Dutch DJ trio Noisia have long been fixtures in the drum ‘n bass scene, but new album Split The Atom is way too filthy for any one genre. Electro, house, breaks, dubstep; all and more are incorporated on the sickest party record of the new decade, and single “Machine Gun” is perhaps the best representation of this mish-mashing of styles. There are plenty of excellent remixes of the song as well (YouTube the 16Bit version if you don’t mind showering afterwards), but the original is still the most guaranteed to kick any party into high gear. Like if Darth Vader DJed a rave.

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“Havin’ My Baby” is absolutely exhausting. From that prolonged sample that plays it in, to the single keyboard note bashed for three entire minutes, it’s just relentless. Add Martin Cesar’s soulful delivery, the simple drum beat, and that ascending guitar wail and if you’re not left doing some sweaty rendition of the running man by the time the song comes to its close, nothing can save you. Think About Life’s Family may have been a hit-or-miss affair (a lesser Dear Science, in a lot of ways) but when it hits, it does so with such soaring electro-soul ingenuity that it becomes impossible to ignore.

You can listen to “Havin’ My Baby” below but god damnit you better be ready to get funky.

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matt berninger is heavily in debt

Well, since today is officially The National day, lets celebrate by recognizing one of the best tracks off High Violet. If you haven’t heard this yet, well, there’s little hope for you, but here’s “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” High Violet‘s answer to “Mr. November.” Slightly subtler but no less nostalgically optimistic, “Bloodbuzz Ohio” serves as High Violet‘s centerpiece, a middle of the album anthem that stands easily as the most single-ready song. Sure, most of you know this already and this might be redundant, but if you’re a National skeptic and don’t really know if you want to take the time to listen to what could easily be the indie rock record of 2010 (aka chambered89), give this song a shot then head on over to the stream going on at The New York Times and become a cool human being.

“Bloodbuzz Ohio”

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The way a new Caribou album always works, it should have been preceded by a “transitional record.”  In the time between Andorra’s baroque-pop and The Milk of Human Kindness’ neo-psych, continuity would tell us that this artist born Daniel Victor Snaith would need a few messy experiments before arriving at the airy wallop on 2007’s “Melody Day” from the overt DJ overtones on 2005’s “Pelican Narrows.”  I’d imagine there a few GBs worth of Caribou experiments, whole lost albums built up in practice, anticipating the final release to pull off another shape-shift.

To account for the last three years between Andorra and Swim, there are probably a few dance records taking up storage on a laptop somewhere as Caribou’s latest release hits stores today.  At first glance, Swim and first single “Odessa” appear to be skirting the trends that have prevailed into the new decade, slathering polyrhythms in swashes of color and sampled horns, undressing the flustered production that used to announce a Caribou track. But what initially comes off like a grasp at relevancy begins to reveal itself as a deconstruction of the dance tracks Caribou has been shoveling production onto for the last decade: “Odessa” takes a microscopic look at his usual flighty psychedelia and studies the obtuse, despairing beat that grounds it.  Add in impersonal lyrics detailing a woman leaving her man and “turning around the life she let him siphon away” and you have one twisted summer jam. The hardest part of breaking up is…

Dubstep? The question mark is important; that beat sure ain’t 2-step. But if dubstep is going to grow into something else entirely – something for the mainstream album listeners – let’s hope it’s as good as this pulsating, emotive epic. It’s like listening to Skream’s awesome remix of La Roux’s “In for the Kill”, except it doesn’t have La Roux on it (and that’s gotta be considered a huge improvement, right?)

“Sunnyside” is the kind of song that I’ve been waiting for from Kaki King.Stripped down and honest, it’s her first song that aims right for the heartstrings. She’s had material that has come close, but it has always missed the emotional mark due to a greater concern with showing off just how good a guitarist she is. Not only is “Sunnyside” an F-you to those that proclaimed her just another songwriter playing shallow background music, it may just have the best use of the word “wiener dog” in the history of music.

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mmm paranoia flavored tea

Why yes, that is the Talking Heads you’re hearing aped on James Murphy’s “One Touch” off his upcoming juggernaut This Is Happening. Doesn’t really matter though, does it? Murphy’s Byrne-esque monotone and quasi political lyrics (“People who need people to the back of the bus”) slide effortlessly over polyrhythmic percussion and tense competing synths to create a seriously slick tune. Won’t tell you much more than this, but here’s a thought: on an album filled with jams that threaten to rule your summer, this here’s the front-runner.

One Touch is Never Enough

Try as I might, Bruce Springsteen’s music has always been somewhat of an impenetrable wall for me. He should resonate more strongly with me. From his workman-like roots to his 80s shlock, right back to the grizzled folk of Devils & Dust, Springsteen’s career trajectory is right in line with what I’m often drawn to outside of the metal bullshit readers of this site would probably associate with me. Yet throughout my admittedly limited experience with Springsteen, only one of his album’s has really stuck with me (Nebraska), and even then only one song really “hits” me where it “hurts”.

My first intention in writing this blog was to choose Justin Townes Earle’s cover of “Atlantic City” played as part of the A.V. Club’s “Undercover” series, and I’ll still do that below. But “Atlantic City” as I now want you to hear it is a more unique take on the Springsteen classic. For “Undercover”, Earle strums frenetically, replacing the original version’s pain-struck backing howls with a heightened pace and added sense of vulnerability and nervousness. Then, right as I was about to publish this blog, someoneDAVEDESYLVIAtold me the video didn’t work.

In seeking out an alternative video-feed of the A.V. Club rendition, I eventually stumbled upon a live cover from March the 10th of this year. In it, Earle, accompanied by Joe Pug and his usual backing band, says—not long after citing alcohol as an influence for the ensuing performance—that if you don’t like Springsteen then you don’t…

mmm Darwin…

Alright, so I guess the “rule” for song of the day is that the song has to be upcoming or just released, but shit, have you guys heard “Seeds”? Much hullaballoo was made when “Colouring of Pigeons” dropped in anticipation of The Knife’s Darwinian Electo-opera, Tomorrow, In a Year, but the critical reception to the project has been mixed. You don’t need me to tell you again how I think the naysayers are wrong and that this is one of the most forward thinking releases of our generation, but I do want to call your attention to the best song off the project, “Seeds.”

This hyperelectronic house jam is the most “Knife-ish” thing off Tomorrow, In a Year, but that’s not why it’s the best track. “Seeds” is a slow burning tune that marks the climax of Tomorrow, In a Year: the project. It morphs slowly over time, rocking an 808 beat and yes, opera vocals. Remember that scene in The Fifth Element with the blue chick? This is kind of like that. I’m not gonna give anymore away- you guys should really just get the whole thing and don’t be a pussy about it- but yeah, “Seeds.”

The Knife- Seeds

We’re all just too geographically, musically, and culturally disparate for it to ever happen, but if Sputnik actually did have an office, The Tallest Man on Earth would be hogging our stereo pretty badly right now. Even as early as April, The Wild Hunt looks like a shoe-in for our year-end top 5, with no less than 10 members of staff already giving at least 4 stars.

The early favourites seem to be “King of Spain” and “Kids on the Run”, but for my money, the album’s highlight is the tortured “You’re Going Back”. Rather than the obvious reference points of Devendra and Dylan, this vaguely unhinged, end-of-tether melody recalls the best of Tusk-era Lindsey Buckingham, in the way it suggests that the writer has an unwavering belief in love even as it tears their mind apart.