Music Tuesday: Karl Hyde, Phoenix, !!! & More

More music picks for your Tuesday, co-curated this week by Rob and Widge. If you like what you hear, use the links provided to snag it for yourself from Amazon. Doing so through us gives us kickbacks, and those help pay for stuff like more bandwidth. And also so we can buy more music.

First up, a pick from Rob: it’s Karl Hyde of Underworld fame, with his first solo album, Edgeland. From Rob: “Half Of Underworld’s solo debut is a record of blips, bleeps, expansive sounds and grooves.” Indeed. The album is already out, though the MP3 version is, according to Amazon, not available until May 7th for some reason. After the jump we have “Sleepless,” live in Tokyo from this year. (Amazon: CD; Vinyl.)

[ad#shortpost]

---

Next, another pick from Rob: it’s Phoenix out of Versailles. Their new album Bankrupt! hit just this past week. From Rob: “The new record form these Frenchies isn’t as pop friendly as their last one but it still offers some smooth and layered sounds.” Here they are live at WFUV performing the first single, “Entertainment,” last month. (Amazon: CD/MP3; Vinyl/MP3.)

---

Apparently named after the word balloon that would often appear over the heads of cartoon characters in the comic book adaptations of their hijinks, Widge’s first pick is !!!–their new album, Thr!!!er hits this week. And if the album’s name is pronounced like the band, then it’s “Thr-Chk-Chk-Chk-er.” Just saying. This is “Even When the Water’s Cold,” performed live in Paris. (Amazon: CD; MP3; Vinyl.)

---

Fiona Apple’s huge-titled album, The Idler Wheel etc. is a nut that I’ve had difficult cracking. Maybe you know that type of album: you poke around the walled perimeter and eventually you find a loose stone that you can use to start to tunnel through: “Valentine” is that song for me. It just works in so many different ways. Maybe now I can get at the rest of the album. We’ll see. (Amazon: CD/MP3; Vinyl.)

---

Malacates Trebol Shop: “De que sirve querer (“What Good is Love?”) from the 2008 album of the same name. Out of Guatemala, there’s nothing about this song that is not awesome. And that goes double for smiley faced cardboard box golems.

---

Rob snags Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound of The Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-79, released in 2008. The compilation leads off with The Sahara All-Stars–here’s “Take Your Soul.” ANd Rob says: “Amazing. Really. Fela meets Chic and it works.” The CD is pricey as hell, but the MP3 is just $6.

---

Next from Rob is No Joy, which, following in the tradition of Big Country, brings you “No Joy” from their “No Joy” digital single from 2010. Rob says: If Lush, Dum Dum Girls and The Cocteau Twins had a baby…” Good assessment. (Amazon: MP3.)

---

And lastly, Oberhofer out of Brooklyn, with their new EP Notalgia. They’re listed as noise pop as far as genres go…and I can’t think of any band at the moment who’s this exact shade of both noise and pop. But I think it works. Here’s “Earplugs.”