I featured Kalbells’ great 2020 EP Mothertime in my Recommended Albums of April 2020 feature, but man, I really gotta give it some individual shine in its own post. I’ve been listening to it pretty regularly and continue to marvel at the elasticity of the synths and the palpable personality of the vocals. Solo artist Kalmia Traver has whipped up a short, satisfying product featuring awesome sound design, lovely little accents of marimba + mallet percussion, and subtly addicting songs that reel you back in with inventive melodies and lots of KICK. For some reason it reminds me of the mushroom town level in Super Mario Sunshine. Anyone else?
This is an artist I would kill to see live one day once we’re allowed to do that. Maybe at like, The Sultan Room in Brooklyn or something. (Editor’s note: just looked into Kalbells’ fall tour dates and she is in fact going to play Sultan Room, and is also touring with blog favorite Bernice. Unfortunately not in NYC, but alas – hope shows can happen by then). Until then, please enjoy this EP + hope that there’s more music from Traver in the near future.
An old acquaintance of mine recently reached out to tell me about this great record they found in their uncle’s vinyl collection that featured production from none other than the great Ryuichi Sakamoto. This record was Virginia Astley’s 1986 record Hope In A Darkened Heart, which also happens to feature additional work from Japan’s David Sylvian. Hope is a lovely dream pop record, harkening parallels to Julee Cruise, Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush to more modern examples like Julia Holter. It’s a lovely record and I’m VERY grateful that that person reached out and told me about it.
DANG Y’ALL. April 2020 was absolutely bananas for new music. I mentioned a few weeks ago on my twitter that five records featured here have already comfortably become obsession-worthy favorites. Can you guess which ones? The gag is that the five others I’ve selected are also approaching that territory. Not only are the 10 records I’ve selected here quality, they also beat out plenty of other great albums from artists like Empress Of, Purity Ring, Why Bonnie, Thundercat, Jackie Lynn, Crisman, Rina Sawayama and more. There are obvious selections of course (Fiona Apple, Laura Marling, Yves Tumor), but hopefully a few names that are new to you. But most of all, I hope you enjoy and stay safe!
Jessy Lanza is ready to make our 2020 summer fantastic with a new album All The Time coming July 24th via Hyperdub. With that announcement comes hyper new song “Face” and corresponding video, which fits into the smoke & lights aesthetics from her “Oh No” video. Needless to say, but I love this song so much and I cannot wait for this album. I listen to Lanza’s music more when I’m walking around a bunch, but since I’ve been stuck at home and haven’t been walking as much, I’ve faded out of her music a little more than normal. With this new song + album announce, it’s guaranteed that like 2016, 2020 will be another year of the Lanza, y’all. Hell yeah.
Charli XCX has been busy at work on a new album during the quarantine, already coming out on May 15th. This new single features production from 100gecsian Dylan Brady and fits Charli’s style perfectly. This song LIVES. Definitely looking forward to this record.
Well, here we are. After a decade of floating around illicitly, Clams Casino’s groundbreaking “I’m God” instrumental has finally been cleared with Imogen Heap’s blessing. Now credited as Clams Casino & Imogen Heap (which is an absolute banger combination now that I look at it spelled out in front of me like that), the sample-heavy tune has moved to streaming services for the first time and will hopefully make the two musicians a hefty chunk of change after rotating on various chill playlists.
The beat was made for Lil B’s song (obviously of the same name) off of 2009’s 6 Kiss, but on its own, the instrumental later ballooned into a cloud rap landmark, serving as the inspiration to SO many beatmakers down the road. Countless amounts of streaming platform fodder, Soundcloud mixes, YoutTube playlists and blog posts just like this were borne of this song. Even listening to it now after hundreds of spins puts me into a groove. It clearly has some sort of magic touch, from the disembodied waves of vocals (thanks Imogen!) to the booming bass, this song still sounds fresh today and carries that air of nostalgia to a time when all this was so exciting and new. This was something to get excited about back then, and it still is now.
Next up is a personal anecdote, so go hop to the streaming sites if you wanna, or go buy some Imogen Heap + Clams Casino music. I remember the first time I heard this song was the summer before college. This was a very important period of time for me, and I seem to recall every detail of these months quite vividly. My family planned on moving to Connecticut in August of 2011 – it had been in the cards since 2009. In June, our house was sold and we moved into an extended stay hotel, which is where we’d be for two months, thanks to my ever-gracious parents letting my sister and I live out a little bit more of our summer in Michigan. The problems though were that my music library was stored on our home computer (which along with my CD collection was on the east coast) and I had foolishly “restored” my iPod because I didn’t know what I was doing. In short, no music. However, I had just received a laptop as a graduation present, along with a basic smart phone – my tickets to rebuilding my library.
For almost a month, I only listened to free mp3s blogs hosted on their sites (remember those?) and CDs my friends would let me rip onto my computer. If you look at my iTunes library history, the first additions were this song, Grimes’ “Vanessa”, Peaking Lights “Laid Back (Tiger Eyes)”, Ty Segall’s “You Make The Sun Fry”, Ford & Lopatin’s “Emergency Room”, UMO’s “How Can U Luv Me” and Washed Out’s “Amor Fati”. Clearly I was pulling from GvsB. Likewise, I had also just found the miracle of “3G” and would stream hosted songs like “I’m God” whenever I could from my phone. Spending hot summer days counting down the moments before I was uprooted accompanied by these tunes was pretty nice, and I will always hold an extra fondness for Clams Casino and all the other musicians that released music around that time, along with all the blogs that hosted mp3s for me to download. In short, this song was there for me when I needed it. Hot summer days feeling alone and limited. It still connects to this day and that’s pretty incredible.
Coming to you in the quarantine with another hot playlist! Previously I hoped to soothe your mornings with gentle caresses of folk and ambient music. This time I’m centering on something a bit different, but it still attempts to answer a great need in humanity right now.
What is it in quarantine that we miss the most? Is it the people? The camaraderie? Is it the sense of normalcy? Is it routine? What is it that we cannot grasp while stuck inside our homes? Well folks – it’s the city! Nightlife! People watching! Decadent, in-person retail! Drinking! Leisure! Sure, you can go out and pick up groceries or essential items, but the whole time it feels like there’s a poison meter floating over your head, slowly filling up until it starts flashing red: “virus imminent!” That’s no way to be living. And sure, a lot of us think that this time is nothing but leisure, surrounded by hobbies, comforts and distractions at all times. But a chosen time of leisure is different than a mandated one. That’s what the city is for. You need to be able to soak in the city, breathe its fumes, bask in its lights. Remove yourself from the personality you inhabit while in the office or at home and embrace one totally outside your own body in the twinkling streetlights and streetside chatter of the city.
I personally don’t party and go wild every night so this pandemic hasn’t interrupted any bad habits of mine, but I do have to say one of my greatest pleasures is taking time and just wandering around the streets of New York City with no real agenda in place. Perhaps popping into a convenience store or bakery and picking up a snack, maybe stopping by a record store, maybe sitting on a park bench; it all depends. What is for certain, is the people watching and the rush of being swallowed by crowds. I love that.
It’s hard for me to choose a favorite off the new TOPS LP, but third track “Pirouette” has been stuck in my head for the whole week, so I thought I’d share it here. If you’re unfamiliar, TOPS have been one of my favorite bands since their sophomore record Picture You Staring back in 2014. That album soundtracked countless nights in with my friends and the band will always remind me of the good times I had in the past. I even got to book them for a show at my college + hung out and drank comically oversized pitcher drinks with them at a bar afterwards.
Aside from the nostalgia factor, this band is just so fun and makes some top notch pop music. They have approximately ZERO bad albums. It’s currently sitting at my #2 album of the year so far, we’ll see how it progresses through the year. They just keep getting better and I keep returning to this record over and over, so it’ll likely keep growing in favor in my mind. Also for those keeping count – my two favorite records this year are from Canadians. Shout out to Canada!
Check out TOPS new album I Feel Alive out now via their own label + buy some merch.
Pure X are BACK! Their 2014 album Angel was thiiiiiiis close from making my Best 200 Albums of the 2010s list, and their two previous albums Pleasure and Crawling Up The Stairs have been in my regular rotation have also been in my constant rotation since their respective release dates in 2011 and 2013.
After a six year absence, the boys are BACK with a new, self-titled album coming May 1st via Fire Talk Records. This new song is more “rock-y” than a lot of their previous material, but still contains their essential ways of capturing the humid weight of malaise within their instrumentals and vocal delivery. “Middle America” is joined by another new song “Fantasy”, which you can listen to below. And while you’re at it, listen to Pure X’s discography again if you haven’t in a while! I’m sure you’ll find that it’s way better than you remembered.
If you’re a stranger to the blog, you should know that I was head over heels in love with Norwegian duo Konradsen’s debut album from last year, a blessed collection of comforting dream pop with warm, echoing piano and inspired group vocals. The duo has a new EP coming in May via Cascine and it may be the perfect time for it. While we’re all stuffed in our homes and overwhelmed with anxiety, the region of “hygge” is coming in with more cozy tunes. The first single “The Year Is Over” is a continuation of the sound and vibe from Saints And Sebastian Stories, with the fuzzy piano and delicate electronics gurgling in the background. Their sound is really just like laying back on a comfortable pillow in a room filled with your friends, lit and soundtracked by a crackling fireplace. Heartwarming and simple to say the least.
A stream of consciousness music blog, active since 2010. Established in Ann Arbor, MI, currently in NYC.
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