Hello friends, today I'd like to bring you another addition of the Tinkercity Playlist, where I get a chance to share some of the music that I've been enjoying as of late. While I often bring you deep cuts from past years, today I'm focusing on fairly new material and I hope that you find the enjoyment that I do. DIG!
Alt-J /// Interlude
Interlude is a short piece of music by indie genre benders Alt-J from the 2012 debut record "An Awesome Wave". Although not from 2017 and extremely quick in it's entrance and exit, I felt compelled to share it with you. It contains this beautiful baroque restraint in form and tone. Completely A Capella and extremely immersing, the vocals swim and bounce into each other in the most interesting of ways. The phrasing and choice of time and feel has this deep sense of hope and oddity, perhaps a mystery of sorts. In a way, that sort of thing is the lay of the land as far as my creativity goes --- a mystery beyond in the horizon, full of hope and the unknown.
She only ever walks to count her steps
Eighteen strides and she stops to abide
By the law that she herself has set
That eighteen steps is one complete set
And before the next nine right and nine left
She looks up at the blue
And whispers to all of the above
Don't let me drown, don't breathe alone
No kicks no pangs no broken bones
Never let me sink, always feel at home
No sticks no shanks and no stones
Never leave it too late, always enjoy the taste
Of the great grey world of hearts
As all dogs everywhere bark
It's worth knowing
Like all good fruit the balance of life is in the ripe and ruin
Future Islands /// Ran
Ran, one of the first singles off of the American Synth-Pop band Future Islands' "The Far Field" is a fantastic track that epitomizes the feel and energy of the band. Future Islands led by the enigmatic and powerful Samuel Herring push and pull you to a post modern synth wonderland. There's just this beautiful sadness that has a joyous feel in this track. Common to most of their catalog, Future Islands makes sad songs that you can move to. There's also this sense of musical theatrics and pomp and brashness from the grunts and growls of Herring's vocals. It's essentially the artist letting themselves fall completely into the ether... exactly my kind of thing! Wreckless abandon for the sake of song, the sake of the moment, all with this aspect of love and caring. Future Islands are an unusual band in the most of interesting and addicting ways and I couldn't help but share them with you.
Big Thief /// Mythological Beauty
Mythological Beauty is the first single from the 2017 sophomore release "Capacity" from Brooklyn, NY based band Big Thief. A soft tumbling sort of tune, filled with beautiful acoustic guitar embellishments and "feels" that would make fans of Elliot Smith "XO" meets "Melancholy & The Infinite Sadness" era Smashing Pumpkins very happy. I am indeed one of those persons, taking in the slow melodic tide and loving every minute of it. I'm reminded, of course, of those artists I mentioned above, but also slightly less obvious choices such as Pinback and Built To Spill. There's this abstract essence of indie-melodic abandon filling the halls of "Capacity," and Mythological Beauty is a perfect example, calling to me with every ounce of nostalgic beauty. I've been rewarded with a strange experience from time to time in my life while listening to music that holds this type of nostalgia --- I can actually smell scents based on sound memories. I can't quite explain this phenomenon but when I listen to certain pieces of music --- this track included, I can smell the scent of a vanilla candle from my teenage years spent holed up in my room ingesting everything I could get my hands on musically. Another record as a whole, that has this odd ability to transport my senses, is the above mentioned "Melancholy & The Infinite Sadness". I consider this a cherished moment, allowing your ears to have this interesting conversation with your memories, calling up scents and subtle sounds. A Mythological Beauty indeed.
Mondo Cozmo /// Hold Onto Me
Josh Ostrander also known as the artist Mondo Cozmo has quickly become one of my favorite Los Angeles based acts. Highly regarded on the taste-making radio station KCRW, Mondo Cozmo yield a familiar yet incredibly invigorating sound. Hold Onto Me is a fantastically simple song filled with giant leaps of musical fanfare, and what I can only describe as emanating light and sound. It's a huge sounding track that just reels you in from the moment it starts. Ostrander's Bob Dylan meets Thom York vocal prowess adds a layer of undeniable power and stance. Hold Onto Me is a joyous building block of a song that is so full of vigor and inspiration that I could easily see it being licensed for the "We Will Rock You" type commercial spots. It's an enormous song sonically and it calls you to hit play again and again.
In the video below, Ostrander calls upon his friend and actor Anna Faris to star in a very poignant and beautiful piece that essentially is a visit to an assisted living facility with real people experiencing joy in the biggest of ways. The fleeting sense of longevity along with the utter happiness they all experience in the video is simply powerful and important. It helps usher in the reality that life is precious and so are we, worth holding onto for every amazing moment of joy.