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Beach House – “Wedding Bell”
Devotion

Beach House’s second album is, let’s be honest, a lot like the first – but they sound more confident and improved production brought out the instruments way more. “Wedding Bell” is the perfect example of this. Although the simple drum kit and blissed-out keyboards and vocals give you the usual Beach House business, you get this blast of guitar a minute and a half in that would have seemed completely out of place on their earlier album. Yet it feels so right here. (insound)

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The Beach Boys – “Our Prayer”
20/20

This track was originally meant to be the opener for the unreleased Smile album. I don’t think a lot of people heard it, but it’s such a wonderful example of their particular brand of harmony that I end up listening to it more than their actual songs. Wilson re-recorded it for the solo remake of Smile, and I’m not entirely sure which version this is – not that it really matters. It’s worth one minute of your time whether it’s new or old. I was reminded of it by the intro to “You’re Not Supposed To.”

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Dinosaur Feathers – “Family Waves”
Fantasy Memorial

Something about this music feels familiar, but I absolutely can’t place it. That’s odd, because this album is musically adventurous, listenable, and plain fun – all things I like. Best I can come up with: imagine if The Lovely Feathers spent a year in the South Pacific with Hot Hot Heat. It’s that sunny and bouncy, yet doesn’t cross over into sheer pop because it’s a bit weird too. Also: I guarantee this album is going to go big. (pre-order at Insound)

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Sam Jayne And The Simpson Sound System – “Darker Still”
Living Bridge

Another track from the excellent and eclectic Living Bridge compilation, this song is actually similar in tone to the TK Webb track posted yesterday. For some reason its six minutes seem to pass by incredibly fast for me. If you haven’t given this album a listen, you really, really should soon. (Insound)

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The For Carnation – “A Tribute To”
The For Carnation

One of the first offshoots of Slint, The For Carnation put out a few albums leading up to this one, but none, I think, effect the same fusion of menace and melody quite so well as this self-titled release from 2000. The softly-spoken vocals of Brian McMahon are indeed very Slint-like, but the pacing and subtle instrumentation are much less abrasive – though that doesn’t mean the band is incapable of bursts of noise like that at the four minute mark. An excellent album.

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Fieldhead – “This Train Is A Rainbow”
They Shook Hands For Hours

Listen to it all the way through. The closest reference point I have is perhaps Arovane’s earlier and more abstract albums, Autechre’s most accessible ones, or perhaps most closely, Tim Hecker’s excellent and atmospheric Haunt Me, Haunt Me, Do It Again. Fieldhead seems hard to pin down, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable album for anyone with the patience for, well, this sort of thing.

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Jan Ladislav Dussek – Sonata for harp
Anna Lelkes, Harpist

There are other harp sonatas by Dussek (I believe), but this is my favorite. I can’t for the life of me figure out its opus number or whatever. It’s almost like an ultra-simplified tone poem — it evokes a lot of images but is light and enjoyable, not trying too hard.

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Nudge – “Two Hands”
As Good As Gone

This atmospheric but slightly funky album reminds me of Rio En Medio’s Frontier, but a little less mysterious. It can be too background-y at times but I think that the flow of the music and its lack of jarring and unexpected sounds is to be credited for that.

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Foma – “Seraphim Succubi”
Inverness

The best song off an uneven, but interesting album. These guys have a knack for changing their songs up subtly but meaningfully about halfway through, and this one is no exception. It’s also the song where the singer’s breathy voice and the traditional but well-wielded instrumentation hits the mark most completely.