As if I need another Swedish musician to follow, out pops Molly Nilsson. Her songs are equally simple and beautiful, creating some dreamy synth-pop tunes that are sure to put you into orbit. All of the tracks below are from her new LP, History, but you can check out some of her earlier stuff from her label Dark Skies Association (founded by Nilsson herself).
Apparently, there’s a ceo remix EP, appropriately entitled White Magic Epilogue, that has been teased on Sincerely Your’s website since November and is scheduled to drop any day now in the US (although I can’t find any info an a physical release anywhere; just digital it seems).
Second only to jj, ceo is one of my favorite Swedish neo-Balearic pop group (specific, I know) — in fact their debut charted on my Best Albums of 2010 list. Dan Lissvik, of Studio fame, takes one of the highlights of that album, the track Illuminata, and de-clutters it making a less frantic, more palatable version. Since I listened to the original about a billion times, I can’t help but feel that Lissvik’s version is bit neutered — slower tempo, no soaring strings, and an inexplicable throbbing bass line. I guess that’s tough criticism considering this is a remix (and I’ve undoubtedly praised similar reworkings in past posts), but when the original is as close to perfect as you can get, why mess with that? Check out both tracks below:
Been super pumped for a Coasting follow-up every since the Brooklyn duo of Fiona Campbell and Madison Farmer dropped one of my favorite 7”s of last year. When Fiona blazed through Salt Lake City earlier this year, playing drums for Vivian Girls, she seemed just as excited as me about talking about the new stuff — and, after listening to the garage rock tunes of their LP Never Going Back, I kind of get why she couldn’t wait for the album to drop. “Portland” was the first “single” released from the record and earlier this week it got the video treatment, which you can check out below. You can cop the vinyl from M’Ladys here and be prepared to see it on a certain someone’s year-end list…
One of the better remixes jj has put out in a while, this slow-motion take on Memphis rapper Don Trip’s “Cheers” highlights only the smokey vocal intro rather than any of the hot lyrics spit by Don himself. Needless to say, jj knows exactly what to do with stuff like this…
As priorly mentioned, I have a lot of random mp3s floating around my library. In an effort to highlight some of these often-forgotten, one-off tracks, I thought it would be best to put together an irregularly updated series entitled “Loose Tracks.”
The latest installment features the reworking of the stellar Smith Westerns song “End of the Night” by the Wisconsin (via San Fran) duo Peaking Lights. The remix centers around the periodic looping of the lyrics “everybody wants to be a star” with some guitar licks fading in-and-out of focus and percussive sounds bubbling up to the surface, creating a more droned-out version of the pop-rock original. I’ve only gotten a chance to listen to bits-and-peaces of Peaking Lights’ LP 936, but after re-discovering this remix, I’ll certainly be giving it more attention before composing my year-end lists. Check out the original and remix below.
By the way: Peaking Lights’ label Not Not Fun Records is doing a killer “Buy Three LPs get a Fourth Free” promo from now until the end of the year. Check out the details here.
Smith Westerns // End of the Night
Smith Westerns // End of the Night (Peaking Lights Remix)
I feel like I’ve been here before, getting excited about a Euro-centric, discotheque pop artist only to be sorely disappointed when a killer mp3 turns into a mediocre album (see: Cibelle). Hopefully UK’s Charli XCX can stem the stream of sore disappointment…
With a title like “Nuclear Seasons,” I guess it was a gimme that I would be interested in the track (see: current occupation). Opening with industrial clanks and drone-y synths — a more pop-y version of what the Cosmetics do — Charli XCX brings the underground into the foreground. By the time you hit the chorus, the pitch-shifted hook does exactly what it intends to do, making you belt out the “oohhh-ah-oh-oh-ah-oh” at the top of your voice. Euro-pop at it’s finest!
The second Charli XCX track I could dig up is from a couple of months back and entered the fray with not much fanfare. “Stay Away” certainly plays second fiddle in comparison to “Nuclear Seasons,” however, the rumbling bass line and slowed down vocals make this a perfect dance complement (you know, when you need to take a break from the dance floor to hit the bar for round two). Check out the original track as well as a blown-out remix by Salem below:
As those who live on the East Coast or the Rocky Mountains can attest to, winter is here (above was taken from my front door this past weekend in Salt Lake City). Since it’s been a while since I put together a mix, I thought what better way to celebrate these sub-freezing temps than a playlist that’s CD-R burn-ready (playtime = 1 hr 6 min). Check out the tracklist below:
Carnivores is a four-piece garage rock band from Atlanta. On first listen, the spidery guitar intro and the sparse, drum-heavy arrangement of “Prom Night” reminded me of the former glory of Portland’s Explode Into Colors — a comparison that, in itself, is enough to excite. However, the resemblance fades at the bridge where the song breaks completely open courtesy of singer/keyboardist Caitlin Lang’s sprawling vocals of “Sheeeeee // she really loved the way you swore (?)…” before reverting back to the the Halloween-ish melody. Also, the jam-session at the concluding sixty seconds left a nice after taste in my mouth, urging me on to press reply at the end of each listen.
Download the track and check out the trippy vid below. You can cop the 7” via Double Phantom Records here.
It’s been a while since I posted something from Mikey Maramag (aka Blackbird Blackbird) partly because I imposed a self-enforced moratorium on tracks by him: the dude just churns out mp3s right-and-left. After giving “Tear” a listen though, I knew I had to throw together a few words and pass along the track for others to hear.
One thing about Mikey is you can never peg a label on him: for one track he’s chillwaving it up with synths out the wazoo, the next he’s sounding like the next iteration of El Guincho tropicalia (not to mention the endless amount of remixes scattered across the interwebs). With “Tear” you get to view yet another face: electro indie-rock (instrumental). The opening harmonies sound like a slowed down, marimba version of Sunset Rubdown’s “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” — seriously, listen to the original on youtube — before evolving into a swirl of sound Blackbird Blackbird is best known for.
Maybe I was so caught up on the Sunset Rubdown thing, but I couldn’t help to think about how interesting a “traditional” rock cover of the song would sound. Mikey provided a pretty good baseline to build off of (for example, he seems always at the cusp of belching out the opening words to the first verse, but restrains himself) and I just think it would be great to hear what some good ol’ fashioned guitars, bass, and drums could do with it. Idk, maybe I’m crazy…
Anyways, check out the track below and look out for it in vinyl form in early 2012:
Big Troubles and Real Estate playing at Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 4, 2011.
Big Troubles:
Real Estate:
