Matmos Supreme Balloon

If there were any concerns that Drew Daniel’s new job as a professor at Johns Hopkins University would inhibit his work with partner M.C. Schmidt in Matmos, Supreme Balloon clears the air. The album might be their most sonically pleasing release yet. Flipping the switch on their usual concept-and-sample aesthetic, Matmos has made an album using only synths and no samples–we’re treated to a fun set of beat-driven, short, abstract-pop songs. The main attraction here is the epic title track: A slow-burning and oscillating psych-Kraut jam that runs nearly a half hour long, “Supreme Balloon” cranks up the synthesized heat and rises off into the distance.

Horace Andy On Tour

Thanks to Massive Attack, Horace Andy has enjoyed a longer career than most roots reggae artists of his vintage. It hasn’t hurt that his reedy voice has weathered the years with little, if any, fall-off–which can be attributed to walking the Rastaman walk, as opposed to just chanting the talk. Andy’s trademark stuttering interjections are peppered throughout On Tour, his first album of new material in six years. Eschewing JA‘s current hit riddims for a minimal feel (reminiscent of early ’80s dancehall), the production thankfully leaves room for the singer’s sinuous vocals to breathe. Though not groundbreaking, tracks like “Back Against the Wall” and “Can’t Fool the Youths” suggest Andy hasn’t been skylarking all this time.

CSS Donkey

These days, it isn’t the radio that produces one-hit wonders–it’s Apple commercials. Hence the success last year of CSS’ “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” after the tune appeared in an iPhone commercial. Apple couldn’t have found a better jingle for its latest gadget than CSS’ giddy New Wave amateurism. On Donkey, the Brazilian quintet ditches its quirky electro-rock for full-throated post-punk–trading in their Tom Tom Club 12-inches for Sonic Youth albums (“Give Up” even quotes directly from the latter’s “Washing Machine”). Unfortunately, vocalist Lovefoxxx still has the same teenage concerns (alcohol, sex, dancing) and delivers the same cutesy overtones, while the polished guitars and brash synths ache for something more substantial. Only on “Left Behind”–which finds Lovefoxxx showing a rare touch of vulnerability–and the hip-shaking “Move” does CSS resolve the contradiction. Otherwise, Donkey sounds like a child trapped in Kim Gordon’s body.

Dublab Throws Tonalism 2008, Serves Tea

Grab your pillow or sofa cushion and head down to the beaches of Santa Monica next weekend, for Tonalism 2008. Hosted by the famous dublab crew, the event has historically combined lush, ambient music with visuals designed to relax party-goers and draw their attention to the experiment for extended periods of time. Which basically means that people lie around listening to music, watching compelling visuals, and drinking the complementary hot tea the crew serves up. This year’s event follows suite, and is part of the larger Glow festival held by the city of Santa Monica each year.

The usual suspects will be DJing at Tonalism throughout the night, including frosty, Carlos Nino, Hoseh, Jimmy Tamborello, Sam Cooper, Katie Byron, Ale, and Part Time Punks DJ Michael Stook. Special performances will be made by White Rainbow, Albert Ortega, Steve Roden, and others. The party kicks off July 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Looff Hippodrome Carousel (located on the Santa Monica Pier). Oh, and it’s free.

Above: The Tonalism Lazer Carpet. Photo by Noe Montes.

Heartthrob “Slow Dance”

Techno has long been saddled with labels like “faceless,” “soul-less,” and “abstract,” all of which apply to many artists and releases in the genre. Not so with Jesse Siminski, who, under his Heartthrob guise, has crated a debut album that breathes emotion back into the 4/4 time signature. Called a “roller coaster ride” in a recent press release, Siminski’s music has a definite up-and-down feeling to it that creates alternates between lighter moments and those where the bass is so brooding and heavy it leaves one feeling as though the Apocalypse is truly upon us. “Slow Dance” is making its way around the European dance circuit, most notably in the DJ sets of Minus boss Richie Hawtin. Photo by Markus Jans.

Heartthrob – Slowdance

Hearts Of Palm UK “People & Logistics”

For Life marks not only the debut album for Hearts of Palm UK (who aren’t, in fact, from the U.K. and won’t reveal the meaning of the band name’s suffix to anyone), it’s also the first release for Hypnote in over a year. The label took a hiatus to set up its Britain-based office, and now that the odds and ends of business are sorted, they’re ready to unleash this dreamy, pop-flavored release this fall. The three ladies who make up the band mix guitars and drums with a variety of electronic instruments that give the tracks a rather Postal Service feel, which is to say there’s a soothing, gentle aura to the music that makes a listener tingle all over.

Hearts Of Palm UK – People & Logistics

Spank! Girls: Bringing the Pink Power

If you have ever pored over photographer Shoichi Aoki’s Fruits books, which depict cool Japanese kids showing off outlandish styles in the Shibuya streets, you’re probably already in love with the Spank! Girls. This group of Tokyo-based 20-somethings has three shops where they sling secondhand clothes alongside original designs that celebrate the sweetest and cutest pop detritus of 1980s America; Popples, My Little Pony, JEM, Barbie, Michellefrom Full House, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper are all inspirations. As 26-year-old proprietor Tabuchi Sayuri puts it, “A girl with the pink heart is unrivaled!”

In May 2004, Sayuri opened her first store, Spank!, in Tokyo’s Koenji region, which is home to a plethora of secondhand shops. In July 2006, she opened two more shops: Spank Me! in Shibuya and Chelsea in Nagoya (which will reopen soon in another location). A band of merry hipstresses serve as staff, dishing out fashion advice and making unique garments under brand names like Monascas Banana and Crazy Bunny.

The Spank! Girls also throw their own raucous parties, where Sayuri and the manager of Spank Me! play records–favorite artists include Helen Love, Le Tigre, Nikki and the Corvettes, Gravy Train!!!, and Toxic Lipstick–while the other girls don leotards and dance. Not surprisingly, they have also formed a band and hope to perform live soon.

Sayuri also aspires to sell their original creations overseas, a reasonable goal considering the current renewed interest in Japanese street style. With the recent release of Tiffany Godoy’s book Style Deficit Disorder: Street Fashion Tokyo (in which the Spank! Girls are featured) and the Fruits-inspired documentary DVD Tokyo Streets, it appears Japan’s extreme street fashion can still intrigue and amuse the rest of the planet.

Daedelus Preps Record Release Party

Album release parties don’t make for the most compelling news, but if anyone’s an exception to the rule, it’s Daedelus. With his Love To Make Music To‘s release date just around the corner, the monome-loving musical innovator is planning a bash in his hometown Los Angeles this weekend.

He won’t be partying alone. Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Gaslamp Killer, Lazy brow, Josh One, and Kutmah will join him as musical guests for the evening, along with a “murdurous” secret guest that no one will announce. And if you’re not in L.A., or can’t front the cash for a trip there, the entire show will be streamed on .

MP3: “Make It So (XXXChange Remix)”

WHY? Plans Even More Tour Dates

They may have spent the majority of this spring on the road, including a stint in Europe where two bandmembers contracted the mumps, but Yoni Wolf and the boys in WHY? are still not ready to head home. The band will continue making the rounds this fall, with shows across the U.S. and Canada where they’ll play material off their most recent release, Alopecia, and share the stage with Tussle, Mount Eerie, and Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow.

08/29 San Francisco, CA: Great American Music Hall%
09/04 Los Angeles, CA: Echoplex
09/05 Tempe, AZ: The Clubhouse
09/06 Tucson, AZ: Solar Culture
09/08 Austin, TX: Mohawk*
09/09 Dallas, TX: Granada Theater*
09/11 Pensacola, FL: Sluggo’s*
09/12 Gainseville, FL: Common Grounds*
09/13 Miami, FL: White Room*
09/14 Orlando, FL: The Social*
09/16 Asheville, NC: Grey Eagle*
09/17 Philadelphia, PA: First Unitarian Church*
09/18 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom*
09/19 Boston, MA: Museum of Fine Arts
09/20 Portland, ME: Space Gallery
09/21 Providence, RI: Club Hell
09/22 Montreal, QC: La Sala Rossa
09/25 Cincinnati, OH: Midpoint Music Festival
09/26 Chicago, IL: Bottom Lounge#
09/27 Minneapolis, MN: Triple Rock#
09/29 Denver, CO: Hi- Dive
09/30 Salt Lake City UT: Kilby Court
10/02 Vancouver, BC: Richard’s On Richard
10/03 Seattle, WA: Vera Project
10/04 Portland, OR: Wonder Ballroom

% = w/ Tussle
* = w/ Mount Eerie
# = w/ Tobacco

MP3: “The Hollows”

Sub Pop Festivities Start Tomorrow!

The Sub Pop crew have been planning their 20th anniversary bash for some time now, and if a recent posting on the label’s website is any indication, the two-day extravaganza is shaping up to be a hell of a lot more than just music.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the good people running things in Seattle have agreed to let the label fly a gigantic Sub Pop flag on top of the famed Space Needle, which is almost as exciting as the rest of the festivities combined.

Then, tomorrow, July 10, the JBL theater will host the Oral History Live! series, which costs a mere $5 and will feature an interview with Sub Pop founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Following that will be a comedy night on Friday, featuring Todd Barry, David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, and Kristen Schaal.

The actual music festival happens July 12 – 13 at the Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington, and will feature Foals, No Age, Wolf Parade, Pissed Jeans (pictured above), Low, Green River, and a bunch of others. There’s still time to pick up tickets to the event, not to mention sign up for the Singles Club 3.0, which is limited to a run of 1500 subscriptions this time around.

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