It took me long enough, but I’m finally getting around to posting the new Aldous Harding song, “The Barrel”, complete with disconcerting video. Her new album Designer is out April 26 via 4AD.
Harding was the creator of my favorite album of 2017, Party, and tied for first in artists I saw live the most times that same year. To say I’m a fan would be a bit of an understatement. The adjective I used earlier, disconcerting, can be easily blanketed upon most of her creations, music and videos, but there’s obviously more to it than that. There is an underlying current of despair within the seemingly airy and tranquil folk melodies. So many things breaking her apart from other similar artists in the fold right now.
ODESZA is still riding the high from their 2017 sophomore record, having released a myriad of remix comps for nearly every song on the record throughout 2018, and now have plowed their first stake into 2019 with another collection. This release features newcomer Mild Minds, who totally ripped apart the rather vanilla track that “Just A Memory” previously was and turned it into a spine-tingling, satisfying, and haunting electronic jam.
The three winning factors here that make this track so addictive are as follows: the rumbling, sinister bass they throw on in the chorus; the ghostly, detached, vaguely human vocals they’ve pitched down; and the itchy, two-step-esque shuffle they deploy at times. It’s hard to decipher what the lyrics are in some points, further emphasizing the inhuman, “beyond-the-physical-realm” quality of the track. Dislodged yearning floating in the ether.
It’s an overwhelmingly satisfying song, one that surprised me upon my first listen. “Am I really going to LOVE an ODESZA song this much in 2019?” The answer is definitively yes. I’m not trying to say that the duo’s original music is bad. Not in the slightest, in fact. It’s just my taste has changed and I don’t find myself deriving as much pleasure as I once did with their chill brand of vibe-setting electronic on their debut record. This remix on the other hand, is extremely compelling and something I’ll be revisiting throughout the year.
I’ve been combing through some old radio playlists in hopes to eventually migrate them over to Spotify (where I listen at work / can easily share with others) and came across Yeasayer’s “Tightrope”, a personal highlight from the Dark Was The Night compilation from 2009. The album’s 10-year anniversary was last week, thus marking 10 or so years of me being a fan of “indie rock”. This is the album that was a big watershed moment for me, introducing artists like The Books, Beirut, Yo La Tengo, Sharon Jones, Gillian Welch, Cat Power, and more. I had already been a fan of Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire, but this was like a door had swung open. I’d imagine that was the case with many other people as well.
“Tightrope” is potentially a perfect song for a high school-aged teenager to get acquainted with this type of music. Ripples of dreamy guitar cascade over clacking percussion, avian audio samples and the infectious vocal melody from Chris Keating. They took some of the best qualities of an early Animal Collective song and made it totally accessible for a wider audience. From here, you can more easily dive into the neo-psychedelia that was happening at the time. Who knows where you could go from there? I’m going to try and revisit the whole Dark Was The Night record some time this week to see how I feel about it, along with the full Yeasayer discography. Needs another once-through, don’t you think?
Very late on this, but hey! Lots of things to get through already if you can believe it. Some big, established indie names on here (Sharon Van Etten, Deerhunter), but also some real cool weirdos like Original Past Life and Sarah Louise. The records from Kiran Leonard and Pablo’s Eye are technically reissues/comps, but if anything you should use this mention of them to listen to their previous material. Mad good! I’m knee deep in February music and it’s shaping up to be a doozy. Looking forward to sharing it all with you.
Angelo de Augustine – Tomb [Asthmatic Kitty]
A flower on your favorite pastoral hill dances gently in a light, summer breeze as you sigh in the big city.
DAWN – new breed [Local Action]
The flashiest and most fabulous bird of paradise mating dance known to the nature world.
Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? [4AD]
A wandering medieval minstrel gets lost in a dense forest, then put through various trials by a rogue devil set in the year 2019.
Kiran Leonard – Adolescence of Prog [self-released]
On a cloudy day, dry pine needles and compacted, dirty snow are collected in the corners of a garage door opening.
Original Past Life – Inference/Interference [Tone List]
A math rock band gets lost over a bridge cloaked in Silent Hill fog.
Pablo’s Eye – Dark Matter [STROOM]
A botanical garden full of flowers made of black lace and piano strings.
Sarah Louise – Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars [Thrill Jockey]
A video where it zooms out from atoms and bacteria to the outer reaches of the galaxy.
Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow [Jagjaguwar]
From the smoke and flames comes a smoldering, righteous hero.
Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between [Matador]
A cowboy emerges from the Earth at the crack of dawn to ramble about, then lays himself down in a patch of reeds and mud to bury himself again at sunset.
Two People – First Body [Liberation / Terrible]
The feeling of falling water naturally tracing the outline of your body.
*A Long Bow is a series where I focus on one artist, album or song and verbally prostrate myself in its honor, as I am not worthy of its presence in my life. Eternally grateful.*
Before you even hit play, make sure you’re in a comfy spot or ready to digest, at the very least, a 20+ minute track and a LONG essay on why it’s incredible. Rough Trade recently remastered Paddy McAloon’s (Prefab Sprout’s lead singer & songwriter) mostly forgotten 2003 solo album I Trawl the MEGAHERTZ this year, and according to McAloon’s desires, reclassified it as a proper Prefab Sprout record. The record is very different than their others, as it’s almost completely instrumental save for a few vocal samples, spoken word, and McAloon’s voice appearing on one song. However, it does not differ from the Prefab catalog in nearly every other department: it is masterfully arranged; perfectly orchestrated to pull at the heart strings with a three-pronged claw of melancholy, grace and humor.
I’ve posted about Prefab on the blog before, but if you’re new to them, here’s a quick rundown: Paddy McAloon is one of the world’s best songwriters of all time. Quite a way to start off a synopsis, eh? The band’s heyday in the mid/late 80s saw the band achieve multiple radio hits while still being an esoteric, totally nerdy pop band with humorous, romantic and self-deprecating lyrics, presented in the most slick ways possible. 1985’s Steve McQueen is my personal favorite and widely regarded as the band’s most complete work, but 1988’s From Langley Park to Memphis has the band’s mega-hits “The King of Rock N Roll” and “Cars & Girls” and is likely more well known across the board. Jordan: The Comeback [1990] is also highly regarded in its sprawling, infectious oddity. With the band known for its revelatory clever pop smashes, a fully instrumental record with a 20+ minute opening track caught fans, record label execs and the music press off guard. Megahertz was tremendously overlooked at the time, nearly 15 years after their height, almost certain to be lost to time.
I somehow missed this second single from Friendly Fires, one of my favorite UK dance bands, from late last year. I posted about the first, “Love Like Waves”, the band’s first single in nearly seven years. This new one follows the same sonic trajectory that “Waves” does, with a high bpm, bounding bass, glittering inclusion of horns and percussion, and the lovable, effervescent vocals of frontman Ed Macfarlane. “Waves” and “Heaven Let Me In” show that the band is far from done making seamlessly infectious burners that feel like they’d absolutely kill in a live setting. No word of an album just yet – let’s hope they have something up their sleeves coming soon.
My partner & I’s favorite voice & personality from Mountain Man, Molly Sarlé, released her debut single on Partisan Records recently and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it. The obvious comparisons tap into something like Angel Olsen or Weyes Blood or Hand Habits, but I feel like “Human” exists on its own special plane of being, one that is obviously present in the world of those artists, but honest and real enough that it sets itself apart. Does that make sense? Its songwriting is whimsical, cognizant and affirming. It sets itself apart from the pigeonholing that comes with associations with a humongous act like Sylvan Esso, as well as the comfy hyper-specific sound of Mountain Man. If “Human” hints at something on the horizon, like an album, then it’s very likely poised for greatness.
Toro Y Moi guy Chaz Bear continues to showcase his innate ability to contort his sound to tap into what “the kids” are into these days while still holding to a strong core voice that he’s carried throughout his career from his chillwave beginnings to now. In this case, it’s ultra slick electro-funk pop that seems a perfect soundtrack to a likely viral fan-made music video consisting of clips from 80s anime with its creator posting in the comments “can we get to 3mil views? edit: omg this is the best thing that’s happened to me. thank yoU!!”
Not saying any of these things are bad. On the contrary, Outer Peace is a record that undeniably feels like 2019. Touching textures of the past while massaging phrases of the future has been “in” for a while, maybe forever, but the specific recipe concocted on this track + album feels brand spankin’ new to me. Crafted for earworm Spotify placement, Urban Outfitters muzak, a vlogger’s music recommend section (“this is a little indie but so cool).
Not to completely cast a big shade on this track, but it really feels like the musical embodiment of roller blading down a palm-lined street without a care in the world. There’s Daft Punk, there’s soundcloud city pop-mining beatmakers, there’s the death of Tumblr memes and monolith of Twitter memes, there’s The Avalanches’ carefree summer mood from Wildflower. It’s for alt college kids with radio shows to get emotional at their house parties to. It’s for riding a bus late at night, vibing all the way to your sweetheart’s place. It’s all there. It makes ya feel good. What else do we need?
My queen of 2016, Weyes Blood, (honestly, one of my many queens of 2016, from Jenny Hval to Jessy Lanza) is BACK with a new album coming this Spring via her fancy new label, Sub Pop. While there’s no official date or album name yet, we do have something even better than words and numbers: actual music.
After an upsettingly quiet 2018, “Andromeda” is a beyond refreshing return, making for something that might be WB’s most “up” song since 2014’s The Innocents. It’s still the Weyes Blood that we all know and love, with instantly recognizable vocals and a sense of uncanny at every turn. Chalking her upcoming album as one of my most-anticipated for the year, no doubt.
If music continues to reach the bar that Sharon Van Etten’s “Seventeen” reaches, we’re in for a doozy of a year. This is an incredibly powerful song about talking to your former self about the good and the bad, and how everything is going to be okay. It rocks me to my core.
The music video makes me realize I love living in NYC! New York, baby!
Sharon Van Etten’s upcoming album, Remind Me Tomorrow, comes out 1/18/2019.
A stream of consciousness music blog, active since 2010. Established in Ann Arbor, MI, currently in NYC.
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A stream of consciousness music blog, active since 2010. Established in Ann Arbor, MI, currently in NYC.
Send me music: warmsubmissions @ gmail
I hope you enjoy your time here.
