Crime in Choir – “Crystal Cakes”
Gift Givers
I’ve been meaning to check these guys out for a while. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this is pretty great: it’s kind of like they took the instrumental parts of Pink Floyd’s Animals and just extended it and augmented it. Very cool, very dynamic.
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Mouse on Mars – “Catching Butterflies With Hand”
Idiology
Mouse on Mars is a quirky electronic outfit that’s been around for a while; Idiology came out ages ago. It’s not full of music I like, but it’s got a few gems on it like this one. Give it a minute, it starts out pretty weird.
Augie March – “Heartbeat and Sails”
Sunset Studies
Augie March’s Sunset Studies is a far cry from the masterpiece that is Strange Bird, but it’s got some fantastic tracks on it. This isn’t really representative of them, but it’s a great song – I love the metronomic beat of the banjo.
Blood On The Wall – “Lightning Song”
Liferz
Loved this song as soon as I heard it. Blood On The Wall are hit-or-miss, but they can hit pretty hard, particularly when the lady is singing instead of the guy. I love that “Lightning Song” is exactly the length and depth it wants to be – it’s just a perfectly crafted song.
The Lovely Feathers – “Lowiza”
Fantasy of the Lot
Compared with Hind Hind Legs, this album is very tame. Of course, an exploding fireworks factory is tame next to Hind Hind Legs. But the pieces that made it great are still there. Great melody, fun lyrics delivered well, and a feeling that they’re not taking it that seriously. I’ve only listened through it two or three times and it’s already growing on me.
Lovage – “To Catch A Thief”
Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By
I love this album, though you have to be in the mood for it. This track and “Strangers on a Train” are the best. Jennifer Charles’ vocals are ridiculous (only topped by Mike Patton on other tracks).
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Johann Sebastian Bach, “Sonata in G, Andante”
Love this track. I saw it performed live in London by a very good pair of musicians and they really killed it. This version is good but the performers combined the mathematical precision with a bit of life to make something more of it.
The Fruit Bats – “Seaweed”
Mouthfuls
I love the guitar in this song. So calming. This is a great album, by the way, one of the few albums I have with a distinct twang to it. I’m okay with that.
Field Music – “You’re Not Supposed To”
Write Your Own History
This album is a great little collection of b-sides and early songs by a band I didn’t even know existed. They’ve got a unique sound going on though, a sort of cross between Tunng and The Lovely Feathers.
Bibio – “Dopplerton”
Vignetting the Compost
V. good. The playful electronics of later Minotaur Shock crossed with the jangly guitars of the Fruit Bats. Repetitive to be sure, but cheerful and hypnotic.
The Beatles – “Revolution”
Hey Jude Single
This version is awesome. I heard it on the radio ages ago but only recently realized it was a “real” version.
Fridge – “Cut Up Piano and Xylophone”
Happiness
One of my favorite albums ever , Happiness has so many different beautiful sounds that to only be able to put one up at a time feels wrong. This particular track is the shortest and perhaps the most easily enjoyed.
Soft Canyon – “For You”
Broken Spirit, I Will Mend Your Wings
The last song on this album, as I noted in my original review, nearly knocked me out of my chair. Unfortunately, since that time, the band has broken up, leaving Broken Spirit as their sole album.
Luckily it’s a great album. Sounds like it just came out of a time capsule. The first track is a great example of this. There’s really nothing that places this album past 1975.
CFCF – “The Explorers”
Panesian Nights
Tell me this doesn’t make you want to go adventuring in 8 bits.
My Education – “Concentration Waltz”
5 Popes
Some post-rock reminiscent of earlier albums from Mogwai, Tarentel, and GY!BE. A great, lo-fi progression of noisy instrumental rock.
TK Webb – “The Devil’s A Dork (The Sea Told Me)”
Living Bridge (Compilation)
One of the songs I’d forgotten about from the excellent Living Bridge compilation from Rare Book Room, which features major artists like Deerhunter and Blood On the Wall as well as rarer stuff like Doldrums and this. It’s a jangly, easy-to-listen-to tune with great guitar work and confident vocals. My new favorite from the compilation.
Sunset – “Your Eyes Are Mirrors,”
The Glowing City
Wow, this album is great. It’s one of these seamless song-into-song-into-song albums, and the sound is constantly changing, yet remaining identifiable throughout. Bill Baird is the name of the guy behind it, a sort of all-in-one musician with talented friends, not unlike The Microphones’ Phil Elverum (though the music is very different).
Peach Pit – “I”
Split w/ Majmoon
My friend Jeremy dropped this in my lap. Peach Pit, a Croatian (?) math-rock band that takes the usual “weird progressions and signatures” style of math-rock music and adds a surprising amount of power and melody. This is the first track of four, and they really cover a huge amount of musical ideas over the 26 minutes they use up. It’s actually shocking how good they are sometimes.
You can download the second track here, and here’s a video of a live performance of “4x100m”. More stuff here at the Peach Pit page.
Tunng – “Woodcat”
from Comments Of The Inner Chorus
Strange and excellent folktronica. More at last.fm.
Yeasayer – No Need to Worry
from All Hour Cymbals
Yeasayer has a really weird thing going on. But when they hit, they hit hard. “No Need to Worry” is a great example of this. Very unique sound. Sometimes they fall under the “mystical” category of music along with Gang Gang Dance’s God’s Money and Charalambides’ Our Bed Is Green.
Alice Russell – “Two Steps”
from Pot of Gold
When I heard this on the radio, I thought I’d gone back in time. It’s a really solid soul tune with a great horn and rhythm section, and although it could be a little shorter, it’s still a great track. I didn’t feel that the rest of the album lived up to this, though – it’s actually new and other parts of the album are much less soulful. She even does a cover of “Crazy,” a song I detest. But check this one out.
Women – Black Rice
Women’s self-titled album is sort of like a cross between Deerhunter and Grizzly Bear or something. It’s unpredictable, virtuosic, and good pretty much all the way through. But the whole time, you keep thinking “what kind of music is this exactly?” From faultless chorused voices in the insanely short “Group Transport Hall” and “Black Rice” to shimmering and mystical soundscapes like “Woodbine,” they cover a lot of ground. The whole album is worth your time, so check them out.
The Gray Field Recordings – Rune of the Moon and Endymion
One of the standout tracks from Gold Leaf Branches, a compilation from Digitalis. I’m not a fan of spoken word but it’s nonsensical enough to be inoffensive. The artist has a knack for the mystical auditory environment; you can hear some more at Last.fm.
Zelda/Hip-Hop mashup: the Ocarina of Rhyme
Totally awesome. Zelda music and (admittedly weak) contemporary hip hop.
I got dugg, add yours to the pile! Maybe we’ll break 1000.
