Hello day after 3/11, I hope amber is still the color of your energy, for all those who celebrate.
Yesterday NPR got in on the joke and hosted a 311 Tiny Desk set set and…it was surprisingly good? I’m not here as a 311 apologist, but even the wikka-wikka rock band turntablism felt very tasteful? Happy for the Nebraska kings of chillout rock.
Anyways, on to the new tracks! You can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Bolis Pupul (with Salah Pupul) – Ma Tau Wai Road
Bolis Pupul made my favorite dance record of 2022 with Charlotte Adigery, and I really love his debut LP Letter To Yu. Like all Deewee/Soulwax records, off-kilter stereo imaging, otherworldly percussion and squelching bass tones abound (the Dewaele brothers co-produce with Pupul here) but on tracks like the Knife-esque song with his sister Salah “Ma Tau Wai Road,” Pupul leverages that strange palette to deliver pure, heartwrenching synth pop.
La Sécurité – Sleepy Rebellion (The Mauskovic Dance Band Remix)
I found this through Bill Pearis' crucial weekly review column in BrooklynVegan. An Egyptian Lover-esque break gives way to a deadpan indie dance night on the Mauskovic Dance Band's remix of La Sécurité. Its very 2005 electroclash night / D2D2 if in a loose "who cares if I don't know how to dance" party way.
Paranoid London feat. Jennifer Touch – Touch The State Of That
I’m late to this by a month, which is extra embarrassing because the s/t Paranoid London LP is still in my regular rotation. Their new album Arseholes Liars and Electronic Pioneers dropped February 9th, and I’ve been so impressed by it – in addition to their core filth-covered 909 late night killers, the duo explore textures with a lighter touch and even (gasp) a glimmer of major-key light. The opening track with Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie has honest-to-goodness late 90’s optimism in its blooming synths, but “Touch The State Of That” feels like the biggest step forward with its searching New Order-esque melodicism in its second half.
Ryan Gosling – I’m Just Ken (Live at the Oscars)
The power of camp. The power of Gosling. The power of Slash soloing nonstop until the end of the song. I will hear no haters on this, it’s everything you’d hope for in a completely batshit performance, with the bonus of Simu Liu committing to the backup dancer bit harder than any man before, and likely since.
Kamasi Washington – Prologue
I’ve liked Kamasi Washington’s records okay through the years, but this rollicking take on Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla’s “Prologue” fully rips. The rhythm section is the star of the show for the song’s first half, but Washington’s solo at the 3:40 mark resets the stage, commanding the composition through to the end.
throwback
David Matthews – Arrakis
David Matthews wrote a Dune-inspied funk/jazz-fusion record in 1977, after his tenure as a band leader for James Brown. “Arrakis” is the huge, sensuous album opener that begs the question “What if Isaac Hayes was the Kwisatz Haderach?” The second track “Sandworm” has a strange loping bassline that feels like it’s trying to emulate the titular worm, but ends up building a very strong Herbie Hancock-type groove. The 2nd half of the LP falls off the theme with a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and two covers of the Star Wars soundtrack – though they make "Princess Leia’s Theme” sound like Earth Wind & Fire, which rules. This is deeply uncool big band library jazz (compliment) with a deeply uncool sci-fi tie in? Sadly this is extremely my shit.