Download a free haunted autumn mix featuring Fever Ray, Hope Sandoval, ZaZa, and more

I recently created a spooky mix for autumn, inspired not only by Halloween but by the whole atmopshere of the season: bright crumpled leaves, stone-gray skies, bare filaments of tree branches, and pumpkins collapsing in the chilly rain.

You can download the hour-long mix below, including new music from ZaZa, the Horrors, Warpaint, Fever Ray, and Hope Sandoval, among others. If you like what you hear, make sure to check out more from these amazing artists.



Cover image (above) by Noisette*.
And here's the track list:

1. Fever Ray - Here Before
2. Palms - Monte Alban
3. Dead Man's Bones - Lose Your Soul
4. Death in Vegas - Hands Around My Throat
5. The Big Pink - Velvet
6. The Raveonettes - Oh, I Buried You Today
7. Warpaint - Elephants
8. Chromatics - The Guest
9. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Blood White
10. SALEM - Water
11. ZaZa - The Call
12. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Rifles
13. The Horrors - Sea Within a Sea
14. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - For the Rest of Your Life

-Anna K

6-Pack Download from of Montreal, White Rabbits, Jemima Pearl, and Halloween Music From Shiny Toy Guns

Here are six free tracks to add to your Halloween party mix. The of Montreal track kind of makes me want to dress up as Kevin Barnes this year.

Brontosaurus Chorus - "Louisiana" mp3

Shiny Toy Guns - “It’s Halloween At The House Of Spooks” mp3

of Montreal - “Brush Brush Brush” (from Yo Gabba Gabba Soundtrack) mp3

White Rabbits - "Percussion" mp3

Get Busy Committee - "My Little Razorblade" mp3

Jemima Pearl - "Looking For Trouble" mp3

Video of the Week - Fan Death -"Reunited"

Fan Death have returned with another colorful fantasy based video, directed this time by vocalist Dandilion Wind Opaine. Watch the girls encounter scores of bizarre characters resembling certain influential personalities before riding off into the sunset with the big man himself.

Stay tuned for a special message from "Grandpa William" at the end of the presentation.

"Reunited" is taken from the forthcoming EP A Coin For the Well coming out on The Pharmacy Recording Co. early next year. This video features a special extended mix of the track.

Comsat Angels...Still Sounding Great.

I was at the excellent SESAC CMJ showcase last night at Cake Shop, and got in a conversation about songs that "just sound great". Not because of brilliant songwriting, great production, or amazing playing...but because they just have that "magic". The woman I was talking to is a huge student of '80s pop & new wave, and used the example of Comsat Angels' "Stay Tonight" as such a song. As soon as she mentioned that song, which I hadn't heard or thought about in years, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Check it here. The video is crazy boring, but the song "just sounds great"!



And a bonus great-sounder from Comsat Angels, "Independence Day":

Hey Pillow Fight Fans! The New Har Mar Superstar Video Is Here.

Regular readers of extrawack! know that we are suckers for the amazingly perfect pop sounds of Har Mar Superstar, so it'll be no surprise that we are psyched about his new album Dark Touches.

To prove that we've got good taste, here's the video and mp3 for the album's first single, "Tall Boy". The track was produced and co-written by The Bird and the Bee’s Greg Kurstin (who has also produced tracks for Lily Allen, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue), and the video stars Har Mar's pals Eva Mendes, Alia Shawkat (from "Arrested Development" and Whip It), and Eric Warheim (from "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!") . Check the tour dates at the bottom of the page.

Har Mar Superstar - "Tall Boy" Video:

Har Mar Superstar - "Tall Boy" mp3

Har Mar Superstar Tour Dates:
10/23: Baltimore, MD @ Sonar Club Stage
10/25: Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
10/26: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/27: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
10/28: Boston, MA @ Great Scott
10/30: Montreal, QC @ Club Lambi
11/01: Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
11/02: Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
11/03: Chicago, IL @ Darkroom
11/05: Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock w/ Kool Keith
11/06: Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/08: Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
11/09: Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
11/11: Kansas City, MO @ The Brick

Concert review: The Raveonettes at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston, 10/20/09

In an uncertain world, there’s something to be said for consistency. I’ve seen the Raveonettes at the Paradise three or four times over the last few years, and I always know exactly what I’m in for: noisy, gorgeously dark rock and roll, performed with energy and an irresistible coolness. Though a lot of songs from the brand-new In and Out of Control made it into the set list, last night the Raveonettes sounded basically unchanged from the last time I saw them, their sound as sleek and timelessly classic as a vintage black leather jacket.

It’s no coincidence, in fact, that the Danish band has always cultivated a distinct visual style. Last night, singer/guitarist Sharin Foo epitomized rock-star glamour with her sparkly black heels, one-shoulder dress, and chopped blond bangs; while singer/guitarist/songwriter Sune Rose Wagner radiated an elfin sexiness in tight black skinny jeans. Clearly, the Raveonettes are aware of the power of their personas as a selling point—at the merch table, you could find mugs, stickers, and bags emblazoned with a cartoon of the two band members, starkly drawn in perfect lines of black and white.

Which isn’t to say, though, that the band is all style and no substance. Accompanied by a drummer and bassist, they sounded great last night despite some early technical difficulties, drenching their trademark 50s-style girl-group hooks with fuzzed-out guitars and sweet yet affectless vocals. Many highlights came from 2008’s amazing Lust Lust Lust, with “Blush,” “Dead Sound,” and the eerie, Twin-Peaks-esque “The Beat Dies” sounding especially powerful. They slowed down for a spare, almost acapella take on new song “Oh I Buried You Today” and a hushed version of “Little Animal” that sounded almost like a lullabye—until you heard the lyrics.

The new song that probably left the biggest impression was “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed).” With its addictive chorus and sweetly harmonious coda, I guarantee this is the catchiest song about sexual assault that you’ll hear this year (or maybe ever). Definitely worth a listen.

And in the meantime, here’s the Raveonettes’ video for “Black/White”—one that perfectly sums up their musical and visual style:


--Anna K

Blog Action Day for Climate Change, Take Action Here, And Grab A Track From Thao.

Once a year, the initiative known as Blog Action Day calls on bloggers around the world to post something about a specific concern, all on the same day. This year's topic is climate change.

Since my day job involves campaigning and lobbying to convince lawmakers and world leaders to address the effects of climate change, and especially it's effect on the world's poorest people, this one's easy for me...

So I'll ask you to take this opportunity to tell President Obama to help poor communities at the Global Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December, by signing this petition from Oxfam America.

Poor people are hit first – and worst – by natural disasters and climate change. People are fighting back by deploying early warning systems, planting better crops, storing grain, building shelters, and replanting trees. But they need our help.

The world's poorest people need your help on this urgent issue at the upcoming global climate summit. Please take a moment to sign the petition.

And while I have your attention, I hope you'll take a moment to read the poignant Climate Change-related blog entry my friend Thao Nguyen (from Thao with the Get Down Stay Down) wrote today for the Oxfam America blog. In the post, Thao says, "If you keep turning a blind eye to climate change it will probably be injured in a surprise gale force wind." Ain't that the truth.

And to keep it lighter, please enjoy this download:
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - “Know Better Learn Faster” mp3
courtesy of The Fader

The Besnard Lakes debut new songs, reveal 2010 album details

Those of us who turned out to see The Besnard Lakes last night at TT the Bear’s Place in Boston got some cool surprises: the debut of some new material, plus a few tantalizing details about the long-awaited follow-up to their 2007 stunner The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse.

Featuring a stripped-down four-person lineup—and, sadly, minus their usual smoke machine—the Besnards seemed a little tentative at first, with bassist/vocalist Olga Goreas confessing: “We haven’t done this in a while.” Even so, it didn’t take long for the band to showcase gorgeous blended vocals, shoegazing guitars, and cinematic, David Lynch-influenced atmosphere on live staples like “Disaster” and “And You Lied to Me.”

And they played new songs, too: four of them in all, two of which are so new, vocalist/guitarist Jace Lasek told me, that they don’t even have names yet. In general, the new material seemed more on the dense, noisy side, a la “Devastation,” though that could just have been the live setting; the nameless opening song featured gauzy, echoing feedback waves nearly burying overlapping vocals, while riffs from the more propulsive “Glass Printer” seemed to reverberate off the ceiling. My favorite new song, “Chicago Train,” had the epic feel of 2008’s excellent Casino Nanaimo, with Lasek gorgeously crooning “this is the last time I will follow,” while Goreas played the flute (!) along with some truly beautiful guitar melodies.

After the show, Lasek revealed that the band’s next album has a working title of Let the Night Roar—assuming he’s not joking around, it’s one of those titles that walks the fine line between awesome and completely over the top. After playing one more show in New York tonight, the band will go back to the studio and refine the songs for a tentative March 2010 release.

In the meantime, here’s my favorite song from Dark Horse and one of last night’s live standouts, the haunting, heartbreaking “For Agent 13”:



The Besnard Lakes - "And You Lied To Me" mp3