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Review: White Hinterland - Kairos


White Hinterland
Kairos - [2010; Dead Oceans]
8.0/10

Under the moniker White Hinterland, Casey Dienel has been making music that is just a little off for a few years now; her myspace page appropriately reads "keep it surreal." Her excellent-but-patchy 2008 release, The Phylactery Factory, fused intricate orchestrations with a jazzy back beat or piano and occasionally shy occasionally boisterous vocal delivery. Despite being at the center of this strange set of combinations, nothing really stood out for the majority of the album. Not so on her 2010 followup, Kairos. The opening track, "Icarus" (see below), immediately demands your attention with a brief other worldly vocal loop, giving to a strong beat and immediate vocal line. While not every song on the album is like this one, it definitely sets a new tone. Something that does carry through the album, though, is a distinctly R&B influence in Deinel's vocal melodies. The second track musically recalls Bat For Lashes' Two Suns but Deinel makes it her own with a superb, winding vocal exploration that keeps the song entertaining throughout. She is at her best, however, in the third track entitled "No Logic" which utilizes Dirty Projectors-esque vocals and guitar stabs but separates them with ambient vocal tracks that remind me more of the vocal loop in Panda Bear's "Im Not." Speaking of Dirty Projectors brand R&B, "Bow and Arrow" sounds like it could fit straight into Bitte Orca and probably warrants a Solange cover in its own right. All in all, Deinel it seems has come into her own vocally. Adding to this strong orchestration and dynamic composition leaves White Hinterland with a fantastic third album. Definitely recommend! (oh yeah, and check out the Justin Timberlake cover below).




Pre-order Kairos here. Its out March 3rd.

White Hinterland - "Icarus" - Kairos
White Hinterland - "No Logic" - Kairos
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Morning Benders - "Excuses"


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If you like Girls' loungy San Francisco sound, there is a large chance that this song will knock your clothes off. Like Girls' music, this song draws heavily from certain traditions in American music genres like doo-wop and early Disney movie sound tracks (because that is a genre). It has an almost cinematic quality which mixes brilliantly with the male crooner type vocal delivery and melody. The harmonies are fantastic and the orchestration is perfectly complimentary. Part of this might be the fact that the forthcoming album that houses this song, Big Echo, was produced by the masterful Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear fame.

If San Fran keeps coming up with these gems, we are going to have to come up with a new genre name. Endlessly classifying things that need no classification whatsoever is what we do here in pretentious-blog-o-demia. So, the music combines really sincere vibes with traditional mid-20th century American influences so...sincericana? (boo)

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Erykah Badu feat. Lil' Wayne

This is the craziest video/ raddest song...
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Vampire Weekend on Soiree de Poche


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Shearwater - Black Cab Sessions


Gorgeous.

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Jersey Shore's Snooki Interviews Phoenix





You know you are famous when people from Jersey Shore have no idea who you are (what?). Anyway, this is hilarious. I am pretty sure he says she is a "call girl" aka hooker and she has no idea.
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New Clogs


Oboe is a weird instrument. Maybe it was my early exposure to the BBC made-for-tv Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack. Maybe it was my childhood love for Peter and the Wolf. Whatever the cause, the sound of the oboe sends me off into some trippy transcendent green space that slightly resembles the British country side.

Clogs likes oboe. Clogs is weird. Clogs sends me to that space.

And on their new album, the "indie-classical" group is branching out to embrace vocalists. Their last album, Lantern saw a move towards a more accessible sound, but with their new record, The Creatures In the Garden of Lady Walton (perfect name for my transcendent green space) Clogs goes a step further and finds help from the wonderful voices of Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Sufjan Stevens, to name a few.
(Photo via Stereogum)

From what I've heard (only two songs) this is going to be a great album.

[MP3]: Clogs :: On The Edge


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Joanna Newsom Track List, Album Art, 2 New songs

Joanna Newsom's highly anticipated new (triple) album Have One On Me is set to come out 2/23. For now, enjoy the tracklist and two new songs.


Disc One:
1 - Easy 06:04
2 - Have One On Me 11:02
3 - '81 03:51
4 - Good Intentions Paving Company 07:02
5 - No Provenance 06:25
6 - Baby Birch 09:30
Total: 43:54

Disc Two:
1 - On A Good Day 01:48
2 - You And Me, Bess 07:12
3 - In California 08:41
4 - Jackrabbits 04:23
5 - Go Long 08:02
6 - Occident 05:31
Total: 35:37

Disc Three:
1 - Soft As Chalk 06:29
2 - Esme 07:56
3 - Autumn 08:01
4 - Ribbon Bows 06:10
5 - Kingfisher 09:11
6 - Does Not Suffice 06:44
Total: 42:31

Joanna Newsom - '81 - Have One On Me
Joanna Newsom - Good Intentions Paving Company - Have One On Me
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Mat Riviere - FYH Video




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If you are a fan of deep male vocals e.g. The National, Joy Division or like minimalist synth pop songs, this is for you.