What's New(s)?

Tame Impala releasing live EP

Record Store Day has become a virtual holiday for music fans in the last few years. With long lines and short supplies of must-have items, it's Christmas for people who lack holiday cheer. One band helping ring in that cheer this year is Australian psych-rock outfit Tame Impala. On April 19th, the Kevin Parker fronted group will release Live Versions, an EP of live tracks recorded during a 2013 show in Chicago. According to Parker, songs were included based on "how different the live versions are from the album version." 

Below you'll find a tracklist of those "different" live versions, along with the video for Tame Impala's "Mind Mischief" which made AllFreshSounds' list of the "Top 10 Music Videos of 2013." 

Live Versions:
1. "Endors Toi
2. "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind"
3. "Sestri Levante"
4. "Mind Mischief"
5. "Desire Be Desire Go"
6. "Half Full Glass"
7. "Be Above It"
8. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards"

Chance the Rapper/James Blake releases alternate version of "Life Round Here"

On no uncertain terms, the "Life Round Here" remix pairing Chicago spitballer Chance the Rapper and post-dubstep/R&B artist James Blake together was one of the great music triumphs in 2013. On paper what seemed like a mess of styles played out as a meeting of two old acquaintances. Chance hopscotched into Blake's sullen landscape at just the right moment, imbuing it with a melange of bright colors. 

Yesterday, Chance shared "Save Yourself First", the long-promised second remix of "Life Round Here". While the first remix was an eye-popping arrays of color, "Save Yourself First" drifts back to weary black-and-white of the original. Chance doesn't even try his hand at right, instead he depressingly bleats, yelps, and generally moans over a disembodied Blake vocal. It's an engaging listen to be sure, but there isn't much "life" to be found.

Blake and Chance were reported to be rooming together in Los Angeles and are supposedly working on a full album together.







Neil Young delays reissue of Time Fades Away boxset

Time Fades Away is the great lost Neil Young album. Albeit not in the same sense that Toast or Homegrown is a "lost Neil Young album." Both of those efforts never saw the light of day. They were scrapped at various stages, Homegrown very near the last minute, and their tracks were siphoned for future records.

Time Fades Away meanwhile was actually released. It dropped in 1973 and kickstarted Young's famed "Ditch Trilogy", a challenging collection of records that upended the sunny folk that had made Harvest a run-away hit. And though it was the catalyst for two of Young's greatest works, he never felt much fondness for the release. Over the years he's repeatedly called it "the worst record I ever made" and it's one of two albums (along with Journey Through the Past) that Young has never re-released. 

That egregious error was set to be corrected this year with the issuing of Official Release Series Discs 5-8 Vinyl Box Set. The latest in the Archives Series would not only include Time Fades Away, but fellow "Ditch Brethren" On the Beach and Tonight's the Night as well as Zuma. Now that April 19 release date has been shuffled to an unspecified date in November. According to Pitchfork's reporting, a press release claims the move was made, "due to several other projects that Young has in the works that he wishes to focus on." The massive Pono Music project is certainly one of those works, not to mention a new album released by Jack White's Third Man Records and another memoir. 

Whenever the boxset does arrive via Warner Bros. it will be limited to 3500 copies and the individual albums will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl. While you wait for that unforeseen date enjoy a clip of "The Bridge", the penultimate track from Time Fades Away.

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

What's New(s)?

James Blake remixes Drake

 

Anyone who worried the 2011 mash-up James Drake was just a lark, can now rest easy knowing that Blake (a recent performer at Drake's OVO Fest) has remixed the Toronto-rapper. The original "Come Thru" rode a steady clap and unobtrusive synth through memories of sleeping on basement floors. In the outro, Drake settled on the accusatory "where have you been tonight?" his tender crooning barely concealing a hint of contempt. 

Blake's remix gives the claps a greater crispiness and his fluttering electronic accoutrements provide a sense of paranoia found nowhere on the original. Here "girl you got that thing" goes from misplaced compliment to borderline predatory. If nothing else, the remix proves Drake's lingering "nice-guy" personae is as much a product of the music as anything. 

James Blake's been having an excellent year with rapper collaborations and you can see his still great teaming with Chicago spitballer Chance the Rapper here. 

  




Action Bronson announces Blue Chips 2

Action Bronson & Party Supplies anything goes Blue Chips mixtape was one of the best releases of 2012, and now that YouTube ripping, Ken Caminiti namechecking, everything but the kitchen sink approach continues in 2013. The heavily-anticipated Blue Chips 2 drops November 1 through Vice/Atlantic and like the first installment is 100% free. First-cut "Practice" borrows Allen Iverson's infamous "we talking about practice?" clip and lets the eternal braggart Bronson cross-over the competition with every rhyme. Check out the song and tracklist below, and head here for the insane promo trailer which features a mafioso Bronson in 1995 barking threats at Patrick Ewing.   


1. "Silverado"  
2. "Intro" ft. Big Body Bes
3. "Pepe Lopez"  
4. "The Don's Cheek"
5. "It Concerns Me"  
6. "Practice"  
7. "Jackson & Travolta" ft. Meyhem Lauren  
8. "Through The Eyes Of A G" ft. Ab-Soul  
9. "Contemporary Man"
10. "Twin Peugots" ft. Big Body Bes & Mac Miller
11. "Man & The Mirror"
12. "Midget Cough"
13. "It's Me"
14. "Flip Ya" ft. Retchy P
15. "9.24.13" ft. Big Body Bes
16. "Rolling Thunder" 
17. "Amadu Diablo"
18. "In The City" ft. Jeff Woods
19. "I Adore You"







Sufjan Stevens shares home recording

Lately when he's not offering Miley Cyrus free grammar lessons, Sufjan Stevens has been on a bit of a giving streak, proving his generosity extends past the holiday season. This latest freebie, entitled "Jamila" was recorded in 1998 (by Stevens recollection) on a four-track recorder for Stevens' sister, nearly two years before his debut A Sun Came dropped. Stevens motivation for releasing the homespun track so far removed from recording? To wish his sister a belated happy birthday of course.







Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).

What's New(s)?

Chance the Rapper and James Blake unveil new video

James Blake and Chance the Rapper's dizzying remix of Overgrown stand-out "Life Round Here" has rapidly become one of my favorite collaborative efforts of the year, and now the pairing has produced a video. The black-and-white clip maintains the dour nature of the Blake original, featuring Blake and Chance rolling around an overcast Hertfordshire, England in a low-rider. Along the way the two encounter: a misplaced priest and nun, a dissolving horse, pirates, and quarreling old men; but mostly it's about the unlikely duo just "wondering" and "wandering" looking for no place in particular. 

 "Life Round Here" (Remix)

Flying Lotus teaming with Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar's supporting spot on the Yeezus tour doesn't begin for a few more days, and already he's receiving some assistance. Earlier today LA-based Flying Lotus took to Twitter announcing: "Been helpin out w the new @kendricklamar show for the yeezus tour. It's gonna b so amazing." 

FlyLo has yet to reveal if he'll be DJ'ing on-stage for Lamar or if he'll be playing in an auxiliary role, but the possibility of a Kendrick Lamar/Captain Murphy collabo is more likely than ever before. Check out the nocturnal video for FlyLo's "Tiny Tortures" below, which stars floating iPhones, an unplugging Dreamcast, and a severely confused Elijah Wood.

 "Tiny Tortures"

Swans crowdfund new album

 

Swans are currently prepping their follow-up to 2012's mammoth The Seer, and as part of that preparation the band is selling a new live-album entitled Not Here/Not Now to fund the recording process. Recorded live during 2012/2013 tour dates, the release will be made in a limited run of 2000 with hand-drawn designs by frontman Michael Gira and feature previously unrecorded live tracks and acoustic demos from the forthcoming studio album.

If that weren't enough, the Young God website mentions a variety of rewards for purchasing the album, including the $500 option to have Gira "record and send to customer a video of a simple, short, original song, acoustic guitar and voice, with customers’ name in the song,  praising the customer, his or her ancestors, thoughts, dreams, and future or past lives, forever." 

As for their next record (out some time in Spring 2014), Gira is promising it will be "OVERLY AMBITIOUS" and soberly realizing "THESE DAYS, EACH RECORD FEELS LIKE IT COULD BE THE LAST. OUR HOPE IS THAT IF THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE CASE, IT WILL BE JUSTIFIED. 

The tracklist for the Not Here/Not Now can be found below, and the apocryphal blast of "No Words, No Thoughts" after the jump.

Disc 1:
1. "To Be Kind"
2. "Just a Little Boy"
3. "Coward"
4. "She Loves Us!"
5. "Oxygen…"

Disc 2:
1. "The Seer"/ "Bring the Sun"/"Toussaint L’ouverture"
2. "Nathalie Neal"
3. "Kirsten Supine" (demo)
4. "Screen Shot" (demo)

"No Words, No Thoughts"

What's New(s)?

James Blake and Chance the Rapper have more in store

As previously reported on Tuesday's edition of "What's New(s)?" James Blake and Chicago spitballer Chance the Rapper teamed up for a dizzying remix of Blake's "Life Round Here", but the remix wasn't a one-off release. In an interview with XXL, Chance admits "the two kept in touch and started working together on a couple of tracks, including some original material." According to Chance, there's also a second version of "Life Round Here" we've yet to hear. Chance continued, "I love his records...So to do another version of one of his songs that I felt was already completed was… you know… you don’t wanna f**k somebody’s s**t up. I jumped on it and people seem to like it a lot. But I’m really excited for our other s**t too." After the chilled out/hyper-kinetic blend they brought on Tuesday, Chance can't be the only one excited.





Stream Mazzy Star's new album

This coming Tuesday, California dream-pop royalty Mazzy Star will release Seasons of Your Day, their first album of all new material in 17 years. The follow-up to 1996's Among My Swan, is streaming now on the Guardian and the orotund duo doesn't appear to have lost a step. Despite the near two decade delay, guitarist Dave Roback informed the U.K. publication "we were always recording and writing. We just didn't release any of it publicly." In a companion interview, vocalist Hope Sandoval the silence saying, "I don't think it's unusual at all. I don't think we were really in the mood to release music." 

"California"

Danny Brown debuts new video

The "adderall admiral" has debuted a new video "Dip" in the run-up to his soon to be released OLD LP. The video for the chattering synth track (directed by Rollo Jackson) features the Detroit rapper rattling through steamy back-stage scenes and raucous live performances. Brown pays tribute to Mac Dre and warns against being let into his zone. There's also cartoon animated pill popping, teeth gnashing, and eye bulging. In other words, it's exactly what you'd expect from a Danny Brown drug track.

 OLD is out September 30 via Fool's Gold.

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).

What's New(s)?

Queens of the Stone Age throw shots at Jigga

Though it's hard to imagine them inspiring a "Takeover" like response, Queens of the Stone Age had some less than kind things to say about "the God MC" in light of their recent performance at the Jay curated Made in America Festival. In an interview with the CBC 2's "Strombo Show" frontman Josh Homme referred to Jay Z as a "kook", saying "He has his security frisking the bands on the way in." When the festival security asked to look through his own bag, Homme threatened not to play, intonating "no one's ever done that." Apparently the band was also given a bottle of Jay Z's champagne, which they later broke tagging it as nothing more than "a marketing tool". Listen at around the 1:56:00 and 2:16:00 marks for QOTSA's commentary on the incident, where Homme also wonders aloud "people never say anything bad about Jay Z do they?", not unless your Lil Wayne or Nas.


  




Beck debuts "Gimme"

Rounding out this summer's trilogy of stand-alone singles, Beck has released "Gimme" to follow-up previous entries "Defriended" and "I Won't Be Long". According to NPR affiliate WXPN, none of the songs will feature on his forthcoming full length LP or his rumored acoustic album. "Gimme" tows the line between the two, feature an organic gamelan like sound before rapidly mutating into mechanical pitch-shifting vocals. The song is now available as a 12'' on Beck's website backed by a 30 minute extended mix B-side.

James Blake teams up with Chance the Rapper

James Blake's original "Life Round Here" distinctively recalled the "rainy days" he detailed in the overcast number; a dour keyboard providing the cloud coverage and Blake's cascading digital voice supplying the downpour. The song appeared before the RZA feature "Take A Fall For Me" on the excellent sophomore release Overgrown. Since then, Blake has logged studio time with Drake, Kanye West, and now Chicago upstart Chance the Rapper. Before debuting the remix on BBC 1 Radio, Blake fittingly called from Trent, England standing in the rain shooting a video with Chance for the new version. When asked by DJ Zane Lowe how the collabo came about, Blake spotlighted Chance's SXSW performance and said "I never really felt the track was finished, even when it went on the album, I just felt there was this space". Chance fills in that space with a dizzying verse that scurries through "roundabouts" and chips in for another round. The exuberant touchdown Blake dejectedly referenced is reinvigorated by Chance's own take on the Ickey Shuffle. 

Look for the video to appear in a future edition of "What's New(s)?" which is said to feature everything from "Somalia Pirates to Chevy Impalas." 

Top 20 Songs of 2013 (So Far) Part II

Back with the final batch of the top songs of 2013 (so far), counting down from 10-1. Like the first crop of songs, the ones you'll find below are all over the map from somber-dance tracks to posse-rap cuts and even a cover making an appearance.   before we press play on the countdown, a quick rewind is in order.

20. "Young & Beautiful"- Lana Del Rey (The Great Gatsby OST)
19. "Living Room"- Grouper (The Man Who Died in His Boat)
18. "Domo 23"- Tyler, the Creator (Wolf)
17. "Power Trip"- J. Cole (Born Sinner)
16. "Where Are We Now?"- David Bowie (The Next Day)
15. "Blood on the Leaves"- Kanye West (Yeezus)
14. "Perfect Form"- Cyril Hahn (Single)
13. "Good Ass Intro"- Chance the Rapper (Acid Rap)
12. "The King"- Tree (Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out)
11. "I Miss You"- the xx (Live Cover)

#10. "Whoa"- Earl Sweatshirt (Doris)

Rare is the moment that Tyler, the Creator's guttural yells offer any semblance of shelter, but Earl's all-out verbal onslaught on "Whoa" makes Tyler's protestations of "nah nah f**k" strangely comforting. To refer to Earl's rapping here as "spitting" is a gross disservice, implying some sort of general spray as opposed to the targeted barbs tossed off, "grab mittens who have to spit blizzardous, actually flick cigarette ash at b***h n***as." If Earl's spitting anything here, its poison dart's like some sort of rap assassin, "spraying then hide away in the shade of his maimed innocence." The B-grade synths that back Earl up only manage to make his calm demeanor on the track more menacing. He goes the whole track without raising his voice once and yet every turn feels like he could snap and start swinging at everything in his sight. He's raiding rubbish bins "at your local loony clinic," and tossing back bars like a "vodka fifth." File it away as another chapter in the "misadventures of a s**t-talker."

#9. "#Beautiful" ft. Miguel- Mariah Carey (The Art of Letting Go)

Excepting Frank Ocean, Miguel had the best year of any R&B singer in 2012. His bold, successful Kaleidoscope Dream was a dense, taut blend of classic R&B tropes and more modern indie trends. Few songs towed this line as well as "Adorn" an infectious bubbling number that's impossible not to crack a smile at. Every yelp and hiccup carries the message of Miguel's love as far as his words, and his sliding wordless vocals seal the deal. Mariah Carey's "#Beautiful" provides a similar lesson in restraint. A guitar riff straight out of the 60s Stax catalog sets the stage for a feathery Miguel. His voice here is as soft as the "kiss of moonlight on your skin." For Carey's part she still slips in a trademark vocal burst or two, though she's plays it cool for the most part. She's feeling giddy here and professes a feeling of invincibility. No nervousness or confusion here, just two people turning in an effortless performance. 

#8. "1Train" ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, & Big K.R.I.T.- A$AP Rocky (Long.Live.A$AP)

"Don't be scared n***a is you ready?" A$AP Rocky cryptically asks over the haunted strings and boom-bap drums of 1Train, already a serious contender for the all-time great posse-cuts list. How could you be ready? Rap features have always been about one-upsmanship and a competitive spirit, but everyone here though sounds absolutely possessed. Rocky's clinging to "bags made of Goyard, cheffin' like I'm Boyar-Dee," and taking us back to the days of riding the titular train. Kendrick continues his lyrical gymnastics here, riding up on a skateboard, and gunning down everyone in sight, while still finding time to eat them all like "cooked beef." Joey Bada$$ can be caught "barely even conscious, talking to my conscious," and meeting with Jigga. For his part, Alabama-bred rapper Yelawolf is huddling with "Nubians," and assuring us there's never been "a rapper this cold, since 2Pac was froze, and thawed out for a spot-date at a Coachella show." To the surprise of no one, Danny Brown is thoroughly unhinged, spinning through his verse like the Tasmanian Devil hopped up on "molly." Brown supplies one of the most nauseating, gut-busting lines of the year rapping, "b***h p***y smell like the Penguin, wouldn't hit that s*** with my worst enemy's penis." Action Bronson (he who shall forever be compared to Ghostface Killah) drives by swiftly, "shifting the Bimmer 860," "confetti torching," and somehow finding the time to fix a game between Georgia Southern & Grambling. Then there's Mississippi-native Big K.R.I.T. bearing his "Muddy Water flow, Dixie rebel past." Rocky and Bada$$ both swear by K.R.I.T.'s verse, and it understandable. K.R.I.T.'s verse is filled with flash, packaged inside a classic frame, much like the candy-painted Caddies he can be found in. When the song ends, it's hard to imagine what could conceivably be better than that "1Train."

#7. "Retrograde"- James Blake (Overgrown)  

Few people can make loneliness sound as lovely as James Blake. On his "post-dubstep" debut LP, 2011's James Blake, he made abject isolation a commodity, the solitary life the only sort worth living. On the frigid summits of closer "Measurements," he was wandering through "forests cold," and putting all his doubts on trial in a courtroom of the elements. "Retrograde" maintains the spirit of that lone traveler mentality, but this time out a companion's come along. The isolation has shifted from the first to third person in the course of one winter; "we're alone now." The small ember of the track that Blake's voice clings to in the cold becomes a burning fire in the pit of his stomach by the time his loverman chorus hits. Blake begs, "show me why you're strong, ignore everybody else, we're alone now," wallowing the first time he runs through the line. The clattering drums and keyboards only fan the flames in the dark of night, as Blake is hit by the "starkness of the dawn." If it truly is "darkest before the dawn," Blake's found someone to peer out into the darkness with.

        

#6. "Started from the Bottom"- Drake (Nothing Was The Same) 

Wherever you think Drake came up or started from is irrelevant right around the time that minor-key piano figure is pushed out of frame by the sturm und drang trap-rap drums stitched up by producer Mike Zombie. Any possible chuckle or headshake at the notion of Drake "keeping it real from the start" disappears. Drizzy doesn't sound assured here, but authoritative. Through his sharp eyes we see arguments at his "momma's house" and late-night joyrides unwittingly sponsored by his uncle asking "where you at." The familiar themes of friends and family are in abundance here. Drake's proven more skilled than most artists at delineating the lines between the friends that'll die for you and those that would prefer to just sit in the car. Here Drake celebrates the success with the "whole team" drafted from the get-go and throws up deuces to any bandwagoneers, "f**k a fake friend." On "Over" he let us know "I'm doing me." "Started from the Bottom" is the ultimate reminder that in spite of everything, the story's stayed the same.  

#5. "Climax"- The Dirty Projectors (Cover)

The original "Climax" released off of Usher's wildly inconsistent (but ultimately enjoyable) 2012 record Looking 4 Myself was one of the greatest thrills in pop last year. Usher and producer Diplo gave us a masterclass in restraint. Usher could've howled his way through the thing, racing for those high notes like a rocket blasting off into space, but he didn't. He stayed grounded in hushed falsettos and dubstep burbles, until the relationship plateaued, and then Usher's voice was right there at the summit, howling in pained agony. On their "Like a Version" cover, the Dirty Projectors forgo any plateauing altogether. Leader Dave Longstreth immediately goes for the gut, if Usher sounded like he could survive another round of love in limbo, Longstreth's already called it quits. Longstreth clings to every note like there was nothing else left in this world. For her part, Amber Coffman (eyes closed) ethereally floats through the notes, feet firmly "off the ground." When Longstreth steps back up his questions of "why do I care at all?" are just as vital as Usher's original interrogations. The grand finale where Usher threw all caution to the wind is more reckless now, Longstreth and Coffman splitting the difference to pull the relationship apart.  Transcending source material and making it your own is never easy, even if the Dirty Projectors make it seem that way.

#4. "Ya Hey"- Vampire Weekend (Modern Vampires of the City)

On the highest of the highest, Vampire Weekend's rousing "Ya Hey" amounts to finger-wagging at the highest on high, the big man himself, the imperturbable Yahweh. "The faithless they don't love you, the zealous hearts don't love you," Ezra Koenig sings, his warm tone hardly masking the frantic finger-wagging he's committed too. Koenig nurtures all his guilt and inner turmoil for a time, but "lets it go," shedding his own crown of thorns and moving on with his life. "Ya Hey" is one of several tracks on the album to question religion's role in our lives when the trouble finds us, against frenetic guitar strumming on "Worship You" the group asks "who will guide us through the end," and "Unbelievers" resigns to the warmth that awaits all its titular characters. But the true beauty of "Ya Hey" is its ability to descend from the clouds and operate on a less celestial level. Trade an all-seeing God for an overly invested lover searching for the last ounce of love in a deflated relationship, and the metaphor comes into focus. Koenig cops to his mistakes in the cathartic chorus and swelters in the heat of the fire and flames. His lover meanwhile just sits in silence, out of sight and out of reach. Lacking faith in a higher power, Koenig is still burdened by an overwhelming faith in humanity.

#3. "Cherry"- Chromatics (After Dark 2)

Yes, in the most narrow-minded and myopic view of list-making this one breaks the rules. It originally made its appearance back in November 2012, but merits inclusion because a. it didn't see official release until After Dark 2, a compilation of moody dance acts from label Italians Do It Better dropped, and b. it's one of the best songs of this (and frankly) any year from the still young decade. I've easily heard the song some 60 plus times now and the crying synths and chugging bass find new ways to surprise me. There are still nights where I press repeat and let the spirit of the song haunt my room as I nod off into the ether. I originally wrote that "Cherry" is a marvelous encapsulation of what Rodney Dangerfield once referred to as the "heaviness" where the weight of the world casts a shadow over every kiss, every relationship, and every regret. Months later, singer Ruth Radelet wearisome "I can't keep crying all of the time," hasn't gotten any easier to lift. "Cherry" isn't an incredible song just for the hypnotic backbeat soundtracking the most sullen dancefloor in the world, but for the tragically pointed and relatable lyrics. Cherry's true nature is revealed in the final verse when Radelet discovers "Cherry can be very sweet when she needs a friend, but it's only a mask she wears so she can pretend." I feel perfectly comfortable admitting I've had the same paranoia creep over me; concerned that all my rushing to someone's side will be for naught when the roles are reversed. Some do it out of selfishness, but others are merely shortsighted, unable to see anything worth sharing with another human being. Hearing the song now, I'm reminded of a quote from a Kafka short-story about a man and woman engaging in a high-stakes game of "judgment." Near the finale, the man remarks "yet you smile-- inviting mortal danger-- from time to time." We've all been put in that danger before and like Radelet we can grow to hate the power it has over us. A way out from underneath the heaviness is possible; if you can summon the strength.

#2. "Mirrors"- Justin Timberlake (20/20 Experience)         

The last time unmitigated devotion and unyielding fidelity sounded this good on record, Rihanna was taking an oath to "stick it out to the end" on "Umbrella." For whatever reason, even in the world of Top 40 radio, martial stability annoys us. Rumours, one of the most successful albums of all time painfully traces the dissolution of relationships. The runaway success of Adele's 21 was fueled by a similar source. Justin Timberlake himself began his solo career with the bitter pill of "Cry Me A River." Despite our best intentions, bliss bores us. Which makes "Mirrors" dominance of the Billboard charts all the more impressive. Holding steady in the top 10, the arena ready track shows everyone how commitment can be done right. Sporting Timbaland's trademark handclap beats and smothered in synths, Timberlake is looking at his other half with emotional honesty, "I don't wanna lose you know," he sings in a buttery falsetto on the hook. The imagery here of two becoming one is simplistic, but powerful aided by Timbaland's hefty bass and soaring synths. Soon Timberlake loses all control, the music's grand scale is re-sized, and JT's devolved into a chorus of "you are the love of my life." There's no mystery in tomorrow, Timberlake's figured it out.

#1. "Get Lucky" ft. Pharrell- Daft Punk (Random Access Memories)

Unless some Earth-shattering, world-conquering song comes along in the next 5 months, "Get Lucky"'s disco-strut won't be stopped. What is already an earworm, has its DNA drastically mutated by Pharrell's silky croon, Niles Rogers' (of Chic fame) choppy guitar playing, and Daft Punk's funky vocoder breakdown. The song's an aural plague; reeking "havoc" on your whole body 'til your up on feet, head bouncing to-and-fro to Pharrell's hook, and voice joining the fight to "get lucky." Seeing Pharrell play this song back-to-back-to-back live makes perfect sense, who isn't pressing repeat as soon as the song heads off into the sunset? As I write this I'm struggling to finish, the smallest ripples in the song distracting me. Another keystroke is halted by the tiny piano figure or the muted bass thud. I can't imagine getting anything do listening to this, let alone a complicated task that commands your full concentration. Daft Punk demand that here, luring you into their all-night funhouse, and never letting you leave. The band's prior pop savvy with highlights "Da Funk," "One More Time," "Harder Better Faster Stronger," and "Make Love" can't hold a candle to what Daft Punk crafted here. "Get Lucky" doesn't just raise the bar, so much as it obliterates it.

  

Got a problem with any of the selections here or on part 1? Then let your voice be heard! Drop a comment, hit up the twitter account @allfreshsounds, give a stern talking to on Facebook, whatever you've gotta do. And look for a list of the top 10 albums so far this year to drop next week.

"Retrograde"- James Blake

It's almost too perfect that James Blake affectedly croons "we're alone now," on "Retrograde," the first single from his forthcoming sophomore effort Overgrown.  In its most hushed moments, the small ember of Blake's music can make any place seem desolate. The wordless vocals that waft in come like a call from another room and soon Blake is singing of love and loss, and world's where "you're on your own." In true R&B fashion, Blake crafts the following chorus into a loverman ode, asking the apple of his eye to "show me why you're strong, ignore everybody else, we're alone now." The first time Blake sings the line his pitch-shifting voice plummets into a wallow. Not long after valley comes Blake's ascent to the mountain, when the synths, keyboards, and clattering drum machines reach a musical zeitgeist as Blake is hit by the "starkness of the dawn." The bravado of "nostalgic" tracks like "CMYK" soon dissipates and all that's left is a machine-like whisper. When you're alone for so long, it's hard to keep company around. 

"Retrograde"

Overgrown is out April 8 on the Republic record label.

 

Top 30 Albums of 2011 (Pt. VIII)

Time for the top 5 to be revealed. Let's do a little bit of backtracking, then we'll kick in to high gear for #6. 

30. 4- Beyonce

29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common

28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well

27. Alien Observer- Grouper

26. Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito

25. Cole World: Sideline Story- J. Cole

24. Weekend at Burnies- Curren$y

23. Suck It and See- Arctic Monkeys

22. Celestial Lineage- Wolves in the Throne Room

21. The Whole Love- Wilco

20. Bad As Me- Tom Waits

19. Live, Love, A$AP­- A$AP Rocky

18. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes

17. 21- Adele

16. Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li

15. Hilarious- Louis C.K.

14. Cults- Cults

13. Goblin- Tyler, the Creator

12. Tomboy- Panda Bear

11. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent

10. Parallax- Atlas Sound  

9.  Nostalgia, Ultra- Frank Ocean

8. House of Balloons- The Weeknd

7. Take Care- Drake

6. undun-The Roots

#5 Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls

“It just feels like it’s gone, like all of its gone, gone away,” Girls frontman Christopher Owens sings over chiming power chords on “Just a Song.” Underscored by xylophone strikes and introduced by inspired acoustic fretwork, the seventh track off of Girls second LP represents everything beautiful about the band. Like so much of their best work, the track looks longing at the past both lyrically and musically, while desperately attempting to move forward.

That desperation is fully-encapsulated on “Vomit,” the album’s bridge. Over a gloomy guitar figure not far-removed from classic-era Cure, Owens wearily sings “nights I spend alone, I spend ‘em runnin’ ‘round lookin’ for you baby.” This tension quickly explodes into the chorus which consists of the repetitive mantra “lookin’ for love.” The next scrawl of noise to swell from the song is even more abrasive than the last and sounds like the peak of a drug-induced frenzy.

Girls have received acclaim for their co-opting of classic 60s rock and pop sounds and tempering it with noise-rock and punk. On this record though, they seem less concerned with the punk angle, preferring to mine the depths of gospel and acid-rock on the aforementioned “Vomit,” while doing their time as a Black Sabbath tribute band on the frenetic “Die.” In the group’s strongest moment to date, “Forgiveness,” ragged acoustic guitar circa late 60s Stones brings forth a defeated Owens declaring “nothing’s gonna get any better, if you don’t have a little hope.” “I can see so much clearer, when I just close my eyes,” Owens sings at the songs conclusion. For an album riddled with pleadings, destructive behavior, and biting self-deprecation, closing your eyes and pretending it’s all an illusion is the only cure, no matter how temporary.

"Vomit"

#4 Dedication- Zomby

When I was first putting together this list, I didn’t think this album would factor into the discussion much. After all, two factors are influence and success, which handicaps this record before it can even get going. But its placement on the list is entirely due to Zomby’s success at creating a unified LP that surpasses all his prior work.

To call this album cold is an understatement. The music here is as frigid and barren as the Antarctic. The song-titles are equal foreboding referencing: death, the devil, witches, and a tortured artist (Basquiat). At times these chilly synth-lines sprinkled with piano twinkles carry us into a scene not far-removed from Halloween (“Florence” and “Haunted”). And just when you’re endanger of falling asleep listening to the lull, the drum hits of a song like “Digital Rain,” drop you right back into this audio-nightmare. This record should do away with any lingering notions that Zomby is in fact a “dubstep” artist. The overwhelming bass isn’t there and the synths are just too cold and uninviting to be framed in that light.

Any errors this album commits are forgotten the instant the luring piano-line of “Basquiat” slithers forward. In the song’s eternal two minutes, we realize that death is no longer imminent but has finally come to call us home. The rapid and “uplifting” closer “Moziak,” does little to temper this death knell and the coffin firmly slams shut.

The one error in this album is in “Things Fall Apart.” Animal Collective member Panda Bear’s vocals are just too warm, threatening to destroy the darkness. Were this a non-album track it would be a masterful collaboration, but in this desolate soundscape it comes across as a faint and underwhelming cry in the night, a night that perpetually grows darker. 

"Basquiat"

#3 James Blake- James Blake

Calling this LP, James Blake’s first, post-dubstep is disingenuous. Such a term implies there is still a moderate reliance on the style proper. Though the occasional dubstep flourish does emerge, it’s short-lived, serving to mark this album as what is undoubtedly the first electronic singer-songwriter record.

In the dubstep world of 2011, Blake’s decision to sing, play piano, and bring in swipes of guitar is the electronic equivalent of Bob Dylan plugging in to an amp back in ’65. Geoff Barrow of Portishead snidely compared the work to that of “dubstep meets pub singer.” As forward thinking as the sub-genre has been since it first received a label, it is rarely kind to the vocal element, especially when those vocals are originals. Those who follow Blake closely should have seen this coming, since his work on “CMYK,” he has shown a fondness for making his tracks revolve around the vocals. When he brought in piano on the Klavierwerke EP, he was distancing himself from the scene he cut his teeth in.

All of that previous momentum pales in comparison to what can be found here, a fully-realized work that outshines all other electronic albums released in 2011. It isn’t just that Blake sings, it’s how he manipulates that singing. An touchstone is the work of Bon Iver, as Blake is often backed by an army of voices behind him. “My brother and my sister don’t speak to me,” he lonely sings on “I Never Learnt to Share.” Soon the bleak situation of the song is further spotlighted by a litany of Blake voices. When the dubstep sound does drop in the song’s second half, it’s an ironic catharsis, Blake looking at the genre he once called home and emotionally bidding it adieu.

Every song on here is a winner, whether it’s the sublime Feist cover “Limit to Your Love,” the stunning snare-backed track “Wilhelm Scream,” or the ringing piano of “Give Me My Month.” They all serve as glimpses into the frigid work Blake has crafted here, with closer “Measurements,” as the chilling summit. “Crease your pride, telling lies, that you’re not on your own,” he sings. It’s a state of affairs Blake should now be familiar with, having paid his respects to dubstep, he is now on his own. Trekking down a rousing musical road where he is the only traveler.     

"The Wilhelm Scream"