New This Week: Ministry Takes DJ Nation
Sometimes I feel like I'm just a pawn in some big devious trick Prince Rama is playing on the world. Their latest full-length features the duo "channeling" ten different (fictional) bands, performing ten different (fictional) songs that were "Top Ten Hits" at the time of the (fictional) apocalypse. So the album title isn't some snooty rip on pop music today or the current state of the music industry or anything like that- it's literally the entire concept of the record in one cheeky line. Is itbrilliant or coincidental? Are these lyrics or phrases I might hear being hissed at me as I walk down the corridor of a mental institution? Is this genuine art or the oxygen-deprived outcome of two Brooklyn hipsters with too many friends and not enough jobs? Is shamanistic-experimental-psych-rock really still alive? I don't know, man. Just, like..... Just listen to it yourself. -JLF
Recommended Tracks: "Those Who Live For Love Will Live Forever", "So Destroyed", "We Will Fall In Love Again"
Debut LP from Australian 20-year-old Harley Streten. Choppy, uplifting vocals give it a Star Slinger-esque warmth; rolling hip-hop beats keep it totally FlyLo cool. This intricate specimen of slick, futuristic production landed Flume a highly-anticipated and well-received guest spot at Low End Theory a few weeks back. Plus, it's out on Future Classic which is juuuuust the coolest. Props 2 u, bb boy. -JLF
Recommended Tracks: ''Sleepless (ft. Jezzabell Duran)", "Insane (ft. Moon Holiday)", "Warm Thoughts", aaaaand extra credit for Shlohmo's remix of "Sleepless"
This came into the station with a paper attached to it saying, “the next Hendrix.” While I may not 100% agree with this - I mean… I’ve gotta say this one keeps you listening. It’s pleasing to listen to, and before you know it you’ve heard to the entire album while shaking your head to his soulful guitar riffs. It almost sounds like the Black Keys + Black Crowes + soul + funk + rock. -JH
Recommended Tracks: "Bright Lights", "Numb", "Next Door Neighbor Blues"
Woah, his voice is sooo pretty. The sounds are calming, clean, and natural. Principe’s surprising melodies grab your attention, and combined with the combination of his pretty voice you won’t be able to stop listening until it has played all the way through, which is exactly what Principe intended, “it should be listened to as a whole.” Not one song seems to be a separation from the other, and the atmospheric melodies will calm even the most intricate labyrinth-level stress messes. -JH
Recommended Tracks: "Amawalk", "Tourist", "North"
You've just chugged two bottles of cough syrup and fallen into your staticky TV set, losing all connection with the physical realm. An outside party (perhaps Rice's friend Charles Manson) comes along and hooks up Satan's old Betamax to see if it still works. This is what you hear. -ZN
Recommended Tracks: Uh...dude, what? WHAT? Umm...whoa...there's "Turn Me On, Dead Man"