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buffaBLOG's Best of 2013: Staff Picks - Favorite Songs Part 2

Travis Kowalski

Lorde - "Team"
Even if you overlook the worldwide hype and praise New Zealand teenager Ella Yelich-O’Connor aka Lorde has received this year, it’s easy to see why her music has made it into countless international playlists. Her first single “Royals” introduced everyone to an amazing vocal ability and perceptive writing style that was inherently missing in the pop landscape, but it was her second single, “Team,” that instantly became my favorite song this year. Within the first few seconds of the song, Lorde demands your attention with a soft whisper of “Wait ‘til you’re announced. We’ve not yet lost all our graces.” Swirling synths and polished vocal work only add another dimension to Lorde’s limitless musical capabilities, which really aim to prove how she’s looking to not only inch her way into pop music, but instead swiftly move all the way to the top. Amidst newfangled pop classics like “Team” that goal seems very possible.

Ailsa Forlenza

Beats Antique - "You The Starry Eyed" (ft. Lynx & Sorne)
On their album A Thousand Faces Act I, Beats Antique musically explores the hero's journey, from the initial call to crossing the threshold into the underworld. "You The Starry Eyed" is a beacon of hope, urging the hero to plod forward. Lynx's angelic wavers glide over a sonorous synth landscape in a gentle duet with Sorne. It's inspiring, with lyrics like "Push on through the night/ like the ones who came before you," and an epic dance groove, verging on the edges of electro-glitch.

Michael Torsell

Vampire Weekend - "Ya Hey"

Winnowing down a year’s worth of albums is difficult enough but winnowing everything down to one standout track is even worse, especially in a year filled with stand out tracks. That said, I am going to say that my top track remains Vampire Weekend’s “Ya Hey,” off of their seminal third album, Modern Vampires of the City. The song’s sweep works well as both a single and within the larger record, with a dramatic bounce and scope that raises hearing someone artfully transition songs at a rooftop party to a biblical level. “Ya Hey” (itself an inversion of 2003’s song of the year “Hey Ya,” which I just noticed was 10 years ago…weird) remained on top throughout the summer and fall and it sits comfortably as my song of the year for 2013.

Jessica Brant

The Neighbourhood - "Sweater Weather"

There are only a few songs I can name that I've broke out in dance to in my room. "Sweater Weather" is one of them. It's just a super sexy song, the perfect indie rock gem with a hip hop twist. The guitar narrates the story, the drums keep it treading. Elegantly written and beautifully arranged.

Mac McGuire

Duckails - "Letter of Intent"

One of my favorite developments of 2013 was Ducktails front man (and Real Estate guitarist) Matthew Mondanile's move out of the bedroom and into a full fledged band. The Flower Lane tapped into some of the 80s soft rock sounds that Destroyer used on Kaputt and paired them perfectly with Mondanile's signature, laid back guitar work, and no song captured that fleshed out sound better than "Letter of Intent." It's funny that the moment Ducktails ceased to become a bedroom recording project that Mondanile released his most bedroom appropriate song yet. Led by the dreamy vocals of Jessa Farkus and Ian Drennan, "Letter of Intent" is a coy, yet seductive number, practically begging you to get lost in its smooth, jangle of guitars and wispy horns. It's absolutely perfect. While I listened to no song more this year than "Letter of Intent," I couldn't end this post without giving some credit to Washed Out's "Don't Give Up," Okkervil River's "Down Down The Deep River," and that glorious coda on Vampire Weekend's "Hannah Hunt."

Tom Etu

Well Worn Boot - "Ballad of Billy Klubb"

"Ballad of Billy Klubb" is a good appetizer for those uninitiated into the world of Well Worn Boot. Become enthralled with the tale of the animal they call Billy Klubb, and rediscover the flute as an important instrument in heavy music. If you can sit still while listening to this, you’re probably a tree. These wild men don’t fuck around. Do not listen to this song while driving a car unless you are prepared to run red lights.

Scott Mancuso

The National - "Pink Rabbits"
This is my favorite song of the year. I think it gets everything right in order to be a good song. It has a well-written melody, it’s well-sung, the instrumentation is varied and interesting to listen to, the music builds on itself in a way that sounds natural and not-at-all forced and expands and contracts in proportion to the emotional tenor of the song’s narrative, and the lyrics are extremely clever and poetically repetitive and subtly tell a story that is painfully sad in a way that is not maudlin or dramatic or self-pitying but that is humble and honest and feels exactly like the hollow, insignificant ache of being a “white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park.” It gets exactly right the ways that physical and emotional distance can play tricks on each other and make the person in your head "sitting in a fainting chair drinking pink rabbits" feel like they're stabbing you with a voodoo doll while the person you're dancing with (the same person, whom you're now holding "way too high off the ground") feels like they're a million miles away as you listen to Bona Drag on repeat, take another swallow of whiskey, and listen to the sound kick out.

If you missed Part 1, you may read it here.

Album review, ducktails, msantillo — 0 comments

Album Review: Ducktails - Wish Hotel

Matt Mondanile (and guitarist of the band Real Estate) has released the second record this year under the moniker Ducktails in the form of a 5 song EP called Wish Hotel. Wish Hotel continues to build on basic pop elements that most strongly manifest in the previous LP, The Flower Lane. However, while straying away from the more experimental, free form tendencies of early Ducktails, Mondanile has returned to a lo-fi recording approach, forgoing the high production value of the studio and settling in to the comfort of creativity in the familiar space of his own home. The result is something that feels a bit looser, while maintaining all the catchiness present on the previous album. The sound of Wish Hotel is dreamlike and uncanny, reminiscent but decidedly fresh.

Wish Hotel starts all at once with the track “Tie Dye,” led by the hypnotic wash of a ride cymbal joined by a circular bass riff and some real smooth and clean, jazzy guitar chords accented on the down beat of every measure. Mondanile creates groovy, psychedelic formations in and out of which sonic elements emerge and vanish. First, the hi frequency hiss of a cymbal is yanked away from our ears, followed by the entire backing track save for the synth only to reemerge a few seconds later where it left, initially off cadence with the synth lead and phased back together in time a few bars later. The spatial environment of this collection of songs is defined by addition and subtraction. Take for example the carnivalesque ascending and descending synth on “Jazz.” This sound pattern dominates much of the song, and the space created by its removal destabilizes the arrangement and shapes the sound landscape with a welcome emptiness that works in contrast of the previous fullness.

Wish Hotel is woozy and mesmerizing, with languid guitar licks and repetitive drone. This dream-like quality of the instrumentation is reinforced by the vocal delivery and lyrical content. Mondanile tells a story, or rather relays a series of events with a detached quality, or disinterestedness like in “Tie Dye,” where he sings such lines as, “watch the lawn get mowed by the old man who lives across the street.” There is little emotional connection to this mundane event, only the watchful documentation of the observer. Like a dream, things happen without explanation, without personal attachment, or transparent meaning. The most cohesive pop effort is found in the psychedelic loop of “Honey Tiger Eyes.” The rest of the record is more subtly distinct. Pop components are present without being overtly defining of the compositions. These songs resist the expressed sentiment of the designation of “pop” song. Wandering in circular patterns is the nature of Wish Hotel. A continuation of certain trends developed on The Flower Lane, while also at the same time a return to initial ideas intrinsic to the formation of this project. It seems that a blend of old and new is sought by Mondanile, as he reaches forward while drawing from the past in pursuit of a balance of sound that covers all ground.

Grade: B+

arcade fire, cass mccombs, Danny Brown, Dismemberment Plan, ducktails, four tet, Glasser, Heavenly Beat, mtorsell, new music, omar souleyman, oneohtrix point never, Sky Ferreira, sleigh bells, summer camp — 0 comments

Listener's Digest Presents - New Albums to Watch for in October

The fall is a big times for new releases. This summer seemed like very little happened after Yeezus in terms of big exciting releases, even sleeper albums seemed kind of scant for a few weeks there. Coming off of that, the sudden onslaught of new music can be overwhelming. No worries, because your friendly bloggers here at buffaBlog are providing you with some quick recommendations to help organize your month of music listening and purchases. By bloggers, I mean me, so a friendly blogger at buffaBlog is here to help. October has a little bit of everything, culminating in the much hyped release from Arcade Fire. But until then, there are exciting new releases from Danny Brown, Glasser, Cass McCombs, The Dismemberment Plan, and many more.

October 1

Oneohtrix Point Never – R Plus Seven: Oneohtrix Point Never will release another collection of his rather hard to pin down work tomorrow, his first album on the legendarily innovative Warp Records. Mixing the ambient and the upsetting, Daniel Lopatin's ongoing electronic project is sure to be one of October's most interesting and engaging releases.
October 8

Danny Brown – Old: You can already stream this record but it officially comes out on October 8. Danny Brown finally makes his long awaited follow up to XXX. Earlier released tracks off this record suggest this record will be ridiculous, adding to an exciting year for hip hop (Drake, Kanye West, A$AP Ferg, Earl Sweatshirt etc. etc.). Brown seems to be pushing himself further, taking his music in dizzyingly and delightfully weird directions.

Glasser - Interiors: Following up her well received debut, Cameron Mesirow aka Glasser, returns with Interiors. Another record you can stream before it's official debut, Glasser writes spacey/spookey electronic songs that straddle the border between catchy and haunting, which leaves you with the same end result I suppose.

Summer Camp – Summer Camp: Summer Camp’s new record appears to be a nice burst of synth pop in a year filled with such bursts. “Fresh” is definitely a sleeper jam for 2013 with a clean rhythm and a almost disco feel. Definitely an easy dancer should you need something for your upcoming costume party. The album will be a great mix of new wave and disco and a definite crowd pleaser. Hard to tell if this will get a lot of attention when it comes out, but it should.

October 15

Cass McCombs – Big Wheel and Others: It’s been a while since McCombs released Humor Risk, 2011’s nearly flawless collection of folk rock. Early singles have been exceptional so expect this record to be more of the same, which will go nicely with the changing leaves and oncoming chill.

The Dismemberment Plan – Uncanny Valley: This is more personal for me than anything else coming out in October. I first discovered the Dismemberment Plan in high school and they shaped my music taste in a number of ways. Their work has stood the test of time in such a way that I grew into instead of grown out of their music. After an immensely successful reunion tour, the group recorded their first new album in over 12 years. I am certainly apprehensive to see if their return matches up to their past accomplishment but I also have to keep reminding myself that I could never repeat the connection I made to their music at 16. So, we will see if they hit me in a different but equally impactful way as I approach 30. Early indicators point to this being a possible yes.

Heavenly Beat – Prominence: Heavenly Beat, formerly of Beach Fossils, follows up their 2012 debut, underrated in its own right, with another collection of hazed over wistful pop songs. The first single was a solid note of growth for John Peña, and I am confident the album will contain more of the same.

October 22

Ducktails – Wish Hotel EP: Matthew Mondanile’s side project has proven to be one favorite records of 2013 (it is true, just ask Mac) so it is exciting to see him releasing another album, albeit an EP in the same year. A decidedly lower key affair than The Flower Lane, Mondanile returns to recording alone. However, the first single, “Honey Tiger Eyees,” was as blissed out and grandiose as anything Ducktails has done previously.

Omar Souleyman – Wenu Wenu: A star in the Middle East, Souleyman has slowly been gaining recognition in the West for his ecstatic and poppy take on traditional music. For his wider US debut, Souleyman enlisted the production of Four Tet, whose own musical style seems a perfect match. The first single, “Wenu Wenu,” a joyous and epic party stomper, should give you a good idea of what to expect from the album. Certainly something I am anxious to hear.

October 29

Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time: Sky Ferreira was recently in the news for being caught with massive quantities of heroin(along with the lead singer of DIIV, oh the scandal!!). Ok, maybe it was not massive, but it was a bit of heroin, certainly more than average…I think. Anyway, Ferreira is set to finally release her debut full length after a year of smaller releases. The first single featured Ferraira doing what she does best and that is performing infinitely catchy low-key pop.

Arcade Fire – Reflekor: Hey, did you hear Arcade Fire are releasing a new album? Do you have the internet? Ok, then I don’t have to do much for this one. James Murphy produced their 4th record which promises to be more heavily influenced by Haitian music and features a more groove centric sound. “Reflecktor,” the first single, might be one of my favorite songs of theirs to date.

Album to Avoid

Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals: It’s been a longtime since I had second hand embarrassment from someone else'smusic but that is how I feel when I hear new music from Sleigh Bells. I really liked them in the beginning but their music has worn thin about as quickly as their first show in Buffalo a few years ago (they played for 20 minutes if you were curious). Every time I hear something from this album, I wince involuntarily. At this point, Sleigh Bells has pretty much exhausted their schtick and I am certain I heard one of their riffs on a Kid Rock song back in high school.

Blood Orange, chairlift, ducktails, Glasser, Heavenly Beat, Jacco Gardner, listen up, listener's digest, mtorsell — 0 comments

Listener's Digest: Week of September 9, 2013

Normally, we try to post songs right as they get released. Now, this worked well during the summer when everyone seemed to be putting things out at a trickle; however, summer is quickly careening to a halt. Mac and I looked around this week and noticed that everything was suddenly coming at a rapid clip. Actually, Mac looked me dead in the eye, pointed a gun right between my eyes and told me to go make a multiple song edition of Listener's Digest. There is no way we can keep up with the sheer bulk of new and worthwhile songs. So, being the selfless man I am (please don't ask my friends to confirm this) decided to round up some new stuff for your thursday. Also, Mac has gotten a bit extreme with his editorial coaxing.

Glasser - "Design:" A jittery synth pop song from Glasser's upcoming album, set to be released on October 8. The video features Glasser, aka Cameron Messirow, anxiously dancing around a sparse room (tastefully furnished), her movements focused around a shifting computer animated object on a pedestool. The whole thing comes off as a racey video directed by a young Frasier Crane. The song is great though, it is pop music for the terminally anxious and uptight.

Heavenly Beat - "Honest:" Following up his underrated 2012 debut, former Beach Fossils member, John Peña, is readying a new LP that will be released on October 15. "Honest" is a breezey song making use of a series of looping strings and steel drums. Paired with Peña's voice, the song is an easy moving wistful song tailor made for whatever cliched autumn activities you wish to embark upon over the next few weeks. Peña does an excellent job transforming droning loops into something poppy and accessible. The new record, Prominence, will be released on October 15.

Ducktails - "Honey Tiger Eyes:" So, basically October will just be an endless stream of potentially great music. Ducktails, the awesome side project of Real Estate's Matt Mondanile, will follow up their last LP, 2013's triumphant The Flower Lane, with an EP, The Wish Hotel. "Honey Tiger Eyes" is the first single off of that LP and it is every bit as good as anything on The Flower Lane. Taking wistfulness to an almost anthemic level, this song moves at an easy pace, driven by fuzzy melodies, and culminating in a guitar solo at the end. The Wish Hotel will be released on October 22.

Jacco Gardner - "The End of August:" Gardner, a Dutch baroque pop musician, seems to be working from a playbook for songs I will gravitate towards. A spacey 60s' inflected song, "The End of August" capitalizes on the weirdness that permeates the air during the end of summer. It is a mix of melancholy and strangeness that I have trouble resisting. "The End of August" is the title track to a recently released 7'.

Blood Orange - "Chamakay:" Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange, might be a time traveler. How else can I fully explain how pitch perfect 90s' this new video for "Chamakay" is. Look at it, this was made in 1995 and remained unreleased until this week, I am sure of it. Anyway, the video features Hynes going back to his mother's hometown of Georgetown, Guyana and meeting many family members for the first time. Hynes dances in random places and generally employs 90s' dance moves throughout. The song, a haunting R&B song, features Chairlift lead singer, Caroline Polacheck on backing vocals.

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buffaBLOG Road Trip: Ducktails

Your friendly neighborhood buffaBLOGGERS (hoping this nickname will stick) will be venturing up north today to see Ducktails. Touring in support of one of 2013's early highlights, The Flower Lane, Matt Mondanile's group will be performing at Toronto's The Garrison.

Also known as a member of Real Estate, Mondanile has been quietly releasing a string of great records as Ducktails. The latest record, The Flower Lane, sees Mondanile more willing to experiment with styles and bring in more collaborators, resulting in an excellent collection of breezy pop.

Opening for Ducktails is the experimental pop/electronic project, Monopoly Child Star Searchers.

Ducktails w/Monopoly Child Star Searchers
The Garrison, 1197 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON
Doors @ 8:30
$12.50CN

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Album Review: Ducktails - The Flower Lane

When Real Estate’s Days came out in early fall 2011, it sounded like a classic. Something you could put on again and again, new anthems for the aimlessly wandering that sounded more like a shoulder to lean on than a crutch. Most of the track’s featured Martin Courtney’s vocals, a prettier version of Malkmus’ slacker shrug, but the one track that Matt Mondanile, Ducktails, is credited for on Days is “Kinder Blumen,” a jangly instrumental track. On Ducktails’ The Flower Lane, Mondanile expands his palette, working with scores of collaborators to flesh out his sound.

Mondanile’s transition from buzz-drenched rock to a slicker studio sound mirrors Ariel Pink’s progression. Pink’s Before Today marked a turning point, recording in a style resembling the 70’s and 80’s radio music he clung to as an adolescent rather than the hazy lo-fi of Worn Copy or The Doldrums. That step was preceded by the leap from Animal Collective’s small indie Paw Tracks to a much larger indie, 4AD. On The Flower Lane, Ducktails has made a similar change from Woodsist to Real Estate’s label, Domino. In an interview with Bowlegs, Mondanile explains how easy the decision was to record it outside his bedroom, “it’s basically because Domino offered to help me record it in a studio in Brooklyn and I thought why would I not take up this opportunity.”

That studio time takes Ducktails away from the cassette-left-in-the-sun aesthetic that previous albums, like Landscapes, featured. Instead, the album features lush instrumentation throughout, nodding more to late 70’s soft rock than the Hypnagogic Pop of the previous decade. It also takes from some of Days dormitory blues, just displaced into Brooklyn. That move to Brooklyn’s Gary’s Electric Studio enabled The Flower Lane to become a collaborative effort, featuring Martin Courtney, Jessa Farkas, Cults’ Madeline Follin, and even Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never. In an interview with The FADER, “People would just walk into the studio and see how they could change the record. I’d spent so much time recording by myself, so I thought this would be something different.” Follin’s contributions on “Sedan Magic” and Farkas' on “Letter Of Intent” are immediate highlights. Outside of Cults’ perky Phil Specter influenced bubble-gum, her vocals are given room to breathe and linger around Mondanile’s languid guitar licks.

Most of the tracks on The Flower Lane deal with distance from your friends or from a significant other. There’s an ease in Mondanile’s vocals that sees a virtue in his loner-ism while still looking for someone to take comfort in. On the title track to The Flower Lane he sings, “A million pretty faces and no one to care for,” which is a succinct way of articulating the feeling of being alone in a new city. Album opener “Ivy Covered House” sets a domestic idyll of the supportive wife and the leafy sidewalks of the suburbs before it all comes crashing down around the last verse. “Away from the in-crowd/The ivy covered house/ I’ve always been without,” it’s a bait and switch, the album begins with bliss but quickly turns into resignation about being on his own. He comes back to this often, the frightened narrator avoiding a girl in “Timothy Shy” or pleading to someone he’s closer to that “I wish you could see/ The thoughts in my head,” in “Assistant Director.”

Mondanile’s skeletal lyrics prop up the best compositions he’s recorded. It’s obvious that the time touring with Real Estate in the past few years has sharpened his ear for melody. This is a beautiful sounding rock record, every drum hits flush, every guitar sound just right. “Under Cover” is the standout of the bunch; it builds on layers of 80’s NPR synth and a saxophone towards Mondanile’s most cosmic guitar riffs on The Flower Lane. It’s a track that I’ll replay as soon as it ends, an earworm that you won’t want to let go of.

Domino’s gamble paid off, given the opportunity to work in a studio Ducktails churned out a great rock record that only gets better as you replay it. That this record was able to come together cohesively, with as many moving parts as it had is amazing in itself, but that it also works as a major progression from Mondanile’s previous solo albums as Ducktails makes it even more so.

Grade: A-

christopher owens, ducktails, foxygen, Local Natives, new music, parquet courts, ra ra riot, spectral park, the revival hour, tom, top ten new releases, Toro Y Moi, yo la tengo — 1 comments

Top Ten January Album Releases

What up 2013?! Last year was assuredly righteous, but just by the sight of what’s coming out in January, it’s hard to argue that we could be in for an even more abundant year of new releases. Here are our top ten new releases for this month.

10. Spectral Park - Spectral Park

While Spectral Park aka Luke Donovan will be releasing his debut LP on the 29th of this month, you shouldn’t expect any greater production level than the blotchy, coarse 60s rock they offered on his two-track demo from 2011, Gratis. The first cut from the self-titled record, “L’appel du Vide” is equally as dusty, and could even come off as a demo, but its corrosive energy carries the group as it does lo-fi artists Ty Segall or Ariel Pink. It might also help to know that Donovan’s recordings are, as Mexican Summer puts it, “Borne from the trash, literally sourced from a box of records the Southampton multi-instrumentalist found on a walk by a council block’s curbside garbage.” But seriously, he did that. By chopping-up clips in a sampler and adding vocal tracks Donovan has set out to reconstruct a cacophonous ghost of pop-music past.

9. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love

Formed in Syracuse, NY, Ra Ra Riot are Upstate’s native sons of indie rock. They recently played a stellar show at Mohawk Place, touring behind songs off their new album, Beta Love. The record is currently streaming in full and sample tracks at the groups website, and upon first listen it seems that the band has stayed in line with their signature upbeat, pop style. Beta Love is out 1/22 via Barsuk.

8. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold

Parquet Courts are a four-piece punk band from Texas that relocated to NYC and well, wanted to record a record, so they did and released it last August on Dull Tools. Right. So why are they releasing it again via What’s Your Rupture? on January 15, you say? Well, mostly because every major music source fell asleep on the excellent punk record last year, so...yeah. The awkwardness will fizzle out once you listen to "Stoned and Starving" below:

7. The Revival Hour - Scorpio Little Devil

As I mentioned back in November when they released their debut EP Clusterchord, Sufjan Stevens collaborator DM Stith and John-Mark Lapham of The Earlies have teamed up to form a great new band called The Revival Hour and they will be dropping their debut record Scorpio Little Devil on 1/21. While its being called a pop record in theory, The Revival Hour’s debut is more of a fusion of 60s soul, doo-wop, and folk as Stith lends his hallucinatory vocal melodies and loops while Lapham offers a layered stew of instrumentation and catchy rhythms. Listen to “Hold Back” below:

6. Yo La Tengo - Fade

Indie rock juggernauts Yo La Tengo will go ahead and release their thirteenth album of their nearly 30 year career on 1/15 via Matador. The album is called Fade and was produced by John McEntire (The Sea and Cake) instead of Roger Montenout, who has produced every album since 1993’s Matador debut, Painful. In an interview from 2009 Kaplan had this to say about the band’s relentless creativity: “You may think that you know everything that we do...we’ve thought of a few new things over the past couple of years.” Listen to the excellent new single off the new album in “Ohm” below:

5. Foxygen - We Are 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

Foxygen are another great new act that’s were signed by the folks at Jagjaguwar by way of handing their demo to producer Richard Swift after a show one night in NYC. Luckily, he got them in the studio for their debut album last year because they will already be releasing their follow-up We Are 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic on 1/22. They’ve cleverly been described as “the raw, de-Wes Andersonization of The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Velvets, Bowie, etc. that a whole mess of young people desperately need.” I probably can’t top that. Check out the Richard Swift directed video for “Shuggie” below:

4. Ducktails - The Flower Lane

After releasing the excellent sophomore record, Days, and hitting the road for almost a year as a part of his main gig playing lead guitar for Real Estate, Matthew Mondanile has been hard at work this summer on his third album under his drowsy, lo-fi moniker Ducktails. The Flower Lane is out 1/29, and while the recently released title track retains the groggy vibe that we’re familiar with from his prior two LPs, there is an undeniably stronger production quality to the track, as Mondanile has expanded his bedroom studio into a basement practice space, adding four band members. The Flower Lane is being released on Domino Records.

3. Christopher Owens - Lysandre

When Girls broke up back in July I was pretty saddened by the news. In three years, they had put out three incredible releases, and seemed to be only getting better and more prolific; the SF duo of Christopher Owens and JR White had created something that became one of my favorite bands of the last five years. Since the split, it was hard to know how quickly either would get back into making music, or if they would at all. White got back into producing pretty fast, and a few months later Owens announced the exciting (and speedy) news of a forthcoming solo record and shared a new track called “Here We Go.” The track takes on a similar soft rock guise, but a lot of the punk and gospel stylings of work as Girls are absent, and instead we’re left with an anchored, folkier song that still bleeds out every drop of emotion we’re used to experiencing with Owens. Listen to “Here We Go” below:

2. Local Natives - Hummingbird

Three years ago a charming five-piece LA band calling themselves Local Natives released a killer debut album called Gorilla Manner that they recorded in their SoCal house, and then toured the shit out of it. Since they’ve garnered comparisons to big names like Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire, there’s been a hum as to where they wound go next. In a way it’s not surprising that their first single off the forthcoming record, “Breakers,” feels so energetically stadium-ready. Co-produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, the band has said that Hummingbird is a progressive change: “I definitely think the album represents a lot of growth for us as musicians we pushed ourselves a lot to try new thing, experiment. On a lyrical emotion level I feel we dug a whole lot deeper laid a lot more things bare and tried to be more honest.” Listen to “Breakers” below and decide for yourself:

1. Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return

As we mentioned back in October, Toro Y Moi aka Chaz Bundick has a crisp LP primed called Anything In Return due out 1/22 via Carpark. As he has modestly shifted his scope from late ’00 chillwaver to house, funk-hop beatsmith we’ve been following the prolific musician the entire way. First cuts off the record “So Many Details” and “Say That” both offer Bundick’s varied approach to intelligently danceable music that puts him in a chasm betwixt producer and songwriter. There’s little doubt that this is Bundick’s most anticipated record yet. Watch the video for “Say That” below:

Beach Fossils, Crocodiles, ducktails, dum dum girls, Haunted Hearts, Laurel Halo, listeners digest, magic touch, mtorsell, new music, sapphire slows — 0 comments

Listener's Digest: November 30th - December 7th

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.

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Interview: Alex Bleeker of Real Estate, The Freaks

New Jersey surf-rockers Real Estate were spotted numerous times on the buffaBLOG radar last year. Released in October, the group's sophomore record, Days, received Album of the Week accolades, and tracks like "Green Aisles" and "It's Real" became some of the catchiest and most talked-about tracks of the fall. And while some might argue that Real Estate better fits the wistful melancholia of Indian summer, it isn't until now that we've been able to experience the quartet's amiable, squeaky-clean-reverb-lilted guitars at the apex of the solstice. At Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago last weekend, we did exactly that. Real Estate's serene set was so effortlessly fitting for the sunniest day of the gathering and became one of the most talked about performances of the 3-day rally at Union Park. But before they went on, we had the privilege of sitting down with Real Estate member Alex Bleeker at the festival, where we chatted with him about his side project--Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, touring, and the plight of the Buffalo Bills.

buffaBLOG: So you guys were here at Pitchfork in 2010?

Alex Bleeker: Yeah, we actually didn’t play last year, but we were here because it coincided with a tour we were doing. We did a summer tour and we thought, "Well everyone’s going to be out for the festival," and it was sort of a ‘if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em’ kind of thing. We got a couple of passes from friends to come here and check it out and then we played an after-party.

bB: Are you guys playing any after-parties this weekend

AB: No, not this year. I don’t really know what's going on tonight but I’m hoping to go to one and hang out. The vibe here is just incredible.

bB: I saw you guys on your last tour in Cleveland with The Babies. Having never heard them, I was seriously impressed. Of course you guys did an awesome job as well. How was that experience?

AB: It was great. That tour was amazing. We only toured with The Babies for a week and a half, so there was no time for it to get into a tired, grueling tour-mode. It was just a total love fest. We were just starting to get along, and we were having a great time and then it was over. It was like kind of bitter-sweet because we weren't ready for it to end, but it will always be this pristine, perfect memory. They’re really good friends of ours; we love them.

bB: So I assume when you tour you’re driving everywhere? How is that?

AB: When we do like a long tour we drive. We have our own van. We’re doing it the old fashioned way. Just huffing it.

bB: I feel like that would be the best way to do it.

AB: It’s great. It’s a good way to travel and see the country and meet new people.

bB: Has touring together made you all best friends?

AB: Yeah, and we have been for a long time. Martin, Matt, and I have known each other for more than ten years now and we all live in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. We hang out all the time.

bB: You’re originally from Jersey, right? How was that growing up?

AB: I love New Jersey. We have a lot of pride, you know. Well, you probably feel it in Buffalo right? Everyone makes fun of you for coming from Jersey. And so it makes you bend the other way and you just love it even more. It’s like, “Fuck off, Jersey rules!” I’ve felt that vibe from a lot of people coming from Rochester and Buffalo and Western New York too.

bB: Yes, it’s very similar. Especially with Buffalo’s position to Toronto. I feel like it’s similar to Jersey and NYC because you go up to Toronto and you’re afraid to tell people you’re from Buffalo...

AB: (laughs) It’s like that! Are you guys Bills fans?

bB: We are huge Bills fans.

AB: I respect the plight of the Buffalo Bills. Even though I’m a Giants fan and I apologize for what happened. But it wasn’t really our fault though. I have a good friend--my best sports fan friend--we watch football together all season and he’s a huge Bills fan. He’s from Rochester. I feel for you guys, growing up and never seeing a Super Bowl win. I would love to see it happen for you guys.

bB: Longest playoff drought right now. Haven’t been since ’99!

AB: But you were so good though! Well, I think it could be a good year for you guys.

bB: Do you frequently attend Giants games?

AB: I went to the biggest game of the regular season last year. It was the win-and-in game against the Cowboys. I’m a huge Giants fan, have been for life, so obviously stoked about last year.

bB: So are you doing any more songwriting with The Freaks right now?

AB: Yeah, I’m actually finishing up a new Freaks album right now. It’s like 90% done and it’s going to come out around January.

bB: What are your strongest influences with The Freaks?

AB: Neil Young is probably the single, most immediate influence and Little Wings too. I had a vision of Little Wings being backed up by Crazy Horse (laughs), and that’s pretty much what the record is, if you think about it. But also in the way that the album was recorded...I was reading Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography at the time, and there are a bunch of great passages about how he recorded. He’s just like, “No Bullshit, all soul! Get directly to tape as quickly as possible! Get a live sound. Get the group going.” And that’s basically what we did for that record and it was recorded in one day, really fast. There are even some mistakes in there that we kind just left in. And it was mixed really quickly. We recorded all the music first and then I overdubbed the vocals and that was pretty much it.

bB: What’s your favorite Neil Young record?

AB: It’s really hard to choose but I love Zuma, On The Beach, Tonight’s the Night, and After the Goldrush--come on, everyone knows that record’s incredible! Those are the big 4 for me. I’ve been into Trans, but that’s a little different. I’m just a huge Neil Young fan.

bB: Is there any possible Ducktails collaboration in the works or is that essentially Real Estate?

AB: Ducktails has turned into like it’s own separate thing at this point. Matt’s working on a new record too. He’s almost done with it. His will probably be out a few months before mine. You know the band Big Troubles?

bB: No.

AB: Big Troubles is a band from Ridgewood, NJ, and they’re just a really great band. Check them out. Matt sort of drafted those guys into helping him write and record his next record.

bB: What can we anticipate with that record?

AB: It’s different for Ducktails--it’s almost like a 70s Steely Dan, smooth-rock type of record. It sounds really good. And they’re sort of becoming a solvent ducktails band now, rather than just Matt’s solo thing. That record is chock-full of guests. I’ve been hanging out in the studio a little bit while they were

making it. Martin’s actually on the record, he helped a little bit. I might end up on it a little. When the record finally comes out, there will be a lot of names you’ll recognize on there.

bB: Last, but not least, have you guys started writing new material for Real Estate?

AB: Yeah, we just started writing for the next record. We’re working on 2 new songs right now, and trying to get them ready in time for today’s show, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. We’re doing a short August tour and I think we will be playing some new stuff during that.

Photo by Tom Dennis