1. Peaking Lights – Lo Hi
2. Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre – The Recipe
3. RL Grime – Treadstone (LOL Boys Remix)
4. Dntel feat. Baths – Still
5. Purity Ring – Obedear
6. Actress – Caves of Paradies
7. Jam City feat. Main Attrakionz – Nite Life
8. Actress – Sleep Dealer
9. Blouse – Into Black
10. SpaceGhostPurrp – Lustful ’97
11. Zomby – Float
12. Hot Chip – Night and Day (Daphni Remix)
13. Dauwd – What’s There (Fort Romeau Remix)
14. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Spraypaint
15. Night Works – I Tried So Hard (Extended Mix)

I’d been meaning to immerse myself in the Walkmen after their last album Lisbon was released in 2010, but ever since seeing the trailer for their new album Heaven a couple months back I’ve become absolutely obsessed with this band. Listening to Lisbon on the drive to Santa Barbara last month, something finally clicked and I’ve since been catching up with the band’s previous releases, as well as familiarizing myself with some of their newer songs like “Heaven” and “Heartbreaker.”

The Walkmen performed both songs on NPR’s World Cafe this past Friday, along with three other new songs, “We Can’t Be Beat,” “The Love You Love,” and “Love Is Luck,” and I’ve been listening to the performance on repeat since it was made available to stream that afternoon. After hearing about half of the songs from the album, I can safely say that Heaven is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. There’s such a classic, simple feel to the Walkmen’s songwriting that really appeals to me. No bells and whistles, just well-structured songs and passionate lyrics.

Stream: The Walkmen – Live on World Cafe

As someone who grew up with the Beastie Boys constantly playing on MTV, the group was one of few who left an indelible mark on my listening habits over the years. Growing up in Kentucky where the genre of choice was largely country music, the Beastie Boys essentially served as my transition in to real hip-hop. Ad Rock was the wild, party guy and Mike D always seemed like the more intelligent, laid-back member of the group, but MCA was just cool. He was always so confident in himself, giving off this energy that he was who he was and there wasn’t shit you could do to change that, something we should all aspire to. RIP MCA.

How great it was to see things come full circle Wednesday night for one of my favorite indie bands, Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs. The band made their second late night appearance on Letterman, bringing along a horn section to perform their hit “Come To The City” from last year’s Slave Ambient. Paul Schaeffer also joined the band for the explosive performance, which featured lead singer Adam Granduciel rocking out in a bolo tie. Check out my interview with Granduciel for Death & Taxes here.

via The Audio Perv

Brainfeeder producer Mono/Poly dropped a new free EP earlier this week on his website. The Killer B’s EP consists of five new tracks and can be downloaded through the link below. I had the pleasure of seeing Mono/Poly live in December at a warehouse party here in LA, and his performance definitely stacked up well against Flying Lotus and Teebs, who also had excellent sets that night. Mono/Poly’s inventive production style is something to behold on its own, but his live show in particular is not to be missed.

Download: Mono/Poly – Killer B’s EP

Clams Casino has certainly made a name for himself over the past couple years with his production work for artists like ASAP Rocky and Lil B. This week, the New York producer graced Benji B’s BBC show with a new mix compromising of some of his new instrumentals for ASAP Rocky, as well as a handful of unreleased instrumentals, one of which would’ve been perfect for the Diplomats circa 2004. There’s a link to an mp3 of the mix below.

MP3: The Evolution of Clams Casino [PMA]

“Lo Hi” is the first leaked track from electronic dub duo Peaking Lights’ forthcoming third album Lucifer, which will see a release on Mexican Summer June 19th. After catching the ears of many with their last album 936, the LA-based couple appears to be punctuating their recent success with this new release. Inspired by the birth of their son Mikko, whose voice you can hear sampled on “Lo Hi,” initial impressions of the new album are that it’s a little more upbeat and appears to be metaphorically mirroring the playful innocence of infancy. There’s a more atmospheric, dream-like quality to the production, leaving plenty of room for the bevy of effects and synth experimentation we hear on “Lo Hi”. Stream the new single via the band’s Soundcloud below and watch a great mini documentary on Peaking Lights here.

Prior to his first European tour a few months back, Shlohmo released a tremendous follow-up EP to his debut full length from last year. Largely flying under the radar, the Vacation EP was released in February and showed the LA-based producer successfully combining some of his more ambient and club-oriented influences. “Rained The Whole Time” is arguably the highlight of the EP, and along with it came this incredible remix of the track by New York producer Nicolas Jaar.

The remix is easily one of my favorite tracks of the year and brilliantly displays the appeal of both artist’s subtle, yet moving production styles. The video for the track, directed by Video Marsh (responsible for previous work with Caribou and Crystal Castles), attempts to replicate the understated appeal of Jaar’s remix with a series of microscopic skin cell sequences. Shlohmo discussed the origins of the Vacation EP in my interview for LA Weekly, which you can read here.

A$AP Rocky linked up with G.O.O.D. Music producer Hit-Boy for the new single “Goldie” off his upcoming album. Though the production isn’t as exciting as his beloved Clams Casino collaborations, Rocky certainly makes the most of the track and sets a nice tone for his new material. You can check out A$AP Rocky’s entire performance from Coachella this past weekend and preview his new track “Big Spender” with Theophilus London via the link below. Along with Refused and Flying Lotus, Rocky is one of my most anticipated acts for Weekend 2 of Coachella. This guy has me genuinely more excited about hip-hop than anyone else in a long time.

Download: A$AP Rocky – Goldie (prod. Hit-Boy)

Watch A$AP Rocky’s Entire Coachella Set & Preview “Big Spender” w/ Theophilus London [Pitchfork]

Following up on their two critically acclaimed full lengths, Black Moth Super Rainbow is back this week with a new single from their forthcoming album Psychic Damage. No release date for the album has been made available as of yet, but “Spraypaint” first went up on the band’s Soundcloud page yesterday and was followed shortly after by a preview of another new track titled “Like A Sundae”, which was unveiled on YouTube. If you’re familiar with the band’s previous material, you should certainly the enjoy the two new tracks, which follow a similar template to those on Eating Us and Dandelion Gum, albeit with a more expansive sound.