Back in the (Wintry) Mix

There were a few snowflakes in the air today here in Brooklyn, the first of the season, so it’s good timing for the first Wintry Mix of 2012. Unlike the Summer Fridays mixes, these will be almost entirely new music… though I’m allowing myself one oldie per week. Lots of great stuff here: new singles from The 2 Bears, Diagrams, WhoMadeWho and Bear in Heaven. This one is pretty dancefloor-friendly. So have at it!

DOWNLOAD WINTRY MIX 01.13.2013

Tracklist:

1. The Golden Filter – Age of Consent
2. WIR – So and Slow it Grows
3. WhoMadeWho – Inside World
4. Django Django – Default
5. Errors – Pleasure Palaces
6. Chairlift – Sidewalk Safari
7. Expensive Looks – Nightfalls
8. Tanlines – Brothers
9. LESCOP – La Foret
10. The 2 Bears – Work
11. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Dream On
12. The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman)
13. Bear in Heaven – The Reflection of You
14. Grimes – Genesis
15. Diagrams – Tall Buildings

Like all my mixes, the songs actually segue together so…No shuffling! Liner notes after the jump.

1. The Golden Filter – Age of Consent
New York duo The Golden Filter contribute the opening track to Power Corruption & Lies Covered which comes free with the new issue of MOJO. (New Order are on the cover.)  Unlike some of the other artists on this (cough Destroyer cough cough Fujiya & Miyagi ahem!) “Age of Consent” gets a pretty radical reworking, taking away the signature bassline (is this a comment on the now Hook-less New Order?), slowing it down and dropping the temperature about 30 degrees. Which is to say it now sounds like “Your Silent Face.” Did you ever notice all the songs on Power, Corruption & Lies use only two chords?

2. WIR – So and Slow it Grows
The sole oldie on this mix. This was when Robert Gotobed quit Wire and the other three members carried on, but without the “E”. Their only album under that guise, The First Letter, was maligned but I actually like a lot of it quite a bit, especially this single. Apart from the very digital guitars, this sounds pretty modern.

3. WhoMadeWho – Inside World
Busy boys, WhoMadeWho. Less than a year after releasing the excelent Knee Deep, the Danish trio will unleash Brighter at the end of the month and this is the first single. Definitely a little cheerier than paranoia found on Knee Deep, with that throbbing disco that may cause involuntary strutting.

4. Django Django – Default
This London trio has taken their sweet time finishing up their debut album, having released their first single two and a half years ago. Well the record’s finally coming out at the end of this month and while it suffers a bit from Elastica-itus (put every previously released track — a-sides and b-sides — on the album) only obsessives like myself will complain about the lack of brand new material. The band’s “funky blender” approach is on charming display here.

5. Errors – Pleasure Palaces
Scottish instrumental group Errors are starting to let vocals creep into their music. I can’t tell whether it’s just “ahhhhs” or actual words on this one, though given the title of the song it’s probably the former. Have Some Faith in Magic is probably their best album yet.

6. Chairlift – Sidewalk Safari
I was a little unsure what Chairlift would be like after the departure of Aaron Pfenning (who now fronts Rewards), worried they might turn into some kind of indie Enya. I’m happy to report that while there’s all sorts of new agey stuff on Something, it’s a pretty fun listen. As you can tell by this single.

7. Expensive Looks – Nightfalls
The psuedonmyn for producer Alec Feld, Expensive Looks fall within that icy, dusty electro that is what chillwave might’ve sounded like if it meant cold not, y’know, relaxed.

8. Tanlines – Brothers
Speaking of chillwave, Brooklyn duo Tanlines were smart in basically sitting most of 2010 and 2011 out, spending most of their time being really snarky on Twitter. So here it is 2012 and we’ll have to find some other name for the kind of music they make ’cause you-know-what never really fit anyway. “Brothers” is pretty good, anxious to hear the rest of the album.

9. LESCOP – La Foret
I don’t know a damn thing about this band other than it’s my favorite track on the new Kitsune Parisien II compilation.

10. The 2 Bears – Work
It’s a busy year for the folks in Hot Chip. There’s a new album this summer, Felix and Al have a Roxy Music sounding side project New Builds. Joe Goddard, meanwhile, put out a solo album last year and is now one half (with Raf Rundell) of The 2 Bears whose album Be Strong is out in a couple weeks.  A little more of a house banger than last year’s amazing “Bear Hug,” its no less catchy. The album’s a lot of fun.

11. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Dream On
Joe Goddard’s Greco-Roman label put out the first few TEED EPs, but now he’s signed to Polydor and ready for the big time. As much as a kid who wears a dinosaur costume onstage can be. Chill and very funky, I’m a big fan.

12. The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman)
The Big Pink stop pretending that they’re “artists” and make an album of big anthemic (dumb) pop. So if you loved “Dominos” but the rest of that album fell flat, Future This is your more complete Saturday night soundtrack.

13. Bear in Heaven – The Reflection of You
One of this year’s more hilarious bits of online hypemaking, Bear In Heaven announced they were streaming their new album — not due out till April — on their website from now till it comes out. The catch: they slowed it down so it only plays through once over the four-month period. Here is our first proper-speed taste of I Love You, It’s Cool. I love the big synth pads all over this. Spacehopper road trip music.

14. Grimes – Genesis
Grimes just signed to 4AD and she woulda fit in just fine on the late-’80s prime of the label, all enigmatic, dark and beautiful. And danceable. Let’s hope Vaughn Oliver can be coaxed out of retirement to do the cover art to the album.

15. Diagrams – Tall Buildings
Diagrams is Sam Genders who used to be in Tuung and provided his distictive vocals to most of their best songs (like “Bullets”). Diagrams is essentially a solo project, which is lush and mostly pastoral in nature. (Not unlike Gruff Rhys’ more gentle material.) “Tall Buildings” is hyperactive funk, though, but still kind of lush and pastoral. Is that possible? I just wrote it, didn’t I?