The Weeknd released his new album titled “Thursday”. After listening through I feel like I don’t have to say much about it because “Thursday” feels like an expansion of “House of Balloons”. Nothing is really that different when you compare the two EPs except for the fact that this new record is a little less pop so you aren’t in for too much of surprise. Since, in my opinion, his first EP was so tight this isn’t really a bad thing.

Overall, it’s important to look at this record and The Weeknd as a solid example of indie-influenced music penetrating into the mainstream media (i.e. MTV) with the use of the internet. I honestly believe that the free distribution of music through the internet will lead to the mainstream media accepting music that is a bit different than normal pop songs, which in part is due to accessibility. Download the record at The Weeknd’s website here, below is my favorite track off of it. I also featured The Zone because I love Drake and he drops some words on that track.

The Weeknd: Lonely Star
The Weeknd: The Zone

Oupa (Daniel Blumberg of the UK band Yuck) creates music that plays with the concept of space, and creates a wide-open, vast presence of mystery and emotion. Oupa’s album just dropped on Fat Possum the other day, grip it there. Also below is a tape he’s releasing in September, not really sure if Fat Possum is also releasing that or if it is going to be done exclusively through his UK label Boiled Egg. Other than these two album streams, I also found these two rad videos online for Windows and Physical thanks to the good folks at Forcefield PR.

Oupa – Windows from Boiled Egg on Vimeo.

Oupa – Physical from Boiled Egg on Vimeo.

Noticed on the Captured Tracks Facebook fan page that CT is going to release this 1995 Shoegaze/noise LP “A Folding Sieve” by Should for the first time on vinyl with bonus tracks like the one embedded below in the winter time. If you aren’t a fan and likes what Captured Tracks releases I suggest you become one, they do a lot of updates through Facebook.

Been a while since I last heard from my buddy JCCG, one of my favorite portuguese bedroom artists. The dude has got a bunch of guitar bangers up on his Soundcloud, I posted some favorites down below. In particular Scapes and Never Had Sax Before are a couple of really awesome tracks that stand out.

buffer by jccg

never had sax before by jccg

goodnight rock by jccg

santiago by jccg

scapes by jccg

Video for Speculator‘s track “Jenny Says” off of his upcoming Underwater Peoples LP. I think I might have had a conversation with Nick about the cereal he’s eating being Lucky Charms? Can’t really remember. Anyway, get lost in the saturation.

Speculator | Jenny Says from Leaving Records on Vimeo.

Green Gerry sent me this track a while ago and it’s a bit different from his earlier, solo material because he’s preforming with a band now. I seriously love Green Gerry and this new track only affirms that. This track creates vivid images of the transition from August to September, and of clouds lingering in the air after a cool, rainy day. I’d like to make a note that one thing I’ve always appreciated about Gerry’s songwriting is his focus on the lyrics. He always attaches them to the e-mail and usually posts them up on his bandcamp page. Make sure you read them below, it’s something worth paying attention to:

laid at your angles
see the way you are bent
like lighting fast paced and drowsy
upside down slanted rest

bruised boned the eye slips
from the mountain top
blotted by distances rag
its sweat turns to a drag

all of you
all of you

things come and die with age
we ring around the posie
yesterday has left me today
playing the fool accordingly

now the tickets wheel it spins
a straight shot to real life
the sounds fray together and apart they rip
from nights morning and mornings night

all of you
all of you

((B I G N O I S E))

ordinary lashings ear to ear
the heat comes from its coral
attention spans sized up with infinity
makes up its pretty soil

come calling it sinks in
the lot of you below heavy hands
their heads smash at the doors
not knowing what no persons can

all of you
all of you

Not really sure if it was because of the three night in a row full moon, but things have been feeling really cosmic lately. Last night was spent unintentionally speaking of zodiac signs with a slew of people and super fresh vibes were had all around. I also sat on the most comfortable grass I have ever sat on in my life. It was heaven-like.

Anyway, my buddy Ian Perlman showed me a video he shot of Dustin Wong a while back and since then I’ve kind of considered this guy some kind of a legend and that his music always felt kind of cosmic. I don’t think that video made it onto the internet yet, but check out this live session Wong did for Newtown Radio:

YURI by Dustin Wong

Acoustic tokyo2 by Dustin Wong

When I got back from the woods people told me I had went missing for a day and all I could remember was eating peanut butter. Everyone was making such a big deal out of it, so Frankie took me out for a soda pop. Then we went to the drive-in & ate cheez doodles. That’s when I met Annie. I thought she was real pretty so I went over to her and gave her a handful of cheez doodles. Turns out Annie is really into cinema like me. I asked her if she’d like to see a film with me maybe next weekend and she said “that would be swell, real cherry”. If I had known what was going to happen the night we went on our date, I never would have walked up to Annie and given her some of my cheez doodles.

To be continued…

There are a few tracks lately in which have been tickling my more ‘sophisticated’ side. This is the first I’ve heard of The Irrepressibles, who are apparently a pretty popular 10-person orchestral ensemble. You guys must know that I’m obsessed with Balmorhea by now, this live track is off of a record they are selling only on their tour through the midwest and Europe.

The Irrepressibles: Forget The Past
Balmorhea: Untitled (Live at Sint-Elisabethkirk)

Got pretty excited today because I was reading Friendship Bracelet and heard these Trailer Trash Tracys .mp3′s. It’s kind of hard for me to describe why I like these songs as much as I do, I guess it’s just that they were able to combine dream pop with harmony and some lo-fi fuzz. Plus I’ve always prefferred female vocals to male ones, so I suppose that adds to it. I am a little bummed in the fact that I like their earlier demos more than their new one, “Dies in 55″ which is the kind of sound that will be on their upcoming LP which will be dropping on Double Six/Domino. But, it’s typically something I learn to love with time.

Trailer Trash Tracys: Candy Girl
Trailer Trash Tracys: Strangling Good Guys
Trailer Trash Tracys: Dies in 55