L O N E R - Bloom & Self Titled EP

Band / Artist: L O N E R
Year: 2016, 2017
Genre: Trip Hop, Trap, Chillout

My Review:
SO CHILL. Its titled on the soundcloud stream as "Sad as Fuck Hip Hop". I love the feel it has, of former triphop singer, an acoustic edge, and this lightly witchcrafty feel to it. You need to hear this one. Apparently its a musician named DMT, and a singer named Kelly Anne Corfield. I don't know much else, since i saved this ages ago and forgot to post a review on it.

L O N E R - Bloom

Also because its worth hearing as well, here is a more rough album that has a really great sound to it as well, if maybe a little more rough around the edges. I might even like this one a hair more potentially. If they evolve this well over a 1 year run, I'm excited to hear how much farther they are going to go.

L O N E R - Self Titled EP

Richard Houghten - All Guitars 2

Band / Artist: Richard Houghten
Year: 2017
Genre: Folktronic, Experimental Rock, Covers, Acoustic

My Review:
This is different. The entire recording is made through use of an acoustic guitar that has been manipulated to create wild soundscapes, covering tracks by Aphex Twin, Orbital, Dj Shadow, Bonobo, David Lynch, and more.

I am really liking hearing the cover of Aphex Twin's "On", or Orbital's "Halcyon & On & On" for sure.

It's a good mix to add to a chillout set, for sure. Only part of this that I would rag on, is the cover art. Not the worst thing I've seen, but I'd offer to help work on it if it were a friends piece. Thats just me being an art major, nitpicky asshole type.

Anyway, the songs have good depth, play in a very complimentary way to one another, and leave me with a great morning playlist. I might reach out to this guy and ask if he'd like to be involved in a project I have going.,.. but thats something I'll share with all of you a bit down the road, when I have my house in order (its almost there!)

Richard Houghten - All Guitars 2

Calexico - Calexico Sampler 2017

Band / Artist: Calexico
Year: 2017
Genre: Americana, Indie, Country

My Review:
Okay, so after years of seeing this band come up in connection with others I was listening to, like Iron & Wine or Wilco, I finally saw this sampler and decided to give them a listen. Its GOOD, but I don't think its quite my cup of tea.

That being said, I know it is quality music, and I know that it carries a lot that people would enjoy, so I wanted to share this short sampler album with you all. If you enjoy this country indie sound, then love this and give them support.

Alright, back to cleaning house in the middle of the frozen night. I've got a walls worth of drywall to remove.

Calexico - Calexico Sampler 2017

The Heroic Enthusiasts - Self Titled

Band / Artist: The Heroic Enthusiasts
Year: 2017
Genre: Synth Rock, New Wave, Alternative Rock

My Review:
Retro EIGHTIES SYNTHROCK. It is reallllllly good. If you like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, or Echo and the Bunnymen, then this would be a good one to listen to. It has a little dreampop, and a lot of new wave. Here is a link to their website.

https://www.theheroicenthusiasts.com/


Another weird detail, their name may be inspired by the poetic book, The Heroic Enthusiasts, which I've linked here. Written by Giordano Bruno, he was artistically presenting the argument that not only was the earth not the center of the universe, but so too was the sun just another of untold numbers of stars, spinning across the cosmos.

Alright, I'm going to go make something to eat. Y'all have a good listen and enjoy.

The Heroic Enthusiasts - Self Titled

Head For the Hills - Potions & Poisons

Band / Artist: Head For the Hills
Year: 2017
Genre: Bluegrass, Country, Indie Folk

My Review:
Here is a nice, well composed album of Chill Bluegrassy music, with that country flair that always makes me think about my Grandfather, and lyrics that have a pleasant amount of wisdom and introspection. I really like that they have earthy voices, and seem to come at their music from a raw perspective.

Here is the description of the album from their website.

Potions and Poisons is the fourth album of original music from Head for the Hills, the Colorado based post-modern bluegrass outfit of Adam Kinghorn, Joe Lessard, Matt Loewen and Sam Parks. There’s no reinvention of the wheel here--no computer programmed banjo rolls or digitally arpeggiated fiddle lines. Instead we find Head for the Hills at the peak of their powers of musical alchemy, building little worlds of sound from the detritus of bluegrass, jazz, hip hop, folk and soul. Potions and Poisons is a look at the darker side of love, lust, and life; an examination of our affinity for and aversion to the things that make us fragile but human. Recorded at home in Colorado with the band’s go-to engineer, Aaron Youngberg (Cahalen and Eli, Martha Scanlan, Grant Gordy and Ross Martin), the record features appearances from Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival) on vocals and washboard, Erin Youngberg (Uncle Earl, FY5) on vocals, and a lush string section. Potions and Poisons is the most Head for the Hills record yet, and in the great tradition of bluegrass (and soul and folk and old time music), it delivers some bitter pills, but the ten new original songs are more than a survey of the human condition. This is reflective but buoyant music, restorative and full of vibrancy.

Enjoy it
Head For the Hills - Potions & Poisons

-{:(.SINGLES.):}- Gener, Very Proper Dragonflies, Cousin Silas, Cosmonauts Day, Naomi Wachira

Band / Artist: Gener, Very Proper Dragonflies, Cousin Silas,  Cosmonauts Day, Naomi Wachira
Year: 2004, 2015, 2017
Genre: Folk Reggae, New Wave, Post-Punk, Post-Rock, Drone, Ambient, Dream Pop, Pop Rock, Prog Metal

My Review:

Gener - Les dones (Al Pagoda Remix)
This is pure ear candy. It has a great retro sound with a beautiful melody over it. So pleasing. This Spanish netlabel seems to always have good stuff.

Very Proper Dragonflies - Swingin' Single
This one is really cute too, with that older feminine-ish new wave sound that once was, and I sort of miss. If the first track isn't really doing it for you, you need to give the second track a shot, its really really good. Like, next VDay mixtape good.

Naomi Wachira - Beautifully Human
Now for some folk reggae, in all of its calmer, and "everything is gonna be alright" glory. I am going to need to dig further into her music.

Cousin Silas - Quiet Afternoons
And now to a really long relaxing ambient post-rockish drone of soft pads and melodies unfurling at the speed that flowers bloom, to get you into a nice soft meditative state.

Cosmonauts Day - It Got Them
And finishing the whole thing out, and bringing you back up for the day ahead, here is a nice prog-metal, post-rock jam out with just enough creepy to make it really fun.

Amyl and the Sniffers - Giddy-Up / Big Attraction

Band / Artist: Amyl and the Sniffers
Year: 2016, 2017
Genre: Garage, Pubrock, Punk

My Review:

If you like X-Ray Spex, and other femme fronted punk, then you'll love the hell out of this. These guys are in Melbourne, Australia, and they play hard, and very fun punk rock.

Amyl and the Sniffers - Big Attraction

Amyl and the Sniffers - Giddy-Up

-{:(.SINGLES.):}- All Electronic, All the time (Nnls, Aardonyx, Notch, Rameses B, Alex Tune)

Band / Artist: Nnls, Aardonyx, Notch, Rameses B, Alex Tune
Year: 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017
Genre: NRG, Hardcore Techno, Nu Breaks, Electro House, EDM, Electronica, Techno, Trance, House, Drum and Bass, Lo-fi

My Review:

Notch - Listen To The Rhythm / Descent
Some great old style uplifting trance/house stuff. I really enjoy the use of the rhythmic repetition of the vocal tracks and atmospherics. I posted them not long ago actually.

Nnls - Connection
This has a great lo-fi feel and a really well done atmospheric quality.

nnls about the release: „Roads are more comprehensive than any other human sign, nothing is shared more than them, sometimes they last for thousand years. So, while listening to the album you can try to work out road names from titles and draw my own non-existing non-spiral non-jetty.“

Here is the website built as advertising for the full album.

Aardonyx - Dedicated
Drum N Bass is always a welcome return to the table. This one is very similar to Hybrid, for the mix of the techno sound with orchestral suites and ethereal female vocals. Here is their bio.

aardonyx are a UK born production duo writing Drum and Bass in minimal, abstract and liquid styles, with a wide variety of musical influences.
After making music separately for many years they joined forces under the name Aardonyx in 2016.
This is just a taste of what's to come...
For DJ bookings or correspondence please contact theaardonyx@gmail.com  

Rameses B - Russ EP 
This is sort of that Pop-anthem EDM (Electro/House) you hear these days, and its got a good hook to it. Would be good music for a compilation video of someone doing crazy cliffhanging stunts or skiing barefoot on youtube.

Alex Tune - Takes Me Higher
Some gritty Hardcore or Progressive Breaks/NRG/Nu Breaks with that late ninties to 2010 sort of rap-rock singover style going on. I like it some, but I'll need to listen to it when I'm more in the mood.

Moby - Long Ambients1: Calm. Sleep.

Band / Artist: Moby
Year: 2017
Genre: Ambient, Minimalist, Chillout

My Review:
For every Yoga, Meditation, or sleep session you need to start, there is now Moby, coming to save the day and be a badass vegan bald little person with a surprisingly deep voice.

Each of these separate long ambient pieces runs a different time, so you can pick the one that fits the time you have to use meditating or getting into childs pose (that shit is comfy af).

Anyway, Hats off to Moby for still doing cool shit after like 20 years.

Moby - Long Ambients1: Calm. Sleep.

Judah & the Lion - Judah & the Lion

Band / Artist: Judah & the Lion
Year: 2017
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Dance, Folk Pop

My Review:
This has been on steady rotation in the car the last 2 weeks. I've been enjoying the sort of nostalgic southernality of it, in this sense of all the pleasant and good things of the south, but from a more fresh and welcoming perspective than the south seems to have to many.

Its cool how they mix fiddle and banjo and acoustic guitar with drum machine and synthesizer in an odd bluegrass/folk/pop sort of medley. It flows far better than you'd expect at first glance.

Here is their website.

These guys are out of Nashville, TN, which should surprise nobody. I really appreciate their sound. It reminds me of driving in the coastal area of Georgia with my windows down, smelling the marsh air in the sunshine.

Judah & the Lion - Judah & the Lion