Well, this is the last week of new music for 2012. I have decided to do some special end of the year pieces for the next few weeks. I started with this column over the summer and have been having a total blast doing it. Come back next week to see me grade myself in terms of how well I predicted how good an album would be based on early singles. The following week will be my own list for best tracks featured here in 2012 and I am taking the last week of the year off because no one goes online that week anyway. So, without further ado, here is your last batch of brand new music from me, The Listener, until 2013!
Ducktails - "Letter of Intent:" Ducktails is Real Estate's Matt Mondanile, who has been releasing quiet, masterful, low-fi albums for a few years now. "Letter of Intent" is the first single off his forthcoming January album. The track is a marked departure from his previous releases, a filled out synthpop song featuring Daniel Lopatin and Jessa Farkas. Maintaining Mondanile's easy going but wistful vibe, this song is an excellent first impression.
Sapphire Slows/Magic Touch - "When I See You:" 90's era house music was the reference point for a lot of the new music coming out this year, so it is fitting to end the year on "When I See You." A collaboration between Magic Touch and Japanese vocalist, Sapphire Slows, "When I See You" is deeply evocative of a certain time and place. A bouncy piano loop propels the track, mixed with echoing vocals by Sapphire Slows. Be sure to mix this in when you are asked, and by asked I mean rudely force someone to let you do this, to DJ a holiday or New Years party.
Laurel Halo - "Sunlight on the Faded:" I have spent the week listening to Halo's masterful 2012 album,
Quarantine," in preparation for my "Best of 2012" post next week. Next week, Halo will be releasing this as a new single on
Hyperdub. Like the songs on her album, "Sunlight on the Faded" is a crystalline and disjointed song that surrounds Halo's vocals and harmonies around equally fragmented synth loops. The song cuts out at the middle, seemingly over, only to rebuild itself from scratch. Fantastic track!
Haunted Hearts - "Something That Feels Bad is Something That Feels Good:" This week, Dee Dee (Of Dum Dum Girls fame) and husband Brandon Welchez (of Crocodiles fame) announced their new joint project, Haunted Hearts. "Something That Feels Bad is Something That Feels Good" is their debut track and features soaring, reverb drenched guitars, and both artists singing. A mix between shoegaze and garage rock, be sure to expect lots of hype about this act in a few months.
Beach Fossils - "Careless:" After spending a year on two excellent side projects (Heavenly Beat and DIIV), the members of Beach Fossils have reconvened for a proper follow up to their 2011 EP. After a year where there aesthetic really took hold in a general sense, "Careless" is a welcome reminder that Beach Fossils do this whole wistful jangly pop thing the best right now. Overall, the recording quality is better and the various individual elements are not as washed together as they had been in previous releases. The band benefits from this improvement and the uptempo song is sure to be lodged in your head for at least a few days.
