There are several great artists releasing new music today. Everyone from St. Vincent to Wild Flag to Blitzen Trapper has a new album out.
And while we can list hundreds of reasons why you should buy each of those, we had to narrow our picks of the week. The artists we chose either (A) have a Florida connection with upcoming shows in Miami, Sunshine State-based, etc., or (B) just simply blow us away.
Check out some of new release picks for Tuesday, September 13.
Das Racist's Relax
This Brooklyn-based, multicultural, Wesleyan-educated rap crew broke onto the indie hip-hop scene in 2008 with the Dadaist joint, "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell." The track appeared on Das Racist's March 2010 mixtape, Shut Up, Dude, which eared high marks from Pitchfork and Spin. It was followed six months later by the group's second mixtape, Sit Down, Man, which again blew the critics away with clever lyrics, addictive hooks, and socially conscious undertones touching on everything from racial identity to hype-consumerism.
Today, Das Racist dropped, Relax, the group's first official release. The album's first single, "Michael Jackson" has already garnered serious airplay on underground stations and satellite radio, and the video has our vote for best of the year.
Das Racist will play its first Miami gig at Grand Central next month.
Girls' Father, Son, Holy Ghost
On the eve of the band's sophomore release, Girls earned Pitchfork's stamp of approval. The San Francisco outfit's follow-up to 2009's Album, earned a 9.3 and P-fork's "best new music" title. However, the critical praise doesn't come as a surprise. Girls' first LP was a harmonious, lo-fi effort that would've brought Brian Wilson to tears.
In November 2010, Girls released the EP, Broken Dreams Club. It served as an appetizer to this year's Father, Son, Holy Ghost, giving indie music fans enough to satisfy their hungry stomachs, but not fill them up with junk.
We've heard half of the album so far, and it's absolutely amazing. Sadly, Girls' tour doesn't include Miami. But this Friday, Girls will stream a live concert "across websites, blogs and Facebooks" of indie record shops 'round the country. And Miami's favorite vinyl spot, Sweat Records, is listed on the website as one of the participating stores.
Holiday Shores' New Messes for Squaw Peak
Holiday Shores' 2009 debut, Columbus'd the Whim, didn't generate the indie buzz that fellow Floridians Surfer Blood spawned with hit single "Swim" that year. But that doesn't mean the Tallahassee five-piece was any less deserving. Columbus'd the Whim was a solid, 36-minute album of beachy surf riffs and reverbed harmonies that should've cracked more 'best of' lists.
Undoubtedly, this year's New Messes for Squaw Peak will play a role in Florida's continued effort to establish a national indie music identity.
Neon Indian's Era Extraña
What happens when a Mexican-born, Texas-raised electro pop producers moves his studio to Helsinki, Finland, for a winter? For Alan Palomo, the most anticipated chillwave album ever.
Before Neon Indian released Psychic Chasms, chillwave was sounding incredibly homogenous. But then we heard "Deadbeat Summer" and learned that the subgenre didn't have to suck. We also realized Palomo was a musical genius.
NPR's been streaming Era Extraña. And believe us, it's great. Stop listening for free and buy the damn thing already.
Also ... Don't forget that Neon Indian will be at Bardot on December 1 as part of their Thursday Living Room Sessions series.
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