Washed Out's New Single 'Feels Right'

Image source: Facebook

Washed Out has released "It All Feels Right", the first track from their sophomore album, Paracosm. Buoyant and airy, it's a lovely ditty that will keep the good vibrations flowing. With occasional bird calls and far off shouts sprinkled in, you may even think you're on a tropical island somewhere. Mixing electronic and world beats there's much to tantalize the ear. You might even want to make a game out of it - Paracosm will feature over 50 different instruments and samples. In "It All Feels Right" alone, you can pick up on quite a number of them. Have a listen to the sunny song:



Paracosm is slated for release August 13th via Sub Pop.

Goldfrapp Announce New Album, Tales Of Us

Goldfrapp announced today that their new album, Tales Of Us, will be released in September. The band also unveiled a teaser video with various song snippets from the upcoming release. Shot by Lisa Gunning, the teaser is the first in a series of short films Goldfrapp will be premiering alongside Tales Of Us. The films will be shown in cinemas later this year.

Most intriguing about Tales Of Us is the tracklisting. All ten songs except for one (#8 titled "Stranger") are first names. Who are these people and what are their stories? Guess we'll have to wait till September 9th to find out.

Tales Of Us track-listing:
1. Jo
2. Annabel
3. Drew
4. Ulla
5. Alvar
6. Thea
7. Simone
8. Stranger
9. Laurel
10. Clay

Interview: Hunting Club Talk Taxidermy, Prince's "Very Small Ass" And Their New Album, Mosaic

Image source: Hunting Club

Minneapolis' Hunting Club possess true Mid-western virtues: they enjoy wildlife (as the name implies), wearing plaid and can charm the skinny pants off of you. I know because I saw first-hand, back in March, when said gentlemen played the Sound Dessert SXSW showcase at the Austin Ale House.

Today (June 11), marks the digital release of Hunting Club's sophomore album Mosaic, with a physical release set for August. The band took five to talk to Sound Dessert about "frightening" celebrity culture, taxidermy, Prince's "very small ass" and of course, Mosaic.

Sound Dessert: How was it working with producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon / White Rabbits) on this album? What made you want to work with him?
Hunting Club (Justin): We sort of had this epiphany, to expand our horizons of people we’d want to work with, this dream list of people who'd done albums we really loved. Mike’s name came up since he’d made such great sounding records with Spoon. Through some contacts I got in touch with Mike and he said he’d totally be into helping round out the album.

We worked with Mike on the final mix and production of everything. He gave us a ton of insight towards what makes a recorded song enjoyable to listen to, which he has such a knack for…finding the essence of the track. At the start of the process we made this agreement to go for creating our own little world of sound…to try to achieve something neither of us had heard played out, in hopes of actually creating something that sounds new and different. I think he helped us get to that place. 



SD: What's been the most unexpected part of the recording process the second time around?
HC (Justin): I think this time around we had carte blanche access to working in a studio since Jeff (bass,guitar) engineered everything on the album. It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s wonderful to try new ideas and not feel rushed, but it’s also easy to get lost in thinking something else could always get better. I think the unexpected piece was not knowing how that would affect the process, and ultimately feeling like we got to a place where we made music that sounds like Hunting Club. 


 

SD: What are three takeaways you hope fans draw from Mosaic?
HC (Justin, Kyle): I think there’s a lot of depth to the tracks and I hope it’s one of those albums that people listen to multiple times and find something new with every listen that they like.

Enlightenment. A belief that anything’s possible. Inspires sexual exploration.
Hunting Club is rad and a gem they should tell all their friends and foes about.

SD: "Hollywood (who cares?)", as the title implies, paints a negative portrait of that celebrity, material world with "blank stares, magazine culture, and sleeping in the shadows." What inspired the song?
HC (Eric): I had an internship in Santa Monica one summer and it was truly a weird place. Mainly, though, celebrity "culture" is one of the most frightening aspects of American society; this song symbolizes the purest disdain I could possibly have for it.

The 1975 Are Sweet Like Chocolate

It's been a matter of weeks since The 1975 released their EP, IV (it's their fourth EP but the only one currently available in the U.S.) and two of the songs are already hits with radio play and millions of streams on YouTube. Those tracks being the white-hot "Chocolate" and "Sex".

This Manchester foursome have swagger oozing from their catchy songs that blend indie-rock with 80's pop. Front-man Matthew Healy rocks a faux hawk, brooding stare and quavering vocals. It's a classic combination with legs; The boys recently wrapped a tour opening for Muse and are now on the road with The Neighbourhood. The 1975's debut full-length album is expected to drop this fall. Get ready for more smoldering indie-pop headed your way.

Trixie Whitley "Breathe You In My Dreams"

Trixie Whitley was born into music. Her father Chris Whitley, a famed blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Houston, collaborated, toured and fraternized with many of music's icons. Growing up, Trixie spent her fair share of time in the recording studio and on the road with her dad and no-doubt learned a few things in the process. Now, at the age of 25, Trixie has released her first full-length album, Fourth Corner, which features the stunning single, "Breathe You In My Dreams."

A solemn ballad, Trixie revealed it's significance to Vogue, “At the time [of writing the song], I felt so much urgency and longing towards a lover who I couldn’t physically be with due to geographic reasons. It was a sense of feeling his presence so intensely in my entire system while feeling completely detached at the same time.”

Trixie's rich, powerful voice and presence can be felt with a similar intensity.

Throwback Thursday: Ja Rule Makes Time

Is anyone else hungering for a Ja Rule comeback? I don't mean the album he quietly released from prison last year, but a real comeback with music videos, interviews, and touring. He ruled the early 2000's hip hop scene, due in part to teaming up with some of the hottest female vocalists of the moment like J.Lo, Christina Milian and Ashanti.

Ja's been serving time in federal prison in upstate New York the past few years for illegal gun possession and his official release is next month. So, with his new freedom will Ja go back into the studio? With his distinct voice, smooth lyrics and keen sense for collaboration, I think he could show the current hip-hop game a thing or two.

Seriously though. I'd love to see Ja Rule reunite with J.Lo, or record with Jessie Ware, Solange, Gwen Stefani, Demi Lovato...the possibilities are endless, am I right? So tell me, who'd you like to see Ja Rule collaborate with?

The Wild Feathers Catch "Wind"

Nashville's The Wild Feathers have the blues rock thing down pat. They caught my attention at last year's SXSW, and since then, I've been patiently awaiting the release of their debut album. Looks like the wait's almost over. Paste just premiered The Wild Feathers' new track "Hard Wind", an impassioned and vindicated track about "opening your eyes" and not looking back. Listen at the link or watch them perform the song live above.

"Hard Wind" will be on The Wild Feathers' self-titled debut album, out August 6th via Warner Brothers. In the meantime you can catch them on tour with Willie Nelson. Yeah, you heard right.