Swim - Ride/Hold On

British electro dance rock duo Swim have released the single and video for "Ride." The infectious track may not be too fitting for the colder November weather, but it's still worth your time. You can check out the track's B-Side "Hold On" below as well, and grab the band's upcoming single "Ride/Below" later this month.

New Sufjan Stevens video - Silver & Gold

The newest video from Sufjan Stevens upcoming Christmas EP collection Silver & Gold: Songs For Christmas Volumes 6-10 features Stevens' nephew Gavin in a more personal setting. One way more emotional than the violent claymation of Stevens' previous "Mr. Frosty Man."

Check out "Silver & Gold" below and grab the EP collection next Tuesday, via Asthmatic Kitty.

New Big Boi - Lines (ft. A$AP Rocky and Phantogram)

That lead should get anyone excited. The newest track from Big Boi's upcoming Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors LP features some welcome help from A$AP Rocky and solid production from Phantogram. Stream "Lines" below and grab the new album December 11, via Def Jam.

Albums Of The Month: October 2012

Albums Of The Month - October 2012

Before I start spouting off about what I think were the best albums of the past month, I'm terribly relieved to say that the election is finally over. It seemed to last two years, but it's finally over and dead. Now we can move on to the important things, like music and snacks and things.

3.) Andy Stott - Luxury Problems

There's a somber, underlying element to the murky electro house movement in the UK. There's more artists than one can count that bleed the elements - bass-heavy smoke screens filtered with echo spaced vocals, spinning slowly as if it were a stereotype of London rain. Ironically, the artist that seems to grasp the air space the best seems to be New York producer Burial, who plays with stuttered, moody vocals in the same vacuous landscapes.

And that's largely what is heard on Manchester producer Andy Stott's Luxury Problems. The sounds are unusually steep, but fit the billing of the English underground soundtrack. The tracks do the usually uneasy mission of collectively bleeding into one stable, but unnerving collage of movements. And as a whole piece, it comes through richer and fuller because of it.

2.) Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream
I won't lie; I had no idea who Miguel was or where this album came from before early October. The obvious comparison here is to The Weeknd's breakthrough debut House Of Balloons, in 2011. To flatter sensibilities, that's actually fairly honest. The endearing R&B isn't slogged by lazy ambition, with Miguel asserting a collective identity. Tracks like "Do You" and standout "Don't Look Back" are immense, crashing, and exploratory, divvying between stadium aesthetics and street corner beats. In all, there's a lot to hear on the second and third times around, making Kaleidoscope Dream one of the more surprisingly daring albums of the year.

1.) Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city
The number one album of October shouldn't shock anyone, anywhere. Among artists, Kendrick Lamar was probably mentioned more in 2012 than any other, and that was before the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city. With the tantamount hype raising ever so slightly by the weeks (a delayed release may have had something to do with it), the album delivered and then some. Tracks like "Backseat Freestyle" and "Swimming Pools (Drank)" had been out for some time before the full album, with fans admiring the Compton phenom's blisteringly fast verses, coated in some of the more stark themes that have become unfamiliar in mainstream hip-hop.

It's that obvious Compton influence that prevails here, twinged with modern spins. N.W.A. and Dr. Dre - who worked with Lamar on one of his first singles "The Recipe" - hold sway in a west coast vibe that spreads over territory. But rather than plug his Cali sensibilities every other verse, Lamar sells himself. Think more Tupac, less Easy E. Obviously that's a huge name to aim for, but if anyone can in, it seems he has the ability. 

I'll be back tomorrow with the top albums of October. But for now, just hug. Hugs all around.

Go Vote

Apathy and disillusion are the symptoms; the political system is the disease. Fight it. Go vote today.

New Empress Of video - Champagne

A few weeks back, Brooklyn's Empress Of debuted this amazing B-Side "Don't Tell Me," which came oddly enough before any official release of the A-Side, "Champagne." Now, you can check out the official video, directed by Samuel Morris Hamad.

Chromatics - Running From The Sun (Album Stream)

Last night, Chromatics member Johnny Jewel uploaded several unreleased cuts from the band's massive March album Kill For Love on Soundcloud, compiling the B-Side album Running From The Sun. You can stream all eight free tracks below, which were recorded in between November 2009 and December of last year.

New Animal Collective - Crimson

Not featured on the band's most recent output, Centipede Hz, Animal Collective has been performing "Crimson" at recent performances. The track, however, will be on the band's upcoming Applesauce 10", which is slated for release November 13 via Domino. Check it out below.