What's New(s)?

Debut Joy Division EP to be re-released for Record Store

Back in 1978 before Ian Curtis and company had become a flagship band of the nascent post-punk scene, they were a Salford-based quartet who had recently changed their name from Warsaw. Not long after the name-change to the now iconic "Joy Division", the group released a debut 7" EP on the personal Enigma Records imprint, followed by a 12" offering on Anonymous Records in October of that year. While the band hit major heights in 1979 with Unknown Pleasures, An Ideal for Living was relatively unheralded.

Over the years the record has been frequently bootlegged by hardcore fans of the band and now those fans will be able to legally obtain the EP once more. Out April 19 for Record Store Day, the re-imagined version will feature artwork from the less-controversial 12" cover (the 7" originally depicted a member of the Hitler Youth). You can view the tracklist below and enjoy a clip of the band performing "Transmission" live.

Wu-Tang Clan member GZA gives a Ted Talk on "The Genius of Science"

"GZA is just the Genius" Raekwon reminded listeners on the way back in 1993 on Enter the Wu-Tang. Recently the head of hip-hop's Voltron, GZA, got a chance to put that mind on display with a TedxTeen talk about what he calls "The Genius of Science."

In the course of the lecture, GZA (born Gary Grice) discusses his fondness for science and the work he now does for Science Genius, a nonprofit that teaches high-school students to learn about science through unconventional means such as hip-hop. GZA also goes on to expound upon the meaning of the Wu-Tang Clan name, how nursery rhymes are really just childhood raps, and how music can "harmonize the school." The 19-minute lecture wraps up with students from the program showing off their knowledge on subjects like: gravity, sexual reproduction, and natural selection, before showcasing some of GZA's material from the forthcoming Dark Matter LP.

Follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

"Are You That Somebody" (Acoustic Cover)- BANKS

"Are You That Somebody?", Aaliyah's 1998 effort for the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack remains the greatest R&B track to arise from that decade. There's really no other way to parse it. Every element of a classic is in the song. Timbaland's stuttering production which had yet to take on the full-icon status it would later enjoy. Static Major's evasive, but crucially important backing vocals that slip in and out with the beat. And then at the center of the perfect storm is Aaliyah. While the song is rife with crisp drum strikes, her voice never swells to that loud, knocking level. She's content to dwell in the shadows and whisper her affection, rather than belt it from a rooftop. In the past few years, her lesson of less is more has become the motto of an entire crop of indie R&B singers.

One of those singers is the American-born/British-raised BANKS. On last year's stellar "Waiting Game" she carefully crooned "I'm thinking it over, the way you make me feel sexy but it's causing me pain," entirely cognizant of the kind of damage such an admission would deal. Such pained self-awareness is essential for a track like "Are You That Somebody?” one major reason why the artist's cover of the tune for BBC Radio 1 works so well. Ditching drum machines for a hiccupping guitar, she embodies the role of the "goody goody" who has a "naughty naughty" personae lurking underneath. Like Aaliyah in the original she delivers the omission in a hushed whisper, not wanting just anyone to know everything about her. "See I'm trusting you, with my heart, my soul," she croons in a moment of great candor. When you're risking so much, you can understand such carefulness.

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.

"Keep Watch"- Wu-Tang Clan

I haven't exactly been shy about my love for the Wu-Tang Clan. For my money there hasn't been a better rap-group to come up. Everything is there in the group, larger-than-life personalities like ODB. Classic rappity rappers in the way of GZA and Raekwon. Frenetic madmen a la Ghostface Killah. A blunted MC in Method Man who can never shake a cartoonish grin. And then there's a bench of the "second-tier" teammates who rarely drop the ball when they get called up. Uniting it all is the singular, uncompromising vision of RZA. While he's justly received his fair share of flack in recent years for being a hip-hop autocrat, without that focused power the Wu would've never been the Wu.

Even if the Wu had never climbed to those lofty heights, "Keep Watch", the first track off of the forthcoming A Better Tomorrow would be worth celebrating. It's not on the same level as storied entries into the anthology like Enter the Wu-Tang, Liquid Swords, or Only Built for Cuban Linx but it doesn't need to be. Everyone here is hyperfocused in their approach and effortlessly bounces off each other; a small miracle considering it's been nearly seven years since their last group LP dropped. Meth's verse kicks off the "instrumental killing spree" as he goes off the muzzle like a rabid dog and devours anyone who dare label him "washed up." Inspectah Deck follows suit and blitzes the circular guitar riff and loping soul vocal (courtesy of Mathematics) with the intensity of Justin Tuck. Cappadonna renders any arguments about his place in Wu-Tang Clan proper irrelevant from the word go. "I'm a project n**** I don't care about the Benz," he chest puffs, reminding everyone of the grime the Clan originally came coated in. And after three rounds of brawn, comes the ultimate in brain. GZA indulges his inner astrophysicist to talk radiating heat and solar clouds. Midway through he lectures "balance on all sides, it’s such great symmetry," perfectly surmising why the W has remained so successful after 20 years. They're balanced and anyone who dares test them will be left kicking rocks.

“Keep Watch” is available for download now.

What's New(s)?

Future premieres video for "Covered N Money"

Last Friday on the blog, I dissected ATL-rapper Future's slice of "mausoleum trap" "Covered N Money". Now the booming, paranoid cut has an accompanying video. In the Alex Nazari directed clip, Future finds himself unable to shake the feds as he weaves through dark back-alleys to find whoever snitched on him. Paired with Future's garbled Auto-Tune and Sonny Digital's colossal drums, it's unspeakably tense. The type of thing where you expect a bloodbath at any second.

Honest is out April 22 through A1/Freebandz/Epic and you can view the clip now on WorldStar Hip Hop.



King Krule pairs with Ratking

Despite his professed admiration for hip-hop, it's hard to imagine glum electronic/R&B artist King Krule anchoring the hook of a track. His voice is too dour, the sort you expect to drop at any time because the weight its carrying is unimaginably heavy. But then again, French Montana has made a career out memorable, mumbled choruses so there's a lane for it.

And that's precisely the lane Krule travels down in "So Sick Stories", his pairing with NYC crew Ratking. While the trio is spastic and alive as they wander through abandoned corners of the Big Apple, Krule clings to brick walls and slabs of concrete. When he's bellowing about "souls that go to sleep" atop the springy drum-machine  you expect he's speaking in first person. The moniker of "The City That Never Sleeps" doesn't apply to everyone.

Ratking's debut LP So It Goes is out April 8 via XL imprint Hot Charity.

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

"Water Fountain"- tUne-yArDs

Even now, I can't be the only one that still has problems typing Merrill Garbus' tUnE-yArDs project the right way. I know there's a certain rhythm to it that makes easier to write, but I haven't hit it. In typing that opening sentence, I had to backspace at least three times to make sure I had the proper capitalization. It's not so much a tiring exercise, as it is a frustrating one. And when I'm done, all I have is a band name to show for my endeavor.

Granted, if Garbus continues to make tracks like Nikki Nack first single "Water Fountain", I will gladly accept any frustration that will come with a write-up. Right away stuttering hand claps and clanging drums catch you up in an infectious pop rally. The sort where people gather together and march simply because it's a nice day outside. The chant of "nothing much to do when you're going nowhere, WOOHA WOOHA," that constitutes the chorus is equally indelible, splitting the difference between the Dixie Cups' "Iko Iko" and Busta Rhymes most well-known effort. Early on, Garbus counteracts the sunny communal vibe with the pessimistic realization "nothing feels like dying like the drying of my skin." Along with that withering, comes a loss of feeling. A growing numbness that acts as a shield of armor in a world looking to inflict pain. Soon enough though she sheds the dead skin to disperse the pennies she's saved up and splits a two-pound chicken with friends. Who cares if the well's run dry? That concern can wait for another day.

Nikki Nack is out 5/6 via 4AD and Garbus will go on a North American tour for the LP starting April 23 in Denver.

Tour Dates:

4/23 Denver, CO- Pepsi Center
4/26 Kansas City, MO- Starlight Theatre

4/27 St. Louis, MO- Chaifetz Arena
4/29 Columbus, OH-Schottenstein Center
5/1 Nashville, TN- Bridgestone Arena
5/2 Atlanta, GA- Aarons Amphiteatre at Lakewood
5/5 Los Angeles, CA- Mason Lodge at Hollywood Forever
5/7 Brooklyn, NY- Rough Trade
5/23 Bend, OR- Les Schwab Amphitheater
5/25 George, WA- Sasquatch Festival
5/26 Boise, ID- Knitting Factory Concert House
5/27 Salt Lake City, UT- Urban Lounge
5/30 Dallas, TX- Granada Theater
6/1 Houston, TX- Free Press Summer Fest
6/3 Phoenix, AZ- Crescent Ballroom
6/5 Los Angeles, CA- The Fonda Theatre
6/6 San Francisco, CA- The Fillmore
6/13 Washington, DC- 9:30 Club
6/15 Philadelphia, PA- Union Transfer
6/16 Boston, MA- Royale Boston
6/18 Montreal, QC- La Tulipe
6/19 Toronto, ON- Massey Hall
6/21 Dover, DE- Firefly Music Festival
6/22-23 New York, NY- Webster Hall
7/17 Minneapolis, MN- First Avenue
7/19 Chicago, IL- Pitchfork Music Festival
7/20 Louisville, KY- Forecastle Festival

Track Attack- "Old College Try" (The Mountain Goats)

"The warning signs have all been bright and garish," Mountain Goats singer John Darnielle recounts over woebegone organ and frayed acoustic guitar in Tallahassee cut "Old College Try". Considering the career Darnielle has carved out as the only steady member of the Mountain Goats, the line may as well describe his songs. "Dance Music"'s chipper guitar ditty barely concealed a tale of domestic violence. In "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature", assured drum pats couple with an identity crisis where the narrator "can't breathe." For all of its stir, 2012's "Harlem Roulette" still dealt with a once-great musician's withering death. When you use the word "garish" to describe the Mountain Goats' discography, it has little to do with color. Within their world of fallen stars, forgotten homes, and short-lived meetings the word is taken in the ugliest context. Songs that don't spit bile outright have it coursing through every inch of their veins.

And while it's worth debating, few songs in the group's fraught catalog deserve the term more than "Old College Try". Appearing on Tallahassee, a Cinéma vérité documentary of the fan-favorite Alpha Couple falling apart at the seams, "Old College Try" signals the final stitches being ripped out. To an optimistic ear though, that's not what's happening at all. Despite the minor organ figure, the pledge "I will walk down to the end with you, if you will come all the way down with me," reads like a vow from the holiest of marriages. A marriage that neither life nor death could ever possibly vanquish. But Darnielle himself is on record as saying in concert, “This is a song about two people who love each other very much, but accept their lot in life to torture each other to death.”

Besides such towering figures like life and death are rarely what sink a marriage. Instead it’s the "small things" we've been told a million times not to sweat. It's having one too many drinks and staying out late one too many nights. It's being caught casting a look in the wrong direction. Something as innocent as an impulse buy can snowball into a discussion on responsibility and budgeting. In some cases, a marriage's death knell is heard by "simply" falling out of love. Liking a person is hard enough, let alone loving them. More than any drink, that's the great obstruction to the Alpha Couple's marital bliss. Cooped up in a decaying house in an alien town, they only have each other to depend on. But they don't like each other anymore and when you feel nothing for another person, what motivates you to help them?

Their great answer to the $64,000 question is to see things out to the bitter end, not out of compassion but ugly competition. Leaving is admitting defeat and both are far too stubborn to say "you win." So they apologize "for stuff I haven't done yet," rather than work towards to avoiding tragedy. "Our love has never had a leg to stand on," the Alpha male recounts at another turn. Imbued with all this foresight, they refuse any sort of crutch. They'd rather languish. Neil Young's notion "it's better to burn out than fade away" is the farthest thing from either of their minds. If you slowly fade away, eventually you'll be forgotten. Time won't remember you or what you've done. And that's all either of them wants, to be forgotten.