Music, Musings & Meanderings

Mostly Music. Often Insight. Sometimes Nonsense. Follow @markzohar !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

[markzohar]

You Belong To Me by Nico Yaryan. California singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nico Yaryan is the son of hippies who spends his time working on a marijuana farm. The latest track from his forthcoming debut album, What a Tease, is true to form: hazy, low-key, soulful and groovy. Take a listen and pass the cheetos! 

[markzohar]

No One Like You by Easy Love. The debut track from Easy Love, the new band formed by Summer Twins members Justine and Chelsea Brown. Check out their four track EP on their Bandcamp page for a further sampling of their golden tinged California dream pop sound.  

[markzohar]

Homeward by Ethan Burns. The debut track from 25 year old Californian Ethan Burns is a gritty soulful track that recalls 60′s Stax and R&B music and more contemporary soul artists like Leon Bridges. From Burns’ forthcoming debut album, Illusion. 

[markzohar]

Real Love Baby by Father John Misty. Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty) just dropped a surprise new track on his SoundCloud page with the simple caption, “why not”. Well, why not, indeed! Sit back and chill out to the soft 70′s rock grooves of this new song from FJM. 

[markzohar]

Okkervil River R.I.P. by Okkervil River. The first track from Okkervil River’s forthcoming album, Away, out September 9th, is a languid and melancholic song about getting through adversity and loss. Will Sheff has said that the album “is not really an Okkervil River album and it’s also my favorite Okkervil River album.” 

[markzohar]

“Beyond the point of no return/and it’s too late, the damage is done.” Happy Mother’s Day, courtesy of Thom Yorke, Radiohead and Paul Thomas Anderson. 

[markzohar]

Lovely Girl by Chris Wilson. The first track from Waterloo, IL native Chris Wilson’s debut album, Christopher Playground, could easily be mistaken for a long lost Donovan b-side. Step into the time machine and let Wilson transport you to the late 60′s with his psychedelic flower-power and 60′s chamber pop sound. 

The album was recorded in our old bedrooms in our parents house in Waterloo. I’ve always thought of it as short poems put to music. It was sort of an “art project” for me, doing something different than how I usually write while I wasn’t working on my band ‘Northport with my brother. 

[markzohar]

Phases by Pearl Charles. Pearl Charles is only 23 years old but is already well known in the Los Angeles musical community. At age 18, she was touring with the Americana band The Driftwood Singers and then was the drummer and singer for lo-fi surf rock band The Blank Tapes. She went solo in 2015 and is set to release her debut EP this summer. Her sound is timeless yet contemporary, drawing on such influences as 60′s and 70′s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters as well as artists like Jenny Lewis, Sharon Van Etten and Mac DeMarco. 

[markzohar]

Young American by Snakes. The first song from Baltimore-based Snakes' forthcoming self-titled debut out May 6th on Fleeting Youth Records. The band describes their music as country/western/rock n’ roll and you can definitely hear all those genres and influences on this lead single. Twang on!

[markzohar]

Swimming by Robin Pecknold. A psychedelic reverb-heavy instrumental track from Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold. Featuring percussion from Neal Morgan, known for his work with Joanna Newsom and Bill Callahan. 

[markzohar]

Cold Blood by Josiah & The Bonnevilles. Tennessee’s Josiah Leming draws heavily on the tradition of Americana and singer-songwriter folk music. The title track from his band’s new EP is simple, sparse and sorrowful. 

I wrote Cold Blood when I was living between Vegas on my own and in LA with my ex, it was not an easy song to write. I’m not sure if it’s a break up song, or a song about being a failure, or a fraud, I guess it’s a mix of all of those things. At the time I was listening heavily to Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt whose music played a big role in the production approach… That, and having to be resourceful budget-wise, for instance, the background singer on “Cold Blood” and “Can You Hear It”, Elizabeth Hopkinson, was someone I found on Craigslist. - Josiah Leming

[markzohar]

Past Lives by Local Natives. This past week LA five-piece Local Natives released their first new music since their standout 2013 album, Hummingbird. The new single, Past Lives, is a widescreen track that features driving expansive percussion and soaring harmonies. 

The world is not static, it’s made new over and over again. But we tend to live the same patterns in a loop, loving the same way, wrestling the same demons, the same dynamics playing out around us again and again. Untangling every moment and decision that led us to where we are now can make fate feel concrete, inescapable. But our world is not fixed, it’s constantly reemerging, and we can change it into whatever we want. - Taylor Rice, Local Natives

[markzohar]

Magic Mountain by Pleasure Beach. A euphoric anthemic track from Belfast’s Pleasure Beach. Roll down the windows and turn this up. 

[markzohar]

Gaps In The Border Fence by Esper Scout. The new single from this experimental four-piece is a dark screeching rocker that is reminiscent of Silversun Pickups and Esben & The Witch. From the band’s forthcoming 7″ due out May 20th. 

The song is rooted in Russia and other countries affected by the Cold War. Inspired by ‘How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin’, a documentary about the conflict of cultural control during a time of expressive restriction.

[markzohar]

Bruised Ego by Fletcher C Johnson. Brooklyn-based trio Fletcher C Johnson are back with their blend of jangly guitar-pop and 60′s influenced folk-rock. From their new album, Lesson In Tenderness. 

[markzohar]

Destroyer by Kevin Morby. Pastoral country-folk in the tradition of Bob Dylan, The Band and Leonard Cohen. In short, the perfect track to spin on #RecordStoreDay. From Kevin Morby’s just released third solo album, Singing Saw, which was (not surprisingly) recorded in Woodstock, New York. 

[markzohar]

Popular by The Anchoress. Welsh singer-songwriter (and PhD) Catherine Ann Davies (aka The Anchoress) released her debut album, Confessions of a Romance Novelist, earlier this year. Somewhat of a concept album, Davies explains that the album explores the themes of "deconstructing normative ideas of love and romance...Each song is sung by a different character, what you might call a musical ghost writing of sorts."

Here is Davies providing some background on this track from the album:

It came out of something my Mum used to say to me all the time during some particularly tough years at my first school. Kids seem to have some innate sixth sense for difference and decided I was ‘weird’ from the outset.

We had a brilliant time producing this track as I hope you can hear from all the crazy voices and ad libs. It’s rare that something turns out exactly how you hear it in your head. I spent an additional week during mixing on piecing together and extending the end reprise section (yes, it's supposed to sound like that.