#NewMusicFriday Guide - 04/15/2016

I wish I could explain to you how my big beautiful brain works when it comes to digging around to finding music. Just be thankful that I'm not afraid to waste a few hours of my day muttering, "This looks interesting! Why not give this a whirl?" before putting random things in my ears. This was a bit of a slow week in terms of new releases. I'm assuming because of Record Store Day that they opted to keep the awesome on the light side of things for the week. 

Don Diablo feat. Dave Thomas Jr. - "Silence" 

On the heels of the announcement that his label , Hexagon, has joined the Spinnin Records family, the homey Don Diablo dropped his latest track, "Silence" featuring Dave Thomas Jr on vocals (no relation to the Wendy's franchise, lol). It's been awhile since Diablo released something this downtempo. If his tracks are normally referred to as "bangers", then this song is most definitely a "stunner".  Oh yeah, go read my interview with him. It's very good if you want to get to know someone really dang awesome. 

Logan Takahashi - NoGeo

If the name Logan Takahashi sounds familiar, it's because he's one half of Teengirl Fantasy. It may also be because I included "Reckr" on this week's diSKOAver weekly playlist. Anyway, I happened to stumble across a preview of the album on Hype Machine last week. This record is very lovely and suits being on Ghostly International based on its subtle elegance. Just play the damn record already. 

Ours - "Stronger" (from the Transformers Roll Out Soundtrack) 

After their last full length, Mercy...Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy was released in 2008, I kinda fell off with Ours. I enjoyed Jimmy Gnecco's solo record The Heart a good bit, despite not hitting up any of his Rockwood shows that I've seen in emails in the past year. Speaking of emails, I didn't know that this was going to be on the Transformers Roll Out Soundtrack until I got one about 2 hours ago. It's funny that this is coming to me 2 days after I geeked out spotting him at The Kills show at Warsaw.

Anyway, hi everyone. Jimmy Gnecco has a voice that should make him a household name. This is a good song. I know he's got some shows coming up at Rockwood soon. Sounds like I've got some advanced plans to make. 

Larkin Poe - Reskinned

Yay for Larkin Poe release day! Their single, "Trouble In Mind", was well received amongst those following along the diSKOAver weekly playlist. I haven't spent a ton of time with the record to tell you which songs are my favorite, but if you liked "Trouble In Mind", you aren't going to be let down in the very least. 

Mock Orange - "High Octane" 

If you are an aging emo kid like me, your brain is skimming over the name of this band and is going, "Wait, like that Mock Orange?" Yes, that Mock Orange. As a #teen I REALLY REALLY liked The Record Play. It would appear that with all of the constant reuniting happening that bands we loved a decade ago are feeling a little brave and are coming out of hibernation to see if the internet will help them relocate their old fanbases. I am not upset in the least about this with regards to Mock Orange. "High Octane" is super great and will get you all aboard the hype train for their upcoming album, Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse, which is out on May 20th. ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT NEW MOCK ORANGE? I'm excited. 

Black Plastic - Black Plastic

Okay so I am going to do more reconnaissance after I wrap up this post, but this was a case of "awesome by association" because Kevin Grady aka Black Plastic is on Cleopatra, which is the same label as VOWWS. I'd actually be curious to hear what those kids would do if they all got together to work on things. Regardless, this has this twinge of industrial that sort of fills the void that Binary left when they broke up. I want to listen to this more before I give it a final verdict, but so far so awesome, you know?  

[Album Review] Various Artists - 'Batman: Arkham City - The Album'

When you think of DC's Dark Knight. Batman, you automatically think of Gotham Cities night backdrop, darkened alleyways and the worlds most sadistic villains. So why is it when it comes to soundtracks and album's based on the series films or games, labels choose the strangest selection of songs? We'll let the whole Prince soundtrack slide because he's well….Prince. Duh. Normally when I think of Batman soundtracks the first song that comes to mind is Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" and I have no bad things to say about that song because it's still a classic. But besides that song being amazing and all, the "pop" soundtrack for our dark superhero doesn't seem all that fitting.

So let fast forward to present day, because I know everyone wants to avoid talking about the Batman & Robin film, let alone the soundtrack. After 2009's successful action, adventure game Batman: Arkham Asylum, The Dark Knight and associates return for the series' follow up sequel Batman: Arkham City. Unlike the first game, Warner Bros. decided to approach the sequel with a more marketable approach and release the game's score as well as an album inspired by the game on their imprint Watertower Music and bring in some of modern day's popular rock bands such as Panic! At The Disco, Coheed and Cambria, System of a Down's Serj Tankian, AFI vocalist Davey Havok's side project Blaqk Audio, Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno's side project ††† (Crosses), Daughtry and many more.

As stated, earlier when you think of Batman you think of a dark setting but when you see a band like Panic! At The Disco, who are more theatrical rock, involved on a Batman related project, it just makes you scratch your head a bit and ask why? Don't get me wrong though, this in no way should prevent you from checking out the album at all. It's a wonderful collective of artist and songs, especially cuts like the heavy tune "Trophy Widow" by The Damned Things, The Boxer Rebellion's "Losing You", A Place to Bury Strangers' "In The Shadow", Blaqk Audio's "Afterdark" which is one of the songs I could definitely hear fitting in with the game's setting, same as other tunes like †††'s "The Years", Raveonettes' "Oh, Stranger", Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Shadow on the Run" and Serj Tankian's "Total Paranoia". You could take a majority of those songs and remove the vocals and they would fit in with overall atmosphere of the game.

Overall, I like to think of the album as just another compilation rather than a soundtrack or album that is being accompanied to the franchise's latest entry. A majority of the album is very enjoyable, however, the comic nerd in me just can't picture some of it in the game's setting but if you can get past that then you got yourself a nice rock/electronic album for your ears to vibe to. So go give it a try and check out some of the standout tracks we listed above. The album is now available at physical retailers and via major electronic retailers such as iTunes and Amazon. If you are looking into nabbing the game, as most of us are, and you dig the soundtrack, look into getting the Collector's Edition of the game which features a digital redemption code for the soundtrack and features an additional exclusive track. Nice!

Sample all tracks on the album below...

1. Panic! At The Disco "Mercenary" Idolator
2. Coheed and Cambria "Deranged" IGN
3. The Duke Spirit "Creature" NME
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Shadow On The Run" Rolling Stone
5. Blaqk Audio "Afterdark" Alternative Press
6. Raveonettes "Oh, Stranger" AOL/Spinner
7. (Crosses) "The Years" Consequence of Sound
8. The Damned Things "Trophy Widow" Guitar World
9. Daughtry "Drown In You" E!
10. The Boxer Rebellion "Losing You" Filter Magazine
11. Serj Tankian "Total Paranoia"  Revolver Magazine

We give Batman: Arkham City - The Album 3 out of 5 Awesome SAWSES! It's not Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" but its definitely a worthy rock compilation.

[Listen] Check Out 2 Tracks From The Batman: Arkham City Album by Panic! At The Disco & Blaqk Audio

On October 4th, Warner Bros imprint Watertower Records is set to release the soundtrack to the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. The upcoming album, i will not call this a Soundtrack, features 11 new original tracks from artists such as Coheed and Cambria, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Damned Things, The Boxer Rebellion, Serj Tankian, Blaqk Audio, Panic at The Disco and more. Check out the full tracklisting after jump.

Thanks to Alternative Press and Idolator, you can check two tracks from Panic At The Disco and AFI frontman's Davey Havok's side project Blaqk Audio off the upcoming album below. After listening to both tracks, they don't really fit the dark Batman vibe and sound like they would fit in with Toby Mcquire's emo Spider Man 3. But hey, new music from some of your favorite bands is new music. Right? Lets hope. 

If you are also looking forward to picking up this awesome game as I am, the Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content. Pretty nice. If you are just into this for the music, head here now to preorder the album.

Blaqk Audio - "Afterdark"

1. Panic! At The Disco - Mercenary

2. Coheed and Cambria - Deranged

3. The Duke Spirit - Creature

4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Shadow On The Run

5. Blaqk Audio  - Afterdark

6. The Raveonettes  - Oh, Stranger

7. (Crosses) - The Years

8. The Damned Things - Trophy Widow

9. Daughtry - Drown In You

10. The Boxer Rebellion - Losing You

11. Serj Tankian - Total Paranoia