I heard this at the top of the latest All Songs Considered podcast and knew I had to instantly track it down and reblog it. It is one of the most fun and unique tracks I’ve heard in a long time - a completely bonkers and yet utterly charming hip-hop song inspired by showtunes from a bygone era, telling the story of a man, perhaps the Mitch behind the -matic, trying relentlessly and unsuccessfully to court a girl. It’s hilarious, funky and fresh. Go buy it on his Bandcamp.
New Andrew Bird track is a little less fragile, at least on the inside out, than before, with a driving, rousing chorus. Of course it leads to a little bit of whistling in the coda but what else are you expecting. Limited edition vinyls available over on http://www.andrewbird.net/
Source: SoundCloud / Andrew Bird
Genesis by Grimes
New track from Grimes, preceding her third album Visions, is as ethereal, sensual and chic as ever. Maybe moreso.
shared from exfm
The new single from The Mary Onettes is a characteristically poppy affair but the Cure-ism has been dialed-up a notch. This is taken from the EP “Love Forever” out on February 28 on Labrador. Sounds like it could be a sappy affair but I kinda like it…
Order the 12” vinyl from their store (but be quick since there’s only 1000 copies)
Source: soundcloud.com
Escort - Escort
I discovered Escort through a club remix of the first track on this album, Caméleon Chameleon, which first appeared on an NPR podcast and then in my SoundCloud feed. Now I’m listening to the full album, thanks to the power of the internet. These guys are funky as hell, rediscovering the old disco roots of Brooklyn via the medium of gloriously upbeat tracks mixed with a sly sense of modernism. Officially tipping Escort as a live band for 2012…
HotSpotMusic must live on.
Dear readers…. you may have noticed something of a winter hibernation here on HotSpotMusic. 2012 has brought about many changes and how we run HotSpotMusic will be one of them. It has always been my intention to write about music in the way that I consume it - full albums - and to find music to share with others in a simple, unpretentious way. And so it must continue.
Since I neither have the time nor energy to maintain the both the quality and quantity of output that this blog and you deserve I am forced to choose…. Therefore, from this week HotSpotMusic will continue in one of two ways:
1. If you love the current format (simple album reviews, on time and on the money) then come write for us! Demands are simple: love music, love writing and have time for both.
2. HotSpotMusic will change - I will continue to post but will increase the scope - not just album reviews but videos, playlists, single tracks, remixes and more. From all over the place too, SoundCloud, exfm, 8tracks, Spotify, Rdio and more. Reviews will be shorter but more plentiful. It won’t be the HotSpotMusic we’ve come to know, but it will still exist and maybe there will be more new music as a result.
Got an opinion on how to keep things afloat? Let me know! Otherwise, get ready for some unfiltered, unadulterated, unbelievable tunes coming your way soon.
It’s a whole new week which means we have a whole new batch of Tastemakers for your listening pleasure. Press play on this tasty ear candy!
Honoured to be included on the exfm tastemakers list.
Source: extensionfm
Darren Hayman - January Songs
What better way to kick off the new year than a whole month’s worth of songs by this humble blogger’s favourite English troubadour, Mr Darren of Hayman. This time last year, he was just setting out on a valiant quest: to write, create and record a new track each and every day during January, which you can still review over on the blog. Accompanied by the talents of friends and artists alike, January Songs is a 31 gun salute to endeavour and to new years resolutions. He’ll even be performing them all in a series of gigs this month so if you’re lucky enough to be in England, be sure to see it.
Sin Fang - Summer Echoes
Now seems to be the appropriate time to be sharing this record, given its title. The echo of the summer is heard louder than the echo of Sin Fang’s last album, Clangour, a delightfully scatty collection of ideas. This one is more focused, more of an album and more folky.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date: 21 March 2011
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Another one where serious questions have to be asked about this writer’s taste and dedication as to why it wasn’t posted 6 months ago. Burst Apart is a sonically stretching follow-up to the cathartic Hospice (another of 2009’s sleeper hits) that elevates the themes to something less likely to make you bawl but soar instead. The epic opener I Don’t Want Love sets the album off at the right pace as a heartfelt and yet self-undermining protest and the rest of the album continues just as brightly. Great stuff.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date: 10 May 2011
Beirut - The Rip Tide
The Rip Tide is an excellent album that, much like the rest of Zach Condon’s discography is something of a slow burn (whilst being characteristically recognisable). Not sure why it took so long to get round to it here but with tracks like East Harlem and the title track, it’s strong enough to comfortably slot into the end of year lists.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date: 30 August 2011
The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy
I Want That You Are Always Happy is the full debut album of Australian septet, The Middle East. It follows their sumptuous EP (cleverly titled The Recordings of the Middle East) from last year and follows that up with more downbeat folk that doesn’t sound dissimilar from what the blender would sound like if you threw a Fleet Foxes CD in there with a Low Anthem record and a Jet minidisc. Just kidding about the Jet (ah, the fate of poor Australian bands) so maybe replace that with some barley. Yes, that’d go quite nicely. Much like this album. Won’t hit the end of year top 25 but it’s a pleasant enough record.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date:
Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
Landing right at the beginning of this year, HotSpotMusic missed out on Anna Calvi. Despite having the unfortunate albatross of one of the BBC’s Sound of 2011 acts hanging round her neck (although this was perhaps offset by Brian Eno referring to her as the best thing since Patti Smith), her tightly composed debut is a grand work. There are definite elements of PJ Harvey but it is the dark, dense power of this album that makes songs like Desire and The Devil stand out amongst other contemporary female performers such as Florence & The Machine or EMA. This has only spun a few times but it may well get a few more… and if that’s not enough, she’s covered Wolf Like Me too.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date: 17 Januaruy 2011
Bjork - Biophilia
Trust Bjork to release her latest album not as a traditional record but as an ever unfolding series within an iPad app. Always at the forefront of music and innovation, Bjork’s album was beautiful and somewhat revolutionary. The music in it was less pioneering than the format perhaps, but that’s only because we set such high expectations on her. Sumptuously constructed and genre hopping, Biophilia is an experiment in what sound represents in the third millennia and it delivers strongly.
Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.
Original release date: 11 October 2011
