Nothing Sounds Better

 

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Bandcamp Recommendations to Benefit ACLU: NSB Edition

Today Bandcamp will donate their share of any purchase made in their catalogue to the ACLU. In addition to Bandcamp’s donations, many record labels/individual artists are donating their share to the cause of protecting constitutional rights. The only catch? Bandcamp’s massive catalog. I’m throwing up a few of my favorite purchases I’ve made through the platform as recommendations for where you should throw your money today. This isn’t the most obscure list of Bandcamp jewels, just spreading a few of my favorites to honor a very generous and amazing motion put forth by an important platform for independent music.

NOTE: I tried to include records from the list of sources donating 100% of profits, but I didn’t go wholly by that. If an album asks for you to pay what you want, obviously please put a dollar amount that will benefit the ACLU.

Listen/purchase: flowers by Infinity Crush

Listen/purchase: EarthEE by THEESatisfaction

Listen/purchase: Slop by Forth Wanderers

Listen/purchase: NO RUIDO NO NOISE by NO RUIDO / NO NOISE

Listen/purchase: Infinite House by Ava Luna

Listen/purchase: asdfasdf by katie dey

Listen/purchase: Telefone by Noname

Listen/purchase: Paradise Valley by Grouper

Here’s a list of artists affected by the immigration policies/Muslim ban, as compiled by Bandcamp staff: https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/01/31/bandcamp-human-rights/

Enjoy your tunes and constitutional rights, folks. Make Bandcamp and the ACLU proud today, and don’t forget to donate to local refugee-settling organizations and the groups doing the hard work of organizing resistance.

- KM

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“Headache” - Grouper

A ho-hum strum, soul-pleasing reverb, a few lyrics that quickly fall victim to Liz Harris’ ambiguous soundscapes--2016 ended as pleasantly for me as I could have hoped with this new Grouper track. Everything falls back into the sea, and Liz Harris returns to an acoustic, pleasing croon about pain. These things--time, pain, celebration--seem inherently cyclical, but there’s an impressive amount of effort in “Headache,” Liz Harris’ first new work under the Grouper alias since 2014. 

Ruins was a difficult listen, even by Harris’ standards. Her bleak soundscapes sounded torn, raw, and ate away at whatever vitality I had left for her ambient work following the b-side compilation The Man Who Died In His Boat. The latter had such a strong impression on me that “Living Room,” the album’s coda, now exists as such a strong and impressive emotional trigger that I often leave the track halfway through whenever I gin up the courage to listen. 

“Headache” doesn’t feel particularly repetitious, but it approaches Harris’ past in a way that Ruins, Boat, and even her fuzz-pop band Helen couldn’t have prepared me for. It’s trite, but I can recall a few dozen walks soundtracked by “Heavy Water / I’d Rather Be Sleeping,” which is still the closest Harris’ has ever come to what I think as traditional pop songwriting. “Headache” has none of that song’s propulsion, but instead allows the waves to lap at your feet. Soaking, not seeking, “Headache” ruminates on a dull pain while Harris’ layered vocals mutter compelling filler in between the plainly spoken “My head hurts.” And who wasn’t hurting after 2016? I thank Harris for not proclaiming the discomfort as revelatory. Instead, she drifts with us.

I’m still sitting here processing all of last year, but now I have a bit of gratitude mixed in that procession. There are still people willing to sit, take a moment, announce pain, and sit with it. I don’t have to move to the next 2017 listicle. Liz Harris knows it’s been a year.

And for the hell of it, give Paul Clipson’s gorgeous 16mm footage set to “Headache.” There are far worse visual accompaniments to have. 

- KM

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After a lengthy hiatus, the Nothing Sounds Better podcast reconvenes within the Church of Grimes to meditate on her newest release, Art Angels.

Additional links:

Grimes’ interview with The Guardian. 

Grimes and the Art of Internalized Misogyny by Caitlin White. 

Buy Art Angels via 4AD. 

[nothingsoundsbetter]

“Pretzel Drunk” - Beverly Tender

Across Beverly Tender’s debut Lord Mayor Makes 1,000 Speeches, no other song quite captures the duo’s penchant for wading through melancholy and light-hearted exploration than “Pretzel Drunk.” From the first goofy swing of the bass line to last sincere utterance of displacement, the duo’s solid footing is established in a song that understands travel, both emotional and physical. Molly Hastings, the band’s singer/guitarist/supreme-mumbler, issues saccharine notes about being alone, crying, and being away from home. It’s the strongest composition on the small record, an exciting clash of Hastings’ soft voice and the agile, nervous guitar work that’s scattered across the album’s six songs.

Maybe it’s confessional, and maybe it’s not. It feels vulnerable, self-aware, and a little playful. That might be all you need while on the road. 

- Kyle Minton

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“Feel You” - Julia Holter

I’m a huge fan of Julia Holter, tweeting not-infrequently over the past few months about how I was waiting, totally patiently, for new music from Holter (I didn’t tag her of course - that’s a bridge too far). That new music dropped today, along with album details, a music video, and the most god damn adorable dog. 

Although an adorable dog is among the most distracting things on this or, I’d venture to guess, any planet, it only briefly distracts from the beauty of “Feel You" and its impeccable structure. Where Loud City Song’s first single was the exceedingly minimal and moody “World,” our entrée into Have You In My Wilderness is big, bright and full of sound, causing the heart to swell and flutter just as “World” had it skipping a beat.

Have You In My Wilderness is coming out on Domino and was recorded with LSW cohort Cole M. Greif-Neill. Its release date is September 25, and it has a website with some handwritten notes and pre-order options (here’s the U.S. one). Holter is on a world tour, but that does not include the North American part of the world as of yet. Which is fine - we’re spoiled. I’ll just be in my corner of Twitter once more, waiting patiently, once again.

- Tyler Hanan

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“Wave of History” - Downtown Boys

I didn’t get to Downtown Boys’ new album, Full Communism, for an even worse reason than the usual late pass excuses. My brain read an email with “Downtown Boys” in the subject and interpreted it as Australian hardcore group “Goodtime Boys.” The names are similar, but the context clues were plentiful enough that I should’ve realized my mistake right away. Downtown Boys are most definitely not signed to Bridge Nine, and Goodtime Boys, a pretty rad band themselves the last I checked, are no bilingual political sax punk party.

So I messed up. I’m here now, for what that’s worth (Edit: I’ve checked, and it’s “not much.” Damn.). I really wanted to share single “Monstro,” the flailing beast that almost made me Exhibit A of the Spontaneous Compustion Convention. I also have a lot of love for “Dancing In The Dark,” a melodious spot of positivity and dance at the end of the Full Communism firebrand.

Ultimately, the video for “Wave of History” felt too meaningful to pass on highlighting. It takes the band’s messages and adds a frank visual element more effective than any college PowerPoint I had - something that wasn’t needed, but certainly adds to the track’s oomph. It has only been a few months since the video’s release, but the messages within - statistics on America’s history of racism and the insidiousness of our prison system - are issues that will plague us indefinitely if we don’t do something about them. Every little bit helps, though - even if it’s just a white music blogger taking stock of his privilege.

- Tyler Hanan

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Nothing Soundscast: 

Warped Controversy: Jake Mcelfresh Edition

Veritable pop-punk vet Kayla St. Onge educates us on the scandal revolving around Jake Mcelfresh's sexual misconduct on Warped Tour. Is Warped Tour a "safe place for outcasts?" Can it recover? Do we want it to? Did we really listen to Escape the Fate when we were younger? Join us for the disappointing and mildly embarrassing answers. 

Subscribe to us on iTunes. Or, if you’d prefer, take our RSS Feed to your preferred program.

Additional Links:

Read Kayla St. Onge and Jonathan Diener’s article “Pop Punk and Feminism.”  

Stereogum: Bands Protest Fellow Warped Tour Act Accused of Sexual Misconduct

RAINN: Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network

New York Times: A Pop-Punk Singer and the Blurred Line Between Digital Fan Mail and Trouble

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“Magnifying Glass” - Girlpool

There’s a good chance it takes more time to read this post than it does to watch Girlpool’s “Magnifying Glass” video. The advertisement YouTube tried to stick me with the first time I watched it was at least twice as long. That’s the magic of a Girlpool or a Frankie Cosmos or any of my other ten most recent new favorites - they create brief, fabulous melodies that stick and stay. Big, distended epics are cool and all, but usually I’d rather twirl about on my walk downtown, singing “I just miss how it felt standing next to you/Wearing matching dresses before the world was big.”

That’s a different song, though. “Magnifying Glass” is the most extreme example of these spare, earnest songs that compel me to worry fellow pedestrians with my gleeful sidewalk antics. It’s the shortest song on an album of such (Before the World Was Big) by a fairly wide margin. The video makes the most of its forty seconds, taking the lyrics quite literally in a series of stop motion photos - teeth magnified, faces mushed with dandelions, people pulled, people growing in the garden, “pick with your hands.” It’s such ephemeral delight.

Listen to the album, whether it’s news to you or not. There’s a good chance they’re playing near you soon - go see them.

[nothingsoundsbetter]

“Them Changes” - Thundercat

If we’ve learned anything from You’re Dead and To Pimp a Butterfly, it’s that a little Thundercat goes a long, long way. Though he’s already made his significant splash this year on what is undoubtedly the most talked-about records of the year, The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam is a star-studded flash of Stephen Bruner’s cosmic funk genius. 

The six-song EP features the legendary Herbie Hancock whispering sweet, mystical nothings with his keyboard on “Lone Wolf and Cub,” but the album’s true star is the signature combination of the Thundercat falsetto and the twisted production values from Flying Lotus on “Them Changes.” A bloated, aquatic bass line undulates just under Bruner’s earnest plea for understanding in the midst of heartbreak. Fortunately, it’s more of a danceable exploration of trust in others than a pit of despair.

However, the Brainfeeder collaborations don’t stop there. Miguel-Atwood Ferguson, Mono/Poly, and Kamasi Washington all contribute production work to the solemn musings, whether it’s adding fragile strings to “Song for the Dead” or Washington’s plump sax on the aforementioned “Them Changes.”

It’s not a brand new direction from 2013′s Apocalypse, but The Beyond seems to ride off the enthusiasm of Thundercat’s superb contributions as of late. It is also, to the exception of Them Changes, a fairly downtrodden and dark affair both in tempo and subject. Nevertheless, it’s as arresting and required as anything Bruner gets his hands on.

Grab The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam on Brainfeeder. 

- Kyle Minton

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"was the worst thing that ever happened to me” - The Mineral Girls

Charlotte’s The Mineral Girls brandished a new record last month, Cozy Body, which transplants the production fuzz from the guitars to Brett Green’s vocals while still spouting emotional maxims from their sad-boy cores. The songs are more tightly wound, even professionally arranged, but this is still break-up music. “I don’t lie to you like you think I do, and I don’t know you anymore” is not particularly new or subtle given the improvements Cozy Body makes in every other area for the trio, but it’s still worth blasting on summer evenings. 

If you’re looking for more sentimental sing-a-longs, I can only recommend the opener “Sunshine Biscuit Club,” which is the other example of The Mineral Girls doing what every other band clamoring for a Topshelf Records sign does, but with twice the refinement and enthusiasm. There’s a moment to relent and move on, but The Mineral Girls haven’t figured it out, and we’re luckier for it. 

Order Cozy Body via Self Aware Records. 

- Kyle Minton

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“Splint” - The Flashbulb

Benn Jordan has been making music as The Flashbulb since I was single digits (’99), but I’ve only just dropped in on it. The Flashbulb’s new EP, aBliss, was released the other day without much fanfare, and it reads like a pretty fine entry point into his IDM oeuvre. Not that I would actually know, because, you know, I’m new. 

Besides Bandcamp supporters’ testaments to the album being a mixture of styles and blending of Flashbulb eras (the former of which anyone could confirm after one go-round), the 5 tracks span sounds both glitch-rampant and quietly spacious. I’m partial to the hip hop chill of “Splint,” with its cold and damp textures creating a very meditative place in which one can just be, man. 

aBliss clocks in at a brisk 16 1/2 minutes, and the entirety of that brief span provides an entirely cathartic feeling, whether it be in the more hyped moments or the more restrained ones. Stream it here. 

- Tyler Hanan

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“Hot Mess” - Shamir

I wasn’t even close to getting an early seat up front on the Shamir Bailey bandwagon - I’m somewhere in the back, shoved in a corner where I’m attempting to strategically position myself in just such a way as to maximize my breathing room. I’m back here with the other newbies who were at the Fader Fort at SXSW, watching the young (so very, very young) Shamir evade security in a quest to hug ever last person in the crowd. 

My heart was already captured before he hopped in the crowd, There was such a languorous ease in his voice, and the music was funky, weird, and genderfluid. “On The Regular” and “Call It Off” are now steadfast parts of my listening rotation, but I craved new material. 

Now there’s an album: Ratchet. There are a number of quick favorites besides the singles, including the buzzy wonk of “Make A Scene,” but I’m partial to the dank, woozy club of “Hot Mess” this morning. That will likely change after another listen or two, once the light of day penetrates this cube, but the cowbell reigns ‘til then.

- Tyler Hanan

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Nothing Soundscast: Tyler Andere of Portals

It's Tyler vs. Tyler in this interview with Tyler Andere of music website Portals. We discuss how Portals got started, Tyler Andere's role as creative director, and how the face of music blogging has changed over the past few years.

Subscribe to us on iTunes. Or, if you’d prefer, take our RSS Feed to your preferred program.

Additional Links:

This should go without saying, but check out Portals. I recommend the recent Residency project with Eskimeaux. 

Nixon’s interview with Tyler Andere.

Travel back in time and listen to Portals’ third mixtape, their SXSW playlist. It was my (Kyle’s) first introduction to the website and is still a fantastic listen today. 

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“Swimming” - Kotomi

Lauren Hillman hit us with this new song at the perfect time. The weather has finally swung to the temperate, sunny conditions we’ve been longing for, and this new Kotomi single gets us hyped for lounging in it.

Gorilla Vs. Bear premiered “Swimming” yesterday, using, well, many of the same adjectives that came to my mind when we first got the song: warm, balmy, chill, woozy - you know how words work. It’s the smoothest summer slow jam, the sound of bobbing with the motion of some warm, lazy waves. Hop on in.

Everyone could use peak relaxation vibes like this, and Kotomi is going to continue spoiling us for the foreseeable future. The first Tuesday of every month will bring a new free download. Find more here.

- Tyler Hanan

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“Sparrow” - Eskimeaux

When I first hear a song I like from an artist I’m new to, I’ll follow them on Facebook, a gesture that is pretty small but, in some way, might help them out by boosting the first numbers people check. It’s a simple thing to do, a small measure of support that comes before I share the track. Sometimes I forget following the artist, or somehow misplace my knowledge of the actual artist and song.

That’s what’s happened to me with Eskimeaux, who’ve been popping up more and more in the places I go for new things in the past month. They spoke with The Le Sigh. The statement on the band’s name landed at the top of my feed. I may not be able to remember when exactly Eskimeaux’s first hook caught me, but I won’t be allowing myself to forget them again. Probably.

This has been further cemented with some recent news. Eskimeaux is touring with NSB favorites Elvis Depressedly and Mitski this summer, with the Michigan stop being a chance to see the former for the second time and to atone for missing the latter at SXSW.

The more immediately rewarding news is a new single, “Sparrow,” off upcoming album O.K. Refined and intimate, “Sparrow” is a small, soft sound with an emotional deftness fed by some truly impeccable song structure. Gentle builds, soft pauses, and smart, precise percussion make these three minutes a true delight.

I’m looking forward to the release of O.K. on Double Double Whammy on May 12. At least, that’s what I would have said if I’d published this post when I started it last week. Now I can just dive into the album, since the NY Times is streaming it.

- Tyler Hanan

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“Saint Etienne” - Lyttet

Per their all-caps bio, Lyttet enter their third year of life with a debut EP bearing the title Initium:Finis - “beginning:end.” This follows The Distance, and it follows the lead of those two titles: beautiful and non-specific. 

I’m not sure what Claire Nicole is singing about, but it sure is pretty. I’m more than okay with floating down this river, bobbing gently in the misty haze, unaware of what’s happening but enjoying the ride regardless. 

Lie back; let “Saint Etienne” carry you. The edges are soft, but the eletronics are expansive. It envelopes and enfolds in its ethereal fortress, “haunted” by a more loving and gentle presence. 

Initium:Finis is out now. 

[nothingsoundsbetter]

“Anna, Please Don’t Go” - Life In Film

I have no actual idea what the weather is like in other parts of the country today. Judging by all the television I watch, I’m guessing sunny, warm, and beautiful. In this part of the greater Detroit area, all is damp and gloom. It’s perfect weather for a break-up song, if only it would start raining again during the first chorus. Maybe there will be someone, somewhere, reaching out to a figure walking resolutely away into the gloom.

This cinematic moment will be soundtracked by Life In Film, a polished, trendy London quartet who’ve captured the ears of the melancholic and the fashion industry, apparently.

This snippet isn’t so much an emotional haymaker as it is a masterclass in the beauty in being bummed. The recoding is crisp and clear, each flourish precisely placed. It’s surprisingly spritely for a song with such heartache, touching down to wreak havoc before flitting away on a string crescendo. 

“Anna, Please Don’t Go” comes off Live In Film’s new album Here It Comes. Due out May 5, it is streaming on Pandora now.