New Adds: New Madrid, Moderat, Gramatik, The Range

New Madrid - magnetkingmagnetqueen:  From the pleasant college town of Athens, Georgia comes another psychedelic indie group looking to claim their stake in the legacy of modern psych rock. The third studio album after a successful debut and follow-up, magnetkingmagnetqueen can be seen as New Madrid really settling into their sound. This sound is characterized by the liberal use of reverby guitars, which is why the band has been labeled “underwater psych rock.” They have a fairly liquid sense of melody, in that the chord progressions and vocals rarely strike me as being particular beautiful sounding, but potentially more conducive towards vibe creation. New Madrid’s aim seems to be to create an atmosphere. That being said, fans of the band may find their latest installment to be the least like a cohesive single work when compared to their previous albums. Nonetheless, New Madrid makes some pretty cool sounds - for those down with the shrill indie lifestyle, magnetkingmagnetqueen may really hit your sweet spot. Give er a try. BONE DADDY

RIYL: The Police, but also Tame Impala

Recommended Tracks: Dress Up (7), Knots (10)

Moderat - III: When it comes to automobiles and techno music, the Germans rarely disappoint. Moderat is made up of electronic artist Apparat and duo Modeselektor, both based in Berlin. This album, their third working together, is yet another solid release. Their postminimal sound is mellow, synthy, soulful, and overall just bringing the chill, casually danceable yet emotional vibes. As somebody who enjoys both dancing and wallowing in my feelings, I really dug it. Track 3, "Finder" is really ideal for combining the two and one of the more upbeat and accessible songs of the album. My other favorite track, "Ghostmother" sounds like the type of song you could really have a cry-dance to (if that's a thing that people do...). NIPPLE MAMA

RIYL: Burial. James Blake

Recommended Tracks: "Finder" (3), "Ghostmother" (4)

Gramatik – Epigram: It’s not too often where I’ll actually vividly remember the first time I listen to an artist, and Gramatik happens to be one of them. One of my friends from high school came over and turned on his song “Hit that Jive”, which samples The King Cole Trio’s Hit That Jive Jack with an accompanying video of the band playing the song. The video is an old black and white video with men in suits dancing worse than drunken sorority girls. After my first listening I was confused and scared – mostly confused though and just left in a state of WTF did I just watch. This was in the best way possible of course. On Gramatik’s latest release Epigram he continues to confuse me with his drastic sound changes. His previous music is mostly chill electronic music but on this he goes hard, meaning there is stuff on the electronic spectrum from dubstep to hip-hop. There are a lot of great tracks on this album, but my favorite right now is either War Of the Currents or Corporate Demon’s. Both of these tracks are similarly in the EDM genre. If you’ve enjoyed his previous music I’d give this one a try. HARRY

Recommended Tracks: War of the Currents (3), Corprate Demons (9), Eat Liver! (7)

RIYL: GRiZ, Cherub, Pretty Lights

The Range – Potential: “Right now, I don’t have a backup plan for if I don’t make it.” There is urgency to Potential that is encapsulated in that phrase repeated in album opener “Regular”. After 2013’s nonfiction it was difficult to see where The Range would go. That album featured the perfect blend of soul and electronic, carving out a unique niche that was did not fall in line with the current alternative R&B wave (The Range is producer act), but clearly had a strong soul influence. Potential moves the project in a direction that feels distinctly influenced by Burial’s seminal album, Untrue, melding bass-heavy beats with pitched up vocals. While that comparison is a bit passé considering the amount of producers that have been influenced by Burial, there is a genuine-ness to The Range that makes Potential feel fresh. Tracks like “Copper Wire” or “No Loss” have an emotional element to is often absent in other post-Untrue producers. While Potential does not surpass its predecessor, it provides a thoroughly enjoyable album from an artist whose adaptability is compelling. KEN

RIYL: Burial, Evian Christ, Arca, Jam City

Recommended Tracks: “Copper Wire” (2), “Florida” (3), “No Loss” (7), “Retune” (8)