♫Makin' a soundtrack for another planet to hear♫" on Episode065 - The Secret Is Out which features brand new sounds from Gold Panda, The Stranglers, Major Lazer, Natalia Clavier, Jimmy Cliff, Brothers In Law, Mikhael Paskalev, Big Deal, Alela Diane, Lightning Dust, Rogue Wave, Empress, Marijuana Deathsquads, The Olms and Cascadia '10...
Previous: Episode064 - The Way Through
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♬Liner Notes♬: This episode has it all with indies and majors, locals and internationals, newbies and legends, screamers, dreamers and every sound in between - featuring The Stranglers, Jimmy Cliff, Major Lazer, The Olms, Rogue Wave and much more... Now let's Pump Up Tha Volume!
Gold Panda
"Brazil"
'Half Of Where You Live'
Ghostly, 2013
Note: As we begin, Stereogum says the mysterious British producer known only as "Gold Panda makes his own brand of never-too-aggressive, chilled-out electronica... “Brazil” is a meditative track — its stumbling snare gives way to the sound of gurgling water droplets as the sampled mantra “Brazil” repeats over and over again."
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The Stranglers
"Lowlands"
'Giants'
All My People / Fontana North, 2013
Note: It's always such a jolt of joy to me when I see legendary artists pop up on the PUTV Twitter feed and the UK's original punk instigators The Stranglers are no exception! Metro says, "Their new record, “Giants,” was released in the U.S. this week, but it has already been out in Europe for a year. And their North American tour, which starts next week, will be their first in 17 years... If the Sex Pistols gave a snarling face and attitude to the genre while The Clash and Ramones would go on to define its boundaries of sound, the Stranglers’ legacy lies in their longevity and diversity. They preceded the previously mentioned bands, and their music never stopped — it only progressed."
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Major Lazer
"Watch Out For This (Bumaye)"
'Free The Universe'
Secretly Canadian, 2013
Note: Major Lazer is the "electronic dancehall project" by the UK DJ otherwise known as Diplo. And with all their success, I'm stoked that they're on an indie label. Rolling Stone says, "A DJ's job is to throw a party, and that's what DJ-turned-It-producer Diplo does with his reggae-centric side project. The guest list is crazy... Santigold...Dirty Projectors...Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig... It's less strictly Jamaican than Major Lazer's debut, connecting reggae's often-insular tradition to a wider world. That may not impress those who find Diplo's culture-jumping suspect. But it makes for rich fusion, and a hell of a party."
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Natalia Clavier
"Trouble"
'Lumen'
Nacional, 2013
Note: And the episode gets even better as I learn more about this week's artists. The AV Club says, "Natalia Clavier has spent years performing as the live vocalist for the Thievery Corporation, but just released her second solo LP late last month. Lumen is out now on Nacional Records and debuted at no. 1 on iTunes Alternativo charts for Latin alternative music. The record was produced by Grammy award winner Adrian Quesada and features work by Clavier’s husband, Argentine artist Federico Aubele."
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Jimmy Cliff
"Many Rivers to Cross" (Live)
'The KCRW Session'
UMe, 2013
Note: The press release from the Universal Music monster says, "Last June, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff visited Los Angeles’ KCRW for a live acoustic performance of nine songs on the public radio station’s acclaimed program, “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” hosted by KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley. The recording of the live broadcast, titled The KCRW Session, will be released on June 25 by Universal Music Enterprises."
(More Info)
Brothers In Law
"Lose Control"
'Hard Times For Dreamers'
WWNBB, 2013
Note: Song source KEXP says, "Formed in 2011 in Pesaro, Italy, Brothers In Law are a shoe-gazing pop trio, vacillating artfully between thoughtful guitar strums and energetic, catchy rhythms... “Lose Control”, the first track off the band’s new LP, is a slow-cresting, reverb-infused punching start to the 2013 release."
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Mikhael Paskalev
"What's Life without Losers"
'What's Life without Losers'
Boombox / Mom + Pop, 2013
Note: Spin notes that "Before Mikhael Paskalev introduces U.S. audiences to his debut album, What's Life Without Losers, the Norwegian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter will drop the five-track Jive Babe EP on June 4 (via Boombox/Mom + Pop). The fast-approaching short-player will feature previously heard singles "I Spy" and "Jive Babe," along with the freshly unveiled "Dust," a dazed and confused tune fueled by summer lovin' and a rusty swagger."
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Big Deal
"In Your Car"
'June Gloom'
Mute, 2013
Note: Song source KEXP says, "Formed in late 2011 by guitarist/vocalists Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe, Big Deal’s intimate vocal chemistry is amplified by fuzzy, melodic hooks... Opening with a “Just What I Needed” stop-start rush, the song quickly progresses into a punchier, more explosive tune filled with boy-girl emotional resonance not unlike The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Sometimes Always”."
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Alela Diane
"About Farewell"
'About Farewell'
Rusted Blue, 2013
Note: The Boston Globe says, "The most devastating thing Alela Diane sings on her new album — and there are many — goes like this: “I heard somebody say / That the brightest lights / Cast the biggest shadows / So honey, I’ve got to let you go.” That comes from “About Farewell,” the title track of the album, which addresses the heartache and renewal that trail a failed marriage. After a pair of records that amplified her aesthetic more along the lines of rustic country, her latest is a return to simpler forms" Wait? She's from here?
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Lightning Dust
"Loaded Gun"
'Fantasy'
Jagjaguwar, 2013
Note: "Lightning Dust's 3rd proper full length finds its inspiration in skeletal synth pop, modern R&B beats, the films of John Carpenter and -- in accordance with Lightning Dust's only longstanding rule -- absolute minimalism."
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Rogue Wave
"Figured It Out"
'Nightingale Floors'
Vagrant, 2013
Note: We last heard from the band's new sixth full-length on Episode061. "Zach Rogue returned from his last tour with Rogue Wave feeling burned out and ready to throw in the towel on his music career. His rediscovered his love of music after a solo release and the band's new album, Nightingale Floors, finds them back in action, doing what they do best."
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Empress
"Perplexed Again" single
Left In Awe, 2012
Note: Song source KEXP says this Reading UK band has done much in a short time. "“Perplexed Again” is a defiantly standalone track. It doesn’t really depend on any band context or the track before or after it - it’s just a five minute gauntlet that takes you from one end of the spectrum to the other with little mercy."
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Marijuana Deathsquads
"Wade"
'Music Rocks Part 1 & 2'
Totally Gross National Product, 2013
Note: "Part I was recorded and mixed in a bedroom during a gonzo 48-hour period at the end of the bands month-long "Music Rocks" residency. Part II was recorded live in Minneapolis in March of 2013. Music Rocks I & II are easily the best, most representative recordings of the band to date. Presented as two separate EP's, this collection of songs is best taken in as a two-part series of one musical experience."
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The Olms
"Someone Else's Girl"
'The Olms'
Harvest, 2013
Note: "KCRW favorite Pete Yorn teams up with retro fiend J.D. King to create a breezy summer vibe on their debut LP as The Olms. Today's Top Tune is a catchy track that would have been all over 70's FM radio. It's called "Someone Else's Girl."" Meanwhile, Lyrique Discorde notes, "The album, as a whole, is very late 60′s, Hollywood Hills/Laurel Canyon, Summertime collection of songs and it fits right in with the beckoning hot weather and long days that push against the obligatory June gloom."
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Cascadia '10
"The Secret Is Out"
'Cascadia '10'
self-released, 2013
Note: And we go out on a jazzy note as our Pacific Northwest closer this week is a ten-piece band that pays and plays tribute to the classic Afrobeat sound. Song source KEXP says, "Well-versed in the music of western Africa, Cascadia ’10′s modern take on Afrobeat keeps the African tradition alive in the Pacific Northwest... The group released their first set of original studio recordings this past March, a self-titled EP containing three songs, including “The Secret Is Out”. The EP’s opening track, stabbing horns and bustling percussion ignite the track as a rock-solid rhythm section holds down the beat. Each section of the song highlights different musicians, as the decatet take turns soloing and building the groove, giving reason to believe that in a group like this, there’s strength in numbers."
(More Info)
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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
"People who say they like everything don't have the sand to tell you what they really like." — QOTSA's Josh Homme
Alex Turner says Arctic Monkeys' latest Josh Homme team-up was a "family" affair
Check out Bloc Party's video for "Ratchet," from the new EP just announced this morning
ICYMI: @PIXIES have returned with "Bagboy", their first new single in nine years
According to Black Francis, Kim Deal does not sing on Pixies' new song "Bagboy"
Pixies will NOT release a new album, according to band's publicist
Nick Cave’s 20,000th day on Earth is the subject of new documentary
The oral history of Liz Phair's 'Exile in Guyville,' 20 years later
Italian prog-rock outfit Goblin announce first-ever North American tour
It's really happening: Watch @TheReplacements rehearse "Alex Chilton"
Pulp have announced plans for a new concert film
Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone - Live at Glastonbury 2013
Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army - live at Glastonbury 2013
Primal Scream at Glastonbury 2013
(Thanks again to @KEXP, @KCRW, @TheCurrent, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System and you!)