SZA – “Aftermath”

SZA’s “Aftermath” is what you get when you blend a cup of smoky haze, an ounce fresh lyrics, and a dash of rainbow sprinkles. This creamy goodness is exactly what you need after a huge meal, and just want to drift off to sleep. A head-nodding, lo-fi, soulful song about how “livin as a unicorn gets so lonely”, “Aftermath” is a hip-twistin’ slow ass jam.

But, before you listen to the song, I would like to leave you with the opening verse that SZA drops on you: “I apologize for waiting to tell you for so long that I am not human … / I am made of bacon, Fairy tales / pixie dust I don’t feel / I hung myself and didnt die i am omnipotent / I’m alive I’m not real I’m alive”. If that’s not next level, then I really am not sure what is.

Check out SZA’s “Aftermath” below, and get ready for her full length, S, in exactly one week from now.

Charli XCX – “What I Like” Video

Charli XCX, an English singer, is jumping on that 80s/90s lo-fi music video style that Sky Ferreira and Casket Girls have done with their own previous music videos. The difference is, where Ferreira’s video was more on another drugged out level, and Casket Girls’ video was more of a parody of the Internet’s existence, Charli XCX’s video makes pains to be the most hip thing you have ever seen. And even though that should make me hate it, I really cannot bring myself to crinkling my nose and closing the YouTube tab I have open. Maybe it is that spiked collar, maybe it is just that she is soooo Internet right now or maybe I just really should accept that even though I write for a music blog does not mean I have to hate everything (Editor’s note: this is debatable).

True Romance, her upcoming full length, is scheduled to drop of April 18th, so keep an eye out for that if you want some more auto-tuned songs about puppy love. Check out her video for “What I Like” below and get ready for a really meta slumber party with lyrics about smoking and “husband and wife shit” while being shown girls jumping around with a dog and blowing bubbles.

Julian Cruz – “Get Yours”

Yes! Finally! Another XO affiliated Canadian to become obsessed with. May I present to you, Julian Cruz. Employing a low-key and chilled out producing style, complete with breathy lyrics and a guitar warbling in the background, Cruz created a great song to get completely lost in. “Get Yours” is his latest release since his mixtape Black Heart, and it is good to see that, if his other songs are anything like this, his sophomore effort will not disappoint! Check out Julian Cruz’s “Get Yours” below and prepare to fall in love:

Courtney Barnett – I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris

“I masturbated to the songs you wrote” claims Courtney Barnett over laid-back, slacker guitars in the first track “Lance Jr.” It’s all casual everything as she continues, “doesn’t mean I like you, man.” Can I get an amen? She’s channeling some serious early 90′s Liz Phair vibes, in vocal tone, instrumentally and of course lyrically. I am so on board with this LP, and therefore Courtney Barnett. Some tracks on this debut EP feature members of Dandy Warhols, Immigrant Union, and My Left Boot. Find out more about Courtney on Facebook.

Bon Iver – “Holocene” (BA$SY Remix)

Bon Iver’s mystical and already chill-beyond-belief sound is taken to a whole other level on this BA$SY remix. Not a great deal is changed (I mean, BA$SY didn’t turn Bon Iver into dubstep), this remix is still Bon Iver at the heart – with just a dash of bass and a sprinkle of distortion, BA$SY has created a great remix to this already beautiful song.

Check it out below!

XXYYXX – Mystify EP

I had been playing XXYYXX’s “Overdone” remix a few times a day this week waiting to hear more, so this EP’s timing is clutch. The EP itself is pretty clutch as well. In the opening track, the audio clip sounds like it’s from a ballet practice, which is an interesting audio as dialogue, but fits perfectly as a beat counter and the keyboard sounds as if it’s dancing around the voice too. “Mystify”, the title track, actually picks up the pace, incorporating more layers and harder hitting synths, giving more of a tropical vibe. “LSD Dream Theatre” and “LUV U GRL” focus on more of the post-dubstep aspects of the mixtape. They take the EP down a notch tempo-wise, but each track remains tight. “Sencha” features a soothing guitar-plucking loop, only 1:36 long, the shortest track on the EP.. Mystify is finished off with “Bill Gates”, which XXYYXX had posted to his Soundcloud a few days ago, unmastered. For the time being, I’m not sure if “Bill Gates” is the right track to close the EP with. It’s a tidy little EP, beats are layered well, good amounts of synth, definitely something worth investing in (and for $1, how could you not?). XXYYXX has been steady on releasing an EP a month for 2012, check out his Bandcamp for those.

Prince Innocence – “Girls” (Deniro Farrar Remix)

Two weeks ago, Prince Innocence came out with their newest track, “Girls” which was a romantic and lo-fi song; comprised of an almost bored sounded female singing and a quiet background sound, “Girls” is a great track to chill out to (or put on a playlist with Dive). With Deniro Farrar’s remix, which maintains those elements which makes Prince Innocence who they are, Farrar drops some heavy verses about things far from “girly” which are a nice contrast to the very gentle sound of the original song. Farrar keeps a great deal of the original song by keeping the chorus of “Girls” as the remix’s chorus, and only adds in his own verses over the original verses, without any treatment on the song (except for maybe it is a little sped up to keep up with his flow).

The Farrar version, as a rap song, is pretty innovative and different than mostly everything on the radio (MAYBE excluding some of the stuff on Take Care…maybe), which is refreshing for a dedicated rap fan to hear. I hope that more and more rappers can take a page out of Farrar’s book and get back to being more soulful instead of doing things just for shock value.

Check out the remix below and let me know what you think of the new version!

Dive – “How Long Have You Known”

A compressed vocal track, watery sounding guitars and an overall haunting sound comprise Dive’s newest track, “How Long Have You Known”. This track is perfect for a 60 degree day at the beach. How so? It has an icy feel to the musical tracks, and a windy, whispy vocal track that reminds me of ocean breeze flowing through hair (weird metaphor? What?). Okay, so I am not as good at describing rock music. But since I rarely slip into this genre and find something that I like, this track is significant enough to catch my eye (or ear, as the case may be).

Check it out below and let me know what you think of “How Long Have You Known”.

Waters – Out in the Light

Waters band, Van Pierszalowski, Port O'Brien
Waters is a new, loud, fuzzy, noisey indie-rock outfit and collaborative effort pieced together by former Port O’Brien member, Van Pierszalowski. After leaving Port O’Brien, moving to Oslo, Norway to write a bit, and then making another move to Alaska, Pierszalowski found inspiration to travel a bit more, head back to Oslo and round up some Norwegians to rock out with and call themselves Waters. Pierszalowski states “The record is about waking up. It is about getting out of a situation that seems endless, and realizing you’re not too old to make dramatic and sudden changes in your life. It is about starting over.” So if you’re feeling a bit unsure about what the actual fuck you’re doing with your life, picking up this album might be in your best interest. Peep the new (and trippy) video for “For the One” and don’t hang your dream-catcher backwards. Follow Van on Twitter or keep up with Waters via the Waters website.

Gauntlet Hair

I’ve wanted to post about Gauntlet Hair every now and then but was unsure of how people would respond to it. I naturally like it -specifically the track “I Was Thinking…”- because of their heavy use of reverb, but hearing that very track today over huge amps is what brings us here. It is time for you to know, Gauntlet Hair is a Denver duo who have just announced the release of their self titled album to be out on October 18th via Dead Oceans. So what held me back from posting about them previously? I felt that they needed to tighten the songs up in general. As you know, and as I’ve said several times, I love me some reverb; but theirs was to the point where it took too much out of me to figure out anything else about the song. Yet, here they are with “Top Bunk”, a record label-proclaimed “slow-grind” track that has found its balance of their casual instrumental styling, and soundscape-like effects. Get your slow grind on (if you feel so inclined, of course) and take a look at the tracklisting below.

Gauntlet Hair “Top Bunk” by DOJAGSC

Tracklisting:
1. Keep Time
2. Top Bunk
3. Mop It Up
4. You Can’t Feel It
5. Light’s Out
6. It Shows
7. Overkill
8. That’s Your Call
9. Shout in Tongues

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