Alexandre Kassin was the last to take the headlining role in the trio he shares with Moreno Veloso and Domênico Lancelotti. The structure they've chosen for the group is to release each record with a different member's name up front, +2. This song shares the breezy subtropical vibe of the trio's other work, and Kassin has a perfect, sweet Brazilian falsetto that ably carries the melody as electronic buzzing and tweaked-out guitars gradually creep their way into the post-bossa nova arrangement. The simple, monosyllabic chorus bridges language barriers with ease, though the Portuguese verses are hardly any less accessible to non-speakers.

Lots of music from the Fiery Furnaces up at Pitchfork.tv today, including the latest installment of "Pitchfork Live". We caught the band last fall at the Mercury Lounge on the eve of the release of their album Widow City; some of these videos might look familiar because we Forkcasted a couple in the weeks leading up to the album. Naturally the 10-song setlist is heavy on Widow City tracks, which the band bring off live in an interesting way, but there's also a hugely charming version of the "Evergreen" from EP. We also put the odd and pretty awesome clip for Widow City's "Ex-Guru" into the archive.

The Fiery Furnaces: "Pitchfork Live"

The Fiery Furnaces: "Ex-Guru"

Something a bit Coen Brothers about this video for the lead single from Tapes 'n Tapes Walk It Off, as a man with a cardboard rifle goes on a crime spree.

[from Walk It Off; out now on XL]

It's not easy getting everyone from Dark Meat in that 250 x 150 pixel photo to the left of this text; I'm pretty sure that's like one pixel per member. Seriously, they're a 17-piece band or something ridiculous, from Athens, Ga., and they play a correspondingly epic brand of Southern rock'n'roll. "Dead Man" comes from Universal Indians, which we reviewed early last year; the album has just been issued in expanded form by Vice. The track begins with some simple guitar chords and tambourine but builds to a horn-drenched finale with every inch of master tape saturated with sound. You can almost see them swaying in unison-- beer bottles are getting smashed, and somewhere a truck is about to get driven into tree. "Dead Man" is a reckless kind of noise.

MP3:> Dark Meat: "Dead Man"
[from the expanded edition of Universal Indians; out now on Vice]

London sophisti-poppers the Chap actually comprise three chaps and one chapette. None of their names are Carlos, Walter, Wendy, or Stanley. From the band's Ghostly International debut and third album overall, Mega Breakfast (and also featured on the free Ghostly Swim comp), "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley" makes fidgety, minimalist post-punk ala Prinzhorn Dance School into something even more tumultuous and absurd, which may or may not have anything to do with electronic music innovator Wendy (formerly Walter) Carlos and director Stanley Kubrick. After male and female vocalists introduce the title characters-- "Walter/ Never graduated/ Ever"-- above synth pulses, guitar stabs, pitter-pattering percussion, and, well, some kind of boinging instrument, the vocals leap into double-time amid jagged guitars on a riotous chorus. "The chair was a disaster/ It was heavy, heavy, heavy," the Chap declare. Then creaky, Blur-esque guitar leads and exotic hey-hoo-ha chants befitting Jackie Treehorn's Malibu beach house arrive in time for the next verse. It's an eccentric tale set to music that's an interesting fit for the often electronic-oriented Ghostly. Pleasure to meet the old Chap-- "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley", too.

MP3:> The Chap: "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley"
[from Mega Breakfast; due 07/01/08 on Ghostly International]

"Umbrella" fans can still hope for a couple more April showers before the competition starts up for a song of this summer. The-Dream, who wrote Rihanna's enjoyably lightweight hit and has sung a couple of his own-- including "Falsetto" and "Shawty Is a Ten" (also, "Da Shit")-- returns in fine form with the third video from his widely overlooked December release, Love/Hate. After an intro from Young Jeezy that calls out Hillary, Barack, DJ Drama, and Osama in a matter of seconds, "I Luv Your Girl" settles into an easygoing keyboard groove, leaving plenty of space for The-Dream's smoothly R. Kelly-esque vocals about a love triangle. Not sure how this will sound on radio, because a high-pitched f-bomb/n-bomb one-two punch is this song's equivalent of the "Umbrella" ella-ella and "Falsetto" ooh-ooh. However, the video is the usual in-da-club fare, with Jeezy and The-Dream sporting a variety of baseball caps and partying while scantily clad dancers do their thing in front of multi-colored lights. "I pray that y'all ain't serious, 'cause seriously she's on my dick," The-Dream explains. Try using that line at a bar and then, as The-Dream does here, draping yourself in the American flag. Ahh, spring.

[from Love/Hate; out now on Def Jam]

Leave it to Robyn-collaborating Swede Lykke Li to help give Andreas Kleerup his most bewitching track since the producer's own collaboration with Robyn, 2006's "With Every Heartbeat". "Until We Bleed", from Kleerup's forthcoming self-titled debut album, turns fragile and introspective after the heart-on-sleeve openness of "With Every Heartbeat" or the guitar-tinged club stomp of Kleerup's most recent single, Titiyo-guesting "Longing for Lullabies". Synths still chime and fizzle atop equally emphasized beats, but they're generally sparer here than on those songs, with sloping strings adding to the melancholy atmosphere. The biggest difference is Li, whose brand of heartbreak sounds blank and introverted where Robyn's can be so vivid and communicative-- Cat Power or PJ Harvey to Robyn's Madonna. Either way, it's pretty damn effective. "I'm naked, I'm numb/ I'm stupid, I'm staying," Li begins. "You're drunk, you need it/ Real love, I give it." (You'll have to skip ahead a couple of times on the label's audio player to hear this song; while you're there, also check out "3 AM", Kleerup's track with Marit Bergman.)

Stream:> Kleerup [ft. Lykke Li]: "Until We Bleed"

Bonus: Here's Li performing a snippet of "Until We Bleed" live with Kleerup earlier this year at Swedish radio station P3's annual awards show.

[from Kleerup; due in Sweden 05/21/08 on EMI]

"That's Gangsta", directed by Mr. Boomtown, is a clear tribute to the late Pimp C and to the neighborhoods, the people, and the city that made UGK famous. The tune is good, the lyrics and images about giving back are great-- it's wicked to hear "I'm a gangsta and I'm a always love my city, make money but don't act like I'm above my city, cause gangstas will always give back to the ghetto, and gangstas will never turn their back to the ghetto" while everything from tricycles to t-shirts is doled out from a UGK truck. Bun B commands respect here and folks look like they're enjoying themselves-- behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot confirms both the good time and Bun B's commitment to where he's from.

But then there's the Sean Kingston problem. He sure isn't in the video. Could they not have chosen someone from H-town? It just seems incongrous that Kingston was chosen to sing the hook on a track that's so locally-oriented. And then he's absent from the block party. His vocals kill it, yes, but even if he is gangsta (a fact that is, if internet chatter is to be believed, somewhat debatable), he's most certainly not a gangsta from Texas.

[from Il Trill; due 05/20/08 on Rap-A-Lot]

MTV and Radiohead have teamed to address the exploitation and slavery of children around the world; turns out they're against that stuff. But seriously, as part of the teen soap opera channel's EXIT (End eXploitation and Trafficking) campaign, an effort to combat the horrendous practices of selling children into the sex or enforced labor industries, a Radiohead video will, well-- according to the Hollywood Reporter-- premiere on MTV on Thursday. And yet, it was on their web site, and now it's posted down there. Pitchfork news will soon have more information, almost certainly presented with less snark and in more elegant prose.

[original track from In Rainbows; out now on ATO in the U.S., MapleMusic in Canada, XL in the UK, and Hostess Entertainment in Japan]

In addition to premiering an awesome clip from the 8-bit electro-noir art kids Crystal Castles for "Courtship Dating" and an acid-fried journey through cop show heaven via TV Carnage's video for White Williams' "New Violence", today also saw a new episode of "Don't Look Down", featuring a rooftop performance from Okkervil River. Stripping things down mostly to Will Sheff's voice, guitar, and shakers, 2007 perennial "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" is heavily reworked, while "Okkervil River Song" is a jaunty sing-along finale.

"I just don't want to go to jail, I been too many times," a young T.I. told Third Coast author Roni Sarig after his record deal with Arista ended-- before 2002's Trap Muzik reintroduced the Atlanta rapper as the "Jay-Z of the South". What you know about that? The MC born Clifford Harris has had even more troubles with the law since following up 2006's triumphant King with last year's disappointing T.I. vs. T.I.P., but he doesn't sound very bummed about it on "No Matter What", the first single from his forthcoming Paper Trail. Swagger becomes T.I., and thankfully, it's all over this track: "Even the greatest gotta suffer sometimes," he calmly declares, summery organ swells and laid-back beats underscoring his confidence. Squeaky synths serve as a reminder that Timbaland associate Danjahands produces. All the regal pomp is especially welcome after such T.I. vs. T.I.P. singles as convoluted Wyclef Jean collaboration "You Know What It Is"; even so, with up-and-comers like Lils Wayne and Boosie champing at the bit, it'd be nice to hear the incumbent King of the South avoiding faceless clichés like "Revenge is a dish best served cold"... pretty tepid. So, even with the power-ballad guitars at the end, it's a clear resurgence-- "The King lives on", sure-- but as far as nostalgic Southern hip-hop goes this year, "Royal Flush" still wears the crown.

Stream:> T.I.: "No Matter What"
[from Paper Trail; forthcoming on Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

MP3:> CSS: "Rage Is Dead (Rage)"
[from Donkey; due 07/22/08 on Sub Pop]