Crimson&Clover

Crimson&Clover ............................ Amateur Music Connoisseur. ............................ ~A blog dedicated to great noise and the individuals who make that noise, tailored to my own liking, naturally. ............................ ~Feel free to like it along with me and never hesitate to share some of your own beloved tunes with yours truly. ............................ ~There is a playlist of the songs featured in the blog at the bottom of the screen for your listening pleasure.

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Charlie Hilton channels Mary Travers and Melody Prochet in her debut album Palana. Produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait, Palana flows at a steady, lethargic pace.

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According to the description, first half of “Supertramp USA” was produced by Death Grips and I may just believe it. It’s unbridled aggression rivals that of MC Ride’s. Frank Leone goes off wholeheartedly on this 2-part thrash party. 

Check out more of Frank Leone’s guns at his soundcloud

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wut 

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Santigold is credited for creating one of the best songs of 2012, “Disparate Youth,” a multi-layered, endlessly remix-able hit. 4 years later she’s back with 99 cents. 3 singles off her forthcoming album have been released. And they show Santigold opting for a slower groove. It’s difficult to pin down Santigold’s sound. She’s full of eclectic influences. “Chasing Shadows” has the tempo of a reggae song. It’s perfect for kicking back your feet and watching planes soar in the sky.  

Also, 99 Cents is out 2/26 via Atlantic.

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Wait for it, wait for it. “Take After You” has a delicious oscillating melody about a minute in. I lose my self every time I hear it. Topaz is the pseudonym for a Chicago-based artist who specializes in “luv” music. His recently released EP, “Phrases,” features 6 songs of taking it easy. 

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After Depression Cherry, no one was asking nor expecting another Beach House album so soon, but alas they released Thank Your Lucky Stars anyway. Now, before I get into what I think about the album, I want to say that Beach House in general has always been a very strong and promising band. They are easily the leaders of modern dreampop and their sound has an allure that I believe no other band can match. When they released Depression Cherry in August I was in love. I thought it was a phenomenal album even for them. It’s scope was vast and overall, their tracks were tight, much less cluttered than previous records. A couple months later they drop Thank Your Lucky Stars. On Twitter they said the album was “not a companion to depression cherry or a surprise or b-sides.” But I had a really hard time believing that. It’s great that the band was able to independently release new music on their own terms, but I feel like the gesture is made less cool by the actual content in the album. I feel like the album really is just a collection of b-sides. Had they released this first and Depression Cherry after, I think I would reconsider. Thank Your Lucky Stars feels weak. Tracks on this album feel like lesser versions of Beach House past. Though, if there’s a song that makes the surprise album worthwhile, it’s “Somewhere Tonight.” We’re treated to a much more vulnerable Victoria Legrand than we’re used to. And I’m thankful for that. And I’m lulled into a starry dream. 

“Love me, see what I see tonight.”

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“Something Soon” is a merciless blitz of banging percussions and desperate vocals. When I looked up the song for this post earlier today, I discovered two slightly different versions of it. Apparently, Will Toledo, Car Seat Headrest’s main architect, had written this song over 4 years ago and released it on the My Back is Killing Me album in 2011. The differences between the two recordings of the song are small, but they’re different enough to where I can’t help but feel like downloading one sacrifices the other. The 2015 version is the one I heard first and it’s undoubtedly much more refined. The drums are crisp and animated. And the production is simply what we’ve come to expect in 2015. The older version is a lot more lo-fi. It’s much less complex in terms of its percussions and there’s this buzzing white noise that might annoy listeners after a while. But if there’s one thing that makes the 2011 version better it’s a keyboard that Toledo totally dropped in his 2015 version. I think the keyboard is crucial to the chorus–without it, the chorus feels incomplete. In a perfect world, I’d combine 2011′s keyboard with 2015′s drums, but the newest rendition of “Something Soon” has already been making big waves in the musical world. It isn’t going anywhere. Thankfully, the 2011 recording still exists although with far less attention than its younger counterpart. Give it a listen above.

Teens of Style was released Oct. 30, 2015. Get it here.

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There are some songs that sound so darn familiar you can almost swear you’ve heard them before. Charlie Hilton’s “100 Million” is one of them. There’s remnants of a bygone era embedded in the single that take me back to my fuzzy childhood. The crazy thing is, I’ve never actually heard it before. I like to call music like this post-modern classic. Angel Olsen and Jessica Pratt are two artists who lead this new musical niche exceptionally well. And Charlie Hilton is working her way to be among them--channeling a time period that none of us can grasp but all of us lovingly cling to.

By the way, school’s out. More new music on the blog to come! 

Also, Palana is out 1/22.

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Emily Sprague is a brutally honest singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, NY and the premier architect behind Florist’s 5-song Holdly EP released on Oct. 30.

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Young Rival has taken everything we love about psychedelic rock and garage rock and merged it into one neatly-wrapped package that both excites and sedates at the very same time. Interior Light is a trip worthy of more than a few dozen listens.

I highly recommend checking out this album. One of my favorites of the year by far. I had a great time listening through it and reviewing it! Check out what I had to say in the link above. 

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It’s been true of everything CocoRosie has ever made or done, that they get a lot of flack for being “too weird.” Their music is unconventional in a lot of ways. For example, Bianca’s chosen singing voice has been described by one Youtube commenter as sounding like “a squeaking door.”

Another review for my student radio blog! Hear me listen and talk about some songs every Tuesday at 2 p.m. PST on wolfpackradio.org. 

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Every piece of music Danielle “Danz” Johnson produces is entirely her. It’s her obsession with old sci-fi films, her affinity for catchy synth-pop melodies, and her knack for character-driven lyrics. Danz pours all of her creative energy into Computer Magic and it shows more often than not. But there’s something about Davos that leaves me feeling underwhelmed. It’s like the magic has worn off.

Another album review I did for my student radio blog!

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The DIY, avant-garde approach is the only approach Meghan Remy has ever taken to music and it’s likely the only approach she’ll ever take. As she’s said in the past, “why add to the waste?” Her uncompromising commitment to new sounds and perspectives in music is what makes her worth listening to album after album. At worst, her music is intriguing; at best, it is evocative. And that’s exactly how I would describe Half Free: evocative.

Hey ya’ll, I’ve been super busy this semester doing school stuff. Sorry for not posting as much, but I’m still listening to new music! And I’m still writing about it! I’m just not putting it exclusively on here....

So anyway, here’s a link to my first album review for wolfpackradio.org, a little radio station I’ve been a part of since earlier this month. 

Also I have my own radio show on Tuesdays @ 2 p.m. PT called Music from the Internet. That’s the best place to catch all the stuff I’ve been listening to so listen if ya’ll can! You can stream it on the Wolf Pack Radio site!

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If you’ve never heard of Cocorosie then you’ve been missing out on some of the most luscious wordplay and eclectic instrumentals in the musical world. Cocorosie is an artistic American duo, sisters that have been drawing castles in the sky since their mother took them out of school to practice art. Their upbringing has lead to their bold experimental sound and themes. “Lost Girls” is from their upcoming album Heartache City. In true Cocorosie fashion, you never know where the band will go next. Heartache City is also a Filipino Romantic flick from 1985. Check out the album September 18. 

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Continuing those dark female pop vibes on this spellbinder, Neighbor, from a producer from Toronto named Metoux. She blends dark minimalist pop with urban pop on the transfixing, haunting gem. Hints of FKA Twigs and Purity Ring sneak through on the intoxicating song, but in a far more lo-fi and spaciously arranged way. Some of the soulful vocals on the track also remind me of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano, but more subdued and muted. Neighbor is from Kitsuné Maison’s Kitsuné America 4‏ compilation. 

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So there’s this thing with singers in bands right, where they’ll have these weird quirks when they perform like Elvis Presley’s leg spasms in “Jailhouse Rock.” First time we see it, we’re like that’s weird why is he dancing like he has leg braces? But then! After he starts singing and we realize he’s really good at it, it’s like wow that’s actually kind of cool lemme try! That’s basically what I think when I think Taste Nasa. It has that sexy allure that made weirdos like David Bowie strangely cool. 

“Time Goes By” sets the tone to shamelessly corny romance right from the get-go. 

“It’s midnight. It’s so cold. How dare you be alone.”

Ah yes, midnight, the most sensual of hours! For the rest of the song, he’s right up on you begging for a soft touch. There’s a noticeable 80s big city vibe to it. Like when was the last time you heard a saxophone solo? Plus the artwork and font for the album cover remind me of generic bowling alley carpet which is another 90s thing. 

For more on Taste Nasa’s latest EP, Time Goes By, visit their website.

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Jackson Scott’s official single, “Ripe for Love,” for his upcoming album, Sunshine Redux, is superbly multi-faceted. He’s trying on so many different personas, showcasing all the different tones he can pull off. It’s a great mix and a perfect song for anybody wanting to know what Jackson Scott is about in 6 minutes. Here’s more on Jackson Scott.