L.A. via Chicago production duo Blended Babies have been knocking out soulful instrumentals on the reg for hip hop’s brightest (incl. King Chip, Chance the Rapper and Freddie Gibbs) for years. Here, the duo grab favorite collaborators Asher Roth & Chuck Inglish for the dreary R&B-lean of “See the World”.
Blended Babies 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.1
R&B newcomer King Avriel impresses with the fresh infusion (into an already stacked genre) of sounds & ideas on “Prelude”. The track, which as Pigeons and Planes reports, was inspired by and created as a response to Kendrick Lamar’s “Keisha’s Song”; with Avriel commenting the following on the song:
““I was inspired by the story Kendrick told in Keisha’s Song. I wanted to create a prelude to his story by using my own experiences, because I felt so connected to Keisha’s struggle. I hoped the song would shed light on the cycle of abuse and neglect of black women, and how it negatively affects everyone in our community on some level — even our men.”
King Avriel 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Previewed below is the excellent gritty latest track from Jagjaguwar artist Angel Olsen “Forgiven/Forgotten”. Built on a relentless guitar snarl, crashing drums and Ms. Olsen’s taking y’all to task vocal “Forgiven” is another standout song from the Chicago artist. Angel Olsen’s Burn Your Fire for No Witness LP is out February 18th on the aforementioned Jagjaguwar.
Angel Olsen (Purchase)
Rating 8.1
Glass Animals’ ‘intelligent* indie’ sound is easily likened to Alt-J, but there is a whole other layer to this Oxfordshire four piece. The trippy electronic R&B twist on “Woozy” adds a little extra something and is particularly prominent with the addition of Jean Deaux and her laid-back flow. Glass Animals also have potential to be the better live band, and already succeed in delivering intricately produced tracks in a way that moves their audience with every woozy groove. Add the support of super-producer Paul Epworth’s new label Wolf Tone and you’ve got a pretty sure bet on a great debut album. Reviewed By Nathan Hetherington
*as intelligent as a band previously known as “Alligator Puffin Chicken Go Yeh Woo” gets anyway.
Glass Animals 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.6
Cage The Elephant recently released their third studio album Melophobia to commercial acclaim. This Kentucky born collective has no doubt found their groove, recently touring with the likes of Muse, and with their single “Come A Little Closer” having enjoyed an extended stay at Top 5 on Alternative Radio. Not long ago we caught up with Lincoln Parish from the band on the telephone to discuss the new album, finding the C.T.E. voice, stories behind key songs on the album, and performing live with David Grohl (sorry Jared – you know we love you). Have a listen to our conversation below and also have a look at the band’s new music video for their hit single “Come A Little Closer”.
Cage The Elephant 
(Official)
On Wednesday, November 20th come join B3SCI Presents for a night of great local music at the world famous Troubadour in Los Angeles. Electro pop star on the rise and international blogosphere phenom, L.A. based Jhameel will command the stage with his band to perform fan favorites and new songs from his anticipated forthcoming album Lion’s Den for the first time ever. That night he will be joined by performances from local scene favorites Father Tiger and WALLA. Entry for the event is $10 and you can get more information and tickets for the show HERE. Get in the mood for the show by having a spin below at our pre-show mixtape below. We’ll see you there!
Troubadour (Tickets and Show Info)
