June 2012 Hotlist Week 1

Shigeto - "Daytrotter Studio 1/18/12"

Pretty impressive little 16 minute live set. He's pulling off the jazz/electronic blend really well now.

Lorn - "Ask The Dust" 2012

I heard that the official release of this that comes out later this month has 4 more songs on it, which is cool, but I have a feeling even after that I'm still going to be wanting a little more out of this album than it has to give. He's adding some breathy, low vocals to his mix, and it doesn't really do much for me. Maybe i'll enjoy this more with repeat listens, and in better quality, but it seems a bit disappointing at first glance.

Devotchka - "Curse Your Little Heart" 2006

This EP was my first exposure to this great band , and it still sounds great.

Wild Flag - "Wild Flag" 2011

Carrie Brownstein somehow had time to record and tour for this in between seasons of Portlandia. It's not a whole lot different from her Sleater-Kinney stuff, so depending on how you feel about that band, you might wanna check this out. Decent female fronted rock that's not too hard or soft sounding.

Jonwayne - "Jonwayne Fucks Disney" 2012

A free download that is blowing my mind. Apparently he made this all relatively fast on his Roland SP-404 with samples from youtube. He takes some very interesting chops and makes it extra creepy.

Bruce Haack - "Remixes" 2012

Stones Throw released this EP of remixes of Bruce Haack songs. I already previously had the Jonti and Peanut Butter Wolf ones, but all 8 of these tracks are superb and do not disappoint. The Samiyam one is especially good.

Devotchka & Mychael Danna - "Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack" 2006

This is a really nice soundtrack. A Devotchka song that only appears on this album is one of their better tracks, and even though it has a couple songs that are the same versions as their albums, it also has some cool instrumental, movie score versions of some of the songs too.

Eliot Lipp - "Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake" 2012

Eliot Lipp is one of those artists who I know is talented, but it seems like all his albums always leave something to be desired. This album has everything I want in an electronic album, but yet it still comes off as only being OK for some reason. There's still some good tracks on here.

Masta Ace & MF Doom - "MA_DOOM: Son Of Yvonne" 2012

I don't know what the deal is with this album. It's clearly another one of Masta Ace's story/movie type albums, like Prince Paul style, but it's over a bunch of old, not new, MF Doom beats. These are the same beats everyone's been hearing for years. The album is cool, but nothing special, and almost sounds like it was recorded 10 years ago and was shelved.

Louis C.K. - "Shameless" 2012

An HBO special from a few years ago, finally released as an audio version. This set is great, and almost a little more raw than some of his newer material.

9th Wonder - "Tutankhamen (Valley Of The Kings)" 2012

Collection of 30 of his beats. Pretty decent, but as always with him, a little repetitive too.

Hannibal Buress - "Animal Furnace" 2012

After hearing the audio version of this, i'm disappointed at how they edited his timing on Comedy Central. Ahh well, at least he's getting the exposure he deserves. He's easily one of the funniest comics out there, and this is a good set too.

AM & Shawn Lee - "Celestial Electric" 2011

Pulled this one back into the main rotation. I love this mix of funk and soft rock. I would recommend this to people who like Mayer Hawthorne, even though I don't think it sounds that much like him at all, if that makes any sense.