Joey Bad continues to nearly solo carry the banner for young & talented rap. “Christ Conscious” is the very good, gritty, NY-sounding second single from Joey B’s forthcoming debut LP B4DA$$ .
Joey Bada$$ 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.5
Joey Bada$$
Joey Bad continues to nearly solo carry the banner for young & talented rap. “Christ Conscious” is the very good, gritty, NY-sounding second single from Joey B’s forthcoming debut LP B4DA$$ .
Joey Bada$$ (Facebook)
Rating 8.5
Joey Bada$$
New Aesop band Sylas who impressed on sublime debut “Hollow” excel for a second time on the more pop-focused “Shore”. Aesop will be releasing Sylas’ debut EP on November 24th.
Wonder Wonder is a new UK duo endeavoring to release one new track per month for twelve months. The playful vibe-y “Shark” is the second song in the series (following up last month’s Hypem topping “Body Gold”) and is a showcase for a very talented new writing team. On to November.
Wonder Wonder 
(Facebook)
Rating: 8.8
“Empire” by L.A.-based band Diveliner is another excellent entry in the new 80N7 compilation for Rough Trade (We covered Gorgeous Bully’s great track last week). The King Krule-esque “Empire” is a dreamy, reverb-laden, refreshing bit of guitar-driven (at least in parts) music that is really really good. Listen.
Diveliner 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
“With You” is excerpted here from Parisian producer Stwo’s new Nothing Was the Same-inspired beat-tape. In announcing the release, Stwo called the third Drake LP, “one of the best releases of 2013, and probably one of my favorite Rap / Rnb albums ever”, and saying that “I feel like any of these beats could be a great fit with Drake on them”. Ball in Aubrey’s court.
Stwo 
(Twitter)
Rating 8.2
The MMG chief joins Massillon, OH’s own bossman Stalley on “Everything a Dope Boy Ever Wanted”. The soul-driven ride out with the top down Beat Billionaire instrumental is a hanging curve-ball of a beat that Ross and Stalley could knock clear into the bleachers with eyes closed and swinging a foam bat. Stalley’s debut Ohio LP is out October 27. Welcome back, Lebron but Stalley been home.
Stalley 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
“White Lies” is the excellent return single from L.A. indie pop band Milo Greene. “White Lies” represents a bit of a stylistic shift for Milo Greene. The lo-fi, organic instrumentation of the band’s s/t 2012 debut has been exchanged for a synth-driven modern pop sound and while the amplitude of change is vast; the qualities of great pop songwriting, sparkling melodic phrases and forward-thinking arranging have not been replaced out and “White Lies” is a great Milo Greene song. Milo Greene’s sophomore LP Control is out January 27th on Elektra.
Milo Greene (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
“Falling Short” is new from Liverpudlian singer Holly Fletcher a/k/a Låpsley. The centerpiece of many highlights within “Falling Short” is Ms. Fletcher’s restrained but heart-wringing melodic phrasing and vocal performance. “Falling Short” is taken from a new release compiled by Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac entitled, Annie Mac Presents.
Låpsley (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.4
Our friends from The North Rainer + Grimm take on another stunning flip, this time in the form of Drake-affiliated internet faves Majid Jordan‘s “A Place Like This”. Already a stellar B3-backed track “A Place Like This” gets the late night booty-shaker treatment the Torontonian duo. In a seemingly vast and endless sea of monster remixes on Soundcloud, R&G continue to set a standard. We can’t wait to hear some original tunes! Reviewed by Brian Litwin
Rainer + Grimm 
: (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.7
Most successful bands endure a long haul before they gain recognition, but Alt-J’s career shot up like a comet upon the release of their debut album. The band’s success culminated in their winning the coveted 2012 Mercury Prize in the UK. Enter their new album This Is All Yours. It’s really laid-back, even more so than the first record. Besides the three songs heard prior to release which are all highlights, make sure you hear “Warm Foothills”. Its choral beauty is stunning. Joe Newman’s vocals are enhanced with spliced words contributed by Connor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, Sivu, and Marika Hackman. Contributed by Bruce Rave.
* Links and playlists from Bruce Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
Alt-J (Official)
Rating: 8.8
World conqueror James Vincent McMorrow is releasing a deluxe version of his acclaimed Post-Tropical LP on November 10th. One extra from the re-release package, which also includes two other new tracks and remixes from The 1975, Atu, and DPAT, is the unreleased rhythm-driven folk gem “You Know”. You can stream “You Know” before and do look out for JVM touring Europe and America this fall (we’ve included those dates below).
Oct 05 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London, United Kingdom
Oct 07 – Kampnagel – Hamburg, Germany
Oct 08 – Vega Musikkens Hus – Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 09 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany
Oct 11 – Gloria – Cologne, Germany
Oct 12 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium
Oct 13 – La Cigale – Paris, France
Oct 14 – Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal – Utrecht, Netherlands
Oct 16 – Theaterfabrik – Munich, Germany
Oct 17 – Biko – Milano, Italy
Oct 19 – Mascotte – Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 20 – FRI-SON – Fribourg, Switzerland
Oct 22 – Sala Apolo – Barcelona, Spain
Oct 24 – Joy Eslava – Madrid, Spain
Nov 01 – The Kessler – Dallas, TX
Nov 02 – The Belmont – Austin, TX
Nov 04 – The Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
Nov 05 – The Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Nov 06 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Nov 08 – The Lincoln – Washington, DC
Nov 10 – Town Hall – New York, NY
Nov 12 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Nov 13 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Nov 16 – The Neptune – Seattle, WA
Nov 17 – The Aladdin – Portland, OR
Nov 19 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Nov 20 – Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
James Vincent McMorrow 
(Official) (Facebook) (iTunes)
Rating 9.0
Young & Sick are back today with a simple and inventive cover of a classic track, “Breathe” by Télépopmusik. A long time favorite song of the artist, Young and Sick had this to say about “Breathe”, “Breathe was my ignore-the-rain anthem and perfect hangover cure for the years I spent in North London. It feels like a timeless song. Angela McClusky’s smokey voice always stole my heart.” We couldn’t agree much more as “Breathe” is really one of those perfect timeless pop songs. Listen below.
Young & Sick (Tumblr)
Rating 8.0
