Track of the Day: 'Winter Sun' by Sarah Williams White

A beautiful tribute to the awesome eternity of the sun, and in some ways a direct descendant of 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' by Roy Ayers, this trippy, soulful little number is a taster for the forthcoming mini-album 'Of The New World'. Sit back and let its rays wash over you.

Track of the Day: 'Queen' by Perfume Genius

The eagerly awaited new album from Perfume Genius 'Too Bright'  has just been announced (out on September 22nd). 'Queen' is the first track from it, and it's immense. After the fragile beauty of 'Put Your Back N 2 It' Mike Hadreas seems to have come out fighting and ready to take no prisoners. This is the sound of a man confident in who he is and what he's doing. "Don't you know your Queen, gleaming, wrapped in golden leaves?" he asks (an image that he forms himself on the album's cover), powerfully pitting himself on a pedestal for all to see. The music is clear and powerful, and as the words "No family is safe when I sashay" precede a powerful instrument chorus you really can imagine him strutting up and down like Cleopatra as the world bows before him.

I'm not sure if he's found love, therapy or both but whatever it is I'm loving this new version of him bring on the album!



Update: There's now a proper video for the song. It's brilliant.

Track of the Day: 'Hunger of the Pine' by Alt-J

The first track from the new album 'This Is All Yours' is starts with a solitary keyboard with a Wild Beasts feel to it, but soon develops into something more recognisably Alt-J. The usual percussive flourishes appear, along with what sounds like a clarinet and some sampled brass. It's not a radical departure, more an evolution, but one which tees up the new album nicely.



PS apparently that's Miley Cyrus you can hear as the sampled female voice. I bet none of you saw that coming!

Track of the Day: 'Brandished' by Wertheimer

This, my friends, is what can only be referred to as a Massive Tune (with a capital M and a capital T). Newly signed to Lex Records (home of Doom amongst others), Wertheimer have created a brooding masterpiece - 9 minutes of dark electronics and massive beats to take you through the long night. Hard-edged but not brutal, this is a tough loner of a record that you'd certainly get out of the way of, if it walked towards you down a dark alley. There's a hint of Burial for sure, and maybe a snatch of Mondkopf, but that's all to the good.



I've been unable to find out anything about the band (the name is pretty-much in-Googleable), even Lex Records, who've signed them, haven't got much on their website. The track is from a 3-track EP that will be released as a limited run of 500 on grey vinyl on 24th February - you can order a copy here.

Track of the Day: 'Dontcha' by The Internet

First single from the forthcoming album 'Feel Good'. The more of these Odd Future-related releases come out the more they show Tyler up to be the least talented member of the bunch. This track is slick, smooth and stylish and makes the new album another one to go straight on the 'must-purchase' pile.

Track of the Day: 'Amber Road (The Haxan Cloak Remix) by Cloud Boat

In which The Haxan Cloak takes something already dark and spooky and in his own inimitable style makes it about ten times more unsettling. The original version of the track comes from the album 'Book Of Hours' which was released earlier this year. A remix EP will be out on 30th September featuring this cut and mixes by Deptford Goth & Ghosting Season. If you're quick you can grab a free download of this track below - if you're too late then you'll just hvae to wait for the EP release.

Track of the Day: 'Bitter Rivals' by Sleigh Bells

A welcome return for the Brooklyn duo, with the title track of their next album, which will be out on October 7th. The track's deceptively simple, insanely catchy, and will have you nodding your head within the first 20 seconds. The longer ot went on the louder I turned it up and the better it sounded. It's a hard thing to make a simple record sound this good, but they've definitely hit the mark with this one.

Track of the Day: 'Blame Game (Sau Poler Remix)' by Favored Nations

Favored Nations are a trans-Pacific trio making sun-drenched dance music for discerning disco lovers. This remix of their current single 'Blame Game' from Barcelona resident Sao Poler steps up the samba rhythms and creates a confection of Balearic beats. It's hard to imagine any sort of summertime activity to which this wouldn't be a great soundtrack. Highly recommended for your pool party or beach BBQ, you can listen to the track or download it for free below.

Track of the Day: 'Rilo (Howes Remix)' by Seams

Weird things about the music industry #1,274 - the fact that remixes of tracks now appear before the original has even been released. It makes it difficult to tell how much of the track is original and how much is remix fuckery. But either way, this is a good track, with a bit of a Caribou / Daphni vibe and a lot of electronic goodness. Listen and download for free below.

Track of the Day: 'Prague' by Blaenavon

The first track to appear from this talented young trio's new release (and only the third track they've put out in total) does nothing to dispel my feelings that are definitely one of the best new acts to appear this year (in case you care my other two favourite new acts in 2013 are Drenge and Cloud). Alternating between moodily quite and powerfully loud, it's a showcase both for the lead singer's vocals and the band's musical prowess.

The Koso EP, from which this is taken, will be out as a 12" on Transgressive records (click here to buy it), but in the meantime you can stream the track below.



If you want to read what I said about Blaenavon when I first tipped them back in January click here.

Track of the Day: 'The Weight of Gold' by Forest Swords

Am absolutely stunning track from his forthcoming album on No Pain In Pop records. Deep and tribal, you just need to put it on and immerse yourself in the inky depths it conjures up. Listen below.

Track of the Day: 'Teenagers In Heat' by Holy Ghost!

It's a hot, hazy summer day in the city. What you need is the perfect soundtrack, something that brings together New Order-esque vocals with Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder 'Electric Dreams' instrumentation. To fill that need Holy Ghost! have kindly presented us with 'Teenagers In Heat', their new release on DFA Records. And then, like finding an ice-cream van at the end of the road dispensing complimentary 99s, they've given it away for free.

Listen and download below.

Track of the Day: 'Lesbian Wife' by Scott & Charlene's Wedding

I think this is the third track I've featured now from the marvellously-named Scott & Charlene's Wedding (henceforth referred to as SACW) and I think this may well be my favourite so far. There's something reassuringly familiar about it, I'm not sure whether it sounds like something in particular (that I can't quite put my finger on) or a mixture of lots of things that I've liked in the past. Either way it's great, the perfect mix of guitars, slacker vibes and entertaining lyrics.

The album 'Any Port In A Storm' is out on July 22nd on Fire Records, but in the meantime you can grab this great track for free below.

Track of the Day: 'Always Forever (Tuesday Born remix)' by Vondelpark

The new single from Vondelpark is out today, and to celebrate its release you can grab a free download of this mix of the track. Perfect for kicking back in the sunshine, this is a mellow, dreamy mix that's tailor-made for relaxing with a glass of something cold while the sun warms your bones.

Listen and download below.

Track of the Day: 'Mr. Martyr' by Young Fathers

The hotly-tipped Scottish (via Libya and Nigeria) trio are about to follow up their first release 'Tape One' with the less-than-imaginatively titled 'Tape Two'. From it comes this great slice of angst-ridden indie-rap, with a sung chorus that's more than a bit reminiscent of Kele Okereke from Bloc Party.



The album comes out in a couple of weeks on Anticon - you can pre-order it here on CD, vinyl or cassette. Read more about the band here.

Track of the Day: 'Papi' by Dean Blunt

There's one over-riding reason why this is track of the day, and that's the killer Pink Floyd sample it employs throughout the song. Add in some fantastic vocals from Mr Blunt, who was previously one half of Hype Williams, and you have a hypnotic, soulful groove that deserves playing over and over and over again.

The album that this is taken from, 'The Redeemer', came out last week, and by all accounts is a bit of a monster. I'll review it later in the week when I've had the chance to give it a good listen.

Track of the Day: 'Open Eye Signal (Nosaj Thing Remix)' by Jon Hopkins

One of four remixes of Hopkins' current single, which will be out in their own right on 12" vinyl and will also come with the Deluxe Edition of the new album 'Immunity' (out on June 3rd).

This is a cracking remix of an already great track that brings out the best of both artist and remixer. Although it's only short (less than half the length of the original) it really packs a punch, with some crisp squelchy bass and some great ticking percussion. Listen and download for free below.

Track of the Day: 'Fragment Two' by These New Puritans

These New Puritans are another band who've recently joined the list of exciting 'return' albums due out in 2013, along with the likes of Boards of Canada and Daft Punk. It's been three years since the Essex band put out the excellent 'Hidden' and now they'll be releasing 'Field of Reeds' next month.

As a taster for this you can listen to 'Fragment Two', which you can also get as an instant download if you pre-order the album from iTunes. It's a really well produced track - at times there's quite a lot going on while at others the instruments are really allowed space to breathe. If the rest of the record is as good as this then it could well be their masterpiece.

Track of the Day: 'Necromance Is Dead' by Drenge

Two brothers, two guitars, one drum kit. 102 seconds of vintage rock'n'roll / punkabilly with old school ("My baby") and new skool ("she's taking the piss") lyrics. Two different time signatures. A blistering closing 15 seconds and a lingering sense of pleasure.



Drenge are one of the most exciting bands I've heard for many a year, and if you don't agree you're either deaf or dead (or just a cunt fool). Listen & download above, tour dates below, go see 'em.

Track of the Day: 'Jeeper Creeper (PHON.O Rmx feat. Born In Flamez)' by Sinkane

Pretty unrecognisable from the (excellent) original, this brilliant mix by PHON.O will be on the 12" released on April 20th on City Slang. There's a great bassline, additional vocals from Born In Flamez, and the whole thing comes together in a package that will light up the dancefloor. The single will also feature mixes by Benjamin Damage and Africaine808. Check it out below.