The mysterious Los Angeles-based duo Rhye released their EP Open last week, and the title track will sink itself just inside your chest. There is an earnestness to the hushed vocal, conveying both newfound attachment and longing affection. There is a bedside intimacy to willing to risk a level of honesty as your other half drifts off to sleep, only semi-conscious of the words you're saying I'm a fool for your belly - when everything about someone is a discovery, something you want to claim as your own, not possessively, but from [...]
This is a different kind of Sunday morning. Yes, Sunday, a day revered for it's ability to keep you subdued just a bit longer in bed, sometimes needs a little jumpstart. "I Belong In Your Arms" the tremendously sweeping new single from Brooklyn duo Chairlift, may just be the extra push you need this AM. The song beckons you in with a waving synth, only to sweep you off your feet with a drum beat that belongs in an 802s exercise video. Caroline's vocals enter in an incredibly catchy rise and fall fashion leading straight into a pre-chorus that could [...]
To see Keaton Henson perform is to walk in uninvited on a moment so honest, you'll feel guilty for having intruded but thankful for having the audacity to stay. When we first heard about Keaton Henson, we heard there was a very good chance we would never get to see him live- that is unless you somehow ended up being roommates and overheard him through a bedroom wall. His aloof demeanor, however, makes his already cutting songs all the more pure. Yes, everyone says music is a sort of personal therapy, and to Keaton that's all it is. [...]
Wilco is the band you want your kids raised on. Wilco fans are good people, because songs like "Whole Love" are just so tender and goodhearted, you can't help but look at things with a little more warmth. The video, produced by Jeff Tweedy's son beautifully reflects feelings of after-school snacks and pj's with the feet sewn in. It reflects feelings of a young family and young love. Memories of the first home, the first loose tooth, and the first day of school. To me it's a song about looking forward, and despite every reason to fearful, you're able to [...]
Teaming up guitar-savant Blake Mills , with the wonderfully rustic vocals of Danielle Haim (of incredible LA based band Haim), and have them cover the one-and-only Bob Dylan; seems like only the stuff dreams are made of. Well, think again cause this dream collab-cover is real, and part of Amnesty International's compilation, Chimes Of Freedom . The cover is wonderfully meandering and perfectly warn-in like the old trail you take down to the creek. Blake's guitar work is stunning (as we've come to expect nothing less from him) and Danielle's vocals add a perfect amount of lift to [...]
I was back in Ohio for Thanksgiving, and the radio stations had already been playing holiday music for two weeks. That's a good month before the actual day. We're not going to put you through that vigorous of a regiment. I mean, I love Christmas, but I can only hear "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" so many times before I kind of think "Mommy" is a whore. But,the season of joy is now fast approaching, so lets kick it in to holiday mood high-gear. Starting with, no doubt, the best Christmas song of all time-
The last decade has seen a real effort at exposure of Arthur Russell's work. Since his death in 1992 there's been a film and a flurry of compilations mining his apparently interminable unreleased material. This has certainly seen a surge in Russell's fame, not only as an avant-garde disco producer, but as a writer of a collection accomplished and often plaintive songs, in a range that sees him as something of a precursor to the meanderings of 'The Magnetic Fields'. There has been a tendency to neglect Russell's pre-posthumous work. He was deeply involved in the downtown scene [...]
Growing up, my family and I spent the summers in a small town in Michigan called Onekama. These vacations were some of the fondest memories growing up - mornings on the lake, shuffleboard tournaments, and bonfires on the beach of Lake Michigan. It was simple, nothing extravagant, more about the people you were with than the place you were. "Michigan" by folk duo The Milk Carton Kids would have been a wonderful parting song from this small-town oasis. Like the surrounding town, "Michigan" is bare-bones, heartfelt, and honest. It's quiet and fragile, seemingly untouched by any surrounding advancements of modern [...]
Bradford Cox, singer of Deerhunter and the name behind Atlas Sound, at this point operates at a moderate, albeit very niche, level of fame. Combine both outstanding collections of work, including the full lengths, EPs, covers, and rarities, and you will find one of the key songwriters and frontman of this now constantly growing Indie culture. With his experience has come growth, and that is why Parallax is the best Atlas Sound record yet. As a whole, it certainly is the least enigmatic of his output, which may be a negative for many long term fans. Still, this [...]
"Sunday morning took my soul" What do we think about this, guys? Sweden's ex-Idol contestant Sebastian debuted his new electropop sound in this year's MF contest back in February, but I had my reservations about that track. Now, he's following it up with a song in a similar vein. It's less instantly catchy, but it also doesn't have those moments that made me dislike the last one. I wish it had a little more oomph to it, but I'm happy that he's continued working in this genre. It's certainly a smooth little pop song. I'm not [...]
I'm almost positive that this one was found for me by Diane Werts. And you should be checking out her Christmas TV listings --apparently, holiday fare is already on the air, so don't beware; be of good chair! I mean, cheer. Yes, sir, the holiday comes earlier every year (said the blogger with the "Merry Christmas" image at his site). Of course, we say that every year. So... very, very good gospel by the Keller-York Quartet. From the LP essay: " Charles York and Norman Keller formed a gospel duet team [...]
The last time we heard from The Vinyl Skyway, it was the charming alt-country strummer "Elvis Costello" . It was much to my chagrin upon discovering the song, to learn that the band had split ways since recording. Thankfully, The Vinyl Skyway has returned from hiatus, and even more thankfully have come back with the new album Return of the Dead Surfer . The entire recored is an absolute Sunday morning album full of beautifully-crafted pop songs who's bright guitars and sweet vocals point directly to Big Star. Personal highlight "Misty Morning Fog" is [...]
More excellent performances and selections from a sampler LP--last time, it was the Christian Faith label; this time it's Zondervan Victory. Yes, this is middle of the road gospel, and yes, the album's a thrift store staple, but so what? It's great stuff. True memory: years ago, in a campus record shop, I asked about Chad Mitchell Trio LPs. The clerk looked troubled, and he asked me, "Weren't they popular?" Well, yeah. So were the Beatles and Stones, but I suspect he had no issue with them. I didn't ask, however. [...]
![[Review/Listen] – Gardens & Villa – "Gardens & Villa"](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3828536_lg.jpg)
Tweet Gardens & Villa have already received a little bit of exposure on this site, and with the completion of their self-titled album, they've done us the kindness of facilitating some more pure listening enjoyment. They've finished all the hard work, and done it well; now all we have to do is peel the cash for a copy. These fellows from Santa Barbara, California recorded a kind of sonic house party full of galactic synths, [...]
"Does his love make your head spin?" You were never supposed to hear Keaton Henson. No one was. His music was his therapy, and as a result it is hauntingly honest. Honest the way you are with only yourself, with the thoughts you keep inside your head. "You Don't Know How Luck You Are" is track about the small things in a relationship you come to miss, the things only you know because she opened up her door for the slightest second. "Does he know not to talk about your dad?" [...]
The jacket may be drab (though arty), but there's not a dull track in the bunch. I was expecting the playlist to maybe drag a little, but every performance is first-rate, and every number an inspired choice. It's nice enough to have a version of the 1866 classic, Ring the Bells of Heaven , but to have one by the Old Fashioned Revival Hour Quartet... priceless. Well, 99 cents, but that was for everything. And it's always a treat to hear good, solid renditions of I Will Sing to My Redeemer (here titled [...]
Call it habit, ritual, whatever you want - I need some smooth tracks to wake up on Sundays. Hopefully you remember Sweden's Chris Jylkke from his D.I.S.C.O. 2011 Mix one month back; he's back again with his Sense.FM mix. This certainly isn't a new mix, but there's another reason I'm writing this post. We would like to [...]
New Zealand's Glass Vaults are not strangers to Quit Mumbling. We sang the praises of their atmosphere shifting, debut album Glass in the beginning of the year and interviewed them soon after. Their new single "Gold Star" comes to us at a perfect time as the weather cools down and the night begins much earlier. It's riddled with melancholy and more landscape inspired sounds perfectly engineered to put your mind at ease. If your morning is in need of some isolated wilderness, Glass Vaults can take you there, at least for this [...]
And here is the group as pictured on the back jacket, complete with a personnel list: The Harmony Singers . From the liner notes: "The Harmony Singers originated in the spring of 1971, as a volunteer group of ladies varying in age from grandmothers to high school age. Their goal is to witness for Christ through their singing ministry. The group represents seven Mennonite churches in the Michiana area." As much as I love these tracks, I wish Charles Gabriel's Awakening Chorus had been sung in complete four-part harmony, as written. [...]
With a baby on the way, Jay-Z plans to put on the dad-pants early - albeit animated - and hit the small screen as a cartoon. However, unlike fellow hip-hop mogul Kanye West, who spoofed himself on The Cleveland Show , Hova will appear on Hub TV's new animated series Secret Millionaires Club as an industry titan, speaking about his success as a businessman and philanthropist. No word yet on whether or not we'll see an animated infant Shawn Carter hustlin' Brooklyn for some candy. In the meantime, though, [...]
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![Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/l2f6UbMnlq4_130.jpg)
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
Listen: Quakers (Geoff Barrow of Portishead) – “Fitta Happier” (ft. Guilty Simpson and M.E.D.)
Childish Gambino – Heartbeat (Justin Faust Remix)
Check Out: Public Image Ltd. – “One Drop”
