Nicolas Jaar - OUR WORLD

Check out this glorious hour-long mix that Nicolas Jaar made in honor of John Lennon for the 33rd anniversary of his death. There are many standout phases Jaar goes through here, opening with an interview with Lennon; going on to string together various clips of drones, film scores, and experimental piano work; and at one point sampling a bit of Black Friday mayhem. But the highlight is definitely his powerful remix of Lennon's "Oh My Love," which closes out the stream. You can listen to and download it in full above via Soundcloud.

This mix was the 16th issue of the weekly podcast hosted by Jaar's Other People imprint. Check in on its site for a new mix every Sunday.

Nicolas Jaar- Live at Sonar Lab (Barcelona)

On record, Nicolas Jaar, to put it frankly, strikes me as one of the most interesting figures in electronic music to emerge throughout the past few years. His blend of elements of spacious house music, vivid sample collages, and sultry atmosphere, topped off with his own baritone vocals, hit home with both the Space is Only Noise LP and the Don't Break My Love EP in 2011, and despite being relatively quiet throughout this year, he has continued his winning streak with the excellent "With Just One Glance" single that featured Bruce Willis & Demi Moore's offspring Scout Larue.

In a live setting, however, Jaar takes his music to new levels, exploring the potential of his studio recordings to create an experience that feels largely singular. It's an experience I have yet to witness, but thankfully, Jaar stopped by Sonar Lab at Barcelona recently to play a live set, and it is available to stream via the SoundCloud widget above. Nearing one hour in length, the set showcases Jaar seamlessly mixing and remixing material into a cohesive journey, all without a single pause to puncture its continuously flowing nature. Jaar's studio work is already brimming with ideas, but his live performance shows just how expansive his creativity is, and it's a testament to what will hopefully be a bright future for the young producer.

Skeletonwitch- Forever Abomination

The Needle Drop: "Serving up audio reviews like they're pizza slices or something." Eh, that's a really terrible slogan we're beta testing right now. Let it seep in. See what happens. Anyway, my friend Derek and I have another review for you this week, and we're taking on the new Skeletonwitch album, Forever Abomination. This album features a pretty potent combination of thrash metal and black metal. It's the kind of metal album that doesn't really need to be explored or thought about. This is more of a head-banging affair, for sure. Scope the audio review and the cover art below:

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Stream: Skeletonwitch- "The Infernal Resurrection"

Surfer Blood- Tarot Classics

Awesome! Another audio review where I'm accompanied by my good friend Derek. He's the best. Number one! Anyway, in the last episode of this series, we were talking about some friggin' death metal. That's all well and good, but you can't be listening to extreme stuff all the time. Gotta ease up every once in a while.

That's what we were trying to do with this new EP from Florida band Surfer Blood. I liked the band's debut album Astro Coast a bit. There were some undeniably stand-out songs all over that thing, and Derek felt the same way. Needless to say, we went into this EP expecting some good things. The review:

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Stream: Surfer Blood- "Miranda"

Morta Skuld- Through the Eyes of Death: The Early Demos

My good friend Derek accompanies me yet again for an audio review. Yes! Awesome! Excited! Thankfully, the sound quality on this review is much better than the previous one, which I stilly APOLOGIZE humbly for. Sorry, seriously. Sorry. So, me and Derek dude go way back. We've been sharing music for ages. Recently, as I'm sure you guys know, I've been pretty interested in death metal. Partially, it's thanks to this guy and this book. Mostly, it's to do with the sound.

Anyway, Derek is pretty new to Death Metal, and I had these demos sitting in my lap. They were just begging for a review. Basically, I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone. Mission accomplished, I think.

Stream or download the review below, and find some links to some tracks from this demo set there, too. This release is out now on Relapse.

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Steam: Morta Skuld- "Preacher of Lies" / "Feast From Within"

Video: Morta Skuld- "Prolong the Agony"

Youth Lagoon- The Year of Hibernation

New audio album review! Yes! Just like the Big Troubles review, I'm accompanied by my good friend Derek Ljongquist. First off, I want to APOLOGIZE for the terrible quality of this audio recording. I had technical difficulties recording this Skype conversation, and I find it funny that I review records despite the fact that I can't get a simple Skype convo recorded correctly. Ah, mistakes! Well, I'm determined to make this shiz happen, so let's continue:

This review, my friend and I are talking about the new Youth Lagoon album the Year of Hibernation. It's out now via Fat Possum records and should be on the to-listen list of any fan of dream pop production and post-rock builds. Stream or download the review below:

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Video: Youth Lagoon- "Montana"

Blood Orange- "Sutphin Boulevard"

Singer-songwriter Devonté Hynes drops and picks up musical projects like bad habits. His latest is Blood Orange, which has a new record out on Domino Recs titled Coastal Grooves. I've received a lotta requests to touch down on this one, and I could see why. Some of the grooves backing the tracks on this LP are pretty undeniable. That's especially true of the track featured in this review, "Sutphin Boulevard." Find an audio review for the track below. What do you think of this track? Love it? Hate it? Why? What should I review next?

Review: Blood Orange- "Sutphin Boulevard"

Stream: Blood Orange- "Sutphin Boulevard"

The Weeknd- "Thursday"

I've gotten tons of requests on this new release from the Weeknd, Thursday. Though I'm not exactly excited to dive into this Canadian, experimental R&B project again, I figure I'd at least touch down on one track to let y'all know how I feel. After all, there are some changes worth noting that have happened since the drop of House of Balloons, which led to the project's blowup in popularity earlier this year. What do you think of this track? Love it? Hate it? Why? What should I review next?

Review: The Weeknd- "Thursday"

Stream: The Weeknd- "Thursday"