Die Antwoord, Ten$ion

2012 | Label: ZEF Recordz

By Dan Hyman eMusic Contributor

02.03.12 Not even the otherworldly, questionably authentic personalities behind South African rave-rappers Die Antwoord are immune to dance music’s global takeover. Thanks to beatmaster DJ Hi-Tek, scuzzy techno figured largely into $o$, the manic debut from MC Ninja and his mulletized lady sidekick, Yo-Landi Vi$$er. But their newest effort oozes mainstream oomph-oomph: “Never Le Nkemise” skids to several dubstep halts, and “I Fink U Freeky” is poppy enough to even warrant spins at pretentious bottle-service affairs. After cutting all major-label ties, and retreating to Cape Town, the trio’s typical smut-laden, XXX-lyrics are even sleazier this go-round, but the seeds of this shtick truly blossom when simple off-color antics give way to Ninja’s typhoon flow on “feel-good gangster shit” cut “So What?”… more »

Harmonious Thelonious, Listen

2012 | Label: Italic / Morr Music GBR

By Joe Muggs eMusic Contributor

02.03.12 Harmonious Thelonious are a dance geek’s dream, so rich is their music in resonances and intermingling echoes. In “Argwöhnische Muziek,” the track that opens Listen, you might hear the melodic patterns of West African highlife guitars echoed in tumbling synthetic pianos, Terry Riley’s minimalist compositions in its phased repetitions, or the cosmicChicago house music of Jamal Moss (aka Hieroglyphic Being) in its raw production tics and relentlessly funky drum programming. Or perhaps you might think “A.O.,” later in the album, recalls both the distorted thumb pianos of Congolese troupe Konono No.1 and the most nihilistically druggy mid ’90s European techno. Or maybe you will think of none of these things. This is music so immediate, so obviously full of wild… more »

The 2 Bears, Be Strong

2012 | Label: DFA / Revolver

By Sam Richards eMusic Contributor

02.01.12 America may have invented house music, but it was in Britain where dance culture really took root. Be Strong, the debut album from The 2 Bears — aka Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and his equally cuddly and hirsute DJ partner Raf “Daddy” Rundell — is an extended celebration of this culture, the bonds it forges and the comfort it provides in tough times.

It’s a shamelessly nostalgic record, deliberately incorporating familiar sounds and samples that will push the buttons of aging ravers, but the beats are crisp and inventive enough for it never to feel indulgent or anachronistic. It’s an album about the dancefloor as much as for the dancefloor, so each track has a distinct character: There’s the daft… more »

Liberteer, Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

2012 | Label: Relapse Records

By Phil Freeman eMusic Contributor

01.31.12 Grindcore is not typically a restrained genre. The drums blast, the guitars and bass are a downtuned roar from the gutter, and vocals are hoarse, half-mad and choking with rage, whether politically motivated or just pissed off in some ill-defined way. Liberteer, a one-man project from Matthew Widener of Cretin, aims to up grind’s revolutionary quotient while also broadening its musical palette, and it succeeds admirably. With track titles like “Class War Never Meant More Than It Does Now,” “We Are Not Afraid of Ruins,” and particularly the unsubtle “99 to 1,” Widener’s politics are crystal clear, even when his lyrics are a harsh incomprehensible bark. But it’s the music that separates Liberteer from the pack. Widener has made a… more »