Next Big Thing Alert: The Shortwave Set

Yesterday we discussed the merits of Danger Mouse producing brilliant pop albums in 2008, and listed, in passing, a new artist out of the UK called The Shortwave Set. Certainly they deserve much more than just a passing mention, and so instead we've liberally deemed them a Next Big Thing.

Their debut EP, The Debt Collection, garnered the attention of D Mouse, possibly due to its description as a "Victorian Funk Masterwork" (never mind that it was the band themselves that described it as such, nor that there isn't much in the way of a Victorian Funk Failure). Earlier this month their Danger Mouse-produced sophomore release, Replica Sun Machine, was released on Wall of Sound. Recorded in LA, the album also just happens to feature orchestration by Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, not to mention contributions on two songs from The Velvet Underground's John Cale. Ho hum.

With a psychedelic-cum-a.m.-radio vibe reminiscent of Air in songs like "Harmonia", "Replica", and "Distant Daze", intermingled with 60s dream-pop numbers "Glitches N Bugs" and "Sun Machine" sounding like a British New Pornographers, Replica Sun Machine provides a cohesive collection of atmospheric pop music. And Danger Mouse's stamp is clearly demarcated throughout. Have a listen:

"Harmonia" mp3

"No Social" video


"Replica" video










Go get the album, Replica Sun Machine.


Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/theshortwaveset.

-J2

Beck + Danger Mouse = Favorite Song of the Day

It only makes sense that Beck and Danger Mouse would eventually work together on a project, and on its way sometime soon is Modern Guilt. Given their affinity for spaced-out, LSD-infused bubblegum-pop and obscure deep grooves from the 60s & 70s, their collaboration was inevitable. And so Danger Mouse has produced Beck's latest LP with a potential release date in June or July.

The first leaked track, "Chemtrails", is garnering justifiable comparisons to Pink Floyd thanks to the thunderous drumming of Joey Waronker. But Beck's lilting and wispy vocals recall Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson, and until those powerhouse drums kick in, "Chemtrails" crawls through the hills of Southern California more than those of Cambridge.


It's probably safe to say that Danger Mouse gets our vote for Producer of the Year 2008 (if that award exists). So far he's brought us new albums from The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Martina Topley-Bird, The Shortwave Set, and now the latest from Beck. And to think, just four years ago he was a 26 year old up-and-coming DJ who'd illegally made the greatest hip-hop album of the decade that never made a cent.

Check out Beck.com for fun with flash media.

-J2

Next Big Thing Alert: Chin Chin

Funky, soulful(/soul-filled/soul-fueled) baby-making music is back, people (though, does it ever really go away?). We're gonna go 'head and give sole credit to Danger Mouse for singlehandedly resurrecting the spirit of Ike Turner, and therefore this current movement.

The latest arbiters of Funk are Brooklyn trio Chin Chin, whose eponymous full-length debut dropped a coupla weeks ago on Def Jux. While at heart a trio - guitarist Jeremy Wilms, keyboardist Wilder Zoby, and drummer Torbitt Schwartz - Chin Chin has many friends that often propel the band into Funkadelic or JB's formations. The resulting sound is somewhere between soul, hip-hop, lounge, and acid jazz, and it's everywhere around groovy.

Comparisons to other artists are inevitable in the blogosphere, so here goes: the same way Kanye West and Daft Punk joined forces, imagine Gnarls Barkley and Air getting together to do Steely Dan covers produced by Pharrell Williams. In fact, it'll be interesting to see if the new N.E.R.D. album due out this summer results in even more attention for Chin Chin and similar bands.

MP3: "Miami"

Video: "Appetite"











Go get the album.

Make friends and hear more @ www.myspace.com/chinchinnyc.

-J2

New Gnarls Barkley Song, Video

Remember how horrible pop music was just ten years ago, when boy bands and the Macarena and Celine Dion were top of the charts? Thankfully, all that remains a decade later is Justin Timberlake. The new Kings of Pop, Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse), brought quality back to pop radio in 2006, and their sophomore release, The Odd Couple, is due out April 8th. The first single, "Run", is sure to draw unfair comparisons to "Crazy", but will no doubt hold its own this summer. Check it out (yes, that is JT making a cameo):



-J2

Strange Bedfellows

MiddleCoast fave Danger Mouse is actually a real-life superhero, making the world a better place. After producing some of the best albums in the past five years (see: The Grey Album, Demon Days, The Good The Bad & The Queen, St. Elsewhere), not to mention pulling one of the best pranks ever in 2006, Mouse is still at it. He teams up with Cee-Lo once again (hallelujah) with a new Gnarls Barkley release, The Odd Couple (due out in April); he's produced the newest from Martina Topley-Bird (of Tricky's Maxinquaye fame), entitled The Blue God; and perhaps the most interesting pairing is with Ohio garage-rockers, the Black Keys.

As the story goes, Danger Mouse was planning an album for Ike Turner, a fallen idol he'd hoped to return to his rightful glory. Mouse and Ike had employed the Keys to write the songs (it was to be billed as Ike Turner & the Black Keys), Mouse would produce, and Ike would sing, as well as play guitar, organ, and piano. When Turner passed away last December, the songs the Keys had written simply became the basis for their own new album, and Danger Mouse stayed on to produce Attack & Release (due out April 1st on Nonesuch).

The first single, "Strange Times", is evidence that the pairing worked, giving the middleCoast our favorite song of the year thus far. The minimalist blues-rock of the Keys, which owes so much to Turner's career, gets infused with the sound of soul that Danger Mouse has brought to all of his rock 'n roll projects. Here is a sneak peek:



The Black Keys hit Chicago April 12th at The Riv.

Make more friends at:
http://www.myspace.com/theblackkeys
http://www.myspace.com/martinatopleybird
http://www.myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley

-J2