Hard to believe, but St. Etienne’s Tales From a Turnpike House marks the British pop group’s 7th full length lp. With each member now well into their 30’s, Turnpike House reflects the group’s maturity and musical progression, joining the electro-pop of Tiger Bay and So Tough to the lush, Beach Boys-esque harmonies of their more recent efforts. “Stars Above Us” is what should have been the first single from the new record; it's incredibly infectious, pure pop… a song for the beach, sunsets, rooftop parties, cute girls, and other wholesome summer activities.

St. Etienne - Stars Above Us

-David

Dave, tell Annie about our blog.

Can't believe I'm gonna post a Beck track. Btw, I'm not a chick and I don't listen to crap music, but this song is pretty tight. It's remixed by Röyksopp, one of the hottest producers currently in the game. You'll see.

Beck- Still Missing (Röyksopp Remix)

-John

Yo homie, you listen to that Solvent joint yet?

Naw, man. Too busy spinning 2 Live Crew. I ain't wastin' my bills on no elecronica-lite bullshit. Jason Amm can't keep his posse in check.

Your loss, playa'. This some electro bliss straight from the underground

Fuck the underground, bro. And don't call me yo homie nor playa', you ain't even down like dat. A-U-T-E-C-H-R-E, bro. Fuckin' heard of them. Don't bring that weak shit in here.

Solvent- A Panel of Experts

Solvent- My Radio

-John

CocoRosie is a French sister duo, who draw elements from folk and electronic music to create wistful, meloncholy, eerie, and at times almost frightening, lullaby-like songs. Their voices are very distinct, which along with the music, really form an other-worldly fairy tale-like mood. "Beautiful Boys" is a track off of their upcoming release, Noah's Ark, and examplifies Cocorosie's sublte lo-fi craft. Noah's Ark comes out Sept. 13 on Touch on Go Records. (Seriously, I'm completely smitten with this album.. I'm talking year end top 5 here.)

CocoRosie - Beautiful Boys

-David

Yo Dave, don't kill me just yet. I may not be able to justify this post by any rational means, but this song just makes perfect sense to me. Of all the bad that has come out of the creators of American Idol, they got it right this time. Forget the divine hook. It's the savory groove that keeps this jumpin'.

American Juniors- One Step Closer

btw, the girl on the far right is my fav.

-John

When people look back on shoegaze, most will think of the usual suspects: My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver, Slowdive, etc., while overlooking the contributions of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Ecstasy were/are a Prague-based band, who unfortunately do not gather the same big name recognition of those aforementioned bands, though they are certainly deserving of such praise. While the later Ecstasy records veer towards a more ambient sound, their debut record Sussurate was one hell of a noisy, dense, and lush record (ya know.. all those qualities that make us shoegazers salivate). The Isn't Anything era MBV influence is strong, but Sussurate has arguably an even noisier and dreamier sound. In fact, if MBV recorded an album between Isn't Anything and Loveless, it might sound something like Sussurate. Granted, they weren't the most original of the shoegaze groups, but Ecstasy's songwriting surpassed the vast majority of those other bigger name bands. "Swoony" is a track off of their 1992 release Sussurate. Play it loud.

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa - Swoony

-David.

This ain't yo father's James Taylor. This James Taylor is one half of Swayzak, the fab house duo from England. James brings one the year's best singles with this solo outing from Carthage Milk. We celebrate the inauguration of PoisonNinjas presenting you Mr. James Taylor.

-John



Isolee (aka Rajko Mueller) is set to release his first full-length release in 5 years since 2000’s Rest. Wearemonster isn’t really a departure from the last record (which is a good thing), just more of the booty-shaking minimal tech-house Mueller has graced us with in the past. So I present to you a sampler with “Face B”, and hereby inaugurate the debut of PoisonNinjas.

Isolee - Face B

-David