ListenUp
From music vet Shuggie Otis’ new album to the debut of Man Tear, our recap of the songs we Tweeted last week
Lord Huron: Lonesome Dreams
Lord Huron delivered “part one in an exciting series of adventures” with their video for “Lonesome Dreams,” the third track on their album of the same name. Cleverly, “Lonesome Dreams” is also the name of a series of books written by George Ranger Johnson, an author that despite having a website, really only exists in Lord Huron’s world. Through bandleader Ben Schneider’s lyrics and LA-based director Evan Weinerman’s gripping visual raconteur, the Western-like story of Lonesome Dreams begins to unfold and has us eagerly awaiting what’s next.
Man Tear: Outside Amore
A new Swedish duo made up of Studio Barnhus musicians Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist, Man Tear tapped Bowman’s cousin and regular collaborator (and successful filmmaker) Johan Jonason to lend his vocals for their debut track “Outside Amore,” now out on DFA. Perfectly catchy in its stream of tambourine beats, synths and a “trilling slab of spacious disco,” the tune’s appeal is only amplified by the bizarre but entertaining video, directed by Axel Petersén.
James Blake: Overgrown
Two years after his groundbreaking debut, this week young British artist James Blake released his sophomore album, Overgrown, which showcases a more focused and determined musician. He explains in a recent interview with The Guardian that the title track is inspired by a meeting with Joni Mitchell, who offered up some advice on how to build a career with legs and still be around “when everything’s overgrown.” Check out the entire album on iTunes, including a track with Wu-Tang’s RZA.
ADULT.: Tonight, We Fall
Telling label Ghostly International this is “the closest we have come to writing traditional ‘pop’ songs, even though we know they are totally mutants,” Adult. husband-and-wife- duo Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller loosen their Detroit electro-punk roots in favor of a slightly more digestible sound on their fifth album to date with silvery songs like “Tonight, We Fall.” But the experimental twosome haven’t entirely abandoned their macabre take on music: the tracks on The Way Things Fall grew from the soundtrack for the trilogy of horror films they’ve been working on recent years.
Shuggie Otis: Destination You!
Inspiration Information is particularly special around CH—it’s not only one of our favorite Shuggie Otis albums but its title track was also our founders’ official wedding song. So we couldn’t be more excited about the album reissue, which is packaged along with Wings of Love, Otis’ first new album in nearly 40 years. Funky psychedelic grooves like “Destination You!” prove the soul man not only still has incredible dexterity, but will continue to be a major influence on musicians of all genres.
