Hawaii: Part II is here, from the marvelous mind of Tally Hall's Joe Hawley
Anyone familiar with Joe Hawley as a musician (member of Tally Hall), creator and friend will know that there is certainly no one quite like him and subsequently there is no album quite like Hawaii Part II. The self-release album, out today on Bandcamp after a mysterious weeks-long countdown finally reached zero, never really settles on a particular genre and rather serves a journey for your auditory senses with no roadmap in place except the most unexpected. And this journey, delivered from a collective group of artists that came together under a Japanese moniker that translates to "Miracle Musical," turns out to be a pretty stellar one, to say the least.
Standout tracks include my personal favorite "Labyrinth" featuring vocals from Charlene Kaye and rapping from Shane Maux spun together with the background music from seemingly every 80s Nintendo game theme music ever. Put it on repeat ASAP. Other standouts include the hypnotic "Black Rainbows" - maybe the sequel to Tally Hall's Banana Man if Banana Man found all the really good banana drugs and a sweet sweet jungle groove.
While it's really no miracle that Joe Hawley and the rest of these immensely gifted folks (including fellow Tally Hall bandmates Ross Federman, Rob Cantor and Zubin Sedghi) were able to come together and create and self release album as intricate and imaginative as Hawaii Pt II, fans new and old will certainly be glad that they did.
New tune "When I Dream", album & tour dates from Ra Ra Riot
Hooray! New Ra Ra Riot tunes from their upcoming full-length album "Beta Love" out January 22, 2013 on Barsuk Records. It's the band's first release as a four-piece and I'm really liking the shift to a more electronic sound here. I think it compliments the string section they are known for nicely - definitely a band who are growing up and coming into their own.
Beta Love track listing below and a tour is forthcoming including a January 25th stop at Webster Hall and probably an appearance at SXSW.
Ra Ra Riot, Beta Love
1. Dance with Me
2. Binary Mind
3. Beta Love
4. Is It Too Much
5. For Once
7. What I Do For U
8. When I Dream
9. That Much
10. Wilderness
11. I Shut Off
I've been a fan of Matthew Daniel Siskin for a while now (I mean obviously, given I basically cried on the radio when his previous band LEVY broke up). Really excited that he has found time these days between designing websites for people you may have heard of like Beyonce to create a new musical project, Gambles.
Check out the video above and get more from Gambles including info on their first show at Moma PS1.
MP3s are posted for sampling purposes ONLY. I do not post entire albums and STRONGLY ENCOURAGE everyone who reads this blog to pursue the bands you discover here and fall as madly in love with them as I am. That being said, if any label/company/whathaveyou would like any of the files here to be removed, PLEASE email me and I will personally do so myself without haste. Thanks!
Anyone familiar with Joe Hawley as a musician (member of Tally Hall), creator and friend will know that there is certainly no one quite like him and subsequently there is no album quite like 
