Music

Hello Ocho’s EP, Stickin to the Sheets, released in June of this summer, includes three energetic and experimental songs. “Stickin to the Sheets,” my favorite of the pack, is a groovy, electro-pop tune with some post punk edge. This track is fresh, danceable, and fun. From my first listen, I was hooked.

The song begins with a funky, neo-psychedelic introduction that gets the listeners head bobbing. Then the true punk energy enters with the lead singers vocals. With lyrics such as, “I see your face, but not your name, Oh what’s the difference it’s all the same,” the track comes across as a sexy, kaleidoscopic vision of a carnal encounter. But while the lyrics are amusing and stirring, this song really relies on its truly exciting and exhilarating sound.

Hello Ocho played a show at Go Bar recently and had the crowd dancing and jumping around. With an album on the way, this should not be the last you hear of this great and entertaining fresh Atlanta band!

By: Dafna Kaufman

Matt & Kim: Now

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Matt & Kim’s fourth album Lighting is set to drop October 2nd.  The song is energetic, Matt’s voice is still beautifully clear, and the synthesizers are quite intense. The sound doesn’t stray far from their old music, which will be very pleasing to M&K fans (not Mary Kate and Ashley, lawl). Catch them on tour with Oberhofer this fall (More specificially October 12 at Atlanta, Ga’s Variety Playhouse).

Pinback: Proceed to Memory

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Information Retrieved is Pinback’s fifth album and their first album in five years. Proceed to Memory’s light notes and charming melodies continue to embrace that familiar Pinback sound. Pinback will be playing in Atlanta at Termina West at King Plow’s Art Center on November 15th.

Deerhoof: The Trouble with Candy Hands

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The San-Fransisco band Deerhoof just released their latest album Breakup Song via Polyvinyl September 4th. This pop-song is filled with chirping piano keys and Satomi Matsuzaki’s frilly child-like vocals that are as lovely as can be. See Deerhoof at Athens very own 40 Watt Club on November 10th.

By: Robyn Johnson

UPDATE: We had the wrong song on the Youtube video. It has been corrected.

We the Lion’s debut EP, Boy Oh Boy, was released in late 2011. Therefore, while not being the newest, hippest tracks, I still feel We the Lion and their lovely work should be discussed. With members from popular Atlanta acts, Wowser Bowser and Cassandras, We the Lion creates a fun, enjoyable, and relaxing collection of songs.

Boy Oh Boy, We the Lion’s debut EP, contains 4 mellow, yet exciting songs. The standout track, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, is the last track of the EP, “The Ocean and the Moon.” It has the most rock-out potential of all the EP’s songs with its harder drum and guitar accompaniment. This laid-back rock still maintains the EP’s gentle and soothing demeanor, but adds a bit of a kick. Along with this island-infused rock comes the enchanting vocals of lead singer, George Pettis. If you are familiar with Wowser Bowser (Pettis also is lead vocals for them), you know what I mean when I say that it is always a pleasure to listen to him.

Fans of Wowser Bowser and Cassandras might find We the Lion’s debut EP too slow or lacking rollicking dance tunes. This is true, but this EP should be looked at through a different lens. Boy Oh Boy shows the range these musicians have. While in previous bands they have focused on rock and dance jams, We the Lion shows their ability to settle down and create some truly stunning low-key tunes. Take a listen! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

By: Dafna Kaufman

If you haven’t heard of Pussy Riot yet, shame on you. You either live in a hole, have no form of communication with the outside world, or you’re just a sad excuse for a human being. A couple weeks ago three members of the Russian all-girl feminist punk band were imprisoned for “hooliganism.” A couple members of the band performed a “punk prayer” on the soleas of Moscow’s Catherdral of Christ the Saviour, and this surprise performance wasn’t received well by the Russian authorities. The band is known for having unannounced live performances at random places in Moscow such as a luxury shopping district’s rooftop, on top of a scaffold in a subway, and in the middle of a fashion show. It’s safe to say they are pretty effing awesome. They are definitely the opposite of a bunch of pussies.

Pussy Riot: Putin Lights Up the Fires

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By: Robyn Johnson

The Sacramento-based hardcore band Trash Talk has gained a lot of attention in the past few years with both their Eyes & Nines album and their breakout  Awake EP getting showered with critical acclaim. It was in 2011 that they started to form a relationship with the members of America’s most talked about hip-hop collective Odd Future. They started shouting each other out constantly over twitter, professing their love for each other in interviews and even performing together on stage. Despite their mutual admiration for one another, Trash Talk signing to Odd Future Records  in early  was a pretty unexpected development. “F.E.B.N.” is the first single off their first Odd Future release 119 and its music video (Directed by Tyler, The Creator himself under his Wolf Haley alias) is the first real result of Trash Talk and Odd Future’s professional relationship. It’s pretty simple in concept and execution. There’s a rotating camera going from band member to band member as they rip through the typically fast paced and energetic song and as they do their best to play, members of Odd Future and various other people (including improv star Wayne Brady!) pop up to do weird and dangerous shit in front of the camera. Though some of the more recent Wolf Haley directed videos have felt too ambitious and over the top, “F.E.B.N.” relishes in its simplicity while perfectly capturing the seemingly infinite energy and aggression that defines Trash Talk’s live performances, resulting in Tyler’s best video since “Yonkers.” Watch the video for “F.E.B.N” above and check out 119 when it releases on October 19th on Odd Future Records.

By: Nathan Kerce

Sky Ferreira comes through with surprisingly restrained single “Everything is Embarassing”. Compared to her more hardcore electro-pop material, this almost sounds like a completely different artist, channeling a soothing mix between Janet Jackson and Florence Welch.Forgoing her past hyper-sexualized style works in Ferreira’s favor, for the first time ever she seems like she has the potential to be a genuine star. Listen to “Everything is Embarassing” below.

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By: Nathan Kerce

k i d s isn’t the easiest name to search for on Google. But you know what is easy, (prepare for some quality-cheesiness) getting lost in their jam “Sloww Oh.” This song is atmospheric and mellow as all get out, an ethereal blend of reverb-laden guitars and  ghostly vocals all blending together to produce a distant feeling, lo-fi psychedelic romp, held loosely together by the light insistence of a tambourine.

The song builds in an interesting manner, retaining its chill ambient feel whilst slightly turning up the intensity as an organ of sorts joins the mix and the choral vocals become more frequent. All in all it lends the perfect soundtrack to a certain illicit activity of the vegetative variety.

If you want to hear more from k i d s, feel free to check out their upcoming performance in our Live in the Lobby series, Sept. 6th at 8 PM or at their Barbe vs. Barbe vs. Barbe “Four on the Floor” at the 40 Watt Sept. 13th! And below, check out there song “Sloww Oh.”

By: Will Guerin

“Purple Kisses” is a new track from an artist that will (most likely) soon to be out of WUOG philosophy, A$AP Rocky. Rocky’s Houston influence is in full effect here with a slowed down/sloppy beat, a chopped/screwed hook and a signature purple tint over the music video. This is the second single off  Lords Never Worry (yes that terrible .gif above is the cover), the upcoming mixtape from the hip-hop collective known as A$AP Mob of which Rocky is not just the leader but also arguably the only member of any decent quality. “Purple Kisses” is really more of the same old, same old; lyrics about having sex with girls, sipping on lean and smoking as much as humanly possible. It should be noted that Rocky’s flow has improved remarkably since his debut mixtape Live.Love.A$AP. but he was more impressive on other recent singles “Goldie” and “Bath Salts”. The real star here is the beat from producer VERYRVRE with its genius Buddy Holly sampled hook and drums so wobbly they sound like they are about to fall over the edge of a cliff. Its one of the best beats Rocky has ever rapped over and given his pedigree so far, that’s an extremely impressive feat. Listen to “Purple Kisses” below (video is slightly NSFW) and check out the A$AP Mob mixtape Lords Never Worry releasing tonight at midnight on livemixtapes.com.

By: Nathan Kerce

The new video for beloved Grimes single “Genesis” is a mish mash of random images that combines pretty much every music video trope of the last ten years into one extremely watchable (and self aware?) piece of entertainment. We have: dancing in the desert, anacondas, swordplay,  Japanese imagery, cruising around in a car, space-age fashion, crazy colored contacts, prancing around a dimly lit parking lot holding fireworks (invoking memories of hundreds of blue jean commercials), “strange” people/events juxtaposed against a suburban setting, school-girl uniforms, spitting lyrics in front of a crew full of people from LA who wear hats with expletives written in big bold letters on them, the list goes on and on. It doesn’t challenge the viewer in any way and its brand of “weird” does feel somewhat artificial but it might just be the first successful representation of Grimes as a new pop-persona, rather than another flash-in-the-pan indie starlet.

By: Nathan Kerce