"Too Many Rappers" was actually recorded live at this year's Bonnaroo Festival but you'd never know it---studio wizardry has been employed to remove all crowd noise and tweak the drum track to where it has the somewhat tinny sound that the Beasties often favor. The Boys are apparently unhappy with the fact that sub-par performances are creeping into popular music at an ever-growing rate and here they and Nas grab the opportunity to dis the wannabes. As is typical Beastie Boys, the slams aren't too nasty and there's some self-effacing humor as Mike D refers to himself as a rapping grandpa, adding that he'll still be spitting when the rest have come and gone. Not a Beastie Boys classic to be sure but this song is for the time being only available in vinyl form at indie record stores so it'll probably quickly become a collectible. The B-side features an instrumental version of "Too Many Rappers" along with an a cappella track that makes the lyrics easy to hear.

School of Seven Bells (12" E.P.)
My Cabal
Ghostly International

When sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza sing "My Cabal" they pronounce "cabal" as "cable" and indeed it sounds like the pair is connected---to a source of infinite pleasure that stops just short of being orgasmic. Not that the ladies moan and groan; to the contrary their velvety harmonies are close to angelic and it's easy to imagine them as heavenly beings here as they float on a lush synthesizer dreamscape imagined by the band's third member, Benjamin Curtis. "My Cabal" is from SVIIB's 2008 release Alpinisms and while much of that album finds the Deheza's gently pulling their listeners into a trance "My Cabal" has enough pop power to gently nudge listeners into a sublime sing-along with the song's hook. This E.P. version differs from the album version in that it's enhanced with an extended instrumental outro called "My Camarilla." The E.P.'s B-side features alternate versions of two other songs from Alpinisms a slowed-down take on "Chain" remixed by Seefeel and two Jesu remixes of "Face to Face on High Places."

Deastro (7" single)
"Vermillion Plaza"
Ghostly International

Insistent synthesizer riffs set to a galloping bass line give this cut from Deastro's Moondagger album the same cool dance vibe that propelled Duran Duran to success. The "Mux Mool Sour Velcro Remix" of the song on the B-side careens from a symphonic mellowness to being accosted by startling blasts of distorted synth-drums; eventually the two sounds meld fluidly and get dressed up in dub effects as the song concludes