Lisa Sawyer - Leon Bridges

Just premiered over at Gorilla vs. Bear is "Lisa Sawyer", the third official single from the rapidly-rising Leon Bridges. For those that have been scouring YouTube for any additional music from Leon, this one is familiar. "Lisa Sawyer" is a beautiful ballad written for his mother that continues with the Sam Cooke feel we've heard on the timeless "Better Man" and "Coming Home."  <EC>

The World To Be - Michael Angelo

Michael Angelo's self-titled debut has had to fight to stay in front of an audience. Michael Angelo was originally released under the Guinn label in 1977, with a limited release of just 500 albums (which are traded in the thousands of dollars). The master of the release was destroyed, but according to Angelo, a "very good copy was made from my own original copy of the album," which was reissued by Void Records in 2005. Void, too, made few presses of the reissue. Fortunately, Michael Angelo is getting another chance, and Mexican Summer will be putting out a reissue on April 28th.

"The World To Be" is a two-and-a-half minute snapshot of Angelo's music, of light, dreamy, folk-rock., with lyrics like "What is the world to be, when children open their minds?" sung sweetly. Stream it below. <EC>

Practice - Skylar Spence

Carpark Records has announced the release of a compilation album celebrating the label’s sixteen year history. The basketball themed release will feature unreleased music from members of the Carpark roster including Toro Y Moi, Young Magic, Speedy Ortiz and more. The announcement comes with a teaser track from Skylar Spence (FKA Saint Pepsi) in his signature futuristic, dancey vibes. Sticking with the hoops theme, the appropriately titled track samples former NBA superstar Allen Iverson’s infamous rant about his commitment to practice. Stream the track above, and check the album’s trailer below. <PM>

Listen Up: Chilly Winter

During the never-ending winter, you can seek warmth or embrace the cold. This playlist is for the latter. <PM>

Call Me Up - Cotillon

On his self-titled debut album, Jordon Corso of Cotillon is having a tough time finding love. The album, produced by former Girls (RIP) member J.R. White, points the listener to all of the overturned stones Corso has checked for romance.

On "Call Me Up",  the underbelly presents itself as the affection of someone caught up in a bad relationship with a gold-watching wearing, Mercedez driving, strip-club attending boyfriend. Corso doesn't have much to offer in the way of the material world, but he appeals, "the lovin' I could throw your way, is worth more than his shiny things." Speaking of shiny things, "Call Me Up" has some awesome saxophone work that adds depth to the beachy, rockin' dream pop sound of the rest of the track, which combined, match the optimistic opening line "there's still time, there's still hope, if you leave your baby."

You can get Cotillon digitally or on cassette through Burger Records. <EC>

Bundle Up and Go - Robert Cage

Robert Cage was a Delta bluesman whose music is still well preserved today by Fat Possum Records. Born in 1947 to a grocery store owner in New Orleans, he began playing country guitar at the age of eleven. Cage would move to Woodsville, Mississippi, a city that would become is home and final resting place. When the times called for a move to the electric, he went happily along; hard twangs gave way to hopes of greater fortune. In the end, he settled down and married and took a job as a mechanic. Towards the end of his life he found his way back to his musical roots, but the modern styles he adopted were irrevocable.

1998's Can See What You're Doing is the only full-length album Cage produced. Part of the appeal of the song "Bundle Up and Go" is that it seems to change every time it's played: sometimes it's a quintessential blues composition, other times the strumming feels more progressive than it should. His rendition can also sounds like a giant improvisation, each hum and mock mimic of note a way for him to stall and keep from remembering the true lyrics. If you're puzzled, listening again and again can never hurt. <TM>

Anything Could Happen - The Clean

While their first single "Tally Ho" may have launched The Clean, their label Flying Nun, and the entire Dunedin Sound genre, "Anything Could Happen" from 1981's Boodle Boodle Boodle EP has come to be the New Zealand's band trademark hit. The track has everything one would expect from the band - jangly guitars, simple chord-progressions, minimal bass, and quirky lyrics - and manages to be simultaneously melancholy and uplifting.

On "Anything Could Happen," singer David Kilgour searches for answers, from doctors, in empty doorways, from dancers, and out on highways, before reaching the realization that "anything could happen, and it could be right now, and the choice is yours, to make it worthwhile." Kilgour acknowledges life might be tough, but ultimately, it's up to you to figure it all out, doctors be damned.

Make reading this post worthwhile, and stream "Anything Could Happen" now. <EC>

Red (Letter) - Ian Dury

Despite his British upbringing, Ian Dury executes a Caribbean sound convincingly. To achieve island vibes for his 1981 solo effort Lord Upminster, Dury recorded in the Bahamas, enlisting the help of reggae duo Sly & Robbie. Ultimately the album shuffled hastily between genres, as Dury tried to acknowledge and emulate his wide array of influences, resulting in a disjointed final product. The highlight of the sessions is "Red Letter", a tropical song purely characteristic of the setting where it was recorded. In it, Dury mutters various nonsensical messages to pets loved and lost; the chorus and title allude to pleasant memories rather than literal postage, hoping to console those left behind without their beloved companions. <PM>

Listen Up: To Nowhere

For the times when you feel like going somewhere in no particular direction, with no particular reason in mind. <TM>

I Did Something Wrong - The Parrots

Who knew a song about trying to figure out what caused a break up could be so much fun? Madrid garage rockers The Parrots do just that on their track "I Did Something Wrong."

The song follows the manic back-and-forth thought process in the wake of heartbreak, quickly fluctuating between blamelessness and guilt , all underlain by uncertainty. The chorus moves from several declarations of "I did something wrong," punctuated by the back-up vocalists chiming in as voices of ambiguity with contrasting "I don't know"s. These muddle and muted lyrics play under jangly garage rock riffs that serve to make the song feel relatively happy, given its subject matter.

While the dudes of The Parrots might never realize why things soured, they've certainly found an entertaining way to grieve. <EC>

Not Down This Low - Jeff Cowell

"Not Down This Low" is the closing track of Jeff Cowell's recently re-issued album, Lucky Strikes and Liquid Gold. Little information about Cowell is out there, but the album was originally recorded in 1975 and is filled with isolated, loner epics from the outlaw brand of country music. Cowell never enjoyed the notoriety of contemporaries like Townes Van Zandt, but Lucky Strikes and Liquid Gold contains the same sad, twangy folk sounds.

"Not Down This Low" is a depressing ode in which Cowell bemoans the awful state he's found himself in, including hoping the family he's left behind in Northern Michigan thinks "that I'm dead, but not down this low."

Spark up a Lucky Strike, let a tear loose, and soak in the sadness of "Not Down This Low." <EC>

 

Dream Story - Laura Groves

London based artist Laura Groves prepares for her upcoming EP Committed Language with a recent offering of tracks. After previously recording music as Blue Roses, Groves abandoned the acoustic sound in favor of 1980s synths. The first single from her second solo EP is "Dream Story", which showcases her voice on top of an uptempo hazy track. While the song wants to sprint ahead, Groves' vocals stretch themselves out slowly and smooth out the pace. During the bridge her voice is expansive, like she's singing into limitless space and the song plays like futuristic Fleetwood Mac. 

Also available as a preview before the EP's release is its title track, which you can stream below. Committed Language arrives February 16th on British label DEEK Recordings.

Multi-Love - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra has announced a new album Multi-Love, due out May 26th on Jagjaguwar. You can stream the title track below.

"Multi-Love" seems to mark a progression away from the guitar-focused sounds of UMO's 2011 self-titled debut and 2013's II, in exchange for poppier, airy psych synthesizers.

From a Jagjaguwar press release, songwriter Ruban Nielson said:

“It felt good to be rebelling against the typical view of what an artists is today, a curator,” says Ruban. “It’s more about being someone who makes things happen in concrete ways. Building old synthesizers and bringing them back to life, creating sounds that aren’t quite like anyone else’s. I think that’s much more subversive.”

 The band also announced European and North American tour dates starting in the spring. <EC>

Watch It: Time to Go Home - Chastity Belt

Check out the video for Chastity Belt's awesome single "Time To Go Home." The video captures the essence of the track - the desire to want to keep the party going mixed with the sluggishness of a few drinks too many, followed by the immediate need to get back into your bed.

"Time To Go Home" is the title track off their upcoming album, out March 24th on Hardly Art. You can also catch Chastity Belt opening for Courtney Barnett on a run of spring U.S. tour dates. <EC>

Won't Trade - Q-Tip

As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, producer/MC Q-Tip established himself as a unique visionary in hip-hop by drawing on jazz, soul, and funk samples during a time when brash aggression dominated the boombox. His extensive knowledge allowed him to create ties between the jazz his father raised him on and the vastly growing rap game. Q-Tip's influence on producers and rappers that followed over the next twenty years cannot be understated; Kamaal was Kanye before Kanye became Yeezy. 

Despite having done wonders sampling the likes of Jimmy McGriff, and Kool & the Gang, there is a sense that Q-Tip still has a plenty of material to work with. His ability was on show in "Won't Trade", from 2008's The Renaissance. In it Q-Tip traverses a relationship through the lens of a sports metaphor, equating his woman's affection to that of a team and its superstar. The song receives a heavy assist from Ruby Andrews' "You Made A Believer (Out Of Me)", as the song's bass line and Andrews' vocals contribute the hook. Q-Tip's footsteps are more obvious, but the beat doesn't lose points for that. On his own without a partner to split his verses, Q-Tip wisely recycles more. <PM>