NYMPH premiere new (millennium) track “Battle Funk,” announce live dates for all the nymphomaniacs out there

By Mike Reid on May 20 2013

We’re basically a month away from the official release of NYMPH’s sophomore LP New Millennium Prayer, and as attractive as the band’s seven (or is eight?) members might be, we’re going to need something other than just their startling, nymph-like good looks to maintain our interest. The cover art’s been revealed, and as far as visual representations of music go, this one seems fundamentally fitting, given its seemingly varied influences. Art critique from from someone totally unqualified to do so time: the conglomeration of animals inspires thoughts about Native American culture, while the font (aside from using the Latin alphabet) reminds one of Arabia… or at least, King Toot’s Music Store from The Simpsons. Then there are the colors, which are surely indicative of the band’s otherwise silent appreciation for cotton candy.

Because members of the media are special (alternatively, “special”), I’ve had the chance to listen to New Millennium Prayer, and it’s astonishing how seamlessly NYMPH blend styles across each of the album’s four tracks. Here’s your example: “Battle Funk,” which premiered last week. Listening gives you a better sense than I ever could verbally, so have at it, and peruse the newly-announced list of supporting live dates below that. East Coast, what what.

Album’s out June 25, by the way.

Dates:

06.19.13 - Philadelphia, PA - Ortleib’s ^*
06.20.13 - Chapel Hill, NC - The Cave $*
06.21.13 - Greensboro, NC - The Flatiron $*
06.22.13 - Athens, GA - Farm 255 %*
06.23.13 - Atlanta, GA - Eyedrum %*
06.24.13 - Boone, NC -Black Cat 127 *
06.25.13 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar &
06.26.13 - Baltimore, MD - TBA *
06.27.13 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool (Record Release Show) *
06.30.13 - Boston, MA - Deep Thoughts !
07.01.13 - Providence, RI - Machines and Magnets !
07.02.13 - Space Gallery, Portland, ME #*
07.03.13 - Biddeford, ME - The Oak and The Ax *

^ Northern Arms and Sami The Great
$ Piedmontsmen
% Space Trucks
& Miami Nights
! Devil Music
# Crux In The Coalsack

• NYMPH: https://www.facebook.com/bandofnymph
• Northern Spy: http://northernspyrecords.com

Mount Eerie releasing 12-inch through XRA Records, chronicling epic Bloomington beer blast

By E. Nagurney on May 20 2013

Any time you’re feeling down, try to envision this scene: Mount Eerie playing a frat party. There are a lot of ways to go with this fantasy, many of which would probably not cheer you up. Let me walk you through it. It’s a classic, Animal House-style frat party, a real beer blast if you will. Dudes in backwards baseball caps doing keg stands. There’s a guy in a toga running around. Someone jumped through a window. Things are being broken; everything’s being broken. This is nuts. Mount Eerie are set up in the corner and Phil Elverum softly sings, “Misunderstood and disillusioned, I go on describing this place.” All the bros stop in their tracks. All the sorority girls look towards the band. Everyone is crying. Every single person is crying.

I’m pretty sure that’s basically what happened during the Bloomington show in which the band’s new 12-inch, Live in Bloomington, September 30th, 2011, was recorded. Sure, the 12-inch, which is coming out through Bloomington-based Crossroads of America Records on June 11, was recorded at Russian Recording and mixed by Mike Bridavsky. That doesn’t sound like a crazy frat party at all. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t. It just, well, probably wasn’t. Still, what would you rather imagine? A low-key show in a recording studio with a set drawing mostly from the then-unreleased Clear Moon? Or an insane kegger in a recording studio with a set drawing mostly from the then-unreleased Clear Moon? Watch this commercial for the record while you figure out how you want to live your life:

Live in Bloomington, September 30th, 2011 tracklist:

01. Introduction
02. House Shape
03. Between Two Mysteries
04. Ancient Questions
05. Karl Blau
06. No Inside, No Out
07. The Place I Live
08. Lone Bell
09. See Me
10. Stone’s Ode
11. The Place Lives

• Mount Eerie: http://www.pwelverumandsun.com
• Crossroads of America: http://www.xrarecords.com

Polysick to release Under Construction in a weird haze on June 11 via 100% Silk

By Caroline Rayner on May 17 2013

Somewhere, maybe on another planet or in a cave way below the ocean floor, there’s a house built from frozen columns of dripped paint and sets of mirrored wings and multicolored stars that keep changing positions.

Go ahead and talk about acid house as a genre of music as much as you want. Go ahead and classify Polysick as an acid house artist, if that’s up your alley. But, what about acid house as a place?

∆CID H∆UZ.

I won’t try to pretend Polysick built ∆CID H∆UZ or that he’s planning to build ∆CID H∆UZ, even though he is releasing a 12-inch called Under Construction. I don’t want to be weird and jump to imaginary conclusions. But still, the title does sort of suggest a project. Maybe.

Last year, Polysick released Digital Native via Planet Mu (TMT Review), and earlier this year he released Daydream via audioMER (TMT Review). Under Construction will be out June 11 on 100% Silk, and until then, you can stream the album’s first single “3 Cents” below. Just a hint of what plays on repeat in ∆CID H∆UZ.

Under Construction tracklist:

01. Whatever
02. Shattered
03. 3 Cents
04. Barry Talks

• Polysick: http://soundcloud.com/polysick
• 100% Silk: http://www.listentosilk.com

Watch Emma Watson do bad things to Oneohtrix Point Never in Sofia Coppola’s new film!

By Ryan A. Detwiler on May 17 2013

In case you weren’t yet excited about seeing The Bling Ring due to Hermione Granger’s out-of-character turn as an obnoxious millennial, then this new bit of news about the film might win you over. Self-Titled reports that Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never, who has been relatively quiet since his 2011 album Replica (#1 on TMT’s 2011 favorite albums list), has been (in addition to his forthcoming new album!) spending time away working hard to score the Sofia Coppola-directed film alongside her usual musical supervisor Brian Reitzell. Early reviews of the film, which debuted at Cannes this week, describe it as calculatedly detached, non-judgmental when it comes to the blatantly illegal, though victimless, crime spree the film revolves around. Sounds like a good fit to me!

While Reitzell and Coppola took a fairly unconventional route for the score, the soundtrack for the film goes out of its way to include a bevy of well known “indie” acts (Sleigh Bells, M.I.A.), hit-makers (Kanye), and super-hot-right-this-minute artists (Azealia Banks, Rye Rye, Frank Ocean), plus a new track from Mr. Composer himself, Oneohtrix Point Never — squee! Basically par for the course for a Coppola film soundtrack. Check out the full tracklist for the soundtrack below, and seek a break from the summer heat by going to see the movie when it hits theaters June 14. Need another reason? Paris Hilton cameo.

Various Artists, The Bling Ring Original Soundtrack:

01. Sleigh Bells: ” Crown On The Ground”
02. Rick Ross [ft. Lil Wayne]: “9 Piece”
003. Rye Rye [ft. M.I.A.]: “Sunshine”
04. Azealia Banks: “212″
05. Oneohtrix Point Never: “Ouroboros”
06. 2 Chainz: “Money Machine”
07. M.I.A.: “Bad Girls”
08. Kanye West: “All of the Lights”
09. Ester Dean [ft. Chris Brown]: “Drop It Low”
10. Reema Major: “Gucci Bag”
11. Can: “Halleluwah”
12. Kanye West: “Power”
13. Klaus Schulze: “Freeze”
14. deadmau5: “FML”
15. Brian Reitzell and Daniel Lopatin: “Bling Ring Suite”
16. Phoenix: “Bankrupt!”
17. Frank Ocean [ft. Earl Sweatshirt]: “Super Rich Kids”

• Oneohtrix Point Never: http://www.pointnever.com