Lawrence

The Summer is winding down but this year’s music doesn’t show any signs of letting up! July presented a plethora of options for the monthly Woofer mix but some how we narrowed it down in time. Whether your into EDM, punk rock or psych-folk July has a little something for everyone! So sit back, relax, take another sip of that mint julep and enjoy. – Team Woofer   Click the banner above to download the mix!

Summer is here and the music just keeps getting better and better! Here is 20 of our favorite songs released in May that we have put together on a little mix we like to call May Daze Mix, free music for free people. Just click the totally rad flyer below to download! Enjoy! – Woofer Team

  Now that your vision has returned to normal and the neon echos of Coachella have all but faded take a moment to catch up on some of the best releases April had to offer.   -The Woofer crew “April Mix” Download here

Today Noisey premiered a documentary by Andy Capper (The Vice Guide To Liberia, Swansea Love Story, Lil Bub & Friendz, REINCARNATED, and music videos for A$AP Rocky, Vybz Kartel, Black Lips, and Snoop Lion) called “Light Up Gold Road Trip”. The doc is about up-and-coming band Parquet Courts and Cappers three week stent with them on the road during their transition from relative obscurity to one of the most swooned over “new” acts of the first half of 2013. “When bassist Sean Yeaton left his job and the safety of a desk job for the wild life of a performing minstrel, I decided to get a camera and follow him on the first three weeks of his new life,” says Capper. “We went from Mexico to Texas and London in a very short time period for the amount of great moments we had together. I love Sean and his band – Austin, Andrew and Max – and I hope that this is reflected in this short film that we made together.” Also, the band has added even more dates to an already massive US tour this summer. See dates below, new dates are bolded.  PARQUET COURTS TOUR DATES Sat. April 20 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Iceage and White Lung Thu. April 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival) w/ the Roots Sat. May 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA w/ Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Household Thu. May 9 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub w/ The Breeders Sat. May 25 – Washington, DC @ The Black Cat w/ Total Control and UV Race Sun. May 26 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/ Total Control and UV Race Mon. May 27 – Atlanta, GA  @ 529 w/ Total Control and UV Race Tue. May 28 – Memphis, TN @ Murphy’s w/ Total Control and UV Race Wed. May 29 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves w/ Total Control and UV Race Thu. May 30 – Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas Fri. May 31 – Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas Sat. June 1 – Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas Sun. June 2 – Marfa, TX @ El Cosmico Mon. June 3 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room Tue. June 4 – San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe Wed. June 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo Fri. June 7 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Sun. June 9 – Oakland, CA @ 1234-GO Records Mon. June 10 – Davis, CA  @ Davis 4th Wed. June 12 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir w/ Naomi Punk Thu. June 13 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/ Naomi Punk Fri. June 14 – Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl w/ Naomi Punk Sat. June 15 – Victoria, BC @ Copper Owl Mon. June 17 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux Tue. June 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge Wed. June 19 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge Thu. June 20 – Omaha, NE @ Sweatshop Fri. June 21 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Sat. June 22 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Sun. June 23 – Bloomington, IN @ the Bishop Mon. June 24 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups Tue. June 25 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick Wed. June 26 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall Sat. June 29 – New York, NY @ South Street Seaport (4knots Music Festival) Sat. July 13 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bears w/ Woods Sun. July 14 – Portland, ME @ Space 538 w/ Woods Mon. July 15 – Burlington, VT @ Signal Kitchen w/ Woods Tue. July 16 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore w/ Woods Wed. July 17 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/ Woods Sat. July 20 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival Mon. July 22 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar w/ Woods Tue. July 23 – Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar w/ Woods Thu. July 25 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar w/ Woods Fri. Aug. 2-4 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon   Parquet Courts Online: http://parquetcourts.wordpress.com/ http://dulltools.bandcamp.com/album/light-up-gold http://pitchperfectpr.com/a_pc.html

  The month of February has been a great month to be a music fan. From the release of Foals full length Holy Fire to the Czarface collaboration between Inspectah Deck, 7L and Esoteric the entire month has been a treasure trove of wonderful releases. Needless to say narrowing our list down was a little harder  but  somehow we have whittled our way down to 20 songs that we really enjoyed and just couldn’t leave off the mix. Below is the track listing and a link to download this months mix. Enjoy! -The Woofer crew DOWNLOAD February’s mix HERE!  Track Listing Moods – Love Is Real Ghost Beach – Close Enough (ft. Noosa) Autre Ne Veut – Play by Play Unknown Mortal Orchestra – One At A Time Alabama Shakes – Always Alright Guards – Can’t Repair Campefires – Careless Zed’s Dead – Coffee Break Foals – Inhaler Czarface – It’s Raw (ft. Action Bronson) Lorde – The Love Club Born Ruffians – Needle Como Mamas – Old Landmark Chvrches – Recover Drake – Start From The Bottom Dirty Projectors – There’s a Fire Wild Club – Thunder Clatter AM & Shawn Lee – Two Times Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – We The Common (For Valerie Bolden) Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Harner – Willie of Winsbury (Child 100)  

We’re big fans of the UK band Foals, whose new album Holy Fire was released via Sub Pop today. Their dynamic math-rock-meets-percolating-post-disco-bounce should get the crowd moving at Coachella, but on their 3rd LP they’ve crafted hooks and singles sure to win new stateside fans. Check out the extraordinary video for the single “My Number,” created by several London production and post companies, including our friends over at Final Cut and Academy Films. Their latter’s directors Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor, pka “Us,” created a moving dot-to-dot world entirely in post using motion capture data collected at Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium studios. Us recalled, “We had always loved the idea of making a moving dot-to-dot. The problem was how could we apply dot-to-dot to a moving image. We knew that standard animation techniques were out of reach. We spoke with Electric Theatre Collective and they said the most sensible way would be to have motion capture of the band. We had been to The Imaginarium for an open day but only really thought motion capture was for Hollywood movies… “Once we had all the data from the band captured, we then had to re-create all the band members and their instruments. And we then converted this into dot-to-dot. The process was massively time-consuming with gargantuan renders, but the guys at ETC really pulled out all the stops.” Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Holy Fire via iTunes today!  

  We’ve recapped our favorite new tracks from January in our latest mix. Check it out here!  

It’s no secret that one of my favorite genres of music is psychedelic (insert: anything), and luckily or unluckily (I haven’t decided yet), psychedelic seems to be the “it” thing right now. In a perfect world, this would mean that bands are experimenting not only with their music, but also with their states of mind, which, let’s face it, is a recipe for amazing music! When one thinks of psychedelic music, they probably think of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, King Crimson, and so on, which is fine. There is nothing wrong with thinking this at all. Traditionally, psychedelic music has been associated with the rock genre, but with the recent integration of the genre into not only mainstream music, but also fashion and modern lifestyles in general, the genre’s influence has begun to branch out in a way that not even the hippies of the ’60s could have foreseen. Now even pop music has its own psychedelic subgenre. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a genre that didn’t include at least one band with psychedelic undertones in it at this point in music. This has done wonders to not only grow the fanbase of psychedelic music, but to expand the original definition of what psychedelic music is. So don’t be surprised if you see an album on the list that doesn’t seem to fit. I assure you I am well qualified in the art of the “trip” and have deemed these all worthy spirit journey albums. 10. The Alchemist – Russian Roulette Beverly Hills hip-hop producer The Alchemist (Alan Daniel Maman) released a concept album this year entitled Russian Roulette via Decon/Shady Records. Each track contains samples from classic Russian folk songs and is recorded in the style of a ’50s radio spy show mixed with what I could only imagine would be the stylization of a live action comic book. The concept alone is interesting enough, but the style in which the record is put together is what makes it psychedelic to me. This is probably the best example on my list of how far the psychedelic genre has separated itself from the dusty stereotype of yesteryear. 9. Pontiak – Echo Ono Pontiak is a psychedelic rock band formed by three Carney brothers from the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia. Their latest effort, Echo Ono, was released this year via Thrill Jockey Records and has definitely raised some eyebrows amongst the genre’s more traditional fans. Pontaik is a part of a movement of bands that are recreating the ’60s vibe in a contemporary way. If the genre continues to enjoy popularity, I could easily see them leap frogging up the charts next year. 8. Sleepy Sun – Spine Hits Sleepy Sun is a psych-rock band hailing from the Bay Area, and as is the case with most things that come out of San Fran, they are truly unique. Their sound comes off super traditional at first, but the arrangements are out-of-this-world exotic groove sessions, and the deep, scratchy vocal harmonies layered amongst the heavily saturated backdrop of the music is something you simply must experience for yourself. I still feel like they should probably be a lot higher on this list, but I just couldn’t find room! 7. Memory Tapes – Grace/Confusion Dayve Hawk (aka Memory Tapes) is probably my favorite electronic producer out right now. His mix of multiple electro genres and his strong psychedelic influences have mesmerized me many a night. What sets him apart from most electro acts today is his addition of vocals and the content of his lyrics. He constructs these very organic worlds using mostly electronic sounds and adds these lush, dynamic vocals over the top. The results are, in many instances, mind blowing. Grace/Confusion is a bit of a departure from Hawk’s usual structure with more electronic-sounding atmospheres and fewer vocal parts, but what you lose in vocals and organics, you gain in concept and album flow. 6. Deerhoof – Break Up Song Deerhoof is a band of many hats, but their biggest and most imposing hat would be their ruthless nature for brutal experimentation, which, of course, is the foundation for psychedelic music. Deerhoof is the second band from San Fran on the list, and that is probably not a coincidence. Some of the genres’ original leaders back in the ’60s were centralized around the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, so it only seems right to have the city well represented on a list dedicated to the year’s best psychedelic bands. 5. The Mars Volta – Notctourniquet The Mars Volta was the first New Age psychedelic band that I really got into. With the release of De-Loused in the Comatorium in 2003, they showed millions of people that the genre can and will continue to grow out of the stereotypes projected upon it. Even though The Mars Volta’s new album, Notctourniquet, wasn’t what a lot of people wanted it to be, it still struck a lot of chords with me, hence its inclusion at #5 on this list. The Mars Volta are still building these amazingly lush, spaced-out atmospheres, and they are still experimenting with time signatures, instrumentation, and recording techniques. These things — coupled with the raw talent of the band — makes for one incredible listen. I highly recommend you don’t pass it up. 4. Tame Impala – Lonerism Now onto an album that I am sure a lot of people would have put at #1. I first heard Tame Impala last year with the release of their first LP, Innerspeaker, and I immediately fell in love with the group. I walked around humming “Solitude Is Bliss” all day, and when I heard that Lonerism was set to drop this year, I was downright giddy. Lonerism is a wonderful sequel to Innerspeaker. It shows that Tame Impala has the ability to conceptualize arrangements on a grandiose scale and that their palette for sound design is much, much greater than originally perceived. There are a few things that kept this album out of the top three for me, though. One is that I wish the vocals were mixed more towards the foreground. On some songs they just seem to sit so far back in the mix, and I can’t help but want my vocals soaring right along with me and my music. The other is that the album comes off relatively safe. It’s not a huge departure from Tame Impala’s first effort, and it’s not a clone. It feels just different enough, and therein lies the problem for me. The risk may always outweigh the reward, but the reward should never outweigh the risk. 3. Animal Collective – Centipede HZ Here’s an album that upset a lot of people this year and would probably be a lot lower on most peoples’ lists. Animal Collective is a tough group to discuss in public. People either like them way too much or hate them so much it makes you uncomfortable. As for me, I couldn’t dig this group more. Open drug use, albums molded off the effects of different hallucinogens, lyrics that pinpoint feelings during a trip that you thought were previously indescribable…the group is a treasure trove of decoder-ring-like messages and counter-culture influence. Centipede HZ marks the return of Deakin, who hadn’t been with AC since Strawberry Jam, and whenever Deakin is around, the weirdness level on this group magnifies by 10, but in a good way, of course. Now Centipede HZ took a lot of criticism for being “too all over the place” and “lacking any general cohesiveness,” but that sounds a lot like what originally drew me to Animal Collective in the first place. I believe Centipede HZ is an album that wasn’t created with the intent to please everyone, and as I have found out in my life, when you try to please everyone, no one likes it. The album is a perfect middle ground between Jam and MPP and is one of my favorites to date from the group. I still can’t help wanting an all acoustic album from them, but beggars can’t be choosers. 2. Grizzly Bear – Shields If you have only heard of this band and not actually heard this band, then I could see how you might be questioning my selection of Shields for this list, but the hard fact is that Grizzly Bear is one of the most refined psych acts out today. With their fourth LP Grizzly Bear took the sprawling, melodious landscapes from Veckatimest and elegantly expand them into some kind of space-jazz-fusion rock. It’s hard to describe really. Some bands keep that raw feeling from their first few albums for a long time, but over their last two albums, Grizzly Bear has recreated that feeling, and they sound like a band that is on their 10th LP together instead of just their 4th. As with the other Grizzly Bear albums, Shields is one of my favorites this year for one reason: ability to stay fresh. No matter how many times I listen to the album, I always hear something that I didn’t hear before (a subtle horn stab, a vocal harmony in the background, a keyboard or guitar part that is mixed into a break, etc.). It’s rewarding to be able to go back to music multiple times and discover something new each time. Plus, in my humble opinion, their harmonies are the best in the business right now, bar none! 1. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan Which leads us to my #1 psychedelic album of 2012: Swing Lo Magellan by the Dirty Projectors via Domino Records. This album has everything a psych lover would ever need: complex layering, exotic sound design, passionate (front-mixed) vocals, a beautifully elaborate concept, and a beat you can dance to (or at least swing your arms around to while tripping). Seriously though, this album is the funkiest album I have ever heard without using any traditional funk progressions or structures. It’s true that virtuoso singer, guitarist, and writer David Longstreth is the monster behind the Dirty Projectors’ mask, but the rest of the band members are not just chopped liver. They are an integral part of what makes this band so unique, as is proven on songs like “The Socialites” and “See What She’s Seeing.” With the release of Swing Lo Magellan, I feel like they have finally hit their stride musically. The quality of the recording alone is enough to put this in the top three of any list this year, but the musical bond that this band has formed is unlike anything I have ever heard. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they went and released what is possibly the most significant music video of my generation, “Hi Custodian,” based off a dream David had. If you are still complaining that the Dirty Projectors are not psychedelic, tell that to their 20-minute music video made from a dream because that was all it took to cement their newest effort as my #1 psychedelic album of 2012. -Richie Valentine Previously posted @ http://lamusicblog.com/2012/12/news/top-ten-psychedelic-albums-of-2012/