Neopet Graveyard

Smith Westerns have cleaned up nicely. Just over a year ago, the Chicago foursome were of the strictly "lo-fi" persuasion, stirring up hot, filthy garage-rock candy out of Marc Bolan and Beatles signifiers. It was youthful music in feeling and sound-- their noisy full-length debut was recorded while they were still in high school-- but the remarkable hooks buried therein were clear enough to land them on the increasingly stacked Fat Possum roster. And suddenly, they had a studio budget the likes of which they definitely hadn't enjoyed before. Though the leap is audibly huge, Dye It Blonde's many successes aren't wholly the result of its gilded production values and ambition. This band was able to furnish first-class melodies from the beginning. Now they've grown along with their resources.

You can hear the progress right away in "Imagine, Pt. 3", a song originally released as part of a split 7" in April 2010. Sped up here just a touch, it's also been re-outfitted with a far creamier set of synths and guitars. The way the latter seem to clasp hands during the coda is particularly breathtaking, frontman Cullen Omori and guitarist Max Kakacek letting their individual lines mate rather than duel. While the melodic foundation was already sturdy throughout, here, what once sounded ragged in stretches is now plush-upholstered from start to finish. Every single piece of Dye It Blonde is similarly decadent, whether it's the sweet whine of semi-titular closer "Dye the World" or the twilight jangle of "End of the Night".

In an interview not long after the album's completion, Omori noted that this otherwise new set of songs was influenced by 90s Britpop luminaries like Oasis, Teenage Fanclub, and Suede. All are present sonically and spiritually, be it in brash tones, melodic IQ or the sheer scope of these recordings. Where a Smith Westerns hook may have once sounded like another fuzzy member of the Nuggets family/genus, it now unfolds like crane-shot, mainstage festival fare. "Still New" for example floats some phasered guitar interplay before Kakacek rips a hole across the chest of the song with a woozy line so big it essentially serves as a chorus. Like "Weekend", whose central, hair-flipping lick also hugs all its parts together perfectly, the song just sounds so drunk-- drunk on love, drunk on heavy petting, drunk on drink, or maybe just drunk on a some combination of the above. In song, it all depends on the lean of Omori's voice and the whip of his chord changes, the curves of his brother Cameron's bass lines.

That moony/beery-eyed feel bleeds through every corridor of this album and in turn forms a crystalline expression of what moves this band. Their use of the studio in augmenting that never goes overboard, though: this music still retains the innately psychedelic, lamplit, tongue-kissed sense of atmosphere that set it apart. There's perhaps no better instance of all that than "All Die Young", the album's centerpiece. It's a ballad turned hymn whose grand, tumbling scale and "Oh Yoko"-indebted outro celebration are peaks on an album rich in them. In its closing moments, Omori sings what sounds like, "Love is lovely when you are young." They were convincing before, but now they seem like experts.

— David Bevan, January 18, 2011 [Pitchfork | Best New Music | 8.4]

All Die Young

Horror Vacui

Fwango Cover My Eyes

"Philippe: An Ode to Innovation and Legacy" is the seventh album by Namasthay, an exploratory project that delves deep into the roots of sound engineering and the personal history of its creator. This album stands as a tribute to two influential figures in Namasthay's life – Philippe Chambin, his former director at the prestigious SAE Institute, a school renowned for its expertise in sound engineering, and Philippe, the namesake of the PC that has been the bedrock of Namasthay’s music production.

The album's inception is as serendipitous as it is symbolic, with the first track emerging from a sonic experiment by Chambin, who transformed an audio mixing console into an instrument of pure expression through feedback loops. This track, a piece of Chambin's doctoral thesis, is not just music but a scholarly exploration of sound's physicality and its potential to convey emotion.

Namasthay remixes this 10-minute opus, infusing it with his signature style, creating a synergy between Chambin's academic prowess and his own artistic vision. Each track in "Philippe" is a conversation between the past and the present, the technical and the creative, the tangible and the ephemeral.

The album is also a nod to the shared musical influences and tastes between Namasthay and Chambin, with subtle references woven into the fabric of the music. It's an intimate, immersive experience that invites listeners to partake in a celebration of legacy and the relentless pursuit of electronic music's cutting edge.

"Philippe" isn’t just an album; it's a harmonic convergence of shared history, passion for sound, and the relentless pursuit of auditory innovation. Join Namasthay in this pinnacle of electronic music research, where each track is a dedication to the pioneers who sculpted the industry and a forward-looking journey into the boundless possibilities of sound.

6. SpitLess

Gawk by Vundabar

Preorder the album here: http://vundabar.bandcamp.com

Chop

Ash In The Sun

If Children

Regret

Acetone

Albert Hammond Jr’s fourth solo album Francis Trouble explores a deeply personal topic – the stillborn death of his twin brother, Francis, and the lingering effects that event has had in his life and music.
In November of 1979, Hammond Jr’s mother, Claudia, miscarried. Although they rushed to the hospital, Claudia and Albert Hammond Sr. were told that the baby was far too premature to live. Albert continued to grow inside of his mother undetected until she was nearly six months pregnant.

Stream on Spotify: ffm.to/mutedbeatings/spotify
Stream on Apple Music: ffm.to/mutedbeatings/applemusic
Buy on iTunes: ffm.to/mutedbeatings/itunes
Buy the album: ffm.to/francistrouble/

Lyrics:
Darker side where you no longer have a right
I fear what i'll do tonight

Can't decide does everybody feel alright
I made a mistake to hide 

My left side companion enjoys when we're not polite
But he leaves me stranded when we get confronted by right

I'm not the same as I was before
I'm not the same as I was before

There is an emptiness that I cannot describe
What wasn't mine to take I took in double time
Out of perfection nothing can be made
What must be broken down is left to rearrange

You sit pretty still as they tell you
You're fucked inside
I can't seem to think another round of those drinks
What was your question
I can't seem to fill the blank
Watch as I begin a sentence that I can't win

I'm not the same as I was before
I'm not the same as I was before

There is an emptiness that I cannot describe
What wasn't mine to take I took in double time
Out of perfection nothing can be made
What must be broken down is left to rearrange

Francis Trouble

Albert Hammond Jr - Rocky's Late Night

Holy Toledo

Embark on a cinematic journey with Namasthay, a visionary artist whose eclectic life is as diverse and vibrant as his music. Our story begins with a young Namasthay carving pristine paths through snow, collaborating with snowboarding legend Axel Pauporté, epitomizing the free spirit that defines his artistic voyage, filming home videos and pranks as precursor to CKY and Jackass with friends.

Transitioning from adrenaline-fueled slopes to electrifying riffs, Namasthay co-founded a punk-rock ensemble, occasionally joined by bassist and Red Bull daredevil Cedric Dumont. Although the band remained somehow nameless, their music resonated deeply within the underground scene.

A serendipitous encounter on a motor skateboard caught the attention of a producer, propelling Namasthay into the limelight as a symbol of extreme sports in Brussels on RTL TV, and to it's first CyberCafé. Armed with a diploma, he immersed himself in the throbbing pulse of the CyberTheatre and Nirvanet's underground music realms, legendary early dark web website twice awarded by UNESCO as "best of the web", where encounters with Howie B and Laurent Garnier fueled his creative fervor, and Björk’s innovative essence left a lasting impression, thru HowieB.

Deepening his sonic exploration, Namasthay drew inspiration from his brother Alex's Ninja Tune collection, diving into breaks and beats that ignited his artistic expression. His distinct flair was spotlighted in hip-hop videos by A6000 and Akro (Universal), portraying him as a unique bridge between authoritative figures and street culture in 1030 Brussels.

The narrative threads through his artistic evolution—from local sensation to an accomplished music arranger collaborating with talents like Piccaya, fostering a partnership steeped in musical synergy. The ethereal and emotive soundscapes of Boards of Canada backdrop his growth, steering him from underground acclaim to a pioneer of spontaneous music creation under his enduring DeviantArt alias, Namasthay.

Launching as Namasthay, he spearheads a new wave of Emo-Spontaneity, where every note is improvised, every song sung for the first time, encapsulating the pure essence of spontaneous creation. This approach heralds a movement where perfection resides in the inception of each musical act.

Touching heavens with Victory in his 32nd album in less than a year, his AI algorithm perceives and recognizes possible world peace starting 2027. The 25th of December 2024 he publishes his 33rd album, Singularity - anniversary of a mere one year of creation, as he started composing albums on Christmas Eve 2023...

"Namasthay: The Symphony of Spontaneity" celebrates an unyielding commitment to craft, the luminous expanse of his experiences, and his belief in music as an unscripted journey—akin to his own life—a melody that harmonizes with the unpredictable rhythms of existence. Enjoy!