new Mount Pleasant - "Slipped Era"

Alive and as well as can be expected after February's Christchurch, NZ, earthquake forced him from his family's home, Jonathan Phillips (Mount Pleasant) is back to releasing new music.  "Slipped Era" is the fourth single we've heard from upcoming full-length The Aztecs.  It may also be the best.  Where the previous singles were more forward-thinking, dance-oriented jams, "Slipped Era" belongs to the disco era.  There's definitely a DFA vibe here, too, with the monotonous, hipsters-in-arms vocal dubs.  Like the best tracks on LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening, the funkiness is fraught with an equal amount of frustration, and it eventually gives way to something larger, louder and more emotionally vulnerable.  It takes a skilled songwriter to make music that's indebted to a bygone era and simultaneously relevant to the present sound or predictive of the future.  "Slipped Era" is all that and then some.  Dig it.



Mount Pleasant on bandcamp / Blogger / Facebook / MySpace

Teams - "Whxt Txrns U Xn"

Knoxville transplant Sean Bowie has been making quite a name for himself as Teams.  His sample-based beats began bubbling up across the blogosphere last spring, and the hype has only increased since then.  Following up on last year's We Have A Room With Everything EP for AMDISCS and January's collaborative 12" with Star Slinger on Mexican Summer,  Teams is readying his Dxys Xff LP for release on AMDISCS this March.  With the above artwork and a name like "Whxt Txrns U Xn," you might think we're in for more of the "porn step" of earlier track "Stunts," yet the song has a relatively simple beat/gaze/glam structure.  It's a channel-churning, constantly building whirlwind of hip-hop beats, spinning metallic plates and chopped up vocals.  And it promises very well for Teams' debut full-length.  Check "Whxt Txrns U Xn" and a demo of "Dxys Xff" below. 

  Whxt Txrns U Xn? by T E A M S
 

Follow Teams on bandcamp / Facebook / Last.fm / MySpace / SoundCloud / Tumblr

New Waskerley Way - "Hyper Hazard"

Waskerley Way is readying his full-length debut, Waterfall, for release on Wonder Beard Tapes.  In the meantime, you can make a donation to download the Ghost Cat single, which features two tracks from the upcoming album, over at his bandcamp.  I was blown away by B-side "Hyper Hazard," with its soaring, swirling synthesizers and intensely building beat pattern.  More info on the Waterfall cassette as soon as it's made available.

  Waskerley Way - Hyper Hazard by casketcrashvigil

Waskerley Way on bandcamp / Tumblr / Twitter

Waskerley Way - Energy Legs EP

Pictured above is Waskerley Way, a bike path in the town of Consett in County Durham, England. It is also the musical moniker of one Mikey—formerly of Consett, now of Newcastle—who rode his bike through Waskerley Way as a child. Mikey’s nostalgia for a childhood spent cruising makes its way into his dreamy synth pop, though his music soars more than it cruises. His new Energy Legs EP is as hazy and half-remembered as it is shimmery and sparkly, like a hash pipe jaunt across fresh snow on a moon-lit path. Listening to it, I can’t help but think of a child cruising on a bicycle with Falcor flying overhead.

Grab title track “Energy Legs” and "Gâteau" below; support the artist by buying the EP for ₤3 (less than $5) here.

Waskerley Way - Energy Legs

Waskerley Way - Gâteau

(As heard on Rose Quartz, with props to Pinglewood)