Let’s set the record straight – Twin Sister has nothing to do with Kid Sister, so don’t fall into that mind trap the same way I did. It did put me off the indie-pop quintet for a while but their Color Your Life EP is setting me free. The first listen was simply impressing. On subsequent listens, the allure of Twin Sister’s sound became more luscious – at times a little minimal, other times a little 70’s disco but with a multitude of sounds and an Emily Haines-like coo from vocalist Andrea Estella, Twin Sister just seem to pull it off with a casual cool.
I know it has been a while since NYE but it feels like summer has just started so party on and party hard. I’m here to help you. So welcome to another year at TWYE.
I thought I’d start the year off still riding the lo-fi rnb waves of late 2010 simply because the tunes of The Weekend are so so good. Hailing from Toronto, Abel Tesfaye and Jeremy Rose are the crafty mixers behind the suave beats of The Weekend.
Trying to google this band was almost as bad as searching for Sydney-based quartet, Songs. So I’m going to tell you right now that The Weekend’s website is slightly bare. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
TWYE favourite, Toro Y Moi is about to drop his second full-length LP Underneath The Pine with “Still Sound” the first taste of what should be another magnificent and highly enjoyable record from Toro Y Moi.
Over in Sweden, jj are starting 2011 a little better with the release of this mixtape titled kills – I was underwhelmed with their last release to be honest. That said this mixtape crams some pretty sweet tunes from the past decade (I refuse to say the noughties).
You can download jj’s mixtape in it’s entirety here.
While we’re still on mixtapes, the lovely Kid Sister has her Kiss Kiss Kiss mixtape available over at Fools Gold Records. Jam-packed with gems, collabs and remixes as mastered by Nick Catchdubs, Kiss Kiss Kiss is a light, quick spin back in time accidentally getting one foot trapped in nu-rave and the other at Ibiza. Yeah, I’m a little confused myself.
Stuck at home because of the rain? This jam from disco favorites Hercules & Love Affair should fix you right up! Between parties, solo projects and hangs with Donatella Versace, they’ve had to squeeze in recording time for their upcoming release and “My House” is your first taste of what should be another turntable classic from the eccentric Brooklyn quintet. So come rain, hail or shine, you have no excuses to party on.
Consider faded colours, ripped denim, big hair, the token guitar riff, and dramatic narratives translated as sound and what you’ll get is Brooklyn’s Twin Shadow. The one man polyester-clad party band is stuck doing the 80’s time warp complete with cheesy one liners but hey, it’s still pretty cool. With his debut Forget co-produced by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor, you can rest assured that the music of Twin Shadow is in good hands. Go on. Get intimate. Get Twin Shadow.
Kim Ann Foxman (of Hercules & Love Affair) has just released her debut single “Creature” on Mr. INTL – a newly-established record label run by none other than her Hercules counterpart, Andy Butler. Stepping out of the shadows, Foxman departs (but not far from) the classic disco-house sound of Hercules complete with Butler’s Midas touch. This is doing a great job keeping me in suspense for the next Hercules & Love Affair record.
You’d never know it from Tom Krell delicate falsettos that he is philosophy linguist. Under the pseudonym of How To Dress Well, Krell’s lo-fi, bedroom R&B tracks have been making small but significant waves. Consider Bon Iver, Justin Timberlake and JJ in a melting pot and How To Dress Well is what you get.
I wont draw on any aesthetic similarities Deerhunter may posses to their contemporaries but trust me it’s there … well in “Revival” and “Primitive 3D” at least – the first tracks to be released from their upcoming release Halycon Digest.. They go beyond and take you further than you imagine but don’t just acknowledge Bradford Cox for it all because Deerhunter are a decent quartet. So Lockett Pundt, Joshua Fauver and Moses Archuleta, you all a shout too – I’ve heard enough to now be eagerly awaiting Halycon Digest.
Dammit New Zealand tourism, change the soundtrack to your ads please and make it this.
“How Ye” is a cleverly deceitful track from Dunedin trio Die! Die! Die! and it’s a complete rush to the head. As the first taste from their new record Form (due for release in October), the tenacity and structure behind “How Ye” is unexpected and kind of just brilliant.
That marathon is on this Sunday. You know the one with some stupid hill dubbed heartbreak. I don’t mind running a mile or two. What I don’t like is the aching muscles when you forgot to stretch post-workout – this is a mistake I make too often. For a case of sore muscles (like mine), I recommend doses of Sunglasses‘ “Whiplash”. This has to ease your muscles right, if not ease you into the weekend for those who can’t get off the couch. You know who you are.
Summer is the name of that girl from The O.C. It is also the best season of the year. And now “Summer” is your first taste from the Memphis quintet, Magic Kids. There are moments during “Summer” where it’s a little awkward, musically speaking – I think it is the attempted grandeur confused with twee-baroque-pop elements that is somewhat questionable. That said, it is towards the end of this track where the falsettos and the Beach Boy-esque melodies kick in that you drift more towards adorable than awkward. Magic Kids are youthful, ambitious and ingenious, so expect nothing more than big things.
Those Walls, Your Ears 