New Metronomy & More Calvin Harris

'What's that? A new Metronomy EP, fabulous!' I hear you say, and quite right too. I like it. A lot. Their new sound differs slightly from that of their previous music and you'd expect that, not only because a band's sound should develop and mature, but because they've got a new band line up with one of the old members leaving. However, this transition's a gentle one, and fans of their off-kilter electro-pop before this EP won't be disappointed either. Production on the new EP sounds smoother than their older material; the oddball synths remain yet these tracks are now laced with futuristic, more subtle notes which I could imagine going well with staring at a starry night sky. Take a listen to two of the tracks off it below and I don't doubt you'll get a similar vibe:

Metronomy - Do The Right Thing

Metronomy - Not Made For Love



And of course, unless you've been living in a cave recently, you will have heard about Calvin Harris' latest album, 'Ready For The Weekend' hitting the shelves today. As is the case with many albums, it had already leaked onto the interwebs anyway so you may have heard some/all of it already. If not, well, you're in for a treat. I wasn't such a fan of his debut LP but from what I've heard of the Scotsman's sophomore effort makes me think it's something special. Calvin Harris effortlessly blends retro and modern styles for what seems to be eclectic, eccentric, electric second album that packs a whole lot of funk:

Calvin Harris - Stars Come Out

Calvin Harris - The Rain

And today we end on a fairly amusing note with Calvin Harris performing his single 'Ready For The Weekend' using ladies in lingerie covered in paint. Hmmm.

Lick The Fake Blood From Your Fingerrrr

I've been so busy lately so I won't be posting so frequently. Apologies but there's just too much to keep up with!

So, as I mentioned in my last post, Calvin Harris's new single 'Ready For The Weekend' (which I most certainly am now) received the remix treatment -already- from two pretty damn big names in club music - Fake Blood, who's identity was shrouded in mystery last time I heard, has he revealed it yet?.. and High Contrast, who has curly hair.

Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend (Fake Blood Remix)
Okay so, in my opinion, this one's the better of the two. It's just so much fun! Not a hell of a lot of the original has been kept in this remix mind you; sorry to disappoint if that's what you were hoping for. Some elements of the track remain but it seems almost as if it belongs to Fake Blood with Calvin Harris co-starring to raise the hype. You know what I mean? Sort of like when someone whacks a 'Where's my money?' into a song totally unnecessarily. Anyway, if you like thumping drums and bouncing bass, this is your thing. Oh and there's a cheeky little 'hands-in-the-air' trancey piano breakdown which everyone always loves, no matter how cheesy they get :) All in all, a very uplifting track.

Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend (High Contrast Remix)
After all my praise of Fake Blood's rendition, you might not be expecting this to be much good. It's still pretty good. At first, it seems as if we've lost the good times vibe of the original with the intro and the weird vocal tweaks but we're reassured as soon as the piano kicks in after being teased with that drum beat surfacing out of the depths. The first half of the track, in my opinion, is fairly mediocre. However, you'll (quite obviously) notice that halfway through, the driving bassline drops again and gathers a lot of more power. I found the momentum of this was satisfying enough to take me through the rest of the song without any qualms. Enjoyable.

Bonus Track:

Discovery - Osaka Loop Line

Introducing Discovery - one half is the keyboardist of Vampire Weekend, Rostam Batmanglij, the other being the lead singer of Ra Ra Riot, Wes Miles. Together, they make synth-abundant electro pop. Osaka Loop Line is my favourite off their new LP. We start off with deep, booming (yet not aggressive) synths with a dreamier, playful layer swirling about the track. Pair this with the sing-song vocals of Wes Miles and you've got a very addictive listen. Eventually, we progress into a glitchy breakdown and a melancholy conglomeration of various sounds to finish.

Wonderful, enjoy all your summers.

Kid British, Mr Hudson & Calvin Hazbags

Afternoon. You may have noticed there's been a fair amount of commercial music in my last few posts. It's not because I'm getting too lazy to search for the most indie-est bands on the globe, it's simply because there's been a stream of new releases, and now you will experience the audiovisual delights of a few of them below:



Kid British - Our House Is Dadless
Manchester-based hip-hop group Kid British's new single has a most british air about it, unsurprisingly. It's a good-times, sing-a-long tune partly due to the sampling of Madness but also because of the light-hearted, humourous verses. I'm not sure about you guys, but the video took me on a trip down memory lane when life was simpler. How nice was it to wake up on a saturday morning without bleary eyes and a headache? Just flicking on SM:TV live and eating a bowl of coco pops?



Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend
The scotsman's second release off the upcoming album (named 'Ready For The Weekend', incidentally) is a good few steps away from the club feel of 'I'm Not Alone' and for some it takes a while to get used to. The track's got a definitive air about it - it might be a bit too forward to call it the definitive pop sound of 2009, but it seems like a contender, what with most of pop being based around electronic equipment now.

If you were hoping for something to match the energy of 'I'm Not Alone', keep your eyes and ears peeled for remixes from Fake Blood and High Contrast, which I would post but I could only find radio rips. I'm always reluctant to post radio rips, they just seem so sloppy and corny when you've got a DJ talking about his mad night out when this beat got dropped and the club went mental; you understand what I'm getting at, I'll stop before this turns into a rant.

Mr. Hudson - Everything Is Broken (feat. Kid Cudi)
Mr. Hudson's second album, 'Straight, No Chaser' is out October 5th this year with executive production from Kanye West. The album aims to be less ornate and more direct, which is more than apparent in this track. We've got no intricate, fiddly little layers of anything and Mr. Hudson's vocal and instrumental style on this number lets us know that he understands the importance of simplicity. As he rightly explains about the album, "It's not trying to reinvent the wheel. It's straight, no chaser."

New New New! Lupe Fiasco! Wale! Dizzee Rascal!

Lately, there's been a lot of good music coming from the rap region of the musical spectrum. That's enough of an introduction today, it's too humid outside for small talk.

Lupe Fiasco - Shining Down (feat. Matthew Santos)

Lupe's hailed as one of the most intelligent lyricists in the game right now and it's more than apparent on this track from his 3rd studio release, 'We Are Lasers', due for release just after Christmas this year. That riff and those strings aim to hit deep; take a listen and decide for yourself.

Wale - New Soul (feat. Yael Naim)

You remember New Soul right? Well, if you don't, it's another cutesy, twee song used on a MacBook Air advert. Up and coming hipster hop man Wale dishes us a piping hot batch of clever, sentimental lyrics over an edit of the original. Absolutely loving the choir samples in the background. On second thoughts, scrap 'up and coming', Wale's already here.

Dizzee Rascal - Holiday (feat. Calvin Harris & Chrome)

This here is BIG. Chart topper material, but you'd expect that with this lot teaming up (Dance Wiv Me, anyone?) although we hear Calvin Harris' production's which has now matured into those trancey synths as with 'I'm Not Alone'. Even though 'Bonkers' is still all over the airwaves, Dizzee slings out his latest track just in time for the summer and it does not disappoint. 'Holiday' shouts SUMMER louder than anything I've heard in a good while. Oh and sorry but it's a radio rip - best I could get at the moment.

Anybody else excited for the summer now?