Mason Proper fuses several styles on their most recent project, Olly Oxen Free, which was released on Dovecote Records. Their mellow, yet furrowing, rock guitars are ambient and lively. The band uses many obscure rhythms on the album; the drums are carefully crafted, utilizing an ensemble of different percussive mediums. The vocalist has a dynamic voice and chooses some eerie lyrical concepts. On that is particularly entertaining on “In the Mirror.” The song is filled with atmospheric auxiliary sounds that waft through the audio and make it more valuable with every listen. The song is really a break in the album, which isn’t quite as tranquil as this. My only disappointment is that it is also the album’s shortest track. This album is a great listen, and it also gets better with time. Mason Proper has recently finished an east coast tour, but they still have some shows coming up here in the Midwest.

By Santos Ramos

MP3: Mason Proper – Fog

Actor/Musician Bryan Greenberg hit the road for the first time in September. That went so well that he’s already back on the road, this time with Graham Colton and Michael Tolcher. Greenberg was nice enough to let us sit down with him and find out a bit more about his world and his music. Watch Above the Fold’s most recent video featuring Bryan Greenberg:

• MP3: Bryan Greenberg – Lonely World

Joshua Radin has some very helpful friends! First, Zach Braff breaks him by playing the first song he ever wrote on one of the most moving episodes on Scrubs.

Then Ellen Degeneres has been touting him on her show and is such a big fan that she even had him perform at her recent wedding. His new album Simple Times reached No. 1 on iTunes overall Top Albums shortly after. Now, he has released his new video for his single I’d Rather Be With You that was directed by Braff. Check it out below:

• MP3: Joshua Radin – Vegetable Car

It’d be hard to live in Lansing, MI and not come across Frontier Ruckus at some point. And upon entering the dreary grip of another Midwest winter, I cannot think of a better emblem for so vapid a surrounding than The Orion Songbook. The band’s first full-length album was recently released by Michigan-based indie label Quite Scientific. It’s led by the haunting vocals and relentlessly poetic lyricism of Matthew Milia. His shaky voice retains a touching potency that forgives the pitchy spots that freckle the album. Milia’s songs are further illustrated by a wonderful cast of musicians. The instrumentation often includes a horn section, percussion, female vocal harmonies, a mean banjo, bass, harmonica, and singing-saw.
Animals Need Animals is an ambient, tranquil opening song and an appropriate prolepsis of the ensuing bitter beauty that follows. The songs flow seamlessly into one another, each telling its own tale while still contributing to a cohesive body of literary work. Each song deserves as much individual attention as the next, but it is their synergy that completes the portrait of wintry heartbreak amidst the internal travail of inescapable memories. The Orion Songbook has cavernous intellect and blossoming imagination. Look for Frontier Ruckus to be coming somewhere near you (as their new release gains acclaim) because their live interpretation is not disappointing in the least.

By Santos Ramos

• MP3: Frontier Ruckus – Animals Need Animals

Toronto bred MC (sort of) Don Cash is dropping new wave electro gems and come January 5, he’ll be dropping his new album Freshy Fresh (Stereoeagle).  The music sound like Deevo meets DNTEL meets Corey Hart, setting the background for Cash’s Santogold style rap/singing vocals.  Check out a few tracks below:

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• MP3:  Don Cash – “Glam Banger”
• MP3:  Don Cash – “Take it to the Top”
  

I have taken a particular interest in Kanye’s brand of life since he thrust himself into the limelight with College Dropout. To the average eye, Kanye West can be described as arrogant, pompous, cocky, and a diva. He might LOOK like all of those things, but maybe people just don’t know how to handle someone whose brutal honesty is the only thing that comes close to his undying confidence.

It may be Kanye’s confidence that has led his army of determination to be the world’s next international superstar. He has made it no secret that he wants to get to Michael Jackson status. He wants to sell out stadiums. But he seems to be stuck on this idea that hip hop artists don’t sell out stadiums, pop stars do. (The extravagance of his Glow in the Dark tour is only the start of things to come from this man, I’m sure of it.)

Is this idea of only popstars being superstars the reason the Chicago-raised West has shifted gears so drastically with his newly released tracks from his upcoming 808s and Heartbreak? Kanye has always been a genius in marketing his albums. His outreach to the blog world feels more like a focus group. A way to gage people’s reaction to a new sound before he unleashes it on the Wal Mart demographic who will essentially make him a superstar.

The material from this new album feels like Kanye is, for the first time trying to be something he is not. His road to selling out the Meadowlands or Wembley is not going to come from a pop/r&b album from a hip hop artist. It is going to come from his ability to fuse genres into his root sound. Then again, this could just be Kanye’s Electric Circus

Here’s the tracklist for the album out a week from today:

808s & Heartbreak:

1. Welcome to Heartbreak
2. Heartless
3. Love Lockdown
4. Robocop
5. Anyway
6. Streetlights
7. Say You Will
8. Real Bad News
9. Amazing [ft. Young Jeezy]
10. Tell Everybody That You Know [ft. Lil Wayne]
11. Coldest Winter

Chromeo hit up the first Pemberton Festival this past summer in Pemberton, British Columbia, and rocked the Bacardi B-Live dance tent. Being that the electro duo have family ties with Fool’s Gold Records, it’s only natural that A-Trak and the gang would join in the fun. Fool’s Gold artists Treasure Fingers, Trackademicks, and Nacho Lovers offer up killer remixes of Chromeo’s track 100%.

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• MP3: Chromeo – 100% (Treasure Fingers B-Live Pemberton mix)
• MP3: Chromeo – 100% (Trackademicks B-Live Pemberton mix)
• MP3: Chromeo – 100% (Nacho Lovers B-Live Pemberton mix)
  

VIMBY does it again, offering a killer video feature with Gold Coast to Wham City punk rockers The Death Set
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• MP3: The Death Set – “Superzero”
• MP3: Daedelus – “Fair Weather Friends (the Death Set rmx)”
• MP3: The Death Set – “On The Street (Bumblebeez rmx)”

Born in London, Dan Black could not resist the magnetic power of the Paris music scene, and with the recent explosion of Parisian party culture who can blame him. You probably heard his take on Biggie’s Hypnotize, now we give you his newest single Yours with a remix by Bmore king DJ Blaqstarr.

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• MP3: Dan Black – “Yours”
• MP3: Dan Black – “Yours (Blaqstarr rmx)”
  

Paper Route Recordz are releasing their newest project titled Fear and Loathing in HuntsVegas. The album is slated to hit the net on November 18 in a ‘pay what you want’ format where paying $0-4.99 gets you the whole album in 192 kbps quality and $5.00 and over get you the album in 320 kbps with bonus tracks. Diplo lent his hand on five of the new tracks, including the one below featuring WALE.

You’re gonna be able to scoop that 320 quality for only $5 HERE

• MP3: BIG P.O.P.E. – Don’t Go (Feat. WALE, Diplo Remix)
  (via Elitaste)