Years ago, I happened upon a painting in an abandoned office that depicted a carnival hidden amongst a heavily wooded area with stormy skies above.  It immediately reminded me of the final scenes of Child’s Play 3, so I knew I had to hang it and proudly show it off to my peers.  Said peers didn’t know what to make of it, especially considering the other offices in my building were littered mostly with local scenery and animal paintings, nothing that appealed to me as much as the bleak childishness of the carnival painting.

Much like the painting, Heavy Hawaii’s “Teen Angel” is just a peek into a joyous wonderland where the inhabitants are unaware of the danger that perhaps surrounds them.  Dark undertones shrouding an otherwise blissful occasion.

Heavy Hawaii’s 6-song EP, HH, will be released September 28th on Art Fag Recordings.

Download:

Heavy Hawaii – “Teen Angel”

Too often non-single tracks get overlooked in the process of reviewing or highlighting an album.  In a new feature, we will be taking a closer look at some of these tracks that deserve a little more appreciation.

First up is “Tithe” by Menomena, off their just-released fourth LP, Mines. On an album full of oddball antics, time changes, and experimental production, “Tithe” sticks out due to its straight-forward nature.  Childlike bells give way to veritable rock riffs, while lyrics concerning the pretense of mass spirituality give the song a particularly weighty feel.  The slow reveal stands in direct contrast with that of “Dance Yrself Clean,” but is almost as thrilling as the This Is Happening opener.

Mines is out now on Barsuk.

Menomena – “Tithe”

Yesterday, news and radio-rips of “The Suburbs” and “Month of May” spread like wildfire through the blogosphere. Today we learn that The Suburbs is the name of Arcade Fire’s forthcoming album, due 8/3 from Merge. That leaves us to wait right around two months while taking a closer look at what we have so far.

“The Suburbs” finds the band in familiar lyrical and musical territory (haunted neighborhoods & lilting melodies) all the while hoping for a child before it all goes to hell.

“The Suburbs”

“Month of May” is more hopped up, anxious, with some meta lyrical touches. The band makes no secret about their Springsteen-affinity and this song proves it again.

“Month of May”

Funeral is as close to an instant classic as anything else in the past decade and the band impressively sidestepped the sophomore jinx with Neon Bible, so while the evidence for The Suburbs is still a bit lacking, Arcade Fire have earned the benefit of the doubt.

CR:Ena Yanai

In recent interviews the members of School of Seven Bells suggested they discovered a heavier component to their songs while touring and indicated they worked to bring that forward on forthcoming album Disconnect From Desire, due 7/13. If “Babelonia” is any indication they’ve made good on that effort. While instantly recognizable as a SVIIB track thanks to the Deheza twins’ vocals, “Babelonia” utilizes clearer guitar and drum parts to bring said “heavier components” to bear, a notable change because past albums featured rather ephemeral dream-pop/shoegaze compositions.

School of Seven Bells – “Babelonia”

Does it really have to be Spencer Krug or Dan Boeckner? Can’t be both? We might have called out Dr. Dog for their dueling vocalists routine, though with Wolf Parade the song to song trade-off and harmonies gel much better, creating a sly synergy. Two songs off forthcoming Expo 86 (out 6/29 via Sub Pop) are now available, “Ghost Pressure,” and the clumsily titled “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way).” We’ve got “Ghost Pressure,” which finds Krug as haunted as ever though the song possesses more urgency than most everything on At Mount Zoomer.

Wolf Parade – “Ghost Pressure”

Sweden’s Pallers have a new digital single on Labrador Records, titled “The Kiss.” The track begins as a Kraftwerk-aping synth jam, with each verse bringing with it a new layer of strings, guitar, or drums. Before you know it, you’re listening to the finest ’80′s tune you’ve heard all day. Also, be sure to check out their Humdrum EP, which was released last July.

Download:

Pallers – “The Kiss”

Buy Humdrum at iTunes.

Buy Humdrum on vinyl.

(Via The Fader)

Check out Anni Rossi’s “Crushing Limbs,” from her debut LP, Rockwell, released last year on 4AD.  Recorded with legendary producer Steve Albini, the track is a buoyant slice of pop that sounds a bit like Laura Veirs fronting Of Montreal, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Download:

Anni Rossi – “Crushing Limbs”

Buy album at iTunes.

Buy album on vinyl.

Harlem MC Charles Hamilton has been busy on his twitter account lately, most recently dropping his new song “I Hate Parties.” His mixtapes have always been hit or miss for me, but anyone who can release an Incubus inspired tape with a straight face is alright with me. “I Hate Parties” features Hamilton letting loose a bit over a pretty slick Cars sample, and you can download it right here.

Charles Hamilton – “I Hate Parties”

(Via Nah Right)

Max Tannone, who you may know as the mashup DJ behind last year’s unfortunately titled Jaydiohead, is back at it again with Mos Dub, a collection of Mos Def’s rhymes over some classic reggae samples.  Such dub originators as Scientist, Lee Perry, and King Tubby are represented on the set, and the entire mixtape is definitely worth checking out.

Lucky for you, it’s available as a free download HERE.

Check out one of my favorites below, Mos’ “Ms. Fat Booty” vs. Scientist’s “Dance of the Vampire.”

Mos Dub – “Ms. Vampire Booty”

(Via Stan Rodgers)

I’ll be honest, I completely forgot about The Magic Numbers. It’s been three years since the English foursome released their last album, 2007′s Those the Brokes.  Stereogum premiered their new track today, titled “The Pulse”, and though it may not be the Magic Numbers sound that I prefer -that being the bouncy boy-girl harmonies of previous standouts such as “Forever Lost” and “Take a Chance”- the string arrangements are outstanding, and it’s good to hear from them again.   Let’s hope their upcoming LP The Runaway, due in June, picks things up a bit.

The Magic Numbers – “The Pulse”