Fresh off their appearance at Outside Lands, 2012 MVP candidate Alabama Shakes stayed on the West coast for a Monday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The band performed 'I Ain't the Same' and 'Rise to the Sun', off their debut LP Boys & Girls, and you can watch the replay below (via The Audio Perv).
'I Ain't the Same':
'Rise to the Sun':
Like their barefoot, beer-bellied Sublime buds, Slightly Stoopid wear their slacker nonchalance like a beach bum badge of honor. And while Nowell's untimely demise right on the cusp of Sublime's mainstream breakthrough in 1996 left the band and other Sublime/Skunk Records surrogates to carry the torch (read: cash in on the band's success), watching Slightly Stoopid continue to hang on so many years later is equal parts comforting and unnerving. It's comforting in that they're one of the last living links to the original Sublime camp, but depressing in the fact that they're seemingly all too content to live in their friends' shadows.
Top Of The World, Slightly Stoopid's latest offering of punch-drunk, feel-good dub and dancehall anthems, is nothing unlike what you've come to expect from the band, but rather a casual rehashing of what has long become the Long Beach band's airtight formula of slow, slinking ska rhythms and chilled-out, easy living posturing. It's a tired retread, and at a hefty 21 tracks, it's an unfortunately laborious listen.
Boasting a healthy number of guest appearances from the likes of Fishbone's Angelo Moore, Chali 2na, G. Love, and reggae great Barrington Levy, the band does its best to window-dress the music's derivativeness. But while there are some proud moments, the record leaves a bland aftertaste that's hard to rinse out. The record's title track kicks things off with a pleasant slab of bass-heavy, dub-infused hip pop, while frontman Miles Doughty spits what could essentially pass for the record's mission statement ('Ain't no need for changing/ Or rearranging/ The life we have endured').
Top Of The World lives up to its name in the moments when the band breaks from the script, as they do on the first-wave inspired 'Ska Diddy' or the G. Love-assisted 'Hiphoppablues', which almost passes for a funkier version of the Allman Brothers. Those bright spots aside, the vast majority of the album's 21 tracks find the band rubber-stamping their way through a slate of Sublime-by-numbers ska/reggae/hip hop tracks. But hey, if you can't beat'em, join'em, right?
Essential Tracks: 'Ska Diddy'
As part of Vancouver-based label Kingfisher Bluez's new singles series, Montreal lo-fi rocker Alex Hungtai (aka Dirty Beaches) has released a new tune entitled 'Elizabeth's Theme'. An uncharacteristically tranquil number, the antique string sample and frail acoustic guitar create an atmosphere of stark beauty to be enjoyed during a late-night beachside waltz. Stream and/or download it below.
Dirty Beaches ' 'Elizabeth's Theme'
The 'Elizabeth's Theme' 7' will be available October 9th (pre-order your copy here). Other contributors to the series include Apollo Ghosts, Weed, Capitol 6, and more.
The title track hits a serious high among Wolf's catalog, deriving power equally from his history (as a cofounder of odd-rap collective Anticon) as from where he is now (amongst a group of rock ringers, including older brother Josiah). Closer 'Shag Carpet' hits a similar sweet spot, pairing sharp-tongued imagery about a bad relationship ('What's worse is when you finally fall asleep/ I'm gonna go for your purse') with waving, choral vocals and an oddball xylophone.
When Why? veer too far into the mild sectors of their world though, the end-result never hits that mark ' and sometimes doesn't even come close. Their last album, 2009's Eskimo Snow, proved that its relatively serious, un-hip hop paled in comparison to the rest of the group's LPs. The middle of this EP, unfortunately, does that same thing. 'Probable Cause', with its slow-fade, cooing female backing vocals, marimba, and lustrous piano backing Wolf's tale of reckless driving, is the best of the bunch. The track dissolves after only a minute, though, barely whetting the appetite. The quirky talk of bird bones and baby teeth on 'Twenty Something' is cloyingly eccentric, and 'The Plan' hits some loose, jangly Western balladry.
This EP acts as a stopgap before Wolf's fifth LP, Mumps, etc, shows up in October, and it accomplishes that trick in good measure, delivering one of the best Why? tracks in years in the title track. Sod in the Seed opens and closes strong, sags in the middle, and succeeds in driving the demand for even more Why? material.
Essential Tracks: 'Sod in the Seed', 'Shag Carpet'
On October 6th, Virgin Mobile FreeFest will return to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD with a lineup topped by Jack White, Skrillex, M83, Nas, The Dismemberment Plan, Ben Folds Five, and' ZZ Top.
Also playing across the two main stages are Santigold, Alabama Shakes, Allen Stone, Trampled by Turtles, Portugal. The Man, Das Racist, Future Islands, and Justin Jones. The Dance Forest will feature Above & Beyond, Porter & Zedd (Back to Back), Thomas Gold, Nervo, Alvin Risk, and Penguin Prison.
Free tickets to the the festival will be available to the public at Noon EDT on August 24th via Ticketfly. There will also be a limited number of FreeFest 'FREEMIUM PACKAGES,' which include admission to the festival, a charitable donation to Virgin Mobile USA's youth homelessness initiatives, a FreeFest T-shirt, a souvenir cup that comes with free fountain drinks throughout the festival, and early admission to the grounds. Those tickets are available via Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion box offices.
As part of his mix for last night's episode of Animal Collective radio, Avey Tare premiered three new solo tracks. Both 'Excaliber' and 'Mr. Funny Man' feature vocals from one-time Dirty Projectors member Angel Deradoorian, while the flute-driven 'Bobby's Loop' would fit nicely on the soundtrack for some National Geography documentary about insects. Stream all three cuts below (via Collected Animals).
Avey Tare with Angel Deradoorian ' 'Excaliber':
Avey Tare with The Deradoorian Sisters ' 'Mr. Funny Man':
Avey Tare ' 'Bobby's Loop':
And don't forget: tune in to next week's episode to hear Animal Collective's new album Centipede Hz in full.
R. Kelly's Love Letter Cruise has sunk even before it set sail. As TMZ reports, the crooner canceled his two scheduled performances on the Caribbean voyage after the promoter Concerts Cruise LLC failed to pay him.
Kelly's rep told TMZ: 'R. Kelly had been looking forward to the cruise and was ready, willing and able to perform for fans. He is sorry for any disappointment but plans to see his fans very soon on a U.S. tour.'
Refunds are available at the point of purchase.
