UVB-76 – Jet Engine
“UVB-76” is a notorious shortwave radio station that plays an endlessly repeating buzz tone, sometimes interrupted by voices speaking Russian. UVB-76 is also a band from Austin, TX, whose shoegazey post-punk anthems also sound like they’re being beamed in from some distant transmitter. “Jet Engine,” from the group’s new album, Haunted Blue, uses sublime, hooky melodies, whooshing guitars, and a motorik drumbeat to tell the story of a person who “gets high sometimes/goes to when her body was alive.” Revel in the sweet sadness.
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BLVCK SPVDE – He Said She Said
St. Louis, MO’s BLVCK SPVDE is “warmer than Blueprint Coffee pour-overs” on “He Said She Said,” a track from his new album, The Svmthngz N Nvthngz Sessions. The experimental jazz-rapper goes in over a muted, rattling instrumental, flexing his third eye and dropping nuggets of spoken-word wisdom. “The world is yours and you know it,” he encourages his compatriots, a guiding mantra for troubled times.
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Decks – Building Blocks
Brooklyn noodlers Decks channel the spirit of free-flowing 90’s acts like Bowery Electric and Tortoise on “Building Blocks,” the opening track from the group’s new release, I Am From The Planet. It’s an extended vamp built around a loping breakbeat, layers of piano, synths, and guitar shimmering around the percussion’s steady backbone. Gaze at your shoes, and then at the sky.
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Bored In Pittsburgh 