Anyone else really looking forward to the release of 7AM, the debut full-length from ethereal, sample-heavy, electronic duo Teengirl Fantasy? If you aren’t, I’ll just assume you’ve not yet heard their excellent ten track CD-R which is floating around out there in cyberspace as we speak. Ever since 7AM was officially announced earlier this month I’ve been bumpin’ that CD-R pretty much non-stop. Go find it and see why Avey Tare mentions them just about every chance he gets.

On the closing track of that forthcoming debut record, Teengirl Fantasy sample the soulful 1977 single “Cheaters Never Win” by Love Committee and flip it into a much more downbeat soundscape of pulsating synth, bleep arpeggios, bass thumps, and clattering cymbals, snaps, and claps, mutating the original’s bouncy, regretful nostalgia into something far colder. I can’t wait to hear what leads up to “Cheaters” pensive glow — it’s sure to be equally massive.

7AM comes out September 14th on True Panther Sounds.

Download: Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters
Buy: Pre-order 7 AM from True Panther Sounds.

In their latest video, French rockers Jamaica decisively win over a group of metalheads — with some help from former Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera — through sheer force of pop. Nicely done.

But seriously, who could hope to resist these sleek tunes? Produced by Xavier de Rosnay of Justice and Daft Punk sound engineer Peter J. Franco, Jamaica’s debut full-length features not one synthesizer (despite what your ears might tell you at times), instead reveling in bright and catchy guitar work that’s been processed into delightful oblivion.

Witness the evolution of robot rock when No Problem drops on August 23rd.

Download: Jamaica - Short and Entertaining
Buy: You can get the equally irresistible single “I Think I Like U 2″ on iTunes.

Opening track “Bombay” is our first taste of tropical sampledelic-pop from El Guincho’s upcoming sophomore record Pop Negro. The album title is obviously a bit misleading — this sounds like a veritable kaleidoscope of colors.

You can also stream Piratas de Sudamérica, Vol. 1, his recent EP of “rearranged South American standards and lost classics”, down below.

Download: El Guincho - Bombay (via)
Buy: Pop Negro comes out in the fall on Young Turks.

YT044 - El Guincho - Piratas de Sudamerica by Young Turks

The seemingly constant buzz of rumors, insinuations, and accusations that swirls around Maya Arulpragasam, aka divisive Sri-Lanka-via-London artist M.I.A., is something she must surely be used to at this point. As one of the first-class provocateurs of the music world, this is really the ideal state for her persona — with her supposed controversies at once intensely maligned and defended, these diametrical voices turn sparks into virtual firestorms of gossip across the internet and other media, ultimately promoting her music along the way. Or as Maya puts it more simply on “Tell Me Why”, the anthemic penultimate track from her new record, “I’ve been comin’ up, for a while, on your radar / and I made it just by countin’ up my hater[s]“.

Just in time for /\/\ /\ Y /\, M.I.A. has worked up one of those firestorms in what is now being hilariously referred to as “Trufflegate”. After she exposed some inconsistencies in the Lynn Hirschberg-penned character assassination artist profile for The New York Times — including the question of those damning truffle fries — and less coolly tweeted that journalists phone number for all to see, there was little hope to escape discussion of the issue on whatever music site or blog you visited. It’s so convenient, you might wonder how much of it Maya could have possibly calculated. Did she know she was walking into what now practically seems like a setup in the hopes of proving previous criticisms of the NY Times and other media, all the while bolstering her own profile? Either way, you can’t help but ask: where would M.I.A. be without haters?

Of course, what are haters without fans? From the moment she dropped her debut mixtape and on through the release of two solid full-length albums, Maya has had no problem rallying more and more around her massive, Third World championing, electro-dance bedlam. Though no stranger to clusterfuckery, her latest full-length finds the poppiest and noisiest elements of her sound less finely intertwined and presented instead as a chaotic clash of purer sounds, in a sense mirroring the arguments that surround her public persona. Fitting then that much of this sort of self-titled record finds M.I.A. musing from a more personal perspective, littering her political commentaries and more playful jams with self-referential metaphors and wordplay. Unfortunately, on a whole, the aesthetic comes off as a little half-baked and may actually go down as the first disappointment for the M.I.A. faithful.

The most sluggish moments on /\/\ /\ Y /\ arise from some middling, confused compositions that lack her characteristic bombastic power, melodic strength, or even coherent songwriting, opting instead to tumble along without much of a discernible center. On the flip side, though a few high points are dragged down by their compositional disarray and unfashionable uses of auto-tune, typically when this record is on it can be quite impressive. “Steppin’ Up” is a monstrous banger that makes extensive and inventive use of power tool samples, layering a cacophonous percussion of drills and saws underneath the song’s grinding hooks. This raucous dissonance is equally effective on the more cohesive, but still spastic “Teqkilla”, a richly produced ocean of bleeps, bloops, blips, and percussive clatter. Towards the middle of the record, M.I.A. chills things out with some mostly forgettable songs and the catchy, sweet, dub-pop standout/quasi-cover “It Takes a Muscle” before cranking into the album’s Suicide-sampling lead single, “Born Free”, which I still think falls kind of flat. But at least she closes /\/\ /\ Y /\ on a high note with auto-tuned, Animal Collective-esque grower “Tell Me Why” and the buzzing, ethereal sonic waves of “Space”.

I will say that I look forward to revisiting this record. Perhaps I’m simply missing a solid creative thread hidden somewhere in this mess, or maybe I’ll warm up to a few more of these songs. Either way, while I won’t be surprised if it wins over a handful of new fans who didn’t quite get M.I.A. until now, for the converted, /\/\ /\ Y /\ feels like a bit of a misstep relative to the overwhelming, refreshing strength of her work up to this point.

EDIT: I was asked to take down the album version, but check out the “Teqkilla” remix with Nicki Minaj down below (via M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. Recordings blog).

Download: M.I.A. - Teqkilla (Lost My Fone Out wiv Nicki Minaj Remix)
Buy: You can order /\/\ /\ Y /\ from Insound as CD, Deluxe CD, or LP.

Last year, Dirty Projectors and enigmatic avant-pop singer Björk collaborated on Mount Wittenberg Orca, a seven song suite that was performed live at a benefit for the AIDS/Homeless service organization Housing Works. To the surprise and delight of many, they also found time to put the composition to tape last month at Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room Studio as a very “live” recording, only overdubbing “lead vocals and a guitar solo”. It’s now been made available for download to benefit another worthy cause — the creation of marine protected areas through the National Geographic Society.

This piece, written by Dirty Projectors’ frontman and guiding creative force Dave Longstreth, was inspired by an experience bandmate and co-vocalist Amber Coffman had on a hiking trip on Mount Wittenberg in Northern California. Looking out into the Pacific Ocean, Amber saw a small family of whales swimming across the top of of the water. Longstreth crafted his suite as an imagined dialogue between the mother whale (parts sung by Björk), the baby whales (parts sung by Dirty Projector sirens Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, and Haley Dekle), and Amber (parts sung by Dave Longstreth). And it’s as beautiful as one might imagine. With playful, pretty guitar plucks and strums, a few slow drones, soft and sweet lead vocals, and some dense, complexly interlocked harmonies, these songs come together in a way that belies their relatively hasty composition and recording.

Take a listen to one of the Björk-led tracks down below, then go donate to a good cause and download your copy. A minimum donation of $1 per song ($7) is a superb deal, but give more if you can!

Download: Dirty Projectors + Björk - On and Ever Onward
Buy: You can donate and then download this album right here.

It’s that time again. Time to get drip like a fish and straight-up lose your mind on the dance floor wit ya boys Ricky Reed and Arjun Singh, aka Wallpaper, Oaktown’s #1 in auto-tune electro-funk goodness.

YOU. ARE. NOT. READY. F’real.

These guys simply do not disappoint. And there should be some new jams in the mix for this tour, which starts tomorrow night (June 25th) in Sacramento, so get excited. Here in San Diego, our resident master of funked-out, talk box pop-genius Rafter is opening, which means I expect you locals to get extra excited. Hit me up if you wanna pre-party!

Flyer and tour dates available after the jump.

Download: Wallpaper - I Got Soul, I’m So Wasted

Download: Donwill - Love Junkie (Feat. The Park) (Wallpaper Remix)
Buy: Never a bad time to pick up Wallpaper’s debut full-length Doo Doo Face on CD or LP.

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The new Tera Melos full-length, their first since their intense untitled 2005 debut, comes out on September 7th, 2010. After the initial taste of “Frozen Zoo”, it sounds like Patagonian Rats might be a more subdued, melodic, and mature endeavor than past works. However, the band has promised us both “weird music videos” and “extremely fast songs” — plus these two album teasers are a bit more manic — so those enthralled with Melos’ more off-kilter charms shouldn’t be too worried.

Stream and download “Frozen Zoo” as an mp3 below or at the Tera Melos bandcamp page in an array of formats.

Download: Tera Melos - Frozen Zoo
Buy: Look for pre-orders soon, including one for a 2xLP with 3 bonus tracks.

Above artwork by the talented Ilan Schraer. If you sign up to follow his blog right now, he’ll sketch you for free! More details here.

Not to be deterred from providing loud, enthusiastic soundtracks to summer, Japandroids are back again with their second of five singles due this year, “Younger Us” b/w a cover of X’s “Sex and Dying in High Society”. This A-side may sound a little cleaner than much of the fare from Post-Nothing, but with characteristic nostalgic patter like “Remember sayin’ things like ‘We’ll sleep when we’re dead’ / and thinkin’ this feelin’ was never gonna end / Remember that night you were already in bed, said ‘fuck it’, got up to drink with me instead”, it’s apparent they’re still covering the same emotional ground. That’s not to say there isn’t something new here beyond a slight cleanup; regardless of subject matter or their virtually exclusive use of power chords, this song comes together in a way that, strangely enough, feels more mature than their past works. Considering that “Younger Us” was actually recorded during the Post-Nothing sessions, this is an odd and subtle fact — perhaps the one subtle fact in this towering powerhouse of distorted guitars and shout-singing — but a fact nonetheless.

Download: Japandroids - Younger Us
Buy: You can pre-order the Younger Us 7-inch (limited to 2500 copies) from Polyvinyl Records for $5.

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Meanwhile, San Diego’s hometown hero (?) of lo-fi hype Nathan Williams is making a much more significant move away from his trademark sound on King of the Beach. Recorded with the former rhythm section for Jay Reatard (RIP) at Sweet Tea in Mississippi — yes, that’s the same studio where Merriweather Post Pavilion was recorded — this third Wavves album promises to live up to Williams’ early characterizations (ie: “clean as a whistle” and “able to hear everything”).

Our first tangible glimpse into how this will actually play out came in the form of the leaked title-track and album opener “King of the Beach”. While not mired in the peaked-out production that has typified his music thus far, I certainly wouldn’t call this hi-fidelity audio. But Williams wasn’t lying about being able to hear things either — a bold choice for someone who’s been accused of masking bad songs with oppressive noise. Skirting overproduction and adopting a kind of classic California punk sound, Wavves is particularly interested in silencing those haters with this one (”You’re never gonna stop me / You’re never gonna stop… King of the Beach!”). It seems as mindlessly fun as it ever was, though I wonder if he can pull it off for a whole record.

The first official single, “Post Acid”, also came out today (via awkward corporate sponsorship that will remain nameless) and suggests that, in fact, he might just be able to. Check both tracks out down below.

Download: Wavves - King of the Beach (removed on request)

Download: Wavves - Post Acid (removed on request)
Buy: King of the Beach comes out August 6th on Fat Possum.

Margaret Noble made her start as a DJ in Chicago, the vibrant birthplace of house music, but has since moved beyond the hypnotic four-on-the-floor scene and evolved into a talented conceptual sound artist based here in San Diego. Her compositions thus far have primarily been installations and performance pieces, often featuring accompanying visuals from a collaborating artist, but I’m pleased to announce that she is currently preparing to complete a studio recorded “soundscape remix” of George Orwell’s indelible political novel 1984.

Building from her original live performance of this work and inspired by Orwell’s seemingly endless relevance in regard to the State in the era of terrorism and our broader society, Noble has constructed Frakture by taking fragments from an original 1950s vinyl recording of a radio broadcast reading of the novel and melding them with a dense sound design of programmed electronics, vintage analogue synth, spoken word passages, and a myriad of field recordings. You can stream an excellent selection from this album, opening track “Safer is Better”, down below. Foreboding synthesized melodies, pulsating noise, percussive gallops, the distressing sounds of alarm sirens, stock exchange bells, protest mobs, and the subtle discomfort of looping camera flash charges come together with impressive effect as Noble sets the ominous tone of Frakture right at the outset.

However, in order to complete this piece, Margaret needs some additional funding. If you’d like to pledge your support — and I hope you would — you can head over to the Kickstarter page and donate at a level of your choosing. Your money will be used to help with the cost of mixing and mastering, pressing vinyl, art book publication, and more. Plus, all net proceeds from this project will be donated to Amnesty International, so you’ll be supporting two good causes here.

Look for Frakture to come out soon… sooner with your donation.

Buy: Donate to this project over at its Kickstarter page (at least $10 gets you a digital copy of the album).

If you’re Kanye West, coming off an album in which you traded rich hip-hip production and emotive raps for slick, low fidelity synth-pop and vocoded singing, what do you do? You go hard on that first single from your new record, the awesomely-titled Good Ass Job, and don’t even bother saying “no homo”.

With this banger, Ye takes implicit and explicit shots at the naysayers that have united in response to his admittedly absurd ego and accompanying foot-in-mouth moments he’s had recently, but manages to stay as charismatic and introspective as ever. And he samples King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man”!? Yes! I was excited when I heard he was working with RZA, Q-Tip, and Pete Rock for this record (rumor has it that Drake and Pusha T of Clipse have dropped by his studio as well), but now you can officially consider me PUMPED. (mp3 via)

Download: Kanye West - Power (Feat. Dwele)
Buy: Good Ass Job drops sometime in 2010. Look for more info soon.