A Look at the Polaris Long List: 23. Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital [possibly NSFW image?]

Got to give credit to the Handsome Furs for creating an album in Sound Kapital that is obviously in debt to the synth pop, new wave and alternative pop sounds of the mid-80s but that still manages to sound fresh and contemporary at the same time. Not sure I’d vote for it on my short list ballot but I was kind of digging this. Unfortunately, this husband and wife duo apparently just split up after six years just as their album was being awarded this accolade. Talk about poor timing!

Dig what you heard with those two tracks? Then hit the jump for an embed of the entire album for streaming via RDIO (preview snippets only for non-RDIO subscribers). And oh, I tagged this NSFW based on the album cover art above. Apparently, it riled someone down South of the border (my guess: the chief music buyer at Walmart) because the art on the RDIO embed has completely different art.

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A Look at the Polaris Long List: 3. Rich Aucoin – We’re All Dying To Live

This album by East Coast rocker, Rich Aucoin is kind of interesting. Dude used over 500 musicians to create the record. The scope of his ambition is clear. The end results less so. The album had its moments but felt a little too all over the place to me but which might be the point. Two of the odder (or intriguing depending on your point of view) moments follow below: “Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E (All Living Instantly Vanquish Everything)” and “P:U:S:H” which borrow heavily from Justice‘s “D.A.N.C.E.” and Daft Punk‘s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” respectively. The rest of the album is actually pretty upbeat in tempo and feel but even in the 2012, post-mashup era, a Halifax-based indie rocker being so overtly influenced by French electronic club music is still kind of interesting and novel, no? Interesting enough to make it into my Top 5 though? Unlikely….

Intrigued though? Hit the jump to hear the full album stream via the good people at Exclaim! And while you’re listening to it, hit play on the video above as it’s actually a full length film designed to accompany the album. #realcreativity #somethingdifferent

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A Look at the Polaris Long List: 1. A Tribe Called Red – A Tribe Called Red

Once again it’s that time of the year. The Polaris Music Prize Long list was just announced last week and I did pretty well: 3 of my 5 picks made the cut which ain’t bad although I still feel like the Saukrates album, which didn’t make it, has been getting short shrift from his fans and the public at large.

As a member of the Polaris Music Prize jury who wants to do the right thing, now that these 40 artists have been deemed worthy by a panel of over 200 music writers and critics, I am going to listen to every album on the list at least once and will attempt to chronicle that journey here on the blog just like I did last year. Don’t expect full reviews though, work and life issues won’t allow it so unless an album really, really moves me positively (or negatively), a brief summation of what it sounds like and if I am f-cking with it or not is about all you’re gonna get. Also don’t necessarily expect me to go in alphabetical order either, I may skip around depending on where my whims carry me although I will start with first album on the list just to kick off in a somewhat orderly fashion.

Wanna hear me expound more at length on the long list though? Come check me sitting on the panel of this month’s edition of the Polaris Music Prize salon at The Drake tasked with discussing the 2012 long list picks. Should be lively!

As for A Tribe Called Red‘s self-titled album, when I first heard their mix of Native American beats and hipster EDM club-style beats, my first thought was that well known Dj and world music connoisseur (some have less kindly described his world musical passions as ‘culture vulturism’), Diplo would probably love this. My insticts were correct. Truthfully though, I love this album more as a concept than I do as an actual listening experience. It’s probably something that is either best heard in smaller 12″ inch or EP-sized doses or heard live in a club environment than as a full length album because after a few tracks it started to sound a bit samey to my ears or I started to get a little fatigued.

That being said, I can’t deny that, compared to the reams of indie roots rock and singer songwriter fare that tends to light up the Polaris jury panel’s hearts, the A Tribe Called Red album is something relatively fresh and unheard and there are a lot of folk in the Polaris ranks who really dig it so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make the short list in a couple weeks. Also, the other day I was posting this shocking story of police brutality on my tumblr and the track “Woodcarver” (above) came on. The parallels in the stories are quite shocking making the timing obviously very apropos. Definitely a powerfully, affecting track either way though.

The A Tribe Called Red album is FREE for download via the widget above and worth surrendering your email to Topspin though to investigate further. If you do, drop a note below and let me know what you think!

[New Music] Introducing Hello Phones – Get It Together

This came to me via my submission inbox which, truth be told, I don’t check as often as I used to or should so it’s purely by luck that I even stumbled on this. As the official PR blur (below) says, musically NY co-ed duo, Hello Phones are a little all over the map, which from my point of view, is usually the kiss of death. The singer is also not technically a ‘great’ singer but her voice works for these songs which range in sound from everything from new wavey, synth pop to crunchy guitar and dreamy 60’s, pop-soul. But, as I opined on twitter the other day, that’s proof that great music is not just about ‘technical proficiency’ whatever that even means. Anyway, check out the entire album via the bandcamp stream above, there’s a bonus download of one track from the album, “NYID” below and here’s that PR blurb:

Hello Phones is a new band from New York City. Living and creating in New York lends itself to certain inescapable influences, musical and otherwise. Hello Phones music crosses genres and scenes, and hopes to help blur those lines as much as possible, as this has become their approach to music.

Bonus:
Download: Hello Phones – NYID [direct MP3 link, right click and save as]

Follow Hello Phone online – twitter | facebook | website

[New Music] TALWST – Alien Tentacle Sex (produced by Illangelo)

New T.dot project could be this year’s version of The Weeknd, especially with the Illangelo connection. DOPE!

Credits:

Executive Producers Talwst & Carlo “Illangelo” Montagenese

This project would not have been possible without the support of those who truly love and ride for me #SoTall you know who you are.

[via Cityonmyback.com]