Take A Break

There's a lot that can be said or maybe shouldn't after what happened today. The details are still coming in about the mass murder in Connecticut, but drudging through it won't get us to where we need to go.

A$AP Rocky debuts "Long.Live.A$AP"

Already hyping up one of 2013's most-anticipated albums, Harlem phenom (love saying that) A$AP Rocky debuted the title track to his long-awaited LONG.LIVE.A$AP LP. The performance does come in MTV Studios, so there's some noticeable lip-syncing, but at least we get to hear something.

Check out the performance below and grab the album January 15 on RCA.

New Jessie Ware video - Sweet Talk

UK singer Jessie Ware, who released one of 2012's best debuts, premiered the brand new child-themed video for "Sweet Talk." Although the fashion styles are clearly adult-inspired, it's still one of the year's cuter videos. Check it out below, and grab Devotion today.

New Torche - Harmonslaught

Florida metal band Torche have released the brand new "Harmonicraft" 7", which boasts this indelible track "Harmonslaught." The name-sake, one could fairly easily assume, comes from the band's 2012 album Harmonicraft, which ended up as one of the year's best.

Check out "Harmonslaught" below, and grab the "Hamonicraft" 7" today via No Idea.

New Dirty Projectors video - Swing Lo Magellan

A day after Dirty Projectors debuted its garbage-themed "Offspring Are Blank" video (part of the band's lengthy "Hi Custodian" video), the band premiered another new video for Swing Lo Magellan's title track. Check it out below.

New Wavves - Sail To The Sun

Surf punks Wavves premiered their brand new single "Sail To The Sun" earlier today. For fans familiar with the band, the track may be a little more polished than they're used to. They had to see this coming, however, with the band's recent string of singles sounding more and more tightly produced, pushing aside the turbulent lo-fi the band first gained recognition for.

Check out the video for "Sail To The Sun," which was produced by John Hill, below. Or, just stream it.

New Ab-Soul - Only 1

Black Hippy member and conspiracy theory specialist Ab-Soul released the first new track since his excellent Control System LP. Full of heavy West Coast beats and larger-than-life wordplay, "Only 1" takes the theme of worship and spins on its head, "making profit out of prophecy." Check it out below.

New Dirty Projectors video - Offspring Are Blank

David Longstreth debuted "Offspring Are Blank," the newest garbage-themed video from Dirty Projector's album Swing Lo Magellan. With the video, the band also announced that a brand new 7" - with "Offspring Are Blank" serving as the A-Side, and a brand new "There Is A Fire" as the B-Side - will be available during their January 11 show at Carnegie Hall.

Unfortunately, only 250 copies will be distributed; all vinyl. Grab them if you can, with tickets available here.

Jack White on Conan

It's hard to argue against Jack White still being the central figure in modern rock music. Following the end of the beloved White Stripes, and lengthy hiatuses in his side-projects, White became more popular than ever in 2012.

White played a special performance of "I'm Shakin'," alongside his familiar all-female band on Conan. Fans should know the two have a lengthy past together; The White Stripes played the final show of Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and the premiere show when he moved to TBS, so this is a little more significant than usual. Check it out below.

Andrew Bird and St. Vincent - Lusitania (Live on Refinery 29)

There are few people that will get indie fans as delightfully excited as Andrew Bird and St. Vincent. Put them together? Blog world explodes.

The two performed their duet "Lusitania," which was featured on Bird's most recent Break It Yourself LP on Refinery 29. See for yourself below.

Twin Shadow video - The Ones

The second video from Twin Shadow's stellar sophomore release, Confess, is "The Ones," features spliced black and white footage of the band performing on KCRW and a few more motorcycle themed moments. Check out the video below, and grab Confess today via 4AD.

Review: Black Moth Super Rainbow @ Union Transfer (Philadelphia, Dec. 7)

The birth of Philadelphia's Union Transfer, the city's newest and most-inviting venue, served as a fresh middle ground between the celebrated, but somewhat underused Electric Factory and the fun-filled heat coffin of First Unitarian Church. One, in that keeps the large crowd-friendly style of the former, but with the consistent and more money-friendly bookings of the latter. Renovated from an 1800s-era building on Spring Garden Street, the surprisingly massive venue is a stylistic carryover from New York's celebrated Terminal 5; packed with a sprawling balcony, back bars, and a large crowd floor. The distinctions shouldn't be surprising, considering Philly's R5 Productions created the venue in partnership with NY's The Bowery Presents.

Walking in the unassuming floor level, Philadelphia's own Creepoid provided what ended up being the better of the night's two lead-ins to Black Moth Super Rainbow. The cavernous lo-fi psychedelic guitar romps fit well for the early crowd, lifting the band from filler to curious with surprising ease. I can't say the same for Ryan Graveface (of BMSR) side-project Casket Girls.

Parlaying a dubious middle ground between Dum Dum Girls and any miscellaneous dream pop obsessed with VHS-era music videos, the Savannah, GA band found an easy identity. The only particular problem with it is that it's not really an identity. Maybe it was the need for the Greene sisters to always cover their eyes that made their performance seem somewhat passionless, but every stage gimmick that happened between the two of them never seemed to feel genuine. Just a routine of a band that fits in with the time, I suppose.

After ditching is face-covering hood, Ryan joined BMSR for an efficient, bass-heavy show that many of the kids rolling on acid in the crowd were waiting for. One group in particular did their best to recreate Halloween, covered in DIY patterns of black paint and a few dragonfly costumes. If the playlist were to dictate dress code, those kids seemed to follow it aptly.

Frontman Tobacco positioned himself behind his vocoder, and the most ill-placed shirt decoration possible (see in photo), and cruised through an hour-plus of droning, glittery, and atmospheric tracks. There were only a few moments teeming with tense rushes, but there were hardly any lulls either. For a band so transfixed on its artful nature, it's pleasing to see them perform without muddling any of the live process. The only problem seemed to be with the more unfamiliar fans that even the most ardent BMSR die-hards can recognize - it's pretty hard to tell when the band is going through its early discography and the most recent album Cobra Juicy (sans the "Windshield Smasher" opening). But again, maybe a for a group with such clear and distinct aesthetics, those differences aren't as important. Rather, performing the collection as one piece, serving as a more visual course helps deliver the point clearer.