Jun 28, 2016

Altamina - Tomorrow Morning Will Be Tonight - 2016



Spacey and atmospheric, Altamina plant their feet firmly in the ground and stretch their arms into the sky. Achieving a deep, rich sound with ambient, yet driving instrumentals and San Fermin-like vocals, Tomorrow Morning Will Be Tonight rides the genre line along with acts like The National and The Antlers.

memoryhouse - bedroom demos - 2016



memoryhouse have to be the smoothest act around, throw in demo tapes and you got me hooked… a beautifully short simple chill out listen to carry you into dreamland.

Tiger Waves - Don't Be Yourself [Remixed & Remastered] - 2016


lo-fi shabblings of previously released/remixed tunes… a nice diy aesthetic with airy psychedelic instruments and vast vocals building into lovely summery songs for the masses. Nice release.

Barbarisms - Browser - 2016


http://barbarisms.com

Those hankering for the breezy looseness of Built To Spill’s earliest releases, Herman Dune’s ingenuousness, or the late St Thomas’s cracked folk, will revel in this debut from Nicholas Faraone’s trio.

Jun 26, 2016

Michael Franti & Spearhead - SOULROCKER - 2016



Right from the opening strains of the '90s-esque reggae-pop tune "Crazy for You," it's clear that although times and musical tastes have changed, the sound and message of Michael Franti hasn't. The San Francisco native and former frontman of Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy is now on the downhill side of 50, and is still espousing love, peace and harmony. The group's ninth studio project SOULROCKER flips the script a little bit, though, by incorporating Diplo-esque type sounds — to uneven, but mostly satisfying results. exclaim


Band of Horses - why are you ok - 2016




Band of Horses partnered up with Rick Rubin’s label and the production has changed hands from someone responsible for the first couple of Steve Miller and Eagles records to the dude behind The Sophtware Slump. Whether the partnership with Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle is inspired or productive, it’s at least new, which is just as good. While Why Are You OK? lacks the specific sense of place that Seattle and South Carolina embedded in their first two LPs, “Broken Household Appliance National Forest” is a more interesting setting for the same old Band of Horses songs than the 4 p.m. slot at whatever festival still focuses on guitar music. pF

Camp Cope - 2016


Michael Livingston I've listened to nothing except this record for the past fortnight and it just keeps getting better - wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Summer at The Grey Estates Volume 2 - 2016



Jeremy (HI54LOFI) GREAT comp from a GREAT blog and proceeds go to a GREAT cause. That's 3 great reasons to hit the buy button (for those keeping score at home). Favorite track: Low - Yours Are the Only Ears.

a certain smile - For Ian - 2016


Raised on a steady diet of sarah records singles, slumberland noise pop, and creation era shoegaze, Portland's a certain smile work hard to find that balance between the sweet twee, the fuzzy gaze, and punky pop. Having spent years bubbling over in Philadelphia, a certain smile has taken to it's new Pacific Northwest home with aplomb and are now ready to start bringing their noize to the kids!



This is a benefit for our drummer Ian White who was hit by an SUV while on his scooter. He is currently in the ICU at OHSU hospital and has a long road ahead of him in terms of healing, rehabilitation, and physical therapy. We do not yet know the long-term effects of his head trauma and his many broken bones. We all wish him well and a quick recovery. Every cent we get from this download will go to Ian to help with expenses. 

Jun 23, 2016

Forever Beautiful: a collection of love for Orlando - 2016


This compilation is a love letter to the community of Orlando, FL. Following the tragic events at Pulse Nightclub on June 12th, we wanted to show our support and love for our LGBT community the best way we knew how; through music. 

The tracks on this album were all individually contributed by the bands and artists themselves; artists from Orlando, New York, California, England, and all over the globe. 

All proceeds from this compilation will be donated to support the victims of the Pulse shooting as part of the OneOrlando Fund (www.oneorlando.org) as a symbol of solidarity as our city rebuilds. 

The price of this album is whatever amount you would like to donate to this cause.
credits


Laptop Funeral - the closer to you, the safer i feel - 2016



this is a great chill wave release from one of my fav tiny labels… they never disappoint!

Dylan Shearer - Porchpuddles - 2016



"There is a new specter among us. Dylan Shearer’s throaty baritone seems to have been borne on the slow-moving winds off some far-away coast. Plaintive and honest, his voice recalls Syd Barrett, Bill Fay, Skip Spence, and others whose words and melodies never seemed in a rush to get anywhere, yet always arrived fully formed in the listener’s ear nonetheless. Porchpuddles, Shearer’s second full length and first for San Francisco’s hodge-podge Empty Cellar records, is rare in its perfect timelessness. Sounds are heard and understood perfectly, yet the combination of these sounds is beyond a simple pop understanding. Songs of longing and songs of seeming indifference are bedded together seamlessly. Perhaps, questions about the record’s origin and its mysterious creator will abound, for taken at face value, Porchpuddles has little to no recognizable counterpart in today's one-hit warehouse. Indeed, there is a new specter among us; let us all welcome in the ghost of the present." - Tim Cohen

Failed Flowers - 2016


punk infused indie - the female/male vocals expand the intent of the songs nicely…

Jun 22, 2016

soccer mommy - for young hearts - 2016


laid back female vocals interplay well with the crisp strumming and snappy snare drum 
- nice release.

Exam Season - Mostly Homely - 2016


moody mellow release… some nice melodies layered with dark themes

Big Thief - Masterpiece - 2016



Nick Green Will be in most end of year lists- steal it whenever you can

Sorority Noise - It Kindly Stopped For Me - 2016


Dream like, soothing, calm sways - back and forth, back and forth… again! again!

johnny foreigner - If You Can't Be Honest, Be Awesome - 2016



Alcopop! always release fun music; this is no different, nice single!

Bellows - Fist & Palm - 2016


"Fist & Palm" was written and recorded by Oliver Kalb over the course of two writing periods. The first was a month-long song-a-day project in October 2014, from which 7 of the 31 songs written for the project were kept for the final album, and a certain sonic template was mapped out for how the record would develop the sound of Bellows as a recording project. After a heavy year of touring throughout 2015, the album was completed between October 2015 and January 2016, in a several month long fit of anxiety. James Wilcox (JCW) produced, sequenced and sampled drums on several songs, Felix Walworth (Told Slant) recorded live drums throughout the record, Gabrielle Smith (Eskimeaux) contributed violin and choral arrangements, and Jack Greenleaf (Sharpless) mixed the record and added final arrangements.

Jun 19, 2016

bulldog eyes - fun - 2016


i was recently illegally evicted so i decided to release a set of demos and covers id previously kept to myself. you dont have to pay/donate but if you do, know its keeping me alive and helping me find a new place. shirts got ruined in the rain during my move and im way behind on tapes. give me time to catch up. doing my best and thanks everyone for the support. much love..


Frankie Teardrop - Hell Yep - 2016



coined as the perfect summer soundtrack - I agree!

Jun 18, 2016

The Magic of Machines






Spending my day looking at these machines!

Fascinations Grand Chorus - 2016


Two rival songwriters / One audio pop experiment

Jun 17, 2016

Told Slant - Going By - 2016



this is a lovely… emo lo-fi with bedroom personality...

Burglary Years - 100 ROSES - 2016



shoegaze lathered dream pop coming at you out of Boston - very soothing release.

bed. - Klickitat - 2016



slow-fi out of Portland… female vocals with a touch of shoegaze what's not to like - nice release.

Glaciers - Living Right - 2016


Living Right is about the things people do in their 20s; getting jobs, making and losing friends, dealing with responsibility and generally just trying to get by. With Glaciers developing a tighter pop focus over the last four years, Living Right comprises eleven catchy songs about navigating your way through life. 

Summer Z Tapes Sampler - 2016



This year is a great year for Z Tapes and we have released so many good albums. For this sampler we picked songs from the first half of 2016. Thanks to all amazing people making this happen. 

Jun 16, 2016

Leapling – Suspended Animation - 2016



Suspended Animation is a louder record than their debut, though not without its mellower moments, the orchestral touches standing out. However, a lot of the softer qualities are inflated as well as the grinding highs. On closer “Time Keeps Tickin’”, the guitar and cello sweep and swoon like elevated exit music. As a true counterpoint, though, Leapling up the pop feel in a big way on “One Hit Wonder”. The background harmonies and bright guitar evoke bands of decades past that fell into the pit of the song’s title. The smattering of keyboard here, as well as across the album, adds another interesting color to their palette.

In its collage of grungey indie rock, power pop, and lots of new instrumentation, Leapling have embraced a sense of inconsistency. Suspended Animation requires a bit of patience, digging through the assorted influences and trying to put together an understanding of the album as a whole. But if you put in the time, the album’s writing is strong enough to bring these differences together. As with many other Exploding in Sound artists, Leapling somehow paradoxically both easily recall their peers and successfully step away from the predictability that that should entail. CoS

Dope Lemon – Honey Bones - 2016



There’s a real Dylan vibe to Dope Lemon, the new Angus Stone project, which has just offered up its debut album, Honey Bones. Like Bob Dylan many years before him, Stone has sidelined the acoustic folk/roots material and gone (somewhat) electric. But that’s not the end of the similarities: there’s something Dylanesque about Stone’s laconic, sometimes meandering vocal delivery style, and also in the unadorned sketches of his songwriting.

When expressed through the characteristically laidback guise that listeners would be familiar with from his work with sister, Julia, Dope Lemon makes for sweet slacker rock in the slightly off kilter vein of Mac Demarco. The whole thing is charmingly loose around the edges, while showcasing Stone’s strong songwriting skills. upside news

Jun 9, 2016

Good Good Blood - Passing Place EP - 2016


nice release… spacious and minimal indie pop

Hologram Teen - 2016





Hologram Teen is releasing a 2-track single on 7" vinyl via London's Happy Robots Records. This is the solo electronic motorik disco project of Morgane Lhote, former long-term keyboard player of Stereolab

The Hologram Teen sound, although embracing electronica and pop, does so in a way that is more evocative of a prog rock disco horror soundtrack than the soulless EDM that fills the pop charts. "It's like Fabio Frizzi meets Grandmaster Flash," says Morgane Lhote. Her debut sold-out single 'Post-Apocalypteacakes' was released on London's Deep Distance label and mixed creepy vintage library effects with bouncy dancehall synths and disco beats. Following its release, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker came to be among her many newfound fans.

S T F U - What We Want - 2016


Alternative electronic maverick producer Dean Garcia, the musical mastermind behind seminal alternative rock band Curve and electronic dream pop duo SPC ECO, has joined forces with Preston Maddox of post-punk noise-rock band Bloody Knives in a new project, called S T F U.

Their debut LP ‘What We Want’, slated for release on July 29, is laced with unfolding hypnotic loops that gradually progress to uptempo electronics, trip-hop laden beats, lush noise entwined with shimmering synths, and Maddox’s hazy trance-like vocals.

Jun 8, 2016

BD Harrington - The Diver's Curse - 2016



Excellent release from a powerful Canadiana singer songwriter….

"Bleak and poetic." - MOJO

"The spirit of Cohen is everywhere." - AmericanaUK

"...beautifully devastating." - Libération

"Sad, rich and exhilarating...slows the pulse but not the imagination." - Les Inrocks

"We are touched by the beauty of the songwriting here. It is this precision in writing, this propensity to be in an intimate restraint but resolutely warm." - Liablity Webzine

"...sensitive and intimate folk music...fragile and moving." - Fourtraque

Jun 7, 2016

Plastic Mermaids - Everything is Yellow and Yellow is my Least Favourite Colour - 2016



Really nice release.

High Hills - Illusion - 2016


Cool psych/surf rock coming out of my home town of Montreal… nice release.

Dead Poet Society - DEMPSEY - 2016


http://wearedps.com

Jun 6, 2016

pocketmouse - be ok - 2016


Devin Garvin This is some of the most melancholic acoustic stuff I've ever heard; beautiful, somber, perfect rainy day music for feelin'. 

These Bashful Claws - Everything, All at Once - 2016


These Bashful Claws is the project of Charlie O’Neil from Fort Collins’ Colorado. His new album, Everything, All at Once, came out at the beginning of April. O’Neil also plays in WTD favs Gleemer (Corey Coffman mixed the album), and the bands share certain similarities, at least as much to say that if you like Gleemer then you should be sure to check out These Bashful Claws. Their sound is an affecting mix of indie rock, dream pop, emo and slowcore, the heavy atmosphere reminiscent of The Antlers before they got all sleek and poppy. http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/2016/05/16/bashful-claws-everything/

Jun 5, 2016

Ladyhawke - Wild Things - 2016


Brown’s conviction to authenticity led her on a journey starting in 2013. Over three years, she scrapped a full Ladyhawke album (“The material didn’t feel like me. It felt too dark or something”). Once reliant on alcohol to surmount social anxiety (“I’d never done a sober show in my life until last December”), she quit drinking and focused on getting healthy. Then she welcomed that newfound clarity by crafting her latest release, the blissed-out Wild Things. 

“I think I went even more synthy and poppy this time around,” Brown says of the buoyant Wild Things. “I feel good for the first time in 10 years. I actually have a clear mind! I have a wife. I feel stable. That is what I’m celebrating.” 

Matt Paxton - Let Me Rock N' Roll Tonight - 2016



Canadiana singer songwriter indie folk… very nice record.

Ancient Shapes - 2016



lo-fi punk music pounding out of TO

Looks Like Mountains - quick, before we're all dead! - 2016



Looking like a mountain doesn’t make you a mountain and, as such, just as this little gem of a record might appear somewhat faint and skeletal on first, second, third listen it doesn’t make it so. In fact, for all the slightness of its initial demeanour, the record grows and grows with repeated listens, slowly transforming in to a hardy and brilliantly robust collection of songs.

The project of Jack Mohr, ‘Quick, Before We’re All Dead‘ is a tender piece of guitar pop, small little figurines that are brought to life with the added instrumentation that often creeps in and, more pertinently, by the sheer strength of its convictions. Mohr’s grainy voice is like a drunken stumble through the dark; not particular steady but always fully aware of where it’s intending to reach. In much the same way, the album is extremely fleeting, eight songs all under three minutes, many half that, which tend to consume you for the moments they exist before suddenly departing, leaving but a little a glow of recognition somewhere in the back of your mind.

From the burned-out ‘twining‘ to the more solid frameworks of the eminently pretty ‘waiting to tell you‘ and the Trust Fund-like strut of closing track ‘everything is ok‘, Looks Like Mountain’s have crafted an odd but wonderfully endearing record here, and while it might last for only the briefest of flashes, it’s certainly one that will linger in the memory of those that got to see it. golfflakepaint

Jun 4, 2016

IZE - king of the mods - 2016


electronic meets new wave meets darkness… lovely little release.