Thursday, February 24, 2011

STORIES OF THE ONE TRUE TROPHY TREE

Welcome to the first ZinBin music post in quite some time. Some of the music here is free. Some it you have to pay for. All of it is worth the time to listen. You've probably heard a bunch of this.

BEGIN

HONEYDRUM
Honeydrum came onto my radar a few weeks ago when I received a carrier pigeon notifying me of the release of Saturdays. The driving beats and deadpan vocals, along with a complex melodic treatment of what could have easily been flat, do-nothing for me lo-fi, made an immediate impression. When a few weeks later a small heron delivered The Summer Wants You to Be Dead, their latest tape, it soon found its way into my default daily listening regimen, much as its predecessor had. There's not much *n*e*w* here, but who cares? What's here is awesome. Can only hope this rapid-fire cadence of releases keeps up. Follow the links above for free downloads, tapes, and more recordings.

o F F
o F F's latest release, disenchanted fairytale, is a collection of heartbreaking vignettes that somehow dodges the dehumanizing affect that extensive manipulation of pitches and rhythms can create. Simplified hip hop beats laden with carefully applied production touches buoy similarly treated piano and synth. Nothing is overblown or dragged out. It's an introspective take on the 93|\|.-3 7|-|@ |\/|U$7 |\|07 83 |\|4|\/|3|) that chooses brevity and tact over esoteric gloom. Available for digital download above or on cassette from Clan Destine Records.

ESKIMEAUX
Coco's OCD first brought eskimeaux to my attention a few weeks ago with a track from Ixsixán, which is a cool album, though I have not bothered to think about how it would be pronounced. Please share suggestions in the comments. Not long after, Two Mountains worked its way to my inbox.

It quickly became clear that there was something special going on here. Gabrielle Smith's tracks range from heavily orchestrated to ballads ("Hills") to the relatively tame guitar plucking of "Nothing" to the baby-Enya-crammed-into-two-minutes-thirty-seconds of "For Power Animal." The eclectic approach of the songwriting and production are reminiscent of some of Phil Elverum's less esoteric efforts. This all begs the question of whether eskimeaux will focus on a particular approach in the future or continue to diversify her sound. Either way, I'm probably down.

DUNCAN MALASHOCK
Duncan Malashock's Let's Make Sure Everything is a Thing is now available for your listening and buying please from ATX imprint Monofonous Press. There's a whole lot going on here. The tunes are a little bit zolo, a little bit psych, and way more than likely to deny your expectations of what's coming next. The underwater vocals, charged synth, dreamy guitar, and faithfully pounding drums all fit, but in an odd, charming way. Listening is the gateway to understanding.

W-H-I-T-E
While you're waiting for W-H-I-T-E's Twin Tigers (FYI that's an ablum) to come out on 3/14, check out this single. Tasty remix of "Fountain" by Amen Dunes included. And yeah, you can download it for free (here). What's it sound like? I could throw a lot of synonyms for dreamy at you, but that seems unappealing right now. What I will say is that where it'd be easy to wash out everything into a big mess, W-H-I-T-E pulls each bit to the surface and makes it shine. It's excessive in an intentional, controlled way that's extremely gratifying.

HUMAN RESOURCES
Human Resources, proud purveyor of sample-ridden guitar pop, has released a 7-inch entitled Saving Lady/Pauline. It's a tripped out affair replete with nods to the finest points of culture, including Donkey Kong, Beyonce, and music criticism. Plus, having someone explain stuff to you in a pleasing tone accompanied by intriguing music is really appealing (see: Carl Sagan and John Berger). The EP is available for streaming (here) and purchase (here). Eye Bodega is also planning to release a VHS of collaged footage set to the music of this and past HR releases.

BONUS

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

WODIN'S NIGHT OUT

It's been a bit. Hugs. Will explain later, meanwhile here is some stuff to do

TONIGHT (WEDNESDAY 2/16)

MUSIC (LIVE)
New favorite Mueran Hermanos have brought their brand of miasmic pop all the way from Berlin for you to enjoy. Bless you, Wierd Night, you and all your children. Details (here)


MUSIC (CURATED RECORDINGS)
Go walking, dancing, and drinking after midnight with a very special No Nonsense edition of Country Night. Ok, actually you should show up before midnight for the full effect (read: there might be pie). There are more details (here) and a special slow cooked rack of mixtape (here)

Two weeks into their winter residency, Harrison Owen and Todd Brooks ov Pendu continue to fill Manhattan Inn with all the dark spectacle and dense vibes you'd expect from this duo. Be sure to stop in next Wednesday, as well. But don't take my word for it, Facebook it for yourself (here)

72600005
The weekly dose of post-human jams known as No Humans has moved to 151 Rivington Bar this week. To celebrate, they're even allowing in current-humans. Tolerance is catching on. Get your info upload and watch vids (here)

GHE20 G0TH1K returns with a celebration of NY Fashion Week or Egypt or Valentine's Day or Wednesday? Something. Wear red or white. Fake blood will be provided, so no need to bring your own. Further information (here)

STAY TUNED