Introducing P. Williams: Visual Artist
More Clem Snide and Broken Spindles MP3s
Caroline
After shunning major labels in her native Japan, Caroline Lufkin made her way back across the Pacific (she went to college in Boston) to California to begin work on an album with a wide array of producers (the producer in question here is Norway-born Andreas Bjorck). Maybe it’s because the weather has finally dipped below 50º here in L.A. but the shimmering, icy cool textures of “Where’s My Love” just warms the toes and has kind of ushered in the holiday season for me. It’s knocked me out my frantic rush of daily life and I half expect to see snowflakes falling during a perfect, sunny day here. Her voice, it’s magic.
Sufjan Stevens MP3s
(Not a New) MP3 from The Arcade Fire
Ian Love
Ex-Rival Schools guitarist Ian Love sheds his post-hardcore skin and in favor of a gentle, earnest folk skin, in part to celebrate his new life as sober husband and father. Maybe I’m a sappy sucker for sober husbands and fathers, but I think “The Only Night” is a beautiful love song (get it? love song?). Simple plucked chords lap up against unassuming vocals, capturing that sense that the world has retreated for a moment so two people can be alone:
“And I stay quiet
And we’re so patient
As the stars jump side to side
And this feels like the only night”.
Western Addiction
Man, I love me some good old-fashioned punk rock. Western Addiction hit the spot. Ask a 14-year-old kid today where to turn for punk rock and you’re liable to get a dose of anything from NOFX to Taking Back Sunday and plenty of stuff in between. Different strokes for different folks. Punk’s never been about one sound anyway. But when I was 14 some of the best punk rock sounded a lot like Western Addiction. And it’s good that that sound has held up for years because every generation deserves their very own Black Flag and Minor Threat.
Faux Pas
A week ago I posted Gotye. If I hadn’t been in such a serious carb coma on the heels of Thanksgiving I probably would have posted an Australian two-fer including Gotye’s friend and countryman, Faux Pas (aka Tim Shiel). These two take great care to make their quirky, sampleriffic musical explorations feel warm, organic, and spontaneous. Faux Pas even goes as far as to eliminate vocal samples lest we get lured into the obsessive spotting exercise that Gotye’s tracks inspired. The frenzied big beat sound of “Cup of Wonder” provides instant gratification but “White Light” definitely steals the show. I am now convinced that spacey theramin, Asian dulcimer, and R&B horn riffs were always meant for each other; all they needed was a tumbling drumbeat to rally around… As a bonus, it turns out Tim’s also a bit of an MP3 blogger himself. Check out the Blog section of his site to get a good sense of his musical reference points.
Climber
Right near the top of my list of “Reasons to Love Postal Service” is that they disposed of the pedantic audiophilia that torments many a knob-twister and opted for the red-blooded choice: to make songs. Climber have taken notice. The Portland, Oregon group holed themselves up for two years to refine a sound steeped in the boutique ambience of post-electronica pop and informed by the rainy-day-every-day melancholy of Radiohead (the similarities are almost too close…almost) and the aforementioned Seattle side project. Officially, these tracks are demos. Sonically, they’re a blissful walk down a bittersweet path.