Boxfresh Streetwear®

If you’ve had your eye on XOXs over at Same Teens HQ then you’ll understand what that title means, for those of you out of the loop (how could you be?) here’s a quick run down on the concept…

I have subscribed to as many blogs on my RSS feed as I could humanly cope with (I’m currently on 30, and they’re all music feeds too) so every month I can bring you the 5 tracks you need to get your hands on. You’ll get the best in remixes, up coming talents, oddities, rarities and golden oldies. Back in July we were bringing regular XOX readers The XX, Marina & the Diamonds, Bombay Bicycle Club and even new Muse tracks… we apologise for that last offering. Links (either direct or to the hosting blogs) are below the reviews. From now on, this is the only feed you’ll need on your RSS.

 NOTE: For those of you who are computer illiterate, any of these tracks which aren’t downloadable from any file sharing sites such as Z-Share or YouSENDIt can be downloaded directly, by right clicking the link of the song on the blog and choosing ‘Save Target As’… Easy!The Big Pink – Dominos (Switch remix)
If I ever become a talking head for countdown programs in the future for channel Shoegaze then, for 2009, I’ll look back and go; “ahh, that was the year of The Big Pink.” Meanwhile, on channel Big Beats they’ll be saying, “Major Lazer, that’s where it was at.” Now we have a track which fuses both of these, and with huge results. One half of the baile funk duo Major Lazer takes on London’s most distorted outfit, turning ‘Dominos’ from 8-bit sampling euphoria into a South American carnival.     
GET IT HERE!

Julian Casablancas – 11^th Dimension
The Strokes members’ solo efforts have been… patchy affairs, to say the least. This time around though, the man who wrote the harmonies that went on to influence a large proportion of this decades indie music came good. ‘11^th Dimension’ has just the right amount of synth strings and djembes (yep, djembes), and without a guitar in sight. The chorus brings a similar, nervous sensation as ‘The Modern Age’ did, with Julian belting “forgive them, even if they are not sorry.” If only he could follow his own advice, get over whatever problems have occurred in The Strokes and orchestrate a full comeback.

GET IT HERE!

Dance For Burgess – Marinetti
Same Teens brought you these guys’ original release, ‘Boy’, as part of the Singles Club. After a shift around with members (two former members have now been replaced with machines) DFB are back, more industrial, with better artwork than ever. Think a sexy Chapman Family and replace the Northern aggro with Italian swagger. Here is real garage rock’n’roll with vigour and point. Don’t miss it.    
On the DOWNLOADS page

Dance For Burgess: Marinetti cover

Hot Chip – Take It In
NEW HOT CHIP! NEW HOT CHIP! Ah, we’ve all missed you. Since ‘Made In The Dark’ there’s been a gaping hole which only minimal electro indie could fill, and no one’s really bothered to try and take their crown whilst absent. That’s a good thing though, as they’ve taken their time about where to go next. While their last three albums had a fetish for lo-fi 80s electronica, ‘Take It In’ takes ten steps forward and we have a trance ballad. This shows exactly why Kylie was listing them as possible writers. Welcome back to the future, guys.
GET IT HERE!

Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk (Crystal Fighters remix)
What, Bloc Party aren’t going to be around for a while? Find a brand new twitchy, heartfelt indie boy band of course. Hailing from Belfast, Kitsune’s latest signing (and you know that signals good things) recently released this pacing synth ridden, power-pop package. Crystal Fighters, another British import over to Kitsune’s Parisian quarters add wobble bass and early era-Chemical Brothers drums to please the ‘dance music’ side of the record labels office to stop any nasty fights breaking out during the coffee break. This should stop any scalding hot water burns.
GET IT HERE!

Two Door Cinema Club live shot by Neil Kerr

 Nicholas Burman