Justice - Civilization

It's been known for the last two weeks or so that the pride of Ed Banger Records, Justice, have been prepping the follow-up to 2007's amazing "Cross" album. The French electro-house duo are releasing the first single, titled "Civilization", on April 5. You may have heard the song in the newest adidas ad, directed by Romain Gavras who also directed Justice's controversial video for the song "Stress". Download an advance copy of Civilization here. The adidas advert is above, while the Stress video is below.

UPDATE: The full single, containing a remix (and better sound quality) is here.

Peter, Bjorn, & John - Gimme Some

Well this is embarrassing... I legitimately thought this album came out around the end of January, around the time that I first heard the lead single "Second Chance". Turns out it is set to be released on Tuesday. It's a good album from the Swedish indie rockers but on a whole it is mostly carried by the tracks "Second Chance", "Breaker Breaker"and "Tomorrow Has To Wait".  I'd love to hear what you guys think though. Hope you enjoy, and sorry I didn't get you this earlier.  Download it here.

Daft Punk - End of Line (Tame Impala Remix)

Yesterday I linked to the Tron Reconfigured album, but I have learned that the Australian version of that album will feature a remix by Aussie indie rockers Tame Impala that is not included on the US version (which would appear to be what I linked to), so I've found the song, and I'm dutifully bringing it to you. Right here. 

tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l

Check out the new album from Merrill Garbus' tUnE-yArDs project, due out April 19 but available now, right here, for your aural satisfaction. You may already have heard the lead track "Bizness" over at pitchfork, but I have to say that I've listened to their first album and if I'm being honest, I felt a little underwhelmed by it. Not so with w h o k i l l, which I find to be a beautiful and somewhat genre-busting record, a definite improvement over their first effort and it's always nice to hear a band's sound evolve a little. Don't forget to check out the video for "Bizness" below, it features dancing children, how can you resist?

Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers

The second rap album leak of the day is the much anticipated major-label debut from Pittsburgh's Wiz Khalifa. I'm sure we'll be hearing songs from this album all over mainstream radio within the next couple of months, so let's try to enjoy the album before lamestream media kills it. Rolling Papers will be in stores on March 29. Download the album here.

Classified - Handshakes and Middle Fingers

Well it's not every day that you'll find rap and hip-hop on my blog, but if that's your thing then today is your lucky day. First off, check out the new album from Canada's pre-eminent east coast rapper Classified. His new album Handshakes and Middle Fingers is his 14th (!) since 1995. It doesn't stray too far from his past work, but that's not a bad thing. It's chalk-full of observations about the real world that we live in as opposed to some fictional world that exists only between crack corners, strip clubs and the bedroom like some his southern brethren. Check out this fun, insightful and most of all listenable album by using the search feature over here.

The Kills - Blood Pressures

I found this album floating around the interwebs the other day. The band is called The Kills, and if you're not familiar with them then this is album is a great place to start due to its simplicity and accessibility. For those who are familiar with their earlier work, the minimalist rock sound certainly continues but this album has a very bluesy feel to it. I've heard this newer sound criticized as too "Black Keys/White Stripe-esque" but I reject the premise of that argument for two simple reasons: #1 You can't sound too much like the Black Keys or White Stripes without it being by default, beautiful music; #2 Just because something sounds like the blues doesn't mean it's a rip-off of the Black Keys or the White Stripes. Neither Dan Auerbach or Pat Carney nor Jack or Meg White invented the blues. Anyway, physical copies will be in stores on April 5, but for now you can download the whole album here.