Captain Murphy - "The Killing Joke"

Captain Murphy could be the rapping alter-ego of Flying Lotus, Tyler, The Creator, or Slick Rick for all we know. It doesn't seem to matter much though, as every track he's dropped has been an instant sensation. Early tracks like "Mighty Morphin Foreskin" and "The Ritual" showed off some great rapping technique and an ear for production ("The Ritual" smartly utilizes the beat for the underrated Jay Electronica track "Dear Moleskine.") The TNGHT-sampling "Shake Weight" showed some trap leanings. On "The Killing Joke," Murphy shows his versatility once again. The beat, supposedly a Flying Lotus contribution, lurches along with some horror movie samples and a creepy female vocal hook. It's a great addition to the Captain Murphy myth and whenever his first full release is out, it will be sure to make waves across the hip-hop world. Listen to the track at Gorilla vs. Bear.

Dads - American Radass (this is important)

If anything, New Jersey's Dads seem to believe that the music they record is vital to someone's well being. Their latest release is also their debut full-length, American Radass (this is important). It's not too far removed from the raw emotion of twinkly emo giants like Snowing or the nostalgia and heartache behind classic groups like American Football. At the same time, Dads have managed to make an album that doesn't collapse under the weight of its own influences. American Radass is bound to be a landmark in the history of emo music simply because of what its very title seems to imply. The music here is simple, concise, and extremely important to someone, somewhere. Listen to and buy the thing at the group's Bandcamp and be sure to be on the lookout for tour dates from these guys very soon.

Purity Ring - "Fineshrine"

Purity Ring is a two-piece hailing from Canada, and they have turned about as many heads as an artist without a single full-length album out can turn. Last year they released breakout singles "Ungirthed" and "Belispeak." They earned themselves a fair share of fans early and garnered favorable comparisons to fellow electronic vocal acts like The Knife and anyone else influenced by moody hip-hop sounds, particularly fellow Canadian Grimes. These comparisons aren't too far off, but Purity Ring's blend of driving percussion, electro, and female vocal melodies call to mind an alternate reality Sleigh Bells that set up synths before they ever picked up guitars.  The band is currently gearing up to release it's first LP, titled Shrines. For the most part, the months leading up to it's drop have been a huge tease. The tease continues with the third single to come from the disc (following "Obedear" and the aforementioned "Ungirthed") titled "Fineshrine." This one may be one of the more hip-hop sounding tunes released by the band to date. It sounds like someone got a hold of a long lost Clams Casino instrumental and laid down vocals on it. It's remarkable and may be the best song released by the group to date. Listen to it at Pitchfork.

Moons - Bloody Mouth

Moons is the creative outlet of a Patrick Canaday, a 22 year old Atlanta native whose first single signals a pretty unique grasp of nighttime pop music. Bloody Mouth is the project's first official release, a 7" single that touches on Canaday's strengths pretty quickly. The title track is a rather spacey piece of music with a lot of instrumental sounds that immediately reveal why Canaday would want to go by "Moons." Even more intriguing is the single's b-side, titled "Waves at Night." It features some great robot/female astronaut harmonizing, and some truly stellar production. It's not as alien and cold as that would imply, however. Even the altered vocals have a distinctly human quality. No Recordings is selling the single on vinyl for a paltry sum, and there's even a great mood video out to go along with the title track. You can watch that here and keep this guy in your thoughts so you don't miss out on his future endeavors.

Slow Machete - Evening Dusk Choir

Slow Machete is the name bestowed upon an ambient musical project chiefly organized by Washington DC musician and humanitarian Joe Schafer. Evening Dusk Choir is the first release under this name, and it consists of field recordings from Schafer's trips to Haiti as part of post-2010 earthquake recovery efforts there. There are also several Haitian musicians featured in various capacities. World music with this sort of premise would usually sound awkwardly insincere and hamfisted, but the music doesn't beat the listener over the head with exotic sounds or ethnic traditions. The music seems more concerned with common creative threads that connect all of mankind rather than tangible differences. Many comparisons have been made to the music of Sigur Rós, and rightfully so. However, this music has a stranger beauty to it, and isn't easily described. You can watch the video for album standout "Fallen Mangoes" here and download the whole thing for free at the project's Bandcamp.

Oneohtrix Point Never - "I Only Have Eyes for You"

Oneohtrix Point Never has plenty of competition in terms of covering this 1934 classic, due to Doug Aitken's excellent Song 1 installation in Washington D.C. The likes of No Age, Beck, James Murphy, and more took this one on for the soundtrack to the installation. Geologist (of Animal Collective) and blog favorite Nicolas Jaar showed off their versions live at the installation as well. For what it's worth, OPN seemed to have dissected every inch of the song and put it back together in a way more beautiful than any other version we've heard so far. You can hear the song at Soundcloud and watch the installation with a ton of live performances at Pitchfork.

Fergus & Geronimo - "The Strange One Speaketh / Roman Tick"

This is a weird and fun one from the duo who have brought you similarly odd but awesome music for a while now. They are a Texas band whose music tends to fall somewhere between garage pop and psychedelic punk. If that doesn't interest you, the band's personality might. From lyrics to great songwriting quirks, Fergus & Geronimo has already managed to make an interesting and rewarding first album with last year's Unlearn. FWTSOA is their second full length in as many years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. This track starts with an odd dating profile narration and ends in a Black Lips inspired shouted chorus. Hear the new song at Soundcloud.

Lace Curtains - "High Fantasy"

Austin based garage bank Harlem put out an overlooked but superbly written album called Hippies back in 2010. Since then, it seems like most people, including myself, have forgotten how great their work has been to this point. Michael Coomer, who splits frontman duties within the band, has a new project entitled Lace Curtains with a release on the horizon. The first taste of this release is "High Fantasy," a driving and youthful piece that sounds a lot like Harlem and a little bit like indie darling Girls. Hear the song at Gorilla vs. Bear and listen to Harlem if you're late to that party.

Horseback - Half Blood

Horseback is a nice change of pace in the world of metal, especially in the increasingly controversial world of modern black metal. More words have been written about the stupid things people say than the more interesting music to come out of the scene, which is pretty sad. Horseback doesn't aim to be controversial, but its unique blend of black metal and Americana influences is definitely head-turning. This album, Horseback's third, sounds like some unholy mix of Earth's Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method, o'death's excellent 2011 release Outside, and Wolves in the Throne Room.  It's really country music in it's purest form, more concerned with the darkest corners of the wild west than beer and romance. You can hear and download the whole thing at the group's Bandcamp.

Animal Collective - Honeycomb / Gotham

Contrary to popular belief, Animal Collective has not been in hiding since the release of their most popular release yet in 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion. There's been the incredible and underrated Fall Be Kind EP, their cassette collaboration with Keep, and the weird visual freakout ODDSAC, with some other odds and ends occupying the three (!) years since Merriweather was released. On top of all of that, their live shows have contained new material for years. Still, it feels like an event every time Animal Collective puts anything onto tape. "Honeycomb" and "Gotham" comprise a new 7 inch coming out in June on Domino Records, and it's as weird and awesome as you expect. Listen for yourself at AnCo's official website.

Siamese Twins - In a Box/Stutter

I've talked about Siamese Twins once before, covering their excellent cassette demo from last year, and word on the street is that they have a new inch on the way, titled In a Box/Stutter. As you should know, the band is trio based in and around Massachusetts, and they make cool and dreamy post-punk not unlike some of the most revered material by The Cure. If you haven't yet, download their demo, it's a great snapshot of their influences and styles. You can hear their other stuff, including Side A of this over at their website. If you like what you hear, consider getting the whole thing when it comes out in a month or so via Labor of Love Records.

Kishi Bashi - 151a

K Ishibashi, who records as Kishi Bashi, is a founder of Jupiter One, a touring violinist with St. Vincent, Sondre Lerche, and Deerhoof, as well as a new member of Of Montreal. Most importantly though, he is an excellent and original multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with a new album out. 151a is a worldly chamber pop type of album, with a lot of crazy instrumentation and hand-clap percussion to back up it's homemade aesthetic. The hums, whistles, harmonies, and layered vocals call to mind songwriters like Owen Pallett if he lived in the crazy Japanese wonderland of Katamari Damacy. If that sounds at all interesting to you, stream and buy his album at his Bandcamp.

Ty Segall and White Fence - Hair

In case you don't already know, Ty Segall and White Fence are two great and active psychedelic leaning garage rock acts with some great releases between the both of them. Their collaborative album, Hair was released just days ago on Drag City and it's probably the best thing ever recorded by either project. It leans a little on the strange and drugged-out side compared to past material, and it works extremely well. There are even some great guitar solos on it, which isn't often seen in the world of indie music. Get to know the project by watching Ty Segall and White Fence perform an incredible extended version of album cut "I Am Not A Game" at Room 205 on Youtube and buy the album through their excellent label if you like it.

My Bloody Valentine - "Good For You"

My Bloody Valentine somehow got away with dropping a slew of great material in the late 80s and early 90s, the most notable release being 1991's Loveless, which just so happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time. Tons of label issues, poor financial choices, and a Kevin Shields breakdown ensured that MBV wouldn't make new music for two decades, but they seem to have seriously returned to the recording studio for the first time in a long time. While everyone waits for the long-teased third album by the band, Sony is dropping remastered versions of their back catalog on CD on May 7th. Included in this release is a compilation of the band's early material titled EP's 1988-1991. It compiles most of the non-album tracks ever released by the band, as well as three previously unreleased songs. The first one of these three songs to surface is "Good For You," and it's a great pop tune with all the hallmarks of My Bloody Valentine's awesome early material. Hear the song while reading a pretty great Kevin Shields interview over at Pitchfork.

The Avalanches - Sleepy Bedtime Mix for Young Ones

After 12 years of waiting, The Avalanches have finally released new music for it's increasingly frustrated fans. Maybe. Sleepy Bedtime Mix for Young Ones is a mixtape posted under the name "Henry Chinaski" on mixtape sharing site Pinchy & Friends. Rumors abound that this is likely a sneak peek of what new material from The Avalanches will sound like. The mix covers on a lot of dreamy 60s pop and features enough harmonies to make anyone fall into a deep slumber. Whether it is in fact a release by The Avalanches or not, it's an awesome mix that deserves a listen or eight. And hopefully, it does mean that the finally awaited follow-up to Since I Left You is finally on the horizon. Hear it at Pinchy & Friends.

R. Kelly - "Share My Love"

R. Kelly's 2010 album Love Letter had some bad breaks. It came out in December, (a death knell for anything trying to get on a year-end list or two) it was a little all over the place with its homages and instrumental throwbacks, and it wasn't exactly what most R. Kelly fans wanted to hear. However, it was full of a ton of quality music and is definitely underrated in retrospect. Since that album, he's had throat surgery, a lauded comeback string of performances, announced an autobiography, and finally confirmed that new episodes of Trapped in the Closet were in the works. Besides all of that, he has two albums planned for release on the horizon. Black Panties is supposed to be more standard affair, with Kelly saying that it was very similar to his solo debut 12 Play. Write Me Back is the other release, another LP of callbacks to soul, disco, and other urban genres of old. "Share My Love" is the first single to drop from that album, and it's basically a classic-sounding disco song with a few of Kells' lyrical and vocal quirks thrown in. His voice even adopts some 70's sounding tones, and it's awesome. Watch the video at Youtube and try not to burst into tears of joy when Kelly says "Now that we're in this room, let's do what we were born to do / POPULATE, let's get together, POPULATE, make the world better."

Peaking Lights - "Lo Hi"

936 by dub-pop couple Peaking Lights was one of last year's true gems. Its psychedelic waves were some of the best chillout grooves to come out in the past few years. This year, Peaking Lights is taking square aim at their old album with Lucifer. This LP promises to be bigger and badder, in the best way possible. "Lo Hi" isn't too much of a departure, as all the established tropes of the band are there. A few interesting instrumentation choices (choice woodwinds especially) and a unique guest (the duo's young son makes a vocal contribution) give this one a ton of life, even out of the Lucifer's context. Stream it at the band's Soundcloud for your first taste of the new album. If you still want more, you can check out two mixes the band has put together of new material and influences for Lucifer here.

Shlohmo - "Rained the Whole Time" (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

Some of the best electronic work to come out recently has been from the type of producers that like to color outside of the lines. Two of these producers happen to be Shlohmo, the glitchy hip-hop wunderkid, and Nicolas Jaar, minimal techno mastermind behind last year's excellent Space Is Only Noise. They seem like a pretty good match on paper, and the execution is even better. This remix is sprawling, deep, and pretty entrancing. Perfect listen right before the sun goes down. Watch the newly released video for it at Vimeo and make sure to check out the release that this remix is included on, Shlohmo's Vacation EP.

Actress - "Marble Plexus"

Darren Cunningham, who tends to record under the name Actress, already has a solid self-titled debut and 2010's insanely good Splazsh under his belt. Splazsh was a... well, splash of Detroit 2-step and techno that changed up so much from track to track that no one could describe it using less than three vague genres. It was, in many ways, the under-appreciated younger brother of Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma. Actress found his stride, and it lied in a haze of fuzzy beats, primitive computer sounds, and vast shifts from song to song. R.I.P. will likely continue down that unpredictable path, as Actress looks to further the mission of London dance music innovators. Hear new song "Marble Plexus"  at Soundcloud.

Electric Wizard - Legalise Drugs & Murder

Electric Wizard is often cited as one of the greatest stoner/doom metal bands of all time, and rightfully so. Come My Fanatics was a landmark in doom metal lore, setting a new standard for just how heavy and album can be. 2000's Dopethrone took that formula a step further, and is one of the greatest metal albums of all time, so everything Electric Wizard has released after that has been scrutinized a little too much for not being groundbreaking. Witchcult Today and Black Masses, released in 2007 and 2010, respectively, stand as truly excellent stoner metal releases, and their upcoming eighth album is poised to expand the group's persona even more with a new lineup and tour also in place for 2012. This 7 inch single is the first preview of this new lineup, as well as the new material set to come out of the project. Listen to the title track here and listen to Dopethrone if you're that behind on one of the best metal bands of all time.