88nine is the place to go for new music. If you feel like your playlist is getting a little stale, and you already played out last week’s album, this column is for you. Every week, our DJs have been listen to the newest/latest. We get albums from distributors, local musicians, and music blogs like this one. Then we meet on Monday and listen to our favorite tracks. The top four get posted to New Music Wednesday, and usually the rest get left on the cutting room floor. This is their chance for redemption! These songs are great, and a lot of effort went into selecting them. We dug them, so we thought you might dig them
1. Mac Demarco- Passing Out Pieces
There is something charming about Mac Demarco. He has a gap in his teeth, his clothes hang loose, he seems laid back, he has even been known to hum guitar riffs at his shows. Passing Out Pieces sounds like you are in a smoke filled room where everything is slowing down to just the right speed, and some of the Beatles older psych stuff is lazily spinning as Mac Demarco smiles at you and makes up words of his own that somehow all make sense.
Mac Demarco’s album Salad Days will be released on Captured Tracks and will be available on April 1 st.
2. PHOX- Noble Heart
“Yours is a noble heart, I don’t deserve to hold.” Is the refrain sung by Monica Martin, lead singer of PHOX. It’s the kind of line that you hear with a specific person in mind. Or you hope that someone, somewhere, (hopefully Monica Martin herself) has you in mind as they sing this song. The song is a heart breaker. PHOX has not said when exactly their first album will drop, but when it does, expect to take your heart.
PHOX "Noble Heart" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
3. Nasimiyu- Even In The Dark
Nasimiyu sees the big picture. She is half Kenyan, half Scandinavian, Minneapolis born, currently in Brooklyn, the video for Even In The Dark was shot in 12 cities around the globe. Even In The Dark is a treatise on what it is to be an unencumbered citizen of the world. The song inspires us to see past the confinements that we make for ourselves and see the beauty in our brightest ideas, and even in the dark. Her EP, Dirt will be available January 24 th.
4. Lizzo- Paris
In Paris, Lizzo takes the clichéd and over romanticized idea and squashes it with one turn of phrase. When the hook hits at 1:20, Lizzo asks, “Have you ever been to Paris?” and unexpectedly answers, “Neither have I.” It’s funny and clever at the same time. It’s also just a great song. Lizzo recently made an appearance with “Paris” on HBO’s Girls. Her 2013 album LIZZOBANGERS was produced by Doomtree's Lazerbeak and released by Totally Gross National Product is out now.
5. Vampire Weekend (feat. Danny Brown, Heems, and Despot) Step remix
Vampire Weekend delivered one of the most acclaimed albums of 2013, Modern Vampires of the City, which was voted the no. 1 album of the year by our Milwaukee listeners and others alike, such as Rolling Stone Magazine. To start out the new year, Vampire Weekend shared a “wintertime remix” of their track “Step,” which features rappers Danny Brown, Heems, and Despot. The composition of the original song, “Step,” contains harpsichord and piano that accompanies front man Ezra Koenig's clever lyrics about Modest Mouse and his own insecurities. “Step” was built around the early nineties hip-hop track “Step to My Girl,” so on the remix, each rapper uses this hip-hop back story to put their own spin on the track as they reminisce about past relationships. It may seem like an unusual collaboration at first, but it turns out that the beat provides a perfect blend with the rappers.
Vampire Weekend - Step (feat. Danny Brown, Heems & Despot) (Wintertime Remix) (2013)