Crystal Castles (A-sides Ft. Robert Smith)

Yes the title doesn't lie. I came across this here @ vaudevillevillain's. Thought I'd give this more love, since its well -dare i say it- maybe one of the best collaborations of 2010. Robert Smith's distinguished vocals seemingly snatched from the 80's inhere with Crystal Castles electro-goth fat bassy-beats in Not In Love ; Originally a Platinum Blonde song injected with a healthy dose of Duran Duran vibes. Other B-sides would include Celestica // Suffocation. Also, Crystal Castles will be in Singapore for on the 15th Jan the year ahead. Won't it be divine if they dragged Robert's fat(sexy)ass along?



Not in Love ;
Consider this my Halloween Gift, Candy for all!

Not in Love will be out - December 6th 2010 on Fiction Records

Jordaan Mason And the Horse Museum

Don't tell anyone, but as of late, I've been slowly losing interest in the normal Guitar+Bass+Drum routine. It feels as if I needed a well prolonged time off from overly-used Bread & Butter instruments. You could say it goes parallel with me wanting a break from my drab status-quo lifestyle. So for these few weeks, odd voices, accordions, brass instruments and banjos will dominate these follow-up posts !



Jordaan Mason And the Horse Mueseum - Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head



Thats Jordaan. With an extra A. Having an album name which looks like 2 completely isolated phrases fused together, Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head finally came together after three stolid years founded by complete unknowns Bryar Gray & Jordaan Mason. According to last.fm, the album "tells the story of a failed marriage between two people of confused genders and identities. the album takes place during a glandolinian war and includes horses, shotguns, carnival horn sections, religion, male birth, sickness, semen, haircuts, and an eventual apocalypse in 1990." And I couldn't come up with a better sypnosis, had I tried (and I did.)
All I could come up was :

"The album to me is, about a kid watching two horses gallop across muddy fields against the oncoming rain sleet, like they were symbolically fighting the rain, batting their lily-like eyelashes each time it struck a furious rainblot, the ones which are as big as golf balls. Despite that, or more accurately; because of that, they (the horses) seemed happy, to be free of reins, of human contact ; how ever long their faces might seem. And seeing the horses happy made the child, now stuck indoors really, really angry. The kid works up a tantrum, screaming at two patches of slick fur ;lightning speed. He knows the horses can't actually hear his screams, that only drives more fury into his child-like skull."


Musically speaking though, Bryar & Jordaan's vocals are emotionally compelling, track after track. Some might be put off by his exceedingly screechy voice but I personally like. With banjos, soft-clad thumps sounding like horses hooves in mud, Bird's Nest literally reverbs with the beat, vocals and that bass trumpet gently cruises along the background.

With Racehorse : Get Married! they take it up anotch or two, with vocals reaching their peak, it showcases what one can accomplish with vocal chords by locking oneself in a toronto hotel for three years. It opens with a huge "YOU FUCK LIKE A RACEHORSEEEEE" (listen to it here). I mean, how can you not take notice. The song goes on to proceed about bags of blood, hunting with shotguns, swallowing shotguns and private conversations. Currently, they're on tour with Oh Foot, Shelby Sifers, and Tinyfolk. Man I haven't heard from Tinyfolk for quite awhile now.

JORDAAN MASON AND THE HORSE MUSEUM - ____ is Water from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

You know you want this.
Try it here.
Buy it here.

Piriki (Ukulele Special!)

Hallo goede mensen! This week's special would be towards Piriki, a dutch song (hence the dutch greeting) cause I've just gotten a new Makala Tenor Ukulele with courtesy of the UkuleleMovement in Singapore. So woot, it sounds do-able with Aquila strings, and man am I addicted to it's glossy veneer smell. Makes me think of Horchata for some reason. Anywho! Here's to an adorable weekend, hope you guys get laid ! (with people who don cat-outfits, how hot is that huh.)





Also, any ideas to naming my ukulele?

An Horse ▼ Rearrange Beds // Live

Lovely show last friday by the australian duo, An horse (Kate Cooper & Damon Cox) they've garnered critical attention with Rearrange Beds. Their simple yet catchy vibes are the respite I need from the recent flush of post-this/that, chillwave, surf rock that's been dominating my headphones the past few months. Good to cut back to basics. With An Horse, Kate drives the distortion up a few thousand notches or so, while Damon keeps the momentum going. From the first listen, you might pick up traces of Sleater Kinney's The Fox, or Tegan & Sara's harmonising vibes. Camp Out emits vibes ranging from sexual fustration to borderline desperation with, "You want to camp out, / I want to fuck around in the dark. " I could give a thesis on each song, but that'd be no fun, better leave things to yr imagination.

So yeah, the only thing that bugs me is that some of the tracks haven't really have any progression on them, you wouldn't know when one song begins/ends for the 1st few album plays. But fear not, they've included a couple perks in their re-released album, one seeing Damon play the melodica (an old hohner, he told) on the track, Listen. Pitchfork mentions Kate's lyricsy being unremarkable on paper, yet so very affective when she puts her mouth to use. Like she sings with such conviction that you end up nodding to her. Whatever it is that makes them sound what they sound like, this is an album that's worth plugging into.


And yes, Kate Cooper is a sexy beast.



Get An Horse's ▼ Rearrange Beds

Las Robertas - Cry Out Loud

I hope everyone's doing good.
Reading Murakami's book, one after the other was a bad idea. Now my dreams are being plagued, by meaningless (or so it seems on the surface), random lucidity that barely has any semblence to reality. I was visitied by a snake who wanted to nibble my feet, flying locomotives and the like. When not reading, sleeping ; (simultaneously), I'm glued to the computer. Time to get Norwegian Wood.

And that was how I came across Las Robertas. The four adorable girls might be mistaken for yet another Au Revoir, but you can't deviate further from the truth. They deliver gritty garage-rock along with a dont-you-fuck-with-me-because-i-will-cut-you-down drumline. Really, the drums were what that made me take notice of them. It's prominent throughout History is Done (and various other songs), yet not overused.

Cry Out Loud has an almost uncanny resemblence to Best Coast/Vivian Girls sounding guitar & bass, though you can hardly sue them for plagiarism. The gritty distortion & sweet, almost confectionary vocals makes the LP a go. Did I mention I loved the drums?




Catch them at : Bandcamp // Last.fm