Happy Friday everybody! Spring vibes are beginning to approach and the festival season is just around the corner. Today we present you three of the freshest releases varying from some old school and satirical hip-hop, to hypnotic dream pop – all of which you may come across on various stages this summer.
First up we have The Shacks, a blend of 60’s psychedelia, 70’s soul and 90’s dream pop stemming from vocalist/bassist Shannon Wise and guitarist/producer Max Shrager, who are only in their early twenties. The Shacks was formed in 2014 when Max asked Shannon – who had never recorded before – to do the vocals for a track at a studio in Queens, NY. Shannon’s voice was exactly what the track needed, and they both knew that it was the start of something astonishing. Haze, released by Big Crown Records, is the debut album of The Shacks and is anticipated to be one of the big breakouts of the year. The band is already buzzing from their cover of “This Strange Effect” for an iPhone commercial. Wise’s overdubbed dreamy vocal stylings feel as weightless as silk yet at the same time, they are central to the tunes. Listen to the addictive single “Follow Me” below and get lost in the comforting waters of The Shacks here.
Czarface teams up with MF DOOM on Czarface Meets Metal Face! to deliver Hip-Hop tunes with clever lyrics over gritty 90s style boom bap beats via Silver Age Records. The 16-track album also features stellar guest appearances from Vinnie Paz and Open Mike Eagle. Czarface’s witty metaphors and DOOM’s abstractions make a perfect match for a comic book style duello. It’s not imagery, we actually mean it! Check out the stop-motion music video for “Bomb Thrown” to see what we are talking about and start pounding your head to sick beats here.
Sometimes, even though the whole world feels like it’s crashing down on us, our answer would be “Everything’s Fine” in the rush of everyday life. The New York underground rap pioneers Jean Grae and Quelle Chris join forces for the collaborative album Everything’s Fine to construe those moments. The narrative around the album is one that every human being that is breathing in the 21st century may relate to, and is full of satiric taunts for today’s world. Grae explains the creation process of the album with the following words: “We don’t approach topics, issues, writing, or making beats in the same way. I’m harsh, blunt, quick, technical, I arrange classically and play more than I sample. I make joints with 80 tracks. I’m layers upon layers upon layers. Quelle is patient, he’s kinder. More loose and minimalistic. He makes sounds work together that shouldn’t fucking work. How? I have no idea. These are dreams within dreams.” Released via Mello Music, the record also hosts an array of guests ranging from musicians to comedians. The duo is transformed into 32 bit arcade game characters -designed by Quelle Chris himself- for their single “Zero” to fight off their enemies. Check the music video below and access the full album here.
