Swim And Sleep (Lindstrom Remix)

I wish that I could swim and sleep like a shark does
I'd fall to the bottom and I'd hide til the end of time

All songs previously in my "blog/share with the world" queue got pushed back due to the release of a new Lindstrøm remix. If you've been following this blog for any amount of time (or since the beginning - holler to all five of you), you'll know that if I subscribed to any religion, it would be Lindstrømism. He's just perfect. Or rather…his music is perfect. I was especially taken by his latest remix endeavor as it saw him collaborating with one of my new favorite bands (one who's bandwagon I am admittedly late to jump on), Oregon's Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are a psych-rock band making waves with their 2013 sophomore album, II. For ease of reference's sake, UMO sound like Tame Impala with less fuzz, breezier melodies, and more accessible lyrics. Take the experimental out of psychedelia, and you have UMO - a nice place to be, if I'm to judge. But forget rock for a minute -- Lindstrøm's rework of their 2012 single Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark Does) takes a lilting melody and turns it intergalactic disco spectacular. Still with me? Check it out.

Bonus: The original, oh so sweet, single.
Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark Does) - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Penny

You're my perfect little...penny

Is 2013 the year that garage rock officially "comes back," or was that 2012? Whenever the date, Hanni El Khatib is a welcome genre contributor. This spring sees him releasing his sophomore album, Head In The Dirt, produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach (insert approving head nod here). While the album's first single was a raucous, messy affair - shaped by a charging drumline and growling guitars - the second single Penny is a sunny, organ-drenched love song.

Penny shines on its own, but label-mates Classixx took it and did more than polish it up - they turned it into an entirely different creature altogether. A bright, even cute, rock tune is transformed to a deep disco slow burner under their touch. A total 180, but wildly successful. Stream the original below, download the remix, and be sure to look for Head In The Dirt on Innovative Leisure later this spring.

Penny (Classixx Remix) - Hanni El Khatib

Fade Away (C2C Remix)

Joe Bonomo

Recently I've been feeling a bit disenchanted with electronic-based music. Then I realized that I'd forgotten about the French. Those sly bastards are still so on top of the game, its almost as though their a genre unto themselves: incomparable to the rest of the "production" world. One of the best examples of this is Vitalic (née Pascal Arbez), who I have unrelentingly held as the second-greatest French producer (after Daft Punk, naturally) since I first caught wind of him back in the noughties. Listen to any piece in his catalog and you'll catch the perfect bass lines and tight drums that, while providing a solid backbone to each piece, never teeter towards overindulgent.

Vitalic's latest album, Rave Age was released in November. The EP for his second single, Fade Away, will be up for purchase by the end of the month. In the meantime, stream the C2C (another French act and LL favorite) remix of the single below.

Bonus: The greatest remix of the greatest song from Vitalic's last album.
This is seriously indispensable.
Poison Lips (Captain Flash Remix) - Vitalic

One Way Trigger

I don't want to be in there without your love no more

Am I the only one who really, really loves the new Strokes album?
If that's the case, oh well, because I'm not taking anything back. The new Strokes album is a breath of fresh air in a catalog that was getting stale. While its by no means perfect - its lacking in cohesion and a lot of the hooks fall short - it sees the Strokes flexing their range and deviating from formulas established in their previous two albums. It sounds younger than its predecessors, more willing to take risks; ironic from an aging band who's look and sound seemed carefully calculated from the start.

Listen to the first single One Way Trigger, in which Casablancas' relentless falsetto shapes the best Strokes song in years, and then be sure to buy Comedown Machine, out today.

One Way Trigger - The Strokes

Bad Habit

I'm a bad habit, one you cannot break.

Two weeks ago, we returned to Texas for the annual music pilgrimage that is SXSW. Sparing the gory details, (if you want them you can check the twitter back catalog) let's just say that you missed a good - albeit aggressive - time.

Absolutely in no way related to the events that transpired in Austin are Foals. Foals are an English quintet formed in 2005, and no doubt they've already been around the festival block. Rather than head to good ol' Texas, the boys prepped for their upcoming North American tour - which will be kicking off with a pretty-high-up-on-the-lineup-poster spot at Coachella. This tour comes on the heels of their just-released third album, Holy Fire.

While the song Bad Habit hasn't been released as a single, its my favorite song of right now. With a kind of cinematic drama, it speaks to a phenomenon to which we all fall prey. I know I'm currently nursing a couple bad habits I can't seem to break…not that I'm trying.

Bad Habit - Foals

Harlot

She's got a lot of affection in her thighs
And the way that she might look at you could turn you into ice

Akin to romantic relationships, band love is a fickle thing. Some obsessions creep up on you - you don't pay them much notice until one epiphanic moment when you realize they're the greatest thing you've ever come across. Others are more forward in their approach - it's love at first listen (sight). Misun fall under the latter category. The first time they shuffled onto my iPod I scrambled to see which of my favorite bands' new material I had been ignoring. But my assumed old companion turned out to be a group I had never heard. Misun are a DC-based trio poised for greater things than one-off 60s throwback pop songs. I mean have you listened to their first single, Harlot? Really listened? No? Well do so below, and make sure everyone knows I told you so.
Have I found my new favorite band? Maybe.

Stream and download their debut single below, and then you can download most of their debut EP for free HERE, which is beyond awesome.

Harlot - Misun


Bonus: Their second single. No sophomore slump here.
Battlefields - Misun

Love Is Dangerous

When the waves come crashing baby I'm just trying to survive.

Things you may or may not care about so we'll keep it short:
1) LOOSE L!PS is now coming to you from NYC
2) "Post Regularly" was a top New Year's resolution - so expect at least bi-weekly updates.
3) I've collected so much great music the past few months of vacation; I can't wait to share.

First up in Feburary, this gleeful Chrome Canyon remix of French Horn Rebellion. FHR was the first concert I saw after moving to the city (at Neon Gold's evercool PopShop), and this single was the clear standout. But while the original Love Is Dangerous (buy the EP here) incorporates so many styles it can end up feeling all over the place, Chrome Canyon filters through the noise by backing the indelible vocal line with funk - pure and simple. A sinfully satisfying bass line ties up any loose strings and propels the song to full disco-revival glory.

Dance on but just remember, it's almost Valentine's Day - don't go breaking too many hearts.

Love Is Dangerous (Chrome Canyon Remix) - French Horn Rebellion