[Listen] The xx - "Angels"

It's been a long time coming but we finally have some new studio quality material from The xx. The track is called "Angels" and is set to appear on their second album, Coexist, which has been penned for a September the 10th (11th US) release via Young Turks. The band have come a long way since their debut back in 2009 and fans are very eager to hear more from the Mercury Prize winning band. 

The single however will be released tomorrow (July 17th)! You can pre-order the album over here, and after the jump you can take a look at the tracklisting for Coexist as well as the band's upcoming North American tour dates.

Coexisit Tracklist:
01. Angels
02. Chained
03. Fiction
04. Try
05. Reunion
06. Sunset
07. Missing
08. Tides
09. Unfold
10. Swept Away
11. Our Song

The xx 2012 Tour Dates:
07/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda
07/25 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
07/28 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
07/29 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
07/31 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
08/02 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08/09 – Sibinek, CR @ Terraneo Festival
08/10 – Budapest, HR @ Sziget Festival
08/11 – St Pere, FR @ La Route du Rock
08/18 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/19 – Biddinhuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
08/31 – Laois, IE @ Electric Picnic
09/07 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival
10/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
10/06 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater
10/07 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
10/10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pool at the Cosmopolitan
10/11 – San Diego, CA @ Soma
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
10/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Music Festival
10/16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/17 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
10/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/20 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
10/21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
10/24 – Quebec City, Quebec @ Imperial De Quebec
10/25 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/28 – Bronx, NY @ Paradise Theater
10/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/30 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live

[Watch] Jack White - "Freedom At 21" (Official Video)

Jack White has dropped his grind house looking video for "Freedom At 21" which featured on his fantastic solo record, Blunderbuss. Directed by Hype Williams, the video sees Jack racing around in a fast sports car getting run down by the cops. Right at the end of the video a certain QOTSA frontman also makes an appearance. Check out the cinematic goodness at the top of the page.

[Listen] Kendrick Lamar - "Swimming Pools (Drank)"

Kendrick Lamar offered up another taste of his forthcoming debut studio LP good kid m.A.A.d city, a sinister, dark track titled "Swimming Pools (Drank)." The song, produced by T-Minus, sees Lamar deliver rhymes about alcoholism within his family and how strong this addiction can be amongst numerous dark, gothic synths and frantic percussion. Listen to it below, along with two other good kid m.A.A.d city tracks, "Cartoons & Cereal" and the lead single "The Recipe."

good kid m.A.A.d city is out on October 2nd via Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records.

[Listen] Future Unlimited - "Lightweight Eyes"

Future Unlimited have a little gift "for your summer." On their official website, the Nashville synthpop duo released a  new single titled "Lightweight Eyes." The song is pure synthpop bliss, with sweeping synths drifting you along an array reverbed vocals, pulsating synthesizers, and weighty, pounding bass drums and snares. Highly recommended listen "for your summer." Grab the song for the cost of a tweet over at the band's website.

[Watch] Purity Ring - "Fineshrine" (Official Video)

Purity Ring's "Fineshrine" is a masterpiece, brilliantly paced and encapsulating your senses with driving percussion, chiming synths, and spine-tingling vocals. The video for the song was released by the duo a couple of days ago, and it contains as much depth and captivating beauty as the song itself. Watch it above.

Purity Ring's debut album Shrines is out on July 24th via 4AD.

[Watch & Listen] Matt Mahaffey (of sElf) - Lightning 100 615 Day session

Nashville's independent radio station Lightning 100 recently did a session with sElf lead singer Matt Mahaffey for their 615 Day Session series. In addition to doing some old fan favorites, Mahaffey surprised everyone by showcasing his ability to sing backwards as he did for the "Could You Love Me Now?" video he released back in September of 2010 (wow, it's really been THAT long since that single came out?). For only knowing his recorded music, this session is a pleasant little glimpse of the playfully quirkiness of one of my all time favorite songwriters/producers.

You can also check out him singing the song regularly during that session in the below video.

According to a string of posts on his Facebook page, Matt Mahaffey has been slowly chugging away towards making another sElf album in between doing a handful of solo shows, writing hundreds of songs for the new Disney show "Hugglemonsters", recording Kylie Minogue, and plenty of other projects in his Nashville-based studio Fresh Imperial.

[Watch] Kendrick Lamar and Best Coast's Bethany Cosantino Perform "No Make-Up (Her Vice)"

During his performance in Portland on Wednesday night, Kendrick Lamar was joined onstage by a rather unlikely guest. Providing the chorus vocals on the song "No Make-Up (Her Vice)," originally sung by Colin Munroe and featured on last year's Section.80, was Best Coast's Bethany Cosantino. This was the first time Lamar has performed the song in a live setting, and the combination of him and Cosantino was surprisingly good. Watch the replay above.

[News] Jay-Z Announces a Slew of Shows at Brooklyn's Barclays Center

Earlier this week, Jay-Z announced that he would be the first to perform at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center, the official hometown arena of the New York Nets, which Jay-Z is the co-owner of. Now, Jay-Z has announced another five shows at the venue, bringing his total to eight shows in nine days. Tickets for the shows, which run from September 28th to October 6th, go on sale today through Ticketmaster.

Jay-Z 2012 Tour Dates:
09/01-02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Made in America
09/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
09/29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
09/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/03 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/06 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center