Blogarhythms

Everybody likes presents, so here’s a bunch of stuff for you to un-wrap!

The self-titled debut album from Toronto, Caanda-based 8-Bit/Chiptune/Electro duo Crystal Castles has been out for a minute. Me and my Urban Alternatives Radio compatriot Emeyesi have been rocking it pretty tough, but I’ve yet to show it any love here. The facts that an old Atari 2600 complete with a cartridge for the game which inspired the group’s name recently made it’s way into my household, and a new installment of the Indiana Jones franchise where the aging archaeologist is searching for a “crystal skull” drops this week were omens that dictated I finally ladel some props upon it. For a taste peep the recent video for standout track “Courtship Dating.”

Crystal Castles “Courtship Dating”

Another album that’s been out for a while which I’m surprised and disappointed with myself for not bigging up is Elephant Shell, the debut full-length from Canadian Post-Punk quartet Tokyo Police Club. The group’s debut EP A Lesson In Crime was one of my favorite records of the last few years and was getting steady replays right up until Elephant Shell’s April release. The new one has a little less keyboard than I’d have liked, and it feels a bit more serious-minded, but the group is still all about energetic clap-and-sing-along anthems. There’s a remix of “Tesselate” out by Tom of Welsh mini-orchestra Los Campesinos! that’s so radically different it won’t give you any real indication of what the album sounds like but is all the more badass for it.

Tokyo Police Club “Tessellate (Tom Campesinos! Remix)”

Speaking of drastic reworks, AmpLive of Bay Area Indie-Rap veterans Zion I has been cranking out a lot of them of late. His Rainy Dayz Remixes, where he remixed Radiohead’s In Rainbows and threw a whole host of Bay rap dudes over the beats was a milestone of sorts. But when a mash-up of “Faberge Falls for Shuggie” by Of Montreal (one of my favorite bands of all time) and Blogarhythms featurees MGMT’s “Future Reflections” titled “Future Faberge” (download it!) and bearing his name hit my inbox a couple weeks ago I was left agape. Kinda makes me wish that more Indie bands would get at dude for remixes, or better yet production, that Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes would think about doing an album where he hands production duties over to a host of Hip-Hip and electronic button-pushers after Skeletal Lamping drops and that Skeletal Lamping was in fact out already.

Can I just say… ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! ALGREEN! No, seriously… ?uestlove (and James Poyser of course) you magnificent bastard(s)! Lay It Down, is pretty much exactly (it does have some seemingly superfluous guests which “Starbucks” it up a ‘lil) what I expected this record to sound like after all the hullabaloo we witnessed during, and in the aftermath of, its making. Al is gonna be Al because he’s Al-fucking-Green. But this joint sounds absolutley vintage! Makes me want a vinyl pressing with the old Hi Records logo on it. It drops next week. Get it!

Those dudes MSTRKRFT are apparently making it their business to please me in ways unimaginable. First they teamed up with N.O.R.E. for “Bounce,” signaling their willingness to work with vocalists you might not expect them to. And now they’ve gone and remixed Usher’s hit single “Love In This Club” which is not only unexpected on their part, but has made them responsible for making me listen to a song that I (not to mention you and everyone you know) probably wouldn’t have expected I’d enjoy listening to. I mean, pairing Usher with crunchy Electro beats was one thing, but interpolating the piano coda from Derek and the Dominos‘ “Layla” for the bridge took cojones of steel.

Usher “Love In This Club (MSTRKRFT Remix)”

I’ve mentioned them a number of times in the space and I never thought I’d be posting new & relevant information about them, but Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet of seminal ’80s Synthpop duo Yazoo have reunited. They’ll be releasing a four-disc re-issue of remastered versions of their two studio albums Upstairs at Eric’s and You and Me Both, bonus b-sides and remixes and a DVD containing their videos called In Your Room soon. And they’re also embarking on a cross-Atlantic tour this Spring and Summer. Check out their website for all the live dates.

I mentioned them the other day and realized that I didn’t remember ever posting anything from The Black Ghosts, perhaps my favorite album-less Indie-Dance group of recent memory. Comprised of former members of Simian (the remainder of whom formed Simian Mobile Disco) The Black Ghosts have released a string of singles over the last few years and have a metric ton of songs and remixes floating around in the music ether, but have yet to schedule the release of an album. Although the single (and the Skream & Plastician remix I mentioned the other day) have been out for a while, I recently came across a new video (different from the original Lego-animated version) for the O.G. mix of “Some Way Through This,” possibly my favorite song from the pair.

Black Ghosts “Some Way Through This”

And finally, do you remember “Remind Me,” that song from the Geico caveman commercial? Well, as I’ve pointed out numerous times in this space it’s by Norway’s Röyksopp with guest vocals from Erlend Øye. And now Baltimore/New York based DJ/remixer dude DLake has turned out an amped up club version of the song which you can download from his site and dance around like a caveman to.