Tomorrow seems to be the biggest release date in living memory — everyone from Alice Cooper to Neon Indian has records coming out — so there’s much pre-release streaming goodness to be found on the Internet at the moment. This has made our regular Monday task — searching the web for the best records to stream for free — a particularly pleasurable one this week. There’s the new album from Grizzly Bear side-project CANT, which is pretty fantastic listening, along with new records from Girls, Tropics, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Tori Amos. All this awaits you after the jump!
CANT — Dreams Come True
We have to say that of all the releases this week, we’re most excited about CANT, the solo project of Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear. We’ve had “Answer,” the first single from the record, on fairly high rotation chez Flavorpill since it surfaced on the web last month, and we’re happy to report that the rest of the album is also great. Dreams Come True shares the same pristine, spacious sound as Grizzly Bear’s records — unsurprisingly, since Taylor handles the band’s production duties — but this is a far more electronic affair than Taylor’s “real” band. If anything, it recalls the electronic neo-soul of Taylor’s labelmate Jamie Lidell, and it’s constantly interesting listening (even if Taylor’s vocals sound alarmingly like Phil Collins on occasion). Pitchfork has the album streaming goodness — click here to get amongst it.
Girls — Father, Son, Holy Ghost
We mentioned this last week in our post on weird rock ‘n’ roll back stories, but if you missed it, the Girls album is still streaming at the Hype Machine before its release tomorrow. It’s well worth checking out — click here to do so.
Tori Amos — Night of Hunters
According to the preview on NPR, Tori Amos’s new album is “a song cycle based on familiar pieces by composers including Satie, Chopin, Schubert and Bach” and “tells a multidimensional tale of a couple torn asunder and a woman’s search to find unity within herself.” Ye gods. But say what you like about Amos — she’s never dull, and never afraid to tackle weighty concepts. Night of Hunters starts with the line “That is not my blood on the bedroom floor,” set to a backing of what sounds like a chamber orchestra’s string section. It sets the scene for what’s to come, which is a kind of neo-classical bedroom drama. If that sounds like fun, then you can hear the album right here.
Tropics — Parodia Flare
This week’s Hype Machine premiere, meanwhile, is the debut record by Chris Ward, who goes by the stage name Tropics. We do our best not to mention the “c” word on our blog, but if you’re partial to all things chillwave-related, then you’ll definitely appreciate the woozy synths and echo-laden vocals on this record — it sounds like just the thing to soundtrack sunset Williamsburg rooftop PBRs as the summer comes to an end. Or maybe cocktails on a Balearic beach. Or something. Click here to have a listen.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — Hysterical
Remember Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? The indie DIY survivors are releasing a new album today — it’s their third studio record, and as with its two predecessors, it’s self-released and full of troublingly infectious pop songs. If you’re a lover of such things, then you’ll find plenty to like about Hysterical — this band has never really been our cup of tea, but this album does sound substantially more like their much-hyped self-titled 2005 debut and less like its lackluster 2007 follow-up Some Loud Thunder. Hysterical is streaming at NPR all week; click here to listen.