There’s a lot of music online–more than most people have time to keep up with. That’s why you’ve got us. Every week, we’ll point you toward three excellent new downloads or videos from chart-topping stars, cult favorites and unknown geniuses.
1. Those of you who are inclined toward geek-rap should note that Adam WarRock–the most comics-obsessed guy in all of hip-hop, and that’s saying something in a world with Ghostface Killah in it–has released a free mixtape in conjunction with Oni Press. He rhymes about Oni series like Hopeless Savages, The Sixth Gun and Queen & Country (alongside brief interviews with Oni creators like Greg Rucka and Antony Johnston), and his beats are lifted from the likes of Spoon and the Mountain Goats. Pick hit: “Japanese Demons,” a rap about Oni’s (Dave Gibbons-designed) logo, over a loop of David Byrne and Brian Eno’s “Strange Overtones.”
2. The Mountain Goats’ All Eternals Deck comes out March 29–roughly the twentieth album songwriter John Darnielle has made under that name, and one of the darkest and most resigned to dread. The whole thing is streaming over at NPR; for an additional preview, have a look at the band’s taut performance of “Birth of Serpents” on David Letterman’s show.
3. Electronic psychedelia is alive and kicking, and the New York quintet Gang Gang Dance is keeping it woozily gyrating around the dance floor. Their album Eye Contact comes out next week; in the meantime, the massive 11 1/2-minute jam “Glass Jar” is streaming over at their own site. It starts out as a dreamy, gliding thing, and eventually works itself up to a full-throttle groove.