This is a rare occurence, but sometimes miracles do happen.

DARIUS’, ELODIE’S AND OFFICIAL MD PICK OF THE WEEK:
THEE OH SEES “Warm Slime” [In the Red] – ALL YOU NEED IS THE SUMMERTIME

OTHER TOP PICKS:

VARIOUS ARTISTS “New Zealand @ SXSW” [Kiwihits] - So, New Zealand goes to South by Southwest and records this super great compilation featuring Lawrence Arabia, the Ruby Suns, Surf City, and many more WVKR faves.

DOSH “Tommy” [Anticon] – Cacophonous harmonious loops play leap frog over each other in nearly jazz tempo.

UNKLE “Where Did the Night Fall” [Surrender All] – A Big Deep kaleidoscopic set of euphoric electronic hymns, its like Phillip Glass gone rhythmic electro-pop.

TWINKRANES “Spektrum Theatre Snakes” [B-Music] – Finders Keepers presents TWINKRANES. A storming psychedelic power-prog trio from Dublin that apparently loves to zone-out. Sounds like urgent neo-kraut-space rock.

V/A “Nigeria Special: Vol 2 Modern Highlife AfroSounds” [Sound Way] – Uh Duh. Its another Nigerian Special.

BLUES CONTROL “Local Flavor” [Siltbreeze Records] – This band played such a great set last week that many members of the audience couldn’t even stand up straight!

UNNATURAL HELPERS “Cracked Love & Other Drugs” [Hardly Art] - Freak outs and sweeping guitars, mock fatalist party racket with pop sensibilities with a good ol’ KRAANG.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS “La La Land” [Secret City Records] – Folk rock with classic rock vibes and jam-band psychedelia and some chamber elements too. Like a wet des(s)ert.

CAETANO VELOSO “Zii E Zie” [Nonesuch] – Veloso is most known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo. He presents some (legendary) sexy bossa bossa, which is like electric guitar against sparse sonic backgrounds.

INLETS “Inter Arbiter” [twosyllable] – Darkish baroque pop with delicate cloudy harmonies and finger pickin’ banjo doo dads. Oh and look at that, Zach Condon does brass.

WESLEY WOLFE “Storage” [Odessa] - Clearly Lincoln Hawk inspired, an updated version of Goldfinger. Sometime he puts on his emotive singer-songwriter mask and grows a Pacific Northwestern beard. Got our heads boppin’ with his raw soulful acoustic guitar playing and his cracking voice.

MD PICK OF THE WEEK: GARY YOUNG “BIT b/w Crushface: Music from the Film 7″ [s/r] - This is genius. It is a 7″ with a special “WARP” adapter that allows the 7″ to be rotated around three off-center points, causing even more warping and manipulation. The music itself is produced using a cacophonater and a theramin.

ELODIE’S PICK OF THE WEEK: VERY BE CAREFUL “Escape Room” [Barbès Records] - This albm is trance-like with hypnotic cumbias and featuring rootsy Colombian vallenato with accordion. Colombian soul and a California heart have grilled out ceaseless romp-downs and raucous spirit in this release, inciting tens of thousands of men, women, children, and even some wild animals to boogie to the Colombian coastal beat.

DARIUS’ PICK OF THE WEEK: CESARIA EVORA “Radio Mindelo” [RT] - Very beautiful Portugese-African songs from this well known Cape Verdean popular singer are to be enjoyed on this album. Previously unreleased, many of these tracks were recorded live and have been digitally remastered. Well worth a look for admirers of Lula Cortes, tropicalia, etc.

OTHER GREAT ADDS TO THE PLAYLIST:

THE CONSULATE GENERAL “Person Number” [Circle into Square] – The album falls somewhere between Her Space Holiday and The Postal Service. It features calm vocals with deep bass and wide range of intruments.

GOLDEN TRIANGLE/THE FRESH & ONLYS “S/T split” [Hardly Art] – Ooh how fun! Side splitting split 7″ from these WVKR faves.

TYPHOON “Hunger and Thirst” [Tender Loving Empire] - This album is marked by differently pitched hollow percussives. Elements of bass-heavy guitar eventually thunder into triumphant horns and angelic vocals in the background.

FOSSIL CITIES “Oxidation” [s/r] – This band hails from Newburgh and rocks with psych ambient folk that has the weird cute CocoRosie thing going on. It sounds like pygmy unicorns on a grey cloudy day having a tea party.

NO MORE SHAPES “Creesus Crisis” [Darker Mythology] - Creesus Crisis explores territories such as small sound electronic improvisations to full on Ornette-ish like free-bop.

SIGHTINGS “City of Straw” [Brah/ Jagjaguwar] - This album begins dark and brutal but eventually features soft-ish tones and some melodic-melancholic beatings to the ears. It gets real glitch-y sometimes as well.

INSTANT SUMMER – One part heat, one part (see below):

MD PICK OF THE WEEK: COOL WORLD “Gaydream Nation” [Dœs Are] – Another JUICY and (gay)dreamy release from Dœs Are that sounds like the best summer backyard afternoon this side of the train tracks from Pete and Pete.

DARIUS’ PICK OF THE WEEK: DAVID BYRNE AND FATBOY SLIM “Here Lies Love” [Todomundo/Nonesuch] – The premise is unreal. Just a teaser: it has to do with the first lady of the Philippines and a beloved child servant. It’s conceptualized as absurdist disco theatre that sounds like the artists who composed it.

ELODIE’S PICK OF THE WEEK: WOODEN SHJIPS “Vol. 2″ [Sick Thirst] - The sound crosses the icy garage rock of early Echo and the Bunnymen with the sun bleached tremolo pun of the Scientists. This has hints of Krautrock, the trance inducing organ haze of Suicide, Velvets-style dance drone, and classic desert fried garage psych.

OTHER DREAMY ADDS TO THE PLAYLIST:

AWESOME COLOR “Massa Hypnos” [Ecstatic Peace] - You know, it’s awesome and it’s color, hence awesome color. We almost had a seizure of joy when they played in the college center MPR.

COCONUTS “CoConuts” [No Quarter] – Under “Sounds Like” on their MySpace, there was this quoted comment: “Waiting to see Austin hardcore/power violence Total Abuse at 12.15pm we’re discombobulated by the arrival of gurning, staggering, dribbling Aussies, The Coconuts. They seem to further bamboozle the crowd by tuning up for longer than they actually play their horrendously loud psychedelic horseshit. The crowd, possibly put off by their unannounced arrival and level of noise, mixed with their high level of chemical induced ineptitude, doesn’t appear too impressed. Despite this, The Coconuts are actually pretty good.”

GROWING “Pumps” [VICE Records] – Full of drum machine rhythms and layers of vocal and guitar textures. It munches on a heavy diet of scattershot and deconstructed electronic snax.

JÓNSI “Go” [XL Recordings] - Jonsi is the frontman for Sigur Ros. It is the soundtrack to a beautiful creature’s face. Just play it.