Monday Mixtape, Vol. 72

It's midnight, so I should probably get to sleep shortly. But first, be entranced by Leif Vollebekk, a singer/songwriter I just discovered that most clearly sounds like Ryan Adams, but "Elegy" gives him raspier vocals that hint of Angus Stone. This is a great album that I thoroughly recommend. 

Speaking of albums I thoroughly recommend, if you haven't listened to Drake's new album then what have you been doing? "Passionfruit" is one of my front-runners for song of the year, and "Portland" sounds like Drake got into the new Zelda game because there's some serious ocarinas blowing in that song. 

It's somewhat confounding that Local Natives have released two tracks in the aftermath of their mildly disappointing (or just not astounding or the album most huge fans were hoping for) third album that are better than most of the songs on the third album! This track brings an orchestra into the fry and Taylor's vocals actually sounding good again (instead of ridiculously whiny)

So the Gorillaz have a new album coming out. Their song with Vince Staples is sick and this song with D.R.A.M. is even better. Can't wait for this album in its entirety. 

Finally, Laura Marling's album is a great jaunt through the leafy woods. She's got that folksy Wes Anderson movie-like sound. I dig it.  

That's it. Past midnight, I'm spent!

Listen to this EP - Will Joseph Cook - You Jump I Run

Will Joseph Cook doesn't have a ton in the blogosphere about him yet, but he released an EP in April, You Jump I Run, that has a songwriter's simplicity that reminds me of Angus Stone while also having the pop and sonic sensibilities of another group I love, Minus the Bear. He looks like a young Cillian Murphy, so who knows what this guy has in store because he could either be the next guitar-wielding pop star (as "Streets of Paris" would indicate) with a real sense of musicianship, or he could go down the indie road of rejection and/or respectability (as "Daisy Chains" could indicate).

"Daisy Chains," probably my favorite track from his EP, builds upon itself through the first minute and then really starts going around the 1:15 mark. "Oh, you got it, you got it good," Cook proclaims on the first chorus as he reminds the listener there's something worthwhile here.

His other great track, "Message," is another track that starts in its shell, peeks out, reverts back and then grows into its own. The lyrics follow the rhythm as Cook confusedly wants to love when he knows it's not there. "I feel like following / following my heart again...The sweetest little things / I can't stomach the things my memory sings."   

There's a pace to this EP that just feels natural. It's not rushed, and Cook sounds like he's getting used to himself. I look forward to see wherever he takes this. 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 7

The most universal subject in music: love. Musicians have found millions of ways to sing about it, be it through heartbreak, infatuation, dating, lust, longing, marriage, the list goes on. I get it though, it's easier to talk straight from the heart. When done wholeheartedly, it rings true and leads the mind to make decisions both right and wrong, but ultimately ending (in what most of us hope) in something forever. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This is a mixtape of all sorts of these emotions, and the lyrical powers that communication provides us to get love off our chest.

Lord Huron "Love Like Ghosts:"
Yes I know that love is like ghosts
A few have seen it but everybody talks
Spirits follow where I go
They sing all day and they haunt me in the night...
What ain't living can never really die
You don't want me baby please don't lie
but if you're leaving I gotta know why

Brett Dennen's "I Ain't Gonna Lose You:"
You can put a stick in my spokes
I can be the butt of your jokes
I can be the laughing stock
I can be the hoax
But I ain't gonna lose you...
They can come and tear my house down
They can run me out of town
They can tie me up call me a clown
But I ain't gonna lose you
I can't stand the thought of another man
No, I ain't gonna lose you

Angus Stone's "Wooden Chair:"
In another place
In another time
In another face
In another line
In another heart
In another world
In another girl
We were feeling fine
We were in love

Gemma Hayes' "Joy:"
I can take on anything
I can take it all
I can take on anything
as long as I can see you

Bombay Bicycle Club's "Eyes Off You:"
And I bathed in the light you gave
But it's dark in another way
Yes, you gave me the light today
But it's dark in another way...
I can't take my eyes off you.

John Mayer's "In Your Atmosphere:"
Wherever I go
Whatever I do
I wonder where I am in my relationship to you
Wherever you go
Wherever you are
I watch your life play out in pictures from afar
Wherever I go
Whatever I do
I wonder where I am in my relationship to you
Wherever you go
Wherever you are
I watch that pretty life play out in pictures from afar

Father John Misty's "I Went To The Store One Day:"
For love to find us of all people
I never thought it'd be so simple