MP3s: Minks' Araby / Little Fawn 7"

Since it's December, music bloggers are culling through their iTunes catalogues, double checking albums for any amount of worth, revisiting records from months past. While Minks' By the Hedge won't land on any writer's Top 25 of 2011 list, their Cure, Smiths and early-My Bloody Valentine inspired goth pop deserves a little recognition. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the tight record is packed with New Wave allusions and sing-along harmonies; no small feet for a bunch of Boston teens.

It's commendable then that the band has another solid release in their latest 7": Araby. The title track fits the 80s-referencing template the band's laid out for themselves, while "Little Fawn" shows they've been listening to Pet Sounds in the recording studio. Though they wear their vinyl collection on their sleeves, the band produces consistently good tunes. What more could ears want?

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Minks - Araby
Minks - Little Fawn
Minks - Funeral Song

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MP3s: Heavenly Beat's Balearic Pop Jams

You may recall me blogging the Beach Fossils side-project, Dive. Despite the midnight tones, the group keeps Beach Fossils' chill vibes alive and the same can be said for Heavenly Beat.

This second side-project is led by Beach Fossils' bassist John Peña, but opts to combine his home-team sounds with Balearic accents, recalling early Kings of Convenience (in a good way). The group's got two singles to their name with a full-length due sometime next year.

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Heavenly Beat - Faithless
Heavenly Beat - Suday

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MP3s: "Sometime" & "Corvalis" by Dive

Sometimes when you're an up-and-coming band with a mere 7" piece of vinyl to your name, it's hard to get attention from bigger indie publications, let alone the blogosphere hype machine. You know what helps? Being the guitarist for an already (modestly) succesful indie rock outfit.

While I'd like to suggest that Dive--the new side-project from Beach Fossils' Z. Cole Smith--is merely getting press for the reasons above, this Sometime 7" deserves every play your iTunes counts.

If you listen to Beach Fossils (which you should be), you'll know what to expect from Dive, though Smith swaps out the Fossils' suburban, drinking-from-the-hose, summer sounds for slightly darker, more nocturnal motifs; think Bernard Sumner on a winding, midnight drive. Thankfully, the guitar jangle and wispy melodies remain, making Sometime just as strong a release as this year's What a Pleasure EP.

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Dive - Sometime
Dive - Corvalis

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How to Dress Well Covers Elite Gymnastics and Vice Versa

Pop quiz: Who remembers those dual EPs from Elite Gymnastics? Y'know, the ones that dropped in July? And what about How to Dress Well's Just Once EP? Of course, you all do.

Well, How to Dress Well decided to cover the Elite G'z ("Here in Heaven") and the hip duo returned the favour by remixing "Suicide Dream 2." Both tracks feature How to Dress Well's ethereal vocals and while the cover is expectedly haunting, the remix adds some much-appreciated pep. Friends helping out friends, you guys.

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How to Dress Well - Suicide Dream 2 (Elite Gymnastics Remix)
Elite Gymnastics - Here, In Heaven 3 (How to Dress Well Cover)
Elite Gymnastics - Here, In Heaven 2
How to Dress Well - Suicide Dream 2

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MP3: Tennis Covers The Zombies' "Tell Her No"

I became relatively enamored with The Zombies' 1968 sun-kissed opus, Oracle and Odyssey, over the summer and I'm probably a better music writer for it (that and "Time of the Season," man). While I've only recently dug into the Britpop band's brief--as in two--album discography, I've always had an appreciation for "Tell Her No."

I can close my eyes and still hear it through the tinny speakers of my aunt's '90s, white Chrysler Imperial, her aged voice singing along to the sounds of her youth while the hot, burgundy leather stuck to the backs my legs and the smell of settled in cigarette smoke battled the open window's fresh air.

So of course, when Tennis--a band already approved here--covers the track, I'm all over it. The nautical couple's take is pretty straightforward, if not a little too bland and/or destined to play overhead next time you're at Urban Outfitters. But since they stuck to the basics, the cover is winsome and worth a download, if not also a mild golf clap.

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Tennis - Tell Her No
The Zombies - Tell Her No

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Summer's Ending? Citizen Insane's Got a Mixtape for That

Well, it's September and I can already feel the changes. I've started to wear actual shoes instead of, y'know, flip-flops. I'm finally wearing pants again, breaking my shorts-everyday summer record. I've even stopped sweating through every t-shirt I go out in. But before October rears is chilly, leaf-turning head, let's all soak up these last few weeks of sunned weather, patio bars and the outdoors with no jacket required... Pretty soon, we'll be missing it.

Citizen Mix Vol. VII - Summer's End


Tracklist:

1. Major Lazer - Keep It Going Louder (So Shifty Remix)
2. The Zombies - Time of the Season
3. TV Girl - Benny and The Jetts
4. Wugazi - Ghetto Afterthought
5. The Scientists - Frantic Romantic
6. Syme - Modern Love (David Bowie Cover)
7. SBTRKT - Right Thing to Do
8. Lil B - I'm God
9. Joy Division - Disorder
10. Ducktails - Sit Around With Ya
11. Big Star - September Gurls
12. Beirut - After the Curtain

Alternate Download Link: Click here to download the mix straight from MediaFire.

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MP3: Neon Indian - "Polish Girl"

Last week, I posted "Fallout," the newest single from Neon Indian's forthcoming album Era Extraña. While that track was more of a chill sleeper, "Polish Girl" (thankfully) is not. The new new single dropped on NPR a couple of days ago and is the kind of glowing, spaced-out retro-pop Alan Palomo does best.

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Neon Indian - Polish Girl
Neon Indian - Fallout

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MP3: New Neon Indian - "Fallout"

What's that? You haven't heard the lastest Neon Indian single, off his forthcoming album Era Extraña? Is the rhetorical nature of this post trying your patience?

Either way, "Fallout" isn't half bad, though it does find Neon Indian (aka Alan Palomo) ditching the lo-fidelity sounds of his '08 debut and embracing the production styles of his VEGA project. Still, the track's strong enough to build excitement for the eventual LP and I suppose that's what matters most...

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Neon Indian - Fallout
Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid With You

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New Tallest Man on Earth Track, Courtesy of Adult Swim

I gave a shout-out to Adult Swim's 2011 Singles Program a couple of weeks back, but after all the goodness they've been hosting, the project's more than earned a golf clap.

They've been releasing new tracks from artists you probably love, once a week, for over a month now, and the results have been all hits, no misses. That being said, this week's contribution from The Tallest Man on Earth is a hands down favourite so far.

That track, along with three other highlights, is down below, but feel free to head over to the Adult Swim site to catch 'em all.

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The Tallest Man on Earth - Weather of a Killing Kind
Active Child - Hanging On
Best Coast - Gone Again
How to Dress Well - Us in the Sense of Forever

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Download: Elite Gymnastics' New EPs + All Their Old EPs

If you haven't heard of Minneapolis' Elite Gymnastics for their club-ready Waka Flock remix ("WΛKΛ"), their chillwave EPs (Real Friends and Neu! '92) or their 90's-neon aesthetic, which seems to have come straight out of Kelly Kapowski's locker, now's the time to hop into their nostalgia pool.

Earlier today, the Elite G'z (what the cool kids are calling 'em) dropped a dual set of five-track EPs that are more than worth the hard-drive space. Ruin Vol. 1 is 20 minutes of up-tempo, hazy electro-pop, while its Vol. 2 counter-part features each track remixed at half-speed for some chopped 'n screwed fun.

Grab the slew of tracks I'm hosting below and if you're a fan, head to their Tumblr to download the new EPs and everything else they've released so far.

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Elite Gymnastics - l i t t l e t h i n g s
Elite Gymnastics - WΛKΛ
Elite Gymnastics - h e r e , i n h e a v e n 2
Elite Gymnastics - o m a m o r i

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MP3s: New Tracks from Wooden Shjips' Forthcoming LP

A couple days ago, Stereogum premiered the first single off Wooden Shjips' forthcoming LP, West. While "Lazy Bones" is a chugging psychedelic anthem that could make Jim Morrison blush, I've got a little premier of my own...

"Black Smoke Rise" is West's opening track. With muddy distortion thick as peanut butter, the desert dirge dutifully sets the stage for the album's overarching themes of "the American West and all of the mythology, romanticism, and idealism that it embodies." So in other words, the perfect soundtrack for Captain America, Billy and George.

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Wooden Shjips - Black Smoke Rise
Wooden Shjips - Lazy Bones

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Save Wonder Bear's Latest EP For Your Next Night In

I don't know much about New York's Wonder Bear, other than the fact that their songs are more abstract soundscapes than, you know, actual 4/4 pop jams.

While they remind me a lot of early High Places, the band also manages to combine Mountain Man harmonies with early Animal Collective sampling pastiche. Although their latest EP isn't something you'll play at your next rooftop BBQ, the tracks on Avalanche should serve you well during your next lonely night in.

You can download the full Avalance EP on Wonder Bear's Bandcamp page or grab two standout tracks below.

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Wonder Bear - V079
Wonder Bear - Juarez

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MP3: Night Manager - "Pizza Party"

Since summer's now in full swing, I planned on posting that new Best Coast jam (apropos, no?) currently spinning over at the 2011 Adult Swim Singles Program, but it seems I've found something a little better*.

"Pizza Party" is a confusingly titled, fuzzy gem from Brooklyn's Night Manager. And though it's more shady than Best Coast's usual fare, the reverb, riffage and harmonies more than make up for it. It's something Robert Smith might play on the iPod while you rub sunscreen on his back at the beach.

*But actually, the Best Coast, How to Dress Well and Ford & Lopatin tracks streaming there are solid. You can download them all (and future releases) by clicking here.

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Night Manager - Pizza Pasta

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MP3: Bon Iver - "I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time"

I haven't been able to comment at-length on the beautiful new Bon Iver record, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, but it seems if you have a pulse and internet access, you've already read about its expansive greatness.

While I'm still putting together my review, people are clamoring for more Justin Vernon and their prayers were answered the other day when "I Can’t Make You Love Me / Nick of Time" popped up online.

The track, a two-part Bonnie Raitt medley/cover, is the b-side to Bon Iver's "Calgary" single. You've probably already heard it on your friend's Tumblr, but now you can take the MP3 with you. EDIT:// The links were broken, but they've been fixed. Download away.

I can't make you love me if you don't / I can't make your heart feel something it won't

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Bon Iver - I Can't Make You Love Me / Nick of Time
Bon Iver - Calgary

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Seapony's Summertime Tunes - "Dreaming" + "Blue Star"

Not sure about the rest of you, but Brooklyn's been enjoying lots 'o sunshine as of late (I have a feeling the west coast knows what I'm talking about). As we're all too-well aware, warm weather means, charcoal, short shorts and summer playlists made up of summer-sounding records. In that case, you may want to keep your eye on the debut album from Seattle's Seapony, due out at the end of May.

The band trades in dream-pop, sounding like an syrupy combination of Tennis and Beach Fossils. So yeah, it'll sound good on the beach or wafting over your overdone burgers and burndt hot dogs.

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Seapony - Dreaming

Seapony - Blue Star

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MP3s: The Toro y Moi / Cloud Nothings Split 7"

Late last month, Toro y Moi teamed up with Cloud Nothings to put out a split-single. Toro y Moi contributes a faded series of loops, while Cloud Nothings submit a Hard Days Night-sounding bedroom-rock effort. Been spinning this a lot lately.

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Toro y Moi - I Will Talk to You

Cloud Nothings - For No Reason

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Download Now: Arches' Chill Concept Album

I'm not sure how strong your concept is when you've got to outline it for your audience, but I'm digging the dripping-reverb tracks on Arches' Wide Awake LP.

"This is a concept album about a character who lives alone in a city. Mundane routines drive the character to flee the city and become a drifter. The character’s perspective of reality becomes convoluted with memories and current travels to the point where the character becomes unable to decipher past and present experiences," wrote the Philly duo on their Bandcamp page.

I haven't had enough listens to judge how well each song strings that theme together, but "Headlights" is a hazy standout and the rest is just as good.

Mediafire Link:

Arches - Wide Awake

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Arches - Headlights

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Ford & Lopatin (aka Games) Release New, Synthy Track

When Games officially changed their name to Ford & Lopatin, I was a little skeptical. After all, the duo released my favourite EP of 2010 and I was worried they might stop pumping out the synthesizer jams.

Not only is the band more Google-freindly, they're still producing the hits. "Emergency Room" is the new single off the band's debut LP, Channel Pressure. The sound's all over the place, like some sort of '90s Nickelodeon, Kenny Loggins, breakfast cereal, Doogie Howser, and Weird Science frankenstein.

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Ford & Lopatin - Emergency Room

Games - Strawberry Skies

CFCF - It Was Never Meant to Be (Games Remix)

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MP3: Cults - "You Know What I Mean"

Remember when I wrote about Cults? Well, the Brooklyn duo's back with a new single, the soft-to-loud "You Know What I Mean."

The track's the first cut off the band's forthcoming self-titled debut on Columbia Records. Hopefully they keep up the Robert Longo aesthetic that I'm in love with.

And I can't sleep alone at night / Yeah, you know what I mean

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Cults - You Know What I Mean

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Kruxe's "Tre/\/\ors" Will Have You Dancing in Your Boots

One minute and 39 seconds. That's all it takes for Kruxe's latest to get stuck in your head all day, like some sort of graboid.

Not only does "Tre/\/\ors" remind me of the classic Kevin Bacon tale of man vs. beast, it recalls the best parts of Wavves earlier bedroom recordings -- SoCal riffs, stoned vocals, et al. -- with the added bonus of keyboards and an unintelligible, sing-a-long chorus. #winning

"I can't believe we said no to free beer!"

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Kruxe - Tre/\/\ors

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