Savath y Savalas
The Predicate (Dub Version)
(Stones Throw)
Releasing: January [CD] Now [digital]

The Predicate (Dub Version) is a Guillermo Scott Herren (Prefuse 73) remix of his group’s La Llama, and if you find “Pavo Real Plucked” to your liking, you can pick up the digital pre-release over at Stones Throw.

SONG LIST
01 Adeu Salutation
02 Abri.l Closed
03 Pavo Real Plucked
04 Pajaros En Cadaques Shot
05 The Predicate and the Library
06 Me Voy and Resolved
07 La Loba Collection
08 There Is No Love in Your Heart
09 Me Voy Alone
10 Lamento Pobre Y Salida

Savath y Savalas
Pavo Real Plucked [MP3]
     

—Tyler Gould

If there was a checklist for Eels archetypes, “Little Bird”, the first track to see the light of day from the band’s forthcoming LP End Times, would fill up more check boxes than just about any other song that E has penned. A simple, delicately strummed melody with a capo at the fifth fret? Check. Direct appeals to God? Check. An avian-centric narrative? Check. Gratuitous use of the word “goddamn”? Check. Pining for a lost love? Double check.

That said, this is also quite possibly the best song that E has written since the landmark Daisies of the Galaxy. A spare, crushingly depressing, brutally honest confessional, the track finds E doing what he does best: moping. One listen to E’s gravelly voice as he admits, “Goddamn, I miss that girl”, should be enough to convince even the weariest of Eels fans that End Times just might be worth looking forward to.

Download the song using the widget below…

—Mehan Jayasuriya

This song won me over in about 3 seconds with its springy guitar, and though some might find Olof Arnalds’ oohing a little too bold, a little too Doris Day, I find it all the more idyllic. This is the musical equivalent of Snow White’s friendly forest animals. I don’t know what she’s saying, but it sounds warm and earnest, like she has my best interests in mind.

Ólöf Arnalds
Englar og dárar [MP3]
     

—Tyler Gould

DesignBoom profiles artist Brian Dettmer who makes (via mysterious process) detailed skeleton scultpures with old cassettes: “Here was this thing that used to live, its used to fly around and play a vital role, and now it is dead and all that remains is the solid material.” The heavy metal tape skull, along with more of Dettmer’s work can be found at the link. [Via Neatorama]

—Oliver Ho

On Saturday night in LA, pop sensation Lady Gaga performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 30th Anniversary Gala. She performed the new ballad “Speechless” from her forthcoming album, The Fame Monster. Russia’s world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet also performed that evening. Talk about pop culture slamming into high culture.

Later that week, Lady Gaga appeared on Gossip Girl in an episode, appropriately named “The Last Days of Disco Stick” which combined Gaga’s musical performance with cheesy narrator duties. In a comment to MTV News, Gaga said, “I am the narrator behind what is going on with the characters and make the song part of the moment. We used these ladders, and I’m falling off ladders. Ladders are kind of a monster symbol about bad luck. And I have this 35-foot-long dress on and these X’s, very gothic-inspired. It was great. They let me do whatever the hell I wanted. It was amazing.”

—Ashley Cooper

Beach House
Teen Dream
(Sub Pop)
Releasing: 26 January

From their self-titled debut LP to 2008’s tragic Devotion, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scully have kept traction in the music world with a very direct and conscious goal: simplicity. By following this, Legrand’s seraphim pipes and Scully’s stealthy reverb keep Beach House as mystifying as ever. Now, the bedroom pop duo has the chance to break out, like friends Grizzly Bear, with their Sub Pop debut Teen Dream.  A standout track on Teen Dream is “Norway”, showing Beach House’s more rhythmic side.

SONG LIST
01 Zebra
02 Silver Soul
03 Norway
04 Walk in the Park
05 Used to Be
07 Lover of Mine
08 Better Times
09 10 Mile Stereo
10 Real Love
11 Take Care

Beach House
Teen Dream [MP3]
     

—Eleanore Catolico