Music Emissions Old Ideas Poetry Contest
To celebrate “Old Ideas”, the first new Leonard Cohen record in a decade, Music Emissions is sponsoring its first Poetry Contest. Read more

In a matter of days, Gardens & Villa will embark on a North American tour, sharing dates with both The Shins and Fanfarlo. Not only will be you be able to see the boys in various venues across the country, but also at some of the major festivals happening this year. After a stint at the Snowball Music Festival, the boys will head to perform at 35 Denton Festival, SXSW, Coachella, and finally end their tour with Sasquatch!

Holed up in Portland, OR for the last month, Gardens & Villa just finished recording their new EP with label-mate, Richard Swift.  Tour dates are listed below: Read more

In celebration of Metal Blade Records 30th anniversary, different classic and current albums will be on sale each month throughout 2012.
Read more

Today Cults will debut the long awaited video for their lovelorn track “You Know What I Mean” on NPR’s All Songs Considered: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/02/08/146462475/the-dark-romance-of-cults-you-know-what-i-mean

The songs “quiet/loud dynamic that ramps up the drama with every chorus” (Pitchfork) was released in early 2010 and has become the band’s crowd entrance point of no return. The video was directed by Isaiah Seret who also collaborated with the band for their controversial video for “Go Outside.” And if you look closely, you may recognize a few familiar faces…

Read more

Australian born/East London based The Temper Trap is pleased to announce a return to the States this March to play a handful of intimate club dates in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The trip will also include a stop in Austin at SXSW where the band will debut new music from their upcoming sophomore release due this spring on Glassnote/Columbia Records in the U.S.

The Temper Trap garnered critical acclaim and commercial success with their 2009 debut ‘Conditions,’ which spawned the hit singles ‘Sweet Disposition,’ ‘Love Lost,’ ‘Science of Fear’ and ‘Fader.’

Chris Martins of Spin Magazine recently joined the band and producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix, M83) in the studio at the Sound Factory in Hollywood, CA.  Martins spoke to the band about their upcoming album (Title TBC) and was able to hear three new tracks: http://www.spin.com/articles/studio-temper-trap-follow-sun

The band is known for their hybrid variation of rock, and it’s this hybrid of synthesizers and primary rock music rudiments that make up the “glassy atmospheric hum, thick synth lines, and pounding tribal drums,” on the band’s latest tracks, creating “a slowly roiling pot of moody, panoramic indie rock”, Martins said.

Martins also noted: “an even beefier bass synth matched by a bout of Bowie-esque belting by [lead vocalist] Mandagi. Though the song seems inspired by a breakup, it’s a bona fide head-bobber with tons of texture and a huge hook.”

The five-piece are looking forward to getting back into the live arena. As anybody who has seen them in recent years knows, this is where they are most at home.

The Temper Trap is Dougy Mandagi, Jonathon Aherne, Toby Dundas, Lorenzo Sillitto and Joseph Greer.

The Temper Trap tour dates:

3/13  Scottsdale, AZ Martini Ranch

3/19 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater (Buylink)

3/20 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater (Buylink)

3/21 Pomona, CA The Glass House (Buylink)

3/23 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall (Buylink)

3/24 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall (Buylink)

3/25 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre

3/28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom (Buylink)

3/29  Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg (Buylink)

3/30 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg (Buylink)

OFWKTA have had a new album in the works to be out next month. Tyler The Creator tweeted that ODD FUTURE TAPE. VOL 2. will actually be out this month, on the 20th.  He also posted the album artwork on his twitter account. That’s not to say this could possibly all be a hoax though. Word is that Earl Sweatshirt, aka Free Earl, may actually be home and free now.

Tyler’s own record, the follow up to the hugely successful Goblin, is due out in May. MellowHype may also release another project this year also. Here is some video we shot in HD from Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Calgary, AB – We are proud to bring you a bevy of new contests, satisfying nearly every genre our readers enjoy. Read more

Young Magic, a Brooklyn trio, is releasing their debut album, Melt,  on Feb 14th on Carpark Records. Although now firmly settled in New York City, Young Magic’s three members came together through equal helpings of openness and fortuity. In 2010, singer and producer Isaac Emmanuel had left his home continent of Australia to travel across Europe, over to New York, and down through Mexico, all the while creating and recording music with whatever instruments he found along the way. While in Mexico, Emmanuel kept a tight correspondence with fellow Australian expat Michael Italia, who for months had been similarly traveling across Europe and South America with portable recording gear in tow. They decided to meet up in New York, where their good friend from a few years prior, Indonesian-born vocalist Melati Malay, had been living and making her own recordings. In early 2011 the three friends, who had initially bonded over their broad musical palettes, began recording together and contributing songs to the record, culling influences and finding their own footing among them.

The immediately fruitful collaboration brought forth singles “Sparkly”, “You With Air” and “Night In The Ocean,” all of which were fitting indicators of the band’s chameleonic sound, heavily informed by West African rhythms, Brainfeeder hip-hop, UK bass, and 60s psychedelic soul. Young Magic’s full-length debut, Melt, comprises both of these tracks-as well as their B-sides-and expands on their varied aesthetic, at once electronically sequenced and completely organic. Containing recordings from 10 different countries, the album flaunts new facets at each turn, letting-as on “Watch For Our Lights”-rough samples from distant lands coalesce with drum machines and distorted synths. “Night In The Ocean” and “Jam Karet” put soaring synth pads around the higher frequencies while deep kicks keep the songs grounded, allowing Isaac and Melati’s vocals to float in synchronicity between. And with its shifting rhythm, open structure, and layers of echoed vocals, closer and highlight, “Drawing Down The Moon,” hints at crystalline take on UK garage: a last dance from a collection of short stories from around the world. With a sonic mélange of vibes on a debut that remains cohesive and distinctly their own, it will be exciting to see where the trio’s tastes will guide them next.

They will also be playing at SXSW this year.  We got a chance to chat with the band, to ask about which music they have been listening to, and what they recommend listening to: Read more

America’s new favorite duo The Black Keys are at it again with another brand new music video. This time the single is “Gold On The Ceiling” from their newest project El Camino. They still haven’t made it available through Spotify yet, even though the rest of their entire past catalog is. They have most recently been in the news for dissing other artists like Lana Del Rey and Nickelback.  The video is directed by Reid Long.