new favorite album // Tame Impala : “Lonerism”
Tame Impala // “Lonerism” : 2012.10.05 : Modular genre prog psych sounds like a fractal detail of a backbeat. cosmic cinema. rising action. flaming beetles. afternoon gardens. inner soundtracks. a porcelain spaceship. red sand and blue skies. the wind between things. Blue Jay Way in the light of day. waiting at the window. notes even more definite evidence […]
new favorite album // Taken By Trees : “Other Worlds”
Taken By Trees // “Other Worlds” : 2012.10.02 : Secretly Canadian genre tropical chill pop sounds like seashells on the seashore. a hot day and a low cloud cover. afternoon naps. humid breezes. distant cloud lightning. days when it’s just a little too cold for swimming. rain drops on water. rainforest daydreams. bare feet. a foreigner surrounded […]
new favorite album // How To Dress Well : “Total Loss”
How To Dress Well // “Total Loss” : 2012.09.18 : Acephale genre baroque r&b sounds like empty concert halls. church facades. sun rising over the ocean. bedroom radio. dust in the sunlight. verdict occupying a space of its own—beautiful gem of an album
new favorite album // Wild Nothing : “Nocturne”
Wild Nothing // “Nocturne” : 2012.08.28 : Captured Tracks genre dream jangle sounds like ferris wheels at night. string lights. seaside towns they forgot to close down. train tracks. crisp leaves and felted pea coats. unbrushed hair pulled into a ponytail. smoke machines in the daylight. shore birds cruising the waves. fingerless gloves and ripped tights and […]
new favorite album // Animal Collective : “Centipede HZ”
Animal Collective // “Centipede HZ” : 2012.09.04 : Domino genre psych noise pop sounds like a crowd of boldly-dressed people scattered on a sunny sidewalk. an inflatable palm tree. bejewelled sea creatures. electric jello. a cartoon luau. Beatles pinball. a distant Caribbean house party. spontaneous baroque sculptures. Monet waterlilies. Pollock splatter. A yellow submarine coated in crustaceans and sea […]
new favorite album // Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti : “Mature Themes”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti // “Mature Themes” : 2012.08.20 : 4AD genre psych wave jangle pop sounds like late night television. eclectic kitsch. heat warped cassettes from the library. happy dreams. amber radio waves of grain. halloween prom. rollerblading at sunrise. training video on acid. verdict stranger and better than the last—both more and less mature of Ariel
new favorite album // Ice Choir : “Afar”
Ice Choir // “Afar” : 2012.07.31 : Underwater Peoples genre electro post punk dream pop sounds like moonlight glowing on the crests of waves. a sunny sky bridge in the near future. the moments just after the airplane lifts off the tarmac. pastel swatches. goosebumps. a dream flight through wintery night skies over the polar landscape. aurora […]
new favorite album // Heavenly Beat : “Talent”
Heavenly Beat // “Talent” : 2012.07.24 : Captured Tracks genre chill wave pop sounds like seafoam. baby skin. riding a bike downhill. a cool breeze on a warm day or a warm breeze on a cool day. laying in the back of an old truck driving down an avenue of trees. happy secrets. beach fire kettle corn. […]
new favorite album // Frank Ocean : “Channel Orange”
Frank Ocean // “Channel Orange” : 2012.07.17 : Def Jam : streaming on Ocean’s tumblr genre dream hop sounds like hazy lala land sunsets. beach glare. night driving in the desert. breezy apartments. reflections of lights. champagne and messy rooms. flying high in the friendly sky. inner visions. verdict this came out of left field for us and […]
new favorite album // DIIV : “Oshin”
DIIV // “Oshin” : 2012.06.26 : Captured Tracks genre dream jangle punk sounds like an afternoon nap with the window open. sunlight filtering through the hair in your eyes. renegade kites. a bullet train in the morning fog. mixed skies. empty high school halls. landscapes dripping in kudzu. dream cycle reckonings. verdict instant pleaser and slow burn at […]
new favorite album // Lower Dens : “Nootropics”
Lower Dens // “Nootropics” : 2012.05.01 : Ribbon Music genre kraut dream post punk sounds like a kiss in the beach house. empty walls. supersonic jets gliding over permafrost. filtered light in churches on wednesdays. a blazing house on a hazy beach. flickering streetlight in the back seat of a cab. a spinning orb of desaturated light. […]
new favorite album // Beach House : “Bloom”
Beach House // “Bloom” : 2012.05.01 : Sub Pop genre dream wave sounds like sunset fireflies through linen curtains. bike rides home before dinner. glowing landscapes. solar ships. rainbow nebulas. aurora borealis over the desert. childhood memories. mother in the garden. napping with the window open. the dream you can’t stop thinking about all the next day. […]
new favorite album // Julia Holter : “Ekstasis”
Julia Holter // “Ekstasis” : 2012.03.12 : RVNG genre chamber folk space pop sounds like an empty neo gothic mansion at sunset dressed only in linen curtains. the vines and flowering weeds creeping over the edges of walls and paths. Cosmic bubbles on the breeze. transmissions from a satellite heart in the milky night. baroque […]
new favorite album // Damien Jurado : “Maraqopa”
Damien Jurado // “Maraqopa” : 2012.02.21 : Secretly Canadian genre chamber folk rock sounds like wet street corners sparkling in neon. a brighter, lighter time of the season. diffused light illuminating greenery. a topographical map. warm stars blinking in the hazy night. smeared acrylics. outsider art hymns. notes Richard Swift‘s hand in this is much appreciated. […]
new favorite album // Chairlift : “Something”
Chairlift // “Something” : 2012.01.24 : Columbia : streaming in its entirety here and below genre neo wave electro goth pop sounds like overcast beaches of silvery nothingness. rainbow sprinkles on chocolate frosting. empty office buildings with the lights on at night. passing street lights. the thing that dreams are made of. everything and the […]
new favorite album // M83 : “Hurry Up We’re Dreaming”
M83 // “Hurry Up We’re Dreaming” : 2011.10.18 : Mute genre cinematic dream pop sounds like saturday nights past bedtime. bike rides at dawn. the night before the big day. the day after the big night. Games without frontiers in a new gold dream. notes the finest example of M83’s sound yet. verdict if I had to […]
new favorite album // Thurston Moore : “Demolished Thoughts”
Thurston Moore // “Demolished Thoughts” : 2011.05.24 : Matador genre folk art punk sounds like a crowded room of fur coats. heavy sunlight filtering through branches. soft, rainbow-colored wooden blocks. Nick Drake’s soundtrack to a Kubrick film. notes sounds exactly like Sonic Youth and nothing like Sonic Youth all at once—to the best possible effect. […]
new favorite album // Kurt Vile : Smoke Ring for my Halo
Kurt Vile // “Smoke Ring For My Halo” : 2011.03.08 : Matador genre singer/songwriter art pop sounds like heartland summers. baseball tees and old bikes. romeo & juliet walking in memphis. parents gone for the weekend. vacant lot sodas. notes took me a while to get into it and then suddenly I didn’t want anything else. […]
new favorite album // Toro y Moi : Underneath the Pine
Toro Y Moi // “Underneath The Pine” : 2011.02.22 : Carpark genre chill wave soul pop sounds like laurel canyon bamboo forest. inner space odyssey in the afternoon. an empty beach. science class art film. hypnogogic john phillips floating in the pool. notes the most serene breakup album ever. verdict absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. New […]
new favorite album // Cut Copy : “Zonoscope”
Cut Copy // “Zonoscope” : 2011.02.08 : Modular genre neo wave synth pop sounds like neon lights in the fog. grass growing on a saturday morning. sunrise in the land down under. john hughes rebooted. tesla girls talking loud and clear. mid-80s sports cars. notes this is the best summertime album not released in the […]
new favorite album // Destroyer : "Kaputt"
Destroyer // “Kaputt” : 2011.01.25 : Merge genre soft glam pop sounds like ice skating at night. sipping vodka under a streetlight. Tonal rainbows in the mists of Avalon. Shafts of sunrise dragging across the interior of a Concord. notes an evolution of the tones and textures and songs on his beloved Your Blues. verdict […]
new favorite album // Smith Westerns : "Dye it Blonde"
Smith Westerns // “Dye it Blonde” : 2011.01.18 : Fat Possum genre power glam garage pop sounds like the last day of school. smoking behind the shed. “The Slider” album cover photo shoot. notes previously underwhelmed, currently obsessed. verdict one part guilty pleasure, two parts youthful genius.
new favorite album + new favorite song // Small Black : “New Chain” + Photojournalist
Small Black // “New Chain” : 2010.10.25 genre noise bliss pop punk sounds like glass helicopter rides through sun rays. the punks are taking ecstasy. broken glass being vacuumed in slow motion. mixed media gallery show opening party. beach pop delayed through thick atmosphere. new year’s eve 2025. notes music as art as music. verdict […]
new favorite album // Abe Vigoda : “Crush”
Abe Vigoda // “Crush” : 2010.09.20 genre post new wave sounds like ice skating down empty city streets. snow leopards in foggy green jungles. candle-lit attic dance parties. light cycles speeding into suburban sunsets. notes really digging the evolution this band has taken. verdict a slow ice burn to excellence. Dream of My Love (Chasing […]