Music

It's a classic story: Boy meets Musician. Boy listens to Musician's music. Boy necks a bottle of prosecco and gets his tits out to Musician's music at an after-hours he stupidly paid too much to get into. Boy hears remix of Musician's song. Boy gets sad.

I wouldn't say that I'm capital-S sad about these remixes for YELLE's OMG!!!, but they've confirmed what we know for 93% of remixes released into the wild -- the original doesn't need to be fucked with.

There's not a lot of things in the world that can compare to the feeling of seeing a cut of your band's brand new music video. For those of you who haven't experience this singular event, look no further than Jock Tears' new video for "Jock Tears". Buoyed by the absolutely charming Lauren Smith, the clip is essentially a video within a video. Director David Ehrenreich effortlessly comments on the ludicrous nature of this particular marketing tool all the while letting this tool do its job.

Video games are an isolating endeavour, especially the ones of the RPG variety. Players are essentially living another life online, one steeped in elaborate costuming, dense mythology and, often, grand adventure. These games don't usually mix well with dance parties, but Little Dragon seems to want to change that. The Gothenburg-based disco pop outfit have just released the new video for the single "Lover Chanting" and it's a charmer. Set within a fantasy based video game being played by an enthusiastic young girl, the clip is a bold and buttery delight.

We may be living in the darkest of timelines at the moment and the general unease felt around the globe is starting to creep its way into our art. Moby has just shared the video for his new single "Falling Rain And Light" from his latest album Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt. The conservation rock opus posits a world without humans and invites us to take a peek at what that would look like. Stark, haunting and all around beautiful, the clip is a hard reminder of what could easily happen if we aren't careful.

Super groups have been a long-standing tradition in the music industry.  Most times it’s an economical decision. Band member from famous band A and band member from famous band B join forces, come up with a terrible name and proceed to make it rain money on very little effort (I’m looking at you, Audioslave). Sometimes a group of established veterans just want to hang out with their other talented friends and write songs that are about cars but are actually about doing it (Hi, Traveling Wilburys!).

This new single by disco revisionists, Escort, is wildly confusing. Back when the big thing in music was software-heavy nu-disco, discovered and downloaded from blogs, Escort were aping Paradise Garage-era disco music. Now that even the blandest cities in North America are doing weekly vinyl disco parties, Escort has gone and decided to make what sounds like a Miami Horror b-side from 2010. 

In an age where free thought is a lost notion that sent your grandfather wading in shit across Fortress Europe, perhaps it’s fitting for today’s youth to take their marching orders on truth and integrity from Papa Roach, a group most famous for their breakout anthem about checking out from reality – because that reality cheque bounced. With a track record of consistently telling it like it is out in suburbia, warts and all, Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix and co.

Looks like the dream of the nineties is alive now more than ever today as alternative nation giants Smashing Pumpkins have announced their brand new Rick Rubin-produced album Shiny And Oh So Bright Vol 1, Lp No Past No Future No Sun. The new record features the band's almost original lineup, sans bass player D'arcy, and is touted to be a real return to form. The new single "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)" isn't as embarrassing as you may imagine.

Low has been crafting beautiful and haunting songs since the early 90s and their latest album, Double Negative, is no exception. The record was released mid September through Sup Pop records and now Duluth’s finest have followed that up with a video for the single “Poor Sucker”. Directed by artist Karlos Rene Ayala, the clip features Low leader Alan Sparhawk getting made over by an off screen person.

We are unwavering BRONCHO fans here at ION, which means that our inboxes basically start bat-signalling us when they release new material. Their latest, "Keep It In Line," is another number that represents the trademark way the act blends moodiness and heel-tapping rhythms. If you find yourself chatting up someone who says they're looking for "new" music, BRONCHO should be the first bullet point in your chamber. They never seem to let down the listener.