By Keir Bristol

Neon Indian’s “Psychic Chasms Possessed,” the reissue of “Psychic Chasms” is streaming live on AOL’s Spinner. It is available today, August 31 via digital download, and will be available physically on September 28.

Neon Indian's "Alan Palomo"

For those unfamiliar with Neon Indian, it’s a psychedelic chill-wave electronica band fronted by Alan Palomo (VEGA, Ghosthunter). The band has been on the rise since 2009 when they released their first single, “Deadbeat Summer,” and has since been named one of Rolling Stone’s Best New Bands of 2010. The debut album, “Psychic Chasms,” has been named Best New Music by Pitchfork.com.

Enter the reissue. It includes all of the songs on the original album, plus nine remixes. The overall sound of the album has not changed at all. Psychic Chasms Possessed is just an extention of the chill electronica lo-fi sound that is the original. Use Memory Tapes, Washed Out, or Toro Y Moi as a reference for Neon Indian’s sound.

There is no need to break the original album down song by song, because the whole album is made up of psychedelic, feel-good jams. Simple melodies, layered in the background with strange sound effects with an 80’s vibe. The highlights: “Deadbeat Summer,” “Should Have Taken Acid With You,” and “Mind, Drips.”

Skip past the “7,000 (Reprise)” to get to the remixed part of the album. It starts off with a “Toro Y Moi” version of “Deadbeat Summer,” meaning more psychedelic, tempo slowed down, much calmer and less harried. “Should Have Taken Acid With You (Body Language Remix)”; same lullaby synth overtones, new bass undertone, and same regretful chorus line, supposedly about Palomo’s ex-girlfriend and a date they had (to take acid) that he missed. “Terminally Chill (Yacht Remix)” starts with rhythmic clapping and broken down synthetic vocals. The only song that has two remixes, appropriately, is “Psychic Chasms,” first with the (Twin Shadows Remix) which starts out slower. Palomo’s vocals are more reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen. The second “Psychic Chasms (Anoraak Remix)” starts off with a piano-keyboard sound, and the end of each line echos.

Don’t confuse Neon Indian with a dance band… it’s not exactly that. In fact, it is just what it’s “genre” describes it as. Chill. Listen to them with a drink in hand as you enjoy the last days of summer.

Watch Neon Indian’s music video for “6669 (I Don’t Know If You Know)” here.

Picture courtesy of Hipsterwave.com

By Keir Bristol

Last week, I came across a delightful discovery, thanks to Pitchfork.com. Sufjan Stevens’ new album was finally released, and is streaming for free online.

awesome, right?

Sufjan Stevens is an amazing songwriter. He manages to write poetic sad songs without seeming emo. His songs are intricate and the harmonies are simple, yet rich. When people envision heaven, with clouds and angels blowing horns and strumming harps, the music they would be playing would be pretty similar to Steven’s work.

Sufjan Stevens – All Delighted People

His new album, All Delighted People is no exception. It is a short album for Stevens; it’s an hour long, but it’s only eight songs. It begins with the song for which the album is titled, “All Delighted People,” backed with a haunting chorus and full orchestra. After 11 minutes and 38 seconds (yes, that’s how long the first song is), we move into “Enchanted Ghost,” a song that combines the sounds of Nick Drake and the lyrics of Elliott Smith. “From the Mouth of Gabriel” combines classic Stevens songwriting with the angelic chorus from the first track and even a touch of electronic sound effects that sound as if they could have been inspired by UFO’s. And before the album ends with the electric guitar-tinged “Djohariah,” at a whopping 17 minutes, we are graced with a shorter rock remix of the title track.

All Delighted People is available for download here for a mere $5 dollars! If you like what you hear, buy the album!

• Stevens is on tour to support his new album. For tour dates, click here.
• Stream Sufjan Stevens’ new album, All Delighted People, here.

Music News For This Week:

• New Beach House – “White Moon” [click here to stream]
• New Of Montreal Music Video – Coquet Coquette [click here to watch]
• New Music Video From The Roots – “Dear God” Featuring Jim James [click here to watch]
• New MGMT Music Video – “Congratulations” [click here to watch]
• New Toro Y Moi Music Video – “Low Shoulder” [click here to watch]
• Joanna Newsom Announces Tour
• Jose Gonzalez’ Documentary Film
• Man Commits Suicide At Concert In California

By Keir Bristol

Kanye West is hi-jacking hip-hop these days. He’s pretty much the only rapper that is not a member of Young Money that everyone is talking about, whether they love him or hate him. And here’s why:

1. The Hype over the “Power” Remix with… Whoever.

I honestly am not sure about the remix… at first I read that the remix would be debuted last Friday and would be featuring Jay-Z. Now we’re talking maybe Justin Bieber? Stay tuned to Kanye’s Twitter and Kanye’s own blog for more details.

2. See Me Now, Featuring Charlie Wilson and Beyonce

“See Me Now” just dropped last Thursday as the second single from Kanye’s new disc due in the Fall, originally titled “Good Ass Job.” Personally, I’m so grateful he ditched that title. I couldn’t tell if he meant “Good Ass Job” as in emphasis on a job well done, or cosmetic surgery on someone’s gluteus maximus. The album so far is untitled.

Still, the track is pretty hot. Listen to it here!

3. Kanye’s Twitter Account.

Like I said in point Numero Uno, Kanye finally joined Twitter. He gained over 600,000 followers in a month. Guess who he’s following… Justin Bieber. No. I’m not kidding. Just Bieber.

Justin Bieber

[Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.com]

4. Kid Cudi’s “Wylin’ Cuz I’m Young” featuring… You Guessed It! ‘Ye.

New song from Kid Cudi dropped this week, “Wylin’ Cuz I’m Young.” Listen to it here.

Good look for Cudi getting some work with Kanye. Cudi’s one of those rappers that won’t have a lot of hits that will work  on the radio, but fans will buy his albums and download his mixtapes anyway. Kid Cudi has a new album dropping late October.

Kid Cudi

[Sexy. Courtesy of Wikipedia.com]

5. MTV is Giving Kanye Another Chance To Not Interrupt Anyone At the VMA Awards.

You heard it from the horse’s mouth. Kanye has been at every Video Music Awards show since 2004, and this year is no exception. Other performers announced include Drake and Florence and the Machine.

Florence And The Machine

[extremely unattractive picture of Florence Welch, courtesy of Wikipedia.com]

Despite Kanye West’s gigantic ego (and this blog post), other important things happened in music recently! Here are some of them:

• Ra Ra Riot’s New Album Streaming On NPR, Comes Out August 24
• Mark Ronson’s New Album Due In September
• New Dum Dum Girls Track
• New Screaming Females Video, Tour
• Stream Some New Albums Just Released Today