Here I am again. Delayed playlist and words; you shouldn't be surprised anymore as it has become usual (I'm cringing at how much I've neglected my blog during the last few months). I had another busy week catching up on illustrations and other important things that I'd been forced to push aside by the last grueling weeks of the semester before summer. Which reminds me, I mentioned plans for making a portfolio of my illustrations sometime in the early spring and I never actually braved the task... until now! I finally have (a great part of) my portfolio up on my blog. You can check it out
here or you can just click on the moth in the right sidebar.
Anyway, I am putting an end to the chain of neglecting my piece of the crazy thing we call the internet now. I will never catch up any other way... so I'm posting two playlists at once. Maybe that's not a bad thing though. What's better than new music to accompany summer adventures and long car rides?
It's getting late and I'm quite in the mood to write. I'll just start with what's new.
New music from: The Strokes (!!!!!!), Weird Dreams, and Whitney (and there were many more, but I'll save those for next week)
If you don't already know, I am a major fan of The Strokes and just yesterday they released their first new material since three years (their EP,
Future Present Past) and if you follow along on social media, you were able to hear it a week or so earlier. This obviously meant that a lot of dancing and jumping up and down ensued. In my opinion, the song "Drag Queen" is what propels The Strokes forward once again. I guess many of us feared the worst. It seemed as if the group was held together by nothing stronger than the cheap, dried up glue found in the back aisle of the grocery store--we had the fear they would no longer make anything new together. This EP provided me with the most welcome wake-up call: it isn't over. Which brings me back to "Drag Queen". To put it in one word the song is heavy (but not overwhelming); somehow it's far from light and airy, yet it still drifts easily through the summer air. Scattered with anomalous guitars, the subtle notion of 80's nostalgia, and odd lyrics, it stays true to The Strokes' sound, but brings about an entirely different angle. My inner fan girl screams at just the idea. | Weird Dreams put out a new single, "Calm". I've been quite obsessed with their 2012 album,
Coreography, and as of lately, I was starting to think they broke up until they released their earlier single "Ladder" (also in 2016). "Calm" is, well, calm. The sound of a lone guitar rings throughout the entirety of the song accompanied by soft vocals and a faint chorus of synths. Dreamy and perfect. [wow, I just sat here laughing for a few minutes because it's now realllly late and I wrote 3016, instead of 2016; gosh, that idea is just terrifying] | A certain album I've been anticipating even more so after I saw the band
in concert earlier in May was released yesterday--Whitney's
Light Upon the Lake. Of course I pre-ordered it and was lucky enough to receive it a few days early. Let me tell you, I was spinning that translucent, blue beauty non-stop (I have to admit, I still am). Where do I start? I guess by saying that "No Woman" is my absolute favorite off of the entire album and that the entire album may just be one of my top favorites of 2016 (it along with
Delirium, that is). Would it be horrible if I quoted myself? Well, I will anyway because the description I wrote a month ago holds true and I like it. I'll just insert the words "
Light Upon the Lake is the most amazing combination of" right here and now, here I go: "everything--twangy guitars, a trumpet, keys, bass, percussion, and a falsetto voice floating above it all". Insert "and all of it" and continue my shameless quoting of myself "coils together to form a strange and satisfying combination drifting from folk to psychedelic to soul". It is something special that shakes up the music scene. It is what the world lacked and didn't know it was lacking until its arrival. It is something you
should hear. Soooooo go buy it/stream it/share it. I promise you, it's the perfect soundtrack for those sticky nights that lead to stupid ideas (for me, that is writing until the wee hours of a new day with the humidity seeping in through my half-open window; I know, I'm a wild one).
In concert: Old Man Canyon with Monogold
I'm just realizing now that this happened exactly a week ago and I would be arriving home in about another hour or so and now I just got a bit sad because it was boatloads of fun. Anyway, back sometime in November, I saw The Paper Kites and that's when I found the group who would become one of my most favorite bands (Old Man Canyon!!). The sweet, dripping psychedelic-drenched sound that floods the ears is unforgettable and incomparable to all of those other bands of the genre. I'm trying to prevent myself from writing an entire album review right here, right now, but I think you should prepare yourself for more reading because apparently I never did when
Delirium came out... As soon as the intertwining sounds of vintage synths and guitar begin to float about on opening track "Learn to Forget" you are instantly transported into a hazy night, saturated in pinks and dreams of times left abandoned further and further in the past. Start listening, and it only gets better with each sound, gliding seamlessly through some ethereal, glittery land that no artist has managed to reach before. Two songs in and you'll hear one of my favorites, "Hollow Tree". Vocals, at times eerie, melt and contort into those gorgeous, mysterious synths and pull you deeper into the masterpiece. "I Don't Wanna Go Out" floats closer to the bittersweet end of the LP and only gains more of the charm that can't help spilling over from the very beginning. Veiled in groovy undertones, the song remains smooth and leans on the slower side, yet it shimmers just as effortlessly as the others. "Sugar City" leads listeners out with nearly seven minutes of dynamic, sticky sweetness. A sonic endeavor like no other, really. Quiet, yet loud, engulfing, dramatic. It's really something special. And you're left with the desire to have another listen, and another after that. (ooh, and I forgot to mention how mindblowing all of the lyrics are) | Now, what I was actually going to write about:
Monogold opened for Old Man Canyon and wow! They are so incredibly talented. That falsetto and their simple setup had me absolutely stunned. Definitely another rare gem of a band that you should go check out. Like I said, this was my second time seeing Old Man Canyon in concert and it was even more amazing this time around. Just imagine all of the craziness you just read a few sentences back, but even 1000x better. That's just how it is.
Obsessed with:
Horsebeach,
A Different Life,
Vacation II
These albums are just so perfect for summer.
Goldie oldie: "Sleep Apnea", "The Witching Hour", and "6-5000"
Yeah, I know these aren't old, but they come with a lot of memories for me and they're all definitely golden.
That's it! If you read all this, wow! Good job. I'm glad you enjoy the parts of my scattered mind present at almost 3 in the morning. I'll be back to posting normally this week. I also have a DIY post planned, so expect that. See ya soon, friends. xx
P.S. The two photos above are from my most favorite series of photos that I've ever taken up to this day. Expect more soon. I am SO excited about how they turned out.
