Does anyone remember The Books? No, not the printed matter (though, chances are, it might’ve been forgotten about with libraries being closed for so long), but the duo of Paul De Jong and Nick Zammuto. While they’re no longer around as a band, their playful spirit clearly lives on through the likes of Typical Sisters.

Consider “Grains”, the subject of this here premiere we’re having, as a proof. It kicks off with sample of a child babbling being played backwards and a thick goop of beats and colorful electronic ornamentation. Its as if the universe itself heard our previous conversation about various flavors of psychedelia and decided we need even more of it – we’ll have whatever you’re sending our way, universe. Thanks for hearing us out.

And while we’re on the subject of influences…

Press release for Love Beam, third album by Typical Girls, comes with a long list of names people involved in making of the record played/worked with in the past. Of particular importance among those is J. Dilla (RIP) as “Grains” clearly got more than enough of his influence in its DNA – be it the use of samples or production (even the title that could well be a not to donuts, the subject of Dilla’s obsession).

Taken altogether, “Grains” could be described as happy song that is not terribly good at hiding its own giddiness. Listening to it I couldn’t help but recall a Russian proverb “laughing for no reason is a sign of stupidity”. With all the uncertainty of what’s happening outside, however, one cannot help but think that giddiness (with or without reason attached) is exactly what one needs to cope right now.

Love Beam is out July 9 via Joyful Noise

The post Song Premiere // Typical Sisters – Grains appeared first on I Heart Noise.

Texas might not be heavily associated with experimental/electronic scene, but Creeps are here to change that.  Contrary to the band’s name there’s nothing creepy about their music – its got a slightly dark tinge to it, but that’s about it. Oh yes, its got the beat too, so you can dance to it…maybe…if you dare.

“GHE”, the subject of our premiere, could be a long lost track from the era dominated by Warp/Skam. Plenty of stuttering, gurgly and distorted bleeps, beats and noise to be found within – and on top you got the dark (though, not overwhelmingly so) melody. The visuals, though relatively simple, complete the picture – a wild collision of kaleidoscopic / fractal / strobe effects to match the insanity (and intensity) of the sound.
One by Creeps is out now

The post Video Premiere: Creeps – GHE appeared first on I Heart Noise.

The post Video Premiere: Aaron Oppenheim – September Seas appeared first on I Heart Noise.

The post Video Premiere: Barbara Morgenstern – Juist / Poose appeared first on I Heart Noise.

If Bloom de Wilde, the subject of our video premiere, will ever blow up in a big way (and chances are, she just might) the first comparison you’ll hear 99% of time would be Bjork. And as is often the case with new artists this would be hugely misleading.

There’s no question that de Wilde’s work was heavily informed by Icelandic avant-pop queen, but there’s also so much more than just mere copying/plagiarism going on in “Atlas Cassandra”. Its a kind of song brings that together a multitude of influences (world music being one with gong and gamelan being prominent in the mix) with the end result being completely its own thing.

Second thing I expect to be repeated from one review to another is a notion of innocence permeating de Wilde’s music. This one would be less misleading, as both video and the song got more than a whiff of playfulness to them – think less irritating Joanna Newsom.

Its always exciting to discover artists that got an original vision of their own, but there’s also an anxiety that comes along when you think about the long history all those promising that ended up being kicked to the curb and destroyed. Hopefully this won’t be the case here.

Video directed by Kai Nobuko and Bloom de Wilde

Atlas Cassandra is out on Nov. 29 via Dream Society Records

The post Video Premiere: Bloom de Wilde – Atlas Cassandra appeared first on I Heart Noise.

There are all sorts of ways to jam econo – one was embodied by Minutemen, an iconic San Pedro trio whose legacy is still very much alive in spite of lead singer D. Boone untimely death. You can say that Louisville’s Tender Mercy (aka Mark Kramer) also jams econo – the structure of his compositions is skeletal, the songs themselves don’t change all that much from album to album and his sonic palette is minimal (voice + guitar). Yet the overall effect his songs produce is nothing short of stunning (especially in a live setting) and “The Key”, the subject of today’s premiere, serves as another proof that refusal to go along with times is often the best decision an artist can make.

Slow-paced and utterly lonesome (if not downright ominous) sounding, “The Key” might be the last thing anyone would associate with warmth, yet there is something deeply human about the way in which the song conveys feelings of loss/grief/profound sadness. The foreboding/cryptic lyrics complete the picture – sounding as if the narrator is too scared to give away too much for fear it might emotionally damage the listener.

Don’t forget to put on the headphones while listening to this one.

The War Within is out on Oct. 17 via Obsolete Staircases

The post Song Premiere: Tender Mercy – The Key appeared first on I Heart Noise.

For anyone looking to get into further into Fish Prints we recommend their sampler A Lifetime of Temporary Prints. There’s also a little video playlist we compiled earlier which could also be of help. Happy Fish Printing!

The post Video Premiere: Pink and Yellow / Triangle Theory Double Feature appeared first on I Heart Noise.

The range (and the rage) of voices being included in the conversation shifted quite a bit since with both women increasingly adding theirs to the discussion. Last month we premiered Harm by Elizabeth Joan Kelly, haunting ode to a dying planet which depicted a sense of resignation / defeat (aka inverted anger, as all grief is).

Now comes a turn of Elisa Flynn, Brooklyn-based indie/alt-rock musician with her first electronic piece entitled “Maelstrom”. Its a bit hard to parse the source of anger/rage in this case due to lack of a lyric sheet, but make no mistake – it is an angry, beat-driven track with vocals resembling those of Zola Jesus.

Maelstrom EP is out on Oct. 25

The post Song Premiere: Elisa Flynn – Maelstrom appeared first on I Heart Noise.

That fascination with heroes of post-punk/hardcore (sung and unsung alike) continues unabated on “Husker Don’t”, third single off of upcoming Sonic Citadel LP. Its not a cover and its not tribute in a conventional sense, but also feels like more than just a clever play on the name of a burly trio out of Minneapolis, MN.

Kicking in with a force of a sledgehammer it sounds very much like old LB, but there’s also a central riff that wouldn’t sound out of place of mid-80s Husker Du record. The vocals, while not entirely clear, appear to be more decipherable than those on LB’s earlier efforts and while Brian Chippendale’s vocals are not exactly a dead ringer for Bob Mould you can still hear a modicum of similarity between the two.

For my money its “Air Condition”, second single off of Sonic Citadel, that comes closest to sounding like Husker Du with its punk/hardcore vibe and smidgen of psychedelia. With that said, if you love HD you can’t go wrong with any songs off the record, because in a way it recreates that same speedy madness that permeated the MN trio’s best work, all without coming off as a mere clone of theirs.

Sonic Citadel is out on Oct. 11 via Thrill Jockey

The post Listen: Lightning Bolt – Hüsker Dön’t appeared first on I Heart Noise.

The post Video Premiere: Elizabeth Joan Kelly – Harm appeared first on I Heart Noise.