S.C.U.M. – Whitechapel
Computer issues this evening mean this will be a short one. This is another good band with a rubbish name. I hope you can look past that and enjoy the track as I have been over the past few days. It is an urgent and energetic mid-week pick me up.
I can hear is a bit of Suede about them (A very good thing).
Neon Indian – Deadbeat summer
This is fun and irreverent Sunday night listening. It makes me want to dance around foolishly. There are worse qualities for music to have. Probably not great for everyone else though!
Portishead – Roads
This seems to match my mood this evening. It is mellow and sootheing. Sunday nights always seems a little downbeat as the sobering thought of work the next morning looms. I love how minimal it is, which highlights q fragility in Beth Gibbons vocals which makes them even more arresting.
Portishead, along with Tricky and Massive Attack made me view music in a different way, allowing me to realise I can like something dark and more brooding too.
The Avalanches – Since I left you
I remembered this recently and it has been a long while since I heard it. It is perfectly sunny and upbeat. It is a nice sentiment in the song. Meeting someone that stimulates the discovery of worlds so new.
Since I met you I’ve found a world so new…
/RjK
Vondelpark – TV
This is another sparse, washed out electronica track. I seem to have been listening to an endless stream of these recently. The murmerred, hypnotic lyrics add to the dream-like feel.
I think Vondelpark are from London and are named for a park in Amsterdam.
Youth Lagoon – Cannons
This is the newest addition to my MP3 player and has been receiving heavy play.
It is the latest in a series of songs of a similar ilk that have grabbed me (several of which I have posted, with probably some more to come). They all have a kind of washed out, dreamy sound, like The Beach Boys meets Fleet Foxes. Not sure if this is just the style of the moment or they just speak to my slightly jaded mental state.
Swiftumz – It’s Beautiful
This is short but kind of cool and hypnotic. It has a trippy, dreamlike charm that I have found irresistible for the past few days.
Mr Fingers – Can you feel it?
I listened to an interview with DJ Frankie Knuckles recently. He talked about the origins of House music in Chicago in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Apparently the genre was named for the Warehouse club that he was DJing in at the time. Quite a claim to fame!
This is one of the early house tunes that came out of Chicago during this period. I think it’s great. The sample, which appears to be some kind of corrupted version of Martin Luther King, gives the song an imploring urgency that I think is great. I can barely imagine the sheer volume of shapes that must have been thrown to this song over the years.
You may be black, you may be white, you may be Jew or Gentile. It don’t make a difference in OUR house…
Washed Out – Feel it all around
Was surfing around Youtube aimlessly and stumbled upon this a couple of days ago. It was the right song at the right time. It is breezy and hypnotic, a breath of fresh summer air. There is quite a fitting video here too.
Junior Boys – Parallel Lines
I found a note I had left myself about this track on my phone tonight. Unfortunately, I have no idea when or where I left the note. Normally, when I first hear a song is a very important factor in deciding my feelings towards it. I guess this proves it’s not a deal breaker if the song comes to me fully-formed so to speak.
Some research into Junior Boys tells me they are a Canadian synth-pop duo – but don’t hold that against them.
I like the measured, hushed tone of this song. It is very soothing and not a little hypnotic. An added bonus here is the eclectic video, which adds a lot.