New York continues to put out great music. I’ve really been into the whole “folk-esque rock band bringing in massive amount of distorted strings” thing lately, and NYC’s HOLLANDS does it up right. Every member of the band has some serious credits under their belt, working with everyone from Jay-Z and Beyonce, to Sufjan Stevens, to Alicia Keys, to Sean Lennon. Recorded during a period of personal turmoil for lead man John-Paul Norpoth the tracks show the lead-singer and songwriter in a drowsy mood. Norpoth sounds a bit clumsy and disillusioned, not only with the American dream but with the possibilities of love and lust.

Hollands second EP, Mother, on October 13th revels one with pounding drums, driving guitar violin and cello parts that are all gritty and distorted up. We got a sneak peek at the release, and decided to drop a few tracks on you to enjoy.

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Download: Hollands – Jackie

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Download: Hollands – Lungs of Steel

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Download: Hollands – Air Conditioned Heart

• myspace.com/hollandsss
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We get letters from all sorts of artists here at Earmilk, but this one particularly stood out to me for some reason. Maybe it was because I saw the words “Orchestra” and “11-Piece”. Either way, when I checked it out, I was nothing less than stoked on my new discovery. Emanuel and The Fear bring a new vibe to the Polyphonic Spree/ Sufjan/ Arcade Fire feel, and I can’t get enough of it right now. I think I even hear a little Cursive influence in there. I had never heard of the band before, even though they released their self titled debut album back in January. This makes me think they aren’t getting the credit they deserve. I listen to a lot of music, and I can’t even believe I haven’t heard of these guys until now.

With a sound that derives itself from composers and songwriters across the board, Emanuel & the Fear is an extraordinary 11-piece orchestra-rock band that focuses on intertwining the modern day pop song with extravagant and complex composition. Drawing from romantic and modern composers like Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Glass; and then fusing in a modern rock sound like Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Daft Punk and Sufjan Stevens; Emanuel & the Fear displays a true understanding of sound all-the-while capturing audiences with their climactic electro/orchestral arrangements and quivering, poetic lyrics.

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This is your Daily 2% – Chilled and Ready to Serve. We will try to bring you one “chill” track every day. This is for when you get home and you are trying to unwind. You reach for that glass of wine or that unlit Black & Mild or maybe you reach for something more herbal. This track is for those times. We will try to bring you at least one a day. We are just your milkmen and I’m here to make a delivery. Chill…..

Today’s delivery is brought to you by….well that’s a bit complicated. But relax I can explain. Tors is a producer originally from Australia but now living in Montreal. He took instrumentals and songs from the indie legend, Sufjan Stevens, and mixed them with classic hip hop songs. The song i’m bringing to you today is called “John Wayne Gacy Jr. / Specialize” which is a mixture of two songs. One being from Sufjan(“John Wayne Gacy Jr”) and the other from the 1995 single by Pete Rock & CL Smooth(“Specialize”). Tors made an entire mixtape that has a really good combination of hip-hop and indie beats. The entire mixtape is available for free below. But that’s enough explaining because its time to chill……

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Download: Tors/Sufjan Stevens – “John Wayne Gacy Jr / Specialize” ft. Pete Rock & CL Smooth

Download The Entire Mixtape

• www.myspace.com/tormusic

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