Where the food sounds good, and the music is pretty tasty too.
Japanese Breakfast has an endearing way of making quirky lo-fi dream pop that is often raucous, but at times soft and tender. Case in point the latter, the track In Heaven is soft around the edges like Robert Smith at his melancholy best. Continue reading “japanese breakfast | in heaven”
Aidan Knight is a modern day bard in the best and most sincere sense of the descriptor. His music is, among other things, robust, genteel and insanely beautiful. The featured track The Arp opens up like a benignly blazing sunrise cresting the far horizon. Song as a scrapbook, the warm sustenance of a hot cup of tea, a meditative playlist and a pocketful of sweetened Gary Snyder poems. Aidan’s latest album Each Other is collectively more profound, for there exists songs here which will become decorous rings around your bleeding heart. Each Other, What Light (Never Goes Dim), You Are Not Here and Black Dream are also notable standouts. Aidan Knight’s album Each Other is out now courtesy of the Outside Music label. Also, take a peek at the Ft. Langley directed video for All Clear video after the jump. Peace. Continue reading “aidan knight | the arp”
Lisbon, Portugal-based Gala Drop exudes the psychedelic essence of Peter Murphy meets galactic groits. The video for the You And I offering matches visually what the music pantomimes with every beat of it’s hippyish acid tripping heart. Continue reading “gala drop | you and i”
Winter is drawing to a close, and in my mind the sky is melting sunshine and dripping star-glow aplenty. Now, the time has come for renewal and re-generation and the track “Dionysian,” is the perfect aural representation of all things newborn and reborn. Chicago-based producer/artist Mister Lies (aka Nick Zanca) forges music which taps into something primal within all of us, and if you can’t get with it then perhaps you need some chill-time therapy. Peace. Continue reading “mister lies // dionysian”
2012 has been pretty good year for mount eerie and the microphones’ phil elverum. in case you need proof get your mitts on the albums clear moon and ocean roar – two highly notable releases, which delve into a creative process final product that is both highly imaginative and worthy of your time and dime. after the jump check out, “ocean roar” and “i walked home beholding,” both songs exude an intimacy and beautiful darkness which is a recognizable aspects of mr. elverum’s music. peace. Continue reading “mount eerie // ocean roar & i walk home beholding”
When watching or listening to the audio/visual projects of iamamiwhoami right away you know you’ve stumbled off the beaten path, and so far it’s a good thing. Here, in the artsy landscape of iamamiwhoami you’re constantly discovering something, if not special, then at a bare minimum interesting. Swedish singer/songwriter, and dare I say performance artist, Jonna Lee appears to have tapped into a fantastical world where reality is highly stylized and emotionally revelatory. It isn’t a hard guess to determine that many how the works are concerned about facing one’s fears and being vulnerable. And in this latest round of songs/videos we are treated to a barely clad (vulnerable) JL and she’s bringing an entire arsenal of emotion to bare. Immediately you get a sense of barely restrained trepidation, and that better days are long past and longed for. Then there is the matter of the hairy beast man thingy and it’s right out of a Jeff Soto painting. What does its presence represent? Fear? Undefined desires? Indecisiveness? I suppose the proper artsy response would be to interpret, or intuit it in whatever way you want to. And so we’ll leave it right there. Enjoy this duo of videos, and come back and visit again for the next installment of corresponding acts, the songs/videos “good worker” and “play” will be out soon. And, you we can anticipate the album Kin, which is scheduled for a June 11th release. Peace. Continue reading “iamamiwhoami // sever // drops // Video”
Bergen, Norway is generally known as “the Gateway to the Fjords of Norway.” But, no one told me I’d find the white-water thrashing guitar of super psychedelica band Megaphonic Thrift. I think I need to get out of the country, and particularly, I need to hop a flight to take in the burgeoning Norwegian music scene. And if you don’t understand my enthusiasm for the land of the midnight sun then listen to the songs “Raising Flags” and “Tune Your Mind.” And on that musical note, I rest my case. The MT‘s latest release drops on February 7th and I am most definitely copping this STAT! Peace. Continue reading “Megaphonic Thrift // Raising Flags”
Who says loud agitated music isn’t beautiful or thought provoking? Not I. Although the lyrics of La Dispute aren’t always incendiary political affairs, they feel like it. What’s also readily apparent, is these guys don’t lack, well, rage or talent . However, the good thing about this band is that they channel all the bitterness and beauty of living into deeply emotional fare. Their new album Wildlife (out now via No Sleep Records) is filled with tales of trail and error, longing, love lost, and lots of boiling over angst aplenty. And through it all this five-piece tour de force from Grand Rapids, MI sound like a veritable punk-rock orchestra of sound. Each song is refined chaos, more than anything else, hitting you square in your chest. Leaving your pulse racing, your brow sweaty and your fist clenched. But what do you do after this just under an hour album cranks you up to 11? You thank your lucky stars for every little ounce of joy you can eke out of life. Peace. Continue reading “la dispute // wildlife”