February is kicking off with lots of interesting stuff for your ears, most notably, the sophomore release from duo Broken Bells -- Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins. KEXP's Music Director, Don Yates, describes the new album After the Disco as "a strong set of psych-tinged rhythmic pop that improves upon their debut thanks to bolder production and stronger, hook-filled songs fleshed out with funky beats, spacy synth textures, fuzzy guitars, memorable pop melodies and occasional Bee Gees-inspired falsetto vocals." Icelandic artist Ásgeir shares the English-language version of his debut release, which was translated by John Grant. Seattle's own Grammy-winning artist Mary Lambert will release her debut EP for Capitol Records titled Welcome to the Age of My Body. Augustines will drop their self-titled debut, which you can hear tracks from live on KEXP on Thursday, February 6th at 9:30 AM PT. And just in time for Valentine's Day, Starbucks releases the latest in their Sweetheart compilation series, featuring covers performed by Beck, Vampire Weekend, Fiona Apple, Jim James, Phosphorescent, Sharon Jones, and more.
Be sure to check out The Burlies, a new band led by Dismemberment Plan's Travis Morrison. Another debut EP out this week is from Snowbird, the duo of Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde and singer-songwriter Stephanie Dosen. Local band Sunn O))) team up with Ulver for a three-track, 35-minute album out today. And old-school Scottish popsters Aztec Camera offer a 30th anniversary reissue of their classic debut album including a bonus disc of rarities.
Augustines - "Nothing To Lose But Your Head" from Augustines on Votiv/Oxcart
Aztec Camera - "Oblivious" from High Land, Hard Rain 2xCD re-issue on Domino USA
Bombay Bicycle Club - Carry Me from So Long, See You Tomorrow on Vagrant
Broken Bells - Holding On For Life from After the Disco on Columbia
The Burlies - In a Never-Ending Way from The Burlies EP on self-released
ceo - Wonderland from Wonderland on Modular Recordings
Cymbals - The Natural World from The Age Of Fracture on Fat Possum
Gardens & Villa - "Bullet Train" from Dunes on Secretly Canadian
The Haden Triplets - SONG from The Haden Triplets on Third Man Records
Mary Lambert - "Sarasvati" from Welcome to the Age of My Body EP on Capitol Records
Mas Ysa - Why from Worth EP on Downtown
Marissa Nadler - Was It A Dream from July on Sacred Bones/Bella Union
Secret Colours - It Can't Be Simple from Positive Distraction Part I EP on self-released
Snowbird - "Porcelain" from Moon on Bella Union
Sunn O))) and Ulver - "Let There Be Light" from Terrestrials on Southern Lord
Ulf Lohmann - "Sicht" from Pop Ambient 2014 compilation on Kompakt
Jim James - "Turn Your Lights Down Low" (Bob Marley cover) from Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Play Their Favorite Love Songs compilation on Hear Music
CHVRCHES - "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (Bauhaus Cover) from Vampire Academy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Universal
Water Liars - "I Want Blood" from Water Liars on Fat Possum
Juan Wauters - "Escucho Mucho" from N.A.P. North American Poetry on Captured Tracks
Xiu Xiu - "Stupid in the Dark" from Angel Guts: Red Classroom on Polyvinyl
Young Fathers - "Low" from Dead on Anticon
There's lots to love in the record stores this Valentine's Day week, like the aptly titled Hotel Valentine, the first release in fifteen years from New York City duo Cibo Matto. If you're in a more somber mood, check out the album Benji from Sun Kil Moon aka Mark Kozelek (ex-Red House Painters), fe…
The first month of 2014 is closing out with another strong batch of releases, including the third album from L.A. band Dum Dum Girls, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "a darker, more ‘80s-influenced take on the band’s psych-tinged pop-rock, featuring a more spacious, atmospheric sound pro…
