Monday Mixtape, Vol. 115

The surprise of the weekend was seeing that Hippo Campus released their sophomore album, Bambi, on Friday. And what an album! The lead singer reminds me of Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, but their melodies are a bit more out there, I’m not really sure they sound like anyone else. Their second album shows some subtleties in songwriting that show the band’s growth. This is an album that flows from front to back with slow jams bookending the albums intersected by waves of rhythms and tempos. What I’m trying to say is just listen to it!

My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel released his second album and this “Wished Out” track immediately reminded me of The Allman Brothers Band. Never a bad thing.

I’ve gotten on a bit of a Jeff Tweedy kick recently, one because he’s such a great lyricist, two because he’s in one the best (and most underrated) bands of the past two decades, and three because his solo album of acoustic Wilco tracks is phenomenal (it’s called Together at Last - check it out!). Tweedy has a voice that finds a place in the hollows of the acoustic guitar. This is his most recent solo effort.

Speaking of voices I love, Thom Yorke released a track from what I hope is an upcoming solo album, and Bright Light Social Hour (whose vocalist’s solo album I had on last week’s mixtape) released a new track for all to hear, the spacey “Trip with Lola.”

Finally, the killer three-piece jazz band, BADBADNOTGOOD, who do a ton tracks with rappers and bands, have just released a track with Little Dragon, and it’s a “raise your lighters” type of jam.

That’s all I got folks, enjoy!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 81

Palace was on last week's mixtape. They're on this week's mixtape twice. I can't stop listening to them, slowly rocking my head to their beachy blues and rhythms that just distinguish them from many others. I feel like they'd get along with the jazzy trio Badbadnotgood swimmingly, and I hear so many other influences from a ton of genres. You have to listen to their recent album from 2016. It's been on repeat for me.

Foster the People released their third album, and it's really good. There is not one song that I skip on this album. I think it's definitely better than their last album which was hit or miss. They have sultry "Sit Next To Me," upbeat and hilarious "I Love My Friends," distorted barr chord rocker "Lotus Eater," and spaced out beauties "III" (which I did not include - go listen to it yourself!)

St. Vincent has a large piece of my heart. She's a phenomenal performer, one of the few very who completely command a stage just with her presence, she's a kick ass guitarist, she loves David Byrne, she's a beauty, AND who knew, but she writes quite the ballad! "New York" is a simple and beautiful love song. Can't wait for her next album. 

I saw NE-HI on a Youtube festival and then found this track on Spotify. They're a bunch of young guys just banging away on their instruments. It's raw. 

Have a wonderful week!    

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 54

The real star on this mixtape is Amber Arcades. This is the female Deerhunter. If you don't know Deerhunter, do yourself a favor and go listen to Halcyon Digest, one of the strangest, catchiest rock albums this decade. I included "Nothing Ever Happened" to follow Amber Arcades because a) I thought it sounded the most like "Fading Lines" although Deerhunter's "Desire Lines" was a very close second and b) it's my favorite Deerhunter song and it's actually not on Halcyon Digest! 

Just started listening to this track by Future Haunts - whoever the hell they are (all two tracks of them on Spotify) - and it immediately caught me. 

These Spotify Sessions curated by Jim Eno (the drummer of Spoon and producer extraordinaire) are recorded really well and worth checking out. I heard this one with FJM and have been digging into them since. 

A while back I wrote about Ghostface Killah making a really great jazzy album with a group called Badbadnotgood. This is a track off their new album with the wild and super cool live:

lead singer from Future Islands. (Letterman loved it!)

Have a great week all. 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 18

There's no denying this first track by soul singer Allen Stone. Try to deny it. You can't! (Though I listened to the rest of his album and wasn't too impressed - "Upside" is by far the best song on the album.)

I still don't know much about San Diego's TV Girl, but this track is like a mix between Panda Bear and Belle & Sebastian.  It's dance-y yet a bit trance-y, and if you dig it, they just released another track, "Natalie Wood," which you should check out!

"Kodiak" is classic indie. A flowy guitar with a simple snare lets the younger Jeff Tweedy-like vocals pace a track that would best be heard on a beach with a beer. It reminds me of that simplicity that Real Estate has perfected.

After hearing Mumford & Sons at Outside Lands, I once again revisited their new album. Hearing an album live is like meeting someone on Tinder. Maybe they look nothing like their profile pictures and you're left confused and disappointed, but maybe their beauty has even more depth after connecting with them and you're left feeling even better than you came. (For the record, I still think Wilder Minds is a regurgitation of Coldplay's X&Y (which for the record, isn't an insult but not exactly a compliment either).)

I just love Badbadnotgood. I've spoke about them before in my 5 Faves Ghostface Killah writeup, but if you like jazz, check out the discography from these Canadians.

A seven minute rap song? I love the aggressive start and change of pace. Good way to end a mixtape!