Guilty Simpson & Madlib - "Cali Hills"-mp3

New from Detroit's hardest Guilty Simpson, from his collabo project with Madlib, OJ Simpson, droppin' May 18th on Stones Throw. On "Cali Hills" Guilty reminisces about J Dilla over Madlib's melodic stutterstep production.

Guilty Simpson & Madlib -"Cali Hills"-mp3
J Dilla -"Safety Dance"-mp3

Yeasayer -"Madder Red (Doctor Rosen Rosen Remix)"-mp3

While Yeasayer's new record Odd Blood is ultimately underwhelming, especially the second half where they seem to want to be Erasure, the singles "Ambling Alp" was terrific and "One" was aiight, "Madder Red" album version is awesome although the new remix by Doctor Rosen Rosen loses the intensity by turning the track into an lightweight ambient workout. Cheers to PMA.

Yeasayer
Sleigh Bells
Apr. 27th
First Ave

Erykah Badu -"Window Seat"-video

Remember "Neo-Soul"? It's like 2001 all over, Erykah Badu returns with another incense-burning soundtrack New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh), in stores Mar. 30th. Here's her clip for the best track, "Window Seat" with assist from James Poyser & Questlove. Video inspired by Matt & Kim.



Erykah Badu -Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)-mp3

St. Paul Slim -"Wax Garlic"-mp3

St.Paul Slim readies his debut solo jump Bald-Headed Samsun, out May 4th. Slim always goes hard, here he gets a bit experimental. Slim will celebrating his record release party and debuting his new band May 1st at Barfly in Minneapolis. Shout out NJ's finest Rock The Dub.

St. Paul Slim -"Wax Garlic"-mp3

Lookbook -"Over and Over"-video/mp3

Lookbook



Minneapolis electronica darlings Lookbook continue to raise their profile with a new swanky new limited-edition vinyl version of their long-player Wild At Heart on Listening Party. "Over and Over" clip directed by Bo Hakala (P.O.S.). Shouts to Above The Fold.

Lookbook -"Over and Over"-mp3
Lookbook -"Over and Over (Gigamesh Remix)"-mp3

Flying Lotus ft. Thom Yorke -"...And The World Laughs With You"-mp3

It's incredibly brief,Flying Lotus connects with Radiohead's Thom Yorke for a dose of glittery, glitchy electronica off Flying Lotus upcoming Cosmogramma album due out May 4th on Warp. Flylo makes an appearance in Minneapolis via Red Bull Academy's On the Floor right before he starts a string of support dates with Yorke's new band Atoms For Peace.

Flying Lotus
Kode 9
Apr. 3rd
Barfly

Flying Lotus ft. Thom Yorke -"...And The World Laughs With You"-mp3

Broken Social Scene -"Forced To Love" & "All To All" (stream)

Toronto's Broken Social Scene may have stripped their team down from 12-15 players to a core group of 6, they still rock with the fury of a thousand bees buzzing. Their John McEntire (Tortiose) produced Forgiveness Rock Record out May 4th on Arts & Crafts. Check out their new site to hear "Forced To Love" and "All To All".

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon - "Dangerous"-mp3

Wu-Tang's trio go hard on riot-starting "Dangerous", you can almost hear the concrete break. Meth, Ghost & Rae's Wu-Massacre out Mar.30th.

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon -"Dangerous"-mp3

Gayngs -“The Gaudy Side of Town”-mp3

The uber-sexy first track from Gayngs, a Minneapolis & Eau Claire version of Broken Social Scene, inspired by 10cc's "I'm Not In Love." The brainchild of producer Ryan Olson (Digitata/Building Better Bombs) along with Solid Gold's Zach Coulter,Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and blossomed into an epic AM radio, soft-rock lovefest co-starring P.O.S., Lookbook, Michael Lewis (Happy Apple, Andrew Bird), Megafaun, Channy Moon-Casselle (Roma di Luna), James Buckley (Mystery Palace), Dessa (Doomtree), and many others. The Gayngs debut Relayted arrives as a digital download, CD, and double vinyl package on May 11th on Jagjaguwar. Shout out Fader.

Gayngs
May 14th
First Aveune

Gayngs -“The Gaudy Side of Town”-mp3
Gayngs -“The Gaudy Side of Town”-video teaser

Jónsi -"Time To Pretend (MGMT cover)"-mp3

Sigur Ros frontman Jónsi covers MGMT's "Time To Pretend" live on BBC Radio 1. Jónsi's debut solo jump Go, out Apr. 7th, MGMT's new Congratulations, out April 14th. Cheers to Songs to Save

Jónsi
Apr. 24th, 25th
Pantages Theatre
Minneapolis

Jónsi -"Time To Pretend (MGMT cover)"-mp3
Jónsi -"Go Do (Acoustic)"-mp3

Dum Dum Girls -"I Will Be"-mp3

While there's nothing revolutionary about being inspired by The Ronettes and Vaselines, still the Dum Dum Girls make charming 2 minute romps full of oohs and ahhs over garage-rock riffs. Cute rumored back story of librarian in love with Phil Spector girl goups turned indie rock retro champion. Debut longplayer I Will Be on Sub Pop Mar. 30th. Cheers to The Decibel Tolls.

Dum Dum Girls -"I Will Be"-mp3

Erykah Badu -"Strawberry Incense (prod. by Madlib)"-mp3

Baglady keeps it very minimal on new Madlib produced "Strawberry Incense" off New Amerykah Part 2, Mar. 30th. via P & P.

Erykah Badu -"Strawberry Incense (prod. by Madlib)"-mp3

Rusko -"Da Cali Anthem" -mp3

Mad Decent's latest, U.K.'s breakout dubstep artist/producer Rusko (M.I.A.). Here Rusko goes in on Tupac's "California Love".

Major Lazer
Rusko
Apr. 11th
First Avenue

Rusko -"Da Cali Anthem"-mp3

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon - "Miranda"-mp3

On "Miranda" Wu-Tang's kingpin trio of Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon go vintage, raw with some sex talk, from the upcoming Wu Massacre, out Mar. 30th. There's a limited edition 7″ on purple vinyl for Raekwon's "Flawless Crowns",check it out at BoundlessNY. Peace to You Heard That New & NahRight.

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon -"Miranda"-mp3
Raekwon -"Flawless Crowns"-mp3

Freeway & Jake One -"African Drums"-mp3

An Itunes bonus track from Freeway & Jake One's hard-hittin' Stimulus Package. Freeway and Jake One have great chemistry, especially through the first side, check my review of Stimulus Package at Above The Fold. Shout out Shake.

Freeway & Jake One -"African Drums"-mp3
Freeway & Jake One -"Always N' Forever"-mp3

BNLX -"You Left Me"-mp3

Mysterious new Minneapolis band BNLX leaked a track "Do Without" a few weeks back, here's another, my personal favorite from their hook-heavy 4 track EP# 1. "You Left Me" sounds like a missing Interpol song as the singer pleads "Don't leave me here, don't be aloof, you don't want me, this is the proof".

Red Rens
BNLX
Mercurial Rage
Black Sky Blackout
Mar. 20th
Sauce Spirits and Soundbar

BNLX -"You Left Me"-mp3

Flying Lotus -"Dance Of The Pseudo Nymph"-mp3

Alice Coltrane's nephew, abstract beatmaker/producer Flying Lotus follows up his brilliant Los Angeles, with Cosmogramma on Warp May 4th. Radiohead's Thom Yorke makes an appearance on "..And The World Laughs With You". shout out the good folks at Super 45

Flying Lotus
Apr. 3rd
Barfly
Minneapolis

Flying Lotus -"Dance Of The Pseudo Nymph"-mp3
Radiohead -"Recokner (Flying Lotus Remix)"-mp3

Foals -"Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix)"-mp3

New from The U.K.'s Foals, from upcoming Total Life Forever, on Sub Pop May 11th. "Spanish Sahara" gets the business on the Mount Kimbie Remix with claps, bass kicks and percussion, organs and guitars in a wash of white noise. cheers to Palms Out

Foals -"Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix)"-mp3

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim ft.Santigold -"Please Don't"-video

Santigold's contribution to David Byrne & Fatboy Slim's conceptual Here Lies Love. The video runs through a montage of archival footage of former flamboyant Philippine President Imelda Marcos. Here Lies Love is out Mar.23rd.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim ft. Santigold -"Please Don't"-mp3

Metric -"Black Sheep"-mp3

Metric's new track "Black Sheep" from director friend Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) new movie called "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World".

Metric -"Black Sheep"-mp3
Metric -"Don't Think Twice (Bob Dylan)"-mp3

Mos Def -"Taxi"-mp3

A new melodic joint from Mos Def, off Ski Beat's 24 Hour Karate School droppin' this spring. shout out NR & Potholes In My Blog

Mos Def -"Taxi"-mp3
Reflection Eternal ft. Jay Electronica,Mos Def -"Just Begun"-mp3
Jay Electronica -"Exhibit C (Astronote Remix)"-mp3

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon -”Youngstown Heist”-mp3

Wu-Tang's boss trio Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon's latest leak from their upcoming Wu-Massacre with the grimy crime narrative "Youngstown Heist", co-starring Trife Diesel, Sheek Louch & Bully. Wu-Massacre is coming out Mar.30th on DefJam. Raekwon tells MTV that despite their rushed schedule and small budget the record while not revolutionary will please Wu fans "It's a couple of joints on there you're gonna like," Rae said. "We're not all on the same joint, because we think that's kinda corny". Check my review of Raekwon's excellent hardcore opus Only Built 4 Cuban Linx PT.II at Culture Bully.

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon -"Youngstown Heist"-mp3
GZA, Masta Killa & Inspectah Deck -"Steppin' 2 Me"-mp3

The Besnard Lakes - "Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt 1 , The Innocent"-mp3

Montreal's modern shoegazers The Besnard Lakes, led by the husband and wife team of multi-instrumentalist/producer Jace Lasek (Wolf Parade, Land Of Talk) and bassist Olga Goreas. On their third full length The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, they bring back the pastoral glory of My Bloody Valentine, Lush and Slowdive. via Song By Toad

The Besnard Lakes
Apr. 27th
7th St. Entry

Besnard Lakes -”Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt 1 , The Innocent”-mp3

Liars –“Proud Evolution (Thom Yorke 50qd Remix)” -mp3

Experimental noise rockers, The Lairs just released their unexpectedly listenable and surprisingly awesome new Sisterworld. On their recent move form Berlin,Germany back to Los Angeles front man, screamer Angus Andrew explains "We're interested in the alternate spaces people create in order to maintain identity in a city like LA. Environments where outcasts and loners celebrate a skewered relationship to society." The bonus is the deluxe edition with "interpretations" by heavyweight friends in Thom Yorke, Blonde Redhead, Tunde Adebimpe (TVOTR),Devendra Banhart, Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound), The Melvins, Alan Vega and Chris & Cosey. shout out TheMusic.FM

Liars –“Proud Evolution (Thom Yorke 50qd Remix)”-mp3 (removed)
Liars -"Scissor"-mp3

A.R.M. ft Slug (Atmosphere) -"Fear of the Mundane” -mp3

M.anifest (Ghana/Minneapolis), Krukid (Uganda/Vegas/IL) with Budo (Seattle/Brooklyn) on production formed A.R.M. to represent the various new African voices in hop-hop and recruits Atmosphere's Slug for a melodic banger "Fear of the Mundane" off the upcoming A.R.M. EP Two Africans and a Jew. "Fear of the Mundane" is available now on Itunes. The EP is a pre-cursor to the summer release of A.R.M's full length Uprising with assist from Brother Ali and Tumi (of Tumi and the Volume, South Africa).
"Fear of the Mundane"


A.R.M. ft. Slug (Atmosphere)-Fear of the Mundane”-mp3
A.R.M. ft. Brother Ali-"Heaven Only Knows"-mp3

jj -“I Know” -mp3

More lo-fi, slightly r&b flavored pop from Swedish duo jj. Not as great as the breakout, drug-soaked "Ecstasy" from jj no.2. There is something charming about a line like "I know you heard this before, even though I act like a whore, I think your a bore". "I Know" is the on vinyl-only version of new jj no.3 out now on Secretly Canadian.

xx
jj
Nosaj Thing
Apr. 9th
Varsity Theather

jj -"I Know"-mp3
jj -"Ectasy"-mp3
xx -"Islands (Nosaj Thing Remix)"-mp3

Mally -"On The Way Up (prod by Mydus)"-mp3

Mally is the most promising rookie amongst the Twin Cities diverse yet, over-crowed "I rap too" scene. Keep your eyes and ears open for this gifted young lyricist. Mally's attention to detail is impeccable, lacing thoughtful narratives and witty punchlines over the melodic production of Mydus (Freddie Gibbs) off his upcoming The Quality of Mind. Check out Mally's interviews with Kevin Nottingham and Culture Bully.

Mally -"On The Way Up (prod by Mydus)"-mp3
Mally -"The Savior"-mp3

MGMT “Flash Delirium” -mp3

The first new music from psychedelic wonder boys MGMT, from their highly anticipated Congratulations. Curious about the new direction "Flash Delirium"? MGMT's Ben Goldwasser offers "When we first wrote that song, we were laughing so hard. Andrew [VanWyngarden] just reminded me of that, that we thought it was the funniest thing we'd ever heard. And then we got used to it, it started to sound more normal. It's not a single, but we thought it was a good way to entice people to listen to the whole record. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think it's completely weird and not what they were expecting. I'm sorry." Sorry Yeasayer, MGMT want their jobs back. Shout out We All Want Someone.

MGMT -"Flash Delirium"-mp3

Kid Cudi ft. MGMT & Ratatat -"Pursuit Of Happiness"-video

KiD CuDi's alternate video for "Pursuit Of Happiness", his collabo with MGMT & Ratatat. Kid CuDi's debut Man On The Moon:End Of Day reviewed at CultureBully. Check his new joint with Big Snoop Dogg produced by Austin "Watts" Garrick and Rashad "Ringo" Smith of Tumblin’ Dice Productions. Whaddup Rashad.

KiD CuDi ft. MGMT & Ratatat -"Pursuit Of Happiness"-mp3
KiD CuDi ft. Snoop Dogg -"I Do My Thing"-mp3

Jonsi - "Tornado"-mp3

Another gorgeous track from Sigur Ros frontman, Jonsi. With a fragile chorus Jonsi pleads "You kill from the inside" and makes it sound joyful with the intricate, looping, arrangements of composer Nico Muhly (Bjork/Grizzly Bear). Everything I've heard from the upcoming solo jump Go is a winner. Although I've only heard 4 tracks, Go is already on my favorite records of year list, it's out April 6th on XL Recordings. Shout out We All Want Someone.

Jonsi -"Tornado"-mp3

Moonstone Continuum -“Erotic Banquet”-mp3

Minneapolis latest entry into the new psychedelic scene, the cult-like posse Moonstone Continuum, the leaders of this expanding retro camp have just released their epic-like debut NR: 4;3.1-3, on Totally Gross National Product. The music is amazing, sprawling prog-rock passages, loaded with sexy bells and whistles. However one must be warned of their sermon as vocals where frothy lectures serve as spiritual guide but there's definitely something ambitious here. The packaging alone is collectable, the vinyl-only release comes in full color gatefold jaket, with one 150g 12” record, a soft-cover 23 page booklet of written works by Rev. M. Micha Mackert. City Pages' David Hansen explores Moonstone's Micah Mackert unraveling prog-rock prophecy.

Also check for the sexy and more throwback 80's scuzz-rock of Phantom Tails who are currently working on follow up 2008 demo The Sounds Of The Hunchback Whale, which included "All Good Things", which also appears on the 8Hz collective's vinyl compilation. Both bands will plat at free in-store at Electric Fetus Thurs. March 11th.

Moonstone Continuum
Phantom Tails
Mar. 11th
Electric Fetus Records

Moonstone Continuum –"Erotic Banquet"-mp3
Phantom Tails -"All Good Things"-mp3

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon - "Criminology 2.5"-mp3

The 3 kings of the Wu-Tang empire go in on one of their own classics "Criminolgy" off Raekwon's purple tape classic Only Built For Cuban Linx. Off the highly anticipated Meth, Ghost and Rae album Wu Massacre, out Mar. 30th on DefJam. Shout out 2db

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon -"Criminology 2.5"-mp3
Raekwon - "Wally’s & Pringles(prod. Alchemist)"-mp3

BNLX -"Do Without"-mp3

Mysterious new Anglophile pop from BNLX on Minneapolis' Susstones label. BNLX's sound in big with huge Brit-pop choruses and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-style riffs wrapped in boy/girl vocals. BNLX new four-song ep, EP #1 includes their breakout hit, the raucous rocker "Do Without". My favorite is the Interpol jump "You Left Me", EP #1 also includes the cheeky "LMAO (CMEO)" and alt-rock radio contender "Row Row". BNLX list e.a, a.a., knobby and blinky in the credits, that would assume that husband-wife team of Ed Ackerson (Polara) and Ashley Ackerson (Moodswings) are involved. Mixed by Paul Q. Koiderie, that may explain the extra production gloss.

BNLX
Red Pens
Mercurial Rage
Blue Sky Blackout (acoustic)
Mar. 20th
Sauce Spirits & Soundbar

BNLX -"Do Without"-mp3
Red Pens -"Hung Out"-mp3