No one missed The New Shit Radar since the last time we did this in March 2016. We're not sure why it disappeared, but whatever. It's back.
The newest news. The hottest jams. Let's go...
Useful links...
BLM Chapters: https://blacklivesmatter.com/chapters/
Bail Funds: https://bailfunds.github.io/
Justice For Breonna: https://justiceforbreonna.org/
Democracy Now! on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow
Hatchie Did A Collab With Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
They covered JAMC for a 7-inch out on July 20th. [Edit: It actually came out June 5th, and the vinyl is out June 20th.] Proceeds benefit The Movement for Black Lives and The Loveland Foundation.
Year Of The Knife and Mindforce Both Already Sold Out Their Dope AF Racial Injustice Themed T-Shirts
YOTK's is here and Mindforce is here, benefiting Reclaim the Block and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, and Minnesota Freedom Fund respectively.
We Saw Some Dude In A Geld Shirt Yesterday
New track alert, and new album on July 3rd...
New Tkay Maidza Video For "Shook"
If George Takei and Tkay Maidza had a kid, it would probably not be named Tkay Takei. New video tho...
Twice Eyes Shares New Track "It's On"
Mikey J's new track is now on Soundcloud.
Ritual Clearing's Debut Self-Titled Demo Tape Is Straight Fire
And they're from New Haven!
We Unironically Enjoy A Song By The Weeknd
That new hit. We forgot the name.
A New Obnox Record Is Basically An Event
Double album for double the fun.
Chris Cech's New Record Is Called "Sloth"
For some reason, we thought the band was called Sloth, but it's actually the name of the LP.
Deftones Might Released Eros Later This Year
Deftones tour with Poppy and Gojira got cancelled along with literally every other tour in 2020, but in the downtime they've been working on the next record and considering an EP release of their incomplete 2008 record Eros. An Eros-era song called "Smile" made its live debut in November of last year, increasing the possibility of its completion and release. We hate the NME but they reported on it so here it is: https://www.nme.com/news/music/deftones-update-fans-on-status-of-previously-shelved-eros-album-2688643
Dirty Projectors Drop New Video For "Inner World"
Future MTVZ content is here...
New Ringo Deathstarr Is Finally On Bandcamp, Vinyl
RDS's new record is one of their very best to date.
ThatBIRDDid Posts A New Run The Jewels Video For "Yankee And The Brave (Ep 4)"
It took us until only about 6 weeks ago to finally catch They Live, and we've heard references to it about twice a week ever since. So that's either a bizarre coincidence, or we were already existing in a world with multiple weekly They Live tributes without realizing it.
Disheveled Cuss LP Gets A Bandcamp Release
No word on vinyl yet, but it's a thoroughly great record.
After Hours Top 10 Most Played -- Week Of June 16th
Some cross-branding cross-marketing here, but After Hours FM just celebrated its first birthday with some new Mixcloud streams.
We'll start posting the After Hours Top 10 along with new editions of the New Shit Radar...
| This week | ARTIST Title | Links |
| 1 | MINDFORCE Hope Dies In The City | bbbrecords.bandcamp.com/ track/hope-dies-in-the-city |
| 2 | RINGO DEATHSTARR Once Upon A Freak | ringodeathstarr.bandcamp.com/ track/once-upon-a-freak |
| 3 | VANITY Anticlimax | vanitynyc.bandcamp.com/ track/anticlimax |
| 4 | CCR HEADCLEANER Half A Tooth | ccrheadcleaner.bandcamp.com/ track/half-a-tooth-extra-pound-edit |
| 5 | CORIKY Too Many Husbands | coriky.bandcamp.com/ track/too-many-husbands |
| 6 | NO AGE Turned To String | noage.bandcamp.com/ track/turned-to-string |
| 7 | THREE KNEE DEEP Mosherz Anthem | bbbrecords.bandcamp.com/ track/mosherz-anthem |
| 8 | DISHEVELED CUSS She Don't Want | disheveledcuss.bandcamp.com/ track/she-dont-want |
| 9 | FU MANCHU Takin' It To The Streets | fumanchuband.bandcamp.com/ track/takin-it-to-the-streets |
| 10 | NOTCHES Sober Souls | notchesrocks.bandcamp.com/ track/sober-souls |
| 11 | NUDIE MAG Pet | bbbrecords.bandcamp.com/ track/pet |
We're proud of ourselves for figuring out how to do that "O" with the line through it. Not sure who MØ is, but their name is very hard to type on a traditional US keyboard. Annoyingly catchy chorus becomes less grating after the rest of the song reveals itself. Hiring Eric to do their videos was a very good move. 
Cars drive by at night. Headlights slowly work their way across the walls. There's a lot of subtle texture to sort through on Leapling's Vacant Page LP, all of it anchored by careful, delicate restraint. The most immediate tracks - including stand-out "Flesh Meadows" - bordered on the quieter moments from Radiohead's My Iron Lung EP.
White Pony sped up to 45rpms. Word up to drummer Theo Hartlett for such a ferocious performance. We badly wanted to tie this with "Scuttlebutt" from Theo's other 2015 project Spook The Herd, but unfortunately we had to pass due to a certain band closely associated with this website who appears on the B-Side of their split. (We'll embed it below and throw it in the Spotify playlist anyway. Let this be our little secret.)
Less bleeps and bloops than usual. Perhaps this is an indication of what to expect from Radiohead's next record, although it needs a lot more Colin Greenwood. TURN UP THE BASS. [Edit: Can't believe we missed an opportunity to tie in their cover of 
Fun anecdote time: People might not remember this so well, but it was kinda difficult to locate Failure CDs way back in 1997/1998. We special-ordered Magnified from Sam Goody one summer. And then every two weeks we returned and asked them what was taking so long. Months later, we finally got an upsetting phonecall telling us the CD was out of print. It was rough times. Eventually, college started right around the advent of Scour Exchange and Napster. And the rest is history.
We didn't realize it at the time, but Weezer's last album was actually ok enough for us to consider updating our nerdy fanfic 
We promise this was a coincidence, but Felicia also just happens to be one half of Gemma. (See above.) The title track from their As Ever LP arrives abruptly with odd hiccups and sci-fi patches, anchored by a calming Wurlitzer and a classic '60s-style vocal melody reminiscent of Smokey Robinson's best A-sides.
Hardcore fans knew this already, but their bassist John Stirratt (one of the 2 OG's along with Jeff Tweedy) has been responsible for Wilco's signature octave-vox. By all accounts, this guy should be considered "the secret weapon" - or their Michael Anthony, if a Van Halen comparison might suffice. Somebody send this man a beer.
These are tied up because some people think they sound suspiciously similar. Drake's loop of "Why Can't We Live Together" was one of the more inspired choices for any of 2015's actual hits. The original version of "Cha Cha" sampled Koji Kondo's "Star Theme" from Super Mario World for SNES (which was a slowed down version of the 3-second loop played when Mario collects the invincible-star in the original SMB). Perhaps some cease-and-desist action went down, since the sample was changed prior to its availability on legal streaming services. (Granted, this new less-interesting version does actually sound like "Hotline Bling.")
At long last, the Hot Mix finally gets down with some Palm, the 4-piece from Philly who are responsible for the most hypnotic rock album of 2015. Is it "rock" though? Despite their gtr/gtr/bass/drums/vox instrumentation, few (if any) of its songs adhere to traditional rock structure, instead immersed in unpredictable experimentation and loose theme-and-variations not unlike 20th-century classical composers. One of the most engaging live acts of the moment.
This is the opening 17-minute track from the most absurdly chaotic blackmetal album since Mortician's late '90s stuff. (It's actually more insane than that Agoraphobic Nosebleed record from the late 2000s.) 
The drums, sax and vocal parts do not coincide or flow with any specific key (except for the female vocalist, who sounds sorta lined up with the bass). What puts it over the top is the sarcastically absurd dissonance between the guitar and the bass. A giant, depressed fuck-you rage. There's nothing positive about this world at all. It's just chaos, and our lives contain no meaning whatsoever. There's no point of attempting to blend in the traditional sense. We wonder if any commentary on gentrification is intended here. 
Fun fact: It's not a Portishead sample, but rather both jams sampled "Ike's Rap II" by Issac Hayes. The more you know. For your health.
A few of these finger-pick solos sound like Nels Cline is pulling the guitar strings right off the fretboard. Or like Jerry pulling out Tom's whisker. *yoink*
Our Top 2 "drug sequence jams of the year," or "jams for The Dude from The Big Lebowski while floating in outer space." And here come the rainbows. The sun is shining. It's Woodstock 1969. We're so happy Gunk returned after their brief hiatus, and super unexpectedly. Our verbatim reaction was shouting "THERE'S A NEW GUNK???!" seconds after the message dropped in our inbox. (The message was "Greetings, RANCH just released Gunk by GUNK.") And we're equally pumped that we still have no idea what Dungen is singing about. Passing a tab of acid from one foreign tongue to the other. 
Rich Kids don't give a fuck. Daddy buys them more xany for gnashin and more jaguars for joyrides. They don't know who their real friends are, and they don't care. Until one day they realize they want dat "real love." And suddenly their life doesn't seem all that super rich anymore. The piano chords emulate the second-hand on a giant grandfather clock while the rich kids fill their time with “white lies and white lines” and “bottles of wine they can’t pronounce.” And yet despite the incredibly slow BPM, "Super Rich Kids" is still somehow the most fun-sounding song on Channel Orange. Unlike Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean never had an “immature” era prior to his initial 2011 breakthrough. An important part of Odd Future’s marketing seemed built around the excitement of youthfulness. Two years later, Frank and Earl’s levels of wisdom seem decently matched; they’re confused about the future and contemplative, desperate for answers but not receiving any. 
Does RDS build their own pedals? Some of the guitar tones on Mauve seem specific to this album, especially the crunch in the bass tones. We also couldn't help but notice how this aggressiveness came at a price, as we've been missing their spacey ballads, like the ones we loved so much from 2011's Colour Trip. Although this sudden brutality hasn’t removed their knack for strong vocal hooks, especially in “Slack” with “do you feel how I feel inside?” as the adolescent singalong. We normally associate “slack” with the ’93-era trifecta of “Creep,” “Loser” and “Undone - The Sweater Song,” but the "Slack" mentioned by RDS may suggest some double entendre. It's way too exciting to notice any application of true “slack” aesthetic. This frenzy also helped them earn a few weeks of shows with Smashing Pumpkins, meeting a whole new audience of young people for feeding their adrenaline injections. Team Ringo 4ever.
“Cut You” seems to have been unfortunately shadowed by Japandroids “The House that Heaven Built” as the most popular recent song to follow the lineage that peaked with Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” and albums from The Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World. We’re happy as fuck that great songs like this could exist in 2012 without the presence of the dreaded emo-whine. Dylan Baldi's vocal delivery is exactly what the song needed to give it a modern context, ascending far above any recent singles from those who still can receive top-billing at Warped Tour or Bamboozle. Also keep in mind that “Cut You” is not as good of a one-song representation of Attack On Memory as “No Future No Past” or “Stay Useless” or “Wasted Days.” But from where we stand, it's the most crucial album track.
Passing through Nashville two or three weeks ago for a house show, we noticed a difference in the air. It felt so germy and dirty. We got into a conversation with one of the bands who played that night (
Yes, that’s correct, God Himself (uncredited at special request) supplies the finger-snaps on this song, recorded from the center of the Grand Canyon. He was only able to snap that one time, and then they just looped it, because you know, He’s God. He’s got a busy schedule. We’ve heard speculation on the meaning of the song’s title from several different sources: 
The best non-Japandroids rock ballad of 2012, "Prehistoric" includes all the same power jangle and spaciousness as a few debut singles we loved in the early 2000's: "Run" from Snow Patrol, and "Yellow" from Coldplay - great songs, but guilty pleasures nonetheless. "Prehistoric" sounds similarly influenced by The Bends, Jeff Buckley and The Verve, but with a bottom layer of synthesizers evoking moonlit scenarios and adolescent tension. It's not just simply nostalgic-sounding (literally pre-historic), but also very much digging at the present moment. They've strangely become an "Alternative Press" type of rock band, but we could see this easily crossing over for those who enjoy Top 40, underground pop and indie flavors.
With apologies to Now, Now, we've made it to "2012's hugest rock ballad." Those fireworks sound like they’re isolated in the distance, similar to "Prehistoric" in summoning the celebration of life through nostalgia. We grew accustomed to the range of celebrations Japandroids presented throughout their 2008-2010 output, so we were surprised hearing the enormity of Celebration Rock. Japandroids may have outdone themselves in department of “grandiose,” leaving themselves with a few options: 
Over their three LP’s and various non-album tracks, Grass Is Green has only occasionally played with standard verse-chorus structure, with “Panera” now standing as the most impressive example. We hear its meticulous arrangement and songwriting as Ronson’s would-be hit single, easily as catchy as similarly abrasive jam-outs from At The Drive In or Jimmy Eat World while packing just as much pummel. But the performance itself is really what makes this one special. The highway-speed-chase blasts through multiple brick walls in the song’s second half, especially those 2 or 3 moments when rhythm section bros Mike and Jesse start banging the fuck out of their instruments over some delicately placed sustained guitar feedback and squeaky pitch-pedal screams. Oh yeah, also the 
Not sure what to make of this one... Imagining all the most claustrophobic and paranoid scenarios still don’t match up to the synthetic eeriness of “The Gaol” (also known as “The Gaul” for Spotify listeners). Creeping spirits manifesting to a new host? Dinosaur porno? Some sort of musical note is discovered that turns everything into Claymation? Tell ‘em Large Marge sent ya? Travelling through a black hole, witnessing a first-hand account of the fourth dimension? “The Gaol” is an otherworldly jam that sets the tone for everything else on Beak>’s second LP. We’re pumped as hell that music publications like SPIN have been praising it among this year’s most kickass.
When Barry and Levon's reunion tour happens, "Adorn" is the only other jam that could possibly fit in their repertoire. It's kind of impossible to describe this song without the inevitable 
The “economic climate” theme overshadows a less obvious one about separation, or a blockage from expressing affection. Obstacles get in the way, and “there’s nothing to be done.” Obstruction. #UNFAIR The Drums said “Money” was inspired by the basslines in The Wig, who they called “The poor man’s New Order.” Also, “I want to buy you something, but I don’t have any money” is our new favorite horrible pickup line since “You must work for UPS, because I swore I saw you checking out my package.”
More like an apocalyptic/Halloween song to us, as opposed to "Getting pumped before the big boxing match" music. "John" is a Rick Ross song (originally titled "I'm Not A Star") with vocals added by Lil Wayne, which we feel was a huge improvement from the original. We assumed a Roman-numeral appeared towards the end - “YMCMB Double M / We rich forever” - as another faux-illuminati shoutout, but turns out that it stands for "Young Money Cash Money Billionaires” and the “double M” is “Maybach Music” which is way less exciting than we'd hope for, but either way it's fun as fuck for screaming along while blasting in the car.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space... Staring into the stars & making out forever... The Cure’s influence on Neon Indian doesn’t get enough credit as one of the main reasons his appeal has been so widespread, with “Hex Girlfriend” as probably his trippiest moment yet.
The droning, distortion and delay borrowed by RDS wouldn’t mean much to anyone if they didn’t have awesome songs to back up their ambitions. Normally we break ties within the top 10, but the start of this album is so strong that it’s just about impossible to break apart tracks 2 and 3, surely among the best shoegaze since Loveless. Go team Ringo.
The lost Phil Spector epic of 1964, although 60’s pop hits normally weren’t as fragmented as “Buy Nothing Day,” which goes through individual A, B, C and D sections as opposed to a verse/chorus format. (The solo section includes additional mini-hooks that don’t appear elsewhere in the song.) The singer from Best Coast was a great choice for this; although we find her boring while singing her own songs, her innocent “untrained” aura completely syncs. Mom would like this song. P.S. 
Nasty, organic raunch... “Motherfucking” is used just often enough in the lyrics that they essentially translate to straight-up dirty sex-talk, complying with ultra-porno production. But “Wicked Games” isn’t simply throbbing boners pounding juicy vag... It’s the darkest sexual encounter of your life. The ultimate sin. In a year with an unprecedented plentiful abundance of ultra-darkness in our pop music, The Weeknd achieved the absolute blackest.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, we disagree with Yuck’s “90’s-retro” tag, which was invented by rock-journos and was never confirmed by the band themselves beyond their list of influences, which just happens to include Yo La Tengo and Dinosaur Jr. But we do agree with the reviewers who reacted to its youthfulness: They sound like they've just discovered that loud guitars can help mend a broken heart; throw on "Get Away", and you're back in high school, headphones on in study hall, pissed at the world, breaking pencils as you use your desk for a drum. (
"Rise up from black smoke / Eyes ablaze with fire." Official “Best band / Worst bandname” combination of 2011... Blending all the loudest and best elements from “Helter Skelter,” the self-titled Black Sabbath album, Abbey Road and Hendrix should have been a more obvious combination by now, except “Ritual Knife” is a case where someone finally figured out how to do it correctly. Enough of these angry old people sitting around pissed off because “nobody knows how to rock anymore.” These people need to experience psychedelic-doom. We’re very interested in J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph’s opinions on Uncle Acid. 
We’ve had a year to digest My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and it still sounds labored, containing great songs that mostly suffered due to bloated song-lengths and over-production. Nearly every track contained “intro” and “outro” sections, with layers that built upon each other as the songs progressed, falling in line with the most heralded LP’s of the past five years: it “sounds good,” but it’s just not fun. Ultimately, it’s the only Kanye LP that we have no desire to ever actually listen to.
And we’re probably among the minority (the 1%?) by stating with pride that Watch The Throne is a huge improvement, but facts are facts: Hiphop is always best when it’s spontaneous, playful, and raw. And it’s not like Kanye had to sacrifice brilliant production in order to put together a spontaneous-sounding LP. The complexities are still intact, but far more subtle, and thus, easier for everyone to appreciate, as opposed to removing all subtlety and shoving the complexities in everyone’s faces. 
This is why “N**** In Paris” is still getting played on rap stations every 30 minutes or so, and it still sounds amazing every fucking time. The masses have spoken. We’re having trouble remembering any verses from MBDTF, while “Paris” is probably the first single since “It Was A Good Day” that a shit-ton of people entirely memorized without trying. Not every line is classic, but about 89% of them are. Jay-Z’s verse is probably his best since “Roc Boys,” while Kanye’s is shockingly the better of the two. #CRAY #GoinGorillaz #SufferinFromRealness #FishFilet #DrugsMyDilla #MaryKateAndAshley Fuck, this might actually be his best verse, period. The production matches the tightness of the lyrics, including the slow backwards-piano chord that comes out of nowhere a few seconds before the enormous slow-dubstep coda. And of course the Will Ferrell samples included to justify the entire world of “brilliantly dumb hiphop lyrics” in less than 5 seconds, including “that shit cray.” It gets the people goin’...
This reminded us of “Freetime” by Kenna (keeping with the 2001-nostalgia). A reviewer on 
From the ashes of Pet Ghost Project comes Brooklyn’s Passenger Peru. We don’t know a lot about this band, but if the impressive half-LP on their Bandcamp.com page is any indication, they will be worth getting to know over the next year. (Our thanks goes out to 
Sometimes a song just “sounds” nostalgic even though it doesn’t evoke any specific memories or time-periods, such as Supertramp’s “Take The Long Way Home” or Washed Out’s “Feel It All Around.” “It’s Real” seems to be the same type of song, delivering pensive melancholy along with vague nostalgia. “Sometimes I feel that I don’t know the deal...” Yeah, same here...
Following in the path of bands like Phoenix and Tahiti 80, Jamaica are another distinctly French pop band who named themselves after a spot on the globe where it just happens to be hot all the time, with their production value placing emphasis on pristine clarity. Jamaica differs slightly in their stance toward incorporating distorted muddy guitar patches and hints of the same type of dissonance that wouldn’t be out of place on a Nirvana b-side.
Milk Music’s stock began to soar just slightly, after they unexpectedly received a profile on Pitchfork a few months back, so congrats to their promotion manager or whoever set that up. They totally deserve it, and we’d be incredibly happy if this lead to more awesome bands from Olympia receiving similar treatment in 2012. (Broken Water anyone?)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8eYsW1xNhMNATYmD816f1cEYt8Nwc0xSpcy_VSnG3XqZTCL8KqELdom0SsqDUsJLVogbwWpjEpKaG5enEBTmnj6528L_z1MWY96gReMkX-BGKuE3lgWcCUKawcn0xVlaxtgWK3msjt-z/s400/c52e5ff5.jpg")
The universally beloved “Midnight City” sure is a doozy. Golly, what a humdinger. It has the same soft-loud structure as “Kim & Jessie” from 3 years ago which is also a great song that lots of people thought sounded 80’s when it actually didn’t. (Using 80's synths does not equal "authentic 80's.") And check out these sick stats: Pitchfork's #1 "track" of the year. PopMatters #1 best song of the year. Paste's #2 best song of the year! Yowza. While we thoroughly enjoy M83, we don’t really get why this is “song of the year” material as opposed to most other positively-reviewed chillwave singles like “Fallout,” or any recent chill-keyboard-indie like “No Love.” From where we stand, both are very strong singles, and just as good as “Midnight City.” (Kudos to SPIN's Charles Aaron who not only similarly 
“Days go by...” Isolated.. Singular bass-guitar notes carry about half of this song. Singalong chorus. Much later, we learned The Drums are not from Europe, and to make matters even more frustrating, we learned they’re American. Also they’re LP wasn’t exactly “solid,” while it did produce three of the year’s best singles, which very few bands can say. “Good sounding” albums without memorable songs aren’t worth as much to us as bands like The Drums who can get our attention with a handful of great singles.
#NICE. Among the hottest beats of the year... More 90’s beats plz. And it would’ve placed higher had it not been for “the shitty boring coda section,” another strange hiphop trend in 2011. #Shoe-icide. Also, weird video... The hot chick played by Kanye’s bald ex-girlfriend literally “kills” people (or something). 
When people hear bands like Yuck or Japandroids and say “hey these bands must be way into 90’s-nostalgia because the songs have loud guitars,” these same people should stop reviewing music because they clearly have a very bad memory about what music during the 90’s actually sounded like. Ringo Deathstarr remembers... They were there. And they helped to prove 2 things: #1 Songwriting chops DO matter, since 90’s songwriting sounds different from most current songwriters. And more importantly, #2 if you’re actually gonna go for a “90’s” sound, production is key. With that said, “Other Things” is our favorite 90’s jam from 2011.
