Free the Robots, indeed. Blah blah blah “genre bending producer” all that. “Carnival” Free the Robots a/k/a SoCal-based artist Chris Alfaro’s new track “Carnival” is very good. A neat mix of hip hop, jazz, soul, pop, trip hop, the Gilles Peterson nexus ; (in fact, it’s likely our bro Gilles is a fan which means (likely) that you should be too) “Carnival” is sampled here from FTR’s The Balance LP out August 19th.
Free the Robots 
(Official)
Rating 8.3
Aussie newcomers & freshly minted B3 faves The Preatures score another very sharp track with the latest “Is This How You Feel” EP release “Manic Baby”. One of The Preatures’ biggest assets is their soulfulness and most particularly how that soulfulness informs the band’s writing. Immediately, “Manic Baby”‘s minor-keyed 70’s R&B styled groove grabs at you and pulls you full body into the track’s coolly constructed melodies. The “Is This How You Feel” EP is due August 9th.
The Preatures 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Beck has turned his ever experimenting hand back to hip hop in a move anyone would find hard to predict, on this remix of JJ Doom’s “Banished” (JJ Doom = MF Doom + Jneiro Janel).
The results are certainly ‘interesting’, and not in an “I don’t like it but can’t be arsed to say why” way but more in a thought provoking, intriguing way; Beck’s raw and laid back acoustic instrumentation offers a whole new dimension to the original and gives you plenty of reasons to hold out for it’s full duration.
Out on Lex 20th August.
By Nathan Hetherington
Beck (Official)
Rating 8.3
We LOVE Cloud Control and we LOVE Wise Blood so premiering this hot-off-the-press new remix of “Dojo Rising” is a clear B3 no brainer. On the track, US-based Wise Blood selects for a hypnotic melange of warm psyched-out synths and deep reverberates-out-your-chest drums that are circadian in their repetition. Londoners Cloud Control, who are currently in America right now playing a small slate of mainly West Coast dates, are readying the release of their upcoming Dream Cave LP which is due September 17th via Votiv. You can sample Wise Blood’s remix of “Dojo Rising” below.
TOUR DATES
August 4th – Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands
August 5th – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
August 8th – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
August 10th – Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Bar
August 12th – Los Angeles, CA – Bardot / School Night
August 14th – Portland, WA – Mississippi Studios
August 16th – Seattle, WA – Barboza
Cloud Control 
(Soundcloud)
Wise Blood
: (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Here’s the second song and first official single to drop from MGMT’s self-titled September album. This is huge for the band. While they like to march to their own beat, their commercial momentum will depend heavily on how this album does for them. “Your Life Is A Lie” is definitely more straight forward than what we’re used to from them, and it also is less of a tune you can dance to. My calling this a “fave” might be a bit of a stretch after a couple of listens, but the song is definitely catchy and deserves to be heard. Tell us what you think of it?
MGMT – Your Life Is A LieMGMT 
(Facebook)
* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
“Strange Warnings” is new from UK-based artist Rose Elinor Dougall. Her first proper single since the release of 2010’s well lauded Without Why (Dougall’s debut). The excellent layered pop of “Strange Warnings” is adeptly buoyed by it’s strong tunefulness and compact and inventive arrangement. Great track.
Rose Elinor Dougall (Facebook)
Rating 8.5
Darius a/k/a French producer Terence Nguyen dials up a smoothly sultry, perfect for late summer take on Le Crayon’s “Give You Up” that’s destined for repeat play after repeat play out the B3 alpine the deeper we move into August. Look for Le Crayon’s “Give You Up” single out today on Yuksek’s Partyfine label.
Darius 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
Ah, yes, finally something new from the great London-based DJ xxxy this time in the form of a trap-drum pad/house vocal/instrumental hybrid remix for Polish artist XX▲N▲XX (we’re not sure either how you pronounce that). This xxxy remix is part of a new “Disappear” EP package from XX▲N▲XX which is due August 12th on U Know Me Records.
XX▲N▲XX 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.1
So here at b3sci we’re pretty big fans of EBTG, Walking Wounded & Temperamental are classics. The massive worldwide hit a/k/a the song that most 90’s bros know them by “Missing” occupies an odd place in the Everything But the Girl canon, as while the original was a more subdued track much in the duo’s subtle but at that time rapidly evolving toward dance style; the version that was a US #2 was a remix. So while melodically great, the version that remains seared in the consciousness of anyone who was conscious in the late 90’s is definitely a bit of a pastiche of its era. “Missing”s great melodic lines, though, get a superb rescue and a 2013 modernization from favorite of the blog Maths Time Joy and singer Kimberly Anne. We like it a lot.
Maths Time Joy 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
Absolutely. love. it. The power, focus, content, killer instinct, conviction; everything about the Salaam Remi-produced “Clocks” is right, we need more of this in rap, hip hop, MUSIC right now. We can’t not stress enough how massive a talent this girl is. Kat Dahlia’s My Garden LP is due in February.
Kat Dahlia 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Ireland’s Strypes have been gigging around the UK nonstop, having played over 200 gigs. Their debut album finally drops in the UK this September, and it’s produced by the legendary Chris Thomas (Sex Pistols, Pretenders, Roxy Music, Pulp, so many more). Their new track “What A Shame” is consistent with the high-speed garage music we’ve heard from the band so far, but with just a bit more polish. It’s also one of their catchiest originals so far. Expect this new album to contain the a few cover songs, as the band continue to pay homage to many of their favorite songs and artists. The plan is for The Strypes to hit US shores early in 2014. Keep an eye out, because they’re one of the best new live bands. I hung out with the band in England back in May during TGE. Check out our chat here.
The Strypes — What A ShameThe Strypes 
(Facebook)
* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
Nashville-based soul/American/indie (lol, whatever any of that actually means) band Those Darlins return with the immensely affecting and infinitely soulful “Oh God” from the band’s upcoming Blur The Line LP. We are loving it.
Those Darlins – Oh GodThose Darlins 
(Official)
Rating 8.0
