Mixtape Ahoy!

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Back by dope demand, bitches!


POP'S YER UNCLE VOLUME TWO

1. Jamie Holden - Lump (The opening track from Holden's mini-LP, The Idiots Are Winning is as wigged-out and subtly psychedelic as we've come to expect from the Border Community man. It's also insidiously infectious and as moreish as crystal meth pringles.)
2. The Beta Band - To You Alone (I've recently been dipping back into The Betas' catalogue and 'To You Alone' is one of my favourites. A twinkly groove with elements of r'n'b thrown into the mix, alongside a percussive freakout bit that Animal Collective would be envious of.)
3. Magnus International - Onkel Reisende Mac (New on Prins Thomas' Full Pupp imprint, this is a very nice touch of starcrawling disco, with a bottom that's deeper and fatter than the one currently sported by Eamonn Holmes. When that 4/4 kicks in, it's heavenly. The Swedes amongst you will have clocked already, but for those at the back, Onkel=Uncle, Reisende=Travelling and Mac=well, uh, Mac, which must be what the Swedes called him. Silly creatures!)
4. Isolee - Hermelin (Predictability is an oft-underrated virtue. Take the work of Rajko Muller, for instance; while you could never say that the intricate twists and turns his music takes are easy to track, one thing you do see coming when there's a new Isolee release on the horizon is that it's going to be excellent. This is no exception. I bet you'll be humming it for weeks and there's not many minimal house musicians you can say that about.)
5. Moby feat. Debbie Harry - New York, New York (The Emperor Machine Extended Mix) (Okay, so the original's an absolute dog, but it turns out that you can sprinkle gold dust on a freshly-laid dog's egg and call it a Faberge. Debbie's voice, which has been gravelled a little over the years, pretty much sounds as great as it ever did and works as a fabulous counterpart to Andy Meecham's cosmic funk backdrop. This is what Ana Matronic thinks her songs on the new Scissor Sisters album sound like.)
6. Lexx - Sirocco (Bear Funk bring the goods again here. Who knows when the beardo-disco bubble will burst? In fact, I bet there's lots of you out there who didn't even notice it inflate. Long may it last.)
7. Hipnosis - End Title (Blade Runner) (Italo, squelchy-synth robo-cover of Vangelis' classic piece that closes out one of my favourite films of all time. "It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?")
8. Little Beaver - Concrete Jungle (Questionable name aside, Little Beaver certainly brings the funk to the disco table on this pearler from Stateside's recent T.K. Disco compilation.)
9. The Shins - Sea Legs (This is where we might get into trouble. Sub Pop are currently prowling the blogosphere, caning the backs of bloggers' legs for putting new Shins tracks up for download. Let's hope this slips under the radar. 'Sea Legs' is one of the highlights from the patchy Wincing The Night Away. Enjoy it while you can.)
10. The Blood Arm - Visitations (TBA's album, Lie Lover Lie is the most fun you can have without flouting decency laws, but no-one seems to have noticed that. Grab this as a taster, then go out and buy, buy, buy! Just remember to keep your clothes on.)
11. The Long Blondes - You Could Have Both (Without a shadow of a doubt, 'You Could Have Both' is the best song that The Long Blondes have thus far committed to tape. If the spoken breakdown doesn't send a shiver down your spine, then you must be dead.)
12. Pavement - Grounded (Now that Wowee Zowee is being remastered and reissued, we can take a little time to assess its less obvious charms. The hidden brilliance of 'Grounded' is easy to miss when you first fall for the album, leaving you asking some of the more instantly gratifying moments to dance. Make sure you check out the unassuming wallflower over there though, who's clearly a stone-cold fox under that floppy fringe and the librarian glasses.)
13. Jarvis - I Will Kill Again (Bitter, acerbic, yet beautifully tender, 'I Will Kill Again' makes you wonder just how long it will be before we're looking at Sir Jarvis. A national treasure.)
14. Metallica - Enter Sandman (Ending it here with this behemoth, purely because I watched Some Kind Of Monster immediately before compiling this. "Exit light...")

Pop's Yer Uncle Volume Two (Zipped and Megauploaded)

More tomorrow, when I'll fill you in on just what the hell I've been doing for the last few days.

JMx