This has been one of the most intense 5 days of great music, and the grand finale comes tonight…My love, my muse, my dear Erika Ryann Sedmak has surprised me with a semi-secret DEER TICK show tonight in Aspen! let’s recap:
Thursday- Fleet Foxes (!) w/ Alela Diane
Friday- Sage Francis, Joseph Metcalf of The Dallas Family Band
Saturday- Fox & The Bird, Two Tone Wolf Pack, Bad Weather California(!)
Sunday-Timber Timbre (!whatafuckingshow!), Busman’s Holiday
Monday- DEER TICK!! TONIGHT! Erika and I have been trying to catch them together since we started dating, being one of the bands we fell in love to…
Thank you, all of you fantastic musicians, especially those who took the time to talk to us personally before/after the show (Robin Pecknold, Sage Francis, and Taylor Kirk (Timber Timbre)). It meant everything to us.
July 2011
13 posts
I’m in the middle of a 7 day hiatus. To everyone still here, I love you.
“Shake The Shackles” by Crystal Stilts
from 2011’s In Love With Oblivion (previously released as a 7” single)
I’ve been pretty lazy with my posts the last couple days. Its difficult to keep this thing fresh every day without eventually posting something that I like, even really like, but don’t necessarily love (even if that just means I need more than a day with said song before it may be shown full affection). Regardless, I’m honestly proud with how DRDEP has progressed over the last couple months (never thinking I would actually make it past 50 posts without skipping a day) and genuinely love the entire thing as a mixtape. I just can’t tell if anyone else likes it.
Crystal Stilts is the shit. I was fortunate enough to meet up and talk with the guys before their last show, but I have yet to type the transcript up. In short, they we’re really fucking nice; I resisted the urge to ask about always being compared (ridiculously) to Joy Division; they we’re well read, well spoken and kind, even giving me the OK to stand on the front of the stage long enough to take a picture (Go look at the photos HERE at Plywood Violins).
So, I realized this morning that they hadn’t made the gallery yet. Sorry, guys. Anyway, here you go, two (kind of) newish tracks from Crystal Stilts. Here’s the b-side:
“Pictures” by Benjamin Francis Leftwich
from Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm
BFL is an English singer-songwriter who, after releasing two EPs in England, has just released his debut LP. Yep. Singer-songwriter. That pretty much tells you what to expect. And, in this case, this type of thinking is surprisingly accurate. Yet, fuck, a good song is a good song is a great artist. Today’s single is the album opener. Today’s b-side is the actual single.
“I Know I Don’t Know” by Jonquil
from A Hundred Suns EP
I love Jonquil, even when I don’t. The Oxford trio (Lead by Hugo Manuel, a.k.a. Chad Valley) has released a new EP, and that’s exactly what I’m purporting to cover here. Except that I’m not. “I Know I Don’t Know” is a fantastic single, but this is all a cover up to post one of my all-time secret-favorite albums, Lions, released by the boys in 2007. Lions is the definition of sun-pop to me, and ultimately one of the most cohesive, undeniably solid albums I’ve come across in a long fucking time. Its also one of the only albums (if not the only) that I’ve had an urge to play at least monthy since its release. Maybe I’m exagerating. Except that I’m not. “Subtle Strains” would have been the single. “Subtle Strains”, in all its E minor goodness. Go listen to the singe first, then the album straight through. Seriously, go listen to Lions in its entirety, then buy it, and then buy the new EP. Please? And, yeah, “Subtle Strains.”
so here’s a b-side from the EP:
and here’s the entire Lions LP for listening purposes, supplied by the band via Bandcamp:
“Midnight Lemonade” by Dakotafish
from Many Moons, available pay-what-you-will through Bandcamp
Yet another great album released nearly in secret through Bandcamp. I honestly think that Bandcamp is the most revolutionary, important thing to happen to independent music in years. Dakotafish may not be the most revolutionary, important thing to happen to indie music, but the music is pretty fucking good. Based around the songwriting of Mike Fish, Dakotafish is creating some synthy, bass-line driven pop that’s been (in what little coverage it’s gotten) garnering comparisons to Radiohead (or, rather, Mike Fish has been compared to Thom Yorke). So, yeah. Here you go. Instead of a B-side, here is the entire album for pay-what-you-will at Bandcamp.
Many Moons at Bandcamp
“Year of Dreams” by Mood Rings
from their free Sweater Weather Forever EP, via bandcamp
Another day, another free EP via Bandcamp. The first free release of the year through Double Phantom Digital. New music from Alanta. Enjoy.
instead of a b-side, here is the entire EP, plus the entire free DPD catalog:
sleephungry, unrestful, stoned both ways, loveborne and loved tragically, deathsought and dying gracelessly, neither kerouacian nor kafkaesque yet somewhere outbetween, oh me oh my these yellowteeth but alas, here I’m not.
“I Only Know” by Warm Weather
from their free Dances EP, via bandcamp
50th post, 50th day! Warm Weather came out of the same harmonic LA scene that gave birth to Local Natives but approach their craft very differently. Last month, the California trio released a free 5-track EP via bandcamp (the absolute greatest source for new music right now) which I’m posting below. If you like it, support it. And support Bandcamp for allowing artists to sell their music truly independently. BTW, I particularly like the cover art.
“California Birds” by ABADABAD
from the California Birds digital single, via bandcamp
Sorry for the short post: Not much is known, and only 2 songs seem to be available, but regardless it sounds good; here’s the single and the b-side is below (its a link to the bandcamp for download, instead of the usual mp3 host). Enjoy. Thanks to IGIF for pointing out the last two posts.
“December 28th”by Caveman
from Coco Beware, to be released 9/13 digitally and 11/15 physically
Not much seems to known about this unsigned Brooklyn quartet, but they’re amassing a steady following in anticipation of their debut LP. And rightfully so. Today’s single is the harmonic, Grizzly Bear/Beach Boyish “December 28th,” which was the first single to be released from the album. Equally as important are today’s b-sides: “Easy Water” (Daytrotter Version) showcases the bands darker side, as well as their ability to kill it live (and to let our imaginations beg for the album version); “Old Friend” is brand new and allows us to taste one more sliver of the album, which is finally (after nearly 2 years) being announced for official release.
“Backyard Funerals” by Sleepy Vikings
from their debut, They Will Find You Here, released May 10th 2011
Having been raised in Florida, I tend to be quick to promote any Florida bands without much consideration for anything else. Fortunately, Tampa’s Sleepy Vikings (built around ex-members of Giddy-Up Helicopter!) made the singles club way before I knew they were from FL. Still very much a local band, SV has already opened for Vivian Girls and Ra Ra Riot, and are currently touring the east coast. Today’s tracks come from their May 10th debut,They Will Find You Here, out now on New Granada, which you should go buy immediately. As I’m writing this, I’m debating which of two songs should be the single and which the B-side; one song (“Backyard Funeral”) an introspective, acoustic love-pop tune, or the other (“Flashlight Tag”), a romping Deer Tickesque, time shifting track that’s very free of the harmonies that make “Backyard Funerals”. I checked around the internet and no blogs (that I found) featured “Backyard Funerals” so, for the sake of sharing, we will promote that as our single and put “Flashlight Tag” as the b-side. Hopefully people actually listen to the b-sides because sometimes they contend to overshadow the singles…
