Listening Post - Beach House - Bloom (Sub Pop/Bella Union, 2012)

More swirling loveliness from Beach House.

Beach House's 2010 album 'Teen Dream' was a duskily ethereal slow-burning classic. Soaring melodies amid the gentle ebb and flow of a million guitars refracted in a gauzy hall of mirrors. Superlative dreampop in the vein of Cocteau Twins and AR Kane and a cousin of beautiful Korallreven.

'Bloom' is evolution rather revolution, taking 'Teen Dream' as a starting point, adding more clarity in the vocals but more dreamy sheen in the music's candyfloss of sweet fogginess.

Listen to Beach House 'Bloom' in full (NPR.org)

Listening Post: Peter Broderick - http://www.itstartshear.com (Bella Union, 2012)

New and beautiful from Peter Broderick.

How does he do it? From the opening piano chords, building through violin and, presumably using his trademark looping pedal action, more piano and violin, Peter Broderick magicks heart-stopping beauty from the simplest of ingredients.

The sound is in keeping with his 'Home' album rather than the more experimental side projects he's released of late. It's gorgeous, with flowing streams of guitar and/or piano, beautifully arranged and recorded.

Amusingly, for those who have ever been involved in a website project, it says "Coming Soon" at http://www.itstartshear.com.

He's better at music than websites then.

Listening Post - Kate Bush '50 Words For Snow' (Fish People, 2011)

Kate Bush continues where 'Aerial' left off, drifting even further into abstract, comtemplative territory.

'Aerial' was a gorgeous, deep amber dream of a record, sliding out of reach of trad song structures away into the stripped back, piano-led territory of Talk Talk's 'Spirit Of Eden'.

On first listen, '50 Words For Snow' is as good, moving further away from song structures. Sounding wonderful to me.

Tracklist:
Snowflakes
Lake Tahoe
Misty
Wild Man
Snowed In A Wheeler Street
50 Words For Snow
Among Angels

Listen to Kate Bush '50 Words For Snow' (via NPR.org)

Listening Post - Korallreven 'An Album By Korallreven' (Acephale, 2011)

Gorgeous, florid dreampop explosion.

Korallreven have unleashed a few utterly gorgeous dubbed-up, electronic indie pop singles over the last couple of years. Finally, here is their debut album (out in the US on November 16th).

It's a lovely, light and airy collection that brings to mind some of Saint Etienne's most breezy moments, along with Dubstar and maybe even the Beloved.

Tracklisting:
As Young As Yesterday
Sa Sa Samoa
The Truest Faith
Keep Your Eyes Shut
Loved-Up
Comin Closer
Pago Pago
Honey Mine
A Surf On Endorphins
Comin' Down

Listening Post - Esmerine 'La Lechuza' (Constellation, 2011)

Epic, ornate post-rock/modern classical hybrid from alumni of Godspeed You! Black Emporer, A Silver Mt Zion and Set Fire To Flames.

'La Lechuza' is the first Esmerine release since 2005 and the first to be released on Constellation. It's a beautifully poised record comprising strings, piano, harp and a host of elegant arrangements.

Tracklist:
A Dog River
Walking Through Mist
Last Waltz
Trampolin   
Snow Day For Lhasa
Sprouts
Little Streams Make Big Rivers
Au Crepuscule, Sans Laisse
Fish On Land 



La Lechuza - ESMERINE by Constellation Records

Listening Post - Laura Marling 'A Creature I Don't Know' (Virgin, 2011)

Jazzier textures and more diverse musical backing on prodigious modern folk-singer's third album.

Ms Marling continues to develop at a frenzied pace, building on her poised, fully-developed folk songs, this time adding more varied instrumentation and - whisper it - more full-blown drumming and some raucous electric guitar work.

Tracklist:
The Muse
I Was Just a Card
Don’t Ask Me Why
Salinas
The Beast
Night After Night
My Friends
Rest in the Bed
Sophia
All My Rage

Released on Monday 12th September.

Listening Post - Little Dragon 'Ritual Union' (Peacefrog, 2011)

Third album featuring one of the stand-out vocalists from the awesome SBTRKT album.

Yukimi Nagano's guest vocals on 'Wildfire' from the SBTRKT album were perfect - a soulful, yearning complement to the electronic, post-dubstep soundworld of SBTRKT.

Little Dragon's third album delivers a similar combination of organic and icy, inorganic textures on this, their third, album.

Tracklist:
01. Ritual Union
02. Little Man
03. Brush the Heat
04. Shuffle a Dream
05. Please Turn
06. Crystalfilm
07. Precious
08. Nightlight
09. Summertearz
10. When I Go Out
11. Seconds

Released on July 25th on Peacefrog/EMI.

Listen to Little Dragon 'Ritual Union' in full (Full album stream, courtest of NPR)

Listening Post - The Horrors 'Skying' (XL, 2011) (stream)

The Horrors' new album in full. More dilettante Indie music with Goth and Psychedelic touches.

Never completely bought into them but they keep putting out decent tracks. 'Still Life' sounds like the best record the Psychedelic Furs never made - but I can't get it out of my head.

'Skying' is released on July 11th.

Listening Post - SBTRKT 'SBTRKT' (Young Turks, 2011)

SBTRKT's album is shaping up to be one of my favourites of the year.

Spectacular shifts in mood, rhythm and melody. Great stuff, delivering on the promise of tracks like 'Heatwave' and 'Wildfire'.

If this isn't working, there are previews over at itunes too.

Listening Post - Bon Iver 'Bon Iver' (Jagjaguwar/4AD, 2011)

Listen to the whole of the new Bon Iver album prior to its release on June 20th on 4AD/Jagjaguwar.

First track 'Calgary' was gentle and synth-y but the opening salvo of 'Perth' and 'Minnesota' show a subtle progression in terms of new instrumentation and by the time you hit 'Holocene' you're hooked into it.

Listen to the whole of the new Bon Iver album (Stream) (NPR)

Listening Post - Arctic Monkeys 'Suck It And See' (Domino, 2011)

Full stream of the new Arctic Monkeys album 'Suck It And See'. Crisp and less lumpy in its rocking-out than the previous album. Alex Turner's twisty wordsmithery is given a chance to shine and it's a songs like 'Black Treacle' show a return to indie roots.

Released on Domino on June 6th.

Listening Post - Death Cab For Cutie 'Codes and Keys' (Atlantic, 2011) (Full Album Stream)

Death Cab For Cutie's album is now available via NPR to stream in its entirety.

There aren't the suprises - sonic or otherwise - that there might once have been but it's a sweet and melodic listen with some gorgeous textures - opening track 'Home Is A Fire' being a case in point.



Listen to Death Cab For Cutie 'Codes And Keys' (Stream) (NPR)

Listening Post - Three Trapped Tigers 'Route One Or Die' (Blood And Biscuits, 2011) (Stream)

You can now stream the whole of the Three Trapped Tigers album - 'Route One Or Die' - ahead of its much-anticipated (by me, anyway) release on May 30th.

An bright, seamless fusion of electronics and live band post-rock/math-rock stylings that delivers on the promise of their first three EPs and maintains some spectacular intensity.

It embraces electronic sound in the same was as the likes of Fridge and Oval but has a more organic, full-band feel like Foals with the aggression of 65DaysofStatic or Shellac.

The closest marker for the Three Trapped Tigers album is probably US math-rock genii Battles who oddly enough have their second album 'Gloss Drop' - their first without Tyondai Braxton - out the following week on Warp.

'Route One Or Die' is available to pre-order over at the Blood And Biscuits website.

Listening Post - Wild Beasts 'Smother' album stream (Domino, 2011)

Wild Beasts are really hitting their stride with their third album, out next week. First single 'Albatross' was a delight. Full album available to stream now.

Stream the whole of Wild Beasts 'Smother' here (at VPRO.nl)

Listen to Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' complete album (Sub Pop/Bella Union, 2011) (Stream)

Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' is now available to stream at NPR.org so you can listen to the whole album now in readiness to rush out on Monday and buy it (in the UK anyway). It is sounding mighty fine too.

'Helplessness Blues' tracklisting:
1. "Montezuma" – 3:37
2. "Bedouin Dress" – 4:30
3. "Sim Sala Bim" – 3:14
4. "Battery Kinzie" – 2:49
5. "The Plains/Bitter Dancer" – 5:54
6. "Helplessness Blues" – 5:03
7. "The Cascades" – 2:08
8. "Lorelai" – 4:25
9. "Someone You'd Admire" – 2:29
10. "The Shrine/An Argument" – 8:07
11. "Blue-Spotted Tail" – 3:05
12. "Grown Ocean" – 4:36


Listening Post Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' (Streams) (NPR.com)

Listening Post - stream the new Low album 'C'mon' (Sub Pop, 2011)

Have stumbled across a widget to listen to the whole of the new Low album. 'Try To Sleep' has been a favourite for a couple of weeks so delighted to get a listen to the whole album now.

It's out on Monday (in the UK).

Tracklisting is as follows:
01 Try to Sleep
02 You See Everything
03 Witches
04 Done
05 Especially Me
06 $20
07 Majesty/Magic
08 Nightingale
09 Nothing but Heart
10 Something's Turning Over

Listen to the new Low album 'C'mon' (Soundcloud)

Listening Post - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart 'Belong' (Fortuna Pop/Slumberland, 2011)

The whole of the new Pains Of Being Pure At Heart album is available preview. I think it's in the shops on Monday (28th March).

'Belong' is sounding better and better with every listen and the whole album is a sturdier affair than their exquisite debut, adding in new, sacrilegious flavours, like the synths on 'Heart In Your Heartbreak' and the sequencer lines in 'The Body'.

As ever, influences and echoes pop out of the mix and poke the older listener in the nostalgia-lode. So, 'Heaven's Gonna Happen Now' (for me, anyway) has a little bit of New Order or maybe Revenge about it and the spirit of (long forgotten Factory band) The Railway Children looms over lots of the album too - though they were a truly obscure band so that might just be a coincidence.

No-one would claim it to be the most original of sounds going but it is truly gorgeous stuff and well worth a listen.