23 Mar
"Pop music shouldn't always get a bad rap," says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles, updated throughout every month to bring you the best of the funk.
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Dutch Uncles - "Bellio" Vocally one part Bear In Heaven and one part Field Music, Dutch Uncles have a lot of fascinating things going on as far as the world of pop music goes. Cascading instrumentation, unforeseen breakdowns, and minimalism in occasionally suitable points make "Bellio" a track that may not be initially mind-blowing, but shifts here and there into a rainbow-clad Battles. Their upcoming record, Out of Touch in the Wild, will be released on Memphis Industries on April 2nd, and is a busy-body piece of work that will dazzle some and overwhelm others.

 

Kisses - "Huddle" Kisses' verbal simplicity often infuriates me to no end (note their band name and generic song titles galore), but in my humble opinion, they repeatedly redeem themselves with their tried-and-true methods of stripping down pop songs to only their catchiest necessities. With the release of "Huddle" and last month's "The Hardest Part", Kisses miiiiight be giving away all of their best tricks prior to the release of their next full-length, the again obnoxiously-named Kids In L.A.... but whatever gets them (and you) in the door, I guess.

 

29 Dec
In our 2012 Album Covers of the Year feature, we once again get our hands on everyone we can. Through interviews with designers, musicians, labels, and plenty of others, we take a close look at just how many hands are in the pot when it comes to the album artwork process. Inside this feature are 98 album covers spanning a wide array of sonic and visual styles, each selected for its own unique contribution to the world. They are not ranked; instead, they are broken down into sections based on conceptual underpinnings or artistic mediums, and then are displayed on spectrums. Get started by navigating into any of these six sections: Geometric & Pattern-Based Classically-Influenced Narrative & Symbolic Photography & Manipulations Painting & Illustration Collage, Sculpture & Mixed Media You can also see last year's at 2011 Year-End Respect For Album Cover Art