Featuring tracks from The Glitch Mob, Gardens & Villa, Future Islands, Active Child, Francis Lung (ex-WU LYF), Darkside, Au Palais, The War On Drugs
and Made In Heights.
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To download the mp3 file, right click and “save link as” here: The Breakdown with Ben Episode 66
Hello music lovers and welcome to another fantastic edition of The Breakdown. This episode is super awesome (as I always tend to say, but hell, its never a lie!). Some big names return with new material and some brilliant newer acts are killing it as well. This one is just all round very strong.
This episode contains an unusually high number of songs from bands represented in the pointy end of The Breakdown’s top album lists of previous years. Three of the four bands that topped The Breakdown’s albums list in 2012, and the bands responsible for the top two albums of 2011 are represented in this episode.
Number 2 album of 2012 holders Gardens & Villa are about to drop their second LP, Dunes. Colony Glen is the second song lifted from it; packing that familiar G&V sound, but moving into a bit more of an electro feel, which at this very early stage, I sense the entire album has done. To be honest, moving from a guitar based sound to an electro based sound across two albums, while maintaining the same overall flavour is a pretty difficult and very clever thing to have achieved. I’m only two listens in, but it has me very excited and you will definitely be hearing more from it over coming episodes.
The band that took out The Breakdown’s number 1 album in 2012, WU LYF, was a crying shame of a story. After releasing the stunning album Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, the enigmatic frontman and once in a generation vocalist, Ellery James Roberts, broke the band up in a very public manner, without even telling the other members. Aside from it being a massive loss to the music world, I can imagine the humiliation felt by the other band members. It seems this indignation has been harnessed in a very clever and mature way from WU LYF bassist Tom McClung, who has released a single under the pseudonym Francis Lung. In his song A Selfish Man, he pens the lyrics “When everything becomes too much, You have to leave the band, And it was not the plan, But I don’t wanna know you, Or wanna understand, I can let you go, ’cause I’m a selfish man”. This is possibly the most accurate depiction of the bands reaction to the unfortunate wayward ways and bitter departure of their frontman.
Number 4 of 2012 holder Future Islands is also back with brand new material, bringing back that unmistakable, highly unconventional and highly entertaining vocal sound.
Another former number 1 album holder, 2011’s The Glitch Mob, is about to release their second studio album, Love, Death, Immortality. The lead single from it, Can’t Kill Us, brings back that incredibly hard hitting, heavy, dark and sonically all-encompassing sound that they and they alone own. This song is slightly on the heavier side of anything on Drink The Sea, but their trademark sound has not changed. This album promises to be one of the highlights of this year.
Rounding out the previous years’ top album holders is number 2 from 2011, Active Child. His trademark sound is apparent in this beautiful song from his recently released EP, Rapor.
Other notable highlights in this episode include Made In Heights, who have released a spine tingling song entitled Murakami, which I find has originality on par with Alt-J and Yeasayer. Brooklyn duo Darkside has penned possibly the best blues based song I have ever laid ears on with Paper Trails. It is dark, deep, dripping with intrigue and almost impossible to stop listening to. London-via-Toronto brother-sister duo Au Palais have brought back their beautiful, swirling, ethereal, electro sound with a new song, and hopefully soon an album. Swedish indie group Last Lynx have also been busy, and will hopefully have an album for us soon. A new solo producer out of the UK, Koloto, has also raised eyebrows with the awesome tune Cedar Sheds, invoking comparisons to Beats Antique and Tor.
Philadelphia band The War On Drugs is back with their second album Lost In The Dream due for release next month, and the lead single from it, Red Eyes, invoking memories of Bruce Springsteen.
Fantastic albums still on high rotation that are represented in this episode include RÜFÜS’s Atlas, July Talk and The 1975’s self-titled releases, and Darkside’s Psychic.
Lastly another big thumbs up to Vienna based duo Chronic City, who have been personally sending me their music for quite a while now. They never disappoint, and their latest release, a beautiful song titled Ocean Of Luxury has not let us down again. Well done guys.
Have fun with this one. Good luck getting tired of it before the next Breakdown episode is upon us!
Peace x
Tracklist
Artist – Title (Start Time)
1. The War On Drugs – Red Eyes (00:00)
2. Bad Suns – Salt (04:59)
3. RÜFÜS – Unforgiven (08:44)
4. Made In Heights – Murakami (13:16)
5. Darkside – Paper Trails (17:34)
6. July Talk – The Come Down Champion (22:20)
7. Francis Lung – A Selfish Man (25:20)
8. J’mapelle Bob Waddle – We Be Well Prepared (31:47)
9. Yellow Ostrich – Shades (35:30)
10. Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting On) (39:19)
11. Crystal Fighters – Separator (43:09)
12. Gardens & Villa – Colony Glen (47:15)
13. Everything Everything – Cough Cough (51:35)
14. Chronic City – Ocean Of Luxury (ft. Sleep Sleep) (55:18)
15. Koloto – Cedar Shed (59:18)
16. Last Lynx – Killing Switch (1:02:28)
17. Au Palais – Blue Lights (1:05:45)
18. Germany Germany – All Of Your Love (Ft. Kotomi) (1:09:30)
19. RÜFÜS – Take Me (1:13:17)
20. Peer Kusiv – I Can’t stop (ft. Lenny) (1:17:18)
21. Streets Of Laredo – Lonsdale Line (1:23:45)
22. The 1975 – Settle Down (1:27:24)
23. Active Child – She Cut Me (1:31:23)
24. July Talk – Paper Girl (1:33:39)
25. The Glitch Mob – Can’t Kill Us (1:37:00)
26. Wax Beach – Circles (1:41:53)
The Indie Electro Breakdown 