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Friday, December 20, 2013

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Bears And Bullets Songs Of The Year (#25-#1)


Continuing with yesterday's list, we count down the best songs of 2013 down to number one. See if your favorites made the list, after the bump.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Boot & Saddle, Dec. 13 - Cass McCombs (Preview)


Sometimes its hard to believe how much an artist must wade through to get to where they are. Singer-songwriter's Cass McCombs early struggles in the industry are well-documented, but 10 years after the release of his debut LP A, those struggles seem fortunately distant.

The California-born McCombs, who released his seventh album Big Wheel And Others back in October, has found critical success as one of the more consistent darlings of the indie folk scene. But before all of this, McCombs was nothing more than a poor, traveling musician, trying to edge his way through in the late 90s and early 2000s. Knowing that, the dour subjects on Big Wheel And Others, such as the lead track - a spoken minute long session between McCombs and a drug-addled child - start to make more sense.

It's not a constant motif for the project, but rather a tipping point for McCombs jumping into a twisted perception of Americana. Murder, mystery, and a constant feeling of drifting helplessness come to pass on the record. But Big Wheel ...  is big enough to let McCombs dance around other elements, giving more credence to the vast openness of his Western inspirations.

He'll be making his way to Philadelphia's newest venue Boot & Saddle Friday, December 13 alongside Arboretum for an intimate showcase. Tickets are on sale now for a modest $13, but don't forget to check out Boot & Saddle's awesome menu and drink list.

Big Wheel And Others is out now on Domino Records.

Mixtape: Egyptrixx - Music To ... DRONE Out To


Two months back, we highlighted "Ax//s," the first cut from Egyptrixx's newest effort A/B Til Infinity. Since then, the producer has released the album, an hour-long "scrapbook" of ideas that inspired the new LP, and now this mammoth (MAMMOTH) mix Music To ... DRONE Out To.

I've been doing this for quite a while, scouring the internet for mix after mix for endless hours. But never, ever, have I seen anything put together quite like this. Music To ... DRONE Out To reaches almost seven hours. Seven. The selections here, which features the work of Oneohtrix Point Never and Tim Hecker, among a litany of others, also apparently inspired Egyptrixx's new work. Take the day off and stream it below courtesy of i-D.

A/B Til Infinity is out now on Night Slugs.

Album Stream: Hit + Run - 777 (ft. Jeremiah Jae, Ras_G, Kutmah, Zeroh, Knxwledge, and more)


Southern California live screenprinting company Hit + Run might seem like an odd platform to release compilations, but the company - founded by Brandy Flower and Mike Crivello back in 2005 - has been curating these for a while now.

The group, which has previously held events at Coachella and SXSW, debuted the 777 29-track effort, which features the likes of B&B favorites Jeremiah Jae, Ras_G, Zeroh, Knxwledge, Kutmah, and plenty more. The entire comp can be bought on the Hit + Run Bandcamp, available below.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program - Injera, Lentils and Kale (Remix)


Celebrating Ras_G's birthday, the off-kilter producer has brought out an unconsciously spirited remix of his own "Injera, Lentils and Kale" alongside his Afrikan Space Program. Frequent collaborator Zeroh throws versus in the mind-melding remix, which features a video from Protius of G and friends at LA's Mom Alim's Ethiopian Restaurant.

A sincere happy birthday to G, one of the year's best producers. And as he says, "You can't fail when you're fuckin with kale."

Lee Bannon - Value 10


A couple weeks back we hit up the preview of Lee Bannon's Ninja Tune debut LP, with the teaser for "Value 10" - a cab-driver sampled, twisted single.

Now, Bannon has released the full-effort, which makes the cab portion a little more clear at the end. And by clear, I mean it's totally unfiltered and you can hear a cab driver trying to score coke from Bannon and his producer (info via Dazed Digital).

Listen to the track below and order Bannon's Alternate/Endings LP on Amazon before its February release.