Summertime Kids - Table Manners (FLAC)

Although spring is only beginning, Nick Roberts seems to be permanently anticipating the summer. Table Manners, recently released independently under Roberts' solo project, Summertime Kids, is a deeply personal series of foggy and ethereal songs that could be just as easily written by Helios as they could by Calla, like a Fear of Fireflies-inspired adaptation of Ayres.

Table Manners, as clean and well-defined as it is, leaves much to the imagination. It is longingly sober, vaguely surfy, and powerfully intimate, not just as a soliloquy to the end of summer but as an ode to its beginning. When Roberts speaks, his words aren't just another layer of melody — they create meaning, tell a story, and engage the listener in a way that typical repetition-driven lyrical structures do not.

Roberts has released his EP through bandcamp here. It's basically free, but support him with whatever you can afford; this guy deserves to make more music.

Ellul - Ashes (V0)

I haven't listened to all of this yet, to be honest, but these guys are so great that I thought it would be appropriate to post this album up as soon as I had it.

"Ellul is this San Francisco based group centered around the brainwork of “Blanket Head” and “The General” (Joel St. Julien and Joel Tarman, respectively.) The whole album is sort of a collection of juxtapositions of electronic and folk music, often dancing between the two with this light pitter-patter of beats (such as on the opening track “Cages,”) or going all out in one direction or the other (as is discernable in the back-to-back tracks “Good Night” and “Debris”). The album is also lyric-heavy, with some really beautiful lines filling the record.

Ellul reminds me often of a Justin Vernon project, maybe that went on vacation one time with Ben Gibbard (circa Postal Service) but then decided to go his own route and get a new usually heartfelt, occasionally winey vocalist. And then also throw a bunch of other random shit into it too. Whatever, it works! I recommend the album!"

Now that I think about it, Ellul does remind me very much of Justin Vernon's collaboration with Collections of Colonies of Bees, Volcano Choir. Comparisons to Radiohead are less fitting here, but hints of their influence still remain.

Ashes is available as a digital download in any bitrate from Ellul's bandcamp for $8, and we've also uploaded it here in V0. If you live in San Francisco, please support these guys locally; they definitely deserve it.

The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (FLAC)

It was Saturday, October 30th to be exact, and it must of been around 3:40 am as I stood out on the corner of some barely alive street with a few other people waiting for the same bus as me to take us to Washington D.C. for what would end up being a hugely disappointing John Stewart/Steven Colbert rally. I got on the bus that was already full and found the only open window seat and sat down, my friend sat next to me and I promptly told him:

"As soon as the bus gets out of the streets and onto the highway, I'm turning on music and completely losing my connection to reality."

The bus reached the highway around 4:40 am at which point I was still completely awake. I turned on The Glow Pt. 2 and was ready to give an album that I had been interested in for over 2 years its first listen. By the end of it I was confused and had no fucking clue whether I liked it or not, so I turned it on again. After that second listen, I was certain.

This was my new favorite album ever. For 5 years In Utero stood as the greatest album I had ever heard, but finally, I found something better. Folk incorporating noise rock, experimenting with song structure, using enough crunchy distortion (some of it sounding unintentional, which made it seem even better) to make me think I was chewing a never-ending amount of Dorito's (possibly Cool Ranch, but ever since they changed the packaging cool ranch tastes like shit).

It's been 7 days now since I first heard this album, and it's only 30 plays away from being my most listened album on my last.fm.

If you haven't heard it, prepare to be amazed.
v0 here

The Beta Band - The Three EPs (320)

For my first post, I thought I'd start with one of my favorite albums, The Beta Band's 1998 album The Three EPs. Compiled from the tracks, as implied by the album title, from the EPs Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos, The Three EPs is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated albums of the 90s.

Combining acoustic instrumentation, such as guitars, trumpets and percussion with looped electronic beats and garage-style electronic effects creates a style self-described as 'folktronica.' The Three EPs takes a lo-fi/jam/experimental/psychedelic approach while still retaining much of their pop sensibility, producing songs which could easily gain radio airtime if they weren't six or more minutes long. Minimalist instrumentation on some tracks often contrasts with the building 'collage of sound' on others; and the catchy, sing-along melodies of some tracks, such as that of Dry The Rain, with less accessible, but still equally as good tracks such as the sixteen-minute Monolith.

This shit gets in your head and doesn’t leave. Strongly recommended.

Favorite tracks: Dry The Rain, I Know, Dog’s Got A Bone, She’s The One, Needles In My Eyes, Monolith

My rating: 9.5/10
Download.

Ellul - Ellul (FLAC)

I don't really know much about Ellul. I found this CD in the $1 bin at my local record store, and it's been one of the best investments I've made all year. It begins very quietly with a sort of end-times ballad titled Ballet Faces, and progresses, with expert songwriting and soulful vocals, all the way to an impressively emotional finish. The programmed drums complement the morose voices of Joel Brown and Joel St. Julien very well; if In Rainbows and Songs for a Blue Guitar made an album together, it would sound like Ellul.

Download.

Anathallo - Floating World (V0)

Anathallo is a band who I easily could have seen in Chicago (they are based in the city for the most part) but due to my ignorance I chose to attend some other stupid event. I can't believe myself, they were playing with Why Intercept? at the time, another great Chicago act, but I think I went to a Valentine's day party or something.

Stupid me.

I missed out on a plethora of unique sounds, ranging from chains as percussion, brass sections, songs reminiscent of pop, post-rock and folk all blended together and even an autoharp.

Damn.

I also missed out on buying one of the best albums of 2006.

There's always next time, I guess. Oh wait, they're broken up.

Crap.

Download here, buy it here.

The Microphones - It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water (FLAC)

Into light our bodies glide,
There was water in my eyes,
We sank and we arrived,
And found ourselves inside the light,
The light,
With the glow...

On the cold dark ocean floor,
I felt warmth from behind a door,
I asked to come inside,
And the glow replied.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (V0)

We're in the middle of fall, and every year I find myself gravitating back to this album. This was the first album I ever gave to a girl, it comprised most of my listening throughout high school, and it has always comforted me when, like now, I find trees shedding their leaves and weather slowly growing colder. Nick Drake is proof that there is beauty in solitude; his songs are deeply personal, at times somber and austere, at others beautifully heart warming. Pink Moon is very short, at around thirty minutes, but each moment is so vivid and sincere that you'll want to go back to it over and over again.

Sailing downstairs to the northern line,
Watching the shine of the shoes,
And hearing the trials of the people there,
Who's to care if they lose?

Tram - Heavy Black Frame (320)

It's been said countless times before, but I really dislike some of the terms people use to come up with names for genres. It seems like genres used to have interesting names like "jazz" (which was a west-coast slang term for Chicago music), but now people only use other genres and adjectives to describe music now. Not very original. Such is the case with "slowcore."

But in any case, Tram are an amazing "slowcore" band who use an interesting mixture of emo and folk lyrics to create emotionally engaging albums that make for an incredible listen. They are often atmospheric in tone and some songs are borderline shoegaze.

I'm really digging these guys, you should check them out. Heavy Black Frame is a definite keeper. It's been on heavy rotation in my library for a while now, and they never disappoint.

Download here and buy here.

Low & Dirty Three - In the Fishtank (FLAC)

"In November 1999 Konkurrent invited Low to record one of Konk's in house Fishtank-sessions. Low, being familiar with the series, accepted. In the spirit of 'In The Fishtank' Low took things a step further and extended the invitation to their friends Dirty Three to collaborate on the session which took place when both bands played the multi-media festival Crossing Border in Amsterdam.

One can imagine that this created quite a hectic scene when the actual recording took place. While Low where soundchecking, Dirty Three got off the plane on Schiphol Airport. And when Dirty Three were busy doing overdubs, Low did a wonderful show at the festival. Through it all both bands kept their legendary cool, and recorded, faster than anyone could have guessed, six basic songs. The combination of Low's open, desolate sound and the melancholic yet folky violin of Dirty Three's Warren Ellis inspired Mimi to indulge in a more crooning way of singing and Alan to play some amazing banjo. Low's open minds and the way Dirty Three perfectly fit in, makes this Fishtank the record you would expect from such wonderful bands."

Download.

The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (V0)

Coming home from a Los Campesinos! concert seems like the worst timing to want to listen to melancholy guitar on tape recorder folk. Oh, but it wasn't at all.
Not even a bit.
Nope.
It was exactly what I needed right then at that moment, an absolutely perfect ending to a perfect day.
This has to be one of the most emotional and simple albums I've ever heard in my life, nothing but John Darnielle singing and strumming an acoustic guitar while a slight buzz in the background backs up whatever he's singing. If there was an album for your life that you wanted to play while the credits rolled, this would be it.

Download it, because this is the best ever death metal band out of Denton.

Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be (FLAC)

I saw Devendra play live today, and his demeanor struck me immediately. Here was someone playing in front of several thousand people, with a full band, with almost complete creative control, having any ego needs of his fulfilled completely by fans and newcomers alike, and the way he behaved was, to say the least, very humble. At one point he invited a member of the crowd to come on stage and perform an original song, and at that point I realized what had attracted M. Gira to Banhart while he was still signed to Young God Records. Shuffling, jiving and stumbling across the stage as he pours out his soul to a crowd of onlookers, Devendra is as magical as he is sincere.

If you've heard Rejoicing in the Hands, Banhart's breakout full-length from 2004, the transition between it and What Will We Be is incredibly satisfying. On the former, Banhart makes promises of surrealistic lyricism and musicality, but often only provides his guitar and voice to support those promises.

To anyone who has been following Devendra these last few years, it seems clear that What Will We Be is the natural culmination of all of his musical developments across the last decade. Surrounded by instrumentation that supports both his methodologies and his character, Banhart's new material is just as endearing as his old.

Love is light ignited.
(Download V0.)

Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free (FLAC)

And once this spark met kindling,
Forgets its gentle ambling,
Becoming heat, becoming steam,
Becoming luminescent glee,
Atoms splinter, sparkling,
Alive and nimble symmetry,
And all along, this glistening,
Blankets we and everything,
Shadows dance triumphantly,
A wordless whisper sighs and pleas,
Little deaths envelope thee,
You and I and a flame make three.

John Fahey - Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) (V0)

One man and his acoustic guitar. No vocals, no real strong structures. Does this work?

Oh yes, oh God yes it does. To say Fahey is incredibly good at the guitar is an understatement. He is nothing short of a genius at his instrument, and his ever-changing rhythms and expressive playing style have been emulated the world over (not to mention he created an entire new genre of music, American Primitivism). So put on some good headphones, relax, and let Fahey tell his magical, musical story. Words are overrated, anyway.

plink plink pluck

Nana Grizol - Ruth (V0)

I walked into my home, opened the door and ran downstairs. A CD was laying on the floor, had a note on it saying “Play Me.” I put this album onto my computer, and began playing it on my speakers. As the first notes began ringing I heard the sound of footsteps upstairs, running downstairs and suddenly my entire house was being filled with children that were running in through the front door and then out through the backdoor, they got older slowly as they kept running in and out of the house and eventually died. This repeated over and over until the album finished.

I need to stop drinking.

Cynicism isn’t wisdom, It’s a lazy way to say that you’ve been burned... it seems if anything you’d be less certain after everything you’ve ever learned.

Cat Power - The Greatest (V0)

Billie Holiday would be proud. Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power, is one of the few artists participating in the reclamation of American folk. The Greatest, released in 2006 to widespread and ubiquitous critical acclaim, is perhaps one of the pinnacles of the New Weird Americana movement of the earliest years of the 21st century.

The soulfulness of Cat Power's voice and the presence of her Georgian influences is astoundingly clear throughout the entirety of this album, harkening back to the earliest days of Americana, drawing what seems to be a direct bloodline to the likes of Duke Ellington or Sarah Vaughan, and reinforcing Cat Power's own blues heritage. Arrangements of piano and strings, alongside blues staples like pedal steel guitar and trumpet, beautifully accompany Cat Power's voice, which, again, is one Holiday herself would be proud of.

Download.

Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP (V0)

New Sufjan Stevens material from August 2010. Definitely enough material here to keep Sufjan fans busy until the release of his next full-length, The Age of Adz, in October. Features influences from Sufjan's diverse career, including electronics and orchestras, centered mostly around two versions of the title track. It seems to have received mostly negative reviews from professional music websites, but it also seems primarily as a result of preconceptions that music reviewers have about Sufjan's sound since his most recent full-lengths. Also check out Too Much, from The Age of Adz, coming out October 12.

Download.

Gravenhurst - The Western Lands (V0)

Gravenhurst is Mark Talbot, a multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter. He plays mostly downtempo acoustic folk, similar to a stripped-down Carissa's Wierd or Red House Painters. Talbot's music is relaxing, gentle and somber, equal parts saddening and nostalgic. The Western Lands is his most recent album, released in 2007 in complete obscurity. Although he is still fairly unknown, Gravenhurst has captured the hearts of many Warp Records fans with his gloomy and tenebrous ballads.

Download.

Fire on Fire - The Orchard (V0)

One of the most interesting aspects of the Young God label is the way in which all of the artists seem interconnected. Because M. Gira owns the label and signs individual bands himself, each seems to reflect his taste and style of music. Fire on Fire's debut is no exception; an almost familial effort similar to Young God sweethearts Akron/Family, with angular instrumentation similar to Gira's Angels of Light or the more recent 2010 Swans release, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, makes The Orchard a reflection of what should've happened on the Akron/Family & Angels of Light split: a mashup of psychedelic folk, folk noir influences and those beautiful group harmonies that are what make bands like Akron/Family, Fang Island and Fleet Foxes such an interesting listen. The subject matter of The Orchard is varied, but Fire on Fire tends to let their instrumentation and their ties to one another fill the spaces that their sparse lyrical content leaves behind.

Download it here.

The Angels of Light - How I Loved You (V0)

In 1996 or some time thereabouts, Michael Rolfe Gira, one of the greatest musicians of the '90s, disbanded one of the greatest bands of the '90s, Swans. Fans everywhere were dismayed; Gira promised more live material, eventually releasing Soundtracks for the Blind (1996) and Swans Are Dead (1998).

How I Loved You serves as Gira's sophomore release following the disbandment of Swans and the formation of The Angels of Light. It seems that the work he put into Soundtracks for the Blind had much the same effect on Gira as it did on his listeners, because How I Loved You sounds, for all of Gira's authenticity and fervor, completely drained of any emotion whatsoever. His fatigue leaves Gira's voice and lyrics as a snide commentary on attachments, romances and friendships, deploring the mistakes often made from hasty decisions, and the sadness that results. How I Loved You is dedicated, it seems, to M. Gira's parents; the front and back cover of the packaging are stills of Gira's parents, whom, as inferred by the tone of this album, he must miss dearly.

How I Loved You seems to encompass the ideas of attachment and loss the same way that The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots encompassed the idea of death: Gira approaches the theme from every angle possible, exhausting every opinion and feeling that he has regarding the death of his parents, the losses he has suffered emotionally, and the promises that he has made not to repeat the same mistakes. "New York Girls, scattered crimson pearls. / You touch me like you do, you fall in love with fools," Gira sings bitterly, warning perhaps against the same disappointments that he has suffered.

Gira's music isn't harsh or emotionally draining just because it's dissonant or tonally dark. It's emotionally draining because at the end of the record, the listener realizes that they are as empty as anyone could expect to be after the experiences that Gira describes. That's the genius in How I Loved You: Gira conveys, musically and lyrically, exactly how it feels to lose someone, to have your heart broken, or to toss a shovelful of dirt onto a lacquered coffin.

Enjoy.