Add another one to Audion’s 2009 onslaught of singles. This one takes out the understated build ups and moves back to the hard, persistent sounds of early Matthew Dear techno. Ghostly International sums it up very well:

While many of Audion’s 2009 singles showcase a newfound obsession with restraint, understatement, and barely-there dynamics, “Push” runs in the exact opposite direction and never looks back. A classic Audion track in the “Mouth to Mouth” mold, the aptly named “Push” traffics in unapologetically anthemic builds, precision calibrated to make’em go crazy on the dancefloor. Relentlessly chugging rhythms, bouyant blips of keyboard, room-swallowing low-end swells, and wave after wave of ecstatic climax. Sometimes, a great track is as simple as that.

Listen to a snippet of “Push” here.

Buy the single today on Beatport.

DJ Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair will be at the Abbey Pub in Chicago next month, January 30, 2010. His Hercules project garnered much critical acclaim last year for its self-titled debut on DFA Records. Pitchfork named ‘Blind’ the best song of 2008. Currently working on a new album and playing shows across the country, Andy (and maybe Kim Ann Foxman) will be spinning lots of disco most likely. Cause you know, you can never have too much disco.

The show is supported by Kid Color.

See you at the show.

Buy tickets here. Price is $15. 18+

To celebrate the January 12th release of Heartland, Final Fantasy will be playing several shows, including dates in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. The third Final Fantasy full-length and the first for Domino Records, Heartland is the product of nine months of work in four countries. It is a fully orchestral record, designed to exist simultaneously as an album, a 45-minute piece of orchestral music and a set of songs for looped violin and voice.

Owen Pallett explains Heartland:

“The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator. The album was compositionally modeled upon the principles of electronic music. The principles of analog synthesis informing symphonic writing, like an inversion of a Tomita record. These songs, too, were designed to be as dense with polyphony as the Final Fantasy live shows can become. While writing it, I kept an image in my head of putting so many notes on the page that the paper turned black. This record encapsulates a whole year of work for me, and was difficult to see through, but I’m immensely proud of the results. I hope you enjoy it.”

For a free MP3 of “Lewis Takes Action” from Heartland, visit: http://www.dominorecordco.com/freelewis/

FINAL FANTASY U.S. TOUR DATES
JAN 14: SAN FRANCISCO - BOTTOM OF THE HILL
JAN 16: CHICAGO - SCHUBAS
JAN 18: NEW YORK - BOWERY BALLROOM

I think one of my other favorite bands on Labrador is The Radio Department. It’s too bad their 2009 EP David didn’t live up to everything I loved about “Pulling Our Weight”. There’s something too good about that song. The Mary Onettes sort of strike the same chord as The Radio Department, but mix in a little more of The Cure and a string section and a little less new wave. It’s a fair trade I guess, right? They’re from Sweden where a lot of the good music seems to come from. Anyway, check out their recent release Islands. Standout tracks for me include “God Knows I had Plans” and the opener “Puzzles” that echoes with an erie string rhythm that reminds me a little bit of the way I think Sufjan Stevens wishes his string section sounded. Maybe not. Anyway check it out.

Listen to “God Only Knows I had Plans” by The Mary Onettes.
Opening track “Puzzles” by The Mary Onettes.

Beach House : Teen Dream : 2010 on Subpop

Teen Dream leaked online a few weeks back, and after downloading a copy *strictly for evaluation purposes*, I’d have to say it’s pretty impressive. I had to go back and listen to their first two albums in order to judge this third release, but I’m really liking Teen Dream from the Baltimore duo. Does anyone know if these two musical muses are dating/married? I hope they’re in love at least. The music inspires me. How could it not? I’m not sure what it makes me want to do. Something along the lines of sitting on a quiet Maryland beach in the fall with a girlfriend, watching the small waves, and a lot of retro/vintage stuff laying around. You know, something really indie.

Listen to “Norway” by Beach House.

In the coming weeks watch for my Big in 2010 post. It’s been sort of a 2 year tradition. Check out previous 2007 and 2008 Best Of posts. The yearly post includes a list of artists worth keeping an eye on into 2010. The ’00s are about to wrap up. Who’s the best artist of the decade? Lady Gaga probably.

Listen to their single “Bones”

This release came and went under my radar. Just the other day there was a remix of their song “Bones” inside this Ghostly International mix I was listening to, and it gave me those kind of ’shit what could this be?’ chills. The album is a worthy psychedelic escape from all the noise that’s been clogging our ears lately. The expansive single Bones is a brilliant recipe including all the great changes going on in rock music right now. Moving from the eerie chords of the single to the next track ‘Lie Awake’, things start to make sense. Although there’s a disconnect in the momentum, it’s a comfortable transition. This release is more about the feeling, you know? Check out A Mountain of One on Myspace.

dOP - Blanche Neige, Genius of the Crowd (2008, 2009)

Listen to their single “Blanche Neige”
Listen to “Genius of the Crowd”

Nothing fits what I can get down with right now more than organic house music- live house music. dOP from France is a trio of guys programming beats and recording with only real instruments. Their myspace is littered with photos of them in their studio, full of strange instruments. Their sound could be described as ambient, house, acoustic, techno, disco- they’re located on some middle ground in there. That’s a good place to be right? Blanche Neige is a dark, hypnotic percussive track pushed by a conga groove and overlaid with beautiful French vocals. I’ve been told the vocals describe a guy talking about this Queen- the beauty of the Queen- and how people revel at her majesty. The beat is intoxicating and the ambient playground sounds churn this into something to keep your attention for the full 8 minutes. “Genius of the Crowd” leans more toward a club track, but makes fun of itself. dOP needs to be on your list of bands to check out.

Oh My God from Chicago is on tour now supporting their new release, “The Night Undoes The Work of the Day, which is out now. You can buy it at their website. The group uses the sounds, as their bio says, “of distorted organ, an overdriven bass guitar, driving drums and harmony-rich vocals - drawing comparisons to everyone from Quasi to Queen.” They have been garnering more and more press. The Chicago Tribune called their shows “glam-rock anthems with a twist, [with] Ig’s organ propelling the way. Their concerts are sweat-inducing events, with drummer Bish hammering away as theatrical frontman and bassist Billy O’Neill works the crowd.”

The group is playing tonight at Cowboy Monkey. The show starts at 9pm. The price is $5. Cowboy Monkey’s site says they should go on at midnight, but I wouldn’t trust it. Get there a bit early & get out and support some music.

AP: “Not your parents art rock…soulful vocals set against an experimental backdrop of organ and drums”.

Beginning next week, Atlanta’s Atlas Sound and Birmingham, England’s Broadcast are teaming up for an extensive North American tour. Both groups are touring in support of new material surfacing this month.

Atlas Sound will be releasing Logos on October 20th via Kranky. Bradford Cox, the force behind Atlas Sound, explains that in contrast to his “introverted” debut album, this follow-up includes collaborations and takes on a more “panoramic view.” Logos collaborators include Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox and Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier. Cox also describes the album as being “like a live album” as every song was recorded in one take, a strong testament to the talent Cox has in a live setting.

The co-headlined tour will see both bands trading off set times, with The Selmanaires taking the opening slot each night.

ATLAS SOUND/BROADCAST TOUR DATES
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/16 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
10/17 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/18 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/20 New York, NY @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
10/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/22 Boston, MA @ The Paradise
10/23 Montreal, QC @ Le National
10/24 Toronto, ON @ Lees Palace
10/25 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center
10/26 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
10/27 Northfield, MN @ The Cave
10/30 Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards
10/31 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/01 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
11/03 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/04 Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
11/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
11/07 Denton, TX @ Hailey’s

We’ve got a great special guest this week at Canopy Club, Kirkwood West! Kirkwood West describes his style as minimal techno house with lo-fi flavors. Expect nothing but excellent sounds and a good time. Me and Famicom will also be playing some music. Here’s the lineup for tonight:

10.00-11.00: Early chill set
11.00-12.00: Lucknow
12.00-01.00: KIRKWOOD WEST
01.00-02.00: Famicom

See you all tonight.

The Sound of Arrows - Into the Clouds (Music video) from The Sound of Arrows on Vimeo.

The guys from The Sound of Arrows moved over to the UK sometime this year and have been focusing on their new release “Into The Clouds”. The result is something that’s got me moving like their old tune “Danger”. The awesome video above was directed by the band themselves. great visuals come hand in hand with this group.

Big up for atmospheric pop!

Check them out on Myspace
Read a past review from The Sound of Arrows show

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - My Heart from Leaf Label on Vimeo.