True fans of music spend countless hours searching for that next great song, album or artist, whether it be online or in a local record shop. The beautiful thing about music in today’s age is that technology has created an infinite supply of great music that is available to us at the click of a mouse. How perfect is that? We can discover a brand new artist on the opposite side of the globe in seconds without a radio or a music television channel. It only makes sense that a website so dedicated to this gorgeous universe of music would want to celebrate the greatness and share it with anyone who is looking.
To give you readers a more convenient way of discovering new music, a group of your favorite writers here on EARMILK.com will, together, host this brand new format of Straight from the Teet. A culmination of different writers will delve into new albums each week and let you know which tracks we loved from each record. We hope that our exploration through this never-ending sea of music will help satisfy that hunger for the brand new tracks you have been seeking.
ALBUMS:
Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
StraightFace – StraightFace LP
Rogue Wave – Nightingale Floors
Surfer Blood‘s debut album Astro Coast could be described as probably the most fun record of 2010. It was an album that relied on heavy hooks and chiming, beachey guitar rhythms that all put the joy of summer into your day. Frontman John Paul Pitts showed us how great simplistic songwriting could actually be while the band grasped onto this tremendous, subtle math rock within a punk setting. It’s no wonder that fans alike have been craving more from the band 3 years later. Surfer Blood’s newest record, entitled Pythons, is an album that shows change in the band’s style of sound, and maybe not for the better. For one, Surfer Blood seems to rely much heavier on melody and a pop sound altogether. This is evident on the first few tracks of the record and although these songs are catchy and almost even nostalgic to some punk pop records of the 90’s, the songs fail to ever take off the way they did on Astro Coast. The wild and fun themes have vanished here and been replaced by the average indie rock chord progressions. However, the band does have this unique ability to make everything and anything they touch interesting. The record’s songwriting has become a much darker blend of regrets and pain. Even though the music doesn’t contain that pleasant vibe that most of us were counting on, the music is actually quite nice. Surfer Blood is a prime example of doing very much with very little continually showcasing their ability to draw on some catchy harmonies and ringing melodies, leading to another decent album with a dark underbelly.
It may not be black metal-it may not be post-rock-it definitely isn’t reggae, but ultimately, the new album Sunbather by Deafheaven is fantastic. The San Francisco based group have made a name for themselves within the last few years by blending elements of various genres including black metal, shoegaze, post-rock, and screamo. This marriage of musical influence defines Deafheaven’s ability to captivate their listeners. It’s safe to say that Deafheaven have only perfected this style on Sunbather. The opening track “Dream House” sounds like a shoe-gazed triumphant ode to black metal. Vocalist George Clarke screams over blast beats and layered guitars that would leave a Slowdive fan nodding in approval. The 9-minute track takes on an uplifting quality that makes for the perfect opening song.
There is a particular structure to this album that works so well. The heavier moments are followed by beautiful post-rock influenced songs such as “Irresistible”, “Please Remember” and “Windows”. The songs utilize piano, lightly picked guitars, vocal samples, acoustic guitars, and other elements of noise that serve as perfect ‘calm before the storm’ lead ins. At 14 minutes long, “Vertigo” takes on a quality of its own. While most of the heavier tracks on Sunbather hit you with an abrupt intensity, “Vertigo” begins with softly picked guitars reminiscent of the quieter songs on the album. It then begins to intensity as the guitars get louder and shift to powerful chord strumming. Then at about 5 minutes, it erupts. Clarke’s screams and the blast beats return.
Sunbather may span a lot of genres, however, it’s Deafheaven’s proficiency in each style that makes the album so great. They are as brilliant in their calm state as they are when ferocity kicks in.
~Kyle Hurley~
Jeremy Moorer, a.k.a. Dan?logOne, is an experimental beat-maker with a progressive sense of style. Adding different spins to hip-hop styled beats, he assimilates himself into a very small niche of music. Dan?logOne meddles in the fields that are commonly visited by the likes of producers such as A Sol Mechanic and Daisuke Tanabe, though he has a slightly different bounce to his skip. He tends to infuse aspects of hip-hop beats into a chillwave-sounding lacing. His latest product, Skys, which was released on June 6, demonstrates his teetering between the two styles.
When listening through Skys, the listener will be met with a generous serving of synths and other effects. Ambient airiness helps move along the stagnant openness that may overwhelm at times. Plenty of edgy snares are used throughout the album, which doesn’t really negate the fact that the heavy synths at times may be unnecessary. A good number of the songs are stripped to the essentials, which plays out a lot smoother. The essence of chill is brought forth from these particular songs, along with a curious organic spice that is lightly sprinkled on top. Each song has its own little personality, yet Skys as a whole stands as one. It’s a great listen when neck deep in experimental and chillwave. However, for the casual listener, this particular album may come off as puzzling–granted, this type of style could be considered an “acquired taste”. Learn to like Skys, and it can act as a great gateway into deeper levels of this particular musical realm.
Boards Of Canada
Tomorrow’s Harvest
9.0
- Warp Records
- June 11, 2013
Boards of Canada have been shaping the new wave of ambient music for years, building off of minimalistic themes and ominous tones to latch onto their listeners’ minds. After being absent from the scene for over six years they are back with a new collection of songs entitled Tomorrow’s Harvest. While Tomorrow’s Harvest begins with an enlightening reference to youth/the past, do not be fooled, for seconds later sharp strings chime in, alluding to the sinister ambiance that is expected on a Boards of Canada album. Through the front end of the album, brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin maneuver a series of weightless tracks that consistently layer upon themselves as they descend into the depths of what could be considered emotional duress.
At around the halfway mark on the 62 minute album, “Palace Posy” kicks on, hinting at brighter times, with ascending melodies and heavy bass that builds into an optimistic vocal sample. This is a climb that can regress at times, but ultimately peaks somewhere in between the open-ended “Nothing Is Real” and “Come To Dust.”
One thing is for certain, the Scottish duo have once again excelled in creating and manipulating atmospheric elements, providing a mystical companion to reflective instances that are often faced in life. When looking for a soundtrack that will journey a listener through the entire spectrum of organic electronica, look no further then the Boards of Canada’s latest Tomorrow’s Harvest.
The State of Georgia has a long and proud history of producing rappers that fill attention-spans everywhere. The likes of T.I., Ludacris and Big Boi all hail from the Peach State, and all of them have made their own mark on the hip hop world. Hoping to make his own path in the industry is StraightFace, who’s currently residing in Athens, Georgia. StraightFace is the leader of the hip hop collective Alkyne Forever, and the StraightFace LP is his first solo project to be released. The first thing that really strikes in this project was the anger and venom in which StraightFace raps with. There are points where he’s almost shouting, causing a listener to sit up and pay attention. Tracks like “Echoes” and “Reflections” both have this, and instantly draw the listener in to take notice of what StraightFace is saying. The vocals on this LP remind of someone like Tyler, The Creator, who raps with a similar anger and venom. The record really stands out lyrically, with tracks such as “Monsoon” really shining through. In “Monsoon”, the track is essentially split up into two parts; part one describes that what happened during his early years inspired him to rap. Not having a father figure is a prominent feature, as well as being inspired by the likes of hip-hop legends such as RZA.
Part two is more about his current situation, and what is giving him the hunger to continue to follow his dreams, including breaking up with his girlfriend and dropping out of college. Earmilk even gets a little shout out in the song “Echoes” with the line ‘who would have thought, that in a blink, I’d be on EMDC, on a blog with Ol’ Lamar and underneath the Chief of Keef’s’. This line refers to when we featured his track “Void” on our site and his song was on at the same time as Kendrick Lamar and Chief Keef, two rappers that he admires. The final element of LP is the beats over which he raps. All of the beats are produced by members of his Alkyne Forever collective; Fantasy Camp, Mankind|Vertigo and RNDYSVGE. The instrumentals all seem to be pretty lo-fi and range in the vibes that they give off. For example, “Primary Lotus” gives off a kind of angry vibe, with the distorted synths over the top of some of some deep, banging drums that really have your head nodding. In complete contrast to this is “Reflections”, with very relaxed, dreamy synth chords gliding across some quiet drums that don’t quite have the same deepness to them as in “Primary Lotus”, but still work really well as the whole vibe of the track is very laid back. When putting all these elements together, what’s left is a really interesting project. Straightface has shown with this LP, that he’s carving a path into the music industry and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of the music he makes. This project is definitely worth a listen, especially if alternative side of hip-hop, along the lines of Odd Future and Hopsin, interests. The wait is on as to where StraightFace goes for his next release, something we will be looking forward to.
Rogue Wave
Nightingale Floors
6.8
- Vagrant Records
- June 4, 2013
Rogue Wave, an Oakland founded indie rock band, have come back after a 3 year album hiatus to release Nightingale Floors; an album that is equal parts tranquil as it is underwhelming. From its intro track, titled “No Magnatone”, we are greeted with a constant, and at times annoying guitar chord that is off-set by jovial jingles, unchanging percussion, and mellowed out vocals. Thankfully, Nightingale Floors manages to pick up the pace with the following-catchy-track, “College”. But after that, we’re lulled back into the steady, and somber soundscape that makes up Nightingale Floors. In a couple of tracks, such as “Used To It” and the aforementioned “College”, lead singer, Zach Schwartz (aka Zach Rogue), attempts to liven up the atmosphere by injecting more passion in his vocals, but for the most part, it’s as if Rogue Wave is just going through the motions. Yet, regardless of the tepid nature of the album, Rogue Wave puts together an collection of songs that is cohesive in its production. However, in a time where people have seemingly shifted their interests to more upbeat and exciting musical styles, Nightingale Floors becomes mired in its own shortcomings, culminating in a moderate album that is short on aural highlights.
After another good week of album listens, we are more than ready to start another. If anyone is interested in purchasing or simply hearing any of these albums online, we have linked them for you at the top of this page to make it simple. we hope you have enjoyed reading this week’s edition of Straight From The Teet and we look forward to bringing you a new group of records next week. Please leave comments here at the bottom and let us know what you liked or didn’t like from this week’s lineup. Have a great week and please support these terrific bands!