Feast of Beast

Beach House - Lazuli

Premiere from new LP Bloom

Well it’s out on the tubes, and after many listens, I’m quite happy with the new Beach House LP Bloom.  I particularly like the vision Beach House set out for this new album, as detailed via Sub Pop:

Bloom is meant to be experienced as an ALBUM, a singular, unified vision of the world.

Having the experience of listening through a full album start to finish is one of the most appealing distinctions that attracted to me to vinyl originally.  Not that you can’t skip the needle round, but it just lends itself to listening through the whole thing as the band intended.  For many artists, maybe the album flow wasn’t a consideration in this mp3 single age we live in, but I live for albums that have that magical flow.  Beach House nails it, and I feel that Bloom even surpasses 2010’s highly raved about Teen Dream.  I can’t fully articulate how, but Bloom seems to have more parallels with their earliest s/t LP, which remains my favorite. 

Album flow, its all about the album flow.

Beach House - Bloom LP is available for pre-order directly from Sup Pop here.  The standard Loser Edition will sport Ltd White 2XLP vinyl.  Loser Edition will sell out without a doubt.

Mirrorring - Silent From Above

The latest collaboration between Liz Harris (Grouper) and Jesy Fortino (Tiny Vipers); Mirrorring has deeply moved me.  The LP is called Foreign Body and much as I love Liz’s earlier work, the higher production values and clearer sound tend to shine & show off Jesy’s more folky vocals while still maintaining the very minimalistic and reserved tone that both have cultivated and perfected.  The record is 41 minutes of pure bliss and I’ve had it on constant repeat.  Considering the speed with which Liz’s other solo LPs have sold out and the high prices they not garner on the LP black market (ebay/discogs), I’m very surprised to see copies of Foreign Body readily available.  Maybe b/c its a side project, or its just a larger pressing.  Regardless if you’re a Grouper and/or Tiny Vipers fan in the slightest, snag this guy on vinyl while you can before it succumbs to black market inflation in price.

Mirrorring - Foreign Body LP is available on vinyl from Insound in the states or either Boomkat or Norman Records for abroaders.  Snag it while its hot.

Computer Magic - Help Me

Always love the tunes from bedroom electro pop master Computer Magic, and her latest batch are prime dance material as usual.  This unreleased gem comes from the new Orion EP which hit the net last week.  My only gripe is that she usually made a point of releasing her digital music for free download on her blog, or selling a physical vinyl copy (see Electronic Fences 12”, or The End of Time 7”).  But after having a guest appearance on the last Kitsuné comp, they snagged the digital release rights of Orion and are selling digital copies.

Srsly Kitsuné?  You already put out a ton of material from artists on vinyl, including every comp ever released, would it be so much to ask for this one to grace some wax too?

Oh well, it is a great listen if you already dig her material.  I snagged this via the tubes and will wait up for the next physical release.  Hopefully not too long. 

Niteflights - Emily (It’s Easy)

Really diggin on these tunes from new London outfit Niteflights.  They have a 3 track EP up on the ol’ SnDcLd for free download that materialized while demoing material on holiday in a friends’ bungalow in Scotland over Christmas.  Makes me pine for the summer that’s currently teasing us in the northeast (you just know after being 70, it’ll fucking snow again next week).  This music is a perfect balance of pop snyths and a highly danceable beat.  I’m Glad You’re Here has a distinctly Summer Camp vibe, but proves not to be their only sound as Postcard shifts quickly into something slower, a more quirky pop that reminds me of oldskool Unicorns.  There’s also a superb video for the before mentioned track that’s going up immediately following this post.

A+++ grab their free EP here and lets hope for a vinyl 7” sometime soon.

Anton Govorin & bluefa - Behind the Curtains

Don’t know much about this beautiful ambient soundscape that appeared inbox this week, but I like.  Anton Govorin lives in Moscow and makes hypnotizing elegant sounds with a quavering touch of suspense.  I am also totally in love with the image that accompanies it by Antihoney.  Check out some of his other equally alluring tracks on his SndCld here;Touching Water is another gem.

Julia Holter - Our Sorrows

One of the artists most recently on constant repeat and for good reason.  Julia Holter’s Ekstasis LP is a beautiful followup to the super OOP Tragedy LP.  Grab Ekstasis on vinyl from rvng Intl. here