Showing posts with label woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label woods. Show all posts
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Listener's Digest: August 3 - August 10



So, I have been on vacation for the last week, but that does not mean I forgot about you, the readers of buffaBlog. No, I would never forget you, for you are all I have. No, I don't mean that. I mean that I am just dedicated to music blogging, and not that I am desperate for your collective approval. Haha, right guys? So, while I go cry in a corner, here are some of the best new songs from the last week.

Woods – “Size Meets the Sound;” How psyched am I about the new Woods album? The answer is totally psyched. Woods follow up the majestic stomper, “Cali in a Cup,” with another blissed out psychedelic low-fi gem. The band has quietly perfected their sound over the last few years without sacrificing anything to slickness.

Thee Oh Sees – “Flood’s New Light:” For a band so wildly prolific as Thee Oh Sees, their ability to continually impress and surprise is astounding. This new, straightforward rocker, with its catchy chorus, is another excellent addition to the band’s extensive discography. Just another reason you should not miss them at Town Ballroom in September.

Prince Rama – “So Destroyed:” From a conceptual album of radio hits from the time of the apocalypse, this track is a spacey psych dance song. If that description makes any sense, you are probably way weirder than I am and I want to look through your record collection. Here, Prince Rama is Rage Peace. "So Destroyed" features a catchy melody buried underneath white noise, A fun song and making the apocalypse seem like it might be a good time. It might also be a horrifying party before we all die, but hey, that’s the apocalypse for you.


Lindstrøm- "Rà-àkõ-st:" The Swedish electronic artist has released another long and epic dance song. A retro sounding synth melody and a propulsive baseline that moves the track forward, the song’s repetitive nature and groove is hypnotic. 

Stars – “Backlines:” It is weird to think of Stars as a veteran act, but here we are in 2012 and they have been around for some time. The third single off of their forthcoming LP, the Montreal group sounds poised and confident. A simple anthemic pop song, “Backlines” is further evidence of a band at the top of their game. Do yourself a favor and get the other two singles, especially “Theory of Relativity.”

Well, there you have it. I wiped the tears away from my face and you have another week of great music from some consistent favorites and bands I should probably pay closer attention to in the future. Until then, I will be thinking of more bad jokes to put here. 

Michael Torsell

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Listener's Digest: June 29 - July 5



Right now, you are probably slowly melting from the heat. Don't worry, they say slowly transitioning into a pile of goo is good for the skin, plus you can be more like Alex Mack, and who doesn't want that. I for one love the heat, rather I love sitting in this air conditioned room while I hear about how hot it is from the rest of you. However, I have to be as comfortable as possible because I am hard at work discovering new songs for you to listen to this weekend. You're welcome!

Woods - "Cali in a Cup:" Having left behind the low-fi sound of their earlier releases, this new track benefits from the enhanced recording quality. Aside from the change, this is a fairly standard Woods song, easy paced and catchy. This is the first single off Woods' forthcoming album, Bend Beyond,which is set to be released on September 18.
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DIANA - "Born Again:" A Toronto group whose roster includes members of Dan Bejar's Destroyer project,  "Born Again" echoes the smooth style of the most recent Destroyer LP. Mellow with female vocals winding over an atmospheric groove, this track is a great introduction.




Fang Island - "Seek It Out:" Fang Island specializes in stirring riff heavy songs sounding vaguely like the soundtrack to a game of Dungeons and Dragons taken to a fever pitch. That said, it is still good fun. "Seek It Out," is the newest song off their forthcoming album, Major, which will be released on July 24.




Blur - "Under the Westway:" Despite Damon Albarn's recent threats that Blur and Gorillaz were done (which would have been a serious bummer), Blur released a new song this week. "Under the Westway" is a strong return and hearkens back to some of their best work of the 90s'. A minimal, piano-driven lullaby that leaves me wishing they would release another album. It has been 9 years, please?


Kanye West  w/ Pusha-T - "New God Flow:" So, apparently everyone is putting Pusha-T on their track this Summer. You already heard the new The-Dream song, and now a new Kanye West track featuring the Clipse member. "New God Flow" is a ferocious song with both rappers in good form. The track can be streamed on Kanye West's website.

Michael Torsell

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Top Ten April Album Releases To Be Excited About


So as I’m writing this jam-packed list for April it is officially snowing outside. First and foremost, unless you’re a farmer or something (as you all know buffaBLOG is pretty popular with the agricultural scene) worried about your crop, you can stop complaining. We all knew this would happen just as it does at least once every spring. And frankly, we deserve it after the last few record-breaking weeks of 70+ degree weather we’ve been having. The hell with it, I can talk about the weather with the mailman or my great Aunt Agnes. 

The forecast for this month might as well be a mottled storm cloud, splotched red and orange on the doppler, ready to spill out an overabundance of new airs that were all conjured up in various studios during a winter that plagued us with inevitable musical drought. In April, when it rains, it indubitably pours. So while this may appear to be only a list of ten releases, don’t be a damn fool, because looks can be deceiving. Technically speaking, this list is more like a top 50 or 100 due in part to a particular holiday that celebrates Independent music and it’s marketers.

10. Sepalcure - Eternally Yrs
Sepalcure are Brooklynites Praveen Sarma and Travis Stewart. With the critical success of last year’s self-titled, bass-charged LP, this four track EP sets out to shed new light on a couple selections from that record, those being, “Hold On” which is remixed by Trevino and “The One,” being remixed by Kevin Mcphee. And while there is one new track on the EP, entitled “Don’t Cry”, there is still a lot to be excited about in so far as how these remixes will capture the diversity of sounds that Sepalcure has already been able to exhibit. The 12” is due out April 17 on Hotflush. 

Pencil Pimp - Sepalcure by amadeusblog

9. Woods and Amps for Christ - Split LP
A fascinating split LP that will be coming out on April 17 (May 1 for all you vinyl enthusiasts) is between campfire folkies Woods, and noise-smith Henry Barns, known as Amps For Christ. There is one collaborative track from the release that you can hear below called “From Oatmeal to Buttermilk,” which combines ambient guitars, a hazy zither solo, and an reoccurring chirping that sounds a bit like a locust. It’s quite entrancing. The rest of the record consists of four songs from each respective artist. 



8. Zammuto - Zammuto
Nick Zammuto released some pretty extraordinary music when he was apart of The Books with cellist Paul de Jong. The New York duo have now called it quits indefinitely, but Zammuto has amassed a band and is releasing his self-titled LP on April 3. You can now listen to the record in it’s entirety streaming over at SPIN.

7. Jack White - Blunderbuss
Finally! Jack White is releasing music under his own name. The album is called Blunderbuss and after the endless collaborations, and many great albums with the White Stripes, he has finally made a record he can call his own. It’s due out April 27. You can pre-order it on White’s website and listen to the low-key single “Love Interruption” below.


6. Moonface - With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery
Moonface, side project of Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, will be releasing the ten song LP With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery on April 17 via Jagjaguwar. Krug recorded the record with the hypnotic Finnish group Siinai, hence the title of the record. According to the band’s profile on Jagjaguwar’s site, the album will focus on the theme of heartbreak, stating, “If there is a place that is beautiful only because it's too dark to see whether or not ugliness exists, that's where you'll find these songs and their characters.” 


5. Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light
In an interview with NME from July 2010, Spiritualized mastermind Jason Pierce said, “I always shy away from anything I write that sounds like a pop song, things like 'Soul On Fire' or 'Stop Your Crying'...This time I’m embracing songs like that and seeing what happens. I’m not fighting it any more.” In the three and half years since 2008’s Songs in A&E, it seems Pierce has done exactly what he has claimed with Sweet Heart, Sweet Light, and the proof is on the epic, sugar-coated single “Hey Jane”. The record’s due out on April 17 on Fat Possum.


4. Bear In Heaven - I Love You, It’s Cool
Bear In Heaven is back releasing new jams since 2009’s critically acclaimed Beast Rest Forth Mouth, with their third album, I Love You, It’s Cool, which is being co-released by Hometapes and Dead Oceans on April 3. Until then, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is the entire album is streaming on the band’s website right now. The bad news is it’s literally been slowed down by about 400,000%. Bear In Heaven 1, Music Marketing Schemers 0.


3. Ty Segall and White Fence - Hair
Lo-fi punk artist Ty Segall is following up the success of last year’s Goodbye Bread by collaborating with fellow Bay-area scuzz-rocker Tim Presley, known as White Fence, for the split LP Hair. The first track off the album, “I am Not A Game,” is a filthy-riffed guitar-driven track that is groovy as ever. There’s little doubt that this collaborative LP will be a summertime favorite.



2. M. Ward - A Wasteland Companion
M Ward, the other half of She and Him, is releasing his solo album A Wasteland  Companion on Merge records April 10, and it’s about damn time. He has already released two singles from the record, the piano-rock jam “Primitive Girl” and “The First Time I Ran Away” which already has an incredible animated video which is directed by the talented Joel Trussell and attempts to interpret the lyrics. Check it out below:


1. Record Store Day Releases!
Record Store Day was founded in 2007 and continues to be the greatest celebration of independent music and records of the year. This celebration occurs every year on the third Saturday in April and boasts hundreds of artists releasing various special vinyls and CDs. This year includes releases from Arcade Fire, Beach House, Bonnie Prince Billy, Destroyer, Jimmy Fallon, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, St. Vincent, M83, The Tallest Man on Earth, Neon Indian, Portugal. The Man, Wilco, Patti Smith, The Black Keys, and many, many more. You can check out the list of releases at the official Record Store Day website right now. Make sure to mark your calendars for April 21 and find out which Record Stores near you will be celebrating!



Tom Dennis
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buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 - Woods


Today marks the 12 day countdown to Christmas morning so naturally, we return with buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas.  Like last year, we will post a song or video that has us feeling festive and merry as the big day approaches.  For Day 1, I chose a recently released holiday cover by indie folk band Woods.  Woods have always been one of my favorite acts of the psych folk/freak folk genre.  Despite their sometimes out there tunes, they always displayed a great knack for harmonies.  The Brooklyn act, as a little present to their fans, covered one of the most beloved of holiday tunes, "Christmas Time is Here", the Vince Guaraldi classic best known for it's use in A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Their lo-fi, blissful take does not stray too far from the original, outside of a few loops and effects mixed in, while the band's high falsettos are a perfect substitute for the original vocals.  Enjoy.  

Woods, "Christmas Time is Here" (Vince Guaraldi Cover) by The FADER

mac mcguire
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