RIP David Berman

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Very Warm

RIP David Berman: musician, poet, lyricist, writer, and the leader of bands Silver Jews and Purple Mountains. The amount of tributes and messages to the beyond I’ve seen over the last 24 hours have been both inspiring and heartbreaking. I’ve been seeing plenty of artists share their feelings online about the tragedy, but also a ton of friends whose lives were greatly affected by the man’s work. From anecdotes from these folks, it’s clear that Berman was truly a special individual, a songwriter and poet able to synthesize the ordinary into the extraordinary while still keeping things so nonchalant, self-deprecating and relatable.

Truthfully I’m not the most knowledgable of fans when it comes to his work, but I really did love his newest album as Purple Mountains, and have always respected Silver Jews as a benchmark of creativity and lyricism. The new album is so incredibly heartbreaking and was hard for me to get through before – I listened to it once through last night, but it was sobering to say the least. He was loved and respected by all and for good reason. No one else writes a line quite like him. I hope he found his peace, cause he sure as hell deserves it.

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Listen: Megan Thee Stallion – “Cash Shit (feat. DaBaby)” [2019]

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Very Warm

Over the past two weeks, all I’ve been able to listen to Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty and Joni Mitchell. Megan’s new project Fever opens the door to all of the praise in the world and Megan deserves it all. The beats are engaging, the flows are tight and Megan’s bars are HARD. I love how confident she is on every single song, it’s exciting to say the least. On this song in particular, DaBaby chimes in with a similarly horny verse, chiming in with a new voice in the hip hop sphere that I’ll be looking out for.

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Listen: Pascale Project – “Be Urself” [2019]

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Very Warm

Not the usual Orange Milk release, Pascale Project brings some vocal house HEAT to the label and ergo our summer dance playlists. I’m on my second full listen of her new EP Be Urself and I can see myself returning to it whenever I need a boost in my life. For the old and new heads!

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Listen: Rose Dorn – “Champ” [2019]

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Very Warm

L.A. trio Rose Dorn are freshly signed to Bar/None Records and have a new album coming August 23. They previously shared “Shaking”, a more jangly and upbeat cut that I can picture myself jamming to more in the fall. For now, get to know new single “Champ”, that perfectly channels the feelings of heat sloth – just laying on the floor and gazing out an open window, with the drapes slightly billowing in an afternoon breeze. Everything seems to be happening in slow motion, like the lazy, lovely days of summer. Not sure if that’s what the band was exactly going for, but they definitely nailed that in my book.

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Listen: Waxahatchee – “Swan Dive” [2013]

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Very Warm

I’m HOPEFULLY going to be posting a full recap from Merge 30 festival, which I can say now was glorious and a testament to how a label can also be a family, but I wanted to post the song that has been buzzing in my head since I saw it last night. “Swan Dive” was probably my favorite song from Waxahatchee’s 2013 record Cerulean Salt (admittedly released on Don Giovanni – sorry Merge!) and hearing it live with accompaniment from Mary Lattimore was just pure magic. I’ve heard that Waxa has new music in the works for next year, so keep your eyes open through the tears!

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Listen: Drab Majesty – “Ellipsis” [2019]

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Very Warm

Ooooo wee the new Drab Majesty album is a heater. With this and the Boy Harsher album, I’d say we’re set with darkwave/synthwave records for the year. Anything else and we’re just getting spoiled. I’m not against that happening, however. The song here, “Ellipsis” is a tune I’ve been spamming the repeat on all week – the chorus is just too good!

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Listen: KOKOKO! – “Buka Dansa” [2019]

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Very Warm

If you remember from my SXSW 2019 recap, DRC group KOKOKO! was by and far the best group I saw at the fest. So nice I saw ’em twice! They released their debut album Fongola at the start of the month and it is just as good as their live show suggests.

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Listen: Lingua Ignota – “DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR” [2019]

Posted on July 23, 2019 by Very Warm

Words cannot express the raw emotion in this track. You need to listen to it now. Lingua Ignota’s new album CALIGULA is essential listening.

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Listen: M. Geddes Gengras – “The Pump At The Way Station” [2019]

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Very Warm

Had the pleasure of seeing M. Geddes Gengras, among other great artists, on a VERY hot night this past Saturday, which reminded me I needed to highlight his great new record I Am The Last Of That Green and Warm-Hued World, out now on Hausu Mountain. This record explores the spectrum of emotions and feelings one can get from purely synthesized music, at times sounding serene and therapeutic while other times sounding foreboding and sinister. That’s pretty much the most general statement one could make about ambient, but Gengras nails the balance here, with long, arching compositions that submerge the listener in their alien worlds for a spell.

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Playlist: A Summer Can Last A Decade – An Enduring Paradise

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Very Warm

At long last, and just in time, I’ve completed something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time: a summer-themed post. Sitting in my drafts since 2016 has been a post entitled “The Enduring Paradise of a Great Summer Album”, with a few ideas getting things started, a few albums listed that I return to each year when the temperatures go up, but nothing concrete. I’ve written/posted about seasons before, so this should have been no problem. In 2012 I made a downloadable summer mixtape (downloads still work, btw!) and in 2015 I posted 15 Essential Autumn Albums which people seemed to like (don’t ask about 15 more essential autumn albums… it is definitely NOT collecting dust in my drafts section!). But the motivation for a summer albums post never came, so it was repeatedly tabled.

I was confused with what I wanted to do, and also a bit self-conscious, since summer music is something that inspires more gung-ho feelings in people compared to those conjured by fall music. Tingly autumn feelings are primarily reserved for bookworm type-B introverts and that is pretty easy to match up music-wise (or at least that’s the stereotype in my head, with albums from Mazzy Star, The Microphones and Yo La Tengo being featured on my 2015 autumn albums list).

Summer, on the other hand, is all over the place. It’s all about music that makes people feel good in the freedom of having less clothing on, (usually) less responsibilities to deal with and energetic distraction from the heat. Music for relaxation, music for exercise, music for rooftop parties, music for laid back kickbacks, music for driving with the windows down, music for the beach, music for hikes, the list goes on. The styles to cover – indie rock, hip hop, pop, electronic, garage, folk, country, R&B, funk, ambient… the list,  again, goes on. Everyone has their own summer jams. My sensitive resolve shied away from the thought of trying to conquer a summer playlist for others to enjoy… until now.

Read more to get the Spotify link and full track list –>

Continue reading →

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