's slowly propulsive dance beat with ease. Her breathless exhortations to "go on" disappear almost as soon as they are said, fading into a billowy cloud of silky disco strings and blooping keyboards. In that way Keys acts as the yin to Lamar's yang; a cold passivity to a red-hot ferociousness. She's willing to "sacrifice my ego" because she has no need for such inanities. She'll go it alone as a shadow in the middle of the night. Keys is no less of a warrior than Lamar, she's just far more reserved about her profession.





"It's On Again" is available through iTunes tomorrow.

What's New(s)?

Cloud Nothings and Wavves collaborative album "almost done"

Dylan Baldi's new album as part of Cloud Nothings Here and Nowhere Else is out next Tuesday (April 1), but evidently Baldi's not taking any time off between projects. According to Exclaim, the frontman has been operating in Los Angeles, working on a collaborative effort with fuzzy surf-rock king Hathan Williams of Wavves.

In talking about the project with Exclaim, Baldi says the album is "almost done" and the seeds for the collabo were sewn in Paris. "I woke up one morning hungover in Paris, which is where I usually live, and I just had a text on my phone that was like, 'Yo, wanna make a record together?' I was like, '...Okay!' And that was it. It sounded fun." Baldi went on to add that the partnering resembled a cross between the two artists' work with "another element that wasn't present in either of our music before."

While you wait for the project, check out recent clips from Cloud Nothings and Wavves, and look for Here and Nowhere Elese out April 1 through Carpark Records. 

New Zach Braff film to feature music from Bon Iver, Cat Power, Chris Martin, and yes the Shins

 

Last spring Zach Braff launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Wish I Was Here, his first directorial work since 2004's Garden State. In the time since, the film received over $3 million in funding and premiered at Sundance in January.

Now Wish I Was Here has an opening date of July 18 in New York/Los Angeles with a wide-release the following Friday (July 25). In discussing the film with Entertainment Weekly, Braff opened up about the film's soundtrack which will feature a collaboration with Coldplay's Chris Martin and Chan Marshall of Cat Power. According to Braff the work will serve as the film's title track and is "one of the most amazing songs ever." In addition to that "amazing song", the soundtrack will include new songs from Bon Iver and Garden State centerpiece the Shins who will "change your life."  No word yet if the Martin/Marshall effort will do the same. Until it comes, you can always enjoy the video for the Shins' "New Slang".

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.