Presenting 2013’s inaugural round of ready-to-stream albums:
1) Beck via Portland Cello Project, Portland Cello Project Play Beck Hansen’s Song Reader. “While the music is fairly consistent throughout, ranging from Sea Change-style string dirges to brighter cabaret-flavored jaunts, the band cycles through vocalists, from soulful men’s chorus Chanticleer to outside folkie Jolie Holland.” (via SPIN)
2) Divorce, Divorce. “Divorce are post-punk funk band tight, indulge death-disco rhythmic ideas, and thanks to cathartically unhinged female vocals from Jennie Fulk, provide the stalwart confrontational formula for desperate, fire-eyed rave-ups with wounded rage.” (via SPIN)
3) Super Helpful, The Help EP. “[The Help is] grounded in underground boom bap, though it never stays in that box for long, briskly moving into zombie soundtrack score synths, trip-hop drift, and new age.” (via SPIN)
4) Broadcast, Berberian Sound Studio Soundtrack. “Almost devoid of drums or repetition, these tiny vignettes float by one after the other, no one track explicitly memorable on its own but unmistakably Broadcast when consumed in succession. It’s rare that an original score works so well as an audio-only experience.” (via NPR)
5) Jean Grae, Dust Ruffle (Songs I Found Under My Bed). “[Dust Ruffle] features unreleased songs [recorded] between 2004 and 2010. When [Jean Grae] spoke about Dust Ruffle over Twitter… ‘[It’s] such an interesting retrospective project, because I get to actually hear myself evolve from 2004-2010. Snapshots of life.'” (via XXL)
6) Tree, Tree Featuring the City. “Produced entirely by Tree, featuring a wide selection of Chicago talent, you’re gonna want this in your life.” (via Nah Right)
7) Young Scooter, Street Lottery. “This tape includes… single ‘Columbia’ as well as guest appearances from Bun B, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, Ma$e, Ca$h Out, Verse Simmonds, Future, Travis Porter, and many more… this energetic project is looking to set 2013 on fire with his collection of street bangers and surprisingly radio-ready songs.” (via Hip-Hop Wired)
8) Dropkick Murphys, Signed and Sealed in Blood. “Boston’s Dropkick Murphys have now spent a decade and a half fusing Irish reels with roomful-of-drunk-bruisers punk shoutalongs… and it’s a total blast.” — Stereogum (via Teamcoco.com)
9) 9th Wonder, Black American Gangster. “The fourteen track mixtape finds 9th Wonder giving us his take on Jay-Z’s tracks from [the] American Gangster album… All the tracks have been reworked in 9th’s usual soulful approach. This shit is not to be slept on.” (via stupidDOPE)
10) Twenty One Pilots, Vessel. “The duo — Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun — have been gaining kudos for singles like ‘Holding on to You’ and ‘Guns for Hands,’ which mix zippy keyboards, melodic guitars, and rock-meets-rap vocal stylings.” (via Entertainment Weekly)
