Maximino is the musical entity revolving around Gerald Perez currently of Orlando Florida. The music is complex somewhat electronic orchestral pop that reminds me a bit of Loney Dear, but Perez’s vocals have a different energy all together. His newest effort Not So Cold, Cave (available on bandcamp) is currently meshing with this cloudy Labor Day, the highlight right now being this sweeeet cover of Sade:
mp3: Maximino – No Ordinary Love (Sade Cover)
It’s a beautiful day outside in this charming city. Here’s my cloud free audio companion for it:
mp3: Purity Ring – Belispeak | Tumblr
mp3: Gung Ho – Twin Rays | bandcamp
mp3: High Pop – drip from the sea | bandcamp
The ever-awesome Liz of Get Off The Coast posted on Brooklyn by way of Michigan artist Red Hook (aka Nicholas Schneider)the other day and I’ve been soaking in his abundance of sounds ever since. If you have a few days to listen to music, I suggest strolling over to Red Hook’s bandcamp and diving head first into the vast ocean of bedroom pop that Schneider has compiled there. It’s prolific and wonderful. A good starting point would by Crystal Skies, which these are off of:
mp3: Red Hook – Have Something To Say
Red Hook Links: Bandcamp | SoundCloud
Baltimore’s music scene is hard to put a finger on…the rhyme and reason to it is that there’s no rhyme or reason to it. Just when sweet shoegaze is flourishing, powerful folk emerges, then experimental electronics, hip-hop, crazy hardcore, or an amalgam of everything blasts through. ALL GOOD I might add. Now some notable electronic soul has risen to the top. A little bit ago I was riding high on the neo-R&B stylings of White Life, then yesterday Raindeer, the project of Charlie Hughes which now sports a full band of Devin Byrnes, Beau Cole, and Liz Vayda, sent me their new jams – the Moonstruck EP. WOW. They’ve morphed their already superb lush electronic avante pop sound into a vibrant dark disco neon soul extravaganza. Listening to the Moonstruck EP I actually had to go back to their debut to make sure I wasn’t crazy for thinking how much the sound had progressed/changed. The original shadows of Raindeer are still constant, but the highlights of this new release pop out in completely different way. Love it.
mp3: Raindeer – Reel Life
You can stream the full thing at their bandcamp and it will be out in a few weeks digitally and physically via Mirror Universe. The release show is tomorrow night at the Metro Gallery with Cex, TT the Artist and James Nasty also playing. Also Raindeer will be performing on September 10th at Hampdenfest – more deets on that here.
A little ways back a quaint little email came a flying through the ole inbox from Moonlight Mask, “solo bedroom project from a guy living in the Midwestern part of America”. The song was “Juliana” and it was one part 80s crime movie soundtrack, one part bedroom electro-croon, and all good. Then it got lost amidst the heavy crowd of music flooding my brain on a daily basis. When I had a second to recollect I found it again and discovered that Moonlight Mask also had 3 more tracks up on his Bandcamp that all killed in the same way. Go get them!
mp3: Moonlight Mask – United Crushers
mp3: Moonlight Mask – Brooklyn Avenue
Moonlight Mask Links: Bandcamp
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about Chicago’s YAWN. Their debut EP was pretty rad. Harmonic experimental pop at its finest. So time rolled by and their newly released Open Season LP took shape – an album buried in as much soil and vines as it is electronics and oils. The formula on the surface seems to have already been spoken for by the likes of Yeasayer and AnCo and Co., but YAWN use their own powerful magnifying glass to skew the sun ablaze onto Open Season‘s garden of sounds. Also they make good songs. Not a bad one on the EP, the LP… hell even the remix EP is dynamite. Open Season is a wall to wall good listen.
mp3: YAWN – Acid
mp3: YAWN – Empress
YAWN Links: Buy Open Season | Website | Facebook
Seattle’s SPORTS and their debut LP have received a ridiculous amount of stereo play from me…seriously…I think I’m driving my fam up the wall with it. Oh well….looks like I’m going to have another addition to it. The fine folks over at Crash Symbols came calling a few days ago asking if I’d like to premiere this new SPORTS rework/cover of The Cyclist’s “CAN”. There’s a remix EP soon to be released and this doozy is on it. SPORTS keep the track in it’s dark electronic homeland, but remodel it a bit with a heavy dose of smooth smooth smooth “Vitamin C”. Take a listen:
mp3: SPORTS – Vitamin C (The Cyclist Cover/Rework)
And of course the original is pretty badass as well:
mp3: The Cyclist – CAN
Pick up The Cyclist’s Bending Brass over at Crash Symbols and keep your eyes peeled for a remix EP come November. Oh and if you haven’t grabbed ahold of SPORTS’ S/T debut LP – DO IT!
