Z Tapes • Christmas 2021

Carols for Christmas 2021 are here to bring you cheer. :) 

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, stay warm and kind to one another! 

Cover art designed and baked by Hello Incognito (helloincognito.bandcamp.com/album/greenhorn) 

Mastering and track order by Etai (twitter.com/etaimusic) 

All profits will be donated to Depaul Slovensko, a Slovakian charity dsorganization and homeless shelter. 

Advance Base Christmas Special 2021

Tom Rosenthal • Letter Song • 2021

http://tomrosenthal.co.uk

I hope your adventures are still misconceived

And how are you?

Don't say fine

I enclose to you a little cheque

For your gambling debts

And your secret lives

I don't know how you'd write to me

But you could try

Send it in the morning with a lick of light

Fire it into the dead of night

Oh, you might not recognise me

When I get back

Are you still coming last or first?

Stay out of the middle

And roll your dice

Nothing is the end of the world

Except the end of the world

So hold your light

Oh, this postcard may beat me home

May beat me home, I know

Have you tried Montaigne on friendship?

Maybe give it a go

Did England win the world cup?

We don't get mail or papers here

But that doesn't mean that I'm giving up

And if you write to me then it might appear

I don't know how you'd get to me

But you could try

Send it with the calling of the evening light

And fire it into a summer's night

Oh, you might not recognize me

When I get back

Oh, you might not recognize me

Oh, you might not recognize me when I get back

What's your latest obsession?

And tell me, how is your mum?

What will your face look like

When I see you again, my son?

Emma Kupa • Hey Love • 2020

Second single from the Emma Kupa album It Will Come Easier. This is a love song and it is about appreciating and noticing the positive things about a relationship.

https://fikarecordings.com/news-posts/2020/07/emma-kupa-hey-love

Joe Kenkel • Sweeping • 2021

'Sweeping' is inspired by the mundane acts of kindness that we perform, without huffing and puffing, for those we care for. Acts of friendship and love don’t have to be some grand gesture. They are most often: sharing a meal, giving a ride to the airport, lending a book, sweeping the cat hair from the floor, etc.  

Chiming in with swirling synth-led grooves, reminiscent of a warm summer day, the track is soft-spoken and airy, making it feel familiar and welcoming from the gate."
- PopWrapped

"Kenkel, a sophisticated folk-rock songwriter, documents Music City’s idiosyncrasies on his debut LP, with acutely observant lyrics that weave their way through a host of characters that you’ve probably encountered: strange men with unsolicited advice, churchgoing neighbors, the guy sweeping up downtown after the party crowd makes its way home."
- Nashville Scene

"Kenkel’s drumming and synth inject a fluid current underneath, carrying the song with precision and care."
- Post Trash

"Joe Kenkel is a kindred spirit, a folk rock singer with respect but not reverence for the certitudes of Southern life."
- Dusted Magazine

Joris Delacroix • Homie • 2021

Speaking of the single, Joris Delacroix tells us: “‘Homie’ is the kind of music I enjoy producing the most. It’s all about mixing peaceful and dreamy vibes with powerful and uplifting sensations in a constantly evolving way. This contradictory feeling resonates deep inside in me and I still need to express it through my music. The style is between House music and Electronica and the main theme takes influences from Stephan Bodzin and Vitalic.”

Stream ‘Homie’

A power-changed wave of beautiful synths, Joris Delacroix's new single "Homie" is nothing short than electrifying.

Well-known for his deep house sound, the producer is constantly evolving and currently exploring the world of melodi techno and progressive house and "Homie" is an evidence for that. Joris Delacroix has performed live at Cercle’s Rooftop Performance series and earned over 75 million plays across streaming platforms to date with support from industry titans like Dancing Astronaut, Wonderland Magazine, and CLASH Magazine. stereofox

George Harrison • My Sweet Lord • 2021

features all-star cast of more than forty musicians, actors and comedians in tribute to harrison’s influence on music, film and comedy

stars fred armisen and vanessa bayer and features mark hamill, ringo starr, joe walsh, jeff lynne, jon hamm, natasha leggero, darren criss, rosanna arquette, “weird al” yankovic, patton oswalt, reggie watts, tim and eric, taiki waititi, and many more

GeorgeHarrison.com

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison's classic solo album, All Things Must Pass is celebrated with a suite of new releases including  a stunning new mix of the classic album by Grammy Award-winning mixer/engineer Paul Hicks, overseen by executive producer Dhani Harrison.

San Fermin & The Districts • Nothingness • 2021

Speaking on the track, San Fermin frontman Ellis Ludwig-Leone said: "It was super fun to work with Rob on this song. I’ve been a fan of The Districts since we saw them at Sasquatch in 2015, and it was cool to put this one together with him piece by piece. We started with the chorus and then layered instruments in until we found the right arrangement."

Website

"With quirky synths, soulful vocals and dream-filled hazy soundscapes, San Fermin and The Districts have crafted a perfect expressive slow-burned bop."
- EARMILK

"Vibey, blissful, and oh-so-dreamy"
- FLOOD

"It’s a characteristically lush offering, with hints of San Fermin’s expansive string-backed chamber pop soundscapes set against Jenn Wasner’s ethereal vocals and some warm synth melodies."
- Under the Radar

"Lush, with an emphasis on both harmony and rhythm."
- Brooklyn Vegan

Hurray for the Riff Raff • RHODODENDRON • 2021

http://www.hurrayfortheriffraff.com

Rhododendron

Night blooming jasmine

Deadly nightshade

Fox glove renegade

Rhododendron

I can hear you speaking

You can feel me breathing

Break my head open

Morning glory

Naked boys

Limestone everglade

Police barricade

Rhododendron

I can't look back

I lost it all on this one way track

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Rhododendron

Wake up in a field of corn

Staring at a sky reborn

Oh, spirit find me

Oh, spirit guide me

Addicted to the high of violence

Full moon maple

Chamico perfume

Wrap your limbs around me

This won't be over soon

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Don't turn your back on the mainland

Rhododendron

Everything I have is gone

And I don't know what it'll take to carry on

Everything I have is gone

And I don't know what it'll take to carry on

And I don't know what it'll take to carry on

And I don't know what it'll take to carry on

And I don't know what it'll take to carry on

Stanley Brinks & Freschard • "Lion Heart" • 2021

"a pleasant soundtrack to a lazy summer evening armed only with your favourite libation and, to quote Stanley Brinks himself, “time and nothing on your mind”." Drowned In Sound

Kitten • The End of Sunshine • 2021

Website

Written and recorded over a period that included the departure of band members, a global pandemic, and myriad extracurricular commitments, Personal Hotspots uses an eclectic palette to chart the wild peaks and valleys of the group’s psyche. Perhaps no song better encapsulates the record’s mix of malaise and hope, anxiety and euphoria than album opener “The End of Sunshine”. Showcasing the band’s signature genre-agnosticism, “The End of Sunshine” incorporates psychedelia, gospel, and classic rock into a bedroom pop lament. The accompanying video, directed by Ayesha Fernandez, shows a series of vignettes in the fictionalized lives of the band members: a lonely guitarist by the beach, a lifetime gambler with a lucky break, a bed-ridden girl moving from darkness to ecstasy. 

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez • '40 Days' • 2021

https://www.instagram.com/rainasokolovgonzalez/

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is a singer/composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Born into a family of musicians, music was Raina’s first language and it runs deep within her veins. Rooted in Jazz and R&B, the songwriter invites us into her unique sonic world with harmonic nuance and lyrical poetry. 

 

Raina’s cross-genre style is built from the bottom up. With improvisation as a starting point for her songs, Raina draws on her emotionality and leans into her perception of the world around, uncovering hidden depths within daily life and articulating personal truth with vulnerability and bravery. Songwriting is her way of processing and understanding life in all its complexity.

 

Off of her latest album, If They’re Mine, is the slow-burning single “40 Days” - a subtly complex story about a struggle to let go. It’s hard to let go and it’s especially hard to let go of people who have hurt you, as backwards as that may seem. At the core of “40 Days” is the desire to let go, to be soft, to live in expansive harmony, and the accompanying choir embodies that desire. Community, shared truth and recognition help set us free. 

Safety Town • Fade Away • 2021

Only A Dream

"The album was written using an entrancing synth-pop palette, making each track utterly ear-worm-worthy and perfect for a warm, summer day, despite the cold front that we’re experiencing in reality."
- PopWrapped

"The track blooms with twinkling synths and all-powerful piano chords that grab your attention from the gate, and stands as a testament to frontman Jackson Davis’ affinity for creating larger-than-life, multi-layered synth-pop offerings."
- Glide

"'Fake It,' the title track of the upcoming album, is emblematic of the synth pop delights Davis offers, featuring interlocking drum machine beats, soft and sweet vocals, and a dizzying array of synth textures."
- Under the Radar

Girlpool • "Faultline" • 2021

https://www.girlpoolmusic.com

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah • "Thousand Oaks" • 2021

https://cyhsy.com

Alec Ounsworth est de retour avec son avatar bien connu Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Via son sixième chapitre studio « Hesitating Nation », sorti ce 12 février chez CYHSY-Secretly Distribution et Modulor, l’Américain dénonce les absurdités de notre monde moderne qui pèse en son cœur comme des traumas et des ulcérations pesants. Pour seul exemple, le titre « Thousand Oaks », qui relate la ville fusillade au Borderline Bar And Grill, le 7 novembre 2018. Dans cette version totalement acoustique, un souffle mélodique puissant enlace sa voix perchée, pour s’établir en un titre profondément politique acquitté des boîtes à rythmes, des synthés et des guitares originels. http://bit.ly/téléconcerts-gratuits

The Haunted Youth • Coming Home • 2021

www.maywayrecords.com

Here we are: The Haunted Youth and its new single ‘Gone’. And it's right on target again: a fascinating slab of Psych/Dream Pop reminiscent of the best of DIIV, Beach Fossils, The Cure or Spiritalized.

Previous singles, ‘Teen Rebel’ and ‘Coming Home’, have gone viral, being covered by the likes of KEXP, NME, Consequence of Sound, Kerrang!, FIP, 3FM and Radio Eins. ‘Coming Home’ even made it to Song of the Day on KEXP.

Black Doldrums • Sad Paradise • 2021

blackdoldrums.lnk.to/paradise

‘Sad Paradise’ (which, like the band’s 2018 EP of the same name, takes its title from a handwritten poem Allen Ginsberg sent in a letter to Jack Kerouac) opens ‘Dead Awake’ and sets the tone with a tightly-wound spiral of gothic-psychedelic guitars, Kevin’s austere vocal and primal drums. Describing it as “a song about rejecting social norms”, they say that “Sad Paradise is about seeing people live their lives around you with little or no impact, just coming and going, wasting their lives away.”

Phoebe Bridgers on Austin City Limits "I Know the End" • 2021

https://www.pbs.org/video/olivia-rodrigo-phoebe-bridgers-umz1ai/

Enjoy fresh perspectives in song from Olivia Rodrigo and Phoebe Bridgers. The chart-topping Rodrigo performs tunes from her bestselling debut Sour, while Bridgers sings songs from her critically acclaimed LP Punisher. 

Letting Up Despite Great Faults • Corners Pressed • 2021

https://lettingup.bandcamp.com

Following the release of their stellar dreampop track “Corners Pressed,” Glide is excited to share the accompanying music video from Letting Up Despite Great Faults. A radiant pop-forward track “Corners Pressed” offers a shift from the band’s traditionally heavier shoegaze sound, resulting in a shimmering, upbeat, and blissful track, now with an equally fun music video to match.

"A shift from the band’s traditionally heavier shoegaze sound, resulting in a shimmering, upbeat, and blissful track, now with an equally fun music video to match."
-Glide 

"Corners Pressed” is a more upbeat, pop-influenced track compared to Letting Up Despite Great Faults’ usual heavy sound."
- Indie 88

"A radiant new single from this Austin group built around a leaping keyboard line and topped with a gentle vocal melody."
- Bandcamp New and Notable

"A backdrop of swoony synths that perfectly emulate the moody haze of being in the thick of devotion to another human being"
- KEXP

GORILLA VS. BEAR • SONGS of 2021

Presenting our favorite songs of 2021: I posted up our favorite albums of the year earlier this week, and while that list inevitably gets the most attention, I started this site back in 2005 for the songs, and the way they make us feel. We're trying something different this time out: We loved well over 100 songs this year and ranking them all feels absurd, so here are the 30 that moved us the most, in no particular order at all