Artist Of The Day: Sombear

We spoke with Now, Now way back in November, and drummer Brad Hale let us know that we would be hearing an album from his solo project Sombear sooner rather than later. Well, we finally have a song, title, and release date for this album, as Love You In The Dark will be out July 23rd via Trans Records. Hale posted up the title track for the album, an emotionally powerful synth pop track featuring a minimalist beat and vocals heavily edited with a vocoder. The dissonant synths in the bridge help communicate his inner struggles and suffering, while the entire song still feels stripped down and natural even while a multitude of effects and computerization are used. It proves to any naysayer that even electronic based music can feel relatable and real. I'm excited to hear what this album has to offer, and you should be too, so follow Sombear on Facebook for all the news on the album.

Artist of the Day- Juicy J

I think what I like most about Juicy J is you don't have to be a fan of Three 6 Mafia, or rap in general, to like him. Juicy J "lives what he raps about," which is, far more often than not, doing drugs in all forms. You'd be hard pressed to find a kid out there who hasn't heard "Bandz a Make Her Dance," and that's really just the tip of the iceberg. With lines like "these bitches clappin and they ain't usin hands," and "you say no to ratchet pussy, Juicy J can't," it's an unconventional hit, without a doubt riding the waves of 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne to the top of the charts, but presents us the Juicy J lifestyle: anything with questionable merit is up his alley. Fan favorites "Juicy J Can't" and "Zip and a Double Cup" remind the listener that "You say no to drugs, Juicy J can't." This is funny, not only because most fans don't say no to drugs (his slogan is Stay Trippy), but also because the man physically cannot turn down drugs. They're too appealing, too fun, too easy to rhyme about for Juicy to reject. Thus, lyrical excellence is not on his mind- sample lyric: "I am so fucked up/playing PS3"- but a laidback flow and a poppin atmosphere make Juicy J's solo stuff incredibly fun. His best mixtape, Rubba Band Business 2, is produced by Bricksquad wunderkind Lex Luger and is replete with incredible beats and sneaky earworms that will have you muttering inanities like "I gotta get some weed every morning just to medicate" under your breath. Backpackers beware: this is as easy listening as rap gets; one need just kick his or her feet up, plug in some Beats (if you disrespect your eardrums) and zone out to have a good time. Drugs recommended but definitely not required.

Album Review: Lakota De Kai - Heavy Teeth

Album Rating: B

Sometimes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Take Midwestern post-hardcore/metal enthusiasts in Lakota De Kai, for example. Hailing from the small Midwestern city of Kent, Ohio, the four-piece heavy outfit take the southern wails and blues riffs from Every Time I Die and construct a new sound with the ferocity of The Chariot on their new EP, Heavy Teeth.

MuzikDizcovery Exclusive: Places To Hide - "Ecotone" Stream

We at Muzik Dizcovery are pleased to present an exclusive premier of “Ecotone”, the final track off of Atlanta band Places to Hide’s new record Almost Nothing. Over a hyperkinetic (not to mention tied-up-tight) whirlwind of slick melody and barchord slashing, vocalist Kyle Swick narrates with surprising swagger and wit the story of dreary a Sunday afternoon sucked so clean of energy and motion it could only be represented sonically at bullet train speeds. Swick’s delivery is cut fantastically with a kind of stage-actor’s malaise – we feel his pain, but it doesn’t feel like he’s complaining. Then, after a subtle slow build you’ll hardly notice, somebody steps on the fuzz pedal and sends the song pulsing with temple-to-temple punch-in-the-gut fuzz, and boy does it get me every time. Hello Husker Du? The song is a hit. Well, I guess not really until you guys have heard it, so get listening! Check it out below. If you dig the track, make sure to see the band on tour (dates after the jump) or order the album on LP (soon to be released on Irrelevant Recordings) or CD (through Out of This Records). Stream some other tracks on Bandcamp.

Artist Of The Day: Pianos Become The Teeth

More than anything, a quality most prized in a band is a sense of self-awareness. Pianos Become The Teeth is a band that is very highly aware of their place in music, and what they sound like, as seen by their part in "The Wave," an inside joke with post-hardcore friends Touche Amore, La Dispute, Defeater, and Make Do And Mend. On top of this, though, the band has a very exact idea on where their sound is and where they want to go. For example, Old Pride was a fantastic record, and was released to high acclaim. However, knowing the sophomore album is as big a test (if not bigger) than a debut, the band firmly put their foot down on The Lack Long After, saying "This will not be Old Pride pt. 2," and it wasn't. It was a full-length that delved deeper, darker, and distinctly more heavy. It was a beautiful success, and a perfect follow-up to prove that the band has chops.

With 2013 nearly halfway through its course, we've seen the Pianos / Touche Amore Split, and the band's newest track, "Hiding." Probably the closest shot to post-rock featured on the discography so far, it actually feels very natural with a hint of reverb and atmosphere, like the newest Appleseed Cast album, or anything Prawn has ever released. With this slight shift, though, it loses absolutely none of its strikingly powerful emotional wells, and brings a good portion of excitement when the band says they're beginning to write their third record. They have some tours this summer they need to focus on, but it's fairly safe to say we'll see something by the first quarter of next year at the latest.

To keep yourself busy in the meantime, here's the band's discography minus the single on Bandcamp, and the single can be found here.

Album Review: The National - Trouble Will Find Me

Album Rating: B

In light of other artists, it’s almost comical how The National approached the release of one of the most anticipated albums of 2013. Daft Punk had an extensive, slick marketing campaign and Boards of Canada made detectives out of their audience, meanwhile The National released a couple of tracks on their YouTube channel and played “Sorrow” for ten hours. Perhaps it’s more appropriate to use understated than comical, but the success of this muted effort in the light of such excess can only be seen as funny. It’s like a friend I once had who, when asked in an engineering class to make a paper braking system for a toy car, scrunched the paper up in the rough shape of a cock, lazily strapped it to the front with half a roll of tape and ended up doing better than everyone else. 

Album Review: Morningbell - Boa Noite

Album Rating: A

Who listens to albums anymore? In an increasingly hyperactive music culture ruled by YouTube and Soundcloud, where a good single aimed straight at the heart of the zeltgeist matters more than just about anything else, the craft of making a work meant to be listened front-to-back is increasingly underrated. Yet, the mark of a truly great work of art is one that transcends the sum of its parts: more than just ten or eleven great songs in succession, it must be something with a life of its own.

It’s with this in mind that Morningbell comes in with its sixth album, Boa Noite, and what an example it sets for all of us. After ten listens, the only things I can coherently note about it are emoticons, marking each little moment. Here’s where it made me smile, here’s where it made me sit up in my chair and gasp in awe, here’s where it made my eyes water as I completely crumbled in its wake. Boa Noite is full of little treasures, but it’s so cohesive that it defies attempts at dissection: throughout 38 minutes, the band reaches blissful highs, crushing lows, festive days and contemplative nights…sometimes all in the same song. The press release describes it as a gauntlet. It wasn’t exaggerating.

Album Review: Leprous - Coal

Album Score: A-

Yes, Leprous is still known for being “Ihsahn’s backing band.” But if it keeps this up, that’s going to change in a hurry. With its fourth album, the Norwegian quintet has created something truly its own, perhaps comparable to acts like Opeth and Enslaved, but bursting with fresh intensity throughout. There are moments that challenge you to wrap your head around exactly what’s going on, and equally numerous times that you’ll be swept away by anthemic choruses. Opener “Foe” revolves around a 7/4 time signature as the instruments run circles around each other and refuse to settle into a groove; the second half of “Chronic,” however, does the heavy lifting for you as singer Einar Soldberg intones, “Stars, they lie where we can’t see them...” over and over, sharp guitar lines building behind him, the sound growing in intensity despite an ever-slowing tempo. Many of the songs contain a balance of styles as the band toys with the line between being soothing and stimulating.

Artist of the Day: Symphonic Pictures

Press releases tend to be loaded with ludicrous proclamations, but if you can wade through the barrage of empty endorsements and overhype you can every so often stumble upon one which holds some grounds. The piece concerning the self-titled debut EP from Newcastle-based Symphonic Pictures is a classic example; its vaunted language seeking exposure for a release which is in fact very much worthy of recipient's time. Sure, the first sentence - "some bands simply sound like they were destined to play together" - is overly romanticised, and the suggestion that these four songs will prove timeless is optimistic in the extreme, but claims the quintet have arrived fully formed and are punching well above their weight may not be entirely wide of the mark. It's a hell of a statement, but it's one which becomes feasible once you've laid your ears on their record; it's swathes of guitars, strings, synth and sax seamlessly weaved into a psychedelic delight remarkable in both its accomplishment and melodicism. Having already secured slots supporting the likes of Toy and Moon Duo, a wider breakthrough might just be within their reach - and at the very least Symphonic Pictures will shoot them up the pecking order in an increasingly thriving regional music scene.

Jukebox: Karnivool - The Refusal

There’s no doubt in my mind that Australian progressive-rockers Karnivool are perfectionists. Having only released two full length LP’s since their inception in 1997, it’s clear that every riff and every fill has been meticulously placed, and the idea of simply throwing a solo here or dumping a scream there is practically sacrilege. Substantiating this claim, both Themata and Sound Awake have been perceived by many as near masterpieces of their respective genres, and the band has all but become the benchmark which other prospective prog-rockers are measured against.

Metal Scenes: Finland

Key Release: Once (2004)

Nightwish

You know you’ve made it when people are lining up to write movies to your soundtrack. Perhaps Finland's most famous metal band, Nightwish has crossed over into the mainstream with its keyboard-driven power metal, often accompanied by a full orchestra. Long-time vocalist Tarja Turnunen was fired in 2007 – though not before an extremely emotional and bombastic final concert that became the End of an Era DVD – and new singer Annette Olzon has taken the band in a more mainstream direction with increased commercial success. The backbone of the band has always been keyboardist and songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, who also handles the symphonic accompaniments. Nightwish’s most recent effort, Imaginaerum, is set to be released as a feature film later this year.

Album Review: Marques Toliver - Land of CanAan

Album Rating: B+

In popular culture, Canaan is best known as the Biblical land of paradise, a God-given place where everything is in abundance and everybody will be safe. On Land of CanAan, however, Marques Toliver finds paradise in a darker place: the line that both opens and closes his debut is drawn not from the Biblical tale but from the autobiography of runaway slave-turned-abolitionist Frederick Douglas. The slaves trapped on cotton plantations in the 1800s, subject to dehumanizing circumstances and the tyranny of their masters, found humanity in singing together. “Oh, Canaan, sweet Canaan,” they cried. “I am bound to the land of Canaan.” The defining struggle on Toliver’s debut, then, becomes about where he himself is bound, artistically and spiritually, and watching him push forward through Land of CanAan’s ten tracks makes for a compelling journey and a promising beginning to his career.

Artist of the Day: Agalloch

Key Release: The Mantle (2002)

Crossover metal is all the rage these days: progressive jazz-fusion, melodic post-hardcore, symphonic tech-death – just throw a bunch of genres in a blender and see what you get. But before all the stylistic absurdity, Agalloch made a name for themselves by putting some beauty in the most extreme of genres – black metal. Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1995 by multi-instrumentalist John Haughm, the band has become one of the most popular “extreme” acts in the United States thanks to its gripping storytelling and widely appreciable sound. In its four full-length albums, Agalloch has explored a wide spectrum with Scandanavian-style black metal at one end and lush acoustic folk arrangements at the other. 2002’s The Mantle proved a breakthrough effort, tipping the scales in favor of clean vocals and dreamy guitar interludes and saving the caustic peaks for the most emotionally gripping moments.

Artist of the Day: Vampire Weekend

Look, this is really difficult to say, and I’m not sure why, but it’s hard to deny that Vampire Weekend are one of the most individual and important bands of the past five or so years. Okay, so I think I do know why it’s difficult to say - I want to hate them, and so does America! They are the 1%! Hearing Ezra Koenig croon in a semi-affected falsetto about the way he or his characters gaze sad and unsatisfied over the beautiful seascapes of Cape Cod and dream of fleeing yacht-style to somewhere, I don’t know, with a higher ratio of lighthouses to sun-drenched rocky coves where perhaps they can find happiness is among the most infuriating experiences in the history of the modern song, but it sure is pretty.

Album Review: Conquering Animal Sound - On Floating Bodies

Album Rating: A-

For better or for worse, there are now more ways than ever for fledgling artists to make their presence felt within the music industry. Some embark on endless and often costly promotional campaigns, securing exposure through means such as online advertising, radio interviews and television performances. Others may receive a leg up in the form of handy contacts or well-placed relatives, while some even stoop to the moral trough of organised competitions - be they huge, multi-million franchises like The X-Factor, or merely the opportunity to land a prestigious festival slot. The most 'credible' option, however, is to bypass all of these steps, and instead gain recognition either through sheer hard work, or simply being too good to ignore - Glasgow's Conquering Animal Sound being a prime recent example in both cases.

Musings: Is EDM dead?

I'm usually a fervent supporter of EDM. I think there's a large amount of good electronic out there that's fun, danceable, poppy, and catchy, and a lot of music within the blanket term should be treated with the respect it deserves. I'm willing to defend my opinion most of the time, too. I remember a discussion I had with Sputnikmusic mod and electronic music whiz Deviant about this topic, where he referred to EDM as "a term being used to sell a trend, nothing more...It's just more bandwagonning of a sound that's been dumbed down and mass produced. In the words of Deadmau5, it's 'minimal effort for maximum return.'" At the time, I was peeved that someone would think of a general blanket term I identified with as "dumbed-down." How was that possible, I wondered? After all, I enjoy big, earth-shaking wobbles and snarls for the most part. Plus, even as promotion channels like UKFDubstep and labels like Play Me and OWSLA began to lose their savor, I still found many positives in the scene which so many find so abhorrent.

Artist of the Day: Buckeye Knoll

It's a shame that so much good music gets turned down for a perceived lack of ~!artistic importance!~: with as much ironic pretense as those tildes and exclamation points can muster, it seems that sometimes, listeners look less for how an artist can connect with them than how cool it'll look on their Last.FM pages. Oakland-based folk-rock band Buckeye Knoll should put a smile on the faces of even the most jaded fans, though. Its music is both enthralling and deeply personal, thanks to the flexibility of the soul and jazz-influenced ensemble and the straightforward but irresistibly earnest lyrics. Recent release Lovecreek charms with its understated virtues: tracks like "Slow Moving" and "I Am Who I Am" bridge intimate details with rabble-rousing choruses, strong dynamics, and stirring instrumental arrangements replete with handclaps, slick drum rhythms, groovy guitar solos, and rich harmonies. The band is what it is without reservation, and neither should listeners be afraid to embrace the joy blooming in music like this.

Lovecreek is available now. Here's the video for single "I Am Who I Am":