The Chuckness

Rostam Batmanglij (from Vampire Weekend) is back on the scene with another solo effort, and it’s hitting me the right way this afternoon. It clearly has a similar feel to Vampire Weekend’s token sound, but that’s not a bad thing. Tribal drums galore in combination with some soothing vocals never hurt anybody. This one’s definitely more approachable than Rostam’s earlier release, “Wood”, which can be classified as entirely bizarre.  If you love Vampire Weekend, this will skyrocket to the top of your playlist. [via PMA] Tweet

The late Amy Winehouse is releasing a final album this winter titled Lioness: Hidden Treasures. It’s compiled of several unreleased songs that weren’t necessarily meant to be the final product, but all of the material is new to our ears. Most of the tracks were just first recordings, and they’ve been re-worked and beefed up by her producer, Salaam Remi. This one right here was recorded back in 2008, and features a verse from Nas. Her final album is slated for release on December 6th. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download: Amy Winehouse (feat. Nas) – Like Smoke … Continue reading →

“Alright, Gambino is a mastermind.” After tonight, I can’t really come up with a more accurate statement. Without sounding too over the top, Donald Glover has to be one of the more talented personalities in the entertainment industry. He’s a comedic superstar with a starring role on NBC’s Community, he’s a hysterical, Emmy-award winning writer, with a former gig as a writer for 30 Rock, he has witticisms for days as a rapper, and he’s an unbelievable live performer. I don’t know what else I can say. Tonight in Boston, Childish Gambino headlined a sold-out show at The House Of Blues … Continue reading →

Mumford & Sons are coming off one of the more impressive debut albums in recent memory with Sigh No More. The other day they swung by 104.5FM in Philly, and performed a brand new cut titled “Ghosts That We Knew”. Lead singer Marcus Mumford has one of the more captivating voices in today’s music world, and you need to look no further than right here for confirmation. Look out for a new album from the folk-rockers sometime next year. Shoutout to Bri for the find. Tweet

Remember that unbelievably legendary album trailer I posted with the little kids running around with flares? That was a sneak peak at The Sound of Arrow’s upcoming debut album Voyage — and here we’ve been graced with the second track off of the official album. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve been so excited to get my hands on a project from a band that I know nothing about — but between the trailer and “Wonders”, I can barely contain myself. Hit the stream below and jump on the bandwagon. Voyage due out November 8th. Tweet

The more or less anonymous Boston/NYC quartet has something special with “Gold Chain”. I’m a sucker for synthed-out pop tracks like this, but Black Light Dinner Party has it down to a science. Laid back enough to zone out to, yet upbeat enough to keep you awake. Just what I need. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download: Black Light Dinner Party – Gold Chain [via Neon Gold] Tweet

Oh boy. No release date on this guy yet, but you might as well prepare for all productivity to go out the window. [via Complex] Tweet

Saukrates is an underground (for now) Canadian rapper that just signed on with Nike to provide the soundtrack for their “Always On” campaign. “Say I” will serve as the song for the project, which focuses on highlighting the lifestyles of a select number of Nike athletes. The word is that the jam will serve as the background for Montreal Canadians player P.K. Subban. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download: Saukrates – Say I Tweet

Uh, yeah… so there’s this. Whoader. Boi. Tweet

Drake just let go of this mastered version of “The Motto”, one of the bonus tracks off of Take Care. According to the Toronto native, the tracklist that was released yesterday is not entirely accurate — as a couple of features weren’t listed (including this one). So far, it sounds like he’s covering all the bases on his sophomore album. He’s got the R&B Drake fans covered. He’s got the rap Drake fans covered. He’s got the features he needs. Even the Wheelchair Jimmy fans are amped. Take Care on 11/15. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Drake – The … Continue reading →