NUDITY
Heavy Petting
Digital Download

NUDITY tends to swing between being a dance-y electronic outfit (“Making Deals”) and an all out rock band (“Hang Ten”). This is not an inherently bad problem but it does make lazy journalistic classifications much more difficult. I’m not sure what to regard them as but I know it’s a collection of songs worth listening to.

Two new tracks from Anchor Thieves that were, apparently, released back in April. Not sure how I missed that but I’m glad that I’m stumbling upon it now. Hopefully this is a preview of what to expect from their forthcoming LP.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that this Patrick Baker and the Patrick Baker known as Shaky Voices are one and the same. They both seem to embrace a bit of whimsy with their feel good tunes – a fact particularly evident on this 80’s synth style track “Get 2 Know U.”

Sam English is a member of the band Vinyl Thief but his solo efforts have really caught my attention lately. He just released this original soundtrack to a forthcoming game called Nothing for Something from Luke Stephenson. It’s a high energy / big band / jazz undertaking intended for a game that’s still well in development. Apparently scoring videogames is something Mr. English is familiar with. I’m intrigued!

Smiletron
Solstice
Digital Download

It’s always odd to run across an intriguing Nashville artist that you’ve never heard of but manages to have an absolute onslaught on material. Such is the case with the 8-bit goodness Smiletron. There’s at least 20 releases here of engaging material and, yet, I’ve never once heard the name before last week. Granted, a lot of them are for single songs but that’s beside the point! If you’re looking for some electronic, ambient, sometimes glitch-y, chipmusic – steer towards Smiletron immediately.