Last week Small Black released the first track from their upcoming mixtape entitled Moon Killer, and yesterday they sent around the title track from it.  Last week’s track, entitled “Two Rivers,” featured Heems of Das Racist fame (the band and rapper met in a bar in New Orleans), and you can still grab that one over here.  Historically mixtapes are the realm of hip hop, and they tend to sample more diverse beats, and have more guests spitting hot fire.  But artists outside of that genre are starting to encroach on them as well as a way to get something out to the fans in the midst of the normal cycle of album-tour-studio-album.

The caveat with mixtapes has always tended to be that they’re a little bit more loose since they’re not a defined album, but even that’s no longer the case.  With the two tracks we’ve heard from Small Black’s upcoming release, both are quality cuts.  And while a chillwave track with Heems rapping on it might not make an album, this one definitely feels like it could have been.  Be glad we all don’t have to wait, and that we can have it right now.

Moon Killer will be out in November, and Heems’ own mixtape, Nehru Jackets, will be out on January 1.

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Small Black // Moon Killer [mp3] from the forthcoming Moon Killer

You know that part of High Fidelity where Rob Fleming/Gordon starts to list the rules for making a great mix tape? There should be a similar list for covers, encompassing areas like appropriate time frame before the cover can be made, the current vocalist’s gender vis-a-vis the original singer, when folk-y versions of rap songs are appropriate, artists who should never be covered, etc. I don’t know who would maintain such a list. Perhaps Nick Hornby could volunteer to do that one as well.  I do realize that in the 1960′s songs were covered a lot more frequently than they are now, so this list would obviously only regulate from now on. Older covers would be grandfathered.

The only reason I mention these ill-conceived rules is that Small Black has done a cover of a Best Coast track; the original and cover were done within a couple of years of each other, which seems like far too short a time period.  One might also argue the appropriateness of artists who have only one full album to their name covering artists who also only have one full album.  None of this really matters, however, since the cover is the b-side to the newest Small Black 7″.  Released through the fine folks at Jagjaguwar, Small Black takes Bethany Cosentino’s meandering, pot-addled anthem and turns it into a similarly feeling track, just replacing the crunch of Cosentino’s guitars with synths.  Is it an interesting listen?  Yeah, kind of.  Was it necessary?  Probably not.

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Small Black // Sun Was High (So Was I) [Best Coast] [mp3]

With the announcement that you can now pre-order Small Black’s debut LP, New Chain, comes a new single from the album.  Where the first single, “Photojournalist” was far more airy and ephemeral, “Search Party” feels much more like a track from their 2009 EP – glitchy and throwback in all the right ways.

When you pre-order either the vinyl or CD versions, you receive both an instant download of the album, but a Small Black tote bag as well.  (Just what you always needed.)  Maybe they should have dropped the price $5, along with the tote bag.  Or maybe I’m just being cynical.  Probably some of both.  Regardless, get pre-order your copy of the LP or CD through Insound.

In addition to their debut, Small Black is headed out on a lengthy tour both of North America and Europe to coincide with its release, the dates for which you can ch-check out over at their MySpace.

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Small Black – Search Party (mp3) from the forthcoming New Chain

When we talked about Small Black previously here (about 10 months ago), we described the band’s music as a mixture of their contemporaries – Washed Out and Wavves, to be specific.  But on “Photojournalist,” the first track from their forthcoming debut album New Chain, the band ditches some of the noisier elements found on their EP for a softer finish.

There’s still all the quirk of the original EP – layers of instruments and noises to get your attention – but gone is the constant background buzz that dominated the original release.  Here, the focus remains on the song’s core – not the periphery – and the result is a track that is far more centered – and one that is making me put it on constant repeat.

New Chain is out 10/26 through Jagjaguwar.  It’s not yet available for pre-order, but there are rumors of additional copies of their debut EP on vinyl.  I’m not sure where to find that.

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Small Black – Photojournalist (mp3) from the forthcoming New Chain

With the countdown of our favorite LPs of 2009 probably having gone on a bit too long (we’ll refine things for next year), we’re going to do a couple of posts about our favorite EPs and singles of the year as well.  Nothing as in depth as what we just finished up, we promise, but we’ll probably go three posts just to break things up a bit.  No rankings on these, just some music that didn’t fall under the long player format that is worth your time.

The Radio Dept. – David [Single]

Not having listened to The Radio Dept., I was surprised to learn that the Swedish group has been together for nearly 15 years – since this single seems especially relevant to the music that’s been recently released.  “David” is a slow-burning track, looping drums and strings around understated vocals, but the remix by The Rice Twins stands out.  The entire 4-song single shimmers, and it went particularly well with the longer summer days.

The Radio Dept. – David (mp3) from David [Single]

Washed Out – Life of Leisure

Whatever genre you want to place Washed Out in – chillcore, electro-chill (anything chill, really) – their Life of Leisure EP captured something particularly coastal.  The EP ebbs and flows along simply, washing itself over you, feeling like a sun-bleached beach scene.

Washed Out – Get Up (mp3) from Life of Leisure EP

Small Black – Small Black

In the same musical vein as Washed Out, Small Black actually has a remix of their Small Black EP track “Despicable Dogs” done by Washed Out.  As a whole, the EP sounds a little less polished, with a little more edge than their counterparts, but their glitch-y take on the electronica that has come before them this year is equally viable and impressive.

Small Black – Bad Lover (mp3) from Small Black EP

Hailing from Brooklyn, Small Black is a two-piece comprised of Josh Kolenik (vocals, etc.) and Ryan Heyner.  Their self-titled EP – released October 19^th – makes a nice bookend to 2009’s preponderance of eccentric electro-pop.  It retains the bleached, summery shimmer of Washed Out’s Life of Leisure EP while incorporating some of the noisier elements of the SoCal no-fi scene (think Wavves/Crocodiles).

It would be easy to dismiss Small Black as a boring knock-off of bands that have already done this exact thing, and done it better, but that would be a mistake.  There’s something else at play here – stronger vocals, a stronger pop sensibility than their counterparts.  It will be interesting to see where this trend will end up even in the next year, and where the proverbial line in the sand between the originals and copiers will be drawn.  Small Black could very well be the last ones into this party.

Small Black – Despicable Dogs (mp3) from Small Black EP