The Bestest Best

Because finals, the weather gods, and my penchant for awful decision-making has made today the very worst, it is only fitting that today's post be about The Very Best (which has been solely responsible for getting my mental capacity to half-mast). Malawi-via-London singer Esau Mwamwaya and London production team Radioclit make up The Very Best, a collaboration that has cranked out some of the best remixes in the past year. Based on the positive feedback they received the duo released Are The Very Best in November of last year, an album consisting of remixes of popular songs that use the hooks from popular songs as a backbone to introduce Mwamwaya's Malawi-inspired arrangemnts and vocal stylings. The result is nothing short of brilliant. Standouts include, "Tengazako," an awesome reiteration that is pretty much the only redux of Paper Planes I've heard that's coherent as its own track. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" cleverly takes Vampire Weekend's calypso-inspired guitar riff and places african drumming and singing over it for a rich sound that feels authentically Malawian. "Boyz" remixes M.I.A. again and throws in Akon's vocal with the help of autotune (shocking!) as well as Mwamwaya's for a really interesting twist on the arrangement that still doesn't stray too far from the original. Interestingly, The Very Best has also included original tracks tracks, which are equally compelling. "Funa Funa" and "Sister Betina" use the same winning formula of Malawian instrumentation/vocals over a western mix, but the production is so spotless you'd swear it was lifted from elsewhere (not to discredit Radioclit). For anybody else in need of an upper as much as me, throw this on with a strong cup of coffee.

Tengazako - The Very Best

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - The Very Best

Boyz - The Very Best

Funa Funa - The Very Best

Sister Betina - The Very Best

Casxi-Me, Baby

Casxio (pronounced Cah-see-yo) is one of the most exciting bands coming out of LA right now as they put on one of the most impressive showings at SXSW. Reminiscent of french indie group Phoenix, Casxio takes funk rhythm guitar and throws a falsetto that sounds closer Mika (oh yeah, they can hit those notes). "Seventeen" has already gotten a lot of blog attention (as well as a great remix) and is well on its way to becoming an underground hit. "Roque Baby" delivers more consistent danceable funk/rock/pop. The band's video for "Boiling Points" directed by Fresh Kill is not for the faint of heart with a bloody plotline that's almost comical in contrast to the carefree music it's promoting. Just in time for the summer, get into Casxio before your annoying friend does.

Seventeen - Casxio

Roque Baby - Casxio

Seventeen (Noel Zancanella remix) - Casxio

Boiling Points - Casxio

Sleepy Heart

I was going to write about one of the numerous fantastic albums released, but the sounds of 2008's Lost Wisdom from Washington band Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire forced my ink elsewhere. Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum's continuation of The Microphones, has created one of the most genuinely beautiful acoustic records I've ever heard. Everything from the lyrics to the harmonies to the melodies is masterfully constructed. Though the sound isn't innovative, it's perfect in its simplicity. Doiron's confident vocal intertwines with Elverum's shaky voice to create a fragile, almost discordant sound that leaves you hanging on every note. The album itself is a coherent unit with every track playing towards the vision of the album as a whole, which makes it difficult to pick standouts. "Voice in Headphones" introduces an electric guitar and a more expansive arrangement with vocal layers to create the closest thing this album comes to a crescendo. "O My Heart" showcases the softer end of the album driven by Doiron and Elverum's vocal interaction. "You Swan, Go On" is a more upbeat track that features Elverum's vocal heavily with a more assured melody that bears resemblance to Sufjan Stevens. There are rare times an album fits a day perfectly, so for anybody lucky enough to be in Boston by an open window, hit play and sink in.

Voice in Headphones - Mount Eerie

O My Heart - Mount Eerie

You Swan, Go On - Mount Eerie

Insectomania

The Bug, one of Kevin Martin's 20 aliases, takes London dubstep, Jamaican dancehall, and grunge and turns them on their face. The Bug offers dirty beats in clean arrangements that dabble in an array of styles for an aggressive sound like nothing you've ever heard before. "Poison Dart" feat. Warrior Queen is a feminist rant with an arrangement that's heavily reminiscent of Santigold. "Skeng" drops quite possibly the deepest bass I've ever heard with Killa P-Flowdan's decidedly flatline vocal giving the track an eerie march quality that listens like a war cry. "Angry" featuring Tippa Irie is the closest thing The Bug offers to straight Dancehall and is an infectuous party anthem that goes out to one of my favorite biddies back home who's always ready to rraaaaage (2 days, Nessyface). For adventurous hip/hop enthusiasts looking for something fresh, look no further than The Bug.

Poison Dart f. Warrior Queen

Skeng f. Killa P-Flowdan

Angry f. Tippa Irie

Batgirl: Redux

Bat For Lashes AKA Natasha Kahn's etherial, haunting music that has (justifiably) earned her comparisons to Bjork and PJ Harvey comes back in full force on her sophomore effort Two Suns. For the first time Kahn's music feels like a complete artistic vision realized, which is particularly apparent on stunning tracks like "Glass," whose arrangement of a faint organ, crashing drums, and electronic backnoise builds and whirls with her vocalizations to create an incredible wall of sound that gives Kahn's vocal room to breathe in the massive space created by the echoing reverb. "Sleep Alone" combines a melody that might as well have been taken straight from Tori Amos's mouth with electronic synth noise and acoustic guitars that play perfectly off each other. The record's single, "Daniel," recalls MGMT with it's airy synth sounds and funk-inspired electric guitars, while a steady drum machine hits brings forth an element of synth-rock à la Yeah Yeah Yeahs on It's Blitz. One of the better albums I've heard this year, Two Suns is definitely worth a listen.

Glass - Bat For Lashes



Sleep Alone - Bat For Lashes

Daniel - Bat For Lashes

Cage Your Children...

Cage the Elephant, straight from Bowling Green, Kentucky, is the kind of group that makes me happy the south exists. After a week of enough club music to make my ears bleed hair gel and fake tanner, Cage the Elephant's modern take on southern blues/rock that combines the sound of British rock groups like Arctic Monkeys with the grit of Black Keys is the magical glass of cold sweet tea that has the power to ease my mental hangover and hold my hand for the come-down. Don't be mistaken, these kiddies go hard every step of the way. Their self-titled debut came out last June, and the tinges of brit-rock favorite Arctic Monkeys in their distorted, frenetic sound can be held accountable for the fact that they've caught on quicker overseas. "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked," the song that turned me onto them initially, is a sure favorite for any Black Keys fans and won these gentlemen the 32nd spot on the UK Singles Chart. "Tiny Little Robots," on which lead singer Matt Schultz's vocal sounds crazily similar to that of The Kooks's leading man Luke Pritchard veers away from the guitar slide and takes on a harder sound closer to that of The Hives and Be Your Own Pet with great success. "In One Ear" throws in some southern white-boy rap à la Kid Rock (but infinitely less annoying), and combines it with some skillicious guitar licks that are easily the song's main attraction and a chorus that's catchy enough. As a whole, the integrity and quality of this southern rock is something I haven't heard since Kings of Leon's Youth and Young Manhood back in 2003. Cage the Elephant is definitely a band to watch out for in the future and enjoy now with a healthy dose of sunshine or whatever else you can find.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant

Tiny Little Robots - Cage the Elephant

In One Ear - Cage the Elephant

Meiko

It's been a few months since the release of Meiko's eponymous debut on Myspace Records, but her gorgeous rasp brought forth by the shuffle function on my iTunes placed her back into the foreground of my attention. Though she's being marketed similarly to a Colbie Caillat, Meiko's songwriting is, in my opinion, prolific enough to make that comparison slightly offensive. Her breakout single is the fun, "Boys with Girlfriends," and as solid as it is, doesn't do her justice. Meiko shines brightest at her darkest and weirdest. The uncomfortably lagging drum hits and minor chords behind Meiko's scratchy vocal on "Hawaii" is the kind of artistic achievement that make some of the glamour shots featured on her Myspace page merit a firm punch in the nose for the people responsible for her image marketing (I blame you, Myspace Tom). "Said and Done" is another track that perfectly showcases her quirky charm and reveals her to be more than just another face in the mess of generally-pleasant-but-mediocre singer-songwriters (yes, Josh Radin, I'm talking to you). "Reasons to Love You" and "How Lucky We Are," the two tracks that initially caught my attention, feature gorgeous stripped down arrangements and hummable melodies. Truth be told, Meiko's vocal is the main selling point and her material is worth checking on that basis alone. Fingers crossed that she won't sell out on her sophomore effort, cause I think she's got some soul power (and you ain't got no soul power).