I am way late on the Cool Kids, but that is largely because I like, but don't love their singles. Don't get me wrong, the production is interesting and a really progressive and smart twist on indie hip hop, but I don't always find it very exciting. I guess I never got around to listening to "Bassment Party," although I'm not sure why.

"Bassment Party" is everything I've ever wanted in a hip hop party song. It's bouncy, fun, inoffensive, slick, and fully equipped with well crafted verses. I suggest checking it out if you aren't rocking it already, although I kind of feel like there was a big wave of hype around this album months back and I missed the boat.

The Fever Ray album is exciting, although it does sound very much like the Knife's Silent Shout. Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson, the female half of the Knife, does a great job with the production here (was it all her?) and creates this vast and desolate musical landscape, one that uses icy tones to create eery tension. The vocals are twisted and pitch shifted so that they rarely sound distinctly human and the pace is less dance and more the slow plodding of a horror film's serial killer (think Michael Myers in Halloween).

I've spent a lot of time with the Knife's Silent Shout lately and will likely so the same with Fever Ray's self-titled album. I think they/she are/is able to create these expansive sounds by cutting out so much filler from the mix. By using smooth sounds without much mid or bass, she imbues her keys and various percussive sounds with a delicate thinness. She then slaps some reverb on it and does some excellent panning and comes up with echo-y and distant accompaniment to her vocals. The low end is always central, but far from constant (with the exception of "If I Had A Heart"). Synths swell and shrink, occasionally break into a stab-y chord progression. It's really really masterful.

But what I like about the Knife and Fever Ray so much is their aesthetic. It's so fucking dark and uncompromisingly weird.

Here's Fever Ray's video for "If I Had A Heart." It is very seriously worth watching.

Shed produced a very well-reviewed techno/idm record last year called "Shedding the Past." Below, you can find an embedded video of the track "Estrange." This is one of my favorite tracks on the record. The haunting synth melody, the snares, and the deep 808 or 909 kick sound that he uses kill me.

I'd write more, but this music really speaks for itself.

Is anyone else as excited about Passion Pit as I am?

The chorus is the real deal. Massive and emotional, catchy but unique. When that high synth slides onto that long note, it feels like the whole song shakes beneath it. If you don't know, you should find out.