Sufjan Stevens is back!! Years since ‘(Come On Feel The) Illinois’ established him as one of the defining artists of the past decade, and many minor projects and rare material compilations afterwards, fans were starting to worry about some form of writer’s block affecting the young songwriter. His original project of releasing an album per State of the Union seems now parked, but instead the singer-songwriter has released out of the blue a new 8 track EP called ‘All Delighted People’ and a brand new full-length is expected to follow.
The record is built around two different versions of the title track, which according to his Bandcamp page was conceived during Steven’s 2009 tour as ‘a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s ‘Sound Of Silence’ and it shares the same grandiose qualities that made of ‘Illinois’ such an unique work.
‘All Delighted People EP’ is available now. You can stream it in full here.
London collective Roll Deep crash landed to the top of the UK charts with ‘Green Light’, a cut of house injected hip hop that seems to have continued the winning formula from their previous #1 ‘Good Times’. Roll Deep, led by grime’s most enigmatic character Wiley, have been in existence since 2002 but are now enjoying their most fruitful time in the limelight. While former members Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder went on to find chart success in their solo careers, Roll Deep hadn’t topped the charts until May of this year; now it seems they simply won’t leave.
The track is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Winner Stays On’, due for release later this year. You could do worse to bet that the album will be bothering the higher end of the charts on its release. Their recent success is yet another interesting chapter in the world of Wiley, who recently gave away several albums worth of demos on Twitter and previously dismissed his last album ‘See Clear Now’ swiftly after its release. ‘Green Light’ is currently available on iTunes.
‘Crossfire’ is the first single from The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers forthcoming solo album ‘Flamingo’. While The Killers went on hiatus last year following the grueling promotional tour for ‘Day & Age’, it’s clear their frontman didn’t intend to spend any of that time putting his feet up. As with the last Killers album, Flowers has roped in the production skills of Stuart Price, as well as recruiting Daniel Lamos (U2, Neil Young) and Brendan O’ Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen).
It’s a typically bombastic epic track from the singer, which could see him soon entertain the same crowds alone as he did in his day job. While the future of the band has yet to be confirmed, it’s clear Flowers has no worries about delivering the goods alone. The accompanying video is also worthy of a mention, where Oscar winner Charlize Theron battles a swarm of ninjas – administering a mean death star to the head– to save Flowers from capture. Currently racking up over 1.7 million views, it’s clear that this will be bothering the charts when it’s released later this year.
After making their name as the biggest Nu-disco name on the block and producing lush remixes for the likes of Grace Jones, Breakbot, Friendly Fires and Sebastian Tellier; it seemed only logical that Aeroplane would take things up a level for their debut album. However, ‘We Can’t Fly’ certainly isn’t the collection of Balearic infused synth cuts many expected. It’s a far more bold and accomplished record than their previous work hinted at.
One development that clearly influenced the album was Aeroplane scaling down to a one man operation. Aeroplane previously consisted of Stephen Fasano and Vito Deluca, but have now have amicably decided to go their separate ways; with Deluca continuing to release music under the moniker. The classically trained musician has clearly relished the challenge, creating a versatile and ambitious debut album referencing artists as varied as Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, and Giorgio Moroder – who was so taken with the album that he penned backing vocals for a re-recorded version of ‘Superstar’.
While Aeroplane will be DJing all over the world this year, Vito will also be performing the album with an expanded band later in the year. The debut single ‘We Can’t Fly’ is currently available on iTunes, while the album is due for release on September 27th through Wall of Sound.
Aggro Santos’ ‘Candy’ has been one of the breakthrough urban tracks of the summer. Following in the footsteps of British rappers such Tinie Tempah and Tinchy Stryder; Santos’ music combines the bump of UK garage and marries it with the cross over potential of R&B to create a pop driven but dancefloor friendly sound. His latest track, ‘Saint Or Sinner’, is pretty similar to a rap version of Axwell’s huge ‘90’sinspired track ‘I Found You’ – no bad thing at all considering the enduring popularity of all things rave . The record’s ballsy break beats and British twanged lyrics come just in time for London’s Notting Hill Carnival – from which the video incidentally takes its theme. Featuring fire breathers, troupes of scantily dressed samba dancers and ornate carnival costumes, ‘Saint Or Sinner’ is likely to be one of the big tracks to emerge from the huge outdoor event which takes place next week.
For more info on The Notting Hill Carnival – which happens to be the second largest street festival in the world – simply head here.
It’s been a good month for Canadian alternative rockers Arcade Fire. Their new, more stripped down sound has been embraced by music fans the world over with their latest album going to number 1 in the USA, UK and Canada – a feat which firmly puts Arcade Fire in the rock music A list. Added to that, videos of their recent performance at Madison Square Garden – directed by former Monty Python Terry Gilliam no less – have also been turning heads racking up 100,000’s of views in little over two weeks.
The band now looks set to take their expansive live show on the road with the announcement that they will play a series of dates in the USA. This comes after the band sold out their dates at London’s huge O2 in little than over 10 minutes. Those wishing to see the band in the UK can still get day tickets for the Reading and Leeds festival next week which will also showcase performances from Queens Of The Stone Age, Blink 182 and Guns And Roses – if Axl shows up of course!
Arcade Fire will play the following American dates:
St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Arena (September 22) Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre (23) Saskatoon, SK Credit Untion Centre (25) Calgary, AB Stampede Corral (26) Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum (28) Seattle, WA Key Arena (29) Portland, OR Memorial Coliseum (30) Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre (October 2) Big Sur, CA Henry Miller Library (5) Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium (7) Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium (8) Mexico City, MX Palacio de los Deportes (10) Monterrey, MX Banamex Theater (12)
Taio Cruz’s ‘Dynamite’ fights off competition from Katy B and Brandon Flowers to take the number one spot for a fourth week in a row in the Shazam Pre Release Chart UK.
Katy Perry looks set to follow up the huge success of ‘California Gurls’ as her latest single, ‘Teenage Dream’, hits the top spot in the Shazam New Release Chart USA.
London three piece ShcwaB previously had a following that could politely be described as ‘cult’, however, the band are currently receiving a sudden resurgence in interest. This is mainly due to their song ‘The Mole Man’ being featured in a recent advertising campaign for the Ford Fiesta. The head spinning advert centers round a couple jumping between a variety of locations, while the track provides a suitably boisterous soundtrack.
‘The Mole Man’ is a raucous slice of garage rock that comes on like the Black Keys fronted by The Fall’s Mark E Smith. While the band’s MySpace seems fairly quiet, this sudden burst of exposure may inspire SchwaB into putting out some new material. While the track isn’t currently available on iTunes, you can purchase the track – taken from ‘The Schwab Family Saga EP’ – on their Bandcamp site. Unfortunately the site offers no explanation of who ‘The Mole Man’ could be. We’d like to think it’s either a lament to The Simpsons’ Hans Moleman or techno DJ – and one of the finest interviewees ever – The Mole.
From London, another band comes jumping on the bandwagon of C86’s dream pop revival. Still Corners’ most recognizable features are Rachel Goswell’s ethereal vocals – influenced as much by sixties girl bands as by the likes of more contemporary singers such as Hope Sandoval or Julée Cruise – next to the band’s hazy sound landscapes that wouldn’t go amiss among fans of My Bloody Valentine or The xx.
On paper, none of it should be particularly distinguishable from the hundreds of other artists currently drinking from the same musical sources; but what makes Still Corners stand out from the crowd is their fine ear for a good tune. Weeks ago their track ‘Endless Summer’ generated waves of enthusiasm in the blogosphere and now the band is promptly following that up with a limited double A-side single ‘Don’t Fall In Love/Wish’, released via The Great Pop Supplement on August 20. A video for ‘Wish’ has also been released – watch above.
You can catch them live this Friday as the band celebrates the launch of the single with a gig next to Je Suis Animal and Hong Kong In The 60’s in London’s venue The Drop. They will also be part of next Tuesday’s triple bill at the always excellent up and coming bands’ night White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s.
