Video: Enjoy - Mozart's Sister

From the LP: "Being" Available August 5, 2014 in Canada from Paper Bag Records, in US/ROW from Asthmatic Kitty Records. Preorder it here: http://smarturl.it/buy-being Directed by Audrey Bilodeau Fontaine.

Love this new single from Mozart's Sister, real name Caila Thompson-Hannant. The video is weirdly captivating and totally bizarre. Enjoy is taken from the forthcoming album Being, out on 5 August. Thompson-Hannant name-checks Discover-era Daft Punk and Post-era Björk as inspiration but I'd also say their is more than a little nod to Róisín Murphy in the sophisticated pop demonstrated here.

Stream: Bus - Benin City

More hotness from Benin City, whose bass heavy urban alt pop warms me no end on this sunny Friday. This summery new track is lifted from Benin City's forthcoming EP Midnight Malarky, out on 23 June and available to pre-order on iTunes.

Stream: Can't Do Without You - Caribou

I've always tended to be a little lukewarm on Caribou, until this. He has some decent tracks, but this blows me away. Goosebumps all the way.

Album Review: Black Frames - Dave Aju

Dave Aju's Heirlooms was one of my favourite albums of 2012 and therefore the follow up, Black Frames, was very welcome upon arriving in my inbox.

This new album comes amidst some personal turmoil for Aju... Since his last full-length release he has gone through the break-up of a long-term relationship and moved away from his home city of San Francisco. The title of Black Frames is taken from both the picture frames that house the 60s and 70s artwork in Aju's studio together with a reference to the place where breaking a sweat and breaking the rules both come together.

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Black Frames - Dave Aju

The album that ensues is lean and tight in comparison to Heirlooms. There are just nine tracks here and whilst the album still clocks in at almost an hour long a lot of the loose funkiness of the last album is gone. In its place is a comparatively stripped back and focused set of techno influenced house tracks. This is still unmistakably Dave Aju... there is still a lot of funk here, it is just buried considerably deeper than it was on his last album. Much as Matthew Dear has crafted several albums out of a sound that skirts pop and techno with intelligence, Aju does something similar here... Creating an album that is almost exclusively deeper and more minimal than the last, but still boasts a confidence and approachability that beguiles Black Frames' relatively heavy nature.

The resulting album takes a little longer to worm its way into your head, but still has some standout moments. Race On Haight opens the album with a slinky and soulful jazzy sound, gentle piano keys tinkle as if hiding nervously behind Aju's big deep voice amidst smoky instrumentation, one of Black Frames' rare slower moments. Nu Threads is a jacking house track built around a big bass line and Aju's vocals whilst Clean St is one of the album's highlights, a similarly jacking track that builds over nine-minutes.

Nobody Knows uses vocal manipulation to create rhythms out of Aju's repeated refrain "Where we get our shit together" and contrasting them against layered melodic vocals. Psylica hints at the personal strife this album was born of, an eight-minute throbbing bass epic that culminates in a vocal duet, both parties informing the other "My love can you see we are stuck between a rock and me / you", seemingly persistent, immovable and misunderstood...

It is clear Dave Aju has poured himself into Black Frame - the depth of the subject matter and the style and finesse evident in the album's production is evident. If it isn't as instantly gratifying as Heirlooms it will certainly reward those with the appetite and patience to explore electronic music with soul and brains.

Black Frames is out on 16 June through Circus Company, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD or MP3 [affiliate links].

Stream: My Type - Saint Motel

This is rowdy. By applying more cowbell and more brass than most bands would know what to do with Saint Motel's My Type is a balls out tumble down the stairs whilst you find your feet and fly out the front-door kind of tail of love and affection. Saint Motel are from LA but inspired by British culture. My Type follows on from Saint Motel's 2012 debut, Voyuer.