In the News: Stream New Albums From Fleet Foxes & Explosions In The Sky + Meet Karmin

The four-piece instrumental act Explosions in the Sky of Austin, Texas will be releasing their sixth effort, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care tomorrow. However, you can head over to their official website where they have streamed their newest record in its entirety. It's very pretty sounding and brings us back to EITS basics; beautiful guitar and drum patterns and minimal bass.

Seattle folk band, Fleet Foxes have also streamed their latest record online. Click here to listen to Helplessness Blues, their sophomore album which will be released physically on May 3. It has already received tons of praise and from what I've heard of it so far, all those positive reviews are true. If you're in the mood for sweet sounding folk tunes, stream this album.

A couple weeks ago, YouTube recommended I watch a video by a musical duo who call themselves Karmin. I watched it, was quite amused but due to lack of time, moved on to what I originally went to the site for. Then while watching Ellen last week, they appeared on the show and performed a cover of Chris Brown's “Look At Me Now.” I was immediately impressed and decided to look them up. They have dozens of covers on their YouTube channel, along with some original songs. Amy, the female half of this group not only has a great singing voice, but can rap like nobody's business and gives me a clean Amanda Blank vibe. Her musical partner and finance Nick helps out with a drum box, a keyboard some additional vocals too. They are definitely worth checking out, so please do so!

In the News: New Fleet Foxes, Justice & Dr. Dre + Beastie Boys Album Details

 

Seattle folk band Fleet Foxes have released another tune off their upcoming album Helplessness Blues, out May 3. “Battery Kinzie” is a more upbeat take on frontman Robin Pecknold's solo work released earlier this month. Listen to the rip below that premiered on Radio 1 last night.

Fleet Foxes - "Battery Kinzie"

French electro duo Justice will be releasing their new single “Civilization” in a couple weeks. In the mean time we can get a taste of it as it soundtracks the new Adidas advertising campaign. It was directed by Romain Gavras who worked on Justice's video for “Stress.” I liked what I could hear, definitely sounds like Justice!

The Beastie Boys revealed the cover of their long-awaited record Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2. You can see it on their official website, where they also mentioned it will be available on May 3. I'm pretty excited to hear their collaborations with Nas and the almighty Santigold. But I'm going to have to wait just a little longer...

I think it's safe to say that many of us were left only mildly satisfied with Dr. Dre's first single in over a decade. In “I Need a Doctor,” we hear him rap for all of 45 seconds. Well another track has leaked off his upcoming album, Detox. “Chillin” is a synthy collabo with Swizz Beatz and while it's not the best Dre song, it's not a bad one either. Listen to it here.

 

Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold Releases Solo Songs & A Grizzly Bear Collabo!

 

This afternoon, singer-guitarist, Robin Pecknold of folk group Fleet Foxes tweeted that he recorded three solo songs while in LA a couple weeks ago. In another tweet, he explained “one is a duet with my friend Ed Droste from the amazing band Grizzly Bear, one is just a new solo jam, and one is a cover.” I'm a big fan of Fleet Foxes, but I love Grizzly Bear, so I was pretty excited by this. Listen to the duet below and click here to download the three-song EP. All are very mellow acoustic folk tracks, and the harmonies in the Droste duet are just simply beautiful. Check it out.

Robin Pecknold - I'm Losing Myself (Feat. Ed Droste)

Also, I finally got my hands on the Mumford & Sons (I know, it's about time) and Lykke Li albums. I've been listening to them constantly. Expect reviews soon!

In the News: Rivers Unleashes More Pinkerton + New Fleet Foxes Single

Weezer's Rivers Cuomo has announced that he will be releasing a book in March, entitled The Pinkerton Diaries. The book will consist of Cuomo's collection of hand-written journal entries and letters, as well as sheet music from the mid 90's. The third installment of his Alone home recordings will also be released to coincide with unveiling of the book.

Below, Cuomo himself offers fans a sneak peek at The Pinkerton Diaries. Check it out!

Seattle-based folk group, Fleet Foxes, will release their second album, Helplessness Blues, on May 3. However, fans can now get a taste of what the band has been up to since the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2008. The first single, the album's title track, begins a little awkwardly, lyrically speaking anyway, but slowly transforms into the harmoniously enriched Fleet Foxes we're accustomed to.

Interesting side note: Morgan Henderson, multi-instrumentalist formally of The Blood Brothers, has joined the band. From post-hardcore to folk melodies, that's a definite change.

Listen to the track below!

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop