Exciting news: Your latest Flavorpill Mixtape has arrived. Your ears are salivating. Your fingers are ready to click ctrl + left click and “save as.” Eight essential downloads from this past week in music after the jump — all free for the taking! Take a listen, and then leave us a comment with what you think of our selections.
1. Surfer Blood – “Swim (To Reach the End)” Anthemic surfer rock pulled from the ’80s and is about, what else, swimming! The guitars lift their excited distorted chord crunch straight from Weezer, pre-Weezy collaboration, that is. The result is something like an arena rock version of the Beach Boys. [Download Here] via Pitchfork
2. Dum Dum Girls – “Baby Don’t Go” “Baby don’t go, pretty baby please don’t go…,” sings the Dum Dum Girls, as tragic echoing chords swirl gently around their voices. “I love you so, please don’t go…” they continue, the guitars globbing into a trembling shimmer. In short, beautiful. [Download Here] via Gorilla vs. Bear
3. Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader (Neon Indian Studio 6669 Remix) Chillwave strikes again, this time at Grizzly Bear’s “Cheerleader.” The track begins with a synth bouncing back and forth between the headphones, later stumbling into a trippy discotec. Amidst Ed Droste’s sweet coo and the beams of electro swirls, you realize this is one of the few tracks to which you can either sleep or rave. [Download Here] via Stereogum
4. Géraldine – “Toi Dans Mes Bras” Based on our limited French speaking abilities, the song titles means something along the lines of “You Within My Arms.” The song itself is a pair lo-buzzing midi-synths with a computerized “clack” at each beat. Then, a curious sing-response banter ensues between a French boy and girl. [Download Here] via Brooklyn Vegan
5. Carnivores – “Heart of Copper” In the words of the wise folks at FADER, “it sounds like coming up on a ramshackle garage, going inside and discovering every wall painted in tropical colors and a bunch of dudes throwing flowers all over the place.” [Download Here] via The FADER
6. Hot Chip – “One Life Stand” Hot Chip’s new single from their album of the same name. Pulsating kick drums, slightly discordant synth harmonies, and…reggae style steel drum? Somehow it works, merging together to create dark and longing electro funk. [Download Here] via Sous Les Paves La Plage
7. Astro – “Raifilter” Chilean synth rock. Dig it. [Download Here] via Super 45
8. Beach House – “Lover of Mine” The latest track to drip out of Beach House’s upcoming January release, “Teen Dream.” The song is standard Beach House affair — slightly muffled organs and Victoria Legrand’s near masculine voice. [Download Here] via Nasty Panda