Playlist – 【☆sweet dream☆】(●ＵωU).zZZ : A Quiet Friend

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Very Warm

In my final semester of college, I had a free form radio show where I would focus on a specific theme every week, usually depending on my mood. Usually it was mostly a blend of indie rock, but occasionally I would go heavy on one particular theme. One week I did a full metal show (which inspired my last playlist, My Black T-Shirt) and one that was more calming, in an effort to ease listeners on campus with midterms and other worldly troubles.

This was in 2015 – a much simpler time. I thought now that everyone in the world that’s struggling would like to have a quiet friend to accompany them as they drifted off to sleep, one to walk with in an overstocked supermarket, one to have fill the room during a rainy day, and one to bring you back into existence after feeling like a bit of a smear on a lens.

I’d like to think that the songs I included here aren’t just completely brainless background tracks that anyone could find on a recommended “PEACEFUL SLEEP AMBIENT CHILL” playlist, but more things to put on that occasionally grab you with a sour note, an interesting refrain, or a blessed harmony. The playlist should flow in the order I’ve listed, so if possible, please refrain from putting this on shuffle. I playtested all of these friends myself, not an algorithm. I hope that makes a difference.

Are there any tracks that you think would fit swimmingly with this polite group of friends? Let me know! I’m always looking for new, welcoming bodies in my life. Hope you enjoy.

【☆sweet dream☆】(●ＵωU).zZZ – THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

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Recommended Albums: July 2018

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Very Warm

A bit late, but for a decent reason: nothing in July besides a handful of albums really grabbed me, shook me, piledrived me into the ground, turned me into soup, shot me into orbit, summoned me in a seance, or forged me into a sword this month. The seven I’ve listed here are by and far the best things that came out of this month, especially the Daniel Bachman album. It seems like this has been one of the rainier summers I’ve experienced in recent memory, and The Morning Star is just perfect to sit around in the humidity and watch a huge rainstorm come in. I know, I’ve done it a few times already this year!

On the flipside of that, Channel Tres is prime cool material for walking around on a pleasant summer evening. SALES is pretty flexible and Denzel Curry is for those times you need an amp up that’ll get stuck in your head. We’ve got a nice handful here, which feels perfect considering the gargantuan wave of albums coming this fall.

Channel Tres – Channel Tres [Godmode]
Driving to the club, down a palm-lined street at night in a very expensive car, but continuing to avoid reaching the club because the playlist you made is too good and you don’t want it to end so soon.

Daniel Bachman – The Morning Star [Three Lobed Recordings]
Sitting on an old, creaky porch during a sweltering, humid afternoon that’s still but not silent, you watch a massive storm roll in from the west, with thunder rumbling towards you in low, ominous vibrations.

Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love [Anti-]
A humanoid demon sent to Earth struggles at first to assimilate into daily Earthling life and find love, but eventually accepts their differences and forges on with scorched earth and numerous malevolent curses on unwitting souls left in their wake.

Denzel Curry – TA13OO [Loma Vista]
A tale in three parts of an accomplished warrior returning to the battlefield to once again eliminate his competition via body, mind and soul.

Ovlov – TRU [Exploding In Sound]
At the local punk house, the porch ashtray is overflowing and the backyard is a swamp.

Rosali – Trouble Anyway [Scissor Tail Records / Spinster Sounds]
Finding a long, glossy black feather amongst a grove of wildflowers.

SALES – Forever & Ever [Self-Released]
Walking aimlessly in the rain and making songs out of raindrops hitting your umbrella.

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Domenique Dumont – Miniatures De Auto Rhythm (Album Teaser)

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Very Warm

One of my favorite EPs from the last few years, Domenique Dumont’s Comme Ça, is finally getting a proper follow-up in September, via Antinote. I’m normally not one to share an “album teaser”, but this is some really encouraging stuff. The bright, breezy carefree blend of balearic pop is perfect for feeling fresh in a hellish summer. I recommend you check out Comme Ça immediately and get hyped up for Miniatures De Auto Rhythm.

You can also check out my playlist BEACH BALL HELL, which features Domenique Dumont’s “L’espirit de l’escalier” along with a bunch of other chillwave, beachy fun tracks to accompany you in the fiery vacation hell.

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Rosalía – “Pienso En Tu Mirá (Cap.3: Celos)” [2018]

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Very Warm

I’ve been listening to + watching the marvelous music video for this new track from Barcelona’s Rosalía nonstop for a little over a week now – thought it was high time to finally post it over here.

I came across it thanks to one of my musicians from the last few years, El Guincho, who had a hand in co-producing this song + the first single that was released “Malamente (Cap.1: Augurio)”, both coming off her upcoming album El mal querer. I also saw a few other ~trusted sources~ like Tri Angle Records and Nite Jewel tweeting their praises for the track, so I had to dig in. Thankfully I was immediately hooked – catch me on the bandwagon, y’all!

Refreshing to hear flamenco and Western pop merge in such a way, with handclaps and hardened, staccato beats to emphasize the fiery nature of the music and dance behind it. The melodies are infectious and I’ve had the chorus stuck in my head for days. Rosalía recently guested on the new album from reggaeton titan J Balvin, so the world of hype for that is overflowing into this to make a whole new whirlwind of exciting, world-spanning pop music. Can’t wait for this album!

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Playlist – My Black T-Shirt: A Descent Into Metal

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Very Warm

Metal is a sector of rock music that many find repulsive, and for good reason. Most of it is purposefully made to keep wishy-washy, half-dedicated folks away, either by speeding up music to breakneck paces, or slowing it down to a syrupy crawl. Or perhaps by adding elaborate, shrieking vocals with unintelligible lyrics. Or maybe having the vocals so low and growling, reciting subject matter regarding aliens, vikings, Lovecraftian beings, diseases, zombies, skeletons, death, space, deities, hell, and various forms of nature; that the average listener would get bored of the subject matter that doesn’t directly apply to them. I’m going on a limb here and reducing a whole swath of music with a myriad of individual incarnations into basic assumptions with all of these examples, but I’m calling it how the public sees it.

Over the years, I’ve found a few metal bands that I like a lot. I wouldn’t say that I could commit to the style as a whole, letting it define a large chunk of my musical DNA, but I can definitely appreciate it; doom metal and some forms of black metal especially. I had a thought that I since don’t normally feature metal bands that I enjoy on the blog or in playlists enough, I should put them all here in a style-spanning playlist for people to digest. In my opinion this collection is also a great starter-kit for potential metal fans. Lots of super basic + classic additions here.

This is an ordered playlist that takes the listener through, usually focusing on one style or sound per group of songs. It starts off more on the hard rock / lite doom side of things with Baroness, Pallbearer and Electric Wizard. It quickly dips into some shades of black metal, but then gets right into the thick, sludgy goodness of doom classics like Black Sabbath and YOB. Then it heads into some more progressive territory with Swans and Neurosis, then touching on a bit of lite thrash & death metal, finally settling on a rather consistent set of black metal. In full honesty I can tell purists to F off and that music is fun no matter what. If someone wants to rail me on not including enough classic CVLT-ASS-DUDES, you can go to another playlist.

Hope you enjoy + find something you like that you’ve never heard before.

MY BLACK T-SHIRT – THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

  • Baroness – “O’er Hell and Hide”
  • Kylesa – “Distance Closing In”
  • Pallbearer – “Watcher In The Dark”
  • King Woman – “King Of Swords”
  • Green Druid – “Pale Blood Sky”
  • Electric Wizard – “Funeralopolis”
  • Boris – “Blackout”
  • Melvins – “If I Had An Exorcism”
  • Wayfarer – “Animal Crown”
  • Agalloch – “I Am The Wooden Doors”
  • Panopticon – “Into The North Woods”
  • Myrkur – “Ulvinde”
  • MØL – “Penumbra”
  • Sannhet – “Atrium”
  • YOB – “Nothing To Win”
  • Black Sabbath – “Lord Of This World”
  • Sleep – “Holy Mountain”
  • Torche – “Reverse Inverted”
  • Harvey Milk – “Barnburner”
  • Swans – “Half Life”
  • Neurosis – “Eye”
  • White Suns – “Priest In The Laboratory”
  • Altar Of Plagues – “A Body Shrouded”
  • Wreck and Reference – “Corpse Museum”
  • Godflesh – “Pulp”
  • ISIS – “False Light”
  • Kvelertak – “Offernatt”
  • Death Evocation – “Relentless”
  • Iron Maiden – “Invaders”
  • Mastodon – “Crystal Skull”
  • High On Fire – “Fire Flood & Plague”
  • KEN Mode – “No; I’m In Control”
  • Converge – “Aimless Arrow”
  • Loma Prieta – “Worn Path”
  • Krallice – “Inhume”
  • Vektor – “Destroying The Cosmos”
  • Liturgy – “Glory Bronze”
  • Yellow Eyes – “Shrillness In The Heated Grass”
  • Blut Aus Nord – “Epitome II”
  • Deafheaven – “Dream House”
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Recommended Albums: June 2018

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Very Warm

Right before embarking into the second half of 2018, June thought it’d be cheeky and lay down some of the best music the year has seen so far. Not only were there plenty of albums that I loved personally, there was just an outpouring of star power this month. With G.O.O.D. Music doing its thing, Jay & Bey doing theirs, FJM’s eternal press cycle somehow going another mile, Drake sneaking in an absurdly long double LP at the last second, Gorillaz & Death Grips disappointing the hell out of me, and a bunch of great new artists coming into the fold. Very happy with how 2018 is turning out, as you can see on my 2018 So Far posts. Hope you enjoy!

Dusk – Dusk [Don Giovanni]
Seeing some of the same old, charming items (fridge magnets, plastic cups, fake plants, plastic tablecloth) from your grandparents’ house in a thrift store, miles & miles away.

Flasher – Constant Image [Domino]
A sporadic mental condition that makes the person in question think each of life’s problems must be physically solved like a Rubik’s cube.

Gang Gang Dance – Kazuashita [4AD]
Like laying in the tall grass and letting the Earth slowly consume you, allowing electricity-like travel throughout the ecosystem.

Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen [Fat Possum]
Merging heirlooms and jewelry into a painter’s canvas to make elaborate, gold-encrusted portraits of fictional characters from your family tree.

Kamasi Washington – Heaven And Earth [Young Turks]
The life’s story of the team of space-fascinated friends that together built a rocket, launched into space, and discovered new galaxies.

Kate NV – для FOR [RVNG Intl.]
A TV show profiling the tiny home decor inside hermit crab shells, overturned pails, thickets of reeds, bottom of wells, knots in trees and mountainside nooks.

LUMP – LUMP [Dead Oceans]
Deep within the branches of a great willow, a murky, bioluminescent fantasy realm awaits.

Natalie Prass – The Future And The Past [ATO]
The fastest way to get home is to cut through a bunch of empty film sets, where our main character usually stops alone and re-enacts scenes from their favorite movies.

serpentwithfeet – soil [Dead Oceans]
A pyromancer delivers a harrowing sermon of love and loss through curling, vibrant, mourning flames.

SOPHIE – Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides [Future Classic]
Getting trapped in a bright, LCD-covered room and being forced to find the key to exit by popping hundreds of balloons filled with sticky, pink goo.

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2018 So Far :: Overlooked

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Very Warm

Every year there’s a good amount of records that I come across that are really deserving more attention than they’re currently getting. I like collect and display them all here at the half-year mark and get people in the know before something bigger and better comes out, stealing their attention away from this musical equivalent of day-old bread. Day old bread is just as good, y’all. In fact, this might be more like aged cheese, but I’m getting off topic.

The question is: how do I really get people interested in listening to a record that is no longer brand-spanking new? Is it telling them what it sounds like? Is it comparing it to other things that sound similar? Is it letting them listen to a sample of the music straight away? Or is it describing a bundle of sensations that come along with listening to said record? I feel like I’ve done all four methods separately in the past, so I thought why not just combine them all into one master post.

Below you’ll see the name of the record, what it sounds like, what certain smells come to mind while listening to the record, similar artists, and a track sample, usually from a Bandcamp link so you can stream more or purchase the album. Not all of these objects listed under “smell” are distinct smells per se, but that’s what I was going for. If you read this blog at all, you know you gotta use your imagination a bit. What’s the fun in not using your imagination sometimes? I hope this system answers any questions you may have had about any one of these albums listed here.

[Disclaimer – records with a * indicate that I am promoting that album to college radio at my real life job]
  1. AIR WAVES – WARRIOR [Western Vinyl]
    Sound: Simple, easy-to-love indie rock with fantastic songwriting.
    Smell: A library built in the 50s with marble floors and wooden bannisters.
    RIYL: Cat Power, Hand Habits, Chris Cohen
  2. ANENON – TONGUE [Friends Of Friends]
    Sound: Instrumental focus on piano/sax, but probably not in the way you’re thinking.
    Smell: Natural human oils combined with well-worked steel.
    RIYL: Mouse On Mars, Colin Stetson, Ryuichi Sakamoto
  3. BERNICE – PUFF LP: IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE [Arts & Crafts]*
    Sound: Formless, subtle pop with plenty of jazz, R&B & electronic shades.
    Smell: Strolling through a garden of fresh basil and mint at night.
    RIYL: Ava Luna, Mr Twin Sister, Julia Holter
  4. CAROLINE SAYS – NO FOOL LIKE AN OLD FOOL [Western Vinyl]
    Sound: Slow-moving, delicate songs that are so weightless they feel like a dream.
    Smell: Tea, wool, rubber sandals, homemade fruit popsicles, dust.
    RIYL: Bedouine, Eleanor Friedberger, Haley Heynderickx
  5. COOL MARITIME – SHARING WAVES [Leaving Records]
    Sound: New age-y synth explorations. Carbonating your ears.
    Smell: A cave with a waterfall in it, wet mossy rock, overturned pillow.
    RIYL: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt
  6. DEEPER – DEEPER [Fire Talk]
    Sound: Wound-up, wiry post punk.
    Smell: Old middle school, glue, lake rocks, car seat.
    RIYL: Omni, Women, Ought
  7. DUSK – DUSK [Don Giovanni]
    Sound: Unflappable country rock with endless irony-free charm.
    Smell: A bar that used to allow smoking but hasn’t replaced the wallpaper or carpet.
    RIYL: Milk Music, Alex G, The Replacements
  8. ELYSIA CRAMPTON – ELYSIA CRAMPTON [Break World]
    Sound: Experimental electronic with wild percussion and emphatic beats.
    Smell: Wild grass, paprika, cumin, coal, exhaust, sweat-soaked shirt.
    RIYL: Arca, Amnesia Scanner, Rabit
  9. E RUSCHA V – WHO ARE YOU [Beats In Space]
    Sound: Luxurious, balearic synth explorations heavy on mood and feeling.
    Smell: Lavender, palo santo, palm oil, tennis ball, sun screen, linen.
    RIYL: DJ Koze, Todd Terje, Yasuaki Shimizu
  10. HILARY WOODS – COLT [Sacred Bones]
    Sound: Gothic folk with drum machine, piano & porcelain vocals.
    Smell: Campfire, empty apartment, down comforter, gauze, wooded path.
    RIYL: Marissa Nadler, Chelsea Wolfe, Jenny Hval
  11. KAREEM LOTFY – QTT10 [Quiet Time]
    Sound: Experimental electronic, beatless, ambient.
    Smell: Heat from a server room, rubbing alcohol, rope, petri dish, sea foam.
    RIYL: Mono No Aware, Alex Zhang Hungtai, Skee Mask
  12. LITHICS – MATING SURFACES [Kill Rock Stars]
    Sound: Rigid, bristling post punk, closer to no wave.
    Smell: Burning rubber, heavy breath, oil, new shoes, magic marker, ball bearings.
    RIYL: Shopping, The Fall, Sonic Youth
  13. LUCRECIA DALT – ANTICLINES [RVNG Intl.]
    Sound: Unsettling experimental electronic music with sinister vocals.
    Smell: A warm hospital gown, ammonia, freezer burn, stainless steel.
    RIYL: Laurel Halo, Eartheater, Yves Tumor
  14. MØL – JORD [Holy Roar Records]
    Sound: Blackgaze, AKA BIG BEAUTIFUL GUITARS WITH SCREAMING.
    Smell: Sulfur, myrrh, feathers, ash, wood.
    RIYL: Deafheaven, Between The Buried And Me, Converge
  15. OCEAN HOPE – ROLLING DAYS [Hush Hush Records]*
    Sound: Blissed out, ultra-wavy synth pop that flirts with chillwave.
    Smell: Summer air blowing past a car’s open backseat window (again, at night).
    RIYL: Cocteau Twins, John Maus, MGMT
  16. PINKSHINYULTRABLAST – MISERABLE MIRACLES [Club AC30]
    Sound: Incredibly bright noise pop with chiming synths and waves of guitar.
    Smell: Bubblegum and candy on the beach.
    RIYL: School Of Seven Bells, Postiljonen, No Joy
  17. RENATA ZEIGUER – OLD GHOST [Northern Spy]
    Sound: Indie rock employing brain-busting melodies that keep you on your toes.
    Smell: A sun-warmed wildflower patch, snail slime, bee pollen.
    RIYL: Anna Burch, Mitski, Alvvays
  18. SAY SUE ME – WHERE WE WERE TOGETHER [Damnably]
    Sound: The best Yo La Tengo record put out this year.
    Smell: A bright, cloudless winter day in a port town.
    RIYL: Yo La Tengo, Forth Wanderers, Fazerdaze
  19. SUN JUNE – YEARS [Keeled Scales]
    Sound: Quaint, homespun folk pop with a slick country edge.
    Smell: Apple slices, picnic blanket, red wine, fresh-picked peas, morning drool.
    RIYL: Joan Shelley, Bonny Doon, The Weather Station
  20. TESS ROBY – BEACON [Italians Do It Better]
    Sound: Synth pop with some very unique textures and songwriting quirks.
    Smell: Yerba mate, paint, clay, fresh-cut grass, perfumed silk scarf.
    RIYL: Half Waif, Blue Hawaii, Eskimeaux
  21. VIRGINIA WING – ECSTATIC ARROW [Fire Records]
    Sound: Puzzling synth pop with a lot of organic sounds and percussion.
    Smell: Rosewater, air-drying laundry, raspberry-lime seltzer, orchids, brass.
    RIYL: Chairlift, Stereolab, Blouse
  22. WAYFARER – WORLD’S BLOOD [Profound Lore]
    Sound: Black metal from the great plains and rocky mountains. A whole new lore.
    Smell: Pine smoke, blood, flint, fields of wheat, pre-thunderstorm air.
    RIYL: Panopticon, Krallice, Wolves In The Throne Room
  23. WISHED BONE – CELLAR BELLY [self-released]
    Sound: Warbly, woozy, minimal folk songs.
    Smell: Opening windows in an old attic, used notebook pages, dandelions.
    RIYL: Katie Dey, Lomelda, Coma Cinema
  24. YOUNG GALAXY – DOWN TIME [self-released]
    Sound: Futuristic synth pop with subtly developing electronics & great melodies.
    Smell: Perfume of a passerby, clean laundry, ocean air, latex.
    RIYL: Purity Ring, Braids, Austra
  25. 700 BLISS – SPA 700 [Don Giovanni]
    Sound: Moor Mother + DJ Haram = rap with club beats & Middle Eastern touches.
    Smell: Drinks spilled on linoleum floor, open-air markets, 3am club sweat.
    RIYL: Moor Mother, Chino Amobi, Elysia Crampton

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2018 So Far :: 50 Songs

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Very Warm

If you read my previous post about my favorite albums of 2018 so far, you’d know that I feel extremely positive on the state of music overall. Plenty of super solid albums that I’ve found myself listening to over and over. The same goes for 2018’s songs! The top ten tracks I’ve listed here have already racked up at least 20-30 plays each in my own personal library. They’re ranked, but don’t add too much weight. This is purely a snapshot of what’s happening in my brain now.

Don’t count out the other 40 I’ve listed here either – they’re all linked for your convenience! And don’t forget to listen to all of these songs and more on my Spotify playlist!

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2018 SO FAR::

  1. AMEN DUNES – “BELIEVE”
  2. BEACH HOUSE – “LEMON GLOW”
  3. NATALIE PRASS – “SHORT COURT STYLE”
  4. SMERZ – “HALF LIFE”
  5. IDLES – “COLOSSUS”
  6. SOPHIE – “IMMATERIAL”
  7. KACEY MUSGRAVES – “SPACE COWBOY”
  8. PEGGY GOU – “IT MAKES YOU FORGET (ITGEHANE)”
  9. HOP ALONG – “HOW SIMPLE”
  10. MGMT – “ME & MICHAEL”

40 MORE SONGS::

  1. A.A.L. (AGAINST ALL LOGIC) – “Some Kind Of Game”
  2. BARRIE – “Canyons”
  3. CARDI B – “I Do (feat. SZA)”
  4. CAROLINE ROSE – “Getting To Me”
  5. CAROLINE SAYS – “I Tried”
  6. CHARLI XCX – “5 In The Morning”
  7. CHROMATICS – “Black Walls”
  8. DJ KOZE – “Illumination (feat. Róisín Murphy)”
  9. DRAKE – “God’s Plan”
  10. DUSK – “Eyes In Dark Corners”
  11. FRIENDLY FIRES – “Love Like Waves”
  12. GANG GANG DANCE – “J-TREE”
  13. G FLIP – “About You”
  14. GROUPER – “Driving”
  15. HALEY HEYNDERICKX – “The Bug Collector”
  16. HALF WAIF – “Silt”
  17. HATCHIE – “Try”
  18. JANELLE MONAE – “Take A Byte”
  19. JENNY HVAL – “The Dreamer Is Everyone In Her Dream”
  20. KALI UCHIS – “Tyrant (feat. Jorja Smith)”
  21. KEVIN KRAUTER – “Keep Falling In Love”
  22. LAURA JEAN – “Girls On The TV”
  23. MELODY’S ECHO CHAMBER – “Quand Les Larmes D’un Ange Font Danser La Neige”
  24. MITSKI – “Nobody”
  25. MR TWIN SISTER – “Jaipur”
  26. MT. SI – “911”
  27. NEGATIVE GEMINI – “Infin Path”
  28. NO AGE – “Secret Swamp”
  29. PALM – “Dog Milk”
  30. PLAYBOI CARTI – “Lean 4 Real (feat. Skepta)”
  31. PLLUSH – “Big Train”
  32. SERPENTWITHFEET – “mourning song”
  33. SHAME – “One Rizla”
  34. SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO – “Caught In A Wave”
  35. SKEE MASK – “Rev8617”
  36. SUPERORGANISM – “Everybody Wants To Be Famous”
  37. TIRZAH – “Gladly”
  38. U.S. GIRLS – “Rosebud”
  39. UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays”
  40. YOUNG FATHERS – “In My View”

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

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2018 So Far :: 25 Albums + 5 EPs

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Very Warm

At the half, I can say with confidence that 2018 has been one of the strongest years in music I’ve experienced in a while, probably since 2015 or 2014. 2016 and 2017 were fine, but the amount of confidence I feel in my top 15 favorites on this list here is much deeper than those years. Lots of depth here, along with a lot of new names I haven’t seen on any other “toplists” of mine lately.

Of course Hop Along is holding the top spot right now, but don’t be surprised if U.S. Girls ends up taking it in the end. Also, 2018 is weird for being the year I have three major pop albums in my top 10, but no Beach House in my top 25. So it goes, I guess! Hope you enjoy + make sure to peep my top five favorite EPs of the year at the bottom of the post, too!

  1. HOP ALONG – BARK YOUR HEAD OFF, DOG [SADDLE CREEK]
    Getting so deeply invested in your family’s old, nostalgic stories that you begin to interact with corporeal visions of familial times long past.
    ~~~
    Unsure if there’s a band out there that has the power to contort my face along to the lyrics and contract my muscles to the instrumental cues like this band’s choruses do. Come for Frances Quinlan’s unreal voice, stay for the life-changing choruses.
  2. U.S. GIRLS – IN A POEM UNLIMITED [4AD]
    A world-class spy is a sucker for karaoke.
    ~~~
    The hardest-working band in 2018. Meg Remy is a songwriting genius. Layers upon layers of furious, unreal musicianship that reveal themselves more and more after each listen. They tap into a variety of retro sounds and inspirations, but this is potentially the most “2018-sounding” record out there. Like I said though, absolutely furious.
  3. SOPHIE – OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES [FUTURE CLASSIC]
    Getting trapped in a bright, LCD-covered room and being forced to find the key to exit by popping hundreds of balloons filled with sticky, pink goo.
    ~~~
    SOPHIE pushes the envelope even further than I thought it could go with her signature latex-pop, making slow, balladic songs fit into her perfumed, ROM-hacked landscape and elevating the acceptable threshold of “pop banger” to new, unattainable heights.
  4. CAROLINE ROSE – LONER [NEW WEST]
    A series of commercials where everyone is crying while advertising their products.
    ~~~
    A near-perfect collection of fun indie pop songs. Each track is simple in its execution but do enough interesting things on their own to stand out from one another. Also catchy as all hell and like I said, just plain fun and satisfying to listen to. See them live!
  5. JANELLE MONAE – DIRTY COMPUTER [BAD BOY]
    A deliciously funky sexual revolution for AI.
    ~~~
    The stretch of “Crazy, Classic, Life” to “I Like That” is possibly the strongest series of songs on any record from this year. Important, relevant, but incredibly fun.
  6. KACEY MUSGRAVES – GOLDEN HOUR [MERCURY]
    Plush sun & silky breezes caress your entire body, making you feel weightless.
    ~~~
    Purely sublime country pop music. Incredibly charming and super easy to listen to. Another incredible stretch of songs “Love Is A Wild Thing” to “High Horse” – primo.
  7. SKEE MASK – COMPRO [ILIAN TAPE]
    Like being strapped inside a metal box that has one small window to look out of and being pushed down a large, snowy mountain.
    ~~~
    The SOUNDS. The DRUMS. The TEXTURES. I wanna get lost in this album like a dense forest. Expertly crafted and every time I think I have the whole thing figured out, I notice a little knot here or there that makes me reconsider everything I thought I had known about the record. Aphex Twin comparisons aren’t totally off-base here.
  8. KALI UCHIS – ISOLATION [REPRISE]
    Sitting by a pool in a plush robe while the neighborhood burns behind you.
    ~~~
    At first glance it sounds like it could be any other pop album out there, but it’s so much more than that. A range of brilliant production and stylistic choices. Just effortlessly cool and perfect to listen to in the summer. Gotta love music that makes you feel cool.
  9. DJ KOZE – KNOCK KNOCK [PAMPA]
    Laying in the bed of a pickup truck, you watch the skies change hue, listen to different sounds coming out of passing cars, and feel the terrain changing around you as you make your way across the country to visit an old friend.
    ~~~
    Instantly transports you to some sort of vacation dimension, one similar to The Avalanches’ Wildflower. Following the theme of many of my other top favorites – it’s just plain fun. Each song has something different and off the wall to comfort you with.
  10. SERPENTWITHFEET – SOIL [DEAD OCEANS]
    A pyromancer delivers a harrowing sermon of love and loss through curling, vibrant, mourning flames.
    ~~~
    Nothing like this is being made anywhere else. A totally singular talent that curates his production with expert taste. Lavish, gothic, brilliant, devotional, fiery, passionate. 
  11. RENATA ZEIGUER – OLD GHOST [NORTHERN SPY]
    A bed by the seaside held by an ornate brass frame is covered in a mixture of corn meal, sand, shell shards and sawdust.
  12. GROUPER – GRID OF POINTS [KRANKY]
    After a hard, summer rain, steam rises from a clearing that’s been ravaged by wildfires.
  13. PALM – ROCK ISLAND [CARPARK]
    A local community center where gamelan and steel drum ensembles practice is faxed a corrupted picture of the Beach Boys with the faces of Animal Collective photoshopped on by an unknown party.
  14. A.A.L. (AGAINST ALL LOGIC) – 2012 – 2017 [OTHER PEOPLE]
    A house is constantly tearing down and rebuilding its own walls with materials that vary in historical significance.
  15. NATALIE PRASS – THE FUTURE AND THE PAST [ATO]
    The fastest way to get home is to cut through a bunch of empty film sets, where our main character usually stops alone and re-enacts scenes from their favorite movies.
  16. HALEY HEYNDERICKX – I NEED TO START A GARDEN [MAMA BIRD]
    Laying in bed at twilight and being cordially greeted by passerby bugs, birds and balloons from a big bay window.
  17. KADHJA BONET – CHILDQUEEN [FAT POSSUM]
    Merging heirlooms into a painter’s canvas to make portraits of fictional characters from your family tree.
  18. JPEGMAFIA – VETERAN [DEATHBOMB ARC]
    You said something stupid in an internet forum and now there’s someone at your door trying to kill you, or at least torment you until you tone it down online a bit, dude.
  19. BERNICE – PUFF LP: IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE [ARTS & CRAFTS]
    A conductor stands atop a tall hill and directs the graceful movement of passing clouds.
  20. DUSK – DUSK [DON GIOVANNI]
    Seeing some of the same old, charming items (fridge magnets, plastic cups, fake plants, plastic tablecloth) from your grandparents’ house in a thrift store, miles & miles away.
  21. CAROLINE SAYS – NO FOOL LIKE AN OLD FOOL [WESTERN VINYL]
    A child wandering through the forest hears a calming voice coming from underneath a mossy rock and finds the source to be a gentle jet of steam.
  22. MØL – JORD [HOLY ROAR RECORDS]
    Playfully shooting at a star in the sky causes it to actually start falling to Earth, pulling the planet into immediate crisis.
  23. ANENON – TONGUE [FRIENDS OF FRIENDS]
    Holed up in a small cave during a thunderstorm, a pair of hikers uncover a tiny, bioluminescent community of self-sufficient fungus people.
  24. MARY LATTIMORE – HUNDREDS OF DAYS [GHOSTLY]
    At a sacred spot deep in the forest, hundreds of little butterflies will peacefully roost upon your tired frame.
  25. GANG GANG DANCE – KAZUASHITA [4AD]
    Like laying in the tall grass and letting the Earth slowly consume you, allowing electricity-like travel throughout the ecosystem.

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Playlist – Essential Oil Dimension: An Olfactory Fantasy

Posted on June 17, 2018 by Very Warm

ESSENTIAL OIL DIMENSION: AN OLFACTORY FANTASY is a playlist based on a thought that came to me after seeing the band Destroyer. I couldn’t believe how tight the band was despite playing in these weird, spaced out grooves. The singer Dan Bejar exists in some sort of smoky soup: blindly, yet poetically navigating through this schmaltzy landscape of golden hour sun, neon lights, humid fog and drinks thrown in people’s faces. It inspired me to try and find music with similar qualities and expand from there, resulting in a project that’s taken me over four months to create. Other main artists that I tried to build upon were Mr Twin Sister and Mega Bog, two bands that at times channel the misty atmosphere of Destroyer. The finished product is a peculiar blend of smoky grooves, sophisti-pop, yacht rock, R&B, smarmy love songs, pseudo-jazz, folk, slow jams, ambient and more.

I also realized near the end that it might be kind of an “Los Angeles fantasy” playlist. I’ve never been to L.A., but I feel like golden hour in that city might sound a bit like this. Big ups to Joel Atkinson and Jesse Wiza for helping me build this playlist.

REMINDER – this is an ordered playlist, so please listen to it in the order listed in the playlist! I spent all that time organizing it for a reason. It’s close to four hours, but it’s worth just putting on and getting lost in. It SHOULD work well together, fitting together like a puzzle to make the scene. The full description is below.

Here’s my vision for the Essential Oil Dimension. Fragrances of jasmine, palo santo, sandalwood, lavender and more drift slowly through a flowery, muted landscape of glowing street corners and faraway purple foothills. The moon and the stars are starting to filter into a dark blue sky, but the sun hasn’t completely gone away yet. The sunset bleeds through the light-colored curtains and lay an intricate pattern of shadows and light upon the floral print wall you’re resting your body on as you watch the beginning of the night crowd flow into the streets. Ancient neon flickers alive, casting a hospitable warmth to drifting strangers. A man gets a drink thrown in his face outside of a bar and leaves without saying anything. There are a couple of people sitting and conversing quietly on a bench. As you leave your apartment, an unreturned letter burns a hole in your pocket. Sustained eye contact with someone from the alleyway across the street. The sounds and sights of clubs mix together from the street, but all that you can focus on are the flowers, which seem to pour out of every nook and cranny that cracks in the foundation will allow. Things seem to move in slow motion. Pulsating, nocturnal, unrelenting feeling, eternal romance. Heat without humidity. The sound of running water nearby. The smells of everything put you at ease. For some reason, a phone booth. You go inside.

ESSENTIAL OIL DIMENSION – THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

  • Mr Twin Sister – “Sensitive”
  • Destroyer – “Kaputt”
  • The Style Council – “My Ever Changing Moods”
  • Mega Bog – “T.V. M.A.C.”
  • Atlas Sound – “River Card”
  • Jaakko Eino Kalevi – “Double Talk”
  • Jerry Paper – “Stargazers”
  • Virginia Wing – “The Second Shift”
  • Drugdealer – “Suddenly (feat. Weyes Blood)”
  • Stereolab – “The Spiracles”
  • Joni Mitchell – “Blue Hotel Room”
  • Caroline Says – “I Tried”
  • Stan Getz & João Gilberto – “Para Machuchar Meu Coracao”
  • Julia Holter – “Hello Stranger”
  • Charlie Hilton – “The Young”
  • Panda Bear – “I’m Not”
  • Weyes Blood – “Generation Why”
  • Sean Nicholas Savage – “Inner Natural World”
  • Prefab Sprout – “When Love Breaks Down”
  • U.S. Girls – “Rosebud”
  • Solange – “Losing You”
  • Poolside – “Harvest Moon”
  • The Blue Nile – “Headlights On The Parade”
  • Sam Evian – “Dark Love”
  • Khruangbin – “Shades Of Man”
  • The Flamingos – “I Only Have Eyes For You”
  • Mount Kimbie – “Marilyn (feat. Micachu)
  • Bernice – “Glue”
  • Ava Luna – “Steve Polyester”
  • Les Halles – “First Mirage”
  • Nite Jewel – “Autograph”
  • Mr Twin Sister – “Rude Boy”
  • Carole King – “It’s Too Late”
  • Destroyer – “Sky’s Grey”
  • Al Stewart – “Year Of The Cat”
  • Amen Dunes – “Miki Dora”
  • TOPS – “Outside”
  • Cuushe – “Sort Of Light”
  • Everything But The Girl – “Before Today”
  • Kelela – “S.O.S.
  • Broadcast – “Echo’s Answer”
  • Ice Choir – “Everything Is Spoilt By Use”
  • Lewis Baloue – “Things Just Happen That Way”
  • Arthur Russell – “Love Comes Back”
  • Nicholas Krgovich – “City Of Night”
  • Roxy Music – “Avalon”
  • Faith Healer – “Sterling Silver”
  • Connan Mockasin – “I’m The Man, That Will Find You”
  • Vesuvio Solo – “Mirror Held To The Flower”
  • Donnie & Joe Emerson – “Baby”
  • Kamasi Washington – “Desire”
  • Destroyer – “European Oils”
  • Blood Orange – “On The Line”
  • Toro Y Moi – “Go With You”
  • Rudy Norman – “Back To The Streets”
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