Dig These Discs :: New Order, Darwin Deez, Rudimental, Gabrielle Aplin, Peaches

Peaches enlists help from Kim Gordon, Margaret Cho, Empress Stah and more for her new album, "Rub," her first new material in six years. New Order breaks 10 years of radio silence with their new album, "Music Complete," easily the best of their later albums. Darwin Deez, trippy hipster and guy in the skinny braided headband that looks like he stole it from Jamie Lee Curtis circa 1985, releases his new album "Double Down," his first new material in two years. The four-piece electronica outlet Rudimental releases their sophomore album, "We the Generation," with vocal help from Ed Sheeran and a host of other artists. Stunning U.K. chanteuse Gabrielle Aplin, who first made waves stateside with last year's "English Rain" EP, marks her official U.S. debut with the release of "Light Up The Dark."

"Rub" (Peaches)

Peaches releases her first album of new material in six years, and it oozes with seductive rhythms and booms with bass. So, typical Peaches. "After six years, I was excited about my lyrics again, about what Peaches was," she explains. "I felt more comfortable living out any idea I wanted to try. We spent ten hours a day making beats, and whatever stuck, I would write on and develop. The only agenda was to make the best album we could." She opens with Kim Gordon's semi-spoken word hook in "Close Up," and it just gets better from there. Peaches' old collaborator Feist also returns on the album closer "I Mean Something," singing a hypnotic hook and lending a chillingly beautifully wordless melody. The videos for these songs are irreverent and fun, with aerialist Empress Stah in the electro-pounding "Light in Places," and funny woman Margaret Cho donning a be-dicked onesie and running around town banging watermelons in "Dick in the Air." Peaches refrain of "Balls and dick, two balls and one dick," is reminiscent of those catchy '80s cuts by L'Trimm. Peaches dons wrestling gear in "Close Up" with a fur-clad Gordon as her manager, collecting the cash as Peaches defeats scores of opponents, including one who delivers a Dirty Sanchez to her, and another who begins making out with the star, prompting Gordon to throw in the towel. The title song "Rub" is, of course, a filthy ditty about a female circle jerk, with lines like, "Can't talk right, now this chick's dick is in my mouth." Again, typical Peaches. Her song "Pickles" has a sexy undertone as Peaches sings, "I surprise myself when I look at you." She plays dark in "Sick in the Head" and "Free Drink Ticket," the disturbing�breakup song delivering the one-two punch of spoken word and deep bass cuts with lyrics like, "I wanna kick you when you're down." Following it with the baby-voiced intro of "How You Like My Cut" is an excellent juxtaposition. Simonne Jones sings about her 'big lips' in "Vaginoplasty," a cut that oddly enough, would make a great roller rink single. She spits out the rhymes fast in "Light in Places" and saves her scorn for the "Dumb Fuck" that left her in this the�insanely catchy pop song�that find Peaches addressing issues far more personal than political. Pick up the new book of Holger Talinkski's photos of this rock star on the road in, "The Teaches of Peaches," published in June by Akashic Books. Life gets Peachy when this superstar hits the road in October, with dates in California and Canada, before heading back to the East Coast with shows in Boston, New York, Philly and DC.
(I U She Music)

"Music Complete" New Order

New Order breaks 10 years of radio silence with their new album, "Music Complete," easily the best of their later albums. This is the 10th studio album by the famed English rock band, and it's 11 tracks of delicious electronica, described by some critics as "classic New Order." They swing from the get-go, with "Restless," the album's lead single. Tom Rowlands helped write the musically intense cut "Singularity" and "Unlearn This Hatred," with its intro of, "Two steps forward and one step back" serving as the Catch-22 at the heart of the pounding dance cut. Their second single, "Plastic," is a fast-moving electro song, with the lyrics, "It's official, you're fantastic/ you're so special, so iconic." "Tutti Frutti" pounds like an '80s track from Dead or Alive, with spoken word vocals from Giacomo Cavagna and singing by La Roux. It merges seamlessly into the dance track, "On the High Line," which will have you on the floor with its catchy beat. The instrumental distortions sound almost like crickets in the opening of the electro-disco cut "Stray Dog," which has Iggy Pop lending his spoken word part, sounding almost as sinister as Vincent Price in "Thriller." The song deals with drug and alcohol abuse, love and stability, and as some note, it is macabre in that Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" was found spinning on Ian Curtis' stereo after he committed suicide. New Order rocks more straightforward in "Academic," with lyrics like, "you have a strange perception of the truth." They get all emo shoegazer in "Nothing But a Fool," singing, "sometimes you don't know what you got/ think you're better than the rest, but you're nothing but a fool." They get their money's worth from the distortion pedal in "The Game," and finish up the album with gusto with "Superheated," a fast-moving electronic tune. Thanks for coming back after all these years, New Order!
(Mute Records)

"Double Down" (Darwin Deez)

Darwin Deez, trippy hipster and guy in the skinny braided headband that looks like he stole it from Jamie Lee Curtis circa 1985, releases his new album "Double Down," his first new material in two years. "Double Down refers to my intention to repeat myself, albeit in a Ridley Scott way," said Deez.�"I'm amazed by Ridley's ability to present the same questions over again in his sci-fi films, but in ways that feel completely fresh. That's my goal: to re-make anew what has always appealed to me and to share that with everyone, but with enough of a twist that it feels completely fresh." And he does maintain his simple, upbeat guitar pop sound with this new album, although staying exactly the same might not always be the best thing ever. He starts out with "Last Cigarette," giving his one last drag of what he shouldn't have before he quits, drawing parallels to an ending relationship. "Some of my best friends are girls," Deez sings at the beginning of the bouncy track "The Mess She Made." "You only care about your hair" he sings in "Lover," criticizing someone whose urge to be his has "nothing to do with me." "Time Machine" looks at the mess he's made of old friendships and ex-band members. "Readymade gags have price tags," he warns in the electronica cut "Bag of Tricks," and he reminisces about his first job at a movie theatre in "Rated R," remembering his unrequited love as he slips into a verboten screening of "The Fight Club." He captures an interesting sound in the track "Melange Mining Co.," and matches movements from six feet away in "Kill Your Attitude," with a killer electric guitar riff. He evokes "Call of Duty," with him inside the game in this song, which he said was inspired by '70s bands like Squeeze. He continues his retinue of songs about girls loved and lost in "The Other Side" and "Right When It Rains," and ends the album with "The Missing I Wanna Do," singing about sitting on a blanket under the apple tree, looking at the stars. Sorry these girls keep breaking your heart, double D. Maybe it's the headband? Deez hits the road in October with a full roster of dates in the UK.
(Lucky Number)

"Light Up The Dark" (Gabrielle Aplin)

Stunning U.K. chanteuse Gabrielle Aplin, who first made waves stateside with last year's "English Rain" EP, makes her official U.S. debut with the release of "Light Up The Dark." The album follows her massive overseas success, where she's enjoyed #1 chart positions in both the U.K. and Australia, as well as 1.5 million in sales of singles from her international releases. The new album features title track "Light Up The Dark," mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence + the Machine). Written by Aplin and long-time writing partner Luke Potashnick, "Light Up The Dark" immediately showcases the singer/songwriter's fresh Feist-meets-Cat Power style. Aplin drew inspiration largely from her longtime idol Joni Mitchell, along with elements from Feist's 2007 album "The Reminder." "I've become much more comfortable writing songs about other people's stories as well as my own, much of which is inspired by travelling and everything I've seen," said Alpin. That time spent touring the world has allowed Aplin to improve upon her natural musicianship, heightening her guitar and piano skills and incorporating new dimensions of songwriting borne from time spent with other musicians. Additional experimentations with different microphones, vintage equipment, and old synths, have combined to create the unique sound of "Light Up The Dark." She follows it with "Skeleton," a very metered pop song, and shows her vocal range in "Fools Love." She slows things down with the guitar track "Slip Away," singing, "Locked inside my mind passing time with nothing to lose/ trying to find a reason to fight with nothing to prove." "Sweet Nothing" is an upbeat, '80s-style pop tune, while "Heavy Heart" veers toward an R&B vibe. Her acoustic cut "Shallow Love" is a sad tune, as Aplin sings, "give me a reason to let you go, because I am drowning in your shallow love." She is followed by ghosts in "Anybody Out There," and her acoustic tune "Hurt" is a story song clearly inspired by Joni Mitchell. The excellent drums in "Together" elevate it from being sugar-spun pop, and she taps into the '60s sing-along craze in "What Did You Do?" Aplin finishes up this dirty dozen with "A While," a slow piano riff.
(Parlophone Records)

"We The Generation" (Rudimental)

The four-piece electronica outlet Rudimental releases their sophomore album, "We the Generation," with vocal help from Ed Sheeran and a host of other artists. They start out strong with the pounding bass and snap-track percussions of "I Will Love You," featuring Will Heard. The song follows one family's real-life journey from Mexico to America, to make a new life for themselves. Heard also appears on the funky track, "Go Far." The 14-track album (18 in the deluxe edition) features many other collabs, as well. Foy Fance sings in "Never Let You Go," a huge festival sing-along smash, and Mahalia lends her honeyed voice to the title track, sounding a bit like Amy Winehouse. This sound carries over when Anne-Marie and Dizzee Rascal jump in for "Love Ain't Just a Word," a reggae-influenced cut. Anne-Marie teams up with Heard for the excellent dance track, "Rumour Mill," with lyrics like, "I don't even care about what they say." MNEK gives a talky dictum to "Common Emotion," and Anne-Marie sings sweet and high in "Foreign World." She also helps out in the deluxe track, "All That Love," with Heard singing in the deluxe track, "Run." Ella Eyre sings in "Too Cool," the fast-moving electro track with brass flourishes and the refrain, "You're too cool to love me; I don't need that." "Bloodstream" excels in its merging of acoustic guitar and drums with an electronic signature. Sinead Harnett and Heard help in "Treading on Water," singing, "I don't believe in magic but I know that you will/ It's not something I can see but it's something I feel." Big names abound: Rudimental gets Bobby Womack to help with the electric guitar, old-school track "New Day" and Sheeran sings in "Lay It All On Me," one of the best tracks on the album. The breathy, beautiful voice of Lianne La Havas is featured on "Needn't Speak," and" the funkadelic disco hit, "Breathe," singing, "if you wanna find perfection, let's do it for our people!" They finish things up with Max Romeo, Earl 16 and Spee in "System." Rudimental take on North America this month, kicking off next week with two New York shows, followed by Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
(Major Toms/Big Beat)