What's New(s)?

Coldplay release new Avicii collabo single "A Sky Full of Stars"/Announce "scavenger hunt"

The two previous singles "Magic" and "Midnight" that Coldplay have shared from their upcoming 6th LP Ghost Stories have both been remarkably restrained. Instead of employing the traditional Coldplay swell, Chris Martin and company have stuck to hushed whispers and somber tones.

That changes with the quartet's third single "A Sky Full of Stars". Granted the swell found here is markedly different thanks to the feature from EDM-staple Avicii. Now Chris Martin's falsetto cries are emboldened by shrieking synthesizers and heart-thudding drums. But rather than stretch the "new direction" to thin, the band eases back into a light acoustic shuffle for the lovestruck verses. Even with heavyweight backing, Coldplay can't resist being tender.

In addition to the new track, Coldplay has announced an "international scavenger hunt" to promote the new LP. According to "The Guardian" the band has hidden the lyrics to all 9 Ghost Stories tracks in libraries around the world. The hunt began yesterday when their Twitter account pointed fans in Mexico City to an envelope Vasconcelos library. Each contains a lyric sheet penned by lead-singer Chris Martin and one specially selected envelope will have a "golden ticket" to the band's July 1 at Royal Albert Hall.

of Montreal releasing documentary The Past Is Grotesque Animal

Having had the fortune to see Elephant 6 members of Montreal at this year's installment of Middle of the Map Fest in Kansas City, I know how cinematic the band's psychedelic presence is. Now the upcoming documentary The Past Is A Grotesque Animal (named for the Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer? epic) will capture the Kevin Barnes group in all its blown-out, kaleidoscopic glory.

Directed by Jason Miller, the music doc  will focus both on the band and Kevin Barnes himself out on tour, with appearances by frequent collaborators like Janelle Monáe. The project, initially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, will be released through Oscilloscope Laboratories and also made available on iTunes. View the official trailer below, which features the aforementioned Monáe.

Hear unreleased Arcade Fire Reflektor cut "Get Right"

Arcade Fire found the connector on 2013's towering Reflektor and now fans have found an unreleased effort from the LP. Entitled "Get Right", the song initially appeared on a short advertisement before disappearing into the ether.  Now Exclaim is reporting fans of the Montreal-group have fished out a lo-fi, live recording of the Reflektor outtake. 

There's no word on where the faux 50s rave-up emanates from, but you can find the track here and view the group's recently released behind-the-scenes tour short below.

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

"What Is Love"- Janelle Monáe

To let you all down gently, no this isn't a take on Haddaway's guiltiest of music pleasures
"What Is Love?" When I first saw this posted on another site, I thought the exact same thing. In my mind I was already imagining the Electric Lady effortlessly gliding all over the track, giving it a soul that was lost under the bright lights of the original.

While that's not at all what we get, Monáe's "What Is Love" from the upcoming Rio 2 is equally as catchy. You'd expect a track from a kids movie set in a tropical paradise to be incredibly colorful and hook-laden and with "What Is Love" you'd be exactly right. Guitars are strummed in quick succession, teasing out riffs with just the right amount of bite. Drums dance in circles. A synthesizer scatters across a golden beach. Full crowds occasionally join in to intone "this is a crazy love," forming the world's most upbeat beach-party in the process. For her part Monáe is head over heels in love.  She gleefully lilts on almost every line and wonders aloud "what good is love, if it's not your love?" Based on the high everyone is on, it's a question she'll never have to answer. 

The Rio 2 soundtrack is out March 25th.

 

"What's New(s)?"

The Knife announce plans to tour North America

Swedish sibling-duo The Knife's 2013 record Shaking the Habitual, was simultaneously one of the year's most politically vitriolic and danceable records. Now it seems the beat driven manifesto will be making its way stateside with the announcement that the pair will be touring North America around their set at this year's loaded Coachella festival.  

While the show will retain some elements of the elaborate European shows, the group is promising "tweaks", along with some new songs. Despite the alterations, the Anderssson siblings assure the show will be a "continuation" of the 2013 live endeavors. In a blog post, the band describes their intentions for the tour as such:

"Shaking the Habitual, the album, lays the groundwork for this show. Based on the artistic and political ideas therein, we play with the expectations and question habits of the concert, the dance performance, the club and the music festival. Working within a highly commercial, professionalised and male-dominated music industry, we strive to twist and strangle hierarchies to find other ways of organizing work and its conditions. Disrespecting borders between digital and analogue, fake and real, professional and dilettante, star and cast, experimental acts and glamorous shows, nature and culture, audience and artist, blood family and chosen family, dance and action, a Buchla and bongo and the sound of a hit and a kiss."

No dates have been announced yet, so while you wait enjoy a video for the static-ridden "Full of Fire".

Chvrches cover Janelle Monáe's "Tightrope"

Janelle Monáe's "Tightrope" from the epic ArchAndroid remains one of my favorite songs of this decade. A live-wire crisscrossing of clamoring percussion, stuttering vocals, sweltering horns, and an impeccable Big Boi guest verse; the track is pure energy. Put it on, and there's a high-probability you'll be dancing along.

Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches minimalist rework of the tune, performed for Billboard's "Women in Music" event, won't have you dancing along, but slowly nodding. Instead of "getting to high", this one goes incredibly low. Singer Lauren Mayberry wistfully floats atop mechanical drum hits and slow waves of synthesizer, exposing what happens when someone's dead-set on "taking away your dreams." Despite the rueful take, Monáe (who was in attendance) was dancing and singing right along. It's hard to stop "getting funky" no matter what form it comes in.

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)?

Cults- "I Can Hardly Make You Mine"

Girl-pop acolytes Cults are prepping their second album Static and in the run-up they've already released a mysterious teaser trailer, and now the static is starting to take shape with first single "I Can Hardly Make You Mine". Madeline Follin's effervescent vocals thread the needle through a dense wall of sound (a la Phil Spector) and a noticeably heftier guitar than anything on the first record. Are they mirroring the moment many cults go playful to militant? Only judgment day will answer that question. Until October 15 comes, don't drink the Kool-Aid.

R. Kelly & Phoenix Hook Up

As previously mentioned on the blog, Phoenix was flirting with the idea of working with R. Kelly in the future. Now it seems that the flirtation has become an actual relationship, and the pair will be releasing a remix of Bankrupt cut "Trying To Be Cool". The band posted the above cover to their Instagram account earlier today, though no official release date has been announced. If waiting has you all hot and bothered, beat the heat with the original or check out this remix to the remix of "Ignition".

Electric Lady

 

The release date for R&B/soul/funk chameleon Janelle Monáe is swiftly approaching and the now the announcement will leave more than a few fans wishing September 10 would get here already. The album will continue the futuristic, dance-addled dystopian nightmare of the ArchAndroid and Monáe will have more than a few collaborators to help tell the tale. In addition to single "Q.U.E.E.N." featuring spiritual progenitor Erykah Badu, Monáe will be splitting time with: Solange, Miguel, Esperanza Spalding, Big Boi, and the Purple One himself...Prince. A two-disc edition is also in the works, which will stretch the guest-list to include Cee-Lo. Check out the tracklist below and after the jump, the video for the electronic-bounce of "Q.U.E.E.N."

The Electric Lady:

1 Suite IV: Electric Overture
2 Givin Em What They Love ft. Prince
3 Q.U.E.E.N. ft. Erykah Badu
4 Electric Lady ft. Solange
5 Good Morning Midnight 
6 PrimeTime ft. Miguel
7 We Were Rock and Roll
8 The Chrome Shoppe (Interlude)
9 Dance Apocalyptic
10 Look Into My Eyes
11 Suite V: Electric Overture
12 It's Code
13 Ghetto Woman
14 Our Favorite Fugitive (Interlude)
15 Victory
16 Can’t Live Without Your Love
17 Sally Ride
18 Dorothy Dandridge Eyes ft. Esperanza Spalding
19 What an Experience




20 Q.U.E.E.N. [feat. Erykah Badu] [Wondamix]
21 Electric Lady [feat. Big Boi and Cee-Lo Green] [Dungeon-Wondamix] 
22 HYTB 
23 I Want You Back 

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