Aussie producer Burn Water pours one out for the Alicia Keys we all once knew with the deeply soulful “No One”-sampling “I Just Want You (Forever)”. Very very nice, Mr. Water.
Burn Water 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Aussie producer Burn Water pours one out for the Alicia Keys we all once knew with the deeply soulful “No One”-sampling “I Just Want You (Forever)”. Very very nice, Mr. Water.
Burn Water (Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Summertime in March; sounds wild and crazy, right? Well, you’re just one play button push away from realizing your very own summer in the bleak later winter with Boston duo Carousel’s sunny new joint for “Another Day”.
Carousel 
(Facebook)
Rating: 8.2
“Paul Dixon, aka FYFE, is 3 for 3 and it seems like the more he puts out the more his Solace EP, expected release of April 7th, will grab record execs attention. Lies is a different direction than his two other singles Solace and St. Tropez, but still features his signature voice and great use of space for the track. In a 2008 interview with BBC Manchester, Chris Long said of Paul Dixon’s music, “With a striking fragility that belies the solid songwriting rooted within them, his tunes are at once brilliantly fleeting, strangely timeless and surprisingly shimmering.” I think this quote still holds true today. By Brian Litwin
FYFE 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Check out the wonderfully acoustic strum-driven (there’s definitely been a dearth of these sorts of tracks recently) and melodic “For Now”, excerpted from Calgary band Lab Coast’s upcoming Walking On Ayr LP, which is due in May on Mammoth Cave Records.
Lab Coast 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
We’ve likely reached some sort of Janet Jackson sampling/remixing high water mark today; something like 3 or 4 songs released today (like this one and this one feature a source track from Ms. Jackson If You’re Nasty. So what makes this new “Rock With U” mix worth your attention? Start with one Janet’s best latter day tracks, the vastly underappreciated “Rock With U”. Next put in the hands of the mega-talented Dutch producer FS Green. The result is a standout mix that leaves many of the lesser populaters of the Janet remix/sample genre way back at the start. Go and get it.
FS Green 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Our man in the 330/Milk City Stalley rides out on new single, the low-ridin viber “Swangin” featuring the legendary Scarface. Premiered last night on our hometown hip hop station Z 107.9 Cleveland, “Swangin” will be the Massillon rapper’s first official single from his as of yet untitled debut LP.
Stalley 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Check out “Youthern, the stunning new piano ballad as-performed-from-the-heart-of-the-solar-system (which I guess would be the sun anyway) , from rising UK act Cloud Boat. Dressed in just the smallest bit of 2013 R&B/indie James Blake-y wrapping, the beautiful hymnal-esque melody and harmony unfold and lift “Youthern” into some very special rarefied territory.
Ajimal (Official)
Rating 8.4
New Merge-signee and Ty Segall broham Mikal Cronin releases possibly his strongest track to day with the shimmering West Coast pop of “Weight”. A sharply focused mix of disto guitar, Wilsonesque harmonies, and one world beater melody after another, “Weight” is a major step forward in class for the Laguna Beach, CA native. Cronin’s MCII LP is due May 7th.
Mikal Cronin 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.5
We’ve been into “Seal” from Italian artists Niagara since the vid for the track dropped back in January. Today marks the release of the band’s Otto LP, from which the aforementioned “Seal” is lead track. Reminding a bit of Foals & Junip on the clattering soulful indie pop of “Seal”, the balance of the record veers quite a bit from this sound; covering varying genres from synth pop to bossa to stomper indie rock. Stream Otto on Soundcloud here.
Niagara 
(Facebook)
Rating: 8.4
The new single from Portugal. The Man is, for me, a pleasant surprise. “Evil Friends” has a quirky, melodic bounce that stands out very nicely, and my ears can’t resist. While PTM have a sturdy following, I’ve since felt the band needed an extra boost to rise above the upper middle. This just might be the track. By Bruce Rave
Portugal. The Man – Evil FriendsPortugal. The Man 
(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!
The notion of “spare piano ballad” is one of those music blog keyword pastiches that is difficult, at times, to disentangle from the copy and what those words actually indicate. “This Human Joy” a “spare piano ballad” that is new from UK artist Ajimal is the example of what those words should indicate. “This Human Joy” sounds a bit of James Blake, sure, but the melody & arrangement (& harp) are really top class and standout as true high bars within this genre.
Ajimal (Official)
Rating 8.2
The first release from a recent run of collaborative sessions between MC Smoke DZA and producer King Thelonious, “Ghost of Dipset” also acts as a tribute and valediction for 10 years of Diplomatic Immunity. We know Killa Cam reads the site (and hopefully Smoke DZA does too), so glasses tipped in both y’all direction as we toast to 10 more years.
Smoke DZA – Ghost Of Dipset (Prod. By King Thelonious)Smoke DZA 
: (Facebook)
Rating 8.0
