A Year of Great Electronica & Trip-hop

So far, this has been a really solid year for electronica and trip-hop.  So many great albums have already been released while others are soon to come!  Below I list some of my own highlights for the year.  Do you have any additions?

Bonobo - The North Borders

This album is probably my top album for the year at the moment.  Some really slick trip-hop awesomeness here.  So chill and catchy.  I cannot get enough of the song, "Towers".  But really, every song is so good.  Bonobo really is a master of his art.  You can stream a lot of his tracks on Soundcloud.

Emancipator - Dusk To Dawn

Dusk to Dawn is a solid, organic trip-hop album.  I love listening to it, while working and reading.  It just makes you want to sway!

Sasha - Involv3r

Sasha is a master of DJ sets.  I love all of his singles and Involver albums.  I could listen to his sets on Soundcloud all day if it weren't for all of the other music I need to listen to.  Involv3r is really chill, but there are some really great cuts.  I especially like his version of James Zabiela's "The Healing".

Nick Warren - Renaissance, The Masters Series, Pt. 18

Nick Warren (one of the members of the great group, Way Out West) is another DJ master.  He's always sharing new DJ sets either on Soundcloud or his website.  You should definitely check them out.  Unfortunately his Renaissance mix is not available in the US yet.  But, you can find some tracks around.  This DJ set sees him taking it down a notch with some really ambient house music.

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (coming May 21)

What can I say about Daft Punk that you don't already know?  They are great.  And, this new album is absolutely fantastic, full of funky grooves -- as if they're reaching back in time to the disco age.  But, you can also hear some influences from their experience composing the Tron Legacy soundtrack.  The album is streaming in full on iTunes.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you need to get on that!

Tricky - False Idols (coming May 28)

I love tricky.  He's one of those artists whose always made the music he loves, and he's pushed trip-hop to new places.  Of the tracks I've heard so far, False Idols is shaping up to be another masterpiece!

August Burns Red Release New Song "Fault Line"

August burns red have released a new song, "Fault Line", from their upcoming album Rescue & Restore, which drops on June 25th.  Song is really, really good.  Definitely looking forward to the rest of the album!  Check it out below!

Cartel Stream New Song "Mosaic"

Check out below a new song from Cartel entitled "Mosaic".  The song comes from their new album Collider, which drops on March 26th.  I really like the song.  I've heard so many good things about this album.  Definitely looking forward to it!

Stream New Song "Heaven For The Sinner" From Bonobo

Bonobo has released another song entitled, "Heaven For The Sinner", which features Erykah Badu and will appear on his upcoming album, The North Borders.  The song is fantastic and has heightened my anticipation of the album release on April 1st even more.  Definitely check it out below!

Cartel Premiere New Song "Uninspired"

The folks over at Absolutepunk.net have released an exclusive stream of a new song from Cartel, entitled "Uninspired".  The song comes from their upcoming album, Collider, which drops on March 26th.  The song sounds great.  The album is being touted as the best of their career.  Really looking forward to it.  Definitely check it out!

Review: Funeral For A Friend - Conduit

The Welsh post-hardcore rockers, Funeral for a Friend, have had an interesting career.  In 2003, the band immediately became popular with Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation.  More often than not, every one of their subsequent albums have been compared to this titular work.  Perhaps a disappointing trend to the majority (this reviewer excluded), FFAF slowly steered away from this heavy atmosphere and screams, and steadily took a more "conventional rock" approach with Hours, Tales Don't Tell Themselves, and Memory and Humanity.  To be honest, I enjoyed all of these albums, especially the concept in TDTT.  I can appreciate the decision to experiment with different sounds to grow as a band.  

In 2011, after a bit of line-up change (something the band has dealt with through the years), FFAF re-established itself as a hard-hitting powerhouse with Welcome Home Armageddon.  One could possibly call it a "return to form".   I would say that it was just a warm-up for Conduit, one of the band's heaviest and finest work since Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation.  Dare I say, the finest?  I think so.  

Conduit is the ultimate blend of all past albums. It's full of energy and slaying riffs infused with catchy choruses, most noticeable in songs like the first single from the album, "Best Friends and Hospital Beds", as well as "Nails".  Some have claimed this renewed energy was sparked by the arrival of the band's newest member, drummer Pat Lundy.  Perhaps, but it also feels like the rest of the band literally broke all their shackles holding them down and needed somewhere to release all that pent up energy.  Matt Davies' vocals sound amazing throughout the album, rough and full of aggressive urgency.  But, it's the melodies subtly interwoven in the aggression that really bring Conduit together. 

It's hard to choose a favorite amongst the songs on Conduit.  I did find myself really enjoying "Elements", which bassist Richard Boucher described as the hardest song to write on Conduit (see article on Alt Press).  Well gents, you definitely nailed it!  Note also that most songs don't reach beyond the three minute mark, which keeps each song from getting stale.  If anything, I just wanted more.  

Anyway, if you haven't listened to Conduit yet, you better get on that.  It's one of the best, if not, the best album FFAF has written, to date.  I've had the album on repeat all day and I'm looking forward to adding this album to my sprint-interval running playlist.

Stream New Song From The Dear Hunter

The Dear Hunter have released a new single, entitled "Whisper", which can be streamed here.  The song comes from their upcoming album Migrant that drops on April 2nd.  I've also embedded a trailer for the album below.  Definitely check it out!