So this was pretty much amazing news for today. Two of my favorite new bands that I discovered in 2008 getting together for the forthcoming Skeleton Boy 12″ due out March 3rd here in the US. Friendly Fires have been hot on the remix trail, with their Aeroplane remix for Skeleton Boy also getting tons of play lately. Which is a great thing, hopefully it’s turning people onto their amazing self-titled debut and the group gains more and more momentum heading into their sophomore release. Lending a hand to “Skeleton Boy” this time is Air France, the outstanding and dreamy Swedish pop duo. Their 2008 release, No Way Down, took a long time to hit the states, but when it finally did it was extremely well received. Filled with massive landscapes and sprawling synths, the vocally sampled album is still on repeat on my iPod.
Don't worry, these boys don't burn
The result of this two greats is well… great, of course. Air France completely takes the song over and makes it totally its own. Added are the airy spaces that Air France is so fine at crafting, taken away are the Cut Copy like 80’s new wave bass lines. So yeah, it’s a really fun track, and definitely a great takeover for Air France, holding me over ever slightly until their next album. Enjoy!
Ancient Crux is the new project of 19 year old California resident Travis Von Sydow (he’s also a member of Rapid Youth). His debut EP entitled Interracial Coupling, out now on Family Time records, is one of the most excited and refreshing pieces of new music I’ve heard in quite some time. From the second the record starts, the twang of the guitar and the stomp of the bass throw the listener into a musical time warp. While I’ve never listened to Roy Orbison myself, every other review or snippet I’ve read about Ancient Crux has compared this EP to him. And it’s kind of what I always imagined Orbison sounding like too. That’s not the point though, what’s important is that Ancient Crux seemingly transcends time, as though Sydow recorded this in 1954 and it was found last week. It’s that twang and stomp, and yet at the same time I don’t know what it is at all. Ancient Crux is just so mysterious, there, maybe that’s what my love affair is all about. The fact that it isn’t front page news on Paste or P4k. It simply feels nice to listen to an album that’s as intimate and warm as Interracial Coupling can be. 
MIND INVERSION 