edIT - Crying Over Pros For No Reason (V1)

If you liked The Glitch Mob, here is edIT. edIT is the main man behind The Glitch Mob and before he formed them he was just a solo glitch dj. This album reminds me a lot of downtempo stuff/postrock/triphop. Weird I know but there is an appreciation to it.

I highly recommend this album if you are looking for an alternative to techno/electronic style music. It is a refreshing experience. Give it a listen.

Download it here or support edIT here.

mewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright (V0)

At some point in our lives we all wanted to be backwoods folk musicians, living in the middle of the woods trying to make songs about imaginary animals and people doing stupid simple things that were suddenly exaggeratedly important within the context of our songs.

Now, if you tell me you didn't have that life-long dream, let me tell you that you're in denial and you'll never reach your penis (amount of people that will get that reference is a solid 0).

This is that album, mixing in Folk with Indie Pop- kind of like a more aggressive and in your face Belle and Sebastian, with wordplay that could blow up a small child's brain.

All The Time, Everyone, Everywhere, Everything.
Download this amazing album title.
Support this maze of links. I'm serious about the maze, it takes some navigating to find any actual web store.

Teeel - Amulet (V0)

I don't like synthpop at all, it's probably one of my least favorite genres but thankfully someone made a synthpop album for me, one that doesn't seem like it was stenciled out of the 80's.

Listen to Masterplan
Download Amulet
Support Teeel

Summertime Kids - Table Manners (FLAC)

Although spring is only beginning, Nick Roberts seems to be permanently anticipating the summer. Table Manners, recently released independently under Roberts' solo project, Summertime Kids, is a deeply personal series of foggy and ethereal songs that could be just as easily written by Helios as they could by Calla, like a Fear of Fireflies-inspired adaptation of Ayres.

Table Manners, as clean and well-defined as it is, leaves much to the imagination. It is longingly sober, vaguely surfy, and powerfully intimate, not just as a soliloquy to the end of summer but as an ode to its beginning. When Roberts speaks, his words aren't just another layer of melody — they create meaning, tell a story, and engage the listener in a way that typical repetition-driven lyrical structures do not.

Roberts has released his EP through bandcamp here. It's basically free, but support him with whatever you can afford; this guy deserves to make more music.

Dada Life - Just Do The Dada (320)

You like Daft Punk? Is that a yes? Well, then, I have this awesome treat for all you lovable fans.

Serving you "Cookies With A Smile," I present to all of you: DADA LIFE!!!

I would describe Dada Life as a modern Daft Punk if they were to be a little darker with their sound. Don't believe me? Give this a listen, it's of an EP but one of their greatest songs.

Still don't believe me? Then download this album and give it a listen. I promise that you will be hooked from track one.

So if you believe me then here is the album and if you want to be awesome then buy it here.

Foxes In Fiction - Alberto EP (320)

Any regulars of 4chan's /mu/ might already be familiar with Foxes In Fiction, the Toronto-based project of Warren Hildebrand. It's a funny story, actually, as he gained his initial success through someone reposting his songs as alleged new material by Atlas Sound on, where else but 4chan. People quickly spread the songs around and he wound up getting a record deal and even a lovely pitchfork review in the process.

I can only say I'm extremely grateful for that. The man certainly knows what he's doing, and I'd honestly go as far as to say that his first LP, Swung From The Branches, was one of my most loved albums of last year. Seriously, if you like indie, shoegaze, ambient or any of that stuff you basically kind of HAVE to like Foxes In Fiction. Pitchfork described it as Warren making the follow-up to Logos that he wanted because he just couldn't wait. That's certainly a valid comparison, but it's not something he should be defined by. There's a lot more than just avid Bradford Cox fanboy-ism at play here.

So Alberto, his newest 2011 effort is his attempt at making slightly more structured, poppier songs, a direction I was kind of hoping he might take. His songs literally relieve stress for me.

So, I'm gonna dump a few links on you now.

First, download all of his music (for free) from his site. Swung From the Branches can be downloaded here.
You can get Alberto here, packaged by me.

You can listen to a personal favorite of mine, "Fifteen Ativan," here.

So when you're done gasm-ing all over, FINALLY support this man by buying his album here.

Canblaster - Master of Complication (320)

Canblaster and his buds at Club Cheval are poised to be big names this year, with releases all over the place; his XLR8R podcast, Discobelle mix, and now his techno-house fusion electronic dance concept album Master of Complication have all proven to be enormous displays of talent and creativity. Canblaster made video game music for a while and it shows through clearly here, because this guy knows how to get down.

Download.
Listen to his remix of Charlotte by French Fries.

Asobi Seksu - Fluorescence (V0)

I haven't listened to this enough yet to make a poignant analysis, but from what I've heard it's much more similar to the earlier, probably more popular Citrus than its quieter, dreamier sister, Hush. It's nice to see that these guys have made this step backwards; with all of the positive reviews given to Beach House's early release last year, Asobi Seksu have still managed not to be caught up in the hype.

Download.

Johnny Foreigner - You Thought You Saw a Shooting Star... (V0)

To begin this, the actual title of this EP is "You Thought You Saw a Shooting Star but Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears and That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With the Sky So Clear and Sea So Calm" but apparently, the Nazi regime running the blogspot website has decided that that is too many characters for the title of the post.
Fascists.

Having released one of the best albums of 2009, Johnny Foreigner returned with this short EP in 2010 including 6 wildly different interpretations of the "Tweecore" sound. The joke here being that all music sounds the same and the minor changes in sound of genres is generally in-existent (and based too much on practicality) and entirely made up in your head, just like all your friends.

So, regardless of your new appreciation for your inability to create actual social connections (much like myself), you should have this and be listening to it, especially if you like Los Campesinos! (and even more so if you don't) because this is the better tweecore band.
Also, Alexei Berrow is the greatest guitarist in all of indie.

Step 1. Listen.
Step 2. Download.
Step 3. Support.
Step 4. Repeat Step 3 & 4.

Fuck those oxygen freaks and their clear heads.

Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise (V0)

This is like, Music Has The Right To Children Part II. It's just a simply perfect album built on hip-hop-esque beats and ambience. I don't really have much else to say.

Listen.
Download.
Support. Some of his stuff is sold here, but I'm not entirely sure if this is his main go-to site to buy his material, but it's the link connected to his page – so whatever.

Com Truise - Cyanide Sisters EP (320)

I've been on a huge IDM kick in the past couple weeks, and I've pretty much submerged my head in this music in a way that is unusual for me. When I go through phases, usually it's like a few bands that I think are "neat" and I just obsess for a while, after which I just return to my generic taste.

But in the past couple weeks I want to say I've downloaded about two gigagbytes of new music, supplied by a healthy list of awesome blogs (RIP shoegazeralive), and I am loving it.

So.

Com Truise. Not really sure what I can compare this to. I would put them in the same boat as the band I posted a week or two ago, Houses. Mellow electronic music, affluent in danceable rhythms, funky beats and lovely synths and pads. "BASF Ace" makes me feel like I should be walking down the street completely naked, not giving a fuck.

I am/was not so familiar with the recent fad of 'chillwave' that many astute bloggers seem to have noticed. I'm not one to get caught in social trends for the wrong reasons when it comes to music, (a la Wavves/Best Coast/Girls) so I think I can say this music adequately stands out against the electronic music you'll find elsewhere. A good jumping off point if you're fresh off the Boards of Canada boat. Plant your feet on this EP, entitled Cyanide Sisters, you won't regret it.

This EP is also a reissue, as it was Com Truise's (aka Seth Haley) first release. It was released for free and I believe is still available as a free download from a number of places. (officially, of course).

Listen to the standout track "Slow Peels" here via youtube.

Download here, or pay literally 99 cents for the reissue here.

And listen to it! The King of Limbs can wait.

UPDATE: I just realized that the song "BASF Ace" is incorrectly tagged on this particular upload. It is tagged as "Basf Base," wheras it should be "BASF Ace." My apologies.

Air - Love 2 (256)

French duo.

Downtempo.

Electronic.

What?

Yes.

Exactly as I said.

Might I add that "Sing Sang Sung" will make you very happy?

Done deal.

Download it here and buy it here.

Laibach - Let It Be (V0)

So the four handsome European gentlemen featured above in this album cover, decided to create an album made up of covers from The Beatles album Let It Be. Now, before you turn away and say "fuck The Beatles (especially Let It Be, easily their worst album), fuck Pantsbandit, fuck all of his posts on the blog, they are stupid and his music sucks" – ALLOW ME TO STOP YOU RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM.

These aren't just Beatles covers, these are Beatles covers done in Nazi fashion. All the songs have been reworked to sound like German marches and German Symphonies all dated to the time of the Third Reich. Now, I KNOW you're interested in it, and you rightfully should be. Generally, things like this seem more like a novelty act than an actual album – usually some kind of ukulele cover album of a band's popular repertoire (I'm talking about you Amanda Palmer); but the only things that even seem to be familiar to the original Let It Be are the lyrics.

Once you finish this album you will never want to listen to the original again, and you will most likely delete it from your collection and be marching in the streets hailing a dead generation of monsters.

I've Got A Feeling
Download
Support Laibach, you filthy capitalist.

Funeral Party - The Golden Age of Knowhere / Live at the BBC (V0 / 320)

Every day is repost day.

So Funeral Party's debut album finally got a proper release, sometime earlier this year. Anyone with no life might remember it being posted here as a leaked album in September of last year. Apparently it wasn't even meant to be a self-titled! Go figure.

So now, in all of its dance-punk, raw and energetic glory is the official Funeral Party debut The Golden Age of Knowhere, complete with slightly less annoying album art.

For those of you who don't know, Funeral Party is an up & coming dance-punk band who basically kick all sorts of ass. Like I said about 4 sentences ago, it is raw and energetic dance-punk. Almost like catchy and somehow not cheesy post-hardcore, the vocals will make your neck hair stiff.

BUT WAIT!

THERE'S MORE!

I took the liberty of including their newest effort, a live EP entitled Live at the BBC. It's 6 songs long, with three live recordings and three remixes, done respectively by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio (and more recently Jane's Addiction), Kids of 88, and Mike Relm, the Youtube DJ sensation.

All of which are awesome.

Get it here, and finally do yourself a favor and buy this new and potential-laden band's album here.

Mint Julep - Adorn (V0)

"So there's this girl singing"
Uh huh
"and dream pop and electro is going on in the background"
uh huh
"and you like it"
do I really
"yeah"
oh okay.
"and I think you want to have sex with me"
if you say so

Shine by Mint Julep.
Download.
Support the Helios side-project here.

The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea (320)

The new era in techo. Let me introduce to all of you, glitch.

If you want more stuff comment below and I will post more of their stuff aka mixtapes and remixes and even similar artists.

If you live in Chicago and enjoy this, I hope to see you at the Congress Theater on March 19th for this show.

Hope you enjoy the awesome.

Download the new age here and support them here.

Danger - 9/14 2007 (V0)

Danger is awesome, this is his first EP.

Download.

Spor - Conquerors and Commoners (V0)

Spor has been attracting a lot of attention for his powerful blend of drum and bass, dubstep and electro house since 2005, before many big-name electronic dance music producers were even on the scene. Conquerors and Commoners is a shifting, spiraling and thumping amalgamation of virtually every great genre of EDM; if you haven't heard it yet, you need to.

Download.

Martin Solveig - C'est La Vie (V1)

Enjoy one of the best French house DJ out there, his goofiness will only make you like him more. Ladies and gentlemen, Martin Solveig.

C'est La Vie (That's Life)

(Whoo, whoo) C'est la vie! (Whoo, whoo)

You have to buy this, you will look so (Whoo)

You have to practice, never let yourself go.

What are you wearing? It's not a new (Whoo)

People are watching, what a shame if they knew!

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie!

Ah ah, ah ah, c'est la vie!

You have to break ice, buy me a drink (Whoo)

From there your seem eyes, I don't care what you think.

if you get something, don't let it show (Whoo)

People are watching, really they don't wanna know.

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie! Ah ah, ah ah.

I just wanna be free, whoo! Not so easy. C'est la vie! Whoo! Hey!

Be like this, don't do that! Don't go too far (Whoo)

Give me a big smile, if she drives a better car.

Don't give me distance, you talk too much (Whoo)

People are watching, what do they think about us?

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie! Ah ah, ah ah.

I just wanna be free, hey! C'est la vie! C'est la vie!

C'est la vie!

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie! (Oooh)

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie! (Hey)

I just wanna be free. C'est la vie! Ah ah, ah ah.

I just wanna be free, whoo! (Hey) C'est la vie!

Buy it here or download it here.

Swans - Swans (V2)

Swans first release was markedly different from later works, especially in its applications of the no-wave mentality that would continue to influence them later on. Rather than generating sheets of noise, or pulsating mechanical thumps, M. Gira uses many of the same techniques popularized by Joy Division: short, punchy guitars backed by blastbeat drums and vaguely psychedelic chord progressions. Although much more experimental and tonally dissimilar to Joy Division and other landmark post-punk acts, Swans' self-titled EP seems more like an elaboration on Unknown Pleasures than Confusion Is Sex.

Download.

Toby Driver - In The L..L..Library Loft (V0)

Toby Driver is the brain behind Kayo Dot, Tartar Lamb and maudlin of the Well. He has also done work with Gregor Samsa, and in addition to having a great knack for suspense and composition, he also has a perfect voice for the type of music he plays. Although In The L..L..Library Loft does not stray far from his avant garde style, it probably resembles the long-form ambient stylings of Lichens moreso than the jazzy, often confrontational style typical of most Tzadik Records labelmates.

In The L..L..Library Loft is prophetic: timid, and searching, but also quietly brilliant and powerful.

Download.

Unwound - Fake Train (V0)

So somewhere in the world right now the former members of Unwound are probably reveling in their greatness and telling everyone they were the best post-hardcore band to ever exist, a statement which is entirely true.

They probably go around with pictures of their albums and push them into peoples faces and say, hey look at how much more awesome we are than you; because they fucking are. I mean, they defaced a Tom Jones album cover for their album cover. Tom motherfucking Jones. You don't see many bad asses willing to fuck with Tom Jones, but Unwound was.

Ian Mackaye probably looks at Unwound's discography and says, "This is the greatest fucking thing I've ever heard, fuck my shit" as Guy Picciotto looks back at all the Fugazi records and points out all the reasons why Unwound's albums are better (on a side note, I fucking love Fugazi).

So here is Unwounds 1993 debut titled Fake Train, somewhere on the site is Unwound's final album, Leaves Turn Inside You in which you'll find the greatest post-hardcore experimental album, while this one will be the greatest of a more traditional type.

Download

Foals - Antidotes (320)

Ah, the Foals. A band that opened the pathway to indie and alternative for me. I don't have much to say about the Foals except that they are awesome. They have a very interesting yet extremely catchy sound. A few of my favorite tracks of this album would be "Mathletics" and "Cassius" but I would say that the whole album is simply amazing. Give it a shot, you might just like it, especially if you like indie rock or really anything kind of indie music.

Get it here or buy it here.

Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (V1)

Hey guys,

I'm Peter, the new blogger on animationmusicvolume. I am a hipster from Fairfax, Virginia and enjoy a good variety of music that I hope to bring to here. I wanna add that I am a little bit different than everyone else on here because I am a bigger electronic music listener.

First off I wanna make my first post of a band that I have been listening to and following for a few years now. Thievery Corporation, a trip-hop duo based out of the nation's capitol of Washington, D.C. I was first introduced to them while on a vacation trip in Hawaii by two 40 year old surfers who ran a para-sailing company. I would say that that's a great way to be introduced to a band right? Back to the duo, Thievery Corporation has used their music to take a stand in political scenes around the world with some of their tracks like "Amerimacka."

Anyway, this is their second debut album. It was released in 2000 and had one of their biggest hits "Lebanese Blonde," which is included in the OST of the movie Garden State. This album is a lot more down tempo then some of their other ones though, so keep that in mind. If you are a fan of trip-hop then I would recommend giving this album a shot and trying their other stuff.

Download the album here or buy it here.

Kronos Quartet - Black Angels (256)

Kronos Quartet are a couple musicians who I really only know a little about. I first heard them on the charity album Dark Was the Night, which I have raved about in the past. They contributed the title track, which, admittedly, was a bit strange. The track consisted of awkward cellos making noises that most people would say are simply that: noises.

I heard a bit about them on NPR, which was a very favorable review of their newest composition. I have no idea which one that was.

So, my life moved on. Then I read about this album/collection/thing on 1000recordingstohearbeforeyoudie and I was finally sold. I think their description of this music does a lot more justice to the recording than I could do, explaining symbolism that I wouldn't have known, as well as the actual composer's (Crumb) methodology behind creating the music.

The first three tracks are Crumb's compositions, which are absolutely full of dissonant noise, nerve-wracking cacophony and dark and fear-inspiring sessions of cello-centered ecstasy. You might not believe that the sounds are actually coming from stringed instruments, unless you play one yourself.

The rest of the collection is a much more conventional selection of arrangements, sad and emotional pieces that would be perfect, were they set to some sort of apocalypse. Black Angels has been touted as one of the darkest collections of music available, and you might understand that if you scroll back up and read the 1000recordings description.

In any case, it makes for a very entertaining listen, and if you really want to be put out of it, turn off the lights, put your headphones on, and just kind of listen to it. It's something to focus on, and it'll make you think.

Download here, and buy it here.

Akron/Family - Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT (V0)

Finally, after months of waiting, Akron/Family has shipped their new album to Dead Oceans Records. Bizarrely, despite their change in record labels, Akron/Family has become progressively less folky and more freaky. Rich with the same old campfire harmonies and shamanism, Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, which the Family admits they frankly don't know the meaning of, is as powerfully emotional as it is heartwarmingly fuzzy. I've heard complaints about the step up in production values from the latest releases, but you'll see none of these from me. Although Akron/Family has refined their sound in this album, they certainly haven't put any less effort into its musical and lyrical content.

Download.

Lou Reed - Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse (V0)

An incredible work but ultimately a commercial failure, the rock noir opera Berlin had been one of Lou Reed's greatest kept secrets. The record is a classic amongst Reed fans, notably for its personal and gritty subject matter. Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse is the first time Reed has played this album live in over thirty years, since Berlin flopped almost immediately after release. Don't be alarmed, though; Berlin easily draws comparisons to, and arguably supercedes, the masterwork of storytelling that is The Who's Tommy.

Download.
Buy the DVD with concert footage!

SPC ECO - Silver Clouds EP (V0)

What do you think of female fronted shoegaze bands like Pinkshinyultrablast? Well, as we both know, you fucking love them. Yes you do. Totally. So for the Pinkshinyultrablast fan looking for a more Slowdive-esque approach to shoegaze this is for you, and since I'm already making the assumption that everyone goes to sleep every night listening to Happy Songs For Happy Zombies then I'm sure this EP is for every god damn one of you.

If you aren't in love with this song after the 2:40 mark passes then I might hate you, no I think I WILL hate you.

But lucky for you I'm very forgiving, and here's the download.

Anamanaguchi - Dawn Metropolis (V0)

I spent my childhood playing SNES and Sega genesis, and that's completely unrelated to this album being that I have no memory of playing them at all other than actually doing the act, oh and that one level in Donkey Kong Country 2 or 3, whichever one you were the girl and the baby (not Diddy) and I think it was the lava level and I kept losing and, well I don't know where the fuck I'm going with this.

I guess my point is, this is a happy, childlike album, made up of all your favorite 8bit sounds but also using actual instruments to make it even more awesome. Now, you could turn away now and say this is too childish and stupid to look into, or you could look into this because of how much you love childhood (in which case you should just click the link and stop reading, because there's nothing more after this), but this isn't a novelty album. This isn't Cee-lo's "Fuck You" which will in time be looked back as nothing more than a novelty hit played as much in movie scenes as "Walking on Sunshine", this is an actual piece of artistic work created with the idea of making you re-experience the one time in your childhood where you were in an actual trance without the use of drugs, the time that you spent playing video games. You probably won't find another album as happy and childlike as this without hitting some kind of joke act or something terribly un-listenable to, so this is your only choice, John Conner.
Get the album if you want to live.

This is going to make your underpants wet.

This is what you should download while you're getting a new pair.

Ellul - Ashes (V0)

I haven't listened to all of this yet, to be honest, but these guys are so great that I thought it would be appropriate to post this album up as soon as I had it.

"Ellul is this San Francisco based group centered around the brainwork of “Blanket Head” and “The General” (Joel St. Julien and Joel Tarman, respectively.) The whole album is sort of a collection of juxtapositions of electronic and folk music, often dancing between the two with this light pitter-patter of beats (such as on the opening track “Cages,”) or going all out in one direction or the other (as is discernable in the back-to-back tracks “Good Night” and “Debris”). The album is also lyric-heavy, with some really beautiful lines filling the record.

Ellul reminds me often of a Justin Vernon project, maybe that went on vacation one time with Ben Gibbard (circa Postal Service) but then decided to go his own route and get a new usually heartfelt, occasionally winey vocalist. And then also throw a bunch of other random shit into it too. Whatever, it works! I recommend the album!"

Now that I think about it, Ellul does remind me very much of Justin Vernon's collaboration with Collections of Colonies of Bees, Volcano Choir. Comparisons to Radiohead are less fitting here, but hints of their influence still remain.

Ashes is available as a digital download in any bitrate from Ellul's bandcamp for $8, and we've also uploaded it here in V0. If you live in San Francisco, please support these guys locally; they definitely deserve it.