It’s the first single and first video from their third and brilliant album “Skying”, due out August 8/9, depending on which side of the pond you live on.

At the time this was written, you could still listen to “Skying” in its entirety on The Horrors site.

The album stands on its own and does not exist purely for those of us who are 80′s obsessed to play spot the influence. I was first bowled over by their second album, which scored the number 9 spot on my top 10 list for 2009.

From start to finish, ‘Skying’ is consistently good, and will most likely earn a spot on my list of best albums for 2011. BBC Music states:

The Horrors well and truly don’t trade in short-and-sharp shocks these days; rather, their songwriting has found new arenas to grow into, and the results throughout Skying are never less than captivating. Take Endless Blue, which opens with loping percussion and tooting brass – it threatens to meander meaninglessly, albeit prettily; but then the band detonates a couple of unseen grenades just before the two-minute mark, and the piece becomes a nuclear-powered Oasis with Bowie on vocals.

And it gets better: a grunge-like squeal in the guitars cracks and in come the synths, lifting Badwan’s performance to never-before-reached heights. Moving Further Away pulls a similar trick, initially deceiving with Human League keys before transforming into a Neu!-meets-New Order-does-Nirvana stratosphere-popping symphony for analogue-lovers; as it becomes louder, so the layers stack, and the effect is mesmerising. Closer Oceans Burning is the band’s most beautiful number yet, a kind of Cocteau Twins/Echo and the Bunnymen hybrid that glimmers in the album’s final streams of fading light.

You can listen to ‘Still Life’, the first single, on their site, but I encourage you to watch the video to get the full experience.

Here are some of my favorite moments from the video:

And now here’s the video for ‘Still Life.’ Enjoy:

Related posts:

1. Friendly Fires’ Kiss of Life vs. Boney M’s Gotta Go Home

Related posts:

1. Half Asleep by School of Seven Bells – Song of the Week
2. Song of the Week – Moment of Surrender by U2
3. Song of the Week: Seven by Fever Ray (Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson)

The album was honored by Mojo magazine as an Instant Classic, a label shared by Fleet Foxes for their 2008 album. The BBC had this to say:

“One of the most deeply satisfying debut albums of recent times”, and concluded: “Queen of Denmark transcends the sum of its influences by concentrating on the irresistible appeal of sad yet optimistic love songs, classy arrangements and a dark and handsome croon. Midlake’s only mistake is making John Grant’s startling debut better than their own records.”

The track “I Wanna Go to Marz” is a perfect example of BBC’s statement about the album. This according to Youtube about the song:

John had this to say about the track: ‘Marz was a sweet shop from my childhood. It’s now empty and for sale. But I got to visit beforehand, and the woman who served me as a child was still there. They still made all their own candies and ice cream. In the song, I list all the names of the sundaes, and drinks like Green River. The song is about the gateway back to childhood and innocence, before things have become complicated.’ the owner’s name was Marzetti or some such-hence song name.

Here’s the video:

Related articles

• Albums of 2010, No 10: John Grant – Queen of Denmark (guardian.co.uk)
• MOJO’s Top Albums of 2010 + John Grant tour dates & stream (brooklynvegan.com)

Related posts:

1. [Song of the Week] The Very Best (feat. Ezra Koenig) – “Warm Hearts of Africa”
2. [Song of the Week] Velvet by The Big Pink
3. Song of the Week: The Letter by The Veils

<

Related posts:

1. Interpol – Lights [Song of the Week]
2. Song of the Week – Moment of Surrender by U2
3. Song of the Week: The Letter by The Veils

You can also download “Lights” free.

This week I saw in some random Twitter stream the very sad news that the lovely mustachioed bassist, Carlos D, has decided to leave the band to pursue other interests. NY Mag reported the news that had been reported on Brooklyn Vegan. Here’s an excerpt of the note from the band:

Dear fans,

As some of you have surely heard, Interpol has completed it’s new album.
It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, and mixed with Alan Moulder at Assault and Battery, London.
The four of us poured our collective heart into this music and we are very proud and excited to share it.
It’s a heavy record. But we’re feeling limber; and we’re going to carry it all around the world for you.

Touring begins this summer, so check here soon for announcements and show dates.

There is more…

[See Brooklyn Vegan for the rest]

Related articles by Zemanta

• Carlos D departs Interpol (theredradio.typepad.com)
• Interpol Plot Summer Tour Dates (spin.com)

Related posts:

1. Song of the Week: The Letter by The Veils
2. Song of the Week – Moment of Surrender by U2
3. La Roux brings back 80′s synth with Bulletproof – Song of the Week

• Hitchcock-infused post Trip Hop – Felt Mountain
• T-Rex-infused Glam Pop – Black Cherry and Supernature
• Ethereal Gloss Folk – Seventh Tree

And now………. It’s all about the 80′s and possibly 70′s.  That’s at least what I get from the sound of this single. Haven’t heard the album yet. It really reminds me of this song by the New Zealander juggernaut success (in her own country) Ladyhawke. It’s just something about the feel of it.

So here’s the new very catchy Goldfrapp single and video (I keep thinking Priscilla Queen of the Desert Here!) “Rocket”. Unfortunately, this is one of those videos where embedding was disabled by the record company, but you can see it by clicking on the “rocket” below!

Oh Oh Oh I've got a rocket... And you're goin' on it!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Goldfrapp Embrace Abba, ELO on “Head First,” Talk Aguilera Collabo (rollingstone.com)
• More New Goldfrapp! (perezhilton.com)
• Singles out this week (guardian.co.uk)

Related posts:

1. [Song of the Week] Velvet by The Big Pink
2. Editors’ Papillon [Song of the Week]
3. [Song of the Week] Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” Will Make You Want to Dance!

In this video, apparently influenced by Major Lazer and M.I.A (Think Boyz), she bogles around in a psyachelic multicolored cartoonesque stage. If you’re in a bad mood, use this video to get you out of it:

Thanks to the Guardian’s great music blog for continually delivering great music news to my RSS feed.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Major Lazer – “Sound Of Siren” (Feat. M.I.A. & Busy Signal) (stereogum.com)
• New Cover : Major Lazer : Halo (Beyonce) (myoldkyhome.blogspot.com)
• Major Lazer Taps Thom Yorke, M.I.A. for April EP (pastemagazine.com)

Related posts:

1. [Song of the Week] Velvet by The Big Pink
2. Song of the Week – Moment of Surrender by U2
3. [Song of the Week] The Very Best (feat. Ezra Koenig) – “Warm Hearts of Africa”

The Big Pink‘s Debut Album A Brief History of Love is quite good but not quite enough to my liking to make my list of top albums of 2009, which, I’m still compiling. Yes, I  know. It’s already February. The Big Pink are an electro-rock duo from London England with definite shoe-gazing elements in their first collection of noise rock. “Dominos”, their first single, was probably a bigger hit in both the U.S. and England but “Velvet” takes the prize for this band’s top single so far. It’s hypnotic and draws you in each second of its 4 minutes and 25 seconds. The video’s great too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA3twi3iSNQ

If you like that, check out the 7-minute remix of Velvet by Gang Gang Dance. It’s quite a ride. Download here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Music Review | The Big Pink: Feelings? Forget ‘Em (nytimes.com)
• The Big Pink – new album stream, MP3s, remixes, videos & 2009 Tour Dates w/ Crystal Antlers (brooklynvegan.com)
• Rockin’ Our Turntable: The Big Pink (chicagoist.com)

Related posts:

1. Editors’ Papillon [Song of the Week]
2. Song of the Week – Moment of Surrender by U2
3. St. Vincent – “Actor Out of Work” [Song of the Week]

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Very Best: Warm Heart of Africa (pastemagazine.com)
• The Very Best (new remixes) played LPR (w/ Ezra Koenig) & Supreme Trading (a secret show?) w/ Ahmed Janka – pics (brooklynvegan.com)
• In My Room: Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig (spin.com)

Related posts:

1. Song of the Week: Seven by Fever Ray (Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson)
2. The Presets – If I Know You [Song of the Week]
3. Editors’ Papillon [Song of the Week]

Cover of Actor

In today’s times, this song might be more aptly titled “Out of Work” as it applies to many more people than actors who are perenally out of work. Or maybe it refers to the actor in all of us that has to come out whenever we interview for a job or are put in a situation when we have to put on a proper face. St. Vincent is the artist name that Annie Erin Clark goes by. She’s from Tulsa, Oklahoma, has played with a lot of really cool artists – namely The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens – and released Actor in May of 2009. Here’s the video for the first single “Actor Out of Work”.

Related posts:

1. Editors’ Papillon [Song of the Week]
2. The Presets – If I Know You [Song of the Week]
3. Half Asleep by School of Seven Bells – Song of the Week