Ocean Floor For Everything
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“Ocean Floor for Everything” by How to Dress Well // Total Loss (Autumn, 2012)
Tom Krell’s How to Dress Well is one of my favorite things in the world. Hands down. In my opinion, the man has done no wrong so far in his career and now that he’s finally announced his new album (following last year’s excellent Just Once EP), we’ve got a taste of the new material and it’s magnificent. Once again, he slips into lo-fi R&B soundscapes, manipulating his voice to act as an instrument that glides over abstract beats and ambient textures. Of course, I can do no justice with a description, it’s best you just press play and hear one of the best songs to drop this year. Highest recommendation for fans Top Girls, Active Child, and Balam Acab.
(download) “Ocean Floor for Everything” by How to Dress Well (via HTDW Soundcloud)
Lost In The Trees - Red
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“Red” by Lost in the Trees // A Church That Fits Our Needs (2012)
Sometimes I click play on something and have no idea where it’s going to take me and often times it ends in people banging on shit like low-rent Animal Collective wannabes and chirping/singing lyrics about kids playing in dead leaves. Other times i’m lucky enough to be absolutely floored on my ass by something new. Lost in the Tree’s is the project of Ari Picker, and “A Church That Fits Our Needs” is an album celebrating his mother’s short, chaotic life. It’s a sad, emotionally draining tale of a woman who battled cancer, lost twin daughters at birth, a crippling depression, and ultimately succumbed to suicide shortly after her son was married. The strange thing is that the moody, atmospheric orchestral productions actually offer up a cinematic and celebratory take on the subject matter. It’s the kind of music that you just don’t hear so often these days. Big, adventurous, gorgeous, haunting, and completely accessible. It’s an album’s worth of standout tracks that feel like they could have been lifted from the best days of Elbow, or Sufjan Stevens, or Active Child (you’ll get the comparisons). This song in particular has my absolute HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. It will absolutely slay you. Press play.
Saskatchewan - The Morning (The Weeknd Cover)
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“The Morning” by Saskatchewan // Originally by The Weeknd
Hearing Saskatchewan’s spin on The Weeknd’s “The Morning” is an interesting ride. It’s got a dark, jazzy, 80’s vibe that creates sort of a hypnotic, late night chillout. Here’s what they had to say about the creation:
ssktchwn:
A little more than a week ago a friend of mine suggested that we do a cover of The Weeknd. The idea was definitely a stretch for me but I figured it would be an interesting challenge. The end result of our version of The Weeknd’s “The Morning” is like a forensics TV show soundtrack mets sleezy lounge jazz mets saskatchewan. I hope you enjoy.
Pretty damn accurate. I’m into it. I’m loving the bedroom pop/ r&b / dream pop crossover sounds. Definitely worth hearing for fans of How to Dress Well, Active Child, and Top Girls.
Radio Slow Riot Faves of 2011 pt1
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P|M|W’s FAVORITE SONGS OF 2011 /// PT. 1 (#40-21)
Well, it was certainly something of a chore to work this list down to a realistic and approachable number. What started as a list of over a hundred, was worked down to fifty, and then I chose to podcast the top forty. This is the backend of that list. Numbers 40 - 21 are presented here with limited interruptions.
Tomorrow, I’ll be posting my 20 favorite songs of the year and I’ll offer a little more insight into my top ten selections in particular (in case you don’t want to listen to me ramble in podcast form). So, without further ado, here goes my back twenty list. Feel free to listen to the songs via the podcast provided above (stream) and below (download). Please bear with my introduction on the podcast, it runs all of three minutes long and might annoy those of you with ears. Please enjoy, and tune in tomorrow for top 20, which is sure to contain some choices that will get me verbally assaulted. Thanks for listening!
THE LIST /// FAVORITE SONGS OF THE YEAR #40 - 21 (back twenty)
- 40. “The Night” by School of Seven Bells
- 39. “Hold Your Hand” by Dum Dum Girls
- 38. “Solid Morning” by Tearjerker
- 37. “Call it Off” by Washed Out
- 36. “Nuclear Seasons” by Charli XCX
- 35. “Shells of Silver” by The Japanese Popstars
- 34. “Black Cloud” by Mozart Parties
- 33. “Alive in Us” by Darkness Falls
- 32. “It’s Alright” by Kurt Vile
- 31. “Summer Moon” by The Raveonettes
- 30. “Playing House” by Active Child & How To Dress Well
- 29. “Sail Away” by The Rapture
- 28. “Silent My Song” by Lykke Li
- 27. ”The Same Thing” by Cass McCombs
- 26. ”We Passed the Moon” by A Grave with No Name
- 25. “Companions” by Dodos
- 24. “Thinking About You” by Frank Ocean
- 23. “Goshen” by Beirut
- 22. “Hounds” by The Antlers
- 21. “Nosebleed” by Deerhunter
(download) P|M|W’s Favorite Songs of 2011 (#40-21) Podcast
(stream) P|M|W’s Favorite Songs (#40-21) (via Soundcloud)
There you have the first set of my favorite songs of the year. Tomorrow will be even better as we countdown my absolute favorites. In the meantime, please enjoy these wonderful songs. Let me know what i’m forgetting, or suggest some songs that you think that i might not be aware.
P|M|W’s FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2011
This took me a lot longer to finalize than I had planned. Truth be told, last year’s came easier because as a whole, I felt last year had a stronger collection of albums - so much so that I just picked a favorite and had everything else tie for second. This year, I felt that I had some room between some of them that I could play with and in the resulting list, actually pick a top ten favorites.
I use the word “Favorite” because this list was made by me, and I wouldn’t want to pretend that I am capable of knowing what’s “best” for anyone, so what you’re looking at is a list that’s my favorites. Not intended to spark an argument, but mostly hoping to maybe shine a light on an artist or album that perhaps you didn’t catch earlier in the year and when lined up next to some of these others, you might take the time to check them out as well.
So, without further ado, I’m going to list my top ten with short explanations, and then the back ten are the ten most played, most favorite, most-most that didn’t crack the ten (in alphabetical order). Hope you enjoy. The Favorite Songs lists will be up in the next couple of days with accompanying podcast and I promise they’ll be much more thorough and interesting, as they’ll be audible.
THE LIST///TOP TEN FAVORITE ALBUMS (2011)
- “The King of Limbs” by Radiohead :: If you are familiar with my previous top five lists of years past, you know that I have a fondness for Radiohead. More often than not, they make my top spot. So this shouldn’t be as much of a surprise, but to me it really is. When I first heard “TKOL” I was underwhelmed. I enjoyed what I heard but it didn’t stick like previous material. I sat the album aside and moved on. Then, somewhere around the time that Radiohead performed the “From the Basement” sessions, I pulled the album back out and where previously I had felt that I was being challenged, I suddenly felt that familiar warmth. The songs were growing on me and where previously, I had all but dismissed this album as the one where Radiohead got away from me, I was embracing the textures and the layers and melodies and rhythms. I came back to this album more than any other this year and with each listen I discovered more to love. It wasn’t the mindblowing, earth shattering release that I was expecting to top my list, but that album never came. What came was a surprise album by my favorite band that i was not ready for, but luckily was still around when i found my reasons to be ready. I love the album. It’s not their best, but this year it was my favorite.
- “Bon Iver, Bon Iver” by Bon Iver :: You could almost hear the backlash growing before the final notes of the final song played. Yes, it will appear on as many “best of” lists as it will on “most overrated” lists, but that’s just fine. For me, the album works. It’s a reminder of music that I hadn’t thought of in ages, by an artist who’s had hands in dozens of my favorite songs of the past few years. I trusted Justin Vernon to not rely on his simple charms and he didn’t disappoint. The album can be challenging to those expecting twelve more variations on “Skinny Love”, but anyone paying attention could see that this is a direction that he was likely to head from the moment he started touring in support of “For Emma”. I happened to really love the direction. I might not love the next, but that’s just fine. When you love something an artist has done, you’re not signing on for life. You can exit the bus at any stop. I’m happy to stick around and hear some more electric piano and abstract lyrics for the time being. It’s produced some really beautiful, haunting, and in the end welcoming music. No complaints.
- “Burst Apart” by The Antlers :: Talk about low expectations. I had nothing going in to my first listen of “Burst Apart”. “Hospice” was a fine album, but a little dreary and easily forgotten for me at that time. “Burst Apart” felt like a band awakened and challenged to write big, expansive, artistically engaging pop songs and they lived up to the task without fail. Also, the 1-2-3 hit of “Hounds”, “Corsicana”, and “Putting the Dog to Sleep” are the best sequential album run all year.
- “Days” by Real Estate :: At first listen I was afraid everything blended and sounded overly similar, but a couple of more listens and the details started flooding forth. It’s a deceptively simple album loaded with wonderful writing, beautiful melodies and incredible craftsmanship. “Days” just hit on all cylinders for me and reminded me of why I love bands who don’t shy from a well written pop hook.
- “Charade is Gold” by Pulseprogramming :: Sort of what I’d hoped a grown-up version of Postal Service to sound like - only better. It’s a gorgeous, haunting, synth pop masterpiece.
- “Our Blood” by Richard Buckner :: A criminally underrated singer-songwriter turned in his best album in years and again, no one seemed to notice. Some of the best writing I heard all year and Buckner’s vocals is still one of my favorite lived-in, weary instruments in all of music.
- “Yuck” by Yuck :: Smart, nostalgic, indie pop that holds up with some of the greats. “Stutter” is one of the best songs of the year.
- “The Ocean” by Two Bicycles :: While everyone was waiting for the new Teen Daze album to drop, many seemed to fail to notice that he’s already dropped an album one million times better just a couple of months before and it explored more interesting soundscapes by far.
- “Moon Killer” by Small Black :: Had this been a full fleshed out album, it would have been higher. Small Black turned in one of the biggest surprises of the year with a free mixtape that makes me hope and wish that their next studio outing has this kind of sound, and this sort of confidence. Fucking killer songs.
- “Romantic Comedy” by Big Troubles :: Maybe the catchiest, most infectious album that I heard all year. Loaded with dreamy, lo-fi, shoegazer sounds, but as good as they all are, none of them touch the brilliant album closer, “Never Mine”.
There you have my top ten. I could surely go on and on, but I’m sure more of you stopped reading back at Radiohead. For that, I will rush through and just list the back ten. In alphabetical order as I could not choose one over the other. These are simply the albums that I lived in and carried with me the most throughout the year (save for the first ten). Any of these ten would be a great listen. I can’t recommend them enough.
- “You Are All I See” by Active Child
- “The Rip Tide” by Beirut
- “On the Water” by Future Islands
- “Gardens and Villa” by Gardens and Villa
- “Hearts” by I Break Horses
- “Smoke Ring for my Halo” by Kurt Vile
- “Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped” by Moonface
- ‘“Rare” by Tearjerker
- “House of Balloons” by The Weeknd
- “The Year of Hibernation” by Youth Lagoon
There you have it. The list of Favorite Album of 2011, as decided by me. The Favorite Songs of 2011 list should provide more fun, as there will be accompanying sounds to go with, and the entire collection spreads far and wide. That should be up in the next couple of days. In the meantime, how about them albums? Did i drop the ball or forget anything? Surely, I did. At any rate, thanks for reading, take care, hope you enjoyed any or all of these as much as i have.
The Never Years - Honey Island
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“Honey Island” by The Never Years // Life of Dreams (2011)
This gorgeous, twinkling bedroom pop gem has been on repeat all night. A random find on Bandcamp has completely floored me. It’s amazing really, how much incredible music exists out there with absolutely no promotion. Well, hopefully someone finds The Never Years for the first time because of my random discovery. This is one of the best songs that I’ve heard in months. For fans of The Radio Dept., Active Child, and Washed Out.
(stream and purchase) Life of Dreams by The Never Years (via Bandcamp)
Mozart Parties - Memory Thunderstorm
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“Memory Thunderstorm” by Mozart Parties // Memory Thunderstorm EP (2011)
There seems to be no end in site to the good music that continually finds its way into the world. How is one ever supposed to take a step back and breathe and just absorb all of this beautiful music? Fuck it. I suppose that’s a riddle to be figured out another day. For now, there’s an excellent free new EP from Mozart Parties over at Facebook. This is the title track from said EP and it’s a layered, swirling synth pop beauty that is a must listen for fans of Active Child, CANT, and Washed Out.
(download) Memory Thunderstorm EP by Mozart Parties (free @ FB)
(via danceyrselfclean)
Halls - I Am Not Who You Want
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“I Am Not Who You Want” by Halls // Fragile EP (2012)
Danceyrselfclean is absolutely right about this track. Take some Active Child flair-for-the-dramatics and wrap them up in the subtle-electronics of Jame Blake and you’re almost there with Halls. Of course, there’s also that familiar late-era Radiohead sound as well, but that’s more a textural beats thing than anything. Naturally, it’s probably not best to compare a new artist to such indie titans at this point, but the earmarks are there and now, after a song this strong, I’m certainly going to be keeping my ears peeled for more from Halls as this is the strongest release to date. Here’s hoping that the forthcoming EP delivers like “I Am Not Who You Want” does.
(pre-order) “Fragile EP” by Halls (via Bandcamp)
(via danceyrselfclean)
“Playing House” by Active Child (feat. How to Dress Well) // Official Video (dir. Isaac Ravishankara)
Here’s the official video for Active Child’s excellent collaboration with How to Dress Well, complete with full on appearances by both artists. It’s a pretty great video with a hazy, dreamy atmosphere to back up the sexy vibe of the track itself. Plus it’s got the bonus of having two of the best new artists in indie music playing together.
Active Child - Call Me Tonight
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“Call Me Tonight” by Active Child // You Are All I See (Bonus Track Version) (2011)
Active Child’s excellent new album, You Are All I See, is finally available and you can find it all over the place, including iTunes, which is offering up a couple of bonus tracks with the purchase of the entire album. “Call Me Tonight” is one of those tracks and it makes total sense why it didn’t makes the album, because it doesn’t fit the relatively somber and mystical tone of the album, as this track is an upbeat, 80’s indebted synth pop track with an infectious vocal melody (well, i guess it has that in common with the rest of the album). The album is wonderful, but this b-side is just a kick in the ass. It’s just so much fun and so good, and considering i’ve been posting so much downbeat music lately, it’s my pleasure to post this wonderful gem.
(purchase) Active Child - You Are All I See (Bonus Track Version) (iTunes)
THE DIMMING LIGHTS // The Afterglow : Episode 51
With the gap in time between each Afterglow mixtape growing, I’ve decided to try and make each one stand out as it’s own, by sticking to a more cohesive theme each time out. Sometimes it might be more lo-fi rock sounds, others might lean toward the ambient or chillwave, this one is more in the direction of darker, haunting sounds. It starts upbeat enough but works its way into more of a night atmosphere and takes the sounds into more of a dark synth pop and dream pop vibe.
This mix is comprised of newer tracks from all over the indie world and this time around the male/female vocals duties are pretty much split, which is a big change, as these are usually inadvertently male dominated. So, without further ado, this is The Dimming Lights, and as usual with these Afterglow Mixtapes, they’re best heard at night. Let it soundtrack you as you wish, but please enjoy the listen and support the acts that catch your attention.
Featured Music (click the band name for more info on the band):
- Pepper Rabbit - The Annexation of Puerto Rico
- Gross Magic - Sick
- Bangs - Fakes
- WU LYF - Brooklyn Girls (acoustic)
- I Break Horses - Pulse
- Kitteh Fur - Winter Will Never Come
- Active Child - See Thru Eyes
- High Places - Year Off
- Replicas - Open Arms
- Cameras - I Know
- Zola Jesus - Avalanche (Daytrotter Session)
- Porcelain Raft - I Found a Way (Memoryhouse Remix)
- Halloween, Alaska - In Your Sleep
- Elvis Depressedly - Turn Blue
- Widowspeak - Ghost Boy
- Dum Dum Girls - Hold Your Hand
- Frightened Rabbit - Fuck This Place
- Balam Acab - Now Time
- Cant - Bericht
- Memoryhouse - Quiet America
(download) THE DIMMING LIGHTS // AFTERGLOW Ep.51 (mediafire)
(stream) The Entire Mix @ 8Tracks
Please support the artists that you find and enjoy. Buy their music, merchandise and tickets to see their shows. Supporting them is the only purpose in doing this blog. Contrary to the opinions of some, music blogs are a great way to discover new music, but there will only be so much new music to go around if these artists can’t afford to support themselves through their art and commerce. Only use these mixtapes as a guide to find something to throw your (financial and emotional) support behind.
ACTIVE CHILD // YOU ARE ALL I SEE (2011)
Hear the entire new Active Child album, “You Are All I See” now, via Soundcloud, courtesy of The Hype Machine. It’s damn near perfect from start to finish. Give it a spin.
