Fresh Track + Video: The Return of Earl Sweatshirt
Thebe Kgositsile AKA Earl Sweatshirt is back. The 17 year-old member of California hip-hop collective OFWGKTA has returned home from his exile at Samoa’s Coral Reef Academy. News of Earl’s return began to circulate yesterday when Odd Future point man Tyler, the Creator announced, “Oh. Thebe Has….I Mean Earl Has A Twitter. @earlxsweat”
Shortly thereafter, Earl dropped a video (see below) featuring a snippet of his aptly titled “Home,” promising to release the song in its entirety when the video had reached 50,000 views. Before the clock struck midnight, Earl made good on his promise. Via twitter, the rapper provided fans a link to terttlefer.com where a stream of “Home” awaited.
The track is a flowing, chorusless stream-of-consciousness that will sound familiar to fans of Earl’s self-titled debut. The artist’s return rant rolls on for just under 2 minutes before the beat cuts and Earl’s voice chimes in, “Annnnnd…I’m back.”
Welcome home, Earl.
Connect with Earl Sweatshirt via Twitter | Facebook
Written by Rob Peoni
Fresh Track: Oupa & Tony Crow “Backwords” (Porcelain Raft Cover)
Oupa is the side project of Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg. We featured his cover of Smog’s “It’s Rough” in December. Mauro Remiddi of Porcelain Raft directed a video for the song. Oupa has returned, this time with Tony Crow of Lambchop and Silver Jews fame. Today, Boiled Egg released the duo’s cover of Porcelain Raft’s “Backwords” from the recently released Strange Weekend. The cover is stark and minimalist in comparison to the original, trading an undercurrent of distortion and synths for a simple piano line. The results showcase the strength of Remiddi’s writing and reaffirm my belief that Oupa is a project worth paying attention to. Listen below:
Connect with Oupa via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Rob Peoni
Band to Watch: ScotDrakula
ScotDrakula is a lo-fi, garage rock trio from Melbourne, Australia. The group released their debut album CRACKSTRENGTH – yes you read that right – last May. I’ll let their Facebook bio suffice as the band’s introduction:
We showed up at your party like a half hour ago, snagged a couple of unguarded beers from the fridge, hassled the dj to play something good, broke the toilet and lit a smoke off your oven. Your Move.
This is the type of licentious behavior that has served as the lifeblood of great rock bands for decades. I say this knowing full well that this same booze-infused debauchery often unraveled more careers than it furthered. But damn it if it don’t make for a good listen from time to time. For evidence, stream “Kick Out the AmberLights” here:
ScotDrakula teeters toward the punkier side of the indie scene. More in terms of energy and vocal delivery than the dense, power chords that serve as a hallmark of the genre’s guitar play. To be honest, the voice of lead singer Matt Neuman is one that took me a few spins to embrace. I tend to gravitate towards more delicate, soulful vocals. It wasn’t until I had clawed through the layers of reverb and fuzzy rhythms that I found a cocksure, classic rock n’ roll essence to Neuman’s voice. I was hooked.
Check out a video for the track “Don’t Do Anything Stupid” below. You can download CRACKSTRENGTH for free via ScotDrakula’s Bandcamp page. Songs “Shake ya Bones!” and “Buy a Shovel” showcase the band’s punk influences more than anything featured here, and are worth a spin on a day when you’re looking for a kick in the pants. Your ears will be running back for repeat listens, I promise.
Connect with ScotDrakula via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Rob Peoni
Thought on Tracks 