LISTEN: Sluggers - "Turbo Fade" (Lazerdisk Remix)

Hey there. It's been a while, but I'm back to it now that the site is back up and running. Shall we?

I'm not typically a fan of remixes -- for anyone just checking in -- but sometimes they steal my attention like Mondays steal your cheer (Eh? Ok ok, sticking to music writing). Anyways, one of the few songs I've had on repeat recently has been, you guessed it, a remix. I had never heard the original version of Sluggers' "Turbo Fade," so I had zero context for Los Angeles duo Lazerdisk's reworked version of the song -- and maybe that's why I enjoy it so much. That uninhibited first listen had me hooked just moments in, with it's mix of hard-hitting, infectious beats, ethereal drapery, and adventurous synth lines.

And maybe the best part about this whole story of man meeting remix is the fact that I discovered this track from this video. That music director is on point, huh?

LISTEN: Nomadic Firs

Lo-fi bedroom pop that sounds like a dream permeating the confines of a bedroom. It's dreamy, charming, and uplifting -- a welcomed change, and reprieve, from all the depressing things we hear about in the world these days. Nomadic Firs (aka Ryan Boos) takes the warmth and intimacy of tape-based lo-fi music and mixes in elements of electropop as well as a sort of '60s sunshine pop glimmer, crafting something that's capable of being subtle and expansive. As the summer heat begins to settle in, it sounds like a fitting soundtrack for the months ahead.

LISTEN: Rewards - "Equal Dreams" (Feat. Solange Knowles) b/w "Asleep With The Lights On"

Rewards (Aaron Pfenning, Co-Founder of Chairlift) just debuted an Eddie Mars remix of his recent 12" single "Equal Dreams" over at Pitchfork. Today, though, I'd like to share the original with you as well its companion tracks.

REVIEW: Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!

Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!
MMMM

Following years of critically-acclaimed singles, remixes, and one EP, NYC duo Holy Ghost! are finally releasing their eponymous debut full-length – and boy was it worth the wait. Across the album’s 10 tracks, it’s clear that Holy Ghost! (aka childhood friends Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser) devoted a great deal of time to fine-tuning their introductory statement into something of replay value. This is more than just another speck on the map of modern day electropop/dance music, this is a revival of what made dance music great in the first place: emotion meets groove.

When you think about electronic duos, groups like Daft Punk, Justice, The Knife, and Massive Attack come to mind – groups that craft haunting soundscapes and/or melodic, addictive cuts of dance music. And while Holy Ghost! can certainly be categorized under the latter of the two, they manage to write songs that are just as pop sensible as they are danceable – songs that you can lose your mind to on a dance floor or melt into through a pair of headphones at home. It’s not that Holy Ghost! are incredibly profound, but it’s clear that their debut succeeds in being the album that Frankel and Millhiser aimed for: an album that people would want to hear front to back at home, not just in a club.

Download a New Song by YACHT Right...NOW

Electropop/dance punk outfit YACHT will release their new album Shangri-La on June 21st through DFA. The album, the band's second for DFA and fifth overall, was produced, mixed, and recorded by YACHT (Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans), with assistance from frequent collaborator and touring member Bobby Birdman. According to a press release, "On Shangri-La, YACHT asserts that the future is a blank slate upon which anything can be imposed. YACHT believes that the only real sustainable paradise is in our minds, and hence creative output can be a tangible piece of the Utopia within each individual. Shangri-La literally is YACHT's Utopia, a place made of songs." Hear/download a song from the new album below.

YACHT - “Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire)”


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