Monday Mixtape, Vol. 46

in

Thanks to Memorial Day, there is quite a backlog of great music for you. Overall, I’ve been pretty disappointed in the music that’s been released this year, it just seems to me like a down year. But, there are a ton of bands I love (Local Natives, Blind Pilot, Young the Giant) still to release theirs.

I’m particularly excited for Local Natives’ new album. I’ve had three favorite bands in the past decade - Local Natives, US Royalty, and Tame Impala (while Radiohead being the all-decades favorite) - and they’re all on their third album with only Tame Impala to release the masterpiece Currents. Third albums are huge for bands that garnered a lot of recognition for their first album because the sophomore release is always allowed to be a regurgitation of the first since the first was so good. (And for the record, Local Natives second album was not like their first, but it just wasn’t as good.) Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys are great examples of that. Their second albums were pretty darn good, it sounded like the first, so no one complained. 

But the third is a different story. It shows whether a band has “it” however one may define it. My definition: a sound and structure that is unique and original and a dedication and labor of love that is apparent that it all makes for an unforgettable album, something to be remembered because it sounds like nothing else. Currents did exactly that for me. So did Vampire Weekend’s third masterpiece of an album while Arctic Monkey’s third album went a little too far off field and gave too much sound control to Josh Homme (producer of the album and lead singer/songwriter of Queens of the Stone Age). Though “Cornerstone” is still one of my faves by them.

SO WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET AT: there’s a lot riding on this album for Local Natives. And that being said, their new single provides hope. I still think Taylor Rice’s vocals sound a bit whiney, but I just LOVE the sounds they get out of their drums and guitars. How awesome is the drum-off starting at 2:17 which leads into some serious kick-ass electric guitar lick? That is Local Natives' specialty, a messy conglomeration of harmonies and other sounds that bleed like waterfalls. It’s beautiful. So maybe I’m getting more excited for their new album now! 

A few other notes:

I though Post Malone was a joke - BECAUSE I LOOKED AT A PICTURE OF HIM - although I loved “White Iverson,” but I obviously couldn’t take him seriously. And though on his track on this Monday Mixtape he’s talking about flexing with gold grills and all sorts of other shit about his squad and sending “Snaps” to his girl, “Go Flex” has a great hook and even a little acoustic guitar in it! 

“Something to Believe In” is Young the Giant’s sultriest song yet. Sameer Gadhia is the modern day Brandon Boyd (of Incubus) - he has one of the best voices in the business, but I think Young the Giant is mainly disrespected by critics. Have they listened to “Islands??” (Yes, I know Incubus is still making music).

The beat that starts the song by Allan Rayman sounds like it should have been on a Montell Jordan tracks. Love it. I don’t know too much about this Allan Rayman guy nor an I sure how to describe him, but this is one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard all year.  

“Feel No Ways” is one of my two favorite tracks from Drake’s new, somewhat disappointing album. I think there are some good songs, but a lot of not so good songs which is not usual for Drizzy.

I am heading to LA on Saturday for two weeks, but I will try to post something for next week’s mixtape because there are a lot more songs I want to share.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 45

in

In the past few weeks, my two favorite albums of the year (to date) have been released, James Blake’s The Colour in Anything and Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. I had to make a mixtape with my favorite tracks from each.

As you may have noticed in my last pseudo Mixtape, I am pretty obsessed with Blake’s new album. I am a bit surprised that the overall reaction to the album has been so muted, especially considering Blake is a critical darling almost to the heights of Justin Vernon (who sneezes and gets a post in Pitchfork and Stereogum hinting that he’s working on new music). This is a GORGEOUS album made all the more impressive that a 27-year-old made it (with the help of Frank Ocean too!).

Well, guess what? Justin Vernon/Bon Iver IS working on new music…and it’s with James Blake! “I Need a Forest Fire” is the last track on this week’s Monday Mixtape, Vol. 45, and one of my favorite songs from Blake’s new album. Pairing two very high falsettos together could have ended terribly, but these two are the top of their class vocally and made the vocals blend seamlessly. 

The rest of the the James Blake tracks are my remaining favorites from the album. It was impossible to pick one or two (as I usually do for these mixtapes) songs as I’m enamored with so many. Listen to these to get a feel. 

Sturgill’s album is a sailor’s letter to his family back in the states. From the sweet and sincere (“Breakers Roar”) to a raucous hootenanny (“Call To Arms”) to funky and jazzy (“Keep It Between the Lines”), then swing-sounding country (“All Around You”), Simpson crashes through the walls of sound and gives the middle finger to expectations of genre. For an album that rocks around while sailing full speed ahead, it’s surprisingly cohesive and flows really well. I love this album. 

Happy Monday!

 

 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. James Blake

in

Ok, so I'm cutting it close to still being Monday, and this is not exactly the Monday Mixtape, but it's something better: a beautifully haunting album by a lovestruck Brit with some great pipes, James Blake.

This album isn't for everyone because of its electronic elements and auto-tuned voice that Blake uses at times, but the album's flow, delicacy, and arrangements are something special. I always thought Blake to be a tad bit overrated, but this album proves me wrong and showcases his abilities in a way I had never heard before. I think it's my favorite album of the year to date.

Give it a try this week!  

New Local Natives Song - Past Lives

in

And OF COURSE they came to play a teeny club in SF yesterday when I was out of town. OF COURSE. Fate has seriously gotten in our ways on a number of different instances (including one where I met a girl working at a burger shop who knew the band and was going to the show the following week and said I should come hang out with them - but I was going out of town!), but I will always love these guys. They have been one of my three favorite bands since 2010 (Tame Impala and US Royalty would be the other two) and while I really enjoyed their second album, I didn't obsessively love it like their debut. 

They've been working on new music for years (or at least haven't released an album since early 2013) and here's the first track they've released from their new album to be released this year!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 43

in

A few quick tidbits here:

Sea Pinks is a band where the singer reminds me of nasally and higher pitched Kurt Cobain while the music harkens back to some 90s alternative. If you like the tracks here, the album is a pretty great. 

The Last Shadow Puppets is the side project for Alex Turner (the brilliant lead singer/songwriter/guitarist from Arctic Monkeys) and singer/songwriter Miles Kane. What a combo of talent.

Another track from Kanye’s new album. I actually thought the other guy on the track was Future, but turns out it’s Desiigner, a total unknown until his track “Panda” exploded (which was sampled here).

Without much further ado, Volume 43:

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 42

in

Because I missed last week (which makes it two missed mixtapes in about the past four weeks - sorry), there is a large amount of music that I would love to just jam in here. Fortunately for me, I can add some tracks to the backlog that didn’t make the cut. 

So what’s happened in the past two weeks? Kanye’s album got released on Spotify, I discovered a new rapper from DC who is amazing (thank you Paddy), Pete Yorn released a Pete Yorn-y album, my Spotify Discover Playlist was ON POINT and I found two really cool new bands, Young Thug dropped a mixtape/album/who knows and was featured in a captivating GQ profile, Bibio released an album, AND Tame Impala decided to remix a song from Miguel’s new album.

The crazy thing about Tame Impala’s remix (last track on the mixtape) of Miguel’s “Waves - It wasn’t even the best remix. That honor goes to Kacey Musgraves, who gave a bit of twang and a whole lot of beach vibes while still keeping the super charged sexual innuendos alive. “Body surf on me / don’t stop / I wanna ride that wave / all night / I wanna ride that wave.”

Miguel makes some baby making music, but hearing Musgraves sing these lyrics takes it to another level. 

KANYE. A divisive figure who I officially can no longer defend. The transgressions are too many at this point. I can still love his music, but I’m totally tired of him. This is one of my favorite tracks from his new album with rap god Kendrick Lamar. I think the album is pretty great and certainly worth a listen for any rap fan. I’ll have some more tracks from the album in other mixtapes.

I spoke about Thugger earlier. His music is just strange, but that profile I read provides a bit more insight into the guy. He’s an alien. And it sounds like a man with a lifestyle that will leave him dead at a very early age. 

LOVE this song from Moses Gunn Collective, particularly that drugged out guitar bending to infinity. 

Remember Pete Yorn? That guy that had a classic album musicforthemorningafter? Well this track reminds me a lot of it. Sorry that I’m just asking the guy to play the hits, but when you’ve made like five other albums (most of which i’ve listened to!) and just aren’t doing it for me, it’s all I ask. 

Bibio releases tracks like “Wren Tails” that make me think I’m coasting through a Wes Anderson movie in a convertible watching the leaves change. Beautiful songs. 

Oddisee is a rapper from DC who my buddy put me on to. I have been listening to him a lot the past week and am amazed with his technical abilities (his second verse in “Want Something Done” is sick!) and production. This guy has some serious talent and is due to breakout. Just a taste of his rhymes: 

“We started off locally / and now this chains globally / that’s the way it’s supposed to be / single seeds only grow to trees / if left alone to breathe / so lets take some time to expose the weeds / feeding off the roots of the culture vultures next to you / convincing you to stay in the forest when they the record crew.”

 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 41

in

The first track - a remix by Kris Bowers - is fittingly futuristic as our world becomes enveloped in different realities like the virtual and augmented. You can’t watch a series of commercials without seeing something about Samsung’s VR set, and the Oculus Rift is apparently going to be a world changer. Although the lyrics aren’t futuristic, the sounds take me somewhere else. 

Bear Hands continually make catchy songs with their own bend to it. I immediately liked this track, while most of their earlier stuff took me a little bit longer to appreciate, but please check out their Distraction album from 2014 if you’re digging them. 

I can’t even remember how I found the next two tracks. Was it radio? Was it someone’s playlist? Either way, you may like one of the two.

Holy Ghost! is one of the more under appreciated bands in the Electro-Pop genre. I still swear by their first album and their second, Dynamics, was a great sophomore effort. “Crime Cutz” continues to slam synths and elaborate buildups while the track gains steam. 

Bas! My favorite new rapper. If you remember me going on an on about Cousin Stizz, I have very similar feelings with Bas (save for the fact that Bas is clearly getting some help from J. Cole as the album is on Cole’s Dreamville record label, and Stizz didn’t seem to get help from any established artist). Anyways, “Dopamine” is only one example of why this guy has got some serious talent. Although he doesn’t have a trademark voice, his rhythm and production exhibit his abilities. 

Had to put another track from Ray on here. His new album is out there, I’m really enjoying it. 

Have a good week!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 40

in

There are certain weeks that produce such high quality music, I’m just happy to be able to curate it into a short mix. This is one of those weeks, and I don’t even have any tracks from Kendrick’s new album (those to come next week). 

Everything Everything is a band that kind of defies definition. Their lead singer has quirky cadences and a laughably high tenor yet that is the reason their music sounds so unique. I’ve been listening to their new album a lot, and their first track is a great intro to these guys. 

“It Hurts Until It Doesn’t” is my favorite track from Mothers’ great new album, When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired. Check out the album if you dig the song. 

Day Wave has the chilled out Real Estate vibe with a bit more fuzz and fade, but I can always put him on in the background. Foxing is a band I just heard about and this track is the first thing I heard from them. Needless to say, I will be checking out their recent album from late 2015.

I’ve been listening to the folksy Lily & Madeline since their great debut in 2013. They haven’t changed their sound too much, but “For the Weak” is a bit edgier (is that a guitar solo??) than their prior stuff. 

Finally, we come to Ray. This is the first track of his new album and it’s eight minutes long! Ray’s made some six minute songs, but this is the longest song he’s written that I know of and it’s a beauty.   I love the sustain on the piano and the haunting feeling of the entire track. The song reminds me a bit of Shadowlands by Ryan Adams, a sparse yet soulful song.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 39

in

Morning, I am currently on my way to Florida, and my travels have been nonstop but at fortunately the music don’t stop either. 

I loved Nothing’s last album, Guilty of Everything, so I’m hoping this single is a taste of what’s to come on their new album. 

I have no idea who Declan McKenna is other than to guess he’s Irish. Great track. 

Vera Blue has some pipes!

Wild Nothing’s EP Empty Estate is a must listen, even better than his recent released album which this track is from. 

Peter Webb is a singer/songwriter who will probably never gain notoriety because his music is tuned to very specific tastes, but this is a delicate and beautiful song.

High Highs make music where you question how high you are.