Dan Condon: Sick Tunes, October 5, 2012

So much has happened since I last blogged. Footy finals are over, a billion sideshows have been announced for the upcoming summer, Gangnam Style has finally hit number one on the ARIA Charts (I knew it was going to happen the first time I saw it) and I got given a two-CD Best Of Dragon compilation which has been pretty good fun.

There have also been a few killer tracks released on the internet, so here are the ones I can be bothered sharing with you this afternoon.

WILLIS EARL BEAL – Cosmic Queries

One of the acts who announced sideshows this week was Chicago's Willis Earl Beal, who is one of those artists who you just can't help but be completely fascinated by. In a nutshell; he's a singer-songwriter who used to poster the streets with his phone number and address, saying that if you give him a call he'll sing you a song and if you write him a letter he'll reply with a drawing. Eventually people began to realise that a lot of his songs were very good and that his voice was completely mind blowing and he blew up to become one of the more hyped acts of the early part of this year. He released his debut LP Acousmatic Sourcery through XL Recordings early in the year and it wasn't bad; a few great songs, a few missteps, but certainly a lot of character and promise was shown.

This week Beal has announced that he's releasing a short animated film and has chucked the soundtrack for it online for free. While the songs are familiar, given they're on the aforementioned LP, these renditions are very different. This track, Cosmic Queries, is the most epic, dark, scary and powerful song Beal has ever released; a massive, dramatic anthem that seems to suggest that this short film is going to be dark as hell. “The darkness is always waiting,” Beal says at the end of the trailer for the film. Check it out, I can't wait.

KING TUFF – Screaming Skull

To go from one extreme to the other; Sub Pop are releasing a new 7” single from King Tuff next Tuesday (the same day they release a new Total Control 7”) and the A-Side is a nice follow-up to the self-titled debut record which we heard from Kyle Thomas and co earlier this year. He hasn't changed things up at all on Screaming Skull really; it's slick and catchy with a little grit and if you're in the right mood it'll keep you smiling.

MYSTICAL WEAPONS – Mechanical Mammoth

Do you ever wonder what Sean Lennon is up to these days? I do sometimes (not often) so I was pleased to be able to catch a song from his new band Mystical Weapons online the other day. The band is just a duo that sees him team up with Greg Saunier of Deerhoof fame to make crazy improvised music while their friend Martha Colburn accompanies it with visual projections. I can't help you with the visual thing here today, but I can play you this new song and I do so with pleasure; it's a true gem. I will warn you, it is completely off the wall and I get the feeling that if you don't like it, you really won't like it. It's a complex, cartoony romp that would be the perfect soundtrack to a Disney film if Disney decided to get all fucked up and awesome. I wasn't expecting this song to be anywhere near as good as it is and I'm now pretty excited to hear their record, which will be released in the States in a couple of weeks.

CEREMONY – Everything Burns

Download it here, courtesy of Matador Records.

Last time I blogged I mentioned the new Titus Andronicus record and how excited I was about it. Well it turns out they're hitting the road with Ceremony in the US this month and while I think that Ceremony are a great band with a bunch of excellent records and as much as I truly do not give a fuck about people who think they've jumped the shark after they decided to move away from their (admittedly excellent) powerviolence fare, I have to say the show I saw on their 2012 Australian tour was pretty much a load of bullshit. So, much as I love these two bands, I'm not all that bummed about missing the tour. I am particularly stoked, however, to hear that the two bands are releasing a split 7” to coincide with the tour and Everything Burns, Ceremony's contribution, has got to be one of their finest songs to date. Big call, but that's why I get paid the big money.

LINDI ORTEGA – Murder Of Crows

Don't ask me how I found Lindi Ortega, I can't remember for the life of me. And don't ask me why I like her, because I don't really have a great answer for that either. But this Canadian country singer has something that really sucks me in; there's innocence in her lyrics, sure, but it's countered with a supreme confidence that isn't as incongruous as you'd think. I think it's the same kind of thing that made us love artists like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn; she seems sweet and you want things to work out for her, but you sure as shit wouldn't fuck with her. Her latest album Cigarettes & Truckstops came out this week and, while it sounds slick, there's plenty of guts in her lyrics. This murder ballad is pretty brutal, but I must say it is probably most striking in the context of her full album; there are songs about love lost, mental anguish and a kind of menace in Ortega's lyrics that make her come across as the kind of girl you'd fall in love with before realising that she's bat shit crazy and is, you know, going to kill you. There are plenty of great songs on here, it's one of the better country records I've heard all year and I strongly recommend seeking it out.

That's it for me for the next fortnight. Please email or tweet me if there are songs you think I should hear. God forbid I ever miss out on anything.