CONFIRMED: Bjork’s Biophilia Live Show and Education Series Takes Over NYC in February!
I woke up this morning to emails listing four nights of Björk at Roseland Ballroom and just mere moments ago (finally!) it was confirmed! BJÖRK BRINGS BIOPHILIA LIVE SHOW AND EDUCATION SERIES TO NEW YORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CREATORS PROJECT AND NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE ONLY CONFIRMED U.S. PERFORMANCES OF WHAT WALL ST. JOURNAL CALLS A “MAGICAL EVENING” WILL TAKE PLACE AT NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE AND ROSELAND BALLROOM.
Get ready and get your tickets fast! More info below via the press release:
In partnership with The Creators Project and the New York Hall of Science, Björk is set to bring her live Biophilia show to New York City for a special 10-night residency. Six performances will take place at the New York Hall of Science, (http://www.nysci.org/) New York City’s only hands-on science and technology museum (located just across the Grand Central Parkway from Arthur Ashe Stadium and Citi Field in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park). There will also be four performances in the round at Roseland Ballroom (www.livenation.com) located at 239 West 52nd Street.
BJÖRK BIOPHILIA NEW YORK RESIDENCY
New York Hall of Science: February 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18
Roseland Ballroom: February 22, 25, 28; March 2
Stream: Björk – Declare Independence
Lykke Li Shares a Free Download of “The Lost Sessions Vol. 1″
Lykke Li
A holiday treat via Lykke Li‘s (our #6 Artist of 2011) e-mail newsletter:
I’d thought I’d give you this to put in your little players, either stick it in your ears or play it loud when the lights are low, mind weary and days rainy.
Remember; life is a process, no feeling is final.
There is no end and no beginning.
Yours truly always,
Lykke Li
PS: If you like it you are welcome to spread it on those little Internet waves. Maybe send it like a little gift or a kindly flu filled kiss. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. VOL . 1 ( !!!!!)
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The Best Albums of 2011 | Tastes Like Caramel
Each year seems to have a theme here (2010 being the year of the weird) and by the looks of this list one might rightfully assume that 2011 was the year of the angst. For me it was a year to rebuild and empower. It was the year of protest: Egyptian protests/revolution, the questionable England riots, Occupy Wall Street. It was a year that many people were without jobs, Amy Winehouse died, an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Charlie Sheen and the Kardashians over-saturated the media. It was also the bittersweet year that Osama Bin Laden was killed.
However there was a very present sense of optimism throughout, Britney Spears even got engaged for a third time! 2011 also saw the release of a lot of great albums, and ones that I initially wrote off upon first listen (ie: Florence + The Machine). It was also the year that Spotify came to the US!
Check out the top 15 best albums of 2011 according to yours truly and stream tracks from each album via the Spotify playlist below:
Tastes Like Caramel’s Best Albums of 2011 Sampler.
Agree/disagree with this list? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Previous year-end lists can be seen here.
Number 1
Artist: Cold Cave; Album: Cherish The Light Years
Label: Matador Records
Released: April 5, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: BBC Music’s Adam Kennedy wrote “From the crashing, urgently dramatic announcing bars of The Great Pan Is Dead, sheens of gothic 1980s veneer actually conceal something much deeper, more uncomfortable. A nocturnal shot of adrenaline to the heart of a paranoid urban dweller, Eisold’s coal-black, almost deadpan delivery booms over synths at times misleadingly bright and airy.”
Stream: Underworld USA
Purchase Cherish The Light Years
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Number 2
Artist: Yuck; Album: Yuck
Label: Fat Possum Records/Mercury Records
Released: February 15, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: Rolling Stone‘s J. Edward Keyes rated the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “The members of Yuck were in diapers when indie rock was exploding in the early Nineties, but from the sound of the London band’s rambunctious debut, someone was slipping import seven-inch singles onto their nursery stereos. …Yuck channel their college-rock jones with skill and charm, balancing in-the-red guitar fuzz with melodic sweetness.”
Stream: Get Away
Purchase Yuck
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Number 3
Artist: Zola Jesus; Album: Conatus
Label: Sacred Bones
Released: October 4, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: Cheryl Waters of NPR Music wrote “Conatus finds Nika Danilova, a.k.a. Zola Jesus, pushing the boundaries of her previous work to create an album filled with hauntingly beautiful songs. It also shows her taking a giant leap forward in production, with big arrangements in songs both fierce and fragile — and, for the first time, live string instruments.”
Stream: In Your Nature
Purchase Conatus
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Number 4
Artist: The Horrors; Album: Skying
Label: XL
Released: July 11, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 5
Peak on US Charts: 97
Recognition: BBC Music‘s Mike Diver wrote, “There’s no fault to be found with Skying – truly, every song here hits its mark… From the most incongruous of beginnings, The Horrors have become national treasures in waiting, and now possess the ability to realise any ambitions”.
Stream: You Said
Purchase Skying
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Number 5
Artist: Florence + The Machine; Album: Ceremonials
Label: Universal Music/Islands Records
Released: October 28, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 1
Peak on US Charts: 6
Recognition: Q Magazine named Ceremonials the Best Album of 2011.
Stream: Only If For A Night
Purchase Ceremonials
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Number 6
Artist: Lykke Li; Album: Wounded Rhymes
Label: LL/Atlantic Records
Released: February 25, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 37
Peak on US Charts: 36
Recognition: The Guardian‘s Michael Cragg rated the album 4/5 and wrote “Lyrically, Li flits between aggressor (Get Some’s provocative “I’m your prostitute, you gonna get some”) and victim (all of Sadness Is a Blessing), while the closing Silent My Song features a line that sums up Li’s own approach to songwriting: “You see pain like it is pleasure, like a work of art”. The pain was worth it.”
Stream: Love Out of Lust
Purchase Wounded Rhymes
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Number 7
Artist: Friendly Fires; Album: Pala
Label: XL
Released: May 16, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 6
Peak on US Charts: 152
Recognition: BBC Music’s Lou Thomas wrote “Friendly Fires have already proved themselves, but this second effort is a mighty step upwards. It is another terrific, clattering celebration of an album that sounds nothing like its peers, but hopefully will be rewarded with sales to dwarf Lady Gaga’s. That may be ridiculously unlikely, but the best thing about Pala is that it leaves you thinking anything might be possible.”
Stream: Pala
Purchase Pala
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Number 8
Artist: Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie Xx; Album: We’re New Here
Label: XL
Released: February 21, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 33
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: Ben Ratliff of The New York Times wrote “To its great credit it’s high and low and all over the place. The dislocation works: the record has patience and breadth and almost zero pretension.”
Stream: I’ll Take Care of You
Purchase We’re New Here
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Number 9
Artist: Bjork; Album: Biophilia
Label: One Little Indian/Polydor
Released: October 5, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 21
Peak on US Charts: 27
Recognition: NME’s Luke Turner rated Biophilia 9/10 and wrote “‘Biophilia’ is like this, a wonderful distillation of ideas, playful and serious, intimate yet the most fantastic journey. It is that rarest of things, a record so particular to Björk’s own artistry that no-one could ever hope to replicate it. In these wide-eyed hymns for a secular, scientific age, Björk Guðmundsdóttir has got the whole world in her lungs.”
Stream: Mutual Core
Purchase Biophilia
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Number 10
Artist: M83; Album: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Label: Mute
Released: October 18, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 44
Peak on US Charts: 15
Recognition: Ian Cohen of Pitchfork rated the album 9.1/10 and wrote “Hurry Up [serves] as a framework to realize the marvelous capability of our dreams and daily lives, should we be open to experiencing it.”
Stream: Midnight City
Purchase Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
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Number 11
Artist: The Rapture; Album: In the Grace of Your Love
Label: DFA/Modular
Released: September 2, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: Paul Rice of Slant Magazine rated the album 4/5 and wrote “the Rapture has never sounded so confident in what they’re doing. Jenner’s voice lacks the same nervous energy it had on the band’s last two albums; his words are often huge and soaring, as on the chorus of “Sail Away.”
Stream: Come Back To Me
Purchase In the Grace of Your Love
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Number 12
Artist: Active Child; Album: You Are All I See
Label: Vagrant Records
Released: August 23, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: John Calvert of Drowned in Sound rated the album 9/10 and wrote “Made up of a collection of moments, each one possessed of the purity and sparkle of expensive diamonds, You Are All I See may be slight and one-note, but its one idea is executed to perfection: the idea of perfection itself. “
Stream: You Are All I See
Purchase You Are All I See
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Number 13
Artist: Feist; Album: Metals
Label: Cherrytree/Polydor
Released: October 4, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 28
Peak on US Charts: 7
Recognition: Entertainment Weekly’s Melissa Maerz graded the album a B+ and wrote “Metals, which borrows from jazz and blues, is an artfully arranged opus with such natural beauty, it should be certified organic.”
Stream: A Commotion
Purchase Metals
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Number 14
Artist: Metronomy; Album: The English Riviera
Label: Because
Released: April 8, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: 28
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: The album was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize. NME‘s Mike Williams rated the album 9/10 and wrote “A fearless progression to make you think again as Joe Mount reimagines both his childhood haunts and his band.”
Stream: We Broke Free
Purchase The English Riviera
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Number 15
Artist: Pictureplane; Album: Thee Physical
Label: Lovepump United
Released: July 18, 2011
Peak on UK Charts: n/a
Peak on US Charts: n/a
Recognition: Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork rated the album 7/10 and wrote “Thee Physical wants to mosh in the punk club as much as it wants to throw on some lip gloss and hit the town.”
Stream: Trancegender
Purchase Thee Physical
Glasser Played Printed Matter’s Holiday Party at 285 Kent + Video
The last few times I was able to catch Glasser‘s live show were at Fader Fort’s CMJ Showcase and at Music Hall of Williamsburg in support of GAYNGS both in October of 2010. Fantastic sets as they were, I’ve been anxious for over a year to catch Cameron Mesirow shine (literally, check out her outfit) for her own proper show.
Glasser live at 285 Kent
Glasser played the Printed Matter holiday benefit after midnight with support from Wires Under Tension and Certain Distortion (both great bands to check out) at the intimate DIY venue 285 Kent. I found myself dancing shoulder to shoulder with kids nearly half my age for this truly electric set, featuring live versions of songs from Ring that packed an extra punch. I spoke briefly with producer Van Rivers after the show and he mentioned that Glasser has been busy with new material and will not be playing any area shows for some time (good and bad news). Hopefully the wait will not be as long and painful this time around!
Check out live videos of Plane Temp and Mirrorage below, unfortunately the lighting was red and dim. Oh and in case you didn’t know, Cameron and I are bffs now:
Stream: Glasser – Learn (John Talabot Remix)
New Sleigh Bells Track: Born To Lose
Sleigh Bells Live at Rose Bar, NYC September 2010
Sleigh Bells just premiered the first track from their upcoming album Reign of Terror on Zane Lowe/the internet. Check out a stream of Born to Lose below! I love it, what do you think? Learn more about Reign of Terror here.
Don’t Miss The Advance Screening of “Don’t Think” Starring The Chemical Brothers
Tickets are still available for the advance theatrical screening of The Chemical Brothers‘ concert film “Don’t Think”. On January 26th, 2012, the live concert film will be shown on 20 screens in 20 cities across the world. Visit DontThinkFilm.com to book your tickets now!
Filmed with 20 cameras at a headline show at Japan’s very own Glastonbury – Fujirock Festival - Don’t Think is the first time the full Chemical Brothers’ live experience has been captured on film. Directed by long-term visuals collaborator Adam Smith this full-length concert movie places cameras in the centre of the stage as well as at the very heart of the crowd to perfectly capture a fan’s eye view of the heightened emotional reactions of the audience seeing the band at their very best.
Tom Rowlands: “In the recording of a single show – a single night on a Japanese mountainside – Adam Smith, our long time collaborator, has managed to capture the atmosphere of a very special festival appearance. Come see how it feels to feel, be overwhelmed, intoxicated, swoonerated… Surrender to the void”
Ed Simons: “This film is the closest I will ever get to being at a Chemical Brothers show… and yeah, it’s a beautiful experience.”
Stream: The Chemical Brothers – Don’t Think (Bonus Track)
Ke$ha Enlists T.I., Wiz Khalifa, Lil’ Wayne & Andre 3000 for Sleazy Remix 2.0; Successfully Covers Bob Dylan
Two weeks ago a few friends and I sat a table over from Ke$ha in a New York City bar, anxious to see some of the self-proclaimed sleazy popstar’s antics in the flesh. Unfortunately (?) she was just as normal as you and I. Little did I know that she was sitting on this Sleazy 2.0 track, enlisting a slew of some of rap’s best.
And then from the left field, Ke$ha decided to cover Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright for Amnesty International. Check out streams for both tracks and look out for K$’s second proper album in 2012. Earlier this year I caught one of my favorite guilty/sleazy pleasures live on tour.
Ladyhawke’s Sophomore Album “Anxiety” To Be Released in March 2012
Last week details of Ladyhawke‘s long-awaited follow up to 2008′s self-titled debut was shared via her label Modular Recordings. The album titled Anxiety will be released on March 16th following the release of lead single Black, White & Blue. Check out an album teaser along with the tracklisting below.
Ladyhawke on Anxiety: “I’ve made an album I’m really proud of, so I just can’t wait to start playing with the band again, and touring and having some fun. I can’t wait to get back into it.”
Anxiety Tracklisting
1. Girl Like Me
2. Sunday Drive
3. Black, White & Blue
4. Vaccine
5. Blue Eyes
6. Vanity
7. The Quick & The Dead
8. Anxiety
9. Cellophane
10. Gone Gone Gone
Stream: Ladyhawke- Paris is Burning (Peaches Remix)
The Big Pink Cover “Mayonaise” by The Smashing Pumpkins + Album Details
'Future This' Cover Art
The Big Pink‘s highly-anticipated sophomore album Future This is just over a month away from it’s release on January 16th (UK) & 17th (US). In preparation for their In Studio session with Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 program, the band shared a hotel rehearsal clip of their cover of Mayonaise by The Smashing Pumpkins. Check out their fantastic cover below along with the tracklisting for Future This.
The Big Pink also recently chatted with SPIN Magazine. Follow The Big Pink’s Tumblr.
Future This Track List:
1. Stay Gold
2. Hit The Ground (Superman)
3. Give It Up
4. The Palace
5. 1313
6. Rubbernecking
7. Jump Music
8. Lose Your Mind
9. Future This
10. 77
Stream: The Big Pink – Hit The Ground (Superman)
Stream: Spector – Grey Shirt & Tie (Big Pink Remix)
Sleigh Bells Share Sophomore Album Details + Tour Dates with Diplo and Liturgy
As reported on Friday Sleigh Bells will be releasing their sophomore album Reign of Terror next year, and have shared details of the upcoming release today. Reign of Terror will be unleashed on Valentine’s Day February 14, 2012 via Mom + Pop Music with a support tour of Florida with fellow Floridian Diplo and Brooklyn’s Liturgy.
The album is deliciously described in the press release as: “Engineered by Shane Stoneback, who helped to record Treats, songs on Reign of Terror are as crushing and authoritative as their title suggests; they’re effortlessly robust and heavier than any of the band’s previous output, but more melodic as well, the sonic equivalent of a beautiful shotgun to the head. Packed densely with stomping beats, shredding Jackson guitar riffs, sinister ribbons of Alexis Krauss’ candy-coated vocals, and the cries of a pep rally gone terribly wrong, Reign of Terror is a record that, like its predecessor, redefines everything you think music can be.”
Track listing:
1. True Shred Guitar
2. Born To Lose
3. Crush
4. End Of The Line
5. Leader Of The Pack
6. Comeback Kid
7. Demons
8. Road To Hell
9. You Lost Me
10. Never Say Die
11. D.O.A.
Tour dates:
2/3/12 Gainesville, FL @ Florida Theater
2/4/12 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz
2/6/12 Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
2/7/12 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
2/9/12 Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird Live
2/10/12 Orlando, FL @ Firestone
2/11/12 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
2/14/12 Miami, FL @ Grand Central
Stream: Sleigh Bells – A/B Machines
