It’s been pretty bittersweet being in the green mountains for one last fall, but Lizzy Mercier Descloux will keep me going this season. I’m a sucker for afro pop, and her music is weaved with african funk/jazz/blues/punk/experimental influences.  I really wish more artists had tried to tackle this genre. She slowly became a staple of New York’s No Wave movement in the early 80′s, but found most of her success in Europe after two tours through Africa.  Mambo Nassau and  Zulu Rock have to be two of the best albums I’ve ever heard.  Check her out.

Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Sports Spootnicks

Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Room Mate

Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Sun Is Shining

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Once upon a time a friend sent me a Bibio track, “Lovers’ Carvings”, my mind was blown and my world opened up. After visiting Epsilon in the north, I discovered he was a fan as well. I am just kicking myself for waiting this long to listen to the rest of his stuff. His previously posted remix of a Wax Stag track is so so so awesome, and you should definitely check it out. For now, however, I would like to touch upon his 2009 release, Ambivalence Avenue, which is the sweetest album title I’ve come across in a while. Bibio has this magnificent ability to transcend genres (often within one song) and exist outside of them at the same time. It was extremely difficult to try to pick songs that encompassed all of his facets (ranging from electronic to borderline soul to hip-hop-esque to folk). Regardless of how you define him, I love this man. Ambivalence Avenue flows so smoothly that you hardly notice that it’s over before you want it to be, and all you’re left with is the repeat button. Each track is like three separate ideas rolled into one giant ball of eclectic aural happiness, see for yourself.

Bibio – Fire Ant
Bibio – Lovers’ Carvings
Bibio – Sugarette

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Out of all the Feists and Marissa Nadlers currently carving their way through the indie rock scene, Elizabeth Powell has to be my favorite. I was totally mystified when I saw Land of Talk play two shows my freshman year, eventually spending an entire summer trying to figure out how I could get all the tracks from their Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP without traveling to Montreal. There is something about the fragility of her voice that makes me melt to the core. Since then, Powell has been touring with Broken Social Scene and steadily releasing new LOT material. I was really disappointed with their Some Are Lakes LP, but the snippets I’ve been hearing from their upcoming Fun and Laughter EP is making me forget about those ill fated endeavors.  They seem to be returning to the structures that made their first EP too strong.  Here’s to hoping they’ll be touring the Northeast sometime soon.

Land of Talk – May You Never

Land of Talk – Summer Special

Land of Talk – Sea Foam

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Yesterday I became inundated with new music, so i’m going to do my best to bring y’all a little piece of the pie every day. Finally checked out the entirety of the new Memory Tapes album, Seek Magic. I have to admit, I’m not as impressed as I expected I would be, but then again maybe I’m a bigger fan of Weird Tapes [more dancey] and Memory Cassette [weird but dancey].I think I was psyched for something more up-tempo, but Seek Magic is a beautiful calm wave. There are some tracks that I love, and in fact the more I listen to it, the more it is in fact growing on me, so who can really say how I’ll feel in a week? A nice segue from the album is the 20 min long instrumental track “Treeship” available for free on the blog, what a swell dude. It’s lovely and calm and a little bit sexy, but not as adventurous as I had hoped, which hardly means that it’s not worth the listen.

Memory Tapes – Swimming Field
Memory Tapes – Run Out

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