The Compact Disc (also known as a CD): An optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass storage of data (CD-ROM) – via Wikipedia

If the fact that we reference CDs bothers you, just pretend it’s vinyl. Problem solved! On to the reviews…

Drake
Take Care
Universal Music Group

Lana del Rey
Born To Die
Interscope

• Heavy Cream by Leigh Metzler

• Odd Future by Suzi Pratt

• Atari Teenage Riot by Mat Hayward

• Bumbershoot by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Devo by Leigh Metzler

• Peelander-Z by Shahab Zargari

• Yeasayer by Dave MacIntyre

• Amon Tobin\'s ISAM Live by Heather Schofner

• Monotonix by Chad Elder

• Title Fight by Chad Elder

• Occupy Wall Street by Jammi York

• Lily Verlaine Burlesque by Mat Hayward

• The Kills by Cayte Nobles

• Matt and Kim by Suzi Pratt

• Lemuria by Diana Guay

• Dum Dum Girls by Leigh Metzler

• The Joy Formidable by Cayte Nobles

• Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros by Kevin Rafter

• New York Food Film Fest by Ryan Howell

• Primus by Kris Arnold

• Rage Against the Machine by Suzi Pratt

• The Sounds by Cayte Nobles

• Queens of the Stone Age by Cayte Nobles

• Secret Chiefs 3 by Kris Arnold

• Sick of It All by Peter Borghard

• Tamaryn by Timothy McLaughlin

• The Tubes by Mat Hayward

• Dropkick Murphys by Mat Hayward

• The Devil Wears Prada by Elizabeth McClay

• Mirah by Heather Schofner

• The Jukebox Romantics by Peter Borghard

• Wild Flag by Cayte Nobles

• Yelle by Mat Hayward

Check out some of the amazing photography we’ve featured this year! Impressive, to say the least.

Washington, DC hip-hop artist Wale has released a new mixtape. It is available for free download, courtesy of Jay-Z’s Lifeandtimes.com: click here to download.

His album Ambition will be released on November 1st; his previous album, More About Nothing, was among Verbicide’s Top 50 Albums of 2010.

All the ingredients that made the band special are on this disc: the tasty desert-baked riffs, the exceptional and quirky songwriting, Josh Homme’s silky croon coupled with Nick Oliveri’s possessed growls, and a sense of adventure that would leave most of their contemporaries in the dust.

It started the new millennium with a bang and started with the mantra of, “Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol…..c-c-c-c-cocaine,” on the first track “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer,” inviting one to the party. “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” follows next and it is a triumph of anthemic rock. There are more expansive tracks like “Better Living Through Chemistry” and album closer “I Think I Lost My Headache,” along with the psychedelic pop of “Auto Pilot,” which features a reigned-in vocal by bassist Nick Oliveri. For the unhinged Oliveri fans, there is the desert punk scorch of songs such as “Quick And To The Pointless” and “Tension Head.” Even former Screaming Trees vocalist and all around badass Mark Lanegan makes is his first of many QOTSA contributions on “In The Fade,” adding his weathered and powerful vocals to the mix.

While I didn’t mention all the songs, this one is all killer no filler, making it an exceptional listen from front to back. It’s one of their best, and easily the best rock records released at its time.

The bonus disc also contains killer B-sides such as live favorite “Ode To Clarissa,” as well as covers of the Kinks’ “Who Will Be The Next In Line” and Romeo Void’s “Never Say Never” — but the true highlight is the inclusion of a complete live set from the band’s appearance at the Reading Festival in 2000. On these live cuts one can see what a walloping live band they were at the time.

A lot has happened since this certain period of time, but listening to this again just proves that they are an important band. It also serves as a reminder that no matter how many side projects Josh Homme gets involved in, his true heart lies with QOTSA. And it seems about time that he gets back to focusing his energies on it, because when he does the results are magical.

(Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404)

Sandwiched between two five-song solo acoustic mini-sets, Lou and the Missingmen — Raul Morales (drums) and Tom Watson (bass, guitar) — delivered a full throttle set of new songs from Barlow’s recent self-releases.  The new songs have an explosive immediacy that, combined with Barlow’s infectious pop hooks, make the last 10 years of relative stasis/self-parody disappear amidst swirls of glorious distortion.  Lou has a variety of effects pedals that he manipulates with the sure-footed skill of a veteran church organist.  The pedal rig itself looks like something from the deck of the USS Enterprise.

Lou prefaced the show with an apology:  “Half of our gear is broken.  This guitar usually has a much richer tone.” Before he even played a note, as if on cue, his microphone fell from his acoustic (thus would begin an the evening’s theme, that included Lou’s glasses falling off repeatedly mid-thrash).  “Does anyone have any tape?” he pleaded with the audience.   Jenn Wasner, from opener Wye Oak, came and performed a quick on-stage fix.  This was the first date of their tour together, and Wye Oak hung out for the entirety of Lou’s set — a sure sign of respect.

Lou began with acoustic versions of classics like “Magnet’s Coil” and “The Freed Pig.”  He concluded the set likewise, playing solo acoustic versions of his more recognizable tunes, including a heartfelt rendering of “Soul and Fire” on ukulele, muttering classic ‘tween-song Lou-isms like: “All of a sudden I feel depressed.” At one point late in the set, most likely as an observation regarding the maturity of his audience, which was reverently silent for his acoustic numbers, Lou remarked:  “If you have kids, what are you doing here?  I don’t go to shows anymore unless I’m playing at them, so it means so much to me that you’re here.”  Lou’s self-deprecatory sense of humor was on display all night: “I have a reputation for being oversensitive” — no kidding.  But sideman Tom Watson probably got in the night’s best line:  “Next time we’ll have a setlist.  You won’t like it as much.”  Lou ended the night with Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock‘s “Vampire ” and “Brand New Love,” sending all of us new and soon-to-be parents home happy.  It can sometimes be easy to dismiss our idols once we’ve moved on to newer, shinier obsessions, but Lou Barlow proved tonight that his music is still relevant and his voice still resonates.

Baltimore-based duo and Merge Records stablemates, Wye Oak, opened the show with a blistering set of recent and new songs, including set highlights “That I Do” and “For Prayer” from their critically acclaimed second album The Knot.  Wye Oak has an interesting dynamic.  They look like latchkey kids that might practice in your neighbor’s garage, but their sound is immense.  It’s all the more impressive knowing it’s made by only two people.

Lead vocalist/guitarist Jenn Wasner has a gorgeously textured voice that occasionally affects a country twang reminiscent of the high lonesome tones of alt-country chanteuses Neko Case and The Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Michael as well as cross-town rival Victoria Legrand (of Beach House), and that’s meant in the most complimentary terms possible.  She also has a dry wit and deadpan delivery:  “This is the best town we’ve ever played in…whose name begins with ‘Milf.’”

Speaking with Wasner at the merch table after the show, she mentioned the new album has already been tracked and will be mixed at the conclusion of this tour, which means we have another dose of incendiary indie rock on the horizon.  Also, unlike their previous albums, all indications from Jenn hint that their upcoming album will be released on vinyl in addition to CD and digital formats.

Hurley

Hurley is a major musical step forward for the band and does so by beautifully assuming great elements of past records. The album is a chock full of power chords not seen since Maladroit, with production as tight as the “Blue Album,” yet keeping the earnest rough around the edges that made Pinkerton such a lovable record. Rivers Cuomo’s lyrics reflect a new sound of maturity and largely peace with the past, with the nostalgic lead track “Memories” burying his ghosts.

By and large, Hurley maintains a sound of classic power arena rock with strains of Journey, Bon Jovi, Modern English, and the ever-present influence of The Cars shining through in almost every track. The acoustic power ballad “Unspoken” changes pace with a sound that Weezer has never breached before, with Cuomo’s vocals taking on the upward intonation of an early 2000’s pop-punk singer. It’s almost as if Dashboard Confessional took over the studio for a day and forced a song on the record.

The real gem comes in the sonic experimental closing track “Time Flies.” The rhythm and chord progression is ripped straight out late ‘90s rock like Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray, but the heavily distorted string section and the most beautiful lyrics Weezer has penned since Pinkerton throws the song into a sort of cathartic release of the Weezer’s past and acts like a musical declaration of independence. It’s as if Weezer finally had the artistic freedom to put out the album it truly wanted to hear without the pressure of having to sound like some big record executive’s version of themselves.

This isn’t to say that every song is a gem. But with the exception of the dumb rocker “Where’s My Sex?,” which includes lines about cavemen and a long diatribe about his girl freezing him out, each and every song pushes the album forward to its marvelous conclusion and the catharsis that builds slowly into “Time Flies.” Even for as dumb of a song as “Where’s My Sex?” is, it still pushes the band away from the times in the mid-‘90s where they were “Tired of Sex.” Frankly, that’s a beautiful thing.

Hurley is the best album Weezer has released since 1997. There’s no truly inconsistent track or song that fails on every level. It all comes together to make a rock-solid album with no mortal flaw.

(Epitaph Records, 2798 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026)

Described by the band as “an almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,” the band’s new digital EP = Sentridoh III (Merge Records) is another step forward for Lou Barlow, and his first release with new backing band the missingmen (guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales). With new cuts, rocking reworks of songs from Lou’s Merge debut Emoh and his latest solo record Goodnight Unknown, as well as a hauntingly beautiful cover of Skip James’s “I’m So Glad,” = Sentridoh III is a must-have testament to this remarkable partnership.

Click (control click for pc) to download!

Lou Barlow - Losercore

Has it really been almost two months since our last mix? Hey, give us a break. We’ve been busy. All this groundbreaking music coverage doesn’t write itself, you know. Plus, we had the holidays to contend with. Everyone’s busy around the holidays, right? Yeah, that’s a feasible excuse…

Verbicide Select Mixtape Volume 3 is finally here, and totally worth the wait. This time around we’re giving you 12 more FREE tracks, ranging from the recently unearthed Elliott Smith track “Cecilia/Amanda,” to “Santa Cruz” by indie-psych-dance-punk band Christmas, to some new new hip-hop from Brother Ali, RJD2, and Jack Splash. Let’s not forget indie favorites such as Metric, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, and Animal Collective!

All these tracks and more come packaged in an attractive, collectible zip folder that’s yours to keep! Display the songs proudly on your digital music player, or burn them to a CD to give to that cute coworker who you’ve had your eye on. Sure, you can even take all the credit for this amazing new mixtape — we won’t tell!

Click (control click for pc) to download!

Click Here for Verbicide Select Vol. 3

1. Elliott Smith
“Cecilia/Amanda”
Previously unreleased
Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars
www.killrockstars.com

2. Jack Splash/Cee-Lo
“38 Special”
From the mixtape album King of The Beats Vol.1
Courtesy of Jack Splash and J Records
www.jrecords.com

3. Metric
“Help I’m Alive (80Kidz Remix)”
From the EP Plug In, Plug Out
Courtesy of Metric Music International
www.ilovemetric.com

4. Christmas
“Santa Cruz (demo)”
Previously unreleased
Courtesy of Christmas and Endless Latino Records
www.endlesslatino.com

5. Brother Ali
“Us”
From the album Us
Courtesy of Rhymesayers Entertainment
www.rhymesayers.com

6. Dum Dum Girls
“Jail La La”
From the “Jail La La”/“Play With Fire” 7”
www.subpop.com

7. Rain Machine
“Give Blood”
From the self-titled album
Courtesy of ANTI-
www.anti.com

8. RJD2/Kenna
“Games You Can Win”
From the box set The Colossus
Courtesy of RJ’s Electrical Connections
www.rjselectricalconnections.com

9. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
“When We Swam”
From the album Know Better Learn Faster
Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars
www.killrockstars.com

10. Animal Collective
“My Girls”
From the album Merriweather Post Pavilion
Courtesy of Domino Record Co.
www.dominorecordco.com

Malone is driven by a bare curiosity of the world and a fundamental need to make sense of it all, and the observations and understanding of that information around him that seed his music and words, sometimes self-consciously, will feel familiar to those fans of TV On The Radio (not to mention, his distorted, ranging falsetto). But Rain Machine also stretches beyond the usual palette Malone has ever used before, weaving together everything from jazz-fusion to achy blues to afro-beat in its expression. Malone describes Rain Machine as a “nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined. Some rhythm, some rhyme.”

Click (control click for pc) to download!

Give Blood

Malone is passionate in speaking of Rain Machine. It feels like a slight referring to it as a side project. Catching him at the right moment, he comes off as a proud parent gleaming with pride about his new creation.

“We’re still a really young band and we’re getting to know each other,” he says. “We just did two radio sessions today and I felt like I was asking a lot of Heidi, Andy, Carmen, and Ben to have to do sessions when we’re still kind of getting comfortable with each other. It ended up being a really good thing to do, but I don’t think I’m ready to release an official live thing yet. Maybe not this tour, but maybe some version of the show we’re doing on this tour.”

Rain Machine naturally draws comparisons to his other work, which Malone understands, yet takes with a grain of salt.

“I fully expected comparisons to TV on the Radio. The comparison thing is problematic — I’m in TV on the Radio and spent six years writing songs and performing them and producing records in the studio. This is a continuum for me,” he explains, “this is just more music and an opportunity to play with new people I haven’t played with before. It’s not as bombastic as TV on the Radio but there’s a time and place for everything. But people bring their own perceptions to things. They’ll bring their expectations but it’s just another thing.”

During 2008, his primary band, TV on the Radio, reached near superstardom while garnering critical acclaim, and as the tour for Dear Science wrapped, members announced the post-rock ensemble would be taking a well deserved hiatus after a year-and-a-half on the road. Almost immediately, Malone announced the release of an album of side project he called Rain Machine, and rumors of TV on the Radio’s demise began circulating.

“It’s funny that there was any reason to say we were on hiatus, considering the fact we’ve been actively a band as a five-piece for six years — with three LPs in that time, and an EP. Just break that down time-wise; there’ve been a lot of hiatuses and short breaks,” Malone explains. “We haven’t rushed into the studio, except for maybe Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. Since then we’ve definitely taken our time and gone into the studio when it was right to do so, and that’s what we’ll do this next time around.”

He adds, “It doesn’t feel any different than the last time we took a break, except someone [announced] it on the internet.”

It begs the question how long Malone had been working on the Rain Machine album, since news of its release was so soon after the announcement: “I knew we were going to be done touring the Dear Science record. We do all right for ourselves. I’m my own boss and I’ve got responsibilities. I like to work and I need this to keep going. It brings me fulfillment.”

Malone wasn’t in a hurry to get set up with a label for his work with Rain Machine. “You know how labels work this day and age — they want four months before it comes out to prep and push it. And besides that, I didn’t know who was going to put it out when we recorded it. It’s pretty much been in the can for a year…almost a year. We mixed it in the spring, and we talked to ANTI and they were psyched about it. It wasn’t overnight at all; it was a pretty gradual process.

Like Prince, another artist who redefined musical genres, sexuality has always been a prevalent theme in Malone’s past work, but even the cover of the Rain Machine album is overtly carnal in nature: “[Prince] is definitely someone I’ve been listening to the better part of my life — definitely an inspiration. We listened to Controversy on the way to the club today,” he mentions.

“I could name eight songs by TV on the Radio that I wrote that are more overtly sexual in nature than anything on the Rain Machine record. With the cover, I would say ‘sensual’ before I would say ‘sexual’; I feel like that’s integral to my life experience and what I’m trying to express creatively.”

Malone is one of a few artists who have been able to boast two deals at the same time, which is no small feat since both Rain Machine and TV on the Radio create music that most labels would be reluctant pushing in this economy.

“I have no power in that situation, nor do I know anyone that could potentially make any money off of music. As far as I know…that whole thing is going to eat itself. It’s fine for music to be free. If there’s some other kind of system holding it up and pushing it forward, MySpace isn’t that system. Just because you can post a song online, it doesn’t account for what it cost to record it and how it costs to live in this world. I’m totally fine with music being free if my food is free and my housing is free, my health care is free,” he says.

“If you can fund getting into a studio and making an album off of MySpace downloads, then more power to you, but I think it would be very difficult. Actually, if someones doing it, I’d like to know how, because different models are interesting to me.”

Malone has no worries about what is next for an industry trying to cope with a changing business model as long as he can still find a way to create music.

“If it’s not supported, then they’re just going to support the super commercial stuff. It gets more watered down until it’s just shit culture. And then that industry disappears and they’ll find another way. It doesn’t really matter anyway because music isn’t going to disappear,” he states. “It doesn’t matter if record stores close down or if all the labels fold, and the only thing left is little sound bites recorded to put between commercials to sell shit to people. Music will still exist. And maybe it will go back to where it really has power it potentially holds. More of a more communal thing than the system of raising people up as a celebrity.”

He continues while discussing the music scene in Brooklyn from which he sprang: “For a long time, music was something that was more communally based in most places in the world. My perspective on what was happening [is that] before we were touring the world, that we had an organic music and creative community. It wasn’t everyone holding hands all the time, and there was ego bullshit, but mostly it was a great community. Some people found success out of that, but the whole time there were people doing great shit there.”

With the business struggling to adapt in an online model, Malone has his own thoughts on his band’s online presence.

“You don’t have to have [an online identity], but the label has to. I’ve never seen the TV on the Radio website, I’ve never seen the Rain Machine MySpace page, but the market is such that anyone who’s trying to sell records has to pay attention to that. I’m focusing on the writing, recording and performing aspect on it. I know people who have really embraced it. I have some friends who are really good at that sort of thing. I don’t even like looking at my cellphone, so looking at a computer is a bummer to me.

“I actually wanted the record to be just on vinyl and downloadable, but that didn’t seem financially appetizing to the label.”

Click here to download “Give Blood” from Rain Machine