Time for a pop break. This is one clever, funny/sad, 80’s style piece of candy ( Can hear a little ABC in there). Ultra-sticky, featuring a spoken word bridge and dripping with wishful thinking, “Into Me” is in possession of one of those chorus’s that’s impossible to evict, in this case, from the guesthouse ( ed. note :see the last verse). Truly infectious in the best way.
Jodie Abacus “When Sunday Comes”
Okay, true confession. I have truly worshipful feelings for both Todd Rundgren, and Hall & Oates. Like forever. Which is to say I’m highly susceptible to hook filled, fatly produced, piano based pop songs. Like this one in fact. And while I have no idea if Jodie is remotely into either of the aforementioned pop gods, this glorious thing is absolutely reminiscent of some of their finer moments. Outrageously melodic, with a fabulous vocal, and a huge, filled to capacity backdrop, it’s just a fine, fine thing.
High Falls “Sucker”
Walking, and harmonizing delicately, with it’s heart on it’s sleeve, chest, face, and everywhere else, “Sucker” is both an acknowledgement, and a plea: lost, hypnotic, dreamy, and all that good stuff. It also brought to mind some of Luna’s more fragile moments, which is always a blessing. This track comes off the NY band’s undeniably sweet, fine, and jangling new album “Bingo”, which you can visit below.
Oddnesse “I Used To”
Immaculate. The sentiment. The tune. Referencing Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again”. “I Used To” is both wistful, and defiant, driving through the desert, and leaving all the bad stuff behind, with the radio f-ing blasting. This is beautiful, and with that, let’s all get outta here…here’s some traveling music :
Strange Hellos “The Prime”
Well damn. “The Prime” is a big, fat all consuming noise in possession of a high decibel chorus and a glorious sneer. And while there’s an unmistakable Garbage vibe, as well as a little Curve one, there are a couple of oddball touches that set this song apart from those by the aforementioned wonderful bands. For one, there’s an extremely sweet, almost gentle 80’s style synth line that pops up out of nowhere during the second verse. Then a minute later we are confronted with a ridiculously windswept, arms outspread on the edge of a cliff, prog-style break before things return to normalcy. The louder this plays, the more epic it sounds…which is pretty epic.
Review : Long Distance Dan “The Dust Man Stirs”
Ed Zed speaks on the meaty, beaty, spaced out, and hazy Long Distance Dan.
Limeyland’s very own Long Distance Dan thrusts a venerable paw into his luscious cornucopia of bugged-out electronics, fragmented funk and psyche-tinged beats, rummaging around for a hot moment before extracting the exotic and delicious fruit that is The Dust Man Stirs. Dust Man was named by Dan’s 2 -year old son (clearly a man in possession of a poetic soul which belies his ultra-youth), and appears to feature vocal cameos from the young scamp throughout this nebulous yet sparkling album.
Fall under the Long Distance family spell right here :
William Brittelle & the Blessed Dunes…
“I think this is what it must sound like in heaven”
Okay so, that is an actual vintage quote from my “young person’s” diary upon hearing the Cocteau Twins for the first time, and the song “Lorelei” in particular. That’s not hyperbole, I admit I totally, teenage-edly meant it from the core of my angst ridden soul, yup. See I’d never come across anything quite like it before and hearing it emanating through the speakers gave me a total physical rush, as in I had to stop what I was doing and just stand there and be awestruck and overwhelmed by its plush beauty… so of course that meant it had to be aligned with the ultimate place and space. The #1 song in heaven, for real.
“Are you there God ? Judging by the sound of this record I think you are.”
And while there are loads and loads of wonderful things out there, that transcendent feeling is still a pretty rare occurrence…which brings me here. William Brittelle is a composer, and multi-instrumentalist as well as the co-artistic director of the New Amsterdam label in NY. Back in 2010 he released a gorgeous, something else pop song called “Dunes of Vermillion” which is a whole lotta things at once: Beach Boys heavenly, late 70’s West Coast Am radio windy and epically classical in construction. It also features the most regal and sweetest use of autotune you’re ever gonna hear. Plus the guitar solo is a siren song within a siren song. That’s a lot, I know. I was completely obsessed with it for a long while and it still ranks high in my horrifyingly geeky “best records of the century” list. The album it ultimately appeared on, Television Landscapes also turned out to be a pretty special thing, all wonderfully weird, tuneful, and orchestral.
And so I offer an an eternal bow to at least the # 2 song in heaven; thank you, and please explore below, hello, hello, hello….
Here’s “Dunes of Vermillion” :
Here’s the amazing Television Landscapes album in it’s entirety, go get your headphones :
And lastly, here’s the Cocteau Twins “Lorelei” that I crushed on to ludicrous extremes :
Weekly New Wonders Playlists !!
Yes ! And now for some glorious pop music of the highest order, which is to say here are some fine, recently discovered things all neatly compiled for your listening pleasure. The playlists include songs we’ve featured plus ones we haven’t so there’s still some discovering to be done ! As usual there’s some stuff that is only on Soundcloud, and some that is only on Spotify, which is why there are playlists for each because we absolutely 100% don’t want you to miss a damn thing ! And so you are actively encouraged to listen to both !!
Here’s the Soundcloud Playlist:
And here is the Spotify :
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/esperanza19/playlist/7aNhnt0SvZy1pWEfotYvCQ
Names “Limb by Limb”
Unfolding slowly in a most angelic manner, “Limb by Limb” is a truly precious thing that feels not unlike following a trail of of paper hearts on the ground and being unsuspectingly lead into a maze. Like that kind of precious. Like a lonely waltz done by Savage Garden in a cloud. It’s medicine, and honestly, today is perfect for it, pretty sure we can all use it, so just close your eyes and get lost in here.
Slowcoaching “Fernweh”
The gentlest of jangles, the sweetest of synths, and an unmistakable New Order twang, all add up to the most handsome of tunes. “Fernweh” is the German word for wanderlust, that uncontrollable urge to roam to other places, and as this has truly transportive qualities, that’s kind of perfect.
PICKING UP ROCKS 