do your ears a favor.
seek magic is the fantastic debut studio record from american chillwave artist memory tapes. despite a mass of indie electronica artists struggling to discover their own unique voice, memory tapes does just that and makes it seem like child's play. seek magic is one of the greatest albums i have ever had the pleasure of listening to and i still go back to it regularly.
memory tapes is one of multiple aliases of dayve hawk. originally the frontman of rock band hail social, hawk went on to record a slew of eps and remixes under the monikers memory cassette and weird tapes before releasing seek magic.
seek magic is a rare gem of an album that incorporates a plethora of genres to create something that is both fresh and timeless. hawk's soft vocals sing cryptically poetic lyrics over a bed of dance beats, angst-fueled guitars, and dreamy lo-fi noise. and let's face it, how many albums can you think of that sample a dribbling basketball on one of the tracks? not too many, i'd imagine! seek magic is an absolute must-have and a true testament that the indie music scene is very much still alive. the entire record is perfection from start to finish but my personal favorites are "green knight," "stop talking," and "graphics." you should know what to do by now. hop to it!
01. swimming field
02. bicycle
03. green knight
04. pink stones
05. stop talking
06. graphics
07. plain material
08. run out
09. green knight (visions of trees remix)
do your ears a favor.
in heaven is the stellar debut full-length record from american indie quintet twin sister. the album is a beautiful hodgepodge of genres that compliment each other to create a lush sonic experience which draws the listener in completely.
twin sister is comprised of vocalist andrea estella, guitarist/vocalist eric cardona, bassist gabe d'amico, keyboardist dev gupta, and drummer bryan ujueta. the band's previous two eps from last year, vampires with dreaming kids and color your life, garnered a lot of buzz and placed them on several "artists to watch" lists. though both of those releases are amazing, in heaven is a natural evolution in the band's stylistic musings and they incorporate the best from both those discs.
in heaven, in essence, is a dreampop album with heavy disco influences, chillwave ambiance, and dreamy production. the vocals are ethereal and the attention to detail with atmospheric instrumentation and electronic effects is spot-on. in heaven is a gorgeous piece of sonic art created by five young people who clearly love music. this record is perfect for putting on while enjoying a joint with good company. "kimmi in a rice field," "luna's theme," and "gene ciampi" are my personal favorites, though twin sister can pretty much do no wrong. as an added bonus, i included a slew of older tracks from their previous eps. aren't you curious to find out what all the fuss is about?
01. daniel
02. stop
03. bad street
04. space babe
05. kimmi in a rice field
06. luna's theme
07. spain
08. gene ciampi
09. saturday sunday
10. eastern green
11. phenomenons
12. lady daydream
13. the other side of your face
14. all around and away we go
15. dry hump
do your ears a favor.
forever is the full-length debut record from american electronica artist sleep ∞ over. technically, she has released a slew of other eps and lps, but most of her releases are available in extremely limited quantities and her oldest work is out of print altogether.
sleep ∞ over is stefanie franciotti from right here in atx, which makes me quite the happy bunny! despite what plays on the radio, the fact is that there still are creative forces out there making music into art and the fact that stefanie is based in austin pleases me so much!
sleep ∞ over is the perfect name for an artist that creates this type of music. in all honesty, forever sounds like the soundtrack to a dream. sonic texture swirls over ambient synths to create fantastic landscapes while stefanie's unforgettable vocal strains flutter aimlessly. from start to finish, forever is a fantasy for the ears that is both haunting and sensual. my favorite songs are "romantic streams," "casual diamond," and "stickers," which is probably the single sexiest track ever recorded. the entire album is pure art, though, and i adore it. are you curious yet? i thought as much. check it!
01. behind closed doors
02. romantic streams
03. porcelain hands
04. heavens turn by themselves
05. casual diamond
06. cryingame
07. flying saucers are real
08. stickers
09. untitled
10. don't poison everything
do your ears a favor.
cupcake cave is the debut full-length album from american electronica duo healamonster & tarsier, otherwise known as h&t. this is by far one of the best records i have come across in a long time.
h&t is comprised of healmonster (burgess tomlinson) and tarsier (rona rapadas.) although they released two previous eps, cupcake cave is undoubtedly their most cohesive work to date.
it is difficult to try and put h&t into any one box, as they are known for mixing a slew of genres to create their own unique sonic persona. cupcake cave features stellar electronica production values, soft bedroom vocals, and mid-tempo breakbeats. the track "ships with lights" is absolutely legendary, but "no memory" and "sadie" also come close to being my favorite track. to be fair, though, the entire record is sheer perfection. stop listening to the bullshit that gets overplayed on the radio and give this musical art a chance. you can thank me later.
01. daxmosphere
02. ships with lights
03. rattlesnake
04. no memory
05. osceola
06. inch inch (h&t remix)
07. sadie
08. delicate
09. cupcake cave
10. six eight
do your ears a favor.
penny sparkle is the eighth studio album from american rock trio blonde redhead. that's right: EIGHTH. blonde redhead released their eponymous debut in 1995 and still, seven years later, it is perfectly likely that you have never even heard of them before, largely due to the incompetence of record labels and disc jockeys. fear not!
blonde redhead is comprised of kazu makino and twin brothers simone and amedeo pace. over the years, a few other members came and went, as is natural in the industry. the pace brothers have always remained a constant, however.
the band's discography is both impressive and complex; penny sparkle continues their journey to experiment with new sounds and mash genres together. there are elements of rock, dreampop, electronica, and even some shades of shoegaze. blonde redhead thinks outside of the box to create a sound that is all their own. penny sparkle is one of those rare records that comes along where every track is a unique experience. "my plants are dead," "love or prison," and "will there be stars?" are my faves, though i also included a few great tracks from their previous record, 23. you know the drill.
01. here sometimes
02. not getting there
03. will there be stars?
04. my plants are dead
05. love or prison
06. oslo
07. penny sparkle
08. everything is wrong
09. black guitar
10. spain
11. spring and by summer fall
12. the dress
13. 23
