The 2012 edition of the CMJ Music Marathon may still be a couple of weeks off but we’ve already been excitedly penciling in our (exhausting!) show schedules and RSVP’ing to every party invitation that comes through the ol’ digital transom.
We’ve also assembled Spotify and Rdio playlists for some of our favorite Orchard artists performing at this year’s festival. Hopefully it makes some of your decisions easier.
We here present you with CMJ 2012: The Bands, The Music, The City. Happy CMJ!
It doesn’t roll off the tongue with quite the same alliterative ease but let’s call this Freeloader Monday.
If you’re heading down to Austin next week, it’s a good bet that you have started to assemble an elaborate SXSW itinerary that will take you all over the city to see literally dozens of shows, from day parties, to official showcases, to late night performances taking place in weird and wonderful locations like, say, the middle of a bridge at 4 am. (Said itinerary will hopefully also take you to many many delicious Tex-Mex and BBQ joints as well but that’s for another post. Sleep, however, is for the weak).
Navigating the list of artists can be a daunting experience but we’re here to help. Our free Don’t Mess with Texas: SXSW 2012 New Music Sampler contains tracks from 23 can’t-miss-artists.
Click HERE to download the compilation. Starting tomorrow it will also be available for streaming on services like Spotify, Rdio and Amazon.
Check out the track list after the jump.
Since January 1, The Orchard has added over 60,000 UPCs to its digital distribution catalog. These ten grabbed our crate-diggin’ hearts faster than we could say “Nyan Cat Triple Bypass.”
The New Mastersounds: Breaks From the Border [Tallest Man]
Seventh album of warm retro-leaning funk and soul-jazz from these long-grooving Brits, this is The New Mastersounds’ first platter recorded in the US (Tornillo, TX) and their first with vocals (they’re great). If you dig Sharon Jones and Daptone Records, you’ll dig this. Stream it here.
Wooden Wand: Briarwood [Fire]
The rockingest entry to date in Wooden Wand’s prodigious discography, Briarwood marries James Jackson Toth’s Denis Johnson-esque tales of hopelessness and questionable morality with whiskey-drenched smoke-stained country rock courtesy of Duquette Johnston [ex-Verbena], his band the Gum Creek Killers, and a few other friends. Stream “Motel Stationary” here.
Mike Quinn: MAGICO [Prairie Queen]
Loose, funny, and profane, MAGICO is the debut solo album from Pennsylvanian Mike Quinn (And The Moneynotes, Okay Paddy). He delivers lines like “do you remember blowing smoke rings in the backseat with that warthog eatin’ speed” with a blustery Dylan/Jagger drawl that’s hard to resist. And “Big Shit” has the best “cruising Philadelphia” video since DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime.”
Cuckoo Chaos: Woman [Lefse]
Song titles like “Slut Barf” and “Possessed by a Corpse” belie the sound of this San Diego quintet, which fuses bright worldbeat/Talking Heads-inspired polyrhythm with heart-on-sleeve lyrics. As evinced by the lead single “Jesus Flag American Fish,” Cuckoo Chaos are way too catchy to stay under the radar for long.
Willie Evans, Jr: Introducin’ [High Water Music]
This debut album was self-produced by Florida MC and spits intelligent rhymes over gritty warped-ass soul samples. Watch for cameos by Pharoahe Monch (elevator dude) and Jean Grae (an epic face-mash/bird-flip) in the “good day/bad day” video for “Introducin.’”
